Patent Description:
Frequency bands employed in various global regions, however, typically differ across each region such that designing a device to implement advanced communication schemes with every viable combination of frequency bands is cost-prohibitive. To address cost and other constraints, such as power or design space, many device designers use a regional-based approach in which some transmit and receive chains are enabled in one region and disabled in other regions where operating frequencies of the region are not supported by the transmit and receive chains. Additionally, to further reduce costs, some receive chain or transmit chain circuitry may be omitted from the device, resulting in a reduced number of receive chains or transmit chains that may not be fully utilized when implementing advanced communication schemes that require a minimum number of transmit or receive chains. As such, constraints associated with regional based design approaches often result in devices that include transmit chain or receive chain circuitry that is always disabled (e.g., when deployed to a region with non-supported frequency bands) or underutilized when implementing advanced communication schemes. Generally, this inclusion of the unused or underutilized transceiver chains increases manufacturing costs of all the multi-region devices while providing performance benefits in only a few regions where optimal use of the transceiver chains can be achieved due to compatibility between the limited transceiver chains of a device and frequency band support of the region.

Relevant prior art can be found in the documents <CIT> and <CIT>.

This disclosure describes apparatuses of and techniques for radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. In some aspects, a modem of a user equipment is coupled with multiple receiver paths that include an unpaired receiver path. The unpaired receiver may be an odd numbered receiver path capable of operating in a frequency band in which pairs of other receiver paths (e.g., two, four, or six receiver paths) are configured to operate. To enable use of the unpaired receiver path in various modes of multi-channel communication, a radio link manager of the user equipment modifies configuration information of the modem to add a nonexistent receiver path to a set of receiver path parameters for a frequency band in which the unpaired receiver path is capable of operating. Along with adding the nonexistent receiver path, the radio link manager may also modify the receiver path parameters to enable the unpaired receiver path for the frequency band. The nonexistent receiver path and unpaired receiver path are then exposed for use by the modem to implement one or more multi-channel receive modes for the frequency band. By so doing, the modem may implement multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) or high order receive diversity (HORxD) modes in which the unpaired receiver receives an additional channel of one or more signals transmitted to the user equipment from one or more base stations of a wireless network.

In one aspect a method to perform multi-channel receiving with an unpaired receiver path of a UE, is defined in independent claim <NUM>.

The details of one or more implementations of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of a user equipment are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the following description. This Summary is provided to introduce subject matter that is further described in the Detailed Description and Drawings. Accordingly, this Summary should not be considered to describe essential features nor used to limit the scope of the subject matter of the appended claims.

This disclosure describes apparatuses and techniques of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment with reference to the following drawings. The use of same or similar reference numbers throughout the description and the figures may indicate like features or components:.

Preceding techniques for designing devices with global or multi-regional communication support typically resulted in devices that were manufactured with transceiver chains that were not used or underutilized in many regions. Generally, designing a global stock keeping unit (SKU) device to support advanced implementations of carrier aggregation (CA) or multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) in all regions is simply prohibitive from the standpoint of component cost, routing complexity, available design space, and so on. Due to these constraints, the device designers implementing the preceding techniques would split configurations for regional network support by different regional SKUs for each region or group of regions. In other words, a device with a single hardware configuration would be configured in software to implement different radio configurations based on an SKU assigned to the device for operation in a respective region.

These regional SKU-based designs, however, are still subject to various trade-offs or restrictions that limit or prevent full utilization of the radio of the device across all of the regions. For example, in many scenarios, downlink MIMO capabilities of a device (e.g., receive capabilities) can be scaled down from 4x4 MIMO to 2x2 MIMO for a particular frequency band (e.g., ultra-high band) of a regional SKU (e.g., North America) to save manufacturing costs of all device SKUs (e.g., across all regions). Oftentimes, this scaling down is achieved by removing a fourth diversity receiver module for the frequency band and associated circuitry, resulting in three receiver modules and receiver chains remaining in the hardware configuration of the device. This scaling scenario may apply to multiple regions and/or frequency bands, such as to LTE band <NUM> and LTE band <NUM> on a North America SKU, to LTE band <NUM>, LTE band <NUM>, and LTE band <NUM> on a European SKU and/or to LTE band <NUM>, LTE band <NUM>, and LTE band <NUM> on a Japan SKU.

With fewer receiver modules and receive chains, available radio path configurations of a device are often limited by standard radio configurations that support only use of even numbers of receiver paths when implementing CA and MIMO schemes. For example, when a device includes three receiver chains physically in hardware and because 3x3 MIMO or three channel receive diversity are not a standard radio configuration, the device is limited to 2x2 MIMO or receive diversity with only two receiver chains. In other words, standardized receiver configurations for implementing MIMO, CA, or HORxD select or group receiver chains in pairs or even numbers (e.g., 4x4 MIMO), such that devices are prevented from using odd numbered or unpaired receiver chains for multi-channel receiving schemes. This even number configuration issue is a common limitation of modem radio platform implementations, regardless of modem or radio manufacturer. As such, due to these limitations of radio path configurations, devices are unable to use the unpaired or odd numbered receiver paths, the inclusion of which increases device costs without offering, in many cases, any improvement in receive throughput or link margin to increase network coverage.

The present disclosure describes aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. Generally, the described aspects can modify radio card or modem configuration information to add a nonexistent (e.g., dummy) receiver path to the radio card or modem. In other words, a dummy receiver path is added to the modem, which does not correspond to any physical receiver path or require calibration or validation prior to assignment to various configurations of the modem. In addition to the dummy receiver path, an unpaired or odd numbered receiver path may be enabled, such that the unpaired receiver path and dummy receiver path can be assigned as a pair of receiver paths to a frequency band group of the modem. In the context of the above example, the dummy receiver can be configured as a fourth receiver path for a user equipment that includes hardware for three receiver modules and corresponding receiver paths. Because this dummy receiver path does not exist in hardware, a user equipment (UE) may recognize this receiver path as nonexistent or non-functional when configuring the modem for or using the modem to implement multi-channel receive modes.

Accordingly, the UE may report an artificial (e.g., predefined) low channel signal quality parameter associated with this dummy receiver path back to a base station of a wireless network. Based on the low channel signal quality parameter, the base station is likely to disregard this channel (e.g., a fourth channel) and enable actual 3x3 MIMO with the UE, which is a non-standard radio link configuration. By using the dummy receiver path to cause the base station to enable 3x3 MIMO instead of 2x2 MIMO, the UE may achieve an additional fifty percent (<NUM>%) in receive throughput under optimal network conditions. The UE may also use the dummy receiver path when configuring the modem for high order receive diversity (HORxD), in which the Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) algorithm implemented by the modem can disregard a channel that corresponds to the fourth (dummy) receiver path due to poor channel signal quality, which may include predefined low values. By using the three receiver paths instead of two receiver paths as previously limited, the UE may achieve an additional twenty percent in network coverage due to an approximate increase <NUM> decibels (dB) in signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) with the three receiver modules. These are but a few examples of the ways in which radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment can be implemented to improve UE receive performance.

In various aspects, a modem of a user equipment is coupled with multiple receiver paths that include an unpaired receiver path. The unpaired receiver may be an odd numbered receiver path capable of operating in a frequency band in which pairs of other receiver paths (e.g., two, four, six receiver paths) are configured to operate. To enable use of the unpaired receiver path in various modes of multi-channel communication, a radio link manager of the user equipment modifies configuration information of the modem to add a nonexistent receiver path to a set of receiver path parameters for a frequency band in which the unpaired receiver path is capable of operating. Along with adding the nonexistent receiver path, the radio link manager may also modify the receiver path parameters to enable the unpaired receiver path for the frequency band. The nonexistent receiver path and unpaired receiver path are then exposed for use by the modem to implement one or more multi-channel receive modes for the frequency band. By so doing, the modem may implement multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) or high order receive diversity (HORxD) modes in which the unpaired receiver receives an additional channel of one or more signals transmitted to the user equipment from one or more base stations of a wireless network.

The following discussion describes an operating environment, techniques that may be employed in the operating environment, and various devices or systems in which components of the operating environment can be embodied. In the context of the present disclosure, reference is made to the operating environment by way of example only.

<FIG> illustrates an example operating environment <NUM> in which various aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment can be implemented. Generally, the example environment <NUM> includes a user equipment <NUM> (UE <NUM>), which can communicate with base stations <NUM> (illustrated as base stations <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>) through wireless communication links or radio links <NUM> (radio link <NUM>), illustrated as radio link <NUM> and radio link <NUM>. For simplicity, the UE <NUM> is implemented as a smart-phone but may be implemented as any suitable computing or electronic device, such as a smart watch, mobile communication device, modem, cellular phone, gaming device, navigation device, media device, laptop computer, desktop computer, tablet computer, smart appliance, vehicle-based communication system, an Internet-of-things (IoT) device (e.g., sensor node, controller/actuator node, combination thereof), and the like. The base stations <NUM> (e.g., an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network Node B, E-UTRAN Node B, evolved Node B, eNodeB, eNB, Next Generation Node B, gNode B, gNB, or the like) may be implemented in a macrocell, microcell, small cell, picocell, or the like, or any combination thereof.

The base stations <NUM> communicate with the UE <NUM> through the radio links <NUM> and <NUM> (e.g., wireless links or wireless channels), which may be implemented as any suitable type of radio link. The radio links <NUM> and <NUM> include control and data communication, such as downlink of data and control information communicated from the base stations <NUM> to the UE <NUM>, uplink of other data and control information communicated from the UE <NUM> to the base stations <NUM>, or both. The radio links <NUM> may include one or more radio links (e.g., radio links) or bearers implemented using any suitable communication protocol or standard, or combination of communication protocols or standards, such as 3rd Generation Partnership Project Long-Term Evolution (3GPP LTE), LTE-Advanced, Fifth Generation New Radio (<NUM> NR), and so forth. Multiple radio links <NUM> may be aggregated in a carrier aggregation (CA) to provide a higher data rate for the UE <NUM>. Multiple radio links <NUM> from multiple base stations <NUM> may be configured for Coordinated Multipoint (CoMP) communication with the UE <NUM>. Additionally, multiple radio links <NUM> may be configured for dual connectivity (DC) (e.g., dual carrier or multi-carrier), single-RAT dual connectivity (SR-DC), or multi-RAT dual connectivity (MR-DC).

