Patent ID: 12238529

Throughout the drawings, like reference numerals will be understood to refer to like parts, components, and structures.

MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

The following description with reference to the accompanying drawings is provided to assist in a comprehensive understanding of various embodiments of the disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. It includes various specific details to assist in that understanding but these are to be regarded as merely exemplary. Accordingly, those of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications of the various embodiments described herein can be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure. In addition, descriptions of well-known functions and constructions may be omitted for clarity and conciseness.

The terms and words used in the following description and claims are not limited to the bibliographical meanings, but, are merely used by the inventor to enable a clear and consistent understanding of the disclosure. Accordingly, it should be apparent to those skilled in the art that the following description of various embodiments of the disclosure is provided for illustration purpose only and not for the purpose of limiting the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

It is to be understood that the singular forms “a,” “an,” and “the” include plural referents unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a component surface” includes reference to one or more of such surfaces.

FIG.1is a block diagram illustrating an electronic device in a network environment according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.1, an electronic device101in a network environment100may communicate with an electronic device102via a first network198(e.g., a short-range wireless communication network), or an electronic device104or a server108via a second network199(e.g., a long-range wireless communication network). According to an embodiment, the electronic device101may communicate with the electronic device104via the server108. According to an embodiment, the electronic device101may include a processor120, memory130, an input module150, a sound output module155, a display module160, an audio module170, a sensor module176, an interface177, a connecting terminal178, a haptic module179, a camera module180, a power management module188, a battery189, a communication module190, a subscriber identification module (SIM)196, or an antenna module197. In some embodiments, at least one of the components (e.g., the connecting terminal178) may be omitted from the electronic device101, or one or more other components may be added in the electronic device101. In some embodiments, some of the components (e.g., the sensor module176, the camera module180, or the antenna module197) may be implemented as a single component (e.g., the display module160).

The processor120may execute, for example, software (e.g., a program140) to control at least one other component (e.g., a hardware or software component) of the electronic device101coupled with the processor120, and may perform various data processing or computation. According to one embodiment, as at least part of the data processing or computation, the processor120may store a command or data received from another component (e.g., the sensor module176or the communication module190) in volatile memory132, process the command or the data stored in the volatile memory132, and store resulting data in non-volatile memory134. According to an embodiment, the processor120may include a main processor121(e.g., a central processing unit (CPU) or an application processor (AP)), or an auxiliary processor123(e.g., a graphics processing unit (GPU), a neural processing unit (NPU), an image signal processor (ISP), a sensor hub processor, or a communication processor (CP)) that is operable independently from, or in conjunction with, the main processor121. For example, when the electronic device101includes the main processor121and the auxiliary processor123, the auxiliary processor123may be adapted to consume less power than the main processor121, or to be specific to a specified function. The auxiliary processor123may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the main processor121.

The auxiliary processor123may control, for example, at least some of functions or states related to at least one component (e.g., the display module160, the sensor module176, or the communication module190) among the components of the electronic device101, instead of the main processor121while the main processor121is in an inactive (e.g., sleep) state, or together with the main processor121while the main processor121is in an active (e.g., executing an application) state. According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor123(e.g., an image signal processor or a communication processor) may be implemented as part of another component (e.g., the camera module180or the communication module190) functionally related to the auxiliary processor123. According to an embodiment, the auxiliary processor123(e.g., the neural processing unit) may include a hardware structure specified for artificial intelligence model processing. An artificial intelligence model may be generated by machine learning. Such learning may be performed, e.g., by the electronic device101where the artificial intelligence is performed or via a separate server (e.g., the server108). Learning algorithms may include, but are not limited to, e.g., supervised learning, unsupervised learning, semi-supervised learning, or reinforcement learning. The artificial intelligence model may include a plurality of artificial neural network layers. The artificial neural network may be a deep neural network (DNN), a convolutional neural network (CNN), a recurrent neural network (RNN), a restricted boltzmann machine (RBM), a deep belief network (DBN), a bidirectional recurrent deep neural network (BRDNN), deep Q-network or a combination of two or more thereof but is not limited thereto. The artificial intelligence model may, additionally or alternatively, include a software structure other than the hardware structure.

The memory130may store various data used by at least one component (e.g., the processor120or the sensor module176) of the electronic device101. The various data may include, for example, software (e.g., the program140) and input data or output data for a command related thereto. The memory130may include the volatile memory132or the non-volatile memory134. The non-volatile memory134may include internal memory136or external memory138.

