Patent Description:
Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.

By way of example, a wireless multiple-access communication system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, otherwise known as user equipments (UEs). A base station may communicate with one or more UEs on downlink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a base station to a UE) and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a UE to a base station).

In recent years, advent of dynamically capable UEs has spurn growth for peripheral devices (e.g., smart watches, activity trackers, smart glasses, etc.) that expand the functionality and portability of the UEs. Such peripheral devices that are mostly "wearable devices" are generally equipped with short-range communication chips, such as Wi-Fi and Bluetooth modules. Accordingly, a peripheral device may communicate with the UE that is positioned only within a short range. For example, a user wearing a smartwatch may only utilize the full capabilities of the smartwatch (e.g., voice call, text messages, access internet, etc.) while the smartwatch and the UE are in close proximity to each other. However, conventional systems that are configured based on the short-range communication chips do not allow the user to continue using such network dependent functionalities when one device (e.g., UE or peripheral) is outside the coverage area of the short-range communication chip. One such instance may be if the user leaves his mobile device at home with only his wearable watch).

One solution that has been proposed to address the above problem includes configuring the peripheral device with both a short-range communication chip (e.g., Bluetooth module) as well as a wireless wide area network (WWAN) radio that may allow the peripheral device to communicate with the network independent of the UE. However, such configuration require the peripheral device to additionally include subscriber information module (SIM) chip such that the peripheral device may be authenticated by the network and assigned a unique phone number. Such a solution is not ideal because of the hardware considerations and user inconvenience. For example, first, the added hardware increases the size and costs of the peripheral device itself. Second, with a unique phone number for a peripheral device that is different from the phone number for the UE, a user may need to manage two separate subscriptions. Additionally, both incoming/outgoing calls would need to be made to/from a separate phone number. For example, a party attempting to reach the user would need to first call the mobile device, and then separately call the peripheral device (e.g., wearable watch). The inconvenience and costs associated with such solution far outweigh any benefit that may be gained. Relatedly, document <CIT> describes virtual sims for mobile communications, document <CIT> describes downloading communication profiles and document <CIT> describes profile downloads of group devices.

The present disclosure solves the above-identified problems by implementing techniques that assign virtual international mobile subscriber identity (VIMSI) to the one or more peripheral devices associated with the UE based in part on the mobile device identification (ID) of the UE itself. As such, peripheral devices that are configured with dual radios (e.g., short range communication chips and cellular radio) do not require a separate SIM chip. Because the peripheral device is allocated a VIMSI based on the mobile ID of the UE, the peripheral devices also achieve an advantage of maintaining the same phone number as their parent UE. Thus, the UE user only needs one subscription.

The invention is defined with particular reference to the embodiments illustrated in <FIG> and <FIG>.

Various aspects will now be described with reference to the drawings. Additionally, the term "component" as used herein may be one of the parts that make up a system, may be hardware, firmware, and/or software stored on a computer-readable medium, and may be divided into other components.

As noted above, conventional systems that allow peripheral devices (e.g., smart watches, fitness trackers, smart cameras, etc.) network connectivity via both short-range communication (e.g., via the UE) and independent wireless wide area network (WWAN) communication suffer from the drawback of having added hardware requirements (e.g., subscriber information module (SIM) chip) and require the user to manage multiple phone numbers - one for the UE and one for each peripheral device. Particularly, as per the standards of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), each device (e.g., the UE and the peripheral device) with a separate SIM chip would be provided an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), indicating the user's identification and the phone number (e.g., Mobile Station International ISDN Number (MSISDN)) that may be mapped in a one-to-one association. In other words, each device carried by the user (e.g., UE and each of the plurality of peripheral devices) would have their own phone number. Such implementation is neither convenient nor cost-effective.

Instead of requiring the peripheral device to maintain a separate SIM chip, aspects of the present disclosure solves the above-identified problem by assigning virtual identifier such as virtual international mobile subscriber identity (VIMSI) to the peripheral device associated with the UE based in part on the mobile device identification (ID) of the UE itself. As such, peripheral devices that are configured with dual radios (e.g., short range communication chips and cellular radio) do not require a separate SIM chip. Because each of the peripheral devices are allocated a VIMSI based on the mobile ID of the UE, the peripheral devices also achieve an advantage of maintaining the same MSISDN (e.g., phone number) as the UE.

Thus, based on the techniques described herein, peripheral device may dynamically switch between the short range communication and cellular communication based on one or more first and second triggers. For example, when the UE and the peripheral device are within a predetermined range, the cellular radio of the peripheral device may be deactivated such that the user may interface between the peripheral device and the UE using the short range communication chipset (e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). However, when the UE and the peripheral device are outside the predetermined range (e.g., when the user leaves the house with his peripheral while the mobile device remains at home), aspects of the present disclosure provide techniques to detach the UE from the network (in order to allow for reduced signaling overhead and power consumption) and activate the peripheral device connectivity that uses an assigned VIMSI profile to establish cellular communication with the network without the involvement of the UE. As such, both incoming/outgoing packets (voice and data) may be routed to and from the peripheral device directly without the involvement of the UE. Thus, in some examples, the one or more first triggers may include an indication that proximate distance between the UE and the peripheral exceeds a threshold (predetermined distance that may signify the effective range of the short-range communication chipset). Additionally or alternatively, the one or more second triggers may include an indication that proximate distance between the UE and the peripheral is less than the threshold.

