Patent Description:
It may be desirable for a User Equipment (UE) to support multiple different communication types in the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. As the foregoing illustrates, multiple MAC entities per UE may be desirable.

The invention is set out by the appended set of claims.

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrate specific embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Other embodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process, and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may be included in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments.

<FIG> illustrates an example User Equipment (UE) <NUM> which supports multiple Medium Access Control (MAC) entities, in accordance with some embodiments. As shown, the UE includes a MAC/PHY (physical layer) configuration ("config") table <NUM>. The MAC/PHY config table <NUM> is coupled with a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer <NUM>, which is coupled with Packet Data Convergence Protocols (PDCPs) <NUM>, which is coupled with Radio Link Controls (RLCs) <NUM>. The RLCs <NUM> are connected to N (where N is a number greater than or equal to <NUM>) MAC entities <NUM>(<NUM>)-<NUM>(N), numbered <NUM> through N. Each MAC entity <NUM>(k) (where k is a number between <NUM> and N) is connected with a corresponding PHY entity <NUM>(k), so there are N PHY entities <NUM>(<NUM>)-<NUM>(N), numbered <NUM> through N.

According to some embodiments, the UE <NUM> configures a first MAC entity <NUM>(<NUM>) of the UE <NUM> to support a first communication type. The first communication type may include enhanced mobile broadband. The UE <NUM> configures a second MAC entity <NUM>(<NUM>) of the UE <NUM> to support a second communication type. The second communication type may include massive machine type communication or ultra-reliable low latency communications.

<FIG> is a flow chart of an example method <NUM> by which the UE <NUM> supports multiple MAC entities <NUM>(<NUM>)-<NUM>(N), in accordance with some embodiments. While the method <NUM> is described as being implemented at the UE <NUM>, the operations of the method <NUM> may also be implemented at other UEs.

At operation <NUM>, the UE <NUM> configures the first MAC entity <NUM>(<NUM>) of the UE <NUM> to support the first communication type. At operation <NUM>, the UE <NUM> configures the second MAC entity <NUM>(<NUM>) of the UE <NUM> to support the second communication type.

The operations <NUM> and <NUM> may be implemented contemporaneously. Alternatively, one of the operations <NUM> and <NUM> may be implemented before the other. At operation <NUM>, the UE <NUM> decodes first MAC layer signaling via the first MAC entity <NUM>(<NUM>). At operation <NUM>, the UE <NUM> decodes second MAC layer signaling via the second MAC entity <NUM>(<NUM>).

In some cases, the UE <NUM> configures additional MAC entities to support respective communication types to a maximum supported count of MAC entities. The UE <NUM> provides the maximum supported count of MAC entities to an evolved Node B (eNodeB) during connection to the eNodeB. It should be noted that, in NR (<NUM>), the eNodeB (eNB) may be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB). In this document, eNodeB (eNB) and gNodeB (gNB) may be used interchangeably.

It may be desirable to target a single technical framework addressing multiple usage scenarios and deployment scenarios, including enhanced mobile broadband, massive Machine Type Communications (MTC), and Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communications (URLLC). It may be desirable to develop a radio protocol structure and architecture to fulfill the above objectives. Some examples of the solution may include radio interface protocol architecture and procedures, and radio access network architecture, interface protocols, and procedures.

Some aspects of the subject technology relate to the radio interference protocol architectures and procedures. Some aspects are related to enhanced MAC layer functionalities to support different usage scenarios (also known as verticals) - namely enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive MTC (mMTC), and URLLC. Some aspects are related to MAC functions, MAC configurations, and PHY configurations.

The MAC layer may provide the following functions in Long Term Evolution (LTE): mapping between logical channels and transport channels; multiplexing/ demultiplexing of MAC Service Data Units (SDUs) from one or different logical channels onto/ from transport blocks (TBs) to be delivered to/ from the physical layer on transport channels; scheduling information reporting; error correction through Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ); priority handling between UEs by using dynamic scheduling; priority handling between logical channels of one MAC entity (logical channel prioritization); and transport format selection.

