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. A wireless multiple-access communications system may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices. Communication devices that are user-specific are referred to as user equipment (UE).

In order to provide more and better wireless services, use of spectrum in higher frequencies is being explored. For example, use of portions of the millimeter wave (mmW) spectrum (which extends from <NUM> to <NUM>), is being considered for telecommunications applications.

Use of non-mmW spectrum may be restricted due to government regulation or other agreements. For example, different portions of the electromagnetic spectrum may be subject to license by a governmental entity. Spectrum licenses may be exclusive, or the spectrum may be shared. Additionally, some aspects of telecommunications devices may be subject to safety regulations. For example, some regulations place restrictions on the amount or other characteristics of transmission power.

<CIT> teaches that an eNodeB that is configured to support carrier aggregation can provide an attached UE with scheduling information (SI) about alternative (secondary) component carriers in that eNodeB using a high level signaling mechanism such as RRC signaling or another type of layer two or layer three signaling. Component Carriers are typically configured as DL and UL component carrier pairs.

<CIT> discloses that Small Cell mmW eNB (SCmB) may simultaneously transmit LTE downlink channels in a wide beam pattern and/or mmW channels in narrow beam pattem(s), e.g., when it is equipped with advanced antenna configuration and/or beamforming technique(s). The SCmB may support features and/or procedures in a LTE uplink (UL) operation, e.g., to support mmW wireless transmit/receive units (WTRUs) without mmW uplink transmission.

<CIT> discloses mobile service anchor management (MSAM) employing a layered network architecture with a BS device uplink channel, a mmW BS device first downlink channel and a non-mmW BS device second downlink channel.

<CIT> discloses various deployment scenarios for LTE-U may be supported including a supplemental downlink mode in which LTE downlink capacity in a licensed spectrum may be offloaded to an unlicensed spectrum, a carrier aggregation mode in which both LTE downlink and uplink capacity may be offloaded from a licensed spectrum to an unlicensed spectrum, and a standalone mode in which LTE downlink and uplink communications between a base station (e.g., eNB) and a UE may take place in an unlicensed spectrum.

<CIT> discloses that a target eNB may be subject to multiple carrier restrictions. For instance, one carrier restriction may apply to the uplink carrier (uplink <NUM>) of primary carrier <NUM>, and another carrier restriction may apply to the downlink carrier (downlink <NUM>) of primary carrier <NUM>. In light of the carrier restrictions, the target base station may pair the unrestricted downlink carrier (orphaned downlink <NUM>) of primary carrier <NUM> with the unrestricted uplink carrier (orphaned uplink <NUM>) of primary carrier <NUM>.

Preferred embodiments are subject to the dependent claims. Aspects of the description that are not covered by the claims are not part of the invention.

The techniques allow for different configurations of uplink and downlink carriers; for example, in a system where downlink signals are in the mmW portion of the electromagnetic spectrum while uplink signals may be in non-mmW bands.

Aspects generally include methods, apparatus, systems, computer program products, and processing systems, as substantially described herein with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.

Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary aspects of the present invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures.

While the expansion of telecommunications into new frequency regimes can provide a number of benefits, new frequency bands such as those associated with the millimeter wave portion of the electromagnetic spectrum present new challenges for devices and protocols.

One issue that may arise with new spectrum is the intersection of regulation with technology. For example, in the United States, some kinds of wireless devices need to comply with Maximum Permissible Exposure (MPE) restrictions. Depending on their use and configuration, some UEs may ensure compliance with MPE restrictions by using non-mmW carriers in the uplink (transmissions from the UE to the network entity) and using the mmW band exclusively on the downlink (transmissions from a network entity such as a base station to the UE). Other UEs may be designed to selectively use either mmW or non-mmW transmissions on the uplink. Devices that are not routinely proximate to a user's body, such as some Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), may be designed to use mmW spectrum for both uplink and downlink communications.

Systems and techniques herein use cross-band pairing of downlink mmW carriers with one or more non-mmW uplink carriers. Uplink carrier frequencies that are less than ten GHz can be used; in particular, the sub-<NUM> bands can mitigate regulatory concerns and are compatible with many UE designs. Examples of sub-<NUM> bands are <NUM>-<NUM>, <NUM>-<NUM>, and <NUM>-<NUM>. Although using the sub-<NUM> bands on the uplink can be beneficial, some aspects of using the sub-<NUM> bands can be challenging. For example, although currently <NUM> NR (New Radio) supports up to <NUM> carrier widths in the sub-<NUM> bands, a contiguous allotment may not be available since the sub-<NUM> band may be fragmented (the spectrum available for use may not be in a single contiguous band, but may be made up of smaller portions of spectrum). There are a number of reasons the available spectrum may be fragmented.