Such system provides practical advantage because users in some situations may not prefer to carry their mobile devices (e.g., if the user is going for a run). In such situations, aspects of the present disclosure would allow the user to leave the UE at home and only take the peripheral device which would provide offer full network functionalities independent of the UE. In addition, as noted above, because features of the present disclosure do not require the peripheral to be configured with a separate SIM chip, the user is not inconvenienced with managing multiple phone numbers and the added cost and size of the peripheral itself.

It should be noted that the techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communication networks such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, SC-FDMA, and other systems. The terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably. IS-<NUM> Releases <NUM> and A are commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1X, 1X, etc. IS-<NUM> (TIA-<NUM>) is commonly referred to as CDMA2000 1xEV-DO, High Rate Packet Data (HRPD), etc. UTRA includes Wideband CDMA (WCDMA) and other variants of CDMA. An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE <NUM> (Wi-Fi), IEEE <NUM> (WiMAX), IEEE <NUM>, Flash-OFDM™, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS). 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) and LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) are new releases of UMTS that use E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, UMTS, LTE, LTE-A, and GSM are described in documents from an organization named "3rd Generation Partnership Project" (3GPP). The techniques described herein may be used for the systems and radio technologies mentioned above as well as other systems and radio technologies, including cellular (e.g., LTE) communications over a shared radio frequency spectrum band. The description below, however, describes an LTE/LTE-A system for purposes of example, and LTE terminology is used in much of the description below, although the techniques are applicable beyond LTE/LTE-A applications (e.g., to <NUM> networks or other next generation communication systems).

Referring to <FIG>, in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, an example wireless communication network <NUM> includes at least one UE <NUM> having a diversity antenna management component <NUM> configured to perform one or more techniques described herein. The wireless communication network <NUM> may include one or more base stations <NUM>, one or more UEs <NUM>, and a core network <NUM>. The core network <NUM> may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, internet protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. The base stations <NUM> may interface with the core network <NUM> through backhaul links <NUM> (e.g., S1, etc.). In accordance with aspects of the present disclosure, a "network entity" that may be either the core network <NUM>, a base station <NUM> or a combination thereof may be configured with allocating virtual identifier to one or more peripheral devices associated with the UEs <NUM> upon request of the UE <NUM>. Thus, for the purposes of this disclosure, the term "network entity" may refer to one or more aspects of the network with which the UE corresponds with (e.g., base station <NUM> and core network <NUM>). In one or more examples, the virtual identifier may be an virtual international mobile subscriber identity (VIMSI). The term "VIMSI" may be used interchangeably with virtual identifier or virtual SIM (VSIM) profile. In some examples, the network entity (e.g., core network <NUM> or the base station <NUM>) may allocate each of the plurality of peripheral devices associated with the UE <NUM> a unique virtual identifier that is based in part on the mobile device identification of the UE (e.g., the international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI) of the UE <NUM>). The network may also maintain a routing table of IP address/VIMSIs of the parent node (e.g., UE <NUM>) and child node (e.g., peripheral device - see <FIG> and <FIG>).

The base stations <NUM> may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with the UEs <NUM>, or may operate under the control of a base station controller (not shown). In various examples, the base stations <NUM> may communicate, either directly or indirectly (e.g., through core network <NUM>), with one another over backhaul links <NUM> (e.g., X1, etc.), which may be wired or wireless communication links.

The base stations <NUM> may wirelessly communicate with the UEs <NUM> via one or more base station antennas. In some examples, base stations <NUM> may be referred to as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point, a radio transceiver, a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, a relay, or some other suitable terminology. The geographic coverage area <NUM> for a base station <NUM> may be divided into sectors or cells making up only a portion of the coverage area (not shown). The wireless communication network <NUM> may include base stations <NUM> of different types (e.g., macro base stations or small cell base stations, described below). Additionally, the plurality of base stations <NUM> may operate according to different ones of a plurality of communication technologies (e.g., <NUM>, <NUM>/LTE, <NUM>, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.), and thus there may be overlapping geographic coverage areas <NUM> for different communication technologies.

In some examples, the wireless communication network <NUM> may be or include a Long Term Evolution (LTE) or LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) technology network. The wireless communication network <NUM> may also be a next generation technology network, such as a <NUM> wireless communication network. In LTE/LTE-A networks, the term evolved node B (eNB) may be generally used to describe the base stations <NUM>, while the term UE may be generally used to describe the UEs <NUM>. The wireless communication network <NUM> may be a heterogeneous LTE/LTE-A network in which different types of eNBs provide coverage for various geographical regions. For example, each eNB or base station <NUM> may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a small cell, or other types of cell. The term "cell" is a 3GPP term that can be used to describe a base station, a carrier or component carrier associated with a base station, or a coverage area (e.g., sector, etc.) of a carrier or base station, depending on context.