Some examples of MAC parameters in LTE include maximum number of HARQ retransmissions, Buffer Status Report (BSR) timers, Discontinuous Reception (DRX) and enhanced DRX (eDRX) configurations, time alignment timers, Power Headroom Report (PHR) configurations, Scheduling Request (SR) prohibit timer, DC-related parameters (e.g., SCell deactivation timer), extended BSR, extended PHR, SCell TAG configurations, and the like. As some of the above parameters may be highly related with the QoS requirements of different verticals, in <NUM>, the New Radio (NR) MAC design may support various MAC configurations to support different verticals. For example, the HARQ configuration of eMBB may be different from the HARQ configuration of URLLC due to the different data rate, latency, and reliability requirements. However, all Data Radio Bearers (DRBs) within the URLLC vertical are likely to have the same HARQ configuration. In some implementations of the subject technology, one MAC configuration applies to all DRBs of a particular vertical at a time.

In terms of PHY configurations, a NR network may support more than one vertical at the service level. In some aspects, to establish forward compatibility, a UE supports more than one vertical simultaneously (at the service level). As an example, even if at some early releases, NR is designed to support one vertical at a time from the UE perspective, some design decisions might not restrict a NR UE in future releases from supporting both eMBB and URLLC simultaneously at the service level.

In a majority of LTE features, the UE supports a Transmission Time Interval (TTI) length of <NUM> with subcarrier spacing of <NUM>. In some cases, at least two TTI values may coexist in the same NR network. In NR, the TTI value may be reduced to a smaller value by changing sub-carrier spacing so that the requirement of low latency could be met. A UE can be configured to support variable TTI lengths (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, etc.) with different subcarrier spacing (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, etc.) while supporting the same number of Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols in each TTI. Alternatively, the subcarrier spacing may be kept unchanged while changing the number of symbols per TTI to realize a different TTI duration. In some cases, both approaches above may be applied in combination. Each vertical may be configured to support the same or different TTI configurations. For example, URLLC may support <NUM> TTI and eMBB may support <NUM> TTI. However, in some aspects, the subject technology may enable eMBB traffic to use less than <NUM> TTI. In some cases, a <NUM> UE may support multiple PHY configurations, where a PHY configuration may include one or more values corresponding to (but not limited to) subcarrier spacing, numerology, TTI intervals, number of OFDM symbols per subframe, and the like. In addition, some verticals may be supported using multiple PHY configurations.

Moreover, multiple TTI durations may be supported simultaneously from a UE perspective. This may impact whether a different QoS needs to be implemented with different bearers on different TTI sizes (e.g., a short TTI for URLLC). If a different TTI is introduced per different QoS (vertical), rules need to be specified by MAC on how different TTIs can coexist or be multiplexed. For example, different TTI sizes may exist on a per UE basis, on a per DRB basis, dynamically switched for a single UE (or DRB), or supported in parallel by the physical layer.

According to some examples of the subject technology, the UE and the network support multiple MAC or PHY configurations or combination(s) of MAC-PHY configurations for supporting different verticals. Each UE can support multiple MAC entities. The number of MAC entities it can support is based on the MAC, PHY, or MAC-PHY configurations that it supports. The MAC entities are instantiated when vastly different QoS is to be provided. The UE can provide the information about the maximum number of MAC entities it can support using the UE capability, based on UE category or upon network request. The number of MAC entities per UE that the network can support for a UE may be predefined or configurable.

The current LTE specification only supports one MAC entity per UE (per cell group). Based on the broad range of QoS requirements and traffic characteristics of the <NUM>, a single MAC entity may not be sufficient or efficient. Supporting multiple MAC entities based on supported MAC, PHY, and/or MAC-PHY configurations may be useful, as described herein.

In this document, certain examples and embodiments are described using LTE terminology. However, the subject technology is not limited to LTE and may be used in conjunction with other technology, for example NR, <NUM>, LTE-advanced and LTE-advanced pro.

Some embodiments relate to MAC-PHY configurations for supporting different verticals. Combinations of some or all of the MAC and PHY parameters may be used to define suitable MAC-PHY configurations targeted to certain target verticals or UE types. The configurations may be predefined in the specification and identified by or mapped to a MAC-PHY configuration index. Certain sets of MAC-PHY configurations may be more suitable to one vertical (e.g., URLLC) compared to another vertical (e.g., eMBB). A MAC-PHY configuration suitable for URLLC may have a shorter TTI duration and a lower number of HARQ retransmission limit. On the other hand, a MAC-PHY configuration suitable for eMBB may have a longer TTI duration and a higher number of HARQ retransmission limit.

As some of the above parameters may be highly related with the QoS requirements of different verticals, some embodiments may support various MAC-PHY configurations to support different verticals.