The base stations <NUM> collectively form a Radio Access Network <NUM> (e.g., RAN, Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network, E-UTRAN, <NUM> NR RAN or NR RAN). The RANs <NUM> are illustrated as an NR RAN <NUM> and an E-UTRAN <NUM>. The base stations <NUM> and <NUM> in the NR RAN <NUM> are connected to a Fifth Generation Core <NUM> (5GC <NUM>) network. The base stations <NUM> and <NUM> in the E-UTRAN <NUM> connect to an Evolved Packet Core <NUM> (EPC <NUM>). Alternatively or additionally, the base station <NUM> may connect to both the 5GC <NUM> and EPC <NUM> networks.

The base stations <NUM> and <NUM> connect, at <NUM> and <NUM> respectively, to the 5GC <NUM> through an NG2 interface for control-plane signaling and using an NG3 interface for user-plane data communications. The base stations <NUM> and <NUM> connect, at <NUM> and <NUM> respectively, to the EPC <NUM> using an S1 interface for control-plane signaling and user-plane data communications. Optionally or additionally, if the base station <NUM> connects to the 5GC <NUM> and EPC <NUM> networks, the base station <NUM> connects to the 5GC <NUM> using an NG2 interface for control-plane signaling and through an NG3 interface for user-plane data communications, at <NUM>.

In addition to connections to core networks, the base stations <NUM> may communicate with each other. For example, the base stations <NUM> and <NUM> communicate through an Xn interface at <NUM> and the base stations <NUM> and <NUM> communicate through an X2 interface at <NUM> to exchange user-plane and control-plane data. The interface or link at <NUM> or <NUM> between the base stations <NUM> can be implemented as any suitable type of link, such as a mmWave link, a sub-mmWave link, or a free-space optical (FSO) link. At least one base station <NUM> (base station <NUM> and/or base station <NUM>) in the NR RAN <NUM> can communicate with at least one base station <NUM> (base station <NUM> and/or base station <NUM>) in the E-UTRAN <NUM> using an Xn interface <NUM>. In aspects, base stations <NUM> in different RANs (e.g., base stations <NUM> of each RAN) communicate with one another using an Xn interface such as Xn interface <NUM>.

The 5GC <NUM> includes an Access and Mobility Management Function <NUM> (AMF <NUM>), which provides control-plane functions, such as registration and authentication of multiple UE <NUM>, authorization, and mobility management in the <NUM> NR network. The EPC <NUM> includes a Mobility Management Entity <NUM> (MME <NUM>), which provides control-plane functions, such as registration and authentication of multiple UE <NUM>, authorization, or mobility management in the E-UTRA network. The AMF <NUM> and the MME <NUM> communicate with the base stations <NUM> in the RANs <NUM> and also communicate with multiple UE <NUM>, using the base stations <NUM>.

With reference to <FIG>, the UE <NUM> also includes a radio link manager <NUM> in accordance with one or more aspects. In some aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> modifies configuration information of a modem of the UE <NUM> to add a nonexistent receiver path (e.g., dummy receiver path) to a set of receiver path parameters for a frequency band in which an unpaired receiver path of the modem is capable of operating. Along with adding the nonexistent receiver path, the radio link manager <NUM> may also modify the receiver path parameters to enable the unpaired receiver path for the frequency band. The nonexistent receiver path and unpaired receiver path are then exposed for use by the modem to implement one or more multi-channel receive modes for the frequency band. By so doing, the modem may implement multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) or high order receive diversity (HORxD) modes in which the unpaired receiver receives an additional channel of one or more signals transmitted to the user equipment from one or more base stations of a wireless network. In various aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> may also alter or modify UE capabilities, channel signal measurements, and/or calibration information associated with the nonexistent receiver path to enable the UE <NUM> to implement MIMO or HORxD with the unpaired receiver. The uses and implementations of the radio link manager <NUM> may vary in accordance with one or more aspects and are described throughout the disclosure.

<FIG> illustrates an example device diagram <NUM> of a user equipment and a service cell base station. Generally, the device diagram <NUM> describes network entities that can implement various aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths. <FIG> shows respective instances of the UE <NUM> and the base stations <NUM>. The UE <NUM> and the base stations <NUM> may include additional functions and interfaces that are omitted from <FIG> for the sake visual brevity. The UE <NUM> includes antennas <NUM>, a radio frequency front end <NUM> (RF front end <NUM>), and radio-frequency transceivers (e.g., an LTE transceiver <NUM> and a <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>) for communicating with base stations <NUM> in the NR RAN <NUM> and/or the E-UTRAN <NUM>. The UE <NUM> may also include one or more additional transceivers (e.g., local wireless network transceiver) for communicating over one or more local wireless networks (e.g., WLAN, WPAN, Bluetooth™, NFC, Wi-Fi-Direct, IEEE <NUM>. <NUM>, ZigBee, Thread, mmWave, sub-mmWave, FSO, radar, lidar, sonar, ultrasonic) with another UE or local network entities. The RF front end <NUM> of the UE <NUM> can couple or connect the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and the other transceivers (not shown) of the UE <NUM> to the antennas <NUM> to facilitate various types of wireless communication.

The antennas <NUM> of the UE <NUM> may include an array of multiple antennas that are configured similar to or differently from each other. The antennas <NUM> and the RF front end <NUM> can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency bands defined by the 3GPP LTE and <NUM> NR communication standards and implemented by the LTE transceiver <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>. Additionally, the antennas <NUM>, the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceiver <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM> may be configured to support beamforming for the transmission and reception of communications with the base stations <NUM>. By way of example and not limitation, the antennas <NUM> and the RF front end <NUM> can be implemented for operation in sub-gigahertz bands, sub-<NUM> bands, and/or above <NUM> bands that are defined by the 3GPP LTE and <NUM> NR communication standards (e.g., <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, or <NUM> bands). In addition, the RF front end <NUM> can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency bands defined and implemented by the local wireless network transceivers of the UE <NUM> to support transmission and reception of communications with other UEs or entities associated with a local wireless network.

The UE <NUM> includes sensor(s) <NUM>, which can be implemented to detect various properties such as temperature, location, orientation, supplied power, power usage, battery state, or the like. As such, the sensors <NUM> may include any one or a combination of temperature sensors, global navigational satellite system (GNSS) sensors, accelerometers, thermistors, battery sensors, and power usage sensors.

The UE <NUM> also includes processor(s) <NUM> and computer-readable storage media <NUM> (CRM <NUM>). The processor <NUM> may be a single core processor or a multiple core processor implemented with a homogenous or heterogenous core structure. The processor <NUM> may include a hardware-based processor implemented as hardware-based logic, circuitry, processing cores, or the like. In some aspects, functionalities of the processor <NUM> and other components of the UE <NUM> are provided via an integrated processing, communication, and/or control system (e.g., system-on-chip), which may enable various operations of a UE <NUM> in which the system is embodied. The computer-readable storage media described herein excludes propagating signals. The CRM <NUM> may include any suitable memory or storage device such as random-access memory (RAM), static RAM (SRAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), read-only memory (ROM), or Flash memory useable to store device data <NUM> of the UE <NUM>. The device data <NUM> includes user data, multimedia data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and/or an operating system of the UE <NUM>, which are executable by processor(s) <NUM> to enable user-plane communication, control-plane signaling, and user interaction with the UE <NUM>.

In aspects of radio link management, the CRM <NUM> of the UE <NUM> may also include an instance of the radio link manager <NUM>, modem configuration information <NUM>, and UE capabilities <NUM>. The modem configuration information <NUM> as described herein may also include or refer to configuration information for a radio module or radio card of the UE <NUM>. Alternatively or additionally, the radio link manager <NUM> may be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the UE <NUM>. Generally, the radio link manager <NUM> of the UE <NUM> can create, edit, or modify the modem configuration information <NUM> to enable use of unpaired receiver paths of the UE <NUM>. To do so, the radio link manager <NUM> modifies the modem configuration information <NUM> to add a nonexistent receiver path (e.g., dummy receiver path) to a set of receiver path parameters for a frequency band in which an unpaired receiver path (e.g., odd numbered receiver path) of the UE <NUM> is capable of operating. Along with adding the nonexistent receiver path, the radio link manager <NUM> may also modify the receiver path parameters of the modem configuration information <NUM> to enable the unpaired receiver path (e.g., a third or fifth receiver path) in one or more frequency bands. In some aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> exposes the nonexistent receiver path and unpaired receiver path for use by the UE <NUM> to implement one or more multi-channel receive modes for the frequency band. Alternatively or additionally, the radio link manager <NUM> may edit or modify the UE capabilities <NUM> to indicate to a base station <NUM> that the UE <NUM> supports, via the unpaired receiver path and the nonexistent receiver path, MIMO or HORxD modes in which the unpaired receiver receives an additional channel of one or more signals transmitted to the user equipment from one or more base stations of a wireless network. The radio link manager <NUM> may also generate or modify channel signal quality parameters that are sent to a base station <NUM> to cause the base station to implement non-standard configurations of MIMO communication, such as 3x3 MIMO, 5x5 MIMO, or the like. The implementations and uses of the radio link manager <NUM> of the UE <NUM> vary and are described throughout the disclosure.

Aspects and functionalities of the UE <NUM> may be managed by operating system controls presented through an application programming interface (API). In some aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> accesses an API or an API service of the UE <NUM> to control aspects and functionalities of the user equipment or transceivers thereof. For example, the radio link manager <NUM> can access or utilize the LTE transceiver <NUM> or <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM> to modify transceiver (e.g., modem or radio) configuration information, calibration information, signal quality measurement, or the like. The CRM <NUM> also includes a communication manager (not shown). The communication manager may also be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the UE <NUM>. In at least some aspects, the communication manager configures the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceiver <NUM>, the <NUM> NR transceiver <NUM>, and/or other transceivers of the UE <NUM> to implement the techniques of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths as described herein.