A macro cell may generally cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by the UEs <NUM> with service subscriptions with the network provider.

A small cell may include a relative lower transmit-powered base station, as compared with a macro cell, that may operate in the same or different frequency bands (e.g., licensed, unlicensed, etc.) as macro cells. A pico cell, for example, may cover a small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by the UEs <NUM> with service subscriptions with the network provider. A femto cell may also cover a small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may provide restricted access and/or unrestricted access by the UEs <NUM> having an association with the femto cell (e.g., in the restricted access case, the UEs <NUM> in a closed subscriber group (CSG) of the base station <NUM>, which may include the UEs <NUM> for users in the home, and the like).

The communication networks that may accommodate some of the various disclosed examples may be packet-based networks that operate according to a layered protocol stack and data in the user plane may be based on the IP. A radio link control (RLC) layer may perform packet segmentation and reassembly to communicate over logical channels. A MAC layer may perform priority handling and multiplexing of logical channels into transport channels. The MAC layer may also use HARQ to provide retransmission at the MAC layer to improve link efficiency. In the control plane, the radio resource control (RRC) protocol layer may provide establishment, configuration, and maintenance of an RRC connection between a UE <NUM> and the base stations <NUM>. The RRC protocol layer may also be used for core network <NUM> support of radio bearers for the user plane data. At the physical (PHY) layer, the transport channels may be mapped to physical channels.

The UEs <NUM> may be dispersed throughout the wireless communication network <NUM>, and each UE <NUM> may be stationary or mobile. A UE <NUM> may also include or be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable terminology. A UE <NUM> may be a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, an entertainment device, a vehicular component, or any device capable of communicating in wireless communication network <NUM>. Additionally, a UE <NUM> may be Internet of Things (IoT) and/or machine-to-machine (M2M) type of device, e.g., a low power, low data rate (relative to a wireless phone, for example) type of device, that may in some aspects communicate infrequently with wireless communication network <NUM> or other UEs. A UE <NUM> may be able to communicate with various types of base stations <NUM> and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, relay base stations, and the like.

Additionally or alternatively, the UE <NUM> may also be configured to be paired with one or more peripheral devices (e.g., smart watches, connected car, fitness tracker, smart cameras, music player, smart headphones, smart eyewear, etc.) via a short-range communication chipset (e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi capabilities of both the UE <NUM> and the peripheral). It should be understood, that for purposes of this disclosure, it is contemplated that peripheral device may include any device that can communicate with the UE using a short-range communication chipset. As such, a user may interface with the features of the UE <NUM> via one or more peripheral devices. For example, a user may be able to receive and make phone calls or view/send text messages using the peripheral device (e.g., smart watch) without involvement of the UE <NUM> itself.

A UE <NUM> may be configured to establish one or more wireless communication links <NUM> with one or more base stations <NUM>. The wireless communication links <NUM> shown in wireless communication network <NUM> may carry UL transmissions from a UE <NUM> to a base station <NUM>, or downlink (DL) transmissions, from a base station <NUM> to a UE <NUM>. The downlink transmissions may also be called forward link transmissions while the uplink transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions. Each wireless communication link <NUM> may include one or more carriers, where each carrier may be a signal made up of multiple sub-carriers (e.g., waveform signals of different frequencies) modulated according to the various radio technologies described above. Each modulated signal may be sent on a different sub-carrier and may carry control information (e.g., reference signals, control channels, etc.), overhead information, user data, etc. In an aspect, the communication links <NUM> may transmit bidirectional communications using frequency division duplex (FDD) (e.g., using paired spectrum resources) or time division duplex (TDD) operation (e.g., using unpaired spectrum resources). Frame structures may be defined for FDD (e.g., frame structure type <NUM>) and TDD (e.g., frame structure type <NUM>). Moreover, in some aspects, the communication links <NUM> may represent one or more broadcast channels.

In some aspects of the wireless communication network <NUM>, base stations <NUM> or UEs <NUM> may include multiple antennas for employing antenna diversity schemes to improve communication quality and reliability between base stations <NUM> and UEs <NUM>. Additionally or alternatively, base stations <NUM> or UEs <NUM> may employ multiple input multiple output (MIMO) techniques that may take advantage of multi-path environments to transmit multiple spatial layers carrying the same or different coded data.

The wireless communication network <NUM> may support operation on multiple cells or carriers, a feature which may be referred to as carrier aggregation (CA) or multi-carrier operation. A carrier may also be referred to as a component carrier (CC), a layer, a channel, etc. The terms "carrier," "component carrier," "cell," and "channel" may be used interchangeably herein. A UE <NUM> may be configured with multiple downlink CCs and one or more uplink CCs for carrier aggregation.