Some embodiments relate to a number of MAC entities. In LTE, a single MAC entity per UE per cell group is supported by the UE to multiplex data for different Radio Bearers (RBs). In some embodiments, if there is one MAC entity per cell group per UE, data from different verticals can be multiplexed in a single MAC Protocol Data Unit (PDU).

In <NUM>, different verticals may have vast differences in their QoS characteristics. In such cases, if eMBB is to be multiplexed with URLLC data for example, then the multiplexed PDU may be treated with higher priority in terms of latency and reliability as if the whole PDU is URLLC.

In another approach, the UE can support multiple MAC entities to handle vastly different QoS requirements. The UE may simultaneously support different MAC configurations.

Additionally, different PHY configurations are supported by some implementations of <NUM> to handle different QoS parameters. For example, TTI may be different in different PHY configurations to allow for URLLC operation on short TTIs and eMBB operation on long TTIs. Therefore, a separate MAC entity handling each PHY configuration is supported by the UE. This keeps the MAC design simple and handles different verticals efficiently.

Various MAC-PHY configurations may be defined to support various use cases. A separate MAC entity may be used to handle separate MAC-PHY configurations. Several options for the number of MAC entities per UE in <NUM> are provided below.

In one option, the UE supports multiple MAC entities based on the number of MAC configurations supported by the UE. In one example, the number of MAC configurations may depend on the verticals or use cases being supported.

In one option, the UE supports multiple MAC entities based on the number of PHY entities supported by the UE. In one example, the number of PHY configurations supported depends on the services supported, resources available, deployment considerations, and the like.

In one option, the UE supports multiple MAC entities based on the number of MAC-PHY configurations supported by the UE. In one example, the number of MAC-PHY configurations supported depends on the services supported, resources available, deployment considerations, and the like.

In one option, the UE supports multiple MAC entities based on the number of supported MAC, PHY, or MAC-PHY configurations. In one option, the UE supports multiple MAC entities based on the maximum number of MAC entities predefined based on the UE category or class. In one option, the UE supports a single MAC entity per cell group per UE.

Multiple MAC entities may be initiated when vastly different QoS parameters are required to be supported. If the UE supports multiple MAC entities, it may be up to the evolved Node B (eNB) to decide based on its QoS characteristics to which MAC, PHY, or MAC-PHY configuration a certain RB should be mapped. In one example, the eNB maps RB(s) with similar QoS requirements to the corresponding MAC entity which has the appropriate MAC, PHY, or MAC-PHY configuration most likely to fulfill the QoS requirements efficiently. This means that, in some examples, a UE can support multiple RBs per MAC entity at a time. It should be noted that, in NR (<NUM>), the eNodeB (eNB) may be referred to as a gNodeB (gNB). In this document, eNodeB (eNB) and gNodeB (gNB) may be used interchangeably.

Depending on the use case scenario, in one example, multiple MAC entities or configurations may be supported for some or all PHY configurations. For example, the same PHY configuration may be used (e.g., same numerology, TTI) for both eMBB and URLLC traffic. However, the MAC configurations may be different (e.g., HARQ retransmissions may be different). In another example, to simplify the design, one-to-one mapping of MAC entity/ configuration for each configuration may be defined.

In some embodiments, the UE capability is related to the maximum number of MAC entities it supports. If the UEs are capable of supporting one or more MAC entities, it may not be ideal to have all UEs support the same number of MAC entities. That means different UEs may be able to support a different maximum number of MAC entities. Therefore, it may be beneficial for the network to know how many MAC entities may be supported by the UE. The following options are possible for the network to know this information.

In one option, the UE indicates the maximum number of MAC entities that it can support using UE capability signaling. In one example, this could be communicated at the time of network attach when the network inquires about the UE capabilities.

In one option, the network requests this information at other times using some dedicated or broadcast signals. The UE may respond to this request by providing the maximum number of MAC entities that it can support.

In one option, the maximum number of MAC entities supported by the UE may be predefined based on a class or a category of the UE. The network implicitly knows about the maximum number of MAC entities that the UE can support based on the class or the category information.

In one embodiment, the maximum number of MAC entities supported by the network for each UE is set. The maximum number of MAC entities supported by the network for each UE may be a configurable parameter. Alternatively, it may be based on the UE category or a fixed value predefined in the specification.