As shown in <FIG>, the device diagram for the base stations <NUM> includes a single network node (e.g., a gNode B or eNode B). The functionality of the base stations <NUM> may be distributed across multiple network nodes or devices and may be distributed in any fashion suitable to perform the functions described herein. The base stations <NUM> include antennas <NUM>, a radio frequency front end <NUM> (RF front end <NUM>), one or more LTE transceivers <NUM>, and/or one or more <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM> for communicating with the UE <NUM>. The RF front end <NUM> of the base stations <NUM> can couple or connect the LTE transceivers <NUM> and the <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM> to the antennas <NUM> to facilitate various types of wireless communication. The antennas <NUM> of the base stations <NUM> may include an array of multiple antennas that are configured similar to or differently from each other. The antennas <NUM> and the RF front end <NUM> can be tuned to, and/or be tunable to, one or more frequency bands defined by the 3GPP LTE and <NUM> NR communication standards, and implemented by the LTE transceivers <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM>. Additionally, the antennas <NUM>, the RF front end <NUM>, the LTE transceivers <NUM>, and/or the <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM> may be configured to support beamforming, such as Massive-MIMO, for the transmission and reception of communications with any UE <NUM> in a UE-coordination set.

The base stations <NUM> also include processor(s) <NUM> and computer-readable storage media <NUM> (CRM <NUM>). The processor <NUM> may be a single core processor or a multiple core processor composed of a variety of materials, such as silicon, polysilicon, high-K dielectric, copper, and so on. CRM <NUM> may include any suitable memory or storage device such as RAM, SRAM, DRAM, NVRAM, ROM, or Flash memory useable to store device data <NUM> of the base stations <NUM>. The device data <NUM> includes network scheduling data, radio resource management data, beamforming codebooks, applications, and/or an operating system of the base stations <NUM>, which are executable by processor(s) <NUM> to enable communication with the UEs <NUM> operating on one or more RANs <NUM> provided via the base station <NUM>.

In aspects, the CRM <NUM> of the base station <NUM> also includes a base station radio link manager <NUM> (BS link manager <NUM>). Alternatively or additionally, the BS link manager <NUM> may be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the base station <NUM>. Generally, the BS link manager <NUM> enables the base station <NUM> to communicate with the UE <NUM> via non-standard channel or carrier configurations, which may include non-standard MIMO configurations by which data is transmitted to the UE <NUM>. For example, in response to an indication or modified signal quality parameters for a channel provided by the radio link manager <NUM>, the BS link manager <NUM> may implement a MIMO configuration without that channel. In some cases, the BS link manager <NUM> causes, in response to the modified signal quality parameters, the base station <NUM> to effectively implement 3x3 MIMO, 5x5 MIMO, or 7x7 MIMO transmissions to the UE <NUM>.

CRM <NUM> also includes a base station manager <NUM>. Alternatively or additionally, the base station manager <NUM> may be implemented in whole or part as hardware logic or circuitry integrated with or separate from other components of the base stations <NUM>. In at least some aspects, the base station manager <NUM> configures the LTE transceivers <NUM> and the <NUM> NR transceivers <NUM> for communication with the UE <NUM>, as well as communication with a core network. The base stations <NUM> include an inter-base station interface <NUM>, such as an Xn and/or X2 interface, which the base station manager <NUM> configures to exchange user-plane and control-plane data between another base station <NUM>, to manage the communication of the base stations <NUM> with the UE <NUM>. The base stations <NUM> include a core network interface <NUM> that the base station manager <NUM> configures to exchange user-plane and control-plane data with core network functions and/or entities.

<FIG> illustrates at <NUM> an example configuration of components for implementing various aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. The illustrated components may be implemented in any suitable device, system, or apparatus, such as a user equipment, a user device, a mobile device, a mobile station, or the like. The components and architecture of the example configuration are presented as a non-limiting example of ways in which various entities for enabling radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment can be implemented. As such, the aspects described herein may be applied or extended to any suitable combination or configuration of components and/or circuitry for implementing various features of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths.

In this example, the components are illustrated in the context of a UE <NUM>, which may be implemented as described with reference to <FIG>. Generally, the UE <NUM> includes a modem <NUM> that provides a wireless communication interface by which the UE <NUM> communicates user-plane and/or control-plane information with base stations <NUM> of a wireless network. The modem <NUM> can be implemented as or part of a radio card, radio module, modem baseband processor, wireless communication processor, system-on-chip, LTE transceiver, or <NUM> NR transceiver, such as any of those described herein. To facilitate wireless communication, the modem <NUM> implements various data- and signal-processing functions, which may include encoding, decoding, modulation, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, digital-to-analog conversion, or the like. In some cases, the modem <NUM> is configured as a multi-mode multi-band modem through which a transceiver is embodied at least in part for wireless communication using multiple radio access technologies (RATs) (e.g., LTE, <NUM> NR) in multiple frequency bands.

The modem <NUM> includes transmitter(s) <NUM> and receiver(s) <NUM> to communicate in one or more RATs and/or one or more frequency bands. Transmitter paths <NUM>, which may also be referred to as transmitter chains, operably couple the transmitter <NUM> of the modem <NUM> to the RF front end <NUM> and/or antennas <NUM> of the UE <NUM>. The transmitter paths <NUM> include respective instances of transmitter components, functionality, and circuitry (not shown) that provide a path or chain by the modem <NUM>, which transmits user and/or control information via a channel or carrier signal through a wireless medium. For example, an instance of a transmitter path <NUM> may include a set of transmitter components and circuitry that encode, modulate, up-convert, amplify, route, and transmit an individual or separate stream or channel of UE data. As such, the transmitter path <NUM> may include a transmitter module or section of the modem <NUM>, digital-to-analog conversion circuitry, RF transceiver circuitry, RF switches and diplexers of the RF front end <NUM>, and one of the antennas <NUM>. To implement dual connectivity or MIMO transmission modes, the transmitter <NUM> may configure and use any suitable number of transmitter paths <NUM> implemented between the modem <NUM> and antennas <NUM> to transmit data and control information via multiple channels (e.g., MIMO) or radio links (dual connectivity).

Receiver paths <NUM>, which may also be referred to as receiver chains, operably couple the receiver <NUM> of the modem <NUM> to the RF front end <NUM> and/or antennas <NUM> of the UE <NUM>. In this example, the receiver paths <NUM> of the modem <NUM> include three receiver paths <NUM> through <NUM> (e.g., operational or functional receiver chains) and a fourth dummy or nonexistent receiver path <NUM> (dummy receiver path <NUM>) that does not correspond to any physical receiver path functionality or hardware. Although illustrated with three actual or physical receiver paths <NUM>, the modem <NUM> may include any number of receiver paths configurable to operate in a frequency band or frequency band group (e.g., LTE frequency bands). In some aspects, the modem <NUM> includes an odd number (e.g., three, five, seven, and so on) of functional or operational receiver paths for one or more frequency bands. These operational receiver paths may include one or more pairs of operational receiver paths and an unpaired or odd numbered operational receiver path. In this example, the three receiver paths <NUM> through <NUM> include a paired set of the receiver paths <NUM> and <NUM>, and an unpaired or odd numbered receiver path <NUM>. In aspects, the third receiver path <NUM> may be enabled and/or paired along with the dummy receiver path <NUM> to enable the UE <NUM> to implement MIMO, CA, or HORxD with the third receiver path <NUM>. In such cases, the UE <NUM> may effectively implement 3x3 MIMO reception or three channel HORxD with the three receiver paths <NUM>, with the dummy receiver path <NUM> being disregarded or ignored by the UE <NUM> and/or base station <NUM> during receive operations.

Although not shown, the receiver paths <NUM> may each include respective instances of receiver components, functionality, and circuitry that provide a path or chain by the modem <NUM>, that receives user and/or control information via a channel or carrier signal through a wireless medium. As noted, the dummy receiver path <NUM> may be implemented by the radio link manager <NUM> and does not correspond to an actual receiver path. As such, the dummy receiver path <NUM> may lack one or more software, firmware, or hardware components that the other receiver paths include to provide a path between the modem <NUM> and antennas <NUM> for receiving signals and data. The receiver paths <NUM>, other than the dummy receiver path <NUM>, may each include a set of receiver components and circuitry that decode, demodulate, down-convert, amplify, filter, route, and receive an individual or separate stream or channel of UE data. As such, the receiver paths <NUM> may include a receiver module or section of the modem <NUM>, analog-to-digital conversion circuitry, RF transceiver circuitry, RF switches and diplexers of the RF front end <NUM>, and one of the antennas <NUM>. To implement dual connectivity or MIMO reception modes, the receiver <NUM> may configure and use any suitable number of receiver paths <NUM> implemented between the modem <NUM> and antennas <NUM> to receive data and/or control via multiple channels (e.g., MIMO) or radio links (dual connectivity).

As shown in <FIG>, the modem <NUM> includes various components for enabling and using unpaired receiver paths in accordance with one or more aspects. In this example, the modem <NUM> includes an instance of modem configuration information <NUM> having one or more modem configuration tables <NUM>. In aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> interacts with or modifies the modem configuration information <NUM> and/or the modem configuration tables <NUM> to add nonexistent receiver paths and/or to enable unpaired receiver paths for use by the modem <NUM>. Generally, the modem configuration tables <NUM> include information describing signal paths that are useful for the modem <NUM> to transmit and receive communications (e.g., signals and/or data) via the antennas <NUM>. Information for a given transmit or receive signal path may include parameters relating to frequency bands, regional SKUs, transceiver ports, switch configurations, component paths, physical paths, and so on.

By way of example, consider <FIG> in which an example Modem Configuration Information Table <NUM> (Table <NUM>) is illustrated. In aspects, the Table <NUM> or similar implementations of a modem configuration information (e.g., lookup tables) are useful to manage receiver path parameters to enable use of unpaired receiver paths in accordance with one or more aspects. Generally, the receiver path parameters of the Table <NUM> describe or specify various settings or configurations of the receiver paths <NUM> of the modem <NUM>. For example, the Table <NUM> may identify a receiver path as a signal path implemented by the modem <NUM> and receiver paths <NUM> based on a set of parameters or configurations for various software and hardware components of the modem <NUM>, RF front end <NUM>, and other transceiver elements. In aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> adds, modifies, or edits information in the Table <NUM> to add nonexistent receiver paths, enable unpaired or odd numbered receiver paths, and expose these receiver paths for multi-channel or multi-carrier receiving operations.