The program140may be stored in the memory130as software, and may include, for example, an operating system (OS)142, middleware144, or an application146.

The input module150may receive a command or data to be used by another component (e.g., the processor120) of the electronic device101, from the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device101. The input module150may include, for example, a microphone, a mouse, a keyboard, a key (e.g., a button), or a digital pen (e.g., a stylus pen).

The sound output module155may output sound signals to the outside of the electronic device101. The sound output module155may include, for example, a speaker or a receiver. The speaker may be used for general purposes, such as playing multimedia or playing record. The receiver may be used for receiving incoming calls. According to an embodiment, the receiver may be implemented as separate from, or as part of the speaker.

The display module160may visually provide information to the outside (e.g., a user) of the electronic device101. The display module160may include, for example, a display, a hologram device, or a projector and control circuitry to control a corresponding one of the display, hologram device, and projector. According to an embodiment, the display module160may include a touch sensor adapted to detect a touch, or a pressure sensor adapted to measure the intensity of force incurred by the touch.

The audio module170may convert a sound into an electrical signal and vice versa. According to an embodiment, the audio module170may obtain the sound via the input module150, or output the sound via the sound output module155or an external electronic device (e.g., an electronic device102(e.g., a speaker or a headphone)) directly or wirelessly coupled with the electronic device101.

The sensor module176may detect an operational state (e.g., power or temperature) of the electronic device101or an environmental state (e.g., a state of a user) external to the electronic device101, and then generate an electrical signal or data value corresponding to the detected state. According to an embodiment, the sensor module176may include, for example, a gesture sensor, a gyro sensor, an atmospheric pressure sensor, a magnetic sensor, an acceleration sensor, a grip sensor, a proximity sensor, a color sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, a biometric sensor, a temperature sensor, a humidity sensor, or an illuminance sensor.

The interface177may support one or more specified protocols to be used for the electronic device101to be coupled with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device102) directly or wirelessly. According to an embodiment, the interface177may include, for example, a high definition multimedia interface (HDMI), a universal serial bus (USB) interface, a secure digital (SD) card interface, or an audio interface.

A connecting terminal178may include a connector via which the electronic device101may be physically connected with the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device102). According to an embodiment, the connecting terminal178may include, for example, an HDMI connector, a USB connector, a SD card connector, or an audio connector (e.g., a headphone connector).

The haptic module179may convert an electrical signal into a mechanical stimulus (e.g., a vibration or a movement) or electrical stimulus which may be recognized by a user via his tactile sensation or kinesthetic sensation. According to an embodiment, the haptic module179may include, for example, a motor, a piezoelectric element, or an electric stimulator.

The camera module180may capture a still image or moving images. According to an embodiment, the camera module180may include one or more lenses, image sensors, image signal processors, or flashes.

The power management module188may manage power supplied to the electronic device101. According to one embodiment, the power management module188may be implemented as at least part of, for example, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC).

The battery189may supply power to at least one component of the electronic device101. According to an embodiment, the battery189may include, for example, a primary cell which is not rechargeable, a secondary cell which is rechargeable, or a fuel cell.

The communication module190may support establishing a direct (e.g., wired) communication channel or a wireless communication channel between the electronic device101and the external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device102, the electronic device104, or the server108) and performing communication via the established communication channel. The communication module190may include one or more communication processors that are operable independently from the processor120(e.g., the application processor (AP)) and supports a direct (e.g., wired) communication or a wireless communication. According to an embodiment, the communication module190may include a wireless communication module192(e.g., a cellular communication module, a short-range wireless communication module, or a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) communication module) or a wired communication module194(e.g., a local area network (LAN) communication module or a power line communication (PLC) module), A corresponding one of these communication modules may communicate with the external electronic device104via the first network198(e.g., a short-range communication network, such as Bluetooth™, Wi-Fi direct, or infrared data association (IrDA)) or the second network199(e.g., a long-range communication network, such as a legacy cellular network, a fifth generation (5G) network, a next-generation communication network, the Internet, or a computer network (e.g., LAN or wide area network (WAN)). These various types of communication modules may be implemented as a single component (e.g., a single chip), or may be implemented as multi components (e.g., multi chips) separate from each other. The wireless communication module192may identify or authenticate the electronic device101in a communication network, such as the first network198or the second network199, using subscriber information (e.g., international mobile subscriber identity (IMSI)) stored in the subscriber identification module196.