<FIG> illustrates another diagram of a wireless communication system <NUM> illustrating techniques for allocating virtual identifiers for peripheral devices associated with the UE <NUM> in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The wireless communication system <NUM> may include a base station <NUM> and a UE <NUM> that may be similar to the base station <NUM> and the UE <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>. The wireless communication system <NUM> additionally illustrates a peripheral device <NUM>. Although only one peripheral device <NUM> is illustrated, it is contemplated that any number of peripheral devices <NUM> may be paired with the UE <NUM> concurrently.

In some examples, the peripheral device <NUM> may be configured with a cellular radio ("cellular modem") and a short-range communication chipset for establishing communication over non-cellular network (e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). In some configurations the UE <NUM> and the peripheral device <NUM> may operate in a parent-child (or "master-slave") configuration. As such, the peripheral devices may be provided with temporary or time controlled access rights or priority. In some examples, the priority based control may be used in situations where multiple peripheral devices <NUM> are active.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure and to achieve the advantages set forth above, the one or more peripheral devices may be allocated a virtual SIM profile or VIMSI by the network entity (e.g., base station <NUM>) that is based on the mobile device identification (IMSI) of the UE <NUM>. Thus, the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> each may be identified by their respective unique virtual IMSIs.

As noted above, the core network <NUM> may provide user authentication, access authorization, tracking, internet protocol (IP) connectivity, and other access, routing, or mobility functions. Additionally, the base stations <NUM> may interface with the core network <NUM> through backhaul links <NUM> (e.g., S1, etc.). In some examples, the UE <NUM> may authenticate and attach with the network by transmitting an attach request to the network entity. In the wireless communication system <NUM>, the network entity, following the attachment procedures may assign the UE <NUM> a unique MSISDN (e.g., phone number). In some examples, the UE <NUM> may also be paired <NUM> with the peripheral device <NUM> such that a user may control or interface with the UE <NUM> via the user interface of the peripheral device <NUM>. The techniques for requesting and allocating the VIMSI will now be described.

Once the peripheral device <NUM> is paired <NUM> with the UE <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may transmit to the peripheral device <NUM> indicated that a WWAN or cellular service may be available. In response, the peripheral device <NUM> may transmit, to the UE <NUM>, a request for a VSIM profile that may be forwarded to the network entity (e.g., VSIM APN) during a data call. In some examples, the VSIM server may allocate a unique virtual identifier (VSIM profile or VIMSI) based on the mobile device ID of the UE <NUM>. Thus, in some examples, the network entity <NUM> may maintain a routing table that correlates the mobile device identification with respective virtual identifier(s) of the peripheral device(s) <NUM>.

In some aspects, following allocation of the VIMSI by the network entity, the VIMSI information may be transmitted to the UE <NUM> that may further forward the VSIM profile to the peripheral device <NUM> for storage. In some examples, both the UE <NUM> and the peripheral device <NUM> may maintain a virtual identifier peripheral database based on receiving the virtual identifier from the network entity <NUM>. Although the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> may each be assigned a virtual identifier, the UE <NUM> and the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> may continue to interact via the non-cellular modem (e.g., Bluetooth) until detection of a trigger. For example, one or more trigger may include determination that the distance between the UE <NUM> and peripheral <NUM> exceeds a predetermined threshold. In other examples, the one or more trigger may be when the battery level of the UE <NUM> falls below a predetermined threshold. Thus, in order to conserve power, the UE <NUM> may dynamically determine to switch operations to the one or more peripherals. In other examples, the threshold may be identified when the UE <NUM> notifies the network entity <NUM> of the active peripheral devices. In some examples, the UE <NUM> may also provide the network entity <NUM> a priority list of peripheral device(s) <NUM>. The priority list may identify an order in which the network entity should contact the peripheral devices <NUM> when a plurality of peripheral devices <NUM> are active. In some examples, the priority list may be set based on user preference of peripheral devices. In other examples, the priority list may be based on identification of most commonly used peripheral devices.

<FIG> illustrates a schematic diagram <NUM> of activating the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> for cellular communication that is independent of UE <NUM> involvement. As discussed above, once the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> are assigned their respective VSIM profiles or virtual identifiers, the UE <NUM> and the peripheral device <NUM> may continue to communicate via, for example, Bluetooth or Wi-Fi communication link <NUM>. However, based on one or more triggers, the UE <NUM> may determine to activate the peripheral device <NUM> such that the network communications (e.g., voice and data communications) may be established directly between the peripheral device <NUM> and the UE <NUM> without UE <NUM> involvement. Such situations may arise, for example, when the user chooses to leave the UE <NUM> at home while carrying only the peripheral device(s) <NUM>. In such situation, the UE <NUM> may transmit from the UE <NUM> to the network entity <NUM>, a supplementary service message that identifies one or more active peripheral devices <NUM> associated with the UE <NUM>. In some examples, the supplementary service message may identify when the peripheral devices <NUM> need to be activated or deactivated. Additionally or alternatively, the supplementary service message may be utilized to identify (or change) priorities of the peripheral devices <NUM> that the UE <NUM> prefers the network entity <NUM> contact in order of user preference indicated in the priority list.