The Table <NUM> may include any suitable number or type of parameters that specify a receiver path for the modem <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the Table <NUM> includes settings columns for a signal path identifier (ID) <NUM>, a frequency band ranges (band) <NUM>, software defined radio (SDR) port group <NUM>, LTE band <NUM>, and receive/transmit (Rx/Tx) type <NUM>. To indicate regional support, the Table <NUM> includes disable indicators for a North American SKU <NUM>, Rest of World SKU <NUM>, and Japanese SKU <NUM>. Generally, these settings indicate whether a receive path is available for use in one or more of the regions as specified by columns <NUM> though <NUM>. The Table <NUM> also includes antenna switch path configurations (Ant SW Path CFG) <NUM> and <NUM>, and an RF configuration (RFC) antenna number (Ant Number) <NUM> for a respective RF switch path configuration (CFG <NUM>). For a given signal path <NUM>, the Table <NUM> indicates a transceiver RF port <NUM> and MIMO low-noise amplifier (LNA) settings <NUM> and <NUM>. For a first MIMO LNA <NUM>, the Table <NUM> includes a physical path <NUM> and RFC port number <NUM>, and for a second MIMO LNA <NUM>, a physical path <NUM> and RFC port number <NUM>. With the exception of the values shown at <NUM>, the fields of the Table <NUM> may be configured or set (e.g., programmed) by a modem manufacturer or user equipment manufacturer.

In aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> may edit or modify values shown at <NUM> from "Yes" (not shown), under Disabled on North America <NUM> and Rest of World <NUM>, to "Dummy" and "No" to add respective dummy receiver paths (or chains) and enable respective unpaired (e.g., third) signal paths for the SKUs in one or more frequency bands. In the context of the present example, the radio link manager <NUM> adds a dummy receiver path, as signal path <NUM>, for LTE band B42 on the North American SKU <NUM> by changing "Yes" to "Dummy" and enables a third (unpaired) receiver path by changing "Yes" to "No", indicating this signal path is enabled for North America in the indicated frequency band. As shown at <NUM> (in bolded values), the radio link manager <NUM> may perform similar modifications for signal paths <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM> of the Table <NUM> to add dummy receiver paths (e.g., "Yes" → "Dummy") and enable unpaired receiver paths (e.g., "Yes" → "No") for LTE band B48 on the North American SKU <NUM>, and for LTE bands B42 and B48 on the Rest of World SKU <NUM>.

Alternatively or additionally, the radio link manager <NUM> can modify calibration information or other receive path parameters (e.g., gain settings, not shown) to indicate (e.g., flag) the signal paths <NUM> and <NUM> as "dummy" receiver paths, which are nonexistent and do not correspond to one of the physical receiver paths <NUM> of the modem <NUM>. With respect to adding or indicating the nonexistent receiver paths in the Table <NUM>, the radio link manager <NUM> may also selectively alter a Boolean data value (e.g., "Yes/No") as shown in <FIG> with a non-Boolean value (e.g., "Dummy") to flag a dummy receiver path. By so doing, the modem <NUM> or lower levels of a modem software stack (e.g., L1 layer) may identify a nonexistent receiver path and, in response, report artificial channel measurements to the network in order to implement MIMO or CA with an odd number of receiver paths.

Returning to <FIG>, the radio link manager <NUM> may expose or cause the modem <NUM> to use the enabled unpaired third receiver path <NUM> and the dummy receiver path <NUM>. In some cases, the radio link manager <NUM> indicates that the unpaired third receiver path <NUM> and the dummy receiver path <NUM> are available to the modem <NUM> as an additional pair of receiver paths for use in one or more frequency bands. In other words, the modem <NUM> may be capable of implementing higher order MIMO or HORxD schemes by including the unpaired third receiver path <NUM> and the dummy receiver path <NUM> in a receive mode configuration (e.g., MIMO or HORxD) as another paired set of receiver paths. In some aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> modifies the UE capabilities to indicate, to the network, that the UE <NUM> is capable of implementing multi-channel reception (e.g., 4x4 MIMO) via an even number of receiver paths <NUM> that include the unpaired third receiver path <NUM> and the dummy receiver path <NUM>.

In some aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> alters network feedback to cause the network to effectively implement multi-channel downlink transmissions to the UE <NUM> with an odd number of channels that correspond to paired operational receiver paths <NUM> (e.g., <NUM> and <NUM>) and an unpaired or odd numbered receiver path (e.g., <NUM>) of the UE <NUM>. For example, the radio link manager <NUM> may cause the UE <NUM> to report an artificial (e.g., predefined) low channel signal quality parameter associated with the dummy receiver path (e.g., <NUM>) back to a base station <NUM> of a wireless network. Based on the low channel signal quality parameter, the base station <NUM> is likely to disregard this channel (e.g., a fourth channel) and enable actual 3x3 MIMO with UE <NUM>, which is a non-standard radio link configuration. By using the dummy receiver path to cause the base station <NUM> to enable 3x3 MIMO instead of 2x2 MIMO, the UE <NUM> may achieve an additional fifty percent (<NUM>%) in receive throughput under optimal network conditions.

The radio link manager <NUM> may also direct the UE <NUM> to use the dummy receiver path as a basis for configuring the modem for HORxD, in which the MRC algorithm implemented by the modem <NUM> can disregard a channel that corresponds to the fourth (dummy) receiver path <NUM>. In some cases, the modem <NUM> disregards the channel of the dummy receiver path due to poor channel signal quality (e.g., artificial values) or an indication that the receiver path is flagged as a dummy receiver path. By using the three receiver paths instead of two receiver paths, the UE may achieve an additional twenty percent (<NUM>%) in network coverage due to an approximate increase of <NUM> dB in SNR with the three receiver modules.

<FIG> illustrates an example <NUM> of a user equipment implementing single carrier multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication with an unpaired receiver path in accordance with one or more aspects. Although described in the context of MIMO reception, the communications shown in <FIG> may also apply to implementations of HORxD in which channels are referenced to a respective receive channel experienced by each receiver path (e.g., receiver paths <NUM>) of the UE <NUM> for one transmitter (or downlink signal) of the base station <NUM>.

In aspects, the UE <NUM> provides to the base station <NUM> an indication that the UE <NUM> is capable of implementing 4x4 MIMO reception. Based on the indication, the base station <NUM> transmits four separate downlink channels <NUM>-<NUM> (channels <NUM>-<NUM>) of signaling and/or information to the UE <NUM>. In this example, the UE <NUM> receives first downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and first receiver path <NUM>, second downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and second receiver path <NUM>, and third downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and third receiver path <NUM>. Because the fourth (dummy) receiver path <NUM> and antenna <NUM>-<NUM> do not correspond to a physical receiver path or chain, the UE <NUM> disregards or ignores the fourth downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., channel <NUM>). In some aspects, the UE <NUM> reports signal quality parameters (e.g., predefined or artificial measurements) for the fourth downlink channel <NUM> effective to cause the base station <NUM> to direct or redistribute downlink data associated with the fourth downlink channel <NUM> to others of the downlink channels (e.g., first downlink channel <NUM>, second downlink channel <NUM>, third downlink channel <NUM>). As such, the UE <NUM> may use the enabled third receiver path <NUM> and the dummy receiver path <NUM> to effectively implement 3x3 MIMO by causing the base station <NUM> to configure for and initiate downlink 4x4 MIMO. By so doing, the UE <NUM> may achieve improved receive performance, such as an increase of approximately fifty percent (<NUM>%) in throughput when implementing downlink 3x3 MIMO instead of 2x2 MIMO.

<FIG> illustrates an example <NUM> of a user equipment implementing dual-carrier MIMO communication with unpaired receiver paths in accordance with one or more aspects. Although described in the context of MIMO reception, the communications shown in <FIG> may also apply to HORxD in which channels are referenced to a respective receive channel experienced by each receiver path <NUM> of the UE <NUM> for one transmitter (or downlink signal) of one of the base stations <NUM>.

In aspects, management of radio links can be scaled for multi-carrier aggregation scenarios to improve the receive performance of the UE <NUM>. As shown in <FIG>, the UE <NUM> can use multiple carriers (e.g., LTE carriers) simultaneously in various carrier aggregation (CA) configurations. In some cases, the UE <NUM> provides a UE capabilities <NUM> message to the base stations <NUM> that facilitate the establishment of a primary component carrier (PCC) for CA, which is complemented with one or several secondary component carriers (SCC). Generally, the PCC handles control signaling while one or more SCCs enable increased data throughput. The UE <NUM> and base stations <NUM> can implement the carriers as frequency division duplexing (FDD), time division duplexing (TFF), or a mix of FDD and TDD carries with locations in one or multiple frequency bands. In this example, the UE <NUM> provides to the base stations <NUM> and <NUM> respective indications (e.g., UE capabilities) that the UE <NUM> is capable of implementing 4x4 MIMO reception. Based on the indications, the base stations <NUM> and <NUM> each transmit four separate downlink channels <NUM>-<NUM> (PCC channels <NUM>-<NUM>) and downlink channels <NUM>-<NUM> (SCC channels <NUM>-<NUM>) of signaling and/or information to the UE <NUM>. In this example, the UE <NUM> receives first PCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., PCC channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and receiver path <NUM>, second PCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., PCC channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and receiver path <NUM>, and third PCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., PCC channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and receiver path <NUM>. With respect to the SCC, the UE <NUM> receives first SCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., SCC channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and receiver path <NUM>, second SCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., SCC channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and receiver path <NUM>, and third SCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., SCC channel <NUM>) via antenna <NUM>-<NUM> and receiver path <NUM>. Because the dummy receiver paths <NUM> and <NUM>, as well as antennas <NUM>-<NUM> and <NUM>-<NUM>, do not correspond to a physical receiver path or chain, the UE <NUM> disregards or ignores the fourth PCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., PCC channel <NUM>) and fourth SCC downlink channel <NUM> (e.g., SCC channel <NUM>). In some aspects, the UE <NUM> reports signal quality parameters (e.g., predefined or artificial measurements) for the fourth PCC downlink channel <NUM> and/or fourth SCC downlink channel <NUM> effective to cause the base station <NUM> or <NUM> to direct or redistribute downlink data associated with a fourth downlink channel to others of the PCC or SCC downlink channels (e.g., channels <NUM>-<NUM> or channels <NUM>-<NUM>). As such, the UE <NUM> may use the enabled third receiver paths <NUM> and <NUM> and the dummy receiver path <NUM> and <NUM> to effectively implement multi-carrier 3x3 MIMO by causing the base stations <NUM> and <NUM> to configure for and initiate downlink 4x4 MIMO. By so doing, the UE <NUM> may achieve improved receive performance, such as an increase of approximately fifty percent (<NUM>%) in throughput when implementing multi-carrier downlink 3x3 MIMO instead of 2x2 MIMO.

