Patent Description:
<CIT> discloses carrier switching for multiple carriers using the same components of a component path.

Controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform one or more techniques associated with collision handling for component carrier switching, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor <NUM> of base station <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM> of UE <NUM>, and/or any other component(s) of <FIG> may perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or other processes as described herein. Memories <NUM> and <NUM> may store data and program codes for base station <NUM> and UE <NUM>, respectively. In some aspects, memory <NUM> and/or memory <NUM> may comprise a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed by one or more processors of the base station <NUM> and/or the UE <NUM>, may perform or direct operations of, for example, process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or other processes as described herein.

In some aspects, UE <NUM> may include means for grouping, into a common slot, a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier, wherein at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap, means for determining whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, means for transmitting, based at least in part on determining that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot or determining, based at least in part on determining that no uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, whether to switch a transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot, and/or the like. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE <NUM> described in connection with <FIG>, such as controller/processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, TX MIMO processor <NUM>, MOD <NUM>, antenna <NUM>, DEMOD <NUM>, MIMO detector <NUM>, receive processor <NUM>, and/or the like.

In a wireless network, a UE may be configured to perform carrier switching when performing one or more uplink transmissions. For example, in a carrier aggregation (CA) configuration, the UE may be configured to transmit one or more portions of an uplink transmission (or one or more uplink transmissions) on a first component carrier (e.g., a first frequency carrier), may be configured to switch a transmit antenna and/or transmit (Tx) chain of the UE from a frequency of the first component carrier to a frequency of a second component carrier, and may be configured to transmit one or more other portions of the uplink transmission (or one or more other uplink transmissions) on the second component carrier.

In some cases, a BS may schedule the UE with at least partially overlapping sets of consecutive uplink slots across the first component carrier and the second component carrier. In this case, it may be possible for the BS to schedule the UE to perform simultaneous and/or at least partially overlapping uplink transmissions on the component carriers. If the UE is only capable of performing one uplink transmission on a component carrier at a time, the scheduling of simultaneous and/or at least partially overlapping uplink transmissions on the component carriers may be referred to as a collision. If the UE is unable to resolve the collision, the collision may result in both uplink transmissions being dropped, which may cause an increase in retransmissions for the UE, may cause delays in the uplink transmissions, and/or the like.

Some aspects described herein provide techniques and apparatuses for collision handling for component carrier switching. In some aspects, a UE may be capable of resolving collisions between overlapping uplink transmissions by grouping. In some aspects, the UE may group a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier into a common slot or super slot. The UE may group the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots into the common slot based at least in part on determining that at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap.

The UE may be capable of determining whether a collision has occurred in the common slot by determining whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. If a collision has occurred (e.g., if the UE determines that a first uplink transmission is scheduled in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and a second uplink transmission is scheduled in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots), the UE may be capable of resolving the collision by applying one or more priority rules to the first component carrier and the second component carrier to determine whether to transmit the first uplink transmission or the second uplink transmission in the common slot, and drop or refrain from transmitting the non-transmitted uplink transmission. In this way, the UE is capable of resolving collisions, which reduces the quantity of uplink retransmissions for the UE, reduces delays in the uplink transmissions, and/or the like.

<FIG> are diagrams illustrating one or more examples <NUM> of collision handling for component carrier switching, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. As illustrated in <FIG>, example(s) <NUM> may include communication by a UE (e.g., UE <NUM>). In some aspects, the UE may be included in a wireless network (e.g., wireless network <NUM>) and may be configured to communicate with one or more BSs (e.g., BSs <NUM>) on an uplink and/or a downlink in the wireless network.

In some aspects, the UE may be configured to perform uplink carrier switching across a plurality of component carriers. For example, the UE may be configured to transmit an uplink transmission on a first component carrier (e.g., component carrier <NUM>), may switch a transmit (Tx) chain of the UE (e.g., a Tx chain including an antenna <NUM>, a MOD <NUM>, a Tx MIMO processor <NUM>, a transmit processor <NUM>, and/or other components) from the frequency of the first component carrier to the frequency of a second component carrier (e.g., component carrier <NUM>) to transmit another uplink transmission, and/or vice-versa. The uplink transmission(s) may include one or more physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) communications, one or more physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) communications, one or more sounding reference signals (SRSs), one or more channel state information (CSI) reports, and/or other types of uplink communications.