<FIG> shows an example of a portion of an end-to-end network architecture of a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network with various components of the network in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, an LTE network refers to both LTE and LTE Advanced (LTE-A) networks as well as other versions of LTE networks to be developed. The network <NUM> may comprise a radio access network (RAN) (e.g., as depicted, the E-UTRAN or evolved universal terrestrial radio access network) <NUM> and core network <NUM> (e.g., shown as an evolved packet core (EPC)) coupled together through an S1 interface <NUM>. For convenience and brevity, only a portion of the core network <NUM>, as well as the RAN <NUM>, is shown in the example.

The subject technology may be implemented in NR or LTE, as described below. In NR, a <NUM> Node B (gNB) corresponds to a LTE eNB. In NR, the Xn interface corresponds to the X2 interface of LTE. In NR, TRP corresponds to LPN of LTE. In conjunction with FIGS. <NUM>-<NUM>, various implementations are discussed in conjunction with LTE. However, the subject technology may also be implemented in a NR environment or any other cellular environment.

The core network <NUM> may include a mobility management entity (MME) <NUM>, serving gateway (serving GW) <NUM>, and packet data network gateway (PDN GW) <NUM>. The RAN <NUM> may include evolved Node Bs (eNodeBs or eNBs) <NUM> (which may operate as base stations) for communicating with user equipment (UE) <NUM>. The eNBs <NUM> may include macro eNBs 304a and low power (LP) eNBs 304b. The UEs <NUM> may correspond to any of the UEs 120A, 125A, and 130B of FIGS.

The MME <NUM> may be similar in function to the control plane of legacy Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN). The MME <NUM> may manage mobility aspects in access such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The serving GW <NUM> may terminate the interface toward the RAN <NUM>, and route data packets between the RAN <NUM> and the core network <NUM>. In addition, the serving GW <NUM> may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-eNB handovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. The serving GW <NUM> and the MME <NUM> may be implemented in one physical node or separate physical nodes.

The PDN GW <NUM> may terminate a SGi interface toward the packet data network (PDN). The PDN GW <NUM> may route data packets between the EPC <NUM> and the external PDN, and may perform policy enforcement and charging data collection. The PDN GW <NUM> may also provide an anchor point for mobility devices with non-LTE access. The external PDN can be any kind of IP network, as well as an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) domain. The PDN GW <NUM> and the serving GW <NUM> may be implemented in a single physical node or separate physical nodes.

The eNBs <NUM> (macro and micro) may terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first point of contact for a UE <NUM>. In some embodiments, an eNB <NUM> may fulfill various logical functions for the RAN <NUM> including, but not limited to, RNC (radio network controller functions) such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management. In accordance with embodiments, UEs <NUM> may be configured to communicate orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) communication signals with an eNB <NUM> over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with an OFDMA communication technique. The OFDM signals may comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

The S1 interface <NUM> may be the interface that separates the RAN <NUM> and the EPC <NUM>. It may be split into two parts: the S1-U, which may carry traffic data between the eNBs <NUM> and the serving GW <NUM>, and the S1-MME, which may be a signaling interface between the eNBs <NUM> and the MME <NUM>. The X2 interface may be the interface between eNBs <NUM>. The X2 interface may comprise two parts, the X2-C and X2-U. The X2-C may be the control plane interface between the eNBs <NUM>, while the X2-U may be the user plane interface between the eNBs <NUM>.

With cellular networks, LP cells 304b may be typically used to extend coverage to indoor areas where outdoor signals do not reach well, or to add network capacity in areas with dense usage. In particular, it may be desirable to enhance the coverage of a wireless communication system using cells of different sizes, macrocells, microcells, picocells, and femtocells, to boost system performance. The cells of different sizes may operate on the same frequency band, or may operate on different frequency bands with each cell operating in a different frequency band or only cells of different sizes operating on different frequency bands. As used herein, the term LP eNB refers to any suitable relatively LP eNB for implementing a smaller cell (smaller than a macro cell) such as a femtocell, a picocell, or a microcell. Femtocell eNBs may be typically provided by a mobile network operator to its residential or enterprise customers. A femtocell may be typically the size of a residential gateway or smaller and generally connect to a broadband line. The femtocell may connect to the mobile operator's mobile network and provide extra coverage in a range of typically <NUM> to <NUM> meters. Thus, a LP eNB 304b might be a femtocell eNB since it is coupled through the PDN GW <NUM>. Similarly, a picocell may be a wireless communication system typically covering a small area, such as in-building (offices, shopping malls, train stations, etc.), or more recently in-aircraft. A picocell eNB may generally connect through the X2 link to another eNB such as a macro eNB through its base station controller (BSC) functionality. Thus, LP eNB may be implemented with a picocell eNB since it may be coupled to a macro eNB 304a via an X2 interface. Picocell eNBs or other LP eNBs LP eNB 304b may incorporate some or all functionality of a macro eNB LP eNB 304a. In some cases, this may be referred to as an access point base station or enterprise femtocell.

