Patent ID: 12213078

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various aspects of the disclosure are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to any specific structure or function presented throughout this disclosure. Rather, these aspects are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Based on the teachings herein one skilled in the art should appreciate that the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein, whether implemented independently of or combined with any other aspect of the disclosure. For example, an apparatus may be implemented or a method may be practiced using any number of the aspects set forth herein. In addition, the scope of the disclosure is intended to cover such an apparatus or method which is practiced using other structure, functionality, or structure and functionality in addition to or other than the various aspects of the disclosure set forth herein. It should be understood that any aspect of the disclosure disclosed herein may be embodied by one or more elements of a claim.

Several aspects of telecommunication systems will now be presented with reference to various apparatuses and techniques. These apparatuses and techniques will be described in the following detailed description and illustrated in the accompanying drawings by various blocks, modules, components, circuits, steps, processes, algorithms, and/or the like (collectively referred to as “elements”). These elements may be implemented using hardware, software, or combinations thereof. Whether such elements are implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system.

It should be noted that while aspects may be described herein using terminology commonly associated with a 5G or New Radio (NR) radio access technology (RAT), aspects of the present disclosure can be applied to other RATs, such as a 3G RAT, a 4G RAT, and/or a RAT subsequent to 5G (e.g., 6G).

FIG.1is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless network100in accordance with the present disclosure. The wireless network100may be or may include elements of a 5G (NR) network and/or an LTE network, among other examples. The wireless network100may include a number of base stations110(shown as BS110a, BS110b, BS110c, and BS110d) and other network entities. A base station (BS) is an entity that communicates with user equipment (UEs) and may also be referred to as an NR BS, a Node B, a gNB, a 5G node B (NB), an access point, or a transmit receive point (TRP). Each BS may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” can refer to a coverage area of a BS and/or a BS subsystem serving this coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used.

A BS may provide communication coverage for a macro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, and/or another type of cell. A macro cell may cover a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A pico cell may cover a relatively small geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscription. A femto cell may cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and may allow restricted access by UEs having association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG)). ABS for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro BS. ABS for a pico cell may be referred to as a pico BS. A BS for a femto cell may be referred to as a femto BS or a home BS. In the example shown inFIG.1, a BS110amay be a macro BS for a macro cell102a, a BS110bmay be a pico BS for a pico cell102b, and a BS110cmay be a femto BS for a femto cell102c. A BS may support one or multiple (e.g., three) cells. The terms “eNB”, “base station”, “NR BS”, “gNB”, “TRP”, “AP”, “node B”, “5G NB”, and “cell” may be used interchangeably herein.

In some aspects, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of the cell may move according to the location of a mobile BS. In some aspects, the BSs may be interconnected to one another and/or to one or more other BSs or network nodes (not shown) in the wireless network100through various types of backhaul interfaces such as a direct physical connection, or a virtual network using any suitable transport network.

Wireless network100may also include relay stations. A relay station is an entity that can receive a transmission of data from an upstream station (e.g., a BS or a UE) and send a transmission of the data to a downstream station (e.g., a UE or a BS). A relay station may also be a UE that can relay transmissions for other UEs. In the example shown inFIG.1, a relay BS110dmay communicate with macro BS110aand a UE120din order to facilitate communication between BS110aand UE120d. A relay BS may also be referred to as a relay station, a relay base station, or a relay.

Wireless network100may be a heterogeneous network that includes BSs of different types, such as macro BSs, pico BSs, femto BSs, and/or relay BSs. These different types of BSs may have different transmit power levels, different coverage areas, and different impacts on interference in wireless network100. For example, macro BSs may have a high transmit power level (e.g., 5 to 40 watts) whereas pico BSs, femto BSs, and relay BSs may have lower transmit power levels (e.g., 0.1 to 2 watts).

A network controller130may couple to a set of BSs and may provide coordination and control for these BSs. Network controller130may communicate with the BSs via a backhaul. The BSs may also communicate with one another, directly or indirectly, via a wireless or wireline backhaul.

UEs120(e.g.,120a,120b,120c) may be dispersed throughout wireless network100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. A UE may also be referred to as an access terminal, a terminal, a mobile station, a subscriber unit, a station, and/or the like. A UE may be a cellular phone (e.g., a smart phone), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a wireless modem, a wireless communication device, a handheld device, a laptop computer, a cordless phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a tablet, a camera, a gaming device, a netbook, a smartbook, an ultrabook, a medical device or equipment, biometric sensors/devices, wearable devices (smart watches, smart clothing, smart glasses, smart wrist bands, smart jewelry (e.g., smart ring, smart bracelet)), an entertainment device (e.g., a music or video device, or a satellite radio), a vehicular component or sensor, smart meters/sensors, industrial manufacturing equipment, a global positioning system device, or any other suitable device that is configured to communicate via a wireless or wired medium.