In some aspects, component carrier <NUM> may include a time division duplexed (TDD) component carrier. In some aspects, the TDD frequency carrier may be a highfrequency carrier, such as a frequency carrier included in a millimeter wave (mmWave) frequency band. The TDD frequency carrier may be a frequency carrier on which uplink resources (e.g., slots, symbols, subframes, and/or the like indicated in <FIG> by a "U") and downlink resources (e.g., slots, symbols, subframes, and/or the like indicated in <FIG> by a "D") are time division duplexed. The UE may use a receive antenna and/or receive (Rx) chain to receive downlink transmissions in the downlink resources and/or may use a transmit antenna and/or Tx chain to transmit uplink transmissions in the uplink resources.

In some aspects, component carrier <NUM> may include a frequency division duplexed (FDD) component carrier. In some aspects, the FDD component carrier may be a low-frequency carrier, such as a frequency carrier included in a sub-<NUM>-GHz frequency band. The FDD component carrier may be a component carrier that includes a plurality of uplink resources (e.g., a plurality of subframes, slots, symbols, and/or the like). Moreover, the FDD component carrier may be a frequency carrier that is frequency division duplexed with another FDD component carrier, configured for the UE, that includes downlink resources. The uplink resources and the downlink resources may be frequency division multiplexed across the FDD component carrier. The UE may use a transmit antenna and/or Tx chain to transmit uplink transmissions in the uplink resources on the FDD frequency carrier and/or may use a receive antenna and/or Rx chain to receive downlink transmissions in the downlink resources on the other FDD frequency carrier.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some cases, a BS may schedule the UE with at least partially overlapping sets of consecutive uplink slots across component carrier <NUM> and component carrier <NUM>. In this case, it may be possible for the BS to schedule the UE to perform simultaneous and/or at least partially overlapping uplink transmissions on both component carrier <NUM> and component carrier <NUM>. If the UE is only capable of performing one uplink transmission on a component carrier at a time, the scheduling of simultaneous and/or at least partially overlapping uplink transmissions on both component carrier <NUM> and component carrier <NUM> may be referred to as a collision.

As further shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, to detect and resolve collisions across a plurality of component carriers, the UE may group a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots in component carrier <NUM> and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots in component carrier <NUM> into a common slot. In some cases, the common slot may also be referred to as a super slot. The UE may group the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots based at least in part on determining that the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots at least partially overlap in the time domain. In other words, at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap in the time domain.

The common slot or super slot may begin at time T1 and end at time T2. If the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots fully overlap, T1 may occur at the start of the first slot in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, and T2 may occur at the end of the last slot in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. If the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots partially overlap (e.g., one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots starts prior to the other of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots and/or ends prior to the other of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots), T1 may occur at the start of the first slot in the earliest commencing plurality of consecutive uplink slots and T2 may occur at the end of the last slot of the last ending plurality of consecutive uplink slots.

As further shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, the UE may detect collisions in the common slot by determining whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In some cases, a BS may schedule an uplink transmission in each of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and/or an uplink transmission in each of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In some cases, a BS may schedule an uplink transmission in a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and/or a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In some cases, a BS may schedule an uplink transmission in each of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In some cases, a BS may schedule an uplink transmission in a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and in each of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots.

As shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, the UE may determine that a collision has occurred in the common slot based at least in part on determining that an uplink transmission (uplink transmission <NUM>) is scheduled in one or more of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and another uplink transmission (uplink transmission <NUM>) is scheduled in one or more of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In this case, the UE may use various factors, rules, and/or the like to resolve the collision.