In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may communicate with an access point (AP) 304c. The AP 304c may use only the unlicensed spectrum (e.g., WiFi bands) to communicate with the UE <NUM>. The AP 304c may communicate with the macro eNB 304A (or LP eNB 304B) through an Xw interface. In some embodiments, the AP 304c may communicate with the UE <NUM> independent of communication between the UE <NUM> and the macro eNB 304A. In other embodiments, the AP 304c may be controlled by the macro eNB 304A and use LWA, as described in more detail below.

Communication over an LTE network may be split up into <NUM> frames, each of which may contain ten <NUM> subframes. Each subframe of the frame, in turn, may contain two slots of <NUM>. Each subframe may be used for uplink (UL) communications from the UEto the eNB or downlink (DL) communications from the eNB to the UE. In one embodiment, the eNB may allocate a greater number of DL communications than UL communications in a particular frame. The eNB may schedule transmissions over a variety of frequency bands (f<NUM> and f<NUM>). The allocation of resources in subframes used in one frequency band and may differ from those in another frequency band. Each slot of the subframe may contain <NUM>-<NUM> OFDM symbols, depending on the system used. In one embodiment, the subframe may contain <NUM> subcarriers. A downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from an eNB to a UE, while an uplink resource grid may be used for uplink transmissions from a UE to an eNB or from a UE to another UE. The resource grid may be a time-frequency grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in each slot. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid may be denoted as a resource element (RE). Each column and each row of the resource grid may correspond to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The resource grid may contain resource blocks (RBs) that describe the mapping of physical channels to resource elements and physical RBs (PRBs). A PRB may be the smallest unit of resources that can be allocated to a UE. A resource block may be <NUM> wide in frequency and <NUM> slot long in time. In frequency, resource blocks may be either <NUM> x <NUM> subcarriers or <NUM> x <NUM> subcarriers wide. For most channels and signals, <NUM> subcarriers may be used per resource block, dependent on the system bandwidth. In Frequency Division Duplexed (FDD) mode, both the uplink and downlink frames may be <NUM> and frequency (full-duplex) or time (half-duplex) separated. In Time Division Duplexed (TDD), the uplink and downlink subframes may be transmitted on the same frequency and are multiplexed in the time domain. The duration of the resource grid <NUM> in the time domain corresponds to one subframe or two resource blocks. Each resource grid may comprise <NUM> (subcarriers) *<NUM> (symbols) =<NUM> resource elements.

Each OFDM symbol may contain a cyclic prefix (CP) which may be used to effectively eliminate Inter Symbol Interference (ISI), and a Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) period. The duration of the CP may be determined by the highest anticipated degree of delay spread. Although distortion from the preceding OFDM symbol may exist within the CP, with a CP of sufficient duration, preceding OFDM symbols do not enter the FFT period. Once the FFT period signal is received and digitized, the receiver may ignore the signal in the CP.