Some UEs may be considered machine-type communication (MTC) or evolved or enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) UEs. MTC and eMTC UEs include, for example, robots, drones, remote devices, sensors, meters, monitors, and/or location tags that may communicate with a base station, another device (e.g., remote device), or some other entity. A wireless node may provide, for example, connectivity for or to a network (e.g., a wide area network such as Internet or a cellular network) via a wired or wireless communication link. Some UEs may be considered Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices, and/or may be implemented as NB-IoT (narrowband internet of things) devices. Some UEs may be considered a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE). UE120may be included inside a housing that houses components of UE120, such as processor components and/or memory components. In some aspects, the processor components and the memory components may be coupled together. For example, the processor components (e.g., one or more processors) and the memory components (e.g., a memory) may be operatively coupled, communicatively coupled, electronically coupled, and/or electrically coupled.

In general, any number of wireless networks may be deployed in a given geographic area. Each wireless network may support a particular RAT and may operate on one or more frequencies. A RAT may also be referred to as a radio technology, and/or an air interface. A frequency may also be referred to as a carrier, and/or a frequency channel. Each frequency may support a single RAT in a given geographic area in order to avoid interference between wireless networks of different RATs. In some cases, NR or 5G RAT networks may be deployed.

In some aspects, two or more UEs120(e.g., shown as UE120aand UE120e) may communicate directly using one or more sidelink channels (e.g., without using a base station110as an intermediary to communicate with one another). For example, the UEs120may communicate using peer-to-peer (P2P) communications, device-to-device (D2D) communications, a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) protocol (e.g., which may include a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) protocol, or a vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) protocol), and/or a mesh network. In this case, the UE120may perform scheduling operations, resource selection operations, and/or other operations described elsewhere herein as being performed by the base station110.

Devices of wireless network100may communicate using the electromagnetic spectrum, which may be subdivided based on frequency or wavelength into various classes, bands, channels, or the like. For example, devices of wireless network100may communicate using an operating band having a first frequency range (FR1), which may span from 410 MHz to 7.125 GHz, and/or may communicate using an operating band having a second frequency range (FR2), which may span from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequencies between FR1 and FR2 are sometimes referred to as mid-band frequencies. Although a portion of FR1 is greater than 6 GHz, FR1 is often referred to as a “sub-6 GHz” band. Similarly, FR2 is often referred to as a “millimeter wave” (mmWave) band despite being different from the extremely high frequency (EHF) band (30 GHz-300 GHz) which is identified by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) as a “millimeter wave” band. Thus, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “sub-6 GHz” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies less than 6 GHz, frequencies within FR1, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., greater than 7.125 GHz). Similarly, unless specifically stated otherwise, it should be understood that the term “millimeter wave” or the like, if used herein, may broadly represent frequencies within the EHF band, frequencies within FR2, and/or mid-band frequencies (e.g., less than 24.25 GHz). It is contemplated that the frequencies included in FR1 and FR2 may be modified, and techniques described herein are applicable to those modified frequency ranges.

As indicated above,FIG.1is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.1.

FIG.2is a diagram illustrating an example200of a base station110in communication with a UE120in a wireless network100, in accordance with the present disclosure. Base station110may be equipped with T antennas234athrough234t, and UE120may be equipped with R antennas252athrough252r, where in general T≥1 and R≥1.

At base station110, a transmit processor220may receive data from a data source212for one or more UEs, select one or more modulation and coding schemes (MCS) for each UE based at least in part on channel quality indicators (CQIs) received from the UE, process (e.g., encode and modulate) the data for each UE based at least in part on the MCS(s) selected for the UE, and provide data symbols for all UEs. Transmit processor220may also process system information (e.g., for semi-static resource partitioning information (SRPI)) and control information (e.g., CQI requests, grants, upper layer signaling) and provide overhead symbols and control symbols. Transmit processor220may also generate reference symbols for reference signals (e.g., a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS)) and synchronization signals (e.g., the primary synchronization signal (PSS) or a secondary synchronization signal (SSS)). A transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor230may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, the overhead symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide T output symbol streams to T modulators (MODs)232athrough232t. Each modulator232may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator232may further process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. T downlink signals from modulators232athrough232tmay be transmitted via T antennas234athrough234t, respectively.

At UE120, antennas252athrough252rmay receive the downlink signals from base station110and/or other base stations and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs)254athrough254r, respectively. Each demodulator254may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator254may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM) to obtain received symbols. A MIMO detector256may obtain received symbols from all R demodulators254athrough254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. A receive processor258may process (e.g., demodulate and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE120to a data sink260, and provide decoded control information and system information to a controller/processor280. The term “controller/processor” may refer to one or more controllers, one or more processors, or a combination thereof. A channel processor may determine reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSSI), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), and/or CQI, among other examples. In some aspects, one or more components of UE120may be included in a housing284.