Example methods <NUM> through <NUM> are described with reference to <FIG>, respectively, in accordance with one or more aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. Alternately or additionally, aspects of radio link management to enable a modem or user equipment to implement MIMO or HORxD using unpaired receiver paths are described with reference to various methods. Generally, the methods <NUM> through <NUM> illustrate sets of operations (or acts) that may be performed in, but not necessarily limited to, the order or combinations in which the operations are shown herein. Further, any of one or more of the operations may be repeated, combined, reorganized, skipped, or linked to provide a wide array of additional and/or alternate methods. In portions of the following discussion, reference may be made to the environment <NUM> of <FIG>, devices, information tables, components, or configurations of <FIG>, devices or systems of <FIG>, and/or entities detailed in <FIG> or other figures, reference to which is made for example only. The techniques and apparatuses described in this disclosure are not limited to an embodiment or performance by one entity or multiple entities operating on one device or those described with reference to the figures.

<FIG> illustrates an example method <NUM> for modifying configuration information of a modem to enable an unpaired receiver path in accordance with one or more aspects, including operations performed by the radio link manager (e.g., radio link manager <NUM> of <FIG>). In some aspects, operations of the method <NUM> may be implemented by a user equipment to improve data reception throughput and/or improve network coverage through use of an additional receiver path of the user equipment.

At <NUM>, a radio link manager of a UE modifies configuration information of a modem to add a nonexistent receiver path. Adding the nonexistent receiver path to the configuration information may include adding the nonexistent receiver path or a dummy receiver path to a set of receiver path parameters for one or more frequency bands of the modem. The receiver paths for the frequency band to which the nonexistent receiver path is added may include at least one paired set of receiver paths (e.g., first and second receiver paths) and an unpaired or odd numbered receiver path (e.g., third receiver path) for the frequency band.

At <NUM>, the radio link manager modifies the configuration information of the modem to enable an unpaired receiver path. Modifying the configuration of the modem may include enabling an unpaired or odd numbered receiver path in the set of receiver path parameters for one or more the frequency bands of the modem. In some cases, the unpaired or odd numbered receiver path is enabled under one or more different SKU configurations for respective regions of UE operation.

Optionally at <NUM>, the radio link manager flags the nonexistent receiver path as a dummy receiver path in the modem configuration information. The nonexistent receiver path may be flagged or indicated as one or a combination of a nonexistent receiver path, a dummy receiver path, or receiver path that does not correspond with a physical receiver path or operational receiver chain of the UE. In some cases, the nonexistent receiver path is flagged by modifying a receiver path, signal path, or SKU parameter using a non-Boolean data value (e.g., "Dummy" or "NonOp").

At <NUM>, the radio link manager alters calibration parameters of the nonexistent receiver path. Altering the calibration parameters may include modifying the configuration information of the modem to alter calibration information associated with the nonexistent receiver path. In some cases, altering the calibration parameters is effective to cause or enable an L1 layer of a modem software stack to detect the nonexistent receiver as nonexistent or as a dummy receiver path. In various aspects, the configuration information is altered to indicate a null value as the calibration information for the nonexistent receiver path, indicate that the calibration information is not required for the nonexistent receiver path, or set the calibration information for the nonexistent receiver path with predefined values. The predefined values of the calibration information for the nonexistent receiver path may include one or more minimal gain settings for one or more respective dynamic range parameters.

At <NUM>, the radio link manager exposes the nonexistent receiver path and the enabled unpaired receiver path for use by the modem in multi-channel receive modes. This may include updating the modem configuration information for one or more frequency bands such that the modem is able to select and configure at least the unpaired or odd numbered receiver path for use in the multi-channel receive modes. In some cases, the radio link manager exposes, in addition to at least one set of paired receiver paths, the nonexistent receiver path and the unpaired receiver path in a set of receiver path parameters for use by the modem for one or more frequency bands and/or regional SKUs.

Optionally at <NUM>, the UE receives a MIMO downlink from a base station with the unpaired receiver. The UE also receives other MIMO downlinks with at least one set of paired receiver paths, such as with two or four other functional receiver paths of the UE. With the unpaired receiver path, the UE may effectively implement 3x3 MIMO or 5x5 MIMO reception as described throughout the disclosure to increase data throughput of the UE.

Optionally at <NUM>, the UE implements HORxD with the unpaired receiver to receive a downlink from a base station. The UE receives multiple channels of a downlink signal transmission from the base station in the frequency band with the unpaired receiver (e.g., third receiver) and at least one set of paired receiver paths of the UE. By so doing, the UE may implement high order receive diversity with an odd number of receiver paths as described herein, which may include disregarding the nonexistent or dummy receiver path.

<FIG> illustrates an example method <NUM> for managing radio links to enable use of an unpaired receiver path in receiving multi-channel downlink communications from a base station, including operations performed by the radio link manager (e.g., radio link manager <NUM> of <FIG> ). In some aspects, operations of the method <NUM> may be implemented by a user equipment to increase data reception throughput of downlink MIMO communications of one or more base stations.

At <NUM>, a radio link manager of a UE generates UE capabilities based on modem configuration information that includes parameters for an enabled unpaired receiver path and a nonexistent receiver path. The modem configuration information may indicate a frequency band or a regional SKU for which the unpaired receiver path is enabled, and the nonexistent receiver path is present. In some cases, the nonexistent receiver path is flagged in the modem configuration information as a non-functional receiver path, a dummy receiver path, or receiver path that does not correspond with a physical receiver path of the modem.

At <NUM>, the radio link manager transmits the UE capabilities to a base station. This may be effective to cause the base station to enable a multi-channel downlink communication mode to communicate with the UE via multiple channels that correspond to at least the unpaired and nonexistent receiver paths. The base station may implement the multi-channel downlink communication mode using one or more of the frequency bands for which the unpaired receiver path and the nonexistent receiver path are indicated as enabled or available. In some cases, the UE capabilities transmitted to the base station indicate that the UE is capable of implementing a MIMO receive configuration with an even number of receiver paths, which include the unpaired and dummy receiver paths. Alternatively or additionally, the MIMO receive configuration can include a single carrier MIMO configuration to receive downlink transmissions from one base station or a multi-carrier MIMO configuration to receive downlink transmissions from multiple respective base stations.

At <NUM>, the radio link manager reports channel signal quality parameters for the channel that corresponds to the nonexistent receiver path of the UE. The radio link manager can report artificial, altered, or preconfigured signal quality parameters to the base station or wireless network. This may be effective to cause the base station to direct or distribute downlink data to others of the multiple channels. The reported signal quality parameter can include one or more of a received signal strength, received signal quality, reference signal receive power (RSRP), reference signal receive quality (RSRQ), carrier-to-interference ratio, signal-to-noise ratio, bit-error rate, or packet-error rate.

The preconfigured signal quality parameters may indicate a minimum level of channel signal quality, which may cause a base station to redirect downlink data traffic to other channels associated with operational receiver chains. In some cases, the channel signal quality report may cause the base station to effectively fall back or drop a channel of the downlink MIMO to implement an odd number of downlinks with the operational receiver paths of the UE that include the unpaired receiver path. The reporting of the channel signal quality parameters may include reporting a predefined channel signal quality parameter that indicates a minimum value for the signal quality parameter or reporting artificial channel signal quality parameters configured for the nonexistent receiver path. In some aspects, the radio link manager reports the signal quality parameters for the channel in response to the nonexistent receiver path being flagged as a dummy receiver path in the modem configuration information.

At <NUM>, the UE receives, from the base station, data on the others of the multiple channels that correspond to paired receiver paths and the unpaired receiver path of the UE. The data may be received from one base station via a single carrier MIMO, such as described with reference to <FIG>, or from multiple base stations via multi-carrier MIMO, such as described with reference to <FIG>. In some aspects, the radio link manager and/or the UE is able to implement MIMO through an odd number of channels by receiving data with an unpaired receiver path of the UE. By so doing, the UE can achieve higher throughput when receiving data from one or more base stations.

<FIG> illustrates an example method <NUM> for implementing multi-channel receive diversity with an unpaired receiver path in accordance with one or more aspects, including operations performed by the radio link manager (e.g., radio link manager <NUM> of <FIG>). In some aspects, operations of the method <NUM> are performed by a user equipment to implement HORxD for downlink signals transmitted by a base station.

At <NUM>, a radio link manager of a UE configures a modem for multi-channel receive diversity based on modem configuration information that includes parameters for a nonexistent receiver path and an unpaired receiver path of the UE. In some aspects, the nonexistent receiver path is flagged in the modem configuration information as a nonexistent receiver path, a dummy receiver path, or receiver path that does not correspond with a physical receiver path of the modem.

At <NUM>, the UE receives a signal transmitted by a base station via the unpaired receiver path and other paired receiver paths of the UE. For example, the modem may receive the signal using a pair of receiver paths (e.g., first and second receiver paths <NUM> and <NUM> of <FIG>) and a third receiver path (e.g., third receiver path <NUM> of <FIG>) that is enabled along with a dummy receiver path (e.g., fourth (dummy) receiver path <NUM> of <FIG>). The signal is received in a frequency band for which the unpaired receiver path is enabled in the modem configuration information.