There may be several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks, including the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) and the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH). Each subframe may be partitioned into the PDCCH and the PDSCH. The PDCCH may normally occupy the first two symbols of each subframe and carries, among other things, information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, as well as H-ARQ information related to the uplink shared channel. The PDSCH may carry user data and higher layer signaling to a UE and occupy the remainder of the subframe. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to UEs within a cell) may be performed at the eNB based on channel quality information provided from the UEs to the eNB, and then the downlink resource assignment information may be sent to each UE on the PDCCH used for (assigned to) the UE. The PDCCH may contain downlink control information (DCI) in one of a number of formats that indicate to the UE how to find and decode data, transmitted on PDSCH in the same subframe, from the resource grid. The DCI format may provide details such as number of resource blocks, resource allocation type, modulation scheme, transport block, redundancy version, coding rate etc. Each DCI format may have a cyclic redundancy code (CRC) and be scrambled with a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) that identifies the target UE for which the PDSCH is intended. Use of the UE-specific RNTI may limit decoding of the DCI format (and hence the corresponding PDSCH) to only the intended UE.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. <FIG> illustrates components of a UE in accordance with some embodiments. At least some of the components shown may be used in an eNB or MME, for example, such as the UE <NUM> or eNB <NUM> shown in <FIG> or the nUE <NUM>, wUE <NUM> or E-UTRAN BS <NUM> of <FIG>. The UE <NUM> and other components may be configured to use the synchronization signals as described herein. The UE <NUM> may be one of the UEs <NUM> shown in <FIG> and may be a stationary, non-mobile device or may be a mobile device. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include application circuitry <NUM>, baseband circuitry <NUM>, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry <NUM>, front-end module (FEM) circuitry <NUM> and one or more antennas <NUM>, coupled together at least as shown. At least some of the baseband circuitry <NUM>, RF circuitry <NUM>, and FEM circuitry <NUM> may form a transceiver. In some embodiments, other network elements, such as the eNB may contain some or all of the components shown in <FIG>. Other of the network elements, such as the MME, may contain an interface, such as the S1 interface, to communicate with the eNB over a wired connection regarding the UE.

The application or processing circuitry <NUM> may include one or more application processors.

The baseband circuitry <NUM> may include one or more baseband processors and/or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM>. Baseband processing circuity <NUM>. may interface with the application circuitry <NUM> for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry <NUM>. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include a second generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 404a, third generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 404b, fourth generation (<NUM>) baseband processor 404c, and/or other baseband processor(s) 404d for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (e.g., fifth generation (<NUM>), <NUM>, etc.). The baseband circuitry <NUM> (e.g., one or more of baseband processors 404a-d) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry <NUM>. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include FFT, precoding, and/or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, and/or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry <NUM> may include elements of a protocol stack such as, for example, elements of an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) protocol including, for example, physical (PHY), media access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), and/or radio resource control (RRC) elements. A central processing unit (CPU) 404e of the baseband circuitry <NUM> may be configured to run elements of the protocol stack for signaling of the PHY, MAC, RLC, PDCP and/or RRC layers. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 404f. The audio DSP(s) 404f may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry <NUM> and the application circuitry <NUM> may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on a chip (SOC).

For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry <NUM> may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network- (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry <NUM> is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuitry. In some embodiments, the device can be configured to operate in accordance with communication standards or other protocols or standards, including Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) <NUM> wireless technology (WiMax), IEEE <NUM> wireless technology (WiFi) including IEEE <NUM> ad, which operates in the <NUM> millimeter wave spectrum, various other wireless technologies such as global system for mobile communications (GSM), enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE), GSM EDGE radio access network (GERAN), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), UMTS terrestrial radio access network (UTRAN), or other <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, etc. technologies either already developed or to be developed.

In some embodiments, the RF circuitry <NUM> may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include mixer circuitry 406a, amplifier circuitry 406b and filter circuitry 406c. The transmit signal path of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include filter circuitry 406c and mixer circuitry 406a. RF circuitry <NUM> may also include synthesizer circuitry 406d for synthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry <NUM> based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 406d. The amplifier circuitry 406b may be configured to amplify the down-converted signals and the filter circuitry 406c may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Output baseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry <NUM> for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals may be zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement. In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path may comprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 406d to generate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry <NUM>. The baseband signals may be provided by the baseband circuitry <NUM> and may be filtered by filter circuitry 406c. The filter circuitry 406c may include a low-pass filter (LPF), although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and/or upconversion respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a may be arranged for direct downconversion and/or direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 406a of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 406a of the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyne operation.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 406d may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+<NUM> synthesizer, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuitry 406d may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

The synthesizer circuitry 406d may be configured to synthesize an output frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 406a of the RF circuitry <NUM> based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 406d may be a fractional N/N+<NUM> synthesizer.

Synthesizer circuitry 406d of the RF circuitry <NUM> may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by either N or N+<NUM> (e.g., based on a carry out) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Nd equal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 406d may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and divider circuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency with multiple different phases with respect to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuitry <NUM> may include an IQ/polar converter.