Thus, in some examples, the UE <NUM> may determine that one or more triggers have been satisfied (e.g., that the UE <NUM> and the peripheral are no longer in predetermined proximity of one another). Based on the determination, the UE <NUM> may transmit a detach message <NUM> to the network entity <NUM> indicating an intent to detach from the network. In some examples, the UE <NUM> may additionally enter a power conserve mode in response to transmitting the detach message in order to reduce signaling overhead and power consumption (e.g., enter sleep mode).

Subsequently, the peripheral device <NUM>, in some examples, may transmit an attach message to the network entity <NUM>. The network entity <NUM>, upon receiving the attach message <NUM>, may update its routing network settings. In some examples, the routing network settings may identify whether communications associated with the UE will be transmitted to either the UE <NUM> or the peripheral device <NUM>. In one or more examples, the network entity <NUM> may update the routing network setting to indicate that subsequent packets for the UE should instead be redirected directly to the peripheral devices. Thus, in some aspects, the network entity <NUM> may begin transmitting packets scheduled for transmission to the IMSI of the UE <NUM> from the network entity <NUM> to the peripheral device <NUM> without routing them via the UE <NUM> based on the virtual identifier when the peripheral device is attached to the network entity.

<FIG> is a flowchart of a method <NUM> of requesting and allocating the virtual identifier in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The flowchart <NUM> includes a network entity <NUM>, the UE <NUM>, and one or more peripheral devices <NUM> that may be similar to the network entity <NUM> (e.g., core network <NUM> or base station <NUM>), the UE <NUM>, and the peripheral device <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

The method <NUM> may include the UE <NUM>, at <NUM>, transmitting an attach request to the network entity <NUM>. The network entity <NUM> may perform authentication and registration procedures associated with the attach request from the UE <NUM> and at <NUM>, transmit an attach accepted/service acquired message to the UE <NUM>. Upon completing the registration procedure between the UE <NUM> and the network entity <NUM>, the UE <NUM> and the peripheral device <NUM>-a may be paired via a pair request at <NUM> and pair response <NUM>. Although the flowchart illustrates that the peripheral device <NUM>-a initiates the pair request, it is contemplated that either device (e.g., UE <NUM> or peripheral device <NUM>-a) may initiate the pairing. Once, at <NUM>, the pairing between the UE <NUM> and the peripheral device <NUM>-a is completed, the UE <NUM>, at <NUM> may notify the peripheral device <NUM>-a of WAN availability.

In some examples, the notification of the WAN availability may prompt the peripheral device <NUM>-a to transmit, at <NUM>, a VSIM profile request to the UE <NUM>. The UE <NUM>, at <NUM>, may initiate a data call with the VSIM access point name (APN). Once the data call is connected <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may transmit a request to the network <NUM> for a VSIM profile for the peripheral device <NUM>-a. At <NUM>, the VSIM server (network entity <NUM>) may allocate a unique VSIM profile for the peripheral device and forward the allocated VSIM profile to the UE <NUM>. In some aspects, after receiving the VSIM profile from the VSIM server, the UE <NUM> may update its virtual identifier peripheral database that maintains the list of assigned VSIM profiles or virtual identifiers for the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> associated with the UE <NUM>. The UE <NUM>, at <NUM> may further allocate the VSIM profile to the peripheral device <NUM> using non-cellular (e.g., Bluetooth/Wi-Fi) communication link. At <NUM>, the peripheral device <NUM> may acknowledge the receipt of the VSIM profile to the UE <NUM>. In some aspects, a similar procedure as described above may be performed, at <NUM> for each of the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> associated with the UE <NUM> until each of the peripheral devices <NUM>-N have been assigned their respective unique virtual identifiers that are based on the mobile device ID of the UE <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart <NUM> of managing communications between the network, the UE, and the one or more peripheral devices when the one or more peripheral devices may be within the effective range of the short-range communication chip in accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

In the illustrated example, the UE <NUM> and the network entity <NUM> may complete the attach procedures based on the attach request <NUM> and attach accepted response <NUM> as described with reference to <FIG> above. In some examples, at <NUM>, each of the plurality of peripheral devices <NUM> may be allocated their respective unique VSIM in accordance with the techniques identified in <FIG> above. At <NUM>, the communication between the UE <NUM> and the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> may be established via the non-cellular connectivity technology (e.g., Bluetooth/Wi-Fi) such that the cellular radio (cellular modem) for the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> may be maintained in the sleep mode.

Because only the UE <NUM> may be active with the network entity <NUM> during this time period, the network entity <NUM>, at <NUM>, may forward all incoming calls, notifications, and messages directed to the mobile device ID of the UE <NUM> to the UE <NUM> itself.