The wireless communication module192may support a 5G network, after a 4G network, and next-generation communication technology, e.g., new radio (NR) access technology. The NR access technology may support enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), massive machine type communications (mMTC), or ultra-reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC). The wireless communication module192may support a high-frequency band (e.g., the mmWave band) to achieve, e.g., a high data transmission rate. The wireless communication module192may support various technologies for securing performance on a high-frequency band, such as, e.g., beamforming, massive multiple-input and multiple-output (massive MIMO), full dimensional MIMO (FD-MIMO), array antenna, analog beam-forming, or large scale antenna. The wireless communication module192may support various requirements specified in the electronic device101, an external electronic device (e.g., the electronic device104), or a network system (e.g., the second network199). According to an embodiment, the wireless communication module192may support a peak data rate (e.g., 20 Gbps or more) for implementing eMBB, loss coverage (e.g., 164 dB or less) for implementing mMTC, or U-plane latency (e.g., 0.5 ms or less for each of downlink (DL) and uplink (UL), or a round trip of 1 ms or less) for implementing URLLC.

The antenna module197may transmit or receive a signal or power to or from the outside (e.g., the external electronic device) of the electronic device101. According to an embodiment, the antenna module197may include an antenna including a radiating element composed of a conductive material or a conductive pattern formed in or on a substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board (PCB)). According to an embodiment, the antenna module197may include a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas). In such a case, at least one antenna appropriate for a communication scheme used in the communication network, such as the first network198or the second network199, may be selected, for example, by the communication module190from the plurality of antennas. The signal or the power may then be transmitted or received between the communication module190and the external electronic device via the selected at least one antenna. According to an embodiment, another component (e.g., a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC)) other than the radiating element may be additionally formed as part of the antenna module197.

According to various embodiments, the antenna module197may form an mmWave antenna module. According to an embodiment, the mmWave antenna module may include a printed circuit board, an RFIC disposed on a first surface (e.g., the bottom surface) of the printed circuit board, or adjacent to the first surface and capable of supporting a designated high-frequency band (e.g., the mmWave band), and a plurality of antennas (e.g., array antennas) disposed on a second surface (e.g., the top or a side surface) of the printed circuit board, or adjacent to the second surface and capable of transmitting or receiving signals of the designated high-frequency band.

At least some of the above-described components may be coupled mutually and communicate signals (e.g., commands or data) therebetween via an inter-peripheral communication scheme (e.g., a bus, general purpose input and output (GPIO) serial peripheral interface (SPI), or mobile industry processor interface (MIPI)).

According to an embodiment, commands or data may be transmitted or received between the electronic device101and the external electronic device104via the server108coupled with the second network199. Each of the electronic devices102or104may be a device of a same type as, or a different type, from the electronic device101. According to an embodiment, all or some of operations to be executed at the electronic device101may be executed at one or more of the external electronic devices102,104, or108. For example, if the electronic device101should perform a function or a service automatically, or in response to a request from a user or another device, the electronic device101, instead of, or in addition to, executing the function or the service, may request the one or more external electronic devices to perform at least part of the function or the service. The one or more external electronic devices receiving the request may perform the at least part of the function or the service requested, or an additional function or an additional service related to the request, and transfer an outcome of the performing to the electronic device101. The electronic device101may provide the outcome, with or without further processing of the outcome, as at least part of a reply to the request. To that end, a cloud computing, distributed computing, mobile edge computing (MEC), or client-server computing technology may be used, for example. The electronic device101may provide ultra low-latency services using, e.g., distributed computing or mobile edge computing. In another embodiment, the external electronic device104may include an internet-of-things (IoT) device. The server108may be an intelligent server using machine learning and/or a neural network. According to an embodiment, the external electronic device104or the server108may be included in the second network199. The electronic device101may be applied to intelligent services (e.g., smart home, smart city, smart car, or healthcare) based on 5G communication technology or IoT-related technology.