In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, and/or input/output (I/O) interface as described in more detail below. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> described herein may be part of a portable wireless communication device, such as a personal digital assistant (PDA), a laptop or portable computer with wireless communication capability, a web tablet, a wireless telephone, a smartphone, a wireless headset, a pager, an instant messaging device, a digital camera, an access point, a television, a medical device (e.g., a heart rate monitor, a blood pressure monitor, etc.), or other device that may receive and/or transmit information wirelessly. In some embodiments, the UE <NUM> may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable user interaction with the system and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral component interaction with the system. For example, the UE <NUM> may include one or more of a keyboard, a keypad, a touchpad, a display, a sensor, a non-volatile memory port, a universal serial bus (USB) port, an audio jack, a power supply interface, one or more antennas, a graphics processor, an application processor, a speaker, a microphone, and other I/O components. The display may be an LCD or LED screen including a touch screen. The sensor may include a gyro sensor, an accelerometer, a proximity sensor, an ambient light sensor, and a positioning unit. The positioning unit may communicate with components of a positioning network, e.g., a global positioning system (GPS) satellite.

The antennas <NUM> may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) embodiments, the antennas <NUM> may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

Although the UE <NUM> is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including digital signal processors (DSPs), and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), radio-frequency integrated circuits (RFICs) and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements.

Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein. A computer-readable storage device may include any non-transitory mechanism for storing information in a form readable by a machine (e.g., a computer). For example, a computer-readable storage device may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (RAM), magnetic disk storage media, optical storage media, flash-memory devices, and other storage devices and media. Some embodiments may include one or more processors and may be configured with instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device.

<FIG> is a block diagram of a communication device in accordance with some embodiments. The device may be a UE or eNB, for example, such as the UE <NUM> or eNB <NUM> shown in <FIG> or the mUE <NUM>, wUE <NUM>, or E-UTRAN BS <NUM> of <FIG> that may be configured to track the UE as described herein. The physical layer circuitry <NUM> may perform various encoding and decoding functions that may include formation of baseband signals for transmission and decoding of received signals. The communication device <NUM> may also include medium access control layer (MAC) circuitry <NUM> for controlling access to the wireless medium. The communication device <NUM> may also include processing circuitry <NUM>, such as one or more single-core or multi-core processors, and memory <NUM> arranged to perform the operations described herein. The physical layer circuitry <NUM>, MAC circuitry <NUM> and processing circuitry <NUM> may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks compatible with one or more radio technologies. The radio control functions may include signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. For example, similar to the device shown in <FIG>, in some embodiments, communication may be enabled with one or more of a WMAN, a WLAN, and a WPAN. In some embodiments, the communication device <NUM> can be configured to operate in accordance with 3GPP standards or other protocols or standards, including WiMax, WiFi, WiGig, GSM, EDGE, GERAN, UMTS, UTRAN, or other <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, etc. technologies either already developed or to be developed. The communication device <NUM> may include transceiver circuitry <NUM> to enable communication with other external devices wirelessly and interfaces <NUM> to enable wired communication with other external devices. As another example, the transceiver circuitry <NUM> may perform various transmission and reception functions such as conversion of signals between a baseband range and a Radio Frequency (RF) range.

The antennas <NUM> may comprise one or more directional or omnidirectional antennas, including, for example, dipole antennas, monopole antennas, patch antennas, loop antennas, microstrip antennas or other types of antennas suitable for transmission of RF signals. In some MIMO embodiments, the antennas <NUM> may be effectively separated to take advantage of spatial diversity and the different channel characteristics that may result.

Although the communication device <NUM> is illustrated as having several separate functional elements, one or more of the functional elements may be combined and may be implemented by combinations of software-configured elements, such as processing elements including DSPs, and/or other hardware elements. For example, some elements may comprise one or more microprocessors, DSPs, FPGAs, ASICs, RFICs and combinations of various hardware and logic circuitry for performing at least the functions described herein. In some embodiments, the functional elements may refer to one or more processes operating on one or more processing elements. Embodiments may be implemented in one or a combination of hardware, firmware and software. Embodiments may also be implemented as instructions stored on a computer-readable storage device, which may be read and executed by at least one processor to perform the operations described herein.

<FIG> illustrates another block diagram of a communication device <NUM> in accordance with some embodiments. The communication device <NUM> may correspond to the nUE <NUM> or the wUE <NUM> of <FIG>. In alternative embodiments, the communication device <NUM> may operate as a standalone device or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other communication devices. In a networked deployment, the communication device <NUM> may operate in the capacity of a server communication device, a client communication device, or both in server-client network environments. In an example, the communication device <NUM> may act as a peer communication device in peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. The communication device <NUM> may be a UE, eNB, PC, a tablet PC, a STB, a PDA, a mobile telephone, a smart phone, a web appliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any communication device capable of executing instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be taken by that communication device. Further, while only a single communication device is illustrated, the term "communication device" shall also be taken to include any collection of communication devices that individually or jointly execute a set (or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as a service (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

In an example, the software may reside on a communication device readable medium.