Network controller130may include communication unit294, controller/processor290, and memory292. Network controller130may include, for example, one or more devices in a core network. Network controller130may communicate with base station110via communication unit294.

Antennas (e.g., antennas234athrough234tand/or antennas252athrough252r) may include, or may be included within, one or more antenna panels, antenna groups, sets of antenna elements, and/or antenna arrays, among other examples. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include a set of coplanar antenna elements and/or a set of non-coplanar antenna elements. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include antenna elements within a single housing and/or antenna elements within multiple housings. An antenna panel, an antenna group, a set of antenna elements, and/or an antenna array may include one or more antenna elements coupled to one or more transmission and/or reception components, such as one or more components ofFIG.2.

On the uplink, at UE120, a transmit processor264may receive and process data from a data source262and control information (e.g., for reports that include RSRP, RSSI, RSRQ, and/or CQI) from controller/processor280. Transmit processor264may also generate reference symbols for one or more reference signals. The symbols from transmit processor264may be precoded by a TX MIMO processor266if applicable, further processed by modulators254athrough254r(e.g., for DFT-s-OFDM, CP-OFDM), and transmitted to base station110. In some aspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g., MOD/DEMOD254) of the UE120may be included in a modem of the UE120. In some aspects, the UE120includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)252, modulators and/or demodulators254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, and/or TX MIMO processor266. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor280) and memory282to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (for example, as described with reference toFIGS.3-8).

At base station110, the uplink signals from UE120and other UEs may be received by antennas234, processed by demodulators232, detected by a MIMO detector236if applicable, and further processed by a receive processor238to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE120. Receive processor238may provide the decoded data to a data sink239and the decoded control information to controller/processor240. Base station110may include communication unit244and communicate to network controller130via communication unit244. Base station110may include a scheduler246to schedule UEs120for downlink and/or uplink communications. In some aspects, a modulator and a demodulator (e.g., MOD/DEMOD232) of the base station110may be included in a modem of the base station110. In some aspects, the base station110includes a transceiver. The transceiver may include any combination of antenna(s)234, modulators and/or demodulators232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, transmit processor220, and/or TX MIMO processor230. The transceiver may be used by a processor (e.g., controller/processor240) and memory242to perform aspects of any of the methods described herein (for example, as described with reference toFIGS.3-8).

Controller/processor240of base station110, controller/processor280of UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform one or more techniques associated with dropping a secondary component carrier (SCC) for power headroom, as described in more detail elsewhere herein. For example, controller/processor240of base station110, controller/processor280of UE120, and/or any other component(s) ofFIG.2may perform or direct operations of, for example, process500ofFIG.5, process600ofFIG.6, and/or other processes as described herein. Memories242and282may store data and program codes for base station110and UE120, respectively. In some aspects, memory242and/or memory282may include a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing one or more instructions (e.g., code and/or program code) for wireless communication. For example, the one or more instructions, when executed (e.g., directly, or after compiling, converting, and/or interpreting) by one or more processors of base station110and/or UE120, may cause the one or more processors, UE120, and/or base station110to perform or direct operations of, for example, process500ofFIG.5, process600ofFIG.6, and/or other processes as described herein. In some aspects, executing instructions may include running the instructions, converting the instructions, compiling the instructions, and/or interpreting the instructions, among other examples.

In some aspects, UE120may include means for transmitting communications on a primary component carrier (PCC) and an SCC, and/or means for refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of UE120described in connection withFIG.2, such as controller/processor280, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor266, MOD254, antenna252, DEMOD254, MIMO detector256, and/or receive processor258.

In some aspects, base station110may include means for scheduling uplink communications for a UE on a PCC and an SCC, and/or means for adjusting scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE. In some aspects, such means may include one or more components of base station110described in connection withFIG.2, such as antenna234, DEMOD232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, controller/processor240, transmit processor220, TX MIMO processor230, MOD232, and/or antenna234.

While blocks inFIG.2are illustrated as distinct components, the functions described above with respect to the blocks may be implemented in a single hardware, software, or combination component or in various combinations of components. For example, the functions described with respect to the transmit processor264, the receive processor258, and/or the TX MIMO processor266may be performed by or under the control of controller/processor280.

As indicated above,FIG.2is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.2.

FIG.3is a diagram illustrating examples300of carrier aggregation, in accordance with the present disclosure.

Carrier aggregation is a technology that enables two or more component carriers (CCs, sometimes referred to as carriers) to be combined (e.g., into a single channel) for a single UE120to enhance data capacity. As shown, carriers can be combined in the same or different frequency bands. Additionally, or alternatively, contiguous or non-contiguous carriers can be combined. A base station110may configure carrier aggregation for a UE120, such as in a radio resource control (RRC) message and/or downlink control information (DCI).