Optionally at <NUM>, the radio link manager omits the nonexistent receiver path from signal receive operations of the modem. For example, the radio link manager can omit the nonexistent receiver path from combining or other receive signal processing operations of the modem. Because the nonexistent receiver path does not correspond to a physical receiver path, the UE can disregard or ignore this dummy receiver path when implementing receive diversity.

At <NUM>, the UE combines, for the signal received, respective information from the unpaired receiver path and the other paired receiver paths of the UE. As noted, the UE or modem can disregard or ignore the dummy receiver path when combining information (e.g., I/Q samples) from the other receiver paths. At <NUM>, the UE decodes the signal received based on the combined information from the unpaired receiver path and the other paired receiver paths of the UE. The UE may combine and decode the signal received from the base station by implementing HORxD with the unpaired receiver path and the other paired receiver paths of the UE. In some aspects, the modem implements a Maximal Ratio Combining (MRC) algorithm as part of the combining or decoding of the signal received from the base station. Through MRC the use of the unpaired receiver path (e.g., third receiver path) can improve SNR receive performance by approximately <NUM> dB, which translates to about twenty percent (<NUM>%) greater linear network coverage for the UE.

By way of example, consider <FIG>, which depicts example graphs of improved signal-to-noise performance and network performance of a user equipment using an unpaired receiver path in accordance with the described aspects. <FIG> depicts, at <NUM>, both theoretical and simulated channel quality SNR improvements that can be achieved through HORxD performed with an unpaired or odd numbered receiver path. In this example, with three receiver paths (e.g., receiver paths <NUM>-<NUM> of <FIG>), the UE's SNR improves by about <NUM> dB relative to two receiver paths, which translates to about twenty percent (<NUM>%) more network coverage in terms of linear distance from base stations of the network.

<FIG> also depicts, at <NUM>, an example of downlink reception improvement as provided by 3x3 MIMO with an unpaired receiver path over 2x2 MIMO with only two paired receiver paths. The example graph at <NUM> is representative of a NR <NUM> physical downlink shared control channel (PDSCH) simulation model in a cluster fading channel. The selected modulation and coding rate approximate a typical channel condition in which <NUM> QAM is utilized with a one-half (½) coding rate. The PDSCH throughputs shown illustrate a comparison between respective throughputs achieved with 4x4 MIMO, 3x3 MIMO, and 2x2 MIMO. The 3x3 MIMO modeled throughput is based on the 4x4 MIMO model, with a fourth receiver chain being configured as a dummy chain <NUM> dB loss added into the fourth PDSCH downlink channel. As shown in the example PDSCH simulation, the use of a third receiver path by the radio link manager to implement 3x3 MIMO enables the UE to achieve a level of throughput that is very similar to that provided by 4x4 MIMO under non-ideal SNR ranges (e.g., below <NUM> dB). Note that the UE also achieves over fifty percent (<NUM>%) more throughput than 2x2 MIMO in those same SNR ranges. For higher SNR ranges, 3x3 MIMO provides less throughput than 4x4 MIMO, yet still outperforms 2x2 MIMO by approximately fifteen percent.

Additionally, consider <FIG>, which depicts an example graph of improved bit-error rate of a user equipment using an unpaired receiver path in accordance with the described aspects. <FIG> depicts, at <NUM>, a bit-error rate percentage (BER%) waterfall curve under the same simulation model described with reference to <NUM> of <FIG>. By way of review, the BER% is inversely related to network coverage. In other words, having a lower BER% translates to the UE having better network coverage and/or experiencing better network conditions. As shown at <NUM>, these waterfall curves demonstrate that 3x3 MIMO implemented with an unpaired or third receiver chain provides superior network coverage (e.g., lower BER%) over 2x2 MIMO, which correlates to the graphs shown in <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrate examples of a device, system-on-chip, and wireless communication processor that can implement various aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. These entities, either alone or in combination, may implement one or more aspects of radio link management described with reference to the preceding <FIG>. The device, system-on-chip, and wireless communication processor may be implemented with any suitable combination of components or elements and may include other components shown or described with reference to any of the other <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates various components of an example electronic device <NUM> that can implement radio link management to enable use of unpaired receiver paths in accordance with one or more aspects described herein. The electronic device <NUM> may be implemented as any one or a combination of a fixed or mobile device, in any form of a consumer device, computing device, portable device, user device, user equipment, server, communication device, phone, navigation device, gaming device, media device, messaging device, media player, and/or other type of electronic device or a wirelessly-enabled device. For example, the electronic device <NUM> may be implemented as a smart-phone, phone-tablet (phablet), laptop computer, set-top box, wireless drone, computing-glasses, vehicle-based computing system, or wireless broadband router.

The electronic device <NUM> includes communication transceivers <NUM> that enable wired and/or wireless communication of device data <NUM>, such as received data, transmitted data, or other information as described above. Example communication transceivers <NUM> include NFC transceivers, WPAN radios compliant with various IEEE <NUM> standards, WLAN radios compliant with any of the various IEEE <NUM> standards, WWAN (3GPP-compliant) radios, LTE transceivers, <NUM> NR transceivers, wireless metropolitan area network (WMAN) radios compliant with various IEEE <NUM> standards, and wired local area network (LAN) Ethernet transceivers. In some aspects, multiple communication transceivers <NUM> or components thereof are operably coupled with respective instances of transmitter paths <NUM> and receiver paths <NUM> embodied on the electronic device <NUM>. The transmitter paths <NUM> and receiver paths <NUM> may be implemented similar to the transmitter paths <NUM> and receiver paths <NUM> (e.g., unpaired receiver paths, dummy receiver paths) as described with reference to <FIG>. In this example, the receiver paths <NUM> include an instance of a dummy receiver path <NUM>, which may be used to enable unpaired receiver paths of the electronic device <NUM>.

The electronic device <NUM> may also include one or more data input/output ports <NUM> (data I/O ports <NUM>) via which any type of data, media content, and/or other inputs can be received, such as user-selectable inputs, messages, applications, music, television content, recorded video content, and any other type of audio, video, and/or image data received from any content and/or data source. The data I/O ports <NUM> may include USB ports, coaxial cable ports, and other serial or parallel connectors (including internal connectors) for flash memory, DVDs, CDs, and the like. These data I/O ports <NUM> may be used to couple the electronic device to components, peripherals, or accessories such as keyboards, microphones, or cameras.

The electronic device <NUM> of this example includes at least one processor <NUM> (e.g., one or more application processors, processor cores microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs), controllers, or the like), which can include a combined processor and memory system, that executes computer-executable instructions stored on computer-readable media to control operations or implement functionalities of the device. Generally, a processor or processing system may be implemented at least partially in hardware, which can include components of an integrated circuit or on-chip system, a DSP, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), and other implementations in silicon and/or other hardware.

Alternatively or additionally, the electronic device <NUM> can be implemented with any one or combination of electronic circuitry <NUM>, which may include hardware, fixed logic circuitry, or physical interconnects (e.g., traces or connectors) that are implemented in connection with processing and control circuits. This electronic circuitry <NUM> can implement executable or hardware-based modules (not shown) through logic circuitry and/or hardware, such as an FPGA or CPLD. Although not shown, the electronic device <NUM> may also include a system bus, interconnect fabric, crossbar, or data transfer system that couples the various components within the device. A system bus or interconnect fabric can include any one or combination of different bus structures or IP blocks, such as a memory bus, memory controller, a peripheral bus, a universal serial bus, interconnect nodes, and/or a processor or local bus that utilizes any of a variety of bus architectures.

The electronic device <NUM> also includes one or more memory devices <NUM> that enable data storage, examples of which include RAM, SRAM, DRAM, NVRAM, ROM, flash memory, EPROM, EEPROM, and a disk storage device. Any or all of the memory devices <NUM> may enable persistent and/or non-transitory storage of information, data, or code, and thus do not include transitory signals or carrier waves in the general context of this disclosure. For example, the memory device(s) <NUM> provide data storage mechanisms to store the device data <NUM> and other types of data (e.g., user data). The memory device <NUM> may also store an operating system <NUM>, firmware, and/or device applications <NUM> of the electronic device as instructions, code, or information. These instructions or code can be executed by the processor <NUM> to implement various functionalities of the electronic device, such as to provide a user interface, enable data access, or manage connectivity with a wireless network.

In this example, the memory device <NUM> also stores processor-executable code or instructions for providing an instance of a radio link manager <NUM>, which may be implemented similar to or differently from the radio link manager described with reference to <FIG>. The memory devices also include instances of modem configuration information <NUM> and UE capabilities <NUM> with which the radio link manager <NUM> may interact to enable unpaired receiver paths or add dummy receiver paths for the communication transceivers <NUM>. In various aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> loads modified modem configuration information <NUM> into the communication transceivers <NUM> to add dummy receiver paths or enable unpaired receiver paths for multi-channel receive modes.

As shown in <FIG>, the electronic device <NUM> may include an audio and/or video processing system <NUM> for processing audio data and/or passing through the audio and video data to an audio system <NUM> and/or to a display system <NUM> (e.g., a video buffer or device screen). The audio system <NUM> and/or the display system <NUM> may include any devices that process, display, and/or otherwise render audio, video, graphical, and/or image data. Display data and audio signals can be communicated to an audio component and/or to a display component via an RF link, S-video link, HDMI (high-definition multimedia interface), Display Port, composite video link, component video link, DVI (digital video interface), analog audio connection, or other similar communication link, such as a media data port <NUM>. In some implementations, the audio system <NUM> and/or the display system <NUM> are external or separate components of the electronic device <NUM>. Alternately, the display system <NUM> can be an integrated component of the example electronic device <NUM>, such as part of an integrated display with a touch interface.