In some aspects, the UE may resolve the collision by determining whether to transmit uplink transmission <NUM> or uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot, and to drop or refrain from transmitting the non-transmitted uplink transmission. In this case, the UE may determine whether to transmit uplink transmission <NUM> or uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot based at least in part on respective priorities associated with each of component carrier <NUM> and component carrier <NUM>. For example, the UE may transmit the uplink transmission that is scheduled on the higher priority component carrier.

In some aspects, the UE may determine the priority of component carrier <NUM> and the priority of component carrier <NUM> based at least in part on signaling received from a BS. In this case, the BS may transmit a radio resource control (RRC) communication, a medium access control control element (MAC-CE) communication, a downlink control information (DCI) communication, and/or the like to the UE, which may indicate the priorities of component carrier <NUM> and component carrier <NUM>. As an example, the BS may indicate that component carrier <NUM> is higher priority relative to component carrier <NUM> and, accordingly, UE may transmit uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot and may drop or refrain from transmitting uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot.

In some aspects, the UE may determine the priority of component carrier <NUM> and the priority of component carrier <NUM> based at least in part on which component carrier is associated with a primary cell (PCell) of the UE. In this case, the UE may determine that the component carrier associated with the PCell of the UE is the higher priority component carrier. As an example, the UE may determine that component carrier <NUM> is associated with a PCell of the UE and, accordingly, UE may transmit uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot and may drop or refrain from transmitting uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot.

In some aspects, the UE may determine the priority of component carrier <NUM> and the priority of component carrier <NUM> based at least in part on which component carrier is the lower frequency component carrier. In this case, the UE may determine that the component carrier associated with the lowest frequency is the higher priority component carrier because the lower frequency component carrier may be more reliable relative to higher frequency component carriers. As an example, the UE may determine that component carrier <NUM> is a lower frequency component carrier relative to component carrier <NUM> and, accordingly, UE may transmit uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot and may drop or refrain from transmitting uplink transmission <NUM> in the common slot.

Alternatively and/or additionally to resolving the collision, the UE may be configured to detect the collision as an error case. In other words, if the UE detects the collision, the UE may determine that an error (e.g., a scheduling error) has occurred. In this case, the UE may perform various actions based at least in part on determining that the error has occurred, such as transmitting an indication to the BS that scheduled uplink transmission <NUM> and uplink transmission <NUM> that the error has occurred, refraining from transmitting uplink transmission <NUM> and uplink transmission <NUM>, transmitting uplink transmission <NUM> or uplink transmission <NUM> (e.g., and dropping or refraining from transmitting the non-transmitted uplink transmission), transmitting the uplink transmission in the PCell of the UE, and/or the like.

As shown in <FIG>, in some cases, the UE may receive explicit signaling (e.g., an RRC communication, a MAC-CE communication, a DCI communication, and/or the like from a BS) the schedules an uplink transmission in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots (or in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots). In this case, the UE may determine that no collision has occurred in the common slot as the UE may not have received explicit signaling indicating that another uplink transmission is scheduled in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots.

As further shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, the UE may transmit the uplink transmission based at least in part on determining whether any scheduling signaling has been received for the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. Accordingly, the UE may search for dynamic, persistent and/or periodic, semi-persistent, and/or other types of scheduling signaling that may indicate that another uplink transmission is scheduled in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In this case, the UE may search various scheduling signaling in a particular order. For example, an order may include searching DCI associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling first, and then searching an RRC configuration associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling after searching the DCI. For example, an order may include searching an RRC configuration associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling first, and then searching DCI associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling after searching the RRC configuration.

If the UE is not able to locate scheduling signaling that schedules another uplink transmission in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, the UE may transmit the uplink transmission in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots. If the UE locates scheduling signaling that schedules another uplink transmission in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, the UE may determine that a collision has occurred and may resolve the collision and/or determine that an error has occurred using one or more of the techniques described above in connection with <FIG>.