As shown by reference number305, in some aspects, carrier aggregation may be configured in an intra-band contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are contiguous to one another and are in the same band. As shown by reference number310, in some aspects, carrier aggregation may be configured in an intra-band non-contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are non-contiguous to one another and are in the same band. As shown by reference number315, in some aspects, carrier aggregation may be configured in an inter-band non-contiguous mode where the aggregated carriers are non-contiguous to one another and are in different bands.

In carrier aggregation, a UE120may be configured with a PCC and one or more SCCs. In some aspects, the PCC may carry control information (e.g., DCI, scheduling information, and/or the like) for scheduling data communications on one or more SCCs, which may be referred to as cross-carrier scheduling. In some aspects, a carrier (e.g., a PCC or an SCC) may carry control information for scheduling data communications on the carrier, which may be referred to as self-carrier scheduling or carrier self-scheduling.

As indicated above,FIG.3is provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIG.3.

A network may schedule grants for a UE for uplink carrier aggregation (or dual connectivity). However, network parameters may not be optimized for the grants. As a result, communications may degrade and the UE may waste power. For example, the network may consider uplink metrics for decoding a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) on multiple carriers, but not consider how much power is available to the UE (power headroom) for transmitting on an SCC. For example, a power headroom index of a UE may be 33, indicating there is no power available for the UE to transmit on the SCC, but the network may continue allocating grants on the SCC. Consequently, the grants for the SCC lead to a high block error rate (BLER). If the BLER is high on an SCC and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD) does not resolve the BLER, retransmissions will be necessary. These retransmissions may increase latency at higher layers and cause throughput degradation. This results in the UE and the network wasting power, processing resources, and signaling resources.

According to various aspects described herein, the UE may drop the SCC when the UE determines that the SCC is failing (e.g., high BLER) and that there is not enough power headroom for the SCC (e.g., PCC is taking too much power). For example, the UE may refrain from transmitting on the SCC (e.g., ignore uplink grants for the SCC) and/or apply discontinuous transmission on the PUSCH until the power headroom improves. In some aspects, the UE may wait for certain transmission time intervals, store data for calculating the BLER, and/or establish a pattern with power headroom reports. If the BLER is higher than a certain percentage (e.g., BLER threshold) during a certain period of time, power headroom is below a certain level, and/or a pathloss is above a certain level (which may be reflected in an error rate), the UE may drop the SCC. In some aspects, the UE may wait to exhaust a HARQ procedure before dropping the SCC, which may include muting or refraining from transmitting on the PUSCH using the SCC. As a result, the UE and network will save power, improve latency, and conserve time, power, processing resources, and signaling resources that would otherwise be consumed by retransmissions. The UE also reduces unnecessary radio energy emissions, which are regulated, and the network may improve bandwidth efficiency. In addition, the UE will have more power for PCC on average and improve overall throughput.

FIGS.4A-4Bare diagrams illustrating an example400of dropping an SCC for power headroom, in accordance with the present disclosure. As shown inFIGS.4A-4B, example400includes communication between a base station (BS)410(e.g., a BS110depicted inFIGS.1and2) and a UE420(e.g., a UE120depicted inFIGS.1and2). In some aspects, BS410and UE420may be included in a wireless network, such as wireless network100. BS410and UE420may communicate using carrier aggregation, where BS410and UE420communicate on a PCC, which may include an uplink and a downlink, and an SCC, which may include an uplink and a downlink. WhileFIGS.4A-4Billustrate carrier aggregation (e.g., NR PCC/SCC), in some aspects, UE420may communicate with another BS using dual connectivity. The carrier aggregation may be for transmissions in mmWave (FR2) and/or FR1.

BS410may schedule uplink communications for UE420on the PCC and the SCC, as shown by reference number440. Consequently, UE420may transmit communications on the PCC and the SCC, as shown by respective reference numbers445and450. UE420may also receive communications on the PCC and the SCC, but power requirements are higher for transmission and thus, for purposes of explanation, example400shows transmission by UE420.

UE420may experience a certain error rate on the SCC, a certain amount of pathloss, and/or a drop in power headroom by a certain amount. The power headroom may be too low (e.g., drops by a threshold amount or reaches a threshold amount), and thus UE420may determine to drop the SCC. The SCC may also have an error rate that is too high (e.g., increases by a threshold amount or reaches a threshold amount). Note that an amount of increase or decrease may be calculated with respect to an absolute threshold amount.

As shown byFIG.4Band by reference number455, UE420may refrain from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate and an amount of power headroom. UE420may not necessarily shut down the signaling hardware. Instead, UE420may ignore uplink grants from BS410(not transmit according to the grants). Resources may be transferred to another link, which may be the PCC or another SCC that requires less power. The medium access control (MAC) layer may not build a transport block on the SCC and resources may be scheduled on the PCC automatically. In some aspects, UE420may transmit acknowledgments for a higher layer SCC payload as part of a PCC payload. Alternatively, in some aspects, UE420may apply a discontinuous transmission mode on the PUSCH, such that uplink data is transferred on the SCC at certain periods of time.