Communication device (e.g., computer system) <NUM> may include a hardware processor <NUM> (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combination thereof), a main memory <NUM> and a static memory <NUM>, some or all of which may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) <NUM>. The communication device <NUM> may further include a display unit <NUM>, an alphanumeric input device <NUM> (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface (UI) navigation device <NUM> (e.g., a mouse). The communication device <NUM> may additionally include a storage device (e.g., drive unit) <NUM>, a signal generation device <NUM> (e.g., a speaker), a network interface device <NUM>, and one or more sensors <NUM>, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass, accelerometer, or other sensor. The communication device <NUM> may include an output controller <NUM>, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB), parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near field communication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one or more peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

The storage device <NUM> may include a communication device readable medium <NUM> on which is stored one or more sets of data structures or instructions <NUM> (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one or more of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions <NUM> may also reside, completely or at least partially, within the main memory <NUM>, within static memory <NUM>, or within the hardware processor <NUM> during execution thereof by the communication device <NUM>. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor <NUM>, the main memory <NUM>, the static memory <NUM>, or the storage device <NUM> may constitute communication device readable media.

While the communication device readable medium <NUM> is illustrated as a single medium, the term "communication device readable medium" may include a single medium or multiple media (e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated caches and servers) configured to store the one or more instructions <NUM>.

The term "communication device readable medium" may include any medium that is capable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device <NUM> and that cause the communication device <NUM> to perform any one or more of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated with such instructions. Non-limiting communication device readable medium examples may include solid-state memories, and optical and magnetic media. Specific examples of communication device readable media may include: non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g., Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removable disks; magneto-optical disks; Random Access Memory (RAM); and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. In some examples, communication device readable media may include non-transitory communication device readable media. In some examples, communication device readable media may include communication device readable media that is not a transitory propagating signal.

The instructions <NUM> may further be transmitted or received over a communications network <NUM> using a transmission medium via the network interface device <NUM> utilizing any one of a number of transfer protocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmission control protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet data network (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellular networks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless data networks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) <NUM> family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE <NUM> family of standards known as WiMax®), IEEE <NUM>. <NUM> family of standards, a Long Term Evolution (LTE) family of standards, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) family of standards, peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the network interface device <NUM> may include one or more physical jacks (e.g., Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect to the communications network <NUM>. In an example, the network interface device <NUM> may include a plurality of antennas to wirelessly communicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO), MIMO, or multiple-input single-output (MISO) techniques. In some examples, the network interface device <NUM> may wirelessly communicate using Multiple User MIMO techniques. The term "transmission medium" shall be taken to include any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding or carrying instructions for execution by the communication device <NUM>, and includes digital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium to facilitate communication of such software.

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specific example embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications and changes may be made to these embodiments. Accordingly, the specification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative rather than a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a part hereof show, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specific embodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. The embodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein. Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description, therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of various embodiments is defined by the appended claims.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred to herein, individually and/or collectively, by the term "invention" merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any single invention or inventive concept if more than one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specific embodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should be appreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purpose may be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosure is intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of various embodiments, as long as they fall under the scope of the appended claims. Combinations of the above embodiments, and other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.

Claim 1:
A method comprising:
by a user equipment, UE (<NUM>):
configuring (<NUM>) a first media access control, MAC, entity of a plurality of MAC entities of the UE to support a first communication type, the first communication type comprising enhanced mobile broadband;
configuring (<NUM>) a second MAC entity of the plurality of MAC entities of the UE to support a second communication type, the second communication type comprising massive machine type communication or ultra-reliable low latency communications, wherein a number of configured MAC entities of the plurality of MAC entities is based on a maximum number of MAC entities supported for a UE category associated with a type of the UE;
configuring additional MAC entities to support respective communication types to the maximum supported count of MAC entities;
decoding (<NUM>) first MAC layer signaling via the first MAC entity; and
decoding (<NUM>), contemporaneously with decoding the first MAC layer signaling via the first MAC entity, second MAC layer signaling via the second MAC entity.