For a licensed band, a licensee may not have access to a contiguous allocation in the spectrum-for example, the licensee may have one allotment in one portion of the band and another allotment in a different portion of the band that is not contiguous with the first portion (or is in a different band). For an unlicensed portion of the non-mmW spectrum, medium sharing may result in a node with access to a non-contiguous uplink spectrum. For a shared portion of the non-mmW spectrum, protection of the existing incumbent (a prior user such as a governmental entity who has priority of shared spectrum) may result in a node with access to non-contiguous uplink spectrum.

In the current version of the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) specification, a UE cannot be configured with more uplink component carriers than downlink component carriers. In order to provide efficient and compliant communication when using different spectrum on the uplink and on the downlink, systems and techniques for cross-band pairing described herein allow for pairing a non-mmW primary uplink component carrier and optionally one or more secondary uplink component carriers with a particular mmW downlink carrier. Herein, the phrase "component carrier" refers to a single carrier or one of a plurality of carriers for a carrier aggregation implementation, while cross-band pairing refers to association of one or more uplink carriers in non-mmW bands (e.g., one or more of the sub-<NUM> bands) paired with a single downlink carrier in a different spectrum band (e.g., the mmW band).

Some aspects that affect cross-band pairing are spectrum availability, spectrum use characteristics, and UE capability. As explained above, different telecommunications service providers may have limited available spectrum due to fragmentation. Even when a service provider is able to access particular portions of the spectrum, use characteristics such as loading may make some portions more or less desirable for a particular communication. Additionally, different UEs may also have different capabilities for supporting communications in different spectral regimes. For example, a service provider may have a first spectrum allotment in the sub-<NUM> spectrum with a first center frequency and a second spectrum allotment with a second higher center frequency, but a UE may only be able to support communications in the first spectrum allotment having the lower center frequency.

In some implementations, the cross-band pairing process may be mostly managed by a base station, while in others the UE may do some or all of the management. Examples of these implementations are described below with reference to the figures.

Systems and techniques for cross-band pairing are described with respect to example system <NUM> of <FIG>. Wireless communications system <NUM> includes base stations <NUM>, user devices (UEs) <NUM> (including UE 115a and UE 115b), CPE <NUM>, and a core network <NUM>. A UE <NUM> may also be referred to as a mobile station, a subscriber station, a remote unit, a wireless device, an access terminal (AT), a handset, a user agent, a client, or like terminology. A UE <NUM> may also be a cellular phone, a wireless modem, a handheld device, a personal computer, a tablet, a personal electronic device, a machine type communication (MTC) device, etc. In some examples, the wireless communications system <NUM> may be a Long Term Evolution (LTE)/LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) network, a <NUM> network, or a network that provides services with a combination of protocols.

In the example of <FIG>, UE 115a is configured to use communicate with base station <NUM>. Each mmW downlink component carrier is paired with at least a primary uplink component carrier one or more uplink carriers. According to the invention, UE 115a is configured to use exclusively non-mmW carriers on the uplink. By contrast, UE 115b is configured to selectively use either non-mmW carriers in the uplink or mmW carriers in the uplink paired with received signals on mmW downlink carriers. CPE <NUM> is configured to pair uplink mmW signals with downlink mmW signals.

Base stations <NUM> may perform radio configuration and scheduling for communication with UE 115a and UE 115b and CPE <NUM>, or may operate under the control of a base station controller (not shown). Base stations <NUM> may also be referred to as eNodeBs (eNBs) or gNodeBs (gNBs) <NUM>.