FIG.2Ais a block diagram of the electronic device for supporting legacy network communication and 5G network communication according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.2A, in the system200, the electronic device101may include a first communication processor212, a second communication processor214, a first RFIC222, a second RFIC224, a third RFIC226, a fourth RFIC228, a first Radio Frequency Front End (RFFE)232, a second RFFE234, a first antenna module242, a second antenna module244, a third antenna module246, and antennas248. The electronic device101may further include the processor120and the memory130. A second network199may include a first cellular network292and a second cellular network294. According to another embodiment, the electronic device101may further include at least one of the elements illustrated inFIG.1, and the second network199may further include at least one other network. According to an embodiment, the first communication processor212, the second communication processor214, the first RFIC222, the second RFIC224, the fourth RFIC228, the first RFFE232, and the second RFFE234may configure at least a part of the wireless communication module192. According to another embodiment, the fourth RFIC228may be omitted or may be included as a part of the third RFIC226.

The first communication processor212may support establishment of a communication channel in a band to be used for wireless communication with the first cellular network292and legacy network communication through the established communication channel. According to various embodiments, the first cellular network may be a legacy network including a second generation (2G), third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), or Long Term Evolution (LTE) network. The second communication processor214may support establishment of a communication channel corresponding to a predetermined band (for example, about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz) among bands to be used for wireless communication with the second cellular network294and 5G network communication through the established communication channel. According to various embodiments, the second cellular network294may be a 5G network defined in the third generation partnership project (3GPP). In addition, according to an embodiment, the first communication processor212or the second communication processor214may support establishment of a communication channel corresponding to another predetermined band (for example, equal to or lower than about 6 GHz) among bands to be used for wireless communication with the second cellular network294and 5G network communication through the established communication channel.

The first communication processor212may transmit and receive data to and from the second communication processor214. For example, data classified as data to be transmitted through the second cellular network294may be changed to be transmitted through the first cellular network292. In this case, the first communication processor212may receive transmission data from the second communication processor214. For example, the first communication processor212may transmit and receive data to and from the second communication processor214through an interface213between processors. The interface213between processors may be implemented as, for example, a Universal Asynchronous Receiver/Transmitter (UART) (for example, a High Speed-UART (HS-UART) or a Peripheral Component Interconnect bus express (PCIe) interface), but the interface type is not limited thereto. Alternatively, the first communication processor212and the second communication processor214may exchange control information and packet data information through, for example, a shared memory. The first communication processor212may transmit and receive various pieces of information such as sensing information, information on an output intensity, and Resource Block (RB) allocation information to and from the second communication processor214.

According to implementation, the first communication processor212may not be directly connected to the second communication processor214. In this case, the first communication processor212may transmit and receive data to and from the second communication processor214through the processor120(for example, an application processor). For example, the first communication processor212and the second communication processor214may transmit and receive data to and from the processor120(for example, an application processor) through an HS-UART interface or a PCIe interface, but there is no limitation on the type thereof. Alternatively, the first communication processor212and the second communication processor214may exchange control information and packet data information with the processor120(for example, an application processor) through a shared memory.

According to an embodiment, the first communication processor212and the second communication processor214may be implemented within a single chip or a single package. According to various embodiments, the first communication processor212or the second communication processor214may be constructed with the processor120, the auxiliary processor123, or the communication module190within a single chip or a single package.

FIG.2Bis a block diagram of the electronic device for supporting legacy network communication and 5G network communication according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.2B, an integrated communication processor260may support all functions for communication with the first cellular network292and the second cellular network294.

In transmission, the first RFIC222may convert a baseband signal generated by the first communication processor212into a Radio Frequency (RF) signal of about 700 MHz to about 3 GHz used for the first cellular network292(for example, legacy network). In reception, the RF signal may be acquired from the first cellular network292(for example, legacy network) through an antenna (for example, the first antenna module242) and may be preprocessed through the RFFE (for example, first RFFE232). The first RFIC222may convert the preprocessed RF signal into a baseband signal to be processed by the first communication processor212.

In transmission, the second RFIC224may convert a baseband signal generated by the first communication processor212or the second communication processor214into an RF signal (hereinafter, referred to as a 5G Sub6 RF signal) in a Sub6 band (for example, equal to or lower than about 6 GHz) used in the second cellular network294(for example, 5G network). In reception, a 5G Sub6 RF signal may be acquired from the second cellular network294(for example, 5G network) through an antenna (for example, the second antenna module244) and may be preprocessed through the RFFE (for example, second RFFE234). The second RFIC224may convert the preprocessed 5G Sub6 RF signal into a baseband signal to be processed by the corresponding communication processor among the first communication processor212or the second communication processor214.