In some aspects, if the UE resolves the collision by determining to perform carrier switching on the Tx chain of the UE (e.g., from component carrier <NUM> to component carrier <NUM>, or from component carrier <NUM> to component carrier <NUM>), the UE may determine when to perform the carrier switching. In some aspects, the UE may perform the carrier switching during the first TDD slot (e.g., the first slot of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots on component carrier <NUM>) that occurs after a permitted carrier switching boundary. In some aspects, the first TDD slot may be the first slot in the common slot. Accordingly, in these examples, the UE may perform the carrier switching in the first TDD slot regardless of whether scheduling signaling was received for other TDD slots in the common slot at the same time the scheduling signaling was received for the first TDD slot.

In some aspects, the UE may perform the carrier switching during the first TDD slot that occurs after the permitted carrier switching boundary and any other TDD slots for which scheduling signaling was received at the same time that the scheduling signaling for the first TDD slot was received. In these examples, if scheduling signaling is received for a plurality of TDD slots, the scheduling signaling may indicate a transmit precoder matrix indicator (TPMI) of [<NUM>,<NUM>] or [<NUM>,<NUM>] and/or two sounding reference signal (SRS) ports. If scheduling signaling is received for a single TDD slot, the uplink transmission may be a grant free transmission, a PUCCH transmission, a scheduling request, a random access channel (RACH) communication, a transmission with a TPMI of [<NUM>,<NUM>], a PUSCH granted by a DCI format 0_0 communication, a single port configured grant, and/or the like. In some aspects, the UE may perform the carrier switching at every TDD slot boundary on component carrier <NUM>.

In some aspects, after performing the uplink transmission (e.g., in either the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots), the UE may perform carrier switching at the end of the common slot to switch the Tx chain of the UE back to a particular or default component carrier. For example, if the specified or default component carrier is component carrier <NUM>, and the UE performs the uplink transmission in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots on component carrier <NUM>, the UE may perform carrier switching at the end of the common slot (or after performing the uplink transmission in the common slot) to switch the Tx chain of the UE to component carrier <NUM>. As another example, if the specified or default component carrier is component carrier <NUM>, and the UE performs the uplink transmission in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots on component carrier <NUM>, the UE may perform carrier switching at the end of the common slot (or after performing the uplink transmission in the common slot) to switch the Tx chain of the UE to component carrier <NUM>. In some aspects, if the UE performs the uplink transmission on the specified or default component carrier, the UE may refrain from performing carrier switching at the end of the common slot.

As shown in <FIG>, in some cases, no uplink transmissions may be scheduled in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and no uplink transmissions may be scheduled in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In this case, the UE has no uplink transmissions to transmit in the common slot, and may determine that no collision has occurred.

As further shown in <FIG>, and by reference number <NUM>, if no uplink transmissions are scheduled in the common slot, the UE may determine whether to still perform carrier switching on the Tx chain of the UE during the common slot. In this case, the UE may determine whether to switch the Tx chain of the UE from the frequency of component carrier <NUM> to component carrier <NUM> during the common slot and/or may determine whether to switch the Tx chain of the UE from the frequency of component carrier <NUM> to component carrier <NUM> during the common slot.

In some aspects, the UE may determine to refrain from performing carrier switching of the Tx chain of the UE during the common slot unless explicit scheduling signaling is received (e.g., scheduling signaling that schedules an uplink transmission), which may conserve power at the UE. In some aspects, the UE may determine to switch the Tx chain of the UE to a default component carrier during the common slot. In some aspects, the UE may determine to switch the Tx chain of the UE to a component carrier associated with a PCell of the UE during the common slot. In some aspects, the UE may determine to switch the Tx chain of the UE to the lowest frequency component carrier or the lower frequency component carrier (e.g., the lower frequency component carrier of component carrier <NUM> and component carrier <NUM>) during the common slot.