<FIG> shows a simplified drawing of an example UE <NUM>, referred to as UE <NUM>. UE <NUM> includes antenna circuitry <NUM> and transceiver circuitry <NUM>. Transceiver circuitry <NUM> includes receive circuitry with one or more receive (Rx) chains <NUM> having RF components such as amplifiers, analog to digital converters, mixers, oscillators, filters, etc. for processing received downlink signals, as well as transmit circuitry with one or more transmit (TX) chains <NUM> including RF components to generate signals to transmit on the uplink. Characteristics of the transceiver circuitry <NUM> for UE <NUM> can affect its ability to support particular uplink or downlink component carriers. UE <NUM> may support the entirety of available uplink non-mmW spectrum, or may support only part of the spectrum. For example, a particular UE design may have transmit chain(s) <NUM> that can support uplink signals in a first sub-<NUM> band but not a second sub-<NUM> band, or may support a portion but not all of a particular band. Similarly, the receive chain(s) <NUM> may support the entire width of the downlink mmW spectrum, or a portion.

UE <NUM> includes processor circuitry <NUM> and memory circuitry <NUM>. Processor circuitry <NUM> and memory circuitry <NUM> are shown as discrete blocks, but may be implemented in a number of ways; for example, processor circuitry may be implemented in one or more dedicated areas of a chip or in different chips. Similarly memory circuitry <NUM> may be implemented as a main memory with or without the addition of other portions of memory circuitry on the same or different chips. For communications in the mmW spectrum, antenna circuitry <NUM> works with processor circuitry <NUM> and memory circuitry <NUM> to implement beam-related techniques such as beam scanning and management for communication with one or more base stations such as base station <NUM>. Note that herein "processor circuitry" and "processor" are used to refer to structure.

UE <NUM> may store capability information as part of stored data and instructions <NUM> in memory circuitry <NUM>. UE capability information may indicate support for communication using particular frequencies. In operation, UE <NUM> executes the techniques described below to implement cross-band pairing. For example, UE <NUM> may receive signals including information for a plurality of candidate uplink component carriers using antenna circuitry <NUM> and receive circuitry including receive chain(s) <NUM> of transceiver circuitry <NUM>, described more fully below and in reference to <FIG>. The information may be stored in memory circuitry <NUM> to be accessed and processed using processor circuitry <NUM>. For example, processor circuitry <NUM> may select a preferred primary uplink component carrier and optionally one or more preferred secondary uplink component carriers using the techniques outlined below. Processor circuitry <NUM> may generate a message including a capability report, and may at times generate messaging indicating preference for different (updated) primary and/or secondary uplink component carriers. In other implementations, described more fully below and in reference to <FIG>, UE <NUM> may receive signals including an initial configured primary uplink component carrier using antenna circuitry <NUM> and receive circuitry including receive chain(s) <NUM> of transceiver circuitry <NUM>, while processor circuitry <NUM> generates a message including the capability report, as well as the other aspects described below.

<FIG> shows a simplified drawing of an example base station <NUM>. Base station <NUM> may include processor circuitry <NUM>, memory circuitry <NUM>, antenna circuitry <NUM>, and transceiver circuitry <NUM>. As noted above, base station <NUM> can participate in communications with UEs such as UE 115a and UE 115b on a number of component carriers using associated cells. Here, the term "cell" being used to denote structure such as data and instructions <NUM> stored on memory circuitry <NUM> to generate signal information upon execution by processor circuitry <NUM>, and transceiver circuitry <NUM> and antenna circuitry <NUM> transmitting the signals using the particular component carrier associated with the cell. In operation, base station <NUM> executes the techniques described below to implement cross-band pairing. For example, base station <NUM> may transmit information indicative of a plurality of candidate uplink component carriers using transmit circuitry of transceiver circuitry <NUM> and antenna circuitry <NUM>, as described below and in <FIG>. Base station <NUM> receives transmission from UEs such as UE <NUM> on a selected primary uplink component carrier (and/or an indication of a preference for a primary uplink component carrier), as well as a capability report for each UE, which can be stored in memory circuitry <NUM> and processed by processor circuitry <NUM> to determine uplink component carriers to be paired with a particular downlink carrier. Base station <NUM> and the UE communicate using the downlink component carrier and the one or more paired uplink component carriers. Base station <NUM> may optionally reconfigure the UE with a different (updated) primary uplink component carrier (and/or different secondary uplink component carrier(s)) during a connection. For example, base station <NUM> may improve load balancing among more than one communicating UEs by changing the component carriers for one or more connected UEs and/or by its configuration of component carriers to UEs as part of connection. In another implementation, as described below and in <FIG>, base station <NUM> may transmit information of initial configured primary uplink component carrier using antenna circuitry <NUM> and transceiver circuitry <NUM>, and enter a connected station using the initial configured primary uplink component carrier. Upon receiving a capability report from the UE, the base station may optionally configure UE with one or more secondary component carriers and may at some point optionally reconfigure the UE with a different primary uplink component carrier.