The third RFIC226may convert a baseband signal generated by the second communication processor214into an RF signal (hereinafter, referred to as a 5G Above6 RF signal) in a 5G Above6 band (for example, from about 6 to about 60 GHz) used by the second cellular network294(for example, 5G network). In reception, a 5G Above6 RF signal may be acquired from the second cellular network294(for example, 5G network) through an antenna (for example, the antenna248) and may be preprocessed through the third RFFE236. The third RFIC226may convert the preprocessed 5G Above6 RF signal into a baseband signal to be processed by the second communication processor214. According to an embodiment, the third RFFE236may be configured as a part of the third RFIC226.

The electronic device101may include the fourth RFIC228separately from the third RFIC226or as a part thereof according to an embodiment. In this case, after converting a baseband signal generated by the second communication processor214into an RF signal (hereinafter, referred to as an IF signal) in an intermediate frequency band (for example, about 9 GHz to about 11 GHz), the fourth RFIC228may transmit the IF signal to the third RFIC226. The third RFIC226may convert the IF signal into a 5G Above6 RF signal. In reception, a 5G Above6 RF signal may be received from the second cellular network294(for example, 5G network) through an antenna (for example, antenna248) and converted into an IF signal by the third RFIC226. The fourth RFIC228may convert the IF signal into a baseband signal to be processed by the second communication processor214.

According to an embodiment, the first RFIC222and the second RFIC224may be implemented as at least a part of a single chip or a single package. According to various embodiments, when the first RFIC222and the second RFIC224are implemented as a single chip or a single package inFIG.2AorFIG.2B, they may be implemented as an integrated RFIC. In this case, the integrated RFIC may be connected to the first RFFE232and the second RFFE234to convert a baseband signal into a signal in a band supported by the first RFFE232and/or the second RFFE234and transmit the converted signal to one of the first RFFE232and the second RFFE234. According to an embodiment, at least one of the first antenna module242or the second antenna module244may be omitted or may be connected to another antenna module to process RF signals in a plurality of corresponding bands.

According to an embodiment, the third RFIC226and the antenna248may be disposed on the same substrate to form the third antenna module246. For example, the wireless communication module192or the processor120may be disposed on a first substrate (for example, main PCB). In this case, the third RFIC226may be disposed in a partial area (for example, bottom side) of a second substrate (for example, sub PCB) separated from the first substrate and the antennas248may be disposed in another partial area (for example, top side) to configure the third antenna module246. By disposing the third RFIC226and the antennas248on the same substrate, it is possible to reduce the length of a transmission line therebetween. This is to reduce loss (for example, attenuation) of the signal in a high frequency band (for example, about 6 GHz to about 60 GHz) used for, for example, 5G network communication due to the transmission line. Accordingly, the electronic device101may improve a quality or a speed of communication with the second cellular network294(for example, 5G network).

According to an embodiment, the antennas248may be configured as an antenna array including a plurality of antennal elements which can be used for beamforming. In this case, the third RFIC226may include, for example, a plurality of phase shifters238corresponding to the plurality of antenna elements as a part of the third RFFE236. In transmission, each of the plurality of phase shifters238may convert a phase of a 5G Above6 RF signal to be transmitted to the outside of the electronic device101(for example, a base station of the 5G network) through a corresponding antenna element. In reception, each of the plurality of phase shifters238may convert the phase of the 5G Above6 RF signal received from the outside through the corresponding antenna element into the same phase or substantially the same phase. This enables transmission or reception through beamforming between the electronic device101and the outside.

The second cellular network294(for example, 5G network) may operate independently from the first cellular network292(for example, legacy network) (for example, Stand-Alone (SA)) or operate through a connection to thereto. For example, in the 5G network, only an access network (for example, a 5G Radio Access Network (RAN) or a Next Generation RAN (NG RAN)) may exist without a core network (for example, a Next Generation Core (NGC)). In this case, the electronic device101may access the access network of the 5G network and then access an external network (for example, Internet) under the control of the core network (for example, Evolved Packed Core (EPC) of the legacy network). Protocol information (for example, LTE protocol information) for communication with the legacy network and protocol information (for example, NR protocol information) for communication with the 5G network may be stored in the memory130and may be accessed by another element (for example, the processor120, the first communication processor212, or the second communication processor214).

FIGS.3A,3B, and3Care diagrams illustrating wireless communication systems that provide the network of legacy communication and/or 5G communication according to various embodiments.