In this way, the UE may be capable of resolving collisions between overlapping uplink transmissions by grouping. The UE may group a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier into a common slot or super slot. The UE may group the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots into the common slot based at least in part on determining that at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap. The UE may be capable of determining whether a collision has occurred in the common slot by determining whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. If a collision has occurred (e.g., if the UE determines that a first uplink transmission is scheduled in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and a second uplink transmission is scheduled in the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots), the UE may be capable of resolving the collision by applying one or more priority rules to the first component carrier and the second component carrier to determine whether to transmit the first uplink transmission or the second uplink transmission in the common slot, and drop or refrain from transmitting the non-transmitted uplink transmission. In this way, the UE is capable of resolving collisions, which reduces the quantity of uplink retransmissions for the UE, reduces delays in the uplink transmissions, and/or the like.

For example, while the examples illustrated and described above in connection with <FIG> include an FDD component carrier and a TDD component carrier, the techniques described herein may be used in cases where a UE is configured with two TDD component carriers, with two FDD component carriers, and/or the like. Moreover, the techniques described herein may be used in cases where a UE is configured with greater than two component carriers, where the UE is configured with a plurality of component carrier groups, and/or the like. In the case where the UE is configured with a plurality of component carrier groups, the component carriers in a component carrier group may be configured such that no more than one uplink transmission is scheduled at a given time in the component carrier group, and no carrier switching is required within the component carrier group. Moreover, the scheduling in a component carrier group may be provided in a PCell to reduce the complexity of detecting collisions, and/or only one component carrier in the component carrier group may be permitted to be configured with uplink slots such that the UE only needs to check the component carrier configured with uplink slots.

<FIG> is a diagram illustrating an example process <NUM> performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. Example process <NUM> is an example where the UE (e.g., UE <NUM>) performs operations associated with collision handling for component carrier switching.

As shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include grouping, into a common slot, a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier, wherein at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may group, into a common slot, a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier, as described above in connection with <FIG>. In some aspects, at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap.

As further shown in <FIG>, in some aspects, process <NUM> may include determining whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may determine whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, as described above in connection with <FIG>. In some aspects, determining whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots comprises determining that a first uplink transmission is scheduled in at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots, determining that a second uplink transmission is scheduled in at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, and determining that a collision has occurred between the first uplink transmission and the second uplink transmission in the common slot.

As further shown in <FIG>, if the UE determines that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots in some aspects (block <NUM>-Yes), process <NUM> may include transmitting on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may transmit, based at least in part on determining that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot, as described above in connection with <FIG>.

In some aspects, transmitting on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot comprises transmitting, based at least in part on determining that the collision has occurred, the first uplink transmission on the first component carrier in the common slot or transmitting the second uplink transmission on the second component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on a first priority associated with the first component carrier and a second priority associated with the second component carrier. In some aspects, process <NUM> includes switching the transmit chain of the UE to a default component carrier after transmitting the first uplink transmission or the second uplink transmission. In some aspects, transmitting on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot comprises transmitting the first uplink transmission on the first component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on determining that the first priority is greater relative to the second priority.

In some aspects, transmitting on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot comprises refraining, based at least in part on determining that the error has occurred, from transmitting on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot, transmitting, based at least in part on determining that the error has occurred, the first uplink transmission on the first component carrier in the common slot or transmitting the second uplink transmission on the second component carrier in the common slot, or transmitting, based at least in part on determining that the error has occurred, the first uplink transmission on the first component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on the first component carrier being associated with a primary cell of the UE.

In some aspects, determining that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots comprises determining that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots, determining that no scheduling signaling has been received for the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, and transmitting the uplink transmission on the first component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on determining that no scheduling signaling has been received for the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots.

In some aspects, determining that no scheduling signaling has been received for the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots comprises searching DCI associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling and searching, after searching the DCI associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, a radio resource control configuration associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling. In some aspects, determining that no scheduling signaling has been received for the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots comprises searching an RRC configuration associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling and searching, after searching the RRC configuration associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, downlink control information associated with the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots for scheduling signaling.