<FIG> shows a flow diagram for a method <NUM> useful for understanding the invention. Method <NUM> may be used for a UE <NUM> to communicate with a base station <NUM> using a connection that includes one or more uplink sub-mmW carriers paired with a particular downlink mmW component carrier. Method <NUM> is managed at least partially by UE <NUM>, so that it can autonomously select at least a primary uplink component carrier from a plurality of candidate uplink component carriers.

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> receives information indicative of a plurality of candidate uplink component carriers from a base station <NUM>. For example, in establishing a connection, a particular gNB advertises more than one sub-<NUM> uplink component carrier to pair with a particular mmW downlink component carrier. The received information includes identification of each of the candidate uplink component carriers (e.g., frequency information such as its center frequency). In some implementations, random access channel (RACH) parameters for each candidate uplink component carrier are also included in the advertisement of the candidate uplink component carriers. If base station <NUM> is going to use carrier aggregation on the downlink (either with multiple cells of one base station or cells from more than one base station), UE <NUM> may receive information indicative of a plurality of candidate uplink component carriers for some or all of the downlink component carriers, although the information can be provided at different times and need not come from a single base station <NUM>.

At <NUM>, in response to receiving the information, UE <NUM> selects at least a primary uplink component carrier that complies with the capabilities of UE <NUM> and optionally communicates an indication of the preferred primary uplink component carrier to base station <NUM>. For example, if UE <NUM> supports some but not all uplink center frequencies, UE <NUM> will select a primary uplink component carrier from a group of S supported carriers of the total T candidate uplink component carriers. If UE <NUM> supports more than one of the candidate uplink carriers, the UE may choose a primary uplink component carrier based on some aspect that makes one or more component carriers preferable compared to other candidate uplink component carriers, or it may choose from among the supported candidate uplink component carriers at random or in some other way that is not based on the characteristics of the candidate uplink component carriers (e.g., random selection).

For example, in some embodiments UE <NUM> selects the primary uplink component carrier based on one or more uplink communication parameters that can make a particular candidate uplink component carrier preferable to other candidate uplink component carriers. The uplink communication parameters include compatibility with the UE <NUM>, relative current/expected load levels for the candidate uplink component carriers, incumbent access to the candidate uplink component carriers, or other parameters.

One parameter that may be used to select at least a primary uplink component carrier is the compatibility of the UE with the candidate uplink component carriers. Some candidate uplink component carriers may be more compatible with the particular configuration of UE <NUM>. For example, the UE may be capable of supporting both first and second candidate uplink component carriers, but its RF design may be better suited to processing the center frequency of the first candidate uplink component carrier. Another parameter that may be used to select at least a primary uplink component carrier may be a consideration of the current and/or expected load of the candidate uplink component carriers. For example, UE <NUM> may use media sensing to determine carrier loading. If UE <NUM> observes a lower load on the first candidate uplink component carrier compared to the second candidate uplink component carrier, it may select the first candidate uplink carrier. Another parameter that may be used to select at least a primary uplink component carrier may be incumbent access to the different carriers. For example, if an incumbent has priority for the first candidate uplink component carrier but not the second candidate uplink component carrier, UE <NUM> may select the second candidate uplink component carrier.

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> communicates with base station <NUM> by transmitting a signal to base station <NUM>; for example, using the selected primary uplink component carrier. During communication with base station <NUM>, UE <NUM> sends a UE capability report including UE uplink carrier capability information using the initial selected primary uplink component carrier. Base station <NUM> may use the UE capability report to configure one or more secondary uplink component carriers, or to reconfigure the primary uplink component carrier, as described in more detail below in reference to <FIG>.

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> may select or be configured with one or more secondary uplink component carriers paired to the downlink mmW carrier. If UE <NUM> selects secondary uplink component carrier(s) paired to the downlink mmW carrier, it can notify base station <NUM> as part of its signaling, or in some implementations it may be able to notify base station <NUM> implicitly by communicating with base station <NUM> using the secondary uplink component carrier(s).