Referring toFIGS.3A,3B, and3C, network environments300a,300b,and300cmay include at least one of the legacy network and the 5G network. The legacy network may include, for example, a 4G or LTE eNB340(for example, an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB)) of the 3GPP standard supporting radio access with the electronic device101and an evolved packet core (EPC)342for managing 4G communication. The 5G network may include, for example, an NR base station350(for example, a next generation Node B (gNodeB or gNB)) supporting radio access with the electronic device101and a 5thGeneration Core (5GC)352for managing 5G communication of the electronic device101.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may transmit and receive a control message and user data through legacy communication and/or 5G communication. The control message may include, for example, a control message related to at least one of security control of the electronic device101, bearer setup, authentication, registration, or mobility management. The user data may be, for example, user data other than a control message transmitted and received between the electronic device101and a core network330(for example, the EPC342).

FIG.3Ais a diagram illustrating wireless communication systems providing a network of legacy communication and/or 5G communication according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.3A, the electronic device101according to an embodiment may transmit and receive at least one of a control message or user data to and from at least some of the 5G network (for example, the NR gNB350and the 5GC352) using at least some of the legacy network (for example, the LTE eNB340and the EPC342).

According to various embodiments, the network environment300amay include a network environment for providing wireless communication Dual Connectivity (DC) to the LTE eNB340and the NR gNB350and transmitting and receiving a control message to and from the electronic device101through one core network230of the EPC342or the 5GC352.

According to various embodiments, in the DC environment, one of the LTE eNB340or the NR gNB350may operate as a Master Node (MN)310, and the other may operate as a Secondary Node (SN)320. The MN310may be connected to the core network230and transmit and receive a control message. The MN310and the SN320may be connected through a network interface and may transmit and receive a message related to management of radio resources (for example, communication channels) to and from each other.

According to various embodiments, the MN310may include the LTE eNB340, the SN320may include the NR gNB350, and the core network330may include the EPC342. For example, the control message may be transmitted and received through the LTE gNB340and the EPC342, and the user data may be transmitted and received through at least one of the LTE eNB340or the NR gNB350.

According to various embodiments, the MN310may include the NR gNB350, the SN320may include the LTE eNB340, and the core network330may include the 5GC352. For example, the control message may be transmitted and received through the NR gNB350and the 5GC352, and the user data may be transmitted and received through at least one of the LTE eNB340or the NR gNB350.

FIG.3Bis a diagram illustrating wireless communication systems providing a network of legacy communication and/or 5G communication according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.3B, according to various embodiments, the 5G network may include the NR gNB350and the 5GC352and may independently transmit and receive the control message and the user data to and from the electronic device101.

FIG.3Cis a diagram illustrating wireless communication systems providing a network of legacy communication and/or50communication according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.3C, the legacy network and the 5G network according to various embodiments may independently transmit and receive data. For example, the electronic device101and the EPC342may transmit and receive a control message and user data through the LTE eNB340. According to another embodiment, the electronic device101and the 5GC352may transmit and receive a control message and user data through the NR gNB350.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may be registered in at least one of the EPC342or the 5GC352and transmit and receive a control message.

According to various embodiments, the EPC342or the 5GC352may interwork and manage communication of the electronic device101. For example, movement information of the electronic device101may be transmitted and received through an interface (not shown, for example, N26 interface) between the EPC342and the 5GC352.

As described above, the dual connection through the LTE eNB340and the NR gNB350may be also named E-UTRA New radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

Dynamic Spectrum Sharing (DSS) may be a technology that allows different wireless communication technologies (for example, an LTE communication scheme and an NR communication scheme) to be used in the same frequency band. For example, according to DSS, the same frequency resources may be dynamically allocated to LTE communication network data or NR communication network data, so that respective electronic devices supporting LTE and NR may share resources in the same frequency and all receive the service.

In various embodiments described below, when DSS is applied and data of the NR communication scheme is transmitted and received in a frequency band allocated for LTE, a method of expecting or identifying a slot (or subframe) (for example, a non-Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network (MBSFN) subframe) which is not used for NR resource allocation and controlling the corresponding slot (or subframe) to operate in a sleep state is described. Various embodiments described below are not limited to a specific communication scheme (for example, the NR communication scheme or the LTE communication scheme) and may be applied to any communication technology to which DSS is applied in which data corresponding to a first communication network and data corresponding to a second communication network share and use the same frequency band. For example, the various embodiments may be equally or similarly applied not only to DSS by the NR communication scheme and the LTE communication scheme but also to DSS by the LTE communication scheme and a 3G communication scheme or DSS by a 6G communication scheme and a 5G NR communication scheme.