As further shown in <FIG>, if the UE determines that no uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots (block <NUM>-No), in some aspects, process <NUM> may include determining whether to switch a transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot (block <NUM>). For example, the UE (e.g., using receive processor <NUM>, transmit processor <NUM>, controller/processor <NUM>, memory <NUM>, and/or the like) may determine, based at least in part on determining that no uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, whether to switch a transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot, as described above in connection with <FIG>.

In some aspects, determining whether to switch the transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot comprises refraining from switching the transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot until receiving a scheduling communication that causes the UE to switch the transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier, switching to the first component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on the first component carrier being a default component carrier of the UE, switching to the first component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on the first component carrier being associated with a primary cell of the UE, or switching to the first component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on the first component carrier being a lower frequency component carrier relative to the second component carrier.

In some aspects, process <NUM> further comprises determining that the first priority is greater relative to the second priority based at least in part on at least one of the first component carrier being associated with a primary cell of the UE, the first component carrier being a lower frequency relative to the second component carrier, or receiving, from a BS, an indication of the first priority and the second priority.

In some aspects, the first component carrier is included in a first component carrier group. In some aspects, simultaneous uplink transmissions are not permitted across component carriers in the first component carrier group. In some aspects, process <NUM> further comprises receiving scheduling signaling from a primary cell in the first component carrier group and receiving scheduling signaling from a primary cell in the second component carrier group. In some aspects, the first component carrier is a time division multiplexed component carrier that supports two or more transmit ports and the first component carrier supports switching between consecutive uplink slots or within uplink slots.

In some aspects, process <NUM> includes switching, based at least in part on determining that the collision has occurred, the transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in a first slot that occurs after a permitted carrier switching boundary. In some aspects, process <NUM> includes switching, based at least in part on determining that the collision has occurred, the transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in a first slot that occurs after a permitted carrier switching boundary and after one or more other slots for which scheduling signaling was received at a same time as scheduling signaling was received for the first slot. In some aspects, process <NUM> includes switching, based at least in part on determining that the collision has occurred, the transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier before or after any slot boundary of the common slot.

<FIG> is a conceptual data flow diagram <NUM> illustrating data flow between different modules/means/components in an example apparatus <NUM>. The apparatus <NUM> may be a UE (e.g., UE <NUM>). In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM> includes a grouping module <NUM>, a determining module <NUM>, a Tx chain switching module <NUM>, and a transmission module <NUM>.

In some aspects, grouping module <NUM> may group, into a common slot, a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier. In some aspects, grouping module <NUM> may group the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots into the common slot based at least in part on determining that at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap. In some aspects, grouping module <NUM> may include a transmit processor (e.g., transmit processor <NUM>), a Tx MIMO processor (e.g., TX MIMO processor <NUM>), a controller/processor (e.g., controller/processor <NUM>), a memory (e.g., a memory <NUM>), and/or the like.

In some aspects, determining module <NUM> may determine whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In some aspects, determining module <NUM> may include a transmit processor (e.g., transmit processor <NUM>), a Tx MIMO processor (e.g., TX MIMO processor <NUM>), a controller/processor (e.g., controller/processor <NUM>), a memory (e.g., a memory <NUM>), and/or the like.

In some aspects, transmission module <NUM> may transmit on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot. In some aspects, transmission module <NUM> may transmit on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on the determination of determining module <NUM> that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In some aspects, transmission module <NUM> may include an antenna (e.g., antenna <NUM>), a MOD (e.g., MOD <NUM>), a transmit processor (e.g., transmit processor <NUM>), a Tx MIMO processor (e.g., Tx MIMO processor <NUM>), a controller/processor (e.g., controller/processor <NUM>), a memory (e.g., a memory <NUM>), and/or the like.

In some aspects, Tx chain switching module <NUM> may determine whether to switch a Tx chain of the apparatus <NUM> between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot. In some aspects, Tx chain switching module <NUM> may determine whether to switch a Tx chain of the apparatus <NUM> between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot based at least in part on the determination of module <NUM> that no uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots. In some aspects, Tx chain switching module <NUM> may include an antenna (e.g., antenna <NUM>), a MOD (e.g., MOD <NUM>), a transmit processor (e.g., transmit processor <NUM>), a Tx MIMO processor (e.g., Tx MIMO processor <NUM>), a controller/processor (e.g., controller/processor <NUM>), a memory (e.g., a memory <NUM>), and/or the like.