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> and base station <NUM> communicate using the downlink mmW component carrier paired with the primary uplink component carrier and optionally one or more secondary uplink component carriers. In some implementations, UE <NUM> may transmit control signaling on the primary uplink component carrier and use both primary and secondary component carriers for data transmission. Control signaling that is transmitted on the primary uplink component carrier can include downlink HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) information, CSI (channel state information), scheduling request (SR) information, and RACH signaling.

At <NUM>, at a later time, UE <NUM> may optionally select and/or be reconfigured with a different primary uplink component carrier. For example, UE <NUM> may select a different primary uplink component carrier based on changes in communication parameters (such as a changing in loading for different uplink component carriers). UE <NUM> may indicate a preferred primary uplink component carrier to base station <NUM>, and may be reconfigured to that preferred primary uplink component carrier if appropriate. Base station <NUM> may reconfigure UE <NUM> based on communication conditions (e.g., load balancing among carriers).

<FIG> shows a flow diagram for a method <NUM> which is in accordance with the invention. Method <NUM> may be used for a UE <NUM> to communicate with a base station <NUM> using a connection that includes one or more uplink component carriers in a non-mmW band such as the sub-<NUM> bands paired with a particular downlink mmW component carrier. Method <NUM> is an implementation that is managed at least partially by base station <NUM>. For example, a gNB identifies at least an initial configured primary uplink component carrier from its allotted spectrum, and advertises a single "paired" uplink component carrier and its corresponding RACH parameters in a transmission to a UE.

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> receives information indicative of an initial configured non-mmW primary uplink component carrier from a base station <NUM> for a pairing with a particular downlink mmW component carrier. The received information includes identification of the initial configured primary uplink component carrier such as its center frequency and/or other frequency information, as well as RACH parameters for the primary uplink component carrier.

At <NUM>, in response to receiving the information, UE <NUM> enters a connected state using the initial configured primary uplink component carrier. At <NUM>, UE <NUM> sends a UE capability report including UE uplink carrier capability information to base station <NUM> using the initial configured primary uplink component carrier. At <NUM>, UE <NUM> is configured with one or more secondary uplink component carriers paired to the downlink mmW carrier. For example, base station <NUM> may access the received UE uplink carrier capability information and determine that UE <NUM> can support more than one uplink component carrier, and in response configure at least one secondary uplink component carrier for UE <NUM> to use on the uplink.

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> and base station <NUM> communicate using the downlink mmW component carrier paired with the primary uplink component carrier and one or more secondary uplink component carriers. In some implementations, UE <NUM> may transmit control signaling on the primary uplink component carrier and use both primary and secondary component carriers for data transmission. Control signaling that is transmitted on the primary uplink component carrier can include downlink HARQ (hybrid automatic repeat request) information, CSI (channel state information), scheduling request (SR) information, and RACH signaling.

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> may select and/or be configured with a different primary uplink component carrier at a later time. For example, UE <NUM> may indicate a preference for a different primary uplink component carrier (e.g., based on changes in communication parameters such as a changing in loading for different uplink component carriers). UE <NUM> may indicate a preferred primary uplink component carrier to base station <NUM>, and may be reconfigured to that preferred primary uplink component carrier if appropriate. Base station <NUM> may reconfigure UE <NUM> based on communication conditions (e.g., load balancing among carriers).

<FIG> shows a flow diagram for a method <NUM> which is useful for understanding the invention. Method <NUM> may be used for a base station <NUM> to communicate with a UE <NUM> using a connection that includes one or more uplink sub-mmW carriers paired with a particular downlink mmW component carrier. Method <NUM> is managed at least partially by UE <NUM>, so that it can autonomously select at least a primary uplink component carrier from a plurality of candidate uplink component carriers.

At <NUM>, base station <NUM> transmits information indicative of a plurality of non-mmW candidate uplink component carriers to UE <NUM>. Base station <NUM> is associated with a particular telecommunications service provider, and can select candidate uplink component carriers from one or more of (<NUM>) licensed spectrum allotment(s), (<NUM>) shared spectrum portion(s), and (<NUM>) unlicensed spectrum portions. For example, in establishing a connection, a particular gNB determines a plurality of sub-<NUM> uplink component carriers and advertises the candidate uplink component carriers to UE <NUM> to pair with a particular mmW downlink component carrier.