While example400describes a scenario with carrier aggregation, the operations described in connection withFIGS.4A-4Bmay be extended to other dual carrier scenarios, including dual connectivity (e.g., NR dual connectivity). The operations for dual connectivity may be based at least in part on radio conditions and/or power requirements of radio access technologies that are involved.

Conditions may change for the PCC or the SCC, and/or UE420may determine that more power headroom is available for one or more reasons. In some aspects, UE420may restart uplink transmission on the SCC based at least in part on one or more factors. For example, UE420may restart uplink transmission on the SCC (or another SCC) after a certain amount of time. UE420may restart transmission on the SCC after the power headroom has increased by a certain amount, after a pathloss condition has passed, after an MCS has decreased by a certain amount (or to a particular level), after a resource block (RB) allocation has decreased by a certain amount, or a combination thereof.

Alternatively, or additionally, BS410may address SCC failures due to power headroom issues at UE420. In some aspects, BS410may adjust scheduling grants for uplink communications for UE420based at least in part on a determination that UE420had dropped the SCC by ignoring uplink grants or by applying discontinuous transmission on a PUSCH. BS410may also receive other indications or signaling from UE420indicating that UE420has dropped transmission on the SCC. BS410may adjust scheduling grants by reducing or eliminating the uplink grants to UE420for a time.

In some aspects, BS410may adjust scheduling grants based at least in part on an error rate (e.g., BLER) of the SCC and a power headroom report from UE420. For example, BS410may adjust scheduling grants based at least in part on a power headroom of UE420dropping by a certain amount to a power headroom threshold or becoming negative, pathloss reaching a certain amount, HARQ being exhausted without resolution of an issue, and/or BLER reaching a certain level. UE420may both provide and receive power headroom reports.

In some aspects, BS410may restart scheduling grants for uplink transmission on the SCC based at least in part on one or more factors described above for UE420restarting uplink transmission on the SCC. BS410may receive an indication that UE420has restarted transmission on the SCC by receiving uplink communications according to scheduled grants that were previously ignored. BS410may also determine that discontinuous transmission has stopped, or receive some other indication or signaling from UE420that transmission on the SCC has restarted. As a result of dropping and restarting uplink transmission on the SCC, BS410and/or UE420may operate to dynamically manage uplink transmissions with respect to a power headroom of UE420, which saves time, power, processing resources, and signaling resources. Communications are also improved.

As indicated above,FIGS.4A-4Bare provided as an example. Other examples may differ from what is described with regard toFIGS.4A-4B.

FIG.5is a diagram illustrating an example process500performed, for example, by a UE, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process500is an example where the UE (e.g., a UE120depicted inFIGS.1and2, UE420depicted inFIGS.4A-4B) performs operations associated with dropping an SCC for power headroom.

As shown inFIG.5, in some aspects, process500may include transmitting communications on a PCC and an SCC (block510). For example, the UE (e.g., using antenna252, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor266, modulator254, controller/processor280, and/or memory282) may transmit communications on a PCC and an SCC, as described above.

As further shown inFIG.5, in some aspects, process500may include refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE (block520). For example, the UE (e.g., using antenna252, demodulator254, MIMO detector256, receive processor258, transmit processor264, TX MIMO processor266, modulator254, controller/processor280, and/or memory282) may refrain from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE, as described above.

Process500may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, the error rate is a BLER, and refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the BLER satisfies a BLER threshold.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the error rate has not improved after transmitting HARQ feedback.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE does not satisfy a power headroom threshold.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that an amount of pathloss satisfies a pathloss threshold.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, refraining from transmission on the SCC includes ignoring one or more grants for transmission on the SCC.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, process500includes applying discontinuous transmission on a PUSCH.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, process500includes transmitting an acknowledgement (ACK) on the PCC for data received on the SCC.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, process500includes restarting transmission on the SCC after a configured time duration.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process500includes restarting transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE has increased by a threshold amount.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, process500includes restarting transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that an MCS decreased by a threshold amount.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, process500includes restarting transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that a resource block allocation decreased by a threshold amount.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, the PCC and the SCC are associated with carrier aggregation.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, the PCC and the SCC are associated with dual connectivity.

AlthoughFIG.5shows example blocks of process500, in some aspects, process500may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.5. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process500may be performed in parallel.

FIG.6is a diagram illustrating an example process600performed, for example, by a base station, in accordance with the present disclosure. Example process600is an example where the base station (e.g., base station110depicted inFIGS.1and2, BS410depicted inFIGS.4A-4B) performs operations associated with dropping an SCC for power headroom.

As shown inFIG.6, in some aspects, process600may include scheduling uplink communications for a UE on a PCC and an SCC (block610). For example, the base station (e.g., using transmit processor220, TX MIMO processor230, modulator232, antenna234, demodulator232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, controller/processor240, memory242, and/or scheduler246) may schedule uplink communications for a UE on a PCC and an SCC, as described above.