The electronic device <NUM> also includes antennas <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, through <NUM>-n, where n may be any suitable number of antennas. The antennas <NUM>-<NUM> through <NUM>-n are coupled, via an RF front end (not shown), to transmitter paths <NUM> and receiver paths <NUM> of the electronic device <NUM>, which may include any suitable combination of components to facilitate transmission or reception of signals by the communication transceivers <NUM> through of the antennas <NUM>-<NUM> through <NUM>-n. In some aspects, each of the antennas <NUM>-<NUM> through <NUM>-n correspond to a respective pair of a transmitter path <NUM> and a receiver path <NUM> of the electronic device. Generally, the radio link manager <NUM> may interact with any of the modem configuration information <NUM>, UE capabilities <NUM>, communication transceivers <NUM>, receiver paths <NUM>, and/or antennas <NUM>-<NUM> through <NUM>-n to implement radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment as described herein. Alternatively or additionally, the electronic device <NUM> may represent an example implementation of the user equipment <NUM> as described throughout the present disclosure. Thus, in some cases the processor <NUM> is an example of the processor <NUM> (not shown) and/or the memory device <NUM> is an example of the computer-readable storage media <NUM> (not shown) for storing various data, instructions, or code for implementing a radio link manager or other applications. As such, aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment as described herein can be implemented by, or in conjunction with, the electronic device <NUM> of <FIG>.

<FIG> illustrates an example system-on-chip (SoC) that may implement aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. The SoC <NUM> may be embodied as or within any type of user equipment <NUM>, user equipment, apparatus, other device, or system as described with reference to <FIG> to implement radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. Although described with reference to chip-based packaging, the components shown in <FIG> may also be embodied as other systems or component configurations, such as, and without limitation, a Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA), an Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASIC), an Application-Specific Standard Products (ASSP), a digital signal processor (DSP), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLD), system in package (SiP), package on package (PoP), processing and communication chip set, communication co-processor, sensor co-processor, or the like.

In this example, the SoC <NUM> includes communication transceivers <NUM> and a wireless modem <NUM> that enable wired or wireless communication of system data <NUM> (e.g., received data, data that is being received, data scheduled for broadcast, packetized, or the like). In some aspects, the wireless modem <NUM> is a multi-mode multi-band modem or baseband processor that is configurable to communicate in accordance with various communication protocols and/or in different frequency bands, such as those protocols or frequency bands described throughout this disclosure. The wireless modem <NUM> may include a transceiver interface (not shown) for communicating encoded or modulated signals with transceiver circuitry, including transmitter chain and receiver chain circuitry (e.g., transmitter paths <NUM> and receiver paths <NUM>). The wireless modem <NUM> may also include or be associated with an instance of modem configuration tables <NUM>, which are shown in <FIG>.

The system data <NUM> or other system content can include configuration settings of the system or various components, media content stored by the system, and/or information associated with a user of the system. Media content stored on the system on chip <NUM> may include any type of audio, video, and/or image data. The system on chip <NUM> also includes one or more data inputs <NUM> via which any type of data, media content, and/or inputs can be received, such as user input, user-selectable inputs (explicit or implicit), or any other type of audio, video, and/or image data received from a content and/or data source. Alternatively or additionally, the data inputs <NUM> may include various data interfaces, which can be implemented as any one or more of a serial and/or parallel interface, a wireless interface, a network interface, and as any other type of communication interface enabling communication with other devices or systems.

The system on chip <NUM> includes one or more processor cores <NUM>, which process various computer-executable instructions to control the operation of the system on chip <NUM> and to enable techniques for radio link management for enabling unpaired receiver paths of user equipment. Alternatively or additionally, the system on chip <NUM> can be implemented with any one or a combination of hardware, firmware, or fixed logic circuitry that is implemented in connection with processing and control circuits, which are generally shown at <NUM>. Although not shown, the system on chip <NUM> may also include a bus, interconnect, crossbar, or fabric that couples the various components within the system.

The system on chip <NUM> also includes a memory <NUM> (e.g., computer-readable media), such as one or more memory circuits that enable persistent and/or non-transitory data storage, and thus do not include transitory signals or carrier waves. Examples of the memory <NUM> include RAM, SRAM, DRAM, NVRAM, ROM, EPROM, EEPROM, or flash memory. The memory <NUM> provides data storage for the system data <NUM>, as well as for firmware <NUM>, applications <NUM>, and any other types of information and/or data related to operational aspects of the system on chip <NUM>. For example, the firmware <NUM> can be maintained as processor-executable instructions of an operating system (e.g., real-time OS) within the memory <NUM> and executed on one or more of the processor cores <NUM>.

The applications <NUM> may include a system manager, such as any form of a control application, software application, signal processing and control module, code that is native to a particular system, an abstraction module or gesture module and so on. The memory <NUM> may also store system components or utilities for implementing aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths, such as a radio link manager <NUM> and modem configuration information <NUM>. These entities may be embodied as combined or separate components, examples of which are described with reference to corresponding entities or functionality as illustrated in <FIG> or <FIG>. In some aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> interacts with the modem configuration information <NUM>, modem configuration tables <NUM>, and the wireless modem <NUM> to implement aspects of enabling unpaired receiver paths. Although shown in memory <NUM>, one or more elements of the radio link manager <NUM> may be implemented, in whole or in part, through hardware or firmware.

In some aspects, the system-on-chip <NUM> also includes additional processors or co-processors to enable other functionalities, such as a graphics processor <NUM>, audio processor <NUM>, and image sensor processor <NUM>. The graphics processor <NUM> may render graphical content associated with a user interface, operating system, or applications of the system-on-chip <NUM>. In some cases, the audio processor <NUM> encodes or decodes audio data and signals, such as audio signals and information associated with voice calls or encoded audio data for playback. The image sensor processor <NUM> may be coupled to an image sensor and provide image data processing, video capture, and other visual media conditioning and processing functions.

The system-on-chip <NUM> may also include a security processor <NUM> to support various security, encryption, and cryptographic operations, such as to provide secure communication protocols and encrypted data storage. Although not shown, the security processor <NUM> may include one or more cryptographic engines, cipher libraries, hashing modules, or random number generators to support encryption and cryptographic processing of information or communications of the system-on-chip <NUM>. Alternatively or additionally, the system-on-chip <NUM> can include a position and location engine <NUM> and a sensor interface <NUM>. Generally, the position and location engine <NUM> may provide positioning or location data by processing signals of a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and/or other motion or inertia sensor data (e.g., dead-reckoning navigation). The sensor interface <NUM> enables the system-on-chip <NUM> to receive data from various sensors, such as capacitance and motion sensors. In some aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> may interact with any of the processor or co-processor of the system-on-chip <NUM> to enable radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths.

<FIG> illustrates an example configuration of a wireless communication processor <NUM> (communication processor <NUM>) that may implement various aspects of radio link management to enable use of unpaired receiver paths. Although referred to generally as a communication processor, the communication processor <NUM> may be implemented as a modem baseband processor, software defined radio module, configurable modem (e.g., multi-mode, multi-band modem), wireless data interface, or wireless modem, such as the wireless modem <NUM> of the system-on-chip <NUM>. The wireless communication processor <NUM> may be implemented in a device or system to support data access, messaging, or data-based services of a wireless network, as well as various audio-based communication (e.g., voice calls).

In this example, the wireless communication processor <NUM> includes at least one processor core <NUM> and a memory <NUM>, which is implemented as hardware-based memory that enables persistent and/or non-transitory data storage, and thus does not include transitory signals or carrier waves. The processor core <NUM> may be configured as any suitable type of processor core, microcontroller, digital signal processor core, or the like. The memory <NUM> may include any suitable type of memory device or circuit, such as RAM, DRAM, SRAM, NVRAM, ROM, flash memory, or the like. Generally, the memory stores data <NUM> of the communication processor <NUM>, as well as firmware <NUM> and other applications. The processor core <NUM> may execute processor-executable instructions of the firmware <NUM> or applications to implement functions of the communication processor <NUM>, such as signal processing and data encoding operations. The memory <NUM> may also store data and information useful to implement aspects of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths. In some aspects, the memory <NUM> of the communication processor <NUM> includes modem configuration tables <NUM> or other modem configuration information <NUM> (not shown), which may be implemented in combination or separately as shown in <FIG>.

The communication processor <NUM> may also include electronic circuitry <NUM> for managing or coordinating operations of various components and an audio codec <NUM> for processing audio signals and data. The electronic circuitry <NUM> may include hardware, fixed logic circuitry, or physical interconnects (e.g., traces or connectors) that are implemented in connection with processing and control circuits of the communication processor and various components. The audio codec <NUM> may include a combination of logic, circuitry, or firmware (e.g., algorithms) to support encoding and/or decoding of audio information and audio signals, such as analog signals and digital data associated with voice or sound functions of the communication processor <NUM>.

A system interface <NUM> of the communication processor <NUM> enables communication with a host system or application processor. For example, the communication processor <NUM> may provide or expose data access functionalities to the system or application processor through the system interface <NUM>. In this example, the communication processor also includes a transceiver circuit interface <NUM> and an RF circuit interface <NUM>, through which the communication processor <NUM> may manage or control respective functionalities of a transceiver circuit (e.g., transmit and receive chain circuitry) or RF front end to implement various communication protocols and techniques. In various aspects, the communication processor includes digital signal processing or signal processing blocks for encoding and modulating data for transmission or demodulating and decoding received data.

In this example, the communication processor <NUM> includes an encoder <NUM>, modulator <NUM>, and digital-to-analog converter <NUM> (D/A converter <NUM>) for encoding, modulating, and converting data sent to the transceiver circuit interface. The communication processor also includes an analog-to-digital converter <NUM> (A/D converter <NUM>), a demodulator <NUM>, and a decoder <NUM> for converting, demodulating, and decoding data received from the transceiver circuit interface <NUM>. In some aspects, these signal processing blocks and components are implemented as respective transmit and receive paths (e.g., transmitter paths <NUM> and receiver paths <NUM>) of the communication processor <NUM>, which may be configurable for different radio access technologies or frequency bands.