At <NUM>, base station <NUM> receives a transmission from UE <NUM> on a selected preferred primary uplink component carrier of the plurality of candidate uplink component carriers, and may receive an indication of the preferred primary uplink component carrier. During communication with UE <NUM>, base station <NUM> receives a UE capability report including UE uplink carrier capability information. Base station <NUM> may configure UE <NUM> with the preferred primary uplink component carrier or in some cases a different primary uplink component carrier. For example, base station <NUM> may configure UE <NUM> with a different primary uplink component carrier if the different primary uplink component carrier is supported by UE <NUM> but improves load balancing. Base station <NUM> may choose the different primary component carrier based on relative loading of the different uplink component carrier and the preferred uplink component carrier. Base station <NUM> may use the UE capability report to configure one or more secondary uplink component carriers, or to reconfigure the primary uplink component carrier.

At <NUM>, base station <NUM> and UE <NUM> communicate using the downlink mmW component carrier paired with the primary uplink component carrier and optionally one or more secondary uplink component carriers. In some implementations, base station <NUM> may receive control signaling on the primary uplink component carrier and data transmissions on both primary and secondary component carriers for data transmission from UE <NUM>.

At <NUM>, at a later time, UE <NUM> may optionally be reconfigured with a different primary uplink component carrier. For example, UE <NUM> may prefer a different primary uplink component carrier based on changes in communication parameters (such as a changing in loading for different uplink component carriers or other aspects such as a received signal strength indicator (RSSI)). UE <NUM> may indicate a preferred primary uplink component carrier to base station <NUM>, and may be reconfigured to that preferred primary uplink component carrier if appropriate. Base station <NUM> may reconfigure UE <NUM> based on communication conditions (e.g., load balancing among carriers).

<FIG> shows a flow diagram for a method <NUM> which is in accordance with the invention. Method <NUM> may be used for a base station <NUM> to communicate with a UE <NUM> using a connection that includes one or more uplink component carriers in a non-mmW band such as the sub-<NUM> bands paired with a particular downlink mmW component carrier. Method <NUM> is an implementation that is managed at least partially by base station <NUM>. For example, a gNB identifies at least an initial configured primary uplink component carrier from available spectrum, and advertises a single "paired" uplink component carrier and its corresponding RACH parameters in a transmission to a UE.

At <NUM>, base station <NUM> transmits information indicative of an initial configured non-mmW primary uplink component carrier to UE <NUM> for a pairing with a particular downlink mmW component carrier. The transmitted information includes identification of the initial configured primary uplink component carrier such as its center frequency and/or other frequency information, as well as RACH parameters for the primary uplink component carrier.

At <NUM>, in response to receiving the information, base station <NUM> and UE <NUM> enter a connected state using the initial configured primary uplink component carrier. At <NUM>, base station <NUM> receives a UE capability report including UE uplink carrier capability information to base station <NUM> using the initial configured primary uplink component carrier. At <NUM>, base station <NUM> configures UE <NUM> with one or more secondary uplink component carriers paired to the downlink mmW carrier.

At <NUM>, UE <NUM> and base station <NUM> communicate using the downlink mmW component carrier paired with the primary uplink component carrier and one or more secondary uplink component carriers. As noted above, UE <NUM> may transmit control signaling on the primary uplink component carrier and use both primary and secondary component carriers for data transmission. Control signaling that is transmitted on the primary uplink component carrier can include downlink HARQ information, CSI, SR information, and RACH signaling.

At <NUM>, base station <NUM> may optionally reconfigure UE <NUM> with a different primary uplink component carrier at a later time. For example, base station <NUM> may receive an indication from UE <NUM> of a preference for a different primary uplink component carrier (e.g., based on changes in communication parameters such as a changing in loading for different uplink component carriers). If the preferred primary uplink component carrier is appropriate (e.g., not overloaded), base station <NUM>, and may reconfigure the UE <NUM> to use that preferred primary uplink component carrier. In some implementations, base station <NUM> may reconfigure UE <NUM> to use a different primary uplink component carrier without an indication for UE preference; for example, in order to balance loads among a carriers.

It should be noted that these methods describe possible implementation, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined. For example, aspects of each of the methods may include steps or aspects of the other methods, or other steps or techniques described herein.