As further shown inFIG.6, in some aspects, process600may include adjusting scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE (block620). For example, the base station (e.g., using transmit processor220, TX MIMO processor230, modulator232, antenna234, demodulator232, MIMO detector236, receive processor238, controller/processor240, memory242, and/or scheduler246) may adjust scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE, as described above.

Process600may include additional aspects, such as any single aspect or any combination of aspects described below and/or in connection with one or more other processes described elsewhere herein.

In a first aspect, the error rate is a BLER, and adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the BLER satisfies a BLER threshold.

In a second aspect, alone or in combination with the first aspect, adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the error rate has not improved after receiving HARQ feedback.

In a third aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first and second aspects, adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE does not satisfy a power headroom threshold.

In a fourth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through third aspects, adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that an amount of pathloss satisfies a pathloss threshold.

In a fifth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fourth aspects, adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes reducing the scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC.

In a sixth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through fifth aspects, adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes refraining from scheduling uplink communications on the SCC.

In a seventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through sixth aspects, process600includes scheduling the UE to apply discontinuous transmission on a PUSCH.

In an eighth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through seventh aspects, process600includes receiving an ACK on the PCC for data transmitted on the SCC.

In a ninth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eighth aspects, process600includes restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC after a configured time duration.

In a tenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through ninth aspects, process600includes restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE has increased by a threshold amount.

In an eleventh aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through tenth aspects, process600includes restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that an MCS decreased by a threshold amount.

In a twelfth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through eleventh aspects, process600includes restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that a resource block allocation decreased by a threshold amount.

In a thirteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through twelfth aspects, the PCC and the SCC are associated with carrier aggregation.

In a fourteenth aspect, alone or in combination with one or more of the first through thirteenth aspects, the PCC and the SCC are associated with dual connectivity.

AlthoughFIG.6shows example blocks of process600, in some aspects, process600may include additional blocks, fewer blocks, different blocks, or differently arranged blocks than those depicted inFIG.6. Additionally, or alternatively, two or more of the blocks of process600may be performed in parallel.

FIG.7is a block diagram of an example apparatus700for wireless communication. The apparatus700may be a UE (e.g., UE120, UE420), or a UE may include the apparatus700. In some aspects, the apparatus700includes a reception component702and a transmission component704, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus700may communicate with another apparatus706(such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component702and the transmission component704. As further shown, the apparatus700may include one or more of a drop SCC component708or a restart SCC component710, among other examples.

In some aspects, the apparatus700may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection withFIGS.4-6. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus700may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process500ofFIG.5, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus700and/or one or more components shown inFIG.7may include one or more components of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown inFIG.7may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component702may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus706. The reception component702may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus700. In some aspects, the reception component702may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus700. In some aspects, the reception component702may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2.

The transmission component704may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus706. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus700may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component704for transmission to the apparatus706. In some aspects, the transmission component704may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus706. In some aspects, the transmission component704may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2. In some aspects, the transmission component704may be collocated with the reception component702in a transceiver. The transmission component704may transmit communications on a PCC and an SCC.

The drop SCC component708may refrain from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE. In some aspects, the drop SCC component708may include a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2.

The drop SCC component708may include a memory. The drop SCC component708may include one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to refrain from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE.

The drop SCC component708may include one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, cause the UE to refrain from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE.

The restart SCC component710may restart transmission on the SCC. In some aspects, the restart SCC component710may include a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the UE described above in connection withFIG.2.

The restart SCC component710may include a memory. The restart SCC component710may include one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to restart transmission on the SCC.

The restart SCC component710may include one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a UE, cause the UE to restart transmission on the SCC.

The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.7are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.7. Furthermore, two or more components shown inFIG.7may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown inFIG.7may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown inFIG.7may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown inFIG.7.

FIG.8is a block diagram of an example apparatus800for wireless communication. The apparatus800may be a base station (e.g., BS110, BS410), or a base station may include the apparatus800. In some aspects, the apparatus800includes a reception component802and a transmission component804, which may be in communication with one another (for example, via one or more buses and/or one or more other components). As shown, the apparatus800may communicate with another apparatus806(such as a UE, a base station, or another wireless communication device) using the reception component802and the transmission component804. As further shown, the apparatus800may include one or more of a schedule component808or an adjustment component810, among other examples.

In some aspects, the apparatus800may be configured to perform one or more operations described herein in connection withFIGS.4-6. Additionally, or alternatively, the apparatus800may be configured to perform one or more processes described herein, such as process600ofFIG.6, or a combination thereof. In some aspects, the apparatus800and/or one or more components shown inFIG.8may include one or more components of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components shown inFIG.8may be implemented within one or more components described above in connection withFIG.2. Additionally, or alternatively, one or more components of the set of components may be implemented at least in part as software stored in a memory. For example, a component (or a portion of a component) may be implemented as instructions or code stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium and executable by a controller or a processor to perform the functions or operations of the component.