At <NUM>, the UE <NUM> may notify the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> of the incoming messages (e.g., by displaying the text message on the smart watch or forwarding the call to the wireless headset). Similarly, at <NUM>, any messages originating from the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> may be routed to the network <NUM> via the UE <NUM>. For example, at <NUM>, the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> may transmit a request to initiate transmission of a voice or data packet to the UE <NUM>. The UE <NUM>, in turn, at <NUM> may forward the received packet to the network entity <NUM>. At <NUM>, the call connect indication may be sent from the network to the UE <NUM> and forwarded, at <NUM>, from the UE <NUM> to the one or more peripheral devices <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart of an example method <NUM> of managing traffic when the peripheral device <NUM> and the UE <NUM> are no longer connected through non-cellular technology in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure. The method <NUM> illustrates a network entity <NUM>, the UE <NUM>, and one or more peripheral devise <NUM> that may be similar to the network entity, UE and the peripheral devices described with reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, the UE and the network may complete the attach procedures as described above with reference to <FIG> and <FIG>. At <NUM>, the one or more peripheral devices may be allocated VSIM profiles in accordance with the steps set forth in <FIG>. Upon obtaining the virtual identifiers for the one or more peripheral devices associated with the UE <NUM>, the UE <NUM>, at <NUM>, may transmit a supplementary service message to the network <NUM>. In some examples, the supplementary service message may identify the one or more active peripheral devices associated with the UE. Additionally or alternatively, the supplementary service message may further include a priority list of peripheral devices identifying the order in which the network entity should contact the peripheral devices. The list may be generated by the user based on his or her preferences. In some examples, the network entity <NUM> may update the routing table of IP addresses/VIMSIs of the UE <NUM> and peripheral devices based on the supplementary service message. At <NUM>, the network may transmit a supplementary service acknowledgment to the UE <NUM>. When, at <NUM>, the peripheral devices <NUM> and the UE <NUM> are no longer connected through short-range connectivity (e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi), the cellular modem of the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> may be activated.

At <NUM>, the one or more peripheral devices may transmit an attach message to the network entity. The network entity, in response, at <NUM> may update its routing network settings that identifies whether communications associated with the UE will be transmitted to either the UE or the peripheral device. The network entity <NUM> may also transmit an attach accepted message back to the requesting peripheral device <NUM>-a indicating that the attached procedures were completed. Similarly, at <NUM>, one or more additional peripheral devices <NUM>-N may transmit an attach request to the network entity <NUM> and the network entity, at <NUM>, in similar fashion may respond with the acknowledgment message.

At <NUM>, when an incoming packet or call is received at the network entity <NUM> intended for the IMSI of the UE <NUM>, the network entity <NUM> may refer to the routing table to identify the one or more peripheral devices <NUM> and their corresponding virtual SIM profiles. The network entity <NUM> may also initiate transmitting packets from the network entity to the peripheral device without routing them via the UE based on the virtual identifier when the peripheral device is attached to the network entity. In some examples, the network entity <NUM> may determine which of the plurality of peripheral devices <NUM> to forward the packets or incoming call based on the priority list received in the supplementary service message from the UE.

If at <NUM>, the highest priority peripheral device <NUM> fails to respond or accept the transmitted packet (e.g., network entity <NUM> receiving an acknowledgement of successful transmission), the network entity <NUM> following a predetermined number of retries may, at <NUM>, attempt to forward the packets to the next highest priority peripheral device <NUM>-N on the priority list. When at <NUM>, the second highest priority peripheral device <NUM>-N, for example, responds, the peripheral device <NUM>-N and network entity <NUM> may establish communication with the peripheral. Similarly, peripheral devices <NUM>, at <NUM> and <NUM> may originate communication (data or voice) with the network entity <NUM> without the involvement of the UE <NUM>.

However, for example at <NUM>, when the UE <NUM> and the peripheral devices <NUM> return to the effective range of the short-range communication technology, the peripheral devices <NUM>, at <NUM> may detach from the network entity. At <NUM>, the network may acknowledge the detachment and resume communicating with the UE <NUM> (i.e., forwarding and receiving packets from the UE <NUM> as oppose to the peripheral devices <NUM>). In such instance, the UE <NUM> may return from the sleep mode to active mode in order to resume operations. In some examples, the UE <NUM> returning to proximity of the peripheral device may satisfy one or more second triggers (e.g., an indication that proximate distance between the UE and the peripheral is less than the threshold). As such, the UE <NUM> may transmit a reattach message to the network entity to initiate reattachment procedures and resume communication with the network entity.

<FIG> is a flowchart of a method <NUM> in accordance with the invention. The method <NUM> may be performed using an apparatus (e.g., the network entity <NUM> that may be either the core network <NUM>, the VSIM server, or the base station <NUM>, for example). Although the method <NUM> is described below with respect to the elements of the network entity <NUM>, other components may be used to implement one or more of the steps described herein.