The apparatus may include additional modules that perform each of the blocks of the algorithm in the aforementioned process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or the like. Each block in the aforementioned process <NUM> of <FIG> and/or the like may be performed by a module, and the apparatus may include one or more of those modules. The modules may be one or more hardware components specifically configured to carry out the stated processes/algorithm, implemented by a processor configured to perform the stated processes/algorithm, stored within a computer-readable medium for implementation by a processor, or some combination thereof.

<FIG> is a diagram <NUM> illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for an apparatus <NUM>' employing a processing system <NUM>. The apparatus <NUM>' may be a UE (e.g., UE <NUM>).

The processing system <NUM> may be implemented with a bus architecture, represented generally by the bus <NUM>. The bus <NUM> may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on the specific application of the processing system <NUM> and the overall design constraints. The bus <NUM> links together various circuits including one or more processors and/or hardware modules, represented by the processor <NUM>, the modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>, and the computer-readable medium / memory <NUM>. The bus <NUM> may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art, and therefore will not be described any further.

The processing system <NUM> may be coupled to a transceiver <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> is coupled to one or more antennas <NUM>. The transceiver <NUM> provides a means for communicating with various other apparatuses over a transmission medium. The transceiver <NUM> receives a signal from the one or more antennas <NUM>, extracts information from the received signal, and provides the extracted information to the processing system <NUM>. In addition, the transceiver <NUM> receives information from the processing system <NUM>, specifically the transmission module <NUM>, and based at least in part on the received information, generates a signal to be applied to the one or more antennas <NUM>. The processing system <NUM> includes a processor <NUM> coupled to a computer-readable medium / memory <NUM>. The processor <NUM> is responsible for general processing, including the execution of software stored on the computer-readable medium / memory <NUM>. The software, when executed by the processor <NUM>, causes the processing system <NUM> to perform the various functions described herein for any particular apparatus. The computer-readable medium / memory <NUM> may also be used for storing data that is manipulated by the processor <NUM> when executing software. The processing system further includes at least one of the modules <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM>, and <NUM>. The modules may be software modules running in the processor <NUM>, resident/stored in the computer readable medium / memory <NUM>, one or more hardware modules coupled to the processor <NUM>, or some combination thereof. The processing system <NUM> may be a component of the UE <NUM> and may include the memory <NUM> and/or at least one of the TX MIMO processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM>.

In some aspects, the apparatus <NUM>/<NUM>' for wireless communication includes means for grouping, into a common slot, a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier, wherein at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap, means for determining whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, means for transmitting, based at least in part on determining that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot or means for determining, based at least in part on determining that no uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, whether to switch a transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot, and/or the like. The aforementioned means may be one or more of the aforementioned modules of the apparatus <NUM> and/or the processing system <NUM> of the apparatus <NUM>' configured to perform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. As described elsewhere herein, the processing system <NUM> may include the TX MIMO processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM>. In one configuration, the aforementioned means may be the TX MIMO processor <NUM>, the RX processor <NUM>, and/or the controller/processor <NUM> configured to perform the functions and/or operations recited herein.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE, comprising:
grouping (<NUM>), into a common slot, a first plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a first component carrier and a second plurality of consecutive uplink slots included in a second component carrier,
wherein at least a subset of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and at least a subset of the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots overlap;
determining (<NUM>) whether an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots; and
transmitting (<NUM>), based at least in part on determining that an uplink transmission is scheduled in at least one of the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots or the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, on the first component carrier or on the second component carrier in the common slot, or
determining (<NUM>), based at least in part on determining that no uplink transmission is scheduled in the first plurality of consecutive uplink slots and the second plurality of consecutive uplink slots, whether to switch a transmit chain of the UE between the first component carrier and the second component carrier in the common slot.