The reception component802may receive communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, from the apparatus806. The reception component802may provide received communications to one or more other components of the apparatus800. In some aspects, the reception component802may perform signal processing on the received communications (such as filtering, amplification, demodulation, analog-to-digital conversion, demultiplexing, deinterleaving, de-mapping, equalization, interference cancellation, or decoding, among other examples), and may provide the processed signals to the one or more other components of the apparatus800. In some aspects, the reception component802may include one or more antennas, a demodulator, a MIMO detector, a receive processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2.

The transmission component804may transmit communications, such as reference signals, control information, data communications, or a combination thereof, to the apparatus806. In some aspects, one or more other components of the apparatus800may generate communications and may provide the generated communications to the transmission component804for transmission to the apparatus806. In some aspects, the transmission component804may perform signal processing on the generated communications (such as filtering, amplification, modulation, digital-to-analog conversion, multiplexing, interleaving, mapping, or encoding, among other examples), and may transmit the processed signals to the apparatus806. In some aspects, the transmission component804may include one or more antennas, a modulator, a transmit MIMO processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2. In some aspects, the transmission component804may be collocated with the reception component802in a transceiver.

The schedule component808may schedule uplink communications for a UE on a PCC and an SCC. In some aspects, the schedule component808may include a receive processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2.

The schedule component808may include a memory. The schedule component808may include one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to schedule uplink communications for a UE on a PCC and an SCC.

The schedule component808may include one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, cause the base station to schedule uplink communications for a UE on a PCC and an SCC.

The adjustment component810may adjust scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE. In some aspects, the adjustment component810may include a receive processor, a transmit processor, a controller/processor, a memory, or a combination thereof, of the base station described above in connection withFIG.2.

The adjustment component810may include a memory. The adjustment component810may include one or more processors operatively coupled to the memory, the memory and the one or more processors configured to adjust scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE.

The adjustment component810may include one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a base station, cause the base station to adjust scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE.

The number and arrangement of components shown inFIG.8are provided as an example. In practice, there may be additional components, fewer components, different components, or differently arranged components than those shown inFIG.8. Furthermore, two or more components shown inFIG.8may be implemented within a single component, or a single component shown inFIG.8may be implemented as multiple, distributed components. Additionally, or alternatively, a set of (one or more) components shown inFIG.8may perform one or more functions described as being performed by another set of components shown inFIG.8.