At block <NUM>, the method includes receiving, at the network entity, a request from a user equipment (UE) to allocate a virtual subscriber information module (VSIM) profile for a peripheral device paired with the UE. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by the receiver <NUM> and the modem <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method includes determining a mobile device identification of the UE based in part on the request for VSIM profile. In some examples, the mobile device identification of the UE may be the IMSI associated with the UE <NUM>. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method includes allocating a virtual identifier to the peripheral device based on the mobile device identification of the UE. In some examples, the virtual identifier may be a VSIM profile, VIMSI, or any virtual identifier that may identifiably be correlated with the UE <NUM>. In some examples, the method may further comprise receiving, at the network entity, a supplementary service message from the UE. The supplementary service message may identify a subset of active peripheral devices from a plurality of peripheral devices that are paired with the UE. In some aspects, supplementary service message may further include a priority list of peripheral devices paired with the UE. As such, the network entity may update network routing settings based at least in part on the supplementary service message. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by the VSIM assignment component <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method includes transmitting, from the network entity to the UE, the virtual identifier for the one or more paired peripheral device. The method may further include transmitting a supplementary service acknowledgement in response to receiving the supplementary service message from the UE. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by transceiver <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, upon allocating the virtual identifier to one or more peripheral devices and transmitting the information to the UE, the network device receives from the UE a detach message indicating the intent of the UE to detach from the network. In some examples, the UE may enter a lower power mode or sleep mode. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by the receiver <NUM> and the modem <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the network entity updates a routing network settings based at least in part on the detach message. The routing network settings may identify whether communications associated with the UE will be transmitted to either the UE or the peripheral device. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by the network routing component <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> is a flowchart of a method <NUM> in accordance with the invention. The method <NUM> may be performed using an apparatus (e.g., the UE <NUM>, for example). Although the method <NUM> is described below with respect to the elements of the UE <NUM>, other components may be used to implement one or more of the steps described herein.

At block <NUM>, the method includes establishing communication between the UE and a peripheral device. In some examples, the communication between the UE and the peripheral device may be established via non-cellular short-range communication technology (e.g., Bluetooth or Wi-Fi). Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by combination of RF front end <NUM>, transceiver <NUM> and the modem <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method includes receiving, at the UE, a request for a VSIM profile from the peripheral device. In some examples, the VSIM profile request may be received in response to a notification sent from the UE to the peripheral device regarding the availability of WAN. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by receiver <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method further includes initiating a data call with a network entity to request the VSIM profile for the peripheral device from the network entity. In some examples, Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by peripheral management component <NUM>.

At block <NUM>, the method includes receiving, in response to the request, a virtual identifier from the network entity. In some examples, the UE and the VSIM profile management component <NUM> may update a virtual identifier peripheral database based on receiving the virtual identifier from the network entity and transmit the allocated virtual identifier to the peripheral device over non-cellular short range communication network. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by receiver <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method may optionally also include transmitting, from the UE to the network entity. The supplementary service message may identify one or more active peripheral devices associated with the UE. In some aspects, the supplementary service message further includes a priority list of peripheral devices when a subset of active peripheral devices exceeds a threshold, the priority list identifying an order in which the network entity should contact the peripheral devices. The priority and activation features of the UE may be performed by the priority and activation component <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

At block <NUM>, the method determines whether one or more first triggers have been satisfied and transmits a detach message to the network entity indicating an intent to detach from the network. In some examples, the one or more first triggers may include an indication that proximate distance between the UE and the peripheral exceeds a threshold. Upon transmitting the detach message and receiving an acknowledgement from the network entity, the UE <NUM> may enter a power conserve mode to reduce signaling overhead and conserve power. Aspects of block <NUM> may be performed by transceiver <NUM> described with reference to <FIG>.

<FIG> describe hardware components and subcomponents of the network entity <NUM>, the UE <NUM>, and the peripheral device <NUM> for implementing one or more methods described herein in accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure. For sake of brevity, the features that are replicated across each of the devices (e.g., processor, memory, modem, transceiver, and RF front end) may be described with reference to only <FIG> and should be understood to perform similar functions in other devices.

First with reference to <FIG>, one example of an implementation of network entity <NUM> that may include a variety of components, some of which have already been described above, but including components such as one or more processors <NUM> and memory <NUM> and transceiver <NUM> in communication via one or more buses <NUM>, which may operate in conjunction with virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> to enable one or more of the functions described herein related to including one or more methods of the present disclosure. The virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> may further include VSIM assignment component <NUM> and network routing component <NUM> for determining whether to route the incoming packets to either the UE or the peripheral devices. Further, the one or more processors <NUM>, modem <NUM>, memory <NUM>, transceiver <NUM>, RF front end <NUM> and one or more antennas <NUM>, may be configured to support voice and/or data calls (simultaneously or non-simultaneously) in one or more radio access technologies.

In an aspect, the one or more processors <NUM> can include a modem <NUM> that uses one or more modem processors. The various functions related to virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> may be included in modem <NUM> and/or processors <NUM> and, in an aspect, can be executed by a single processor, while in other aspects, different ones of the functions may be executed by a combination of two or more different processors. For example, in an aspect, the one or more processors <NUM> may include any one or any combination of a modem processor, or a baseband processor, or a digital signal processor, or a transmit processor, or a receiver processor, or a transceiver processor associated with transceiver <NUM>. In other aspects, some of the features of the one or more processors <NUM> and/or modem <NUM> associated with virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> may be performed by transceiver <NUM>.