The wireless communication processor <NUM> also includes a radio link manager <NUM>, which may be embodied as separately or combined with other components, examples of which are described with reference to corresponding entities or functionality as illustrated in <FIG>. In aspects, the radio link manager <NUM> interacts with the modem configuration tables <NUM> and other components of the wireless communication processor <NUM> to implement radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths. For example, the radio link manager <NUM> may add dummy receiver paths for the transceiver circuit interface <NUM> and/or RF circuit interface and enable one or more unpaired receiver paths for respective frequency bands or regional SKUs in the modem configuration tables <NUM>. The wireless communication processor <NUM> may then use the enabled receiver paths to implement multi-channel or multi-carrier receive modes when receiving downlinks from one or more base stations. Alternatively or additionally, the radio link manager <NUM> may cause or direct the wireless communication processor <NUM> to implement any of the aspects of radio link management as described with reference to <FIG>.

Further to the descriptions above, a user may be provided with controls allowing the user to make an election as to both if and when devices, systems, applications, and/or features described herein may enable collection of user information, such as one or more of radio link metrics (wireless link metrics), connection duration information, average connection length, signal quality/strength information, network identity information, network basic service set identifier (BSSID) information, mobile network subscriber information, recently utilized wireless communication bands/channels, a user's preferences, a user's current location, if the user has communicated content or information with a server, or the like.

In addition, certain data may be treated in one or more ways before it is stored or used, so that personally identifiable information is removed. For example, a user's identity may be treated so that no personally identifiable information can be determined for the user. For example, a user's geographic location may be generalized or randomized about where location information is obtained (such as to a city, postal code, or state/province level), so that a particular location of a user cannot be determined. Thus, the user may have control(s) over what information is collected about the user, one or more devices of the user, how that information is used, and/or what information is provided to the user.

Although the above-described apparatuses and techniques are described in the context of radio link management to enable unpaired receiver paths in a wireless network in which one or more base stations are accessible, the described user equipment, devices, systems, and methods are non-limiting and may apply to other contexts, user equipment deployments, or wireless communication environments.

Generally, the components, modules, methods, and operations described herein can be implemented using software, firmware, hardware (e.g., fixed logic circuitry), manual processing, or any combination thereof. Some operations of the example methods may be described in the general context of executable instructions stored on computer-readable storage memory that is local and/or remote to a computer processing system, and implementations can include software applications, programs, functions, and the like. Alternatively, or in addition, any of the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components, such as, and without limitation, FPGAs, ASICs, ASSPs, SoCs, CPLDs, co-processors, context hubs, sensor co-processors, or the like.

A first method performed by a user equipment to enable an unpaired receiver path of the user equipment (UE) comprises modifying configuration information of a modem of the UE to add a nonexistent receiver path to a set of receiver path parameters for a frequency band of the modem; modifying the configuration of the modem of the UE to enable an unpaired receiver path in the set of receiver path parameters for the frequency band of the modem; and exposing, in addition to at least one set of paired receiver paths, the nonexistent receiver path (e.g., dummy receiver path) and the unpaired receiver path in the set of receiver path parameters for use by the modem in a multi-channel receive mode for the frequency band.

In addition to the above described first method, a second method performed by a user equipment to perform multi-channel receiving with an unpaired receiver path of the user equipment (UE) comprises generating user equipment capabilities, UE capabilities, based on modem configuration information for a frequency band that includes parameters that indicate the unpaired receiver path as enabled and parameters for a nonexistent receiver path; transmitting the UE capabilities to a base station effective to cause the base station to enable a multi-channel downlink communication mode to communicate with the UE in the frequency band via multiple channels that correspond to at least the unpaired receiver path that is enabled and the nonexistent receiver path; reporting channel signal quality parameters for the one of the multiple channels that corresponds to the nonexistent receiver path of the UE effective to cause the base station to direct at least a portion of downlink data from the channel that corresponds to the nonexistent receiver path to others of the multiple channels; and receiving, from the base station and in the frequency band, the downlink data on the others of the multiple channels that correspond to paired receiver paths of the UE and the unpaired receiver path of the UE.

In addition to the above described methods, a third method performed by a user equipment to implement diversity reception with an unpaired receiver path of the user equipment (UE) comprises configuring a modem for multi-channel receive diversity based on modem configuration information for a frequency band that includes parameters for a nonexistent receiver path and the unpaired receiver path of the UE; receiving, in the frequency band, a signal transmitted by a base station via the unpaired receiver path and other paired receiver paths of the UE; combining, for the signal received, respective information from the unpaired receiver and the other paired receiver paths of the UE to provided combined information for the signal received; and decoding the signal received from the base station based on the combined information provided by the unpaired receiver path and the other paired receiver paths of the UE.

In addition to any of the methods described above, modifying the set of receiver path parameters for the nonexistent receiver path to flag the nonexistent receiver path of the modem as a nonexistent receiver path, a dummy receiver path, or receiver path that does not correspond with a physical receiver path.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, modifying the set of receiver path parameters for the nonexistent receiver path to flag the nonexistent receiver path includes using a non-Boolean data value to flag the nonexistent receiver path; and modifying the configuration of the modem of the UE to enable the unpaired receiver path in the set of receiver path parameters includes setting a Boolean data value.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, modifying the configuration information of the modem to alter calibration information associated with the nonexistent receiver path.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, wherein modifying the configuration information of the modem to alter calibration information associated with the nonexistent receiver path includes one of: modifying the configuration information to indicate a null value as the calibration information for the nonexistent receiver path; modifying the configuration information to indicate that the calibration information is not required for the nonexistent receiver path; or modifying the configuration information to set the calibration information for the nonexistent receiver path with predefined values.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, the predefined values of the calibration information for the nonexistent receiver path include one or more minimal gain settings for one or more respective dynamic range parameters.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, wherein modifying the configuration information of the modem to alter calibration information associated with the nonexistent receiver path is effective to cause an L1 layer of modem software to detect the nonexistent receiver as nonexistent.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, receiving multiple channels of a multiple-input multiple output, MIMO, downlink transmission from a base station in the frequency band with the at least one set of paired receiver paths and the unpaired receiver path of the modem.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, receiving multiple channels of a downlink signal transmission from a base station in the frequency band with the at least one set of paired receiver paths and the unpaired receiver path of the modem to implement high order receive diversity.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, the at least one set of paired receiver paths includes an even number of receiver paths for the frequency band of the modem; the unpaired receiver path is an odd numbered receiver path for the frequency band; and a sum of the paired receiver paths, the unpaired receiver path, and the nonexistent receiver path result includes an even number of total receiver paths of the modem for the frequency band.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, reporting the channel signal quality parameters includes using one of: predefined channel signal quality parameters that indicate a minimum value for one or more of the channel signal quality parameters; or artificial channel signal quality parameters configured for nonexistent receiver paths of the modem.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, the nonexistent receiver path is flagged in the modem configuration information as a nonexistent receiver path, a dummy receiver path, or receiver path that does not correspond with a physical receiver path of the modem; and the reporting of the signal quality parameters for the channel that corresponds to the nonexistent receiver path is performed in response to the nonexistent receiver path being flagged in the modem configuration information.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, the UE capabilities transmitted to the base station indicate that the UE is capable of implementing a multiple-input multiple-output, MIMO, receive configuration with an even number of receiver paths.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, the MIMO receive configuration includes one of: a single carrier MIMO configuration to receive the downlink transmission from the base station in the frequency band; or a dual carrier MIMO configuration to: receive, via the unpaired receiver path, the downlink transmission from the base station in the frequency band; and receive, via another unpaired receiver path, another downlink transmission from another base station in a different frequency band for which the other unpaired receiver path is indicated as enabled.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, omitting the nonexistent receiver path from the combining or other receive signal processing operations of the modem. In addition to any of the methods described above or below, the nonexistent receiver path is flagged in the modem configuration information as a nonexistent receiver path, a dummy receiver path, or receiver path that does not correspond with a physical receiver path of the modem.

In addition to any of the methods described above or below, wherein the combining and decoding is performed to implement high order receive diversity of the signal transmitted by the base station. In addition to any of the methods described above or below, implementing, via the modem, a Maximum Ratio Combining algorithm as part of the combining or decoding of the signal received from the base station.

A user equipment comprising: at least one wireless transceiver; at least one unpaired receiver path in one or more frequency bands; a processor; and computer-readable storage media comprising instructions, responsive to execution by the processor, for directing the user equipment to perform any of the methods described above.

A system-on-chip comprising: a transceiver module that includes a transmitter module and a first receiver module; an interface to multiple transmitter paths; an interface to multiple receiver paths; a memory storing modem configuration information; a processor core configured to execute processor-executable instructions; and a computer-readable storage media comprising instructions that, responsive to execution by the processor core, direct a device in which the system-on-chip is embodied to perform any of the methods described above.

A computer-readable storage media comprising instructions that, responsive to execution by a processor, cause any of the methods described above to be performed.

Claim 1:
A method to perform multi-channel receiving with an unpaired receiver path (<NUM>) of a user equipment (<NUM>) of a wireless network, the user equipment comprising:
an odd number of receiver paths that comprise the unpaired receiver path (<NUM>) and at least two receiver paths (<NUM>, <NUM>) that are paired; and
user equipment capabilities generated (<NUM>) based on modem configuration information for a frequency band that includes first parameters for the unpaired receiver path (<NUM>) and second parameters for a nonexistent receiver path that is not present in the user equipment, the method being performed by the user equipment and the method comprising:
transmitting (<NUM>), via a modem (<NUM>) of the user equipment, the user equipment capabilities to a base station (<NUM>) effective to cause the base station to enable a multi-channel downlink communication mode to communicate with the user equipment in the frequency band via multiple channels that correspond to the unpaired receiver path (<NUM>), the nonexistent receiver path, and the at least two receiver paths (<NUM>, <NUM>) that are paired of the user equipment;
reporting (<NUM>) a low channel signal quality parameter for the one of the multiple channels that corresponds to the nonexistent receiver path effective to cause the base station to direct at least a portion of downlink data from the channel that corresponds to the nonexistent receiver path to one or more other channels of the multiple channels; and
receiving (<NUM>), from the base station and in the frequency band, the portion of the downlink data on the one or more other channels of the multiple channels that correspond to the unpaired receiver path (<NUM>), a first receiver path of the at least two receiver paths (<NUM>, <NUM>) that are paired, or a second receiver path of the at least two receiver paths (<NUM>, <NUM>) that are paired.