The following provides an overview of some Aspects of the present disclosure:Aspect 1: A method of wireless communication performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: transmitting communications on a primary component carrier (PCC) and a secondary component carrier (SCC); and refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE.Aspect 2: The method of Aspect 1, wherein the error rate is a block error rate (BLER), and wherein refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the BLER satisfies a BLER threshold.Aspect 3: The method of Aspect 1 or 2, wherein refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the error rate has not improved after transmitting hybrid automatic repeat request feedback.Aspect 4: The method of any of Aspects 1-3, wherein refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE does not satisfy a power headroom threshold.Aspect 5: The method of any of Aspects 1-4, wherein refraining from transmission on the SCC includes refraining from transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that an amount of pathloss satisfies a pathloss threshold.Aspect 6: The method of any of Aspects 1-5, wherein refraining from transmission on the SCC includes ignoring one or more grants for transmission on the SCC.Aspect 7: The method of any of Aspects 1-6, further comprising applying discontinuous transmission on a physical uplink shared channel.Aspect 8: The method of any of Aspects 1-7, further comprising transmitting an acknowledgement on the PCC for data received on the SCC.Aspect 9: The method of any of Aspects 1-8, further comprising restarting transmission on the SCC after a configured time duration.Aspect 10: The method of any of Aspects 1-9, further comprising restarting transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE has increased by a threshold amount.Aspect 11: The method of any of Aspects 1-10, further comprising restarting transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that a modulation and coding scheme decreased by a threshold amount.Aspect 12: The method of any of Aspects 1-11, further comprising restarting transmission on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that a resource block allocation decreased by a threshold amount.Aspect 13: The method of any of Aspects 1-12, wherein the PCC and the SCC are associated with carrier aggregation.Aspect 14: The method of any of Aspects 1-13, wherein the PCC and the SCC are associated with dual connectivity.Aspect 15: A method of wireless communication performed by a base station, comprising: scheduling uplink communications for a user equipment (UE) on a primary component carrier (PCC) and a secondary component carrier (SCC); and adjusting scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on an error rate for transmission on the SCC and an amount of transmission power headroom for the UE.Aspect 16: The method of Aspect 15, wherein the error rate is a block error rate (BLER), and wherein adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the BLER satisfies a BLER threshold.Aspect 17: The method of Aspect 15 or 16, wherein adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the error rate has not improved after receiving hybrid automatic repeat request feedback.Aspect 18: The method of any of Aspects 15-17, wherein adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE does not satisfy a power headroom threshold.Aspect 19: The method of any of Aspects 15-18, wherein adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that an amount of pathloss satisfies a pathloss threshold.Aspect 20: The method of any of Aspects 15-19, wherein adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes reducing the scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC.Aspect 21: The method of any of Aspects 15-20, wherein adjusting scheduling of uplink communications on the SCC includes refraining from scheduling uplink communications on the SCC.Aspect 22: The method of any of Aspects 15-21, further comprising scheduling the UE to apply discontinuous transmission on a physical uplink shared channel.Aspect 23: The method of any of Aspects 15-22, further comprising receiving an acknowledgement on the PCC for data transmitted on the SCC.Aspect 24: The method of any of Aspects 15-23, further comprising restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC after a configured time duration.Aspect 25: The method of any of Aspects 15-24, further comprising restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that the amount of transmission power headroom for the UE has increased by a threshold amount.Aspect 26: The method of any of Aspects 15-25, further comprising restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that a modulation and coding scheme decreased by a threshold amount.Aspect 27: The method of any of Aspects 15-26, further comprising restarting or increasing scheduling of uplink communications for the UE on the SCC based at least in part on a determination that a resource block allocation decreased by a threshold amount.Aspect 28: The method of any of Aspects 15-27, wherein the PCC and the SCC are associated with carrier aggregation.Aspect 29: The method of any of Aspects 15-28, wherein the PCC and the SCC are associated with dual connectivity.Aspect 30: An apparatus for wireless communication at a device, comprising a processor; memory coupled with the processor; and instructions stored in the memory and executable by the processor to cause the apparatus to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-29.Aspect 31: A device for wireless communication, comprising a memory and one or more processors coupled to the memory, the one or more processors configured to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-29.Aspect 32: An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising at least one means for performing the method of one or more of Aspects 1-29.Aspect 33: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication, the code comprising instructions executable by a processor to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-29.Aspect 34: A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing a set of instructions for wireless communication, the set of instructions comprising one or more instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of a device, cause the device to perform the method of one or more of Aspects 1-29.

The foregoing disclosure provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the aspects to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations may be made in light of the above disclosure or may be acquired from practice of the aspects.

As used herein, the term “component” is intended to be broadly construed as hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. “Software” shall be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, procedures, and/or functions, among other examples, whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. As used herein, a processor is implemented in hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software.

It will be apparent that systems and/or methods described herein may be implemented in different forms of hardware, firmware, and/or a combination of hardware and software. The actual specialized control hardware or software code used to implement these systems and/or methods is not limiting of the aspects. Thus, the operation and behavior of the systems and/or methods were described herein without reference to specific software code—it being understood that software and hardware can be designed to implement the systems and/or methods based, at least in part, on the description herein.

As used herein, satisfying a threshold may, depending on the context, refer to a value being greater than the threshold, greater than or equal to the threshold, less than the threshold, less than or equal to the threshold, equal to the threshold, not equal to the threshold, or the like.

Even though particular combinations of features are recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification, these combinations are not intended to limit the disclosure of various aspects. In fact, many of these features may be combined in ways not specifically recited in the claims and/or disclosed in the specification. Although each dependent claim listed below may directly depend on only one claim, the disclosure of various aspects includes each dependent claim in combination with every other claim in the claim set. A used herein, a phrase referring to “at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b, or c” is intended to cover a, b, c, a-b, a-c, b-c, and a-b-c, as well as any combination with multiples of the same element (e.g., a-a, a-a-a, a-a-b, a-a-c, a-b-b, a-c-c, b-b, b-b-b, b-b-c, c-c, and c-c-c or any other ordering of a, b, and c).

No element, act, or instruction used herein should be construed as critical or essential unless explicitly described as such. Also, as used herein, the articles “a” and “an” are intended to include one or more items, and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Further, as used herein, the article “the” is intended to include one or more items referenced in connection with the article “the” and may be used interchangeably with “the one or more.” Furthermore, as used herein, the terms “set” and “group” are intended to include one or more items (e.g., related items, unrelated items, a combination of related and unrelated items), and may be used interchangeably with “one or more.” Where only one item is intended, the phrase “only one” or similar language is used. Also, as used herein, the terms “has,” “have,” “having,” and/or the like are intended to be open-ended terms. Further, the phrase “based on” is intended to mean “based, at least in part, on” unless explicitly stated otherwise. Also, as used herein, the term “or” is intended to be inclusive when used in a series and may be used interchangeably with “and/or,” unless explicitly stated otherwise (e.g., if used in combination with “either” or “only one of”).