Also, memory <NUM> may be configured to store data used herein and/or local versions of applications or virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> and/or one or more of its subcomponents being executed by at least one processor <NUM>. Memory <NUM> can include any type of computer-readable medium usable by a computer or at least one processor <NUM>, such as random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), tapes, magnetic discs, optical discs, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, and any combination thereof. In an aspect, for example, memory <NUM> may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores one or more computer-executable codes defining virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> and/or one or more of its subcomponents, and/or data associated therewith, when network entity <NUM> is operating at least one processor <NUM> to execute virtual SIM allocation component <NUM> and/or one or more of its subcomponents.

Receiver <NUM> may include hardware, firmware, and/or software code executable by a processor for receiving data, the code comprising instructions and being stored in a memory (e.g., computer-readable medium). Additionally, receiver <NUM> may process such received signals, and also may obtain measurements of the signals, such as, but not limited to, Ec/Io, SNR, RSRP, RSSI, etc. Transmitter <NUM> may include hardware, firmware, and/or software code executable by a processor for transmitting data, the code comprising instructions and being stored in a memory (e.g., computer-readable medium).

Moreover, in an aspect, base station <NUM> may include RF front end <NUM>, which may operate in communication with one or more antennas <NUM> and transceiver <NUM> for receiving and transmitting radio transmissions, for example, wireless communications transmitted by at least one base station <NUM> or wireless transmissions transmitted by UE <NUM>.

In an aspect, transceiver may be tuned to operate at specified frequencies such that base station <NUM> can communicate with, for example, one or more UEs <NUM> or one or more cells associated with one or more base stations <NUM>. In an aspect, for example, modem <NUM> can configure transceiver <NUM> to operate at a specified frequency and power level based on the base station <NUM> configuration and the communication protocol used by modem <NUM>.

In another aspect, the modem configuration can be based on network configuration information associated with network entity <NUM> as provided by the network during cell selection and/or cell reselection.

Turning now to <FIG>, the hardware structure <NUM> of the UE <NUM> is described. As noted above, number of components and subcomponents, including the processor, modem, transceiver, RF front end may be similar to those described with reference to <FIG>. The modem <NUM> of the UE <NUM> may further include a peripheral management component <NUM> that includes a VSIM profile management component <NUM> that updates the virtual identifier peripheral database based on receiving the virtual identifier from the network entity. The peripheral management component <NUM> may further include a priority and activation component <NUM> for managing the priorities of the plurality of peripheral devices when multiple peripheral devices are concurrently active. The peripheral management component <NUM> may function in conjunction with the processor <NUM> and/or the modem <NUM> or as described above be part of the processor itself.

Referring to <FIG>, which is useful for an understanding of the claimed invention, the hardware structure <NUM> of the peripheral device <NUM> is described. For brevity sake, the duplicate components will not be repeated herein. The peripheral device may be a dual-radio device configured to communicate over short-range communication technology (e.g., Bluetooth and Wi-Fi) as well as cellular modem such that it may establish cellular communication with the network independent of the UE. In some examples, the peripheral device <NUM> may maintain a virtual SIM profile or virtual identifier that is associated with the mobile device ID of the corresponding UE. In one or more examples, the virtual SIM profile component <NUM> of the peripheral device <NUM> may request a VSIM profile from the UE <NUM> in response to being notified of WAN availability. The peripheral device may also initiate an attach procedure, when active, with the network to establish communication. The virtual SIM profile component <NUM> may be part of the processor <NUM> and/or the modem <NUM> or may be a separate component that operates in conjunction with the processor.

Claim 1:
A method for wireless communications performed by a network entity (<NUM>, <NUM>), comprising:
receiving (<NUM>) a request from a user equipment, UE (<NUM>), to allocate a virtual subscriber information module, VSIM, profile for a peripheral device (<NUM>) paired with the UE (<NUM>);
determining (<NUM>) a mobile device identification of the UE (<NUM>) based in part on the request;
allocating (<NUM>) a virtual identifier to the peripheral device (<NUM>) based on the mobile device identification of the UE (<NUM>) such that the peripheral device (<NUM>) and the UE (<NUM>) are allocated same phone number, wherein the virtual identifier is a virtual international mobile subscriber identity, VIMSI;
transmitting (<NUM>) to the UE (<NUM>), the virtual identifier for the paired peripheral device (<NUM>), wherein the virtual identifier is to be transmitted further to the peripheral device (<NUM>) over a non-cellular short range communication network;
receiving (<NUM>) a detach message from the UE (<NUM>); and
updating (<NUM>) network routing settings based at least in part on the detach message, wherein the network routing settings identify whether communications associated with the UE (<NUM>) will be transmitted to either the UE (<NUM>) or the peripheral device (<NUM>).