The description herein is provided to enable a person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the disclosure is not to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the broadest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Due to the nature of software, functions described above can be implemented using software executed by a processor, hardware, firmware, hardwiring, or combinations of any of these. Features implementing functions may also be physically located at various positions, including being distributed such that portions of functions are implemented at different (physical) locations. Also, as used herein, the phrase "or" as used in a list of items (for example, a list of items prefaced by a phrase such as "at least one of" or "one or more") indicates an inclusive list such that, for example, a list of at least one of A, B, or C means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C).

A computer storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer but the phrase "computer storage medium" does not refer to a transitory propagating signal. By way of example, and not limitation, computer storage media can comprise RAM, ROM, electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), compact disk (CD) ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or other medium that can be used to store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, a connection that transmits information is referred to as a communication medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, digital subscriber line (DSL), or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included in the definition of communication medium.

The techniques herein are described with reference to systems that use wide bands, such as <NUM> or new radio (NR) systems and future systems that use spectrum in the mmW range of the electromagnetic spectrum. If applicable, techniques described herein may be used for various wireless communications systems such as CDMA, TDMA, FDMA, OFDMA, single carrier frequency division multiple access (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. A TDMA system may implement a radio technology such as (Global System for Mobile communications (GSM)). An OFDMA system may implement a radio technology such as Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), IEEE <NUM>, IEEE <NUM> (WiMAX), IEEE <NUM>, Flash-OFDM, etc. UTRA and E-UTRA are part of Universal Mobile Telecommunications system (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)). 3GPP 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 description herein, however, describes a <NUM> system for purposes of example, and <NUM> terminology is used in much of the description above, although the techniques are applicable beyond <NUM> applications.

Base stations may include or may be referred to by those skilled in the art as a base transceiver station, a radio base station, an access point (AP), a radio transceiver, a NodeB, eNodeB (eNB), Home NodeB, a Home eNodeB, gNodeB, or some other suitable terminology. The geographic coverage area for a base station may be divided into sectors making up only a portion of the coverage area. The wireless communications system or systems described herein may include base stations of different types (e.g., macro or small cell base stations). The UEs described herein may be able to communicate with various types of base stations and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, relay base stations, and the like. There may be overlapping geographic coverage areas for different technologies. In some cases, different coverage areas may be associated with different communication technologies. In some cases, the coverage area for one communication technology may overlap with the coverage area associated with another technology. Different technologies may be associated with the same base station, or with different base stations.

An eNB may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells (e.g., component carriers (CCs)). A UE may be able to communicate with various types of base stations and network equipment including macro eNBs, small cell eNBs, relay base stations, and the like.

The DL transmissions described herein may also be called forward link transmissions while the UL transmissions may also be called reverse link transmissions. Each communication link described herein including, for example, wireless communications system <NUM> of <FIG> 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). 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. The communication links described herein (e.g., communication links of <FIG>) 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>).

Thus, aspects of the disclosure may provide for carrier aggregation signaling. It should be noted that these methods describe possible implementations, and that the operations and the steps may be rearranged or otherwise modified such that other implementations are possible. In some examples, aspects from two or more of the methods may be combined.

The various illustrative blocks and modules described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an ASIC, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. Thus, the functions described herein may be performed by one or more other processing units (or cores), on at least one integrated circuit (IC). In various examples, different types of ICs may be used (e.g., Structured/Platform ASICs, an FPGA, or another semi-custom IC), which may be programmed in any manner known in the art. The functions of each unit may also be implemented, in whole or in part, with instructions embodied in a memory, formatted to be executed by one or more general or application-specific processors.

Claim 1:
A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment, UE, in communication with a base station, the method comprising:
receiving (<NUM>) information indicative of an initial configured primary uplink component carrier from the base station, wherein the initial configured primary uplink component carrier is a non-mmW carrier paired with a particular downlink mmW carrier;
entering (<NUM>) a connected state using the initial configured primary uplink component carrier in response to receiving the information;
transmitting (<NUM>) a UE capability report to the base station using the initial configured primary uplink component carrier, wherein the UE capability report includes UE uplink carrier capability information; and
receiving (<NUM>) a configuration of one or more secondary uplink component carriers from the base station in response to the UE capability report, wherein the one or more secondary uplink component carriers are non-mmW carriers paired with the particular downlink mmW carrier; and
communicating (<NUM>) with the base station using the downlink mmW component carrier paired with the primary uplink component carrier and with the one or more secondary uplink component carriers.