FIGS.4A,4B,4C,4D, and4Eare diagrams illustrating a concept of DSS according to various embodiments of the disclosure.

FIG.4Ais a diagram illustrating the concept of DSS in a Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) scheme according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG.4Bis a diagram illustrating the concept of DSS in a Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) scheme according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.4A, at least a portion of a frequency area402may be used for the first communication network (for example, NR communication network) and the remaining frequency area401may be used for the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) through the application of DSS to a frequency band operated for the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network). For example, when it is assumed that the frequency bandwidth operated for the second communication network is 20 MHz, 10 MHz may be used for transmitting and receiving data corresponding to the first communication network and the remaining 10 MHz may be used for transmitting and receiving data corresponding to the second communication network. When DSS is applied to the frequency band, the electronic device (for example, the electronic device101ofFIG.1) operating in NR may access an NR gNB (NR primary cell (PCell)) to transmit and receive data through the frequency area402used for transmitting and receiving data corresponding to the NR communication network, and the electronic device operating in LTE may access an LTE eNB (LTE PCell) to transmit and receive data through the frequency area401used for transmitting and receiving data corresponding to the LTE communication network,

According to various embodiments, when DSS is applied, the size of the frequency area allocated for the NR communication network may be dynamically controlled according to the time (for example, in units of subframes) in 20 MHz that is the entire frequency bandwidth operated for the LTE communication network. For example, in 20 MHz that is the entire frequency bandwidth, 10 MHz may be allocated for the size of the frequency area used for the NR communication network at a first time point and 8 MHz may be allocated at a second time point. According to another embodiment, all of 20 MHz that is the entire frequency bandwidth may be used for the LTE communication network at the first time point, and a frequency area of 10 MHz in the entire frequency bandwidth 20 MHz may be used for the NR communication network.

Referring toFIG.4B, at least some subframes412and413may be used for the first communication network (for example, NR communication network) and the remaining subframes411and414may be used for the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) through the application of DSS to a radio frame operated for the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network).

For example, when it is assumed that the time of one radio frame is 10 ms and one radio frame includes 10 subframes, the time of one subframe may be 1 ms. Referring toFIG.4B, when it is assumed that one radio frame includes a 0thsubframe to a 9thsubframe from the left side to the right side, LTE communication network data may be transmitted and received in the 0thsubframe411, NR communication network data may be transmitted and received in a 1stsubframe412and a 2ndsubframe413, and LTE communication network data may be transmitted and received in the remaining 3rdto 9thsubframes414.

According to various embodiments, when DSS in the time division multiplexing scheme is operated as illustrated inFIG.4B, NR communication network data may be transmitted using an MBSFN subframe configured for MBSFN. For example, when a 1stsubframe412and the 2ndsubframe413are configured as MBSFN subframes, the base station (for example, eNB) corresponding to the LTE communication network may transmit broadcast service data through the 1stsubframe412and the 2ndsubframe413configured as the MBSFN subframes or may not transmit any data. According to various embodiments, the base station (for example, eNB) corresponding to the LTE communication network may transmit LTE communication network data using the remaining subframes411and414expect for the 1stsubframe412and the 2ndsubframe413configured as the MBSFN subframes.

According to various embodiments, when the base station (for example, eNB) corresponding to the LTE communication network does not transmit broadcast service data through the 1stsubframe412and the 2ndsubframe413configured as the MBSFN subframes or does not transmit any data, DSS in the time division multiplexing scheme may be applied through the use of the 1stsubframe412and the 2ndsubframe413as subframes for NR communication network data transmission. According to various embodiments, the base station (for example, gNB) corresponding to the NR communication network may transmit NR communication network data through the 1stsubframe412and the 2ndsubframe413which are configured as the MBSFN subframes and are not used by the eNB of the LTE communication network. According to various embodiments, the base station (for example, gNB) corresponding to the NR communication network may transmit NR communication network data in at least one subframe in which LTE communication network data is not transmitted among the 0thsubframe411and the 4thto 9thsubframes414which are not configured as the MBSFN subframes and are allocated for the use by the eNB of the LTE communication network.

According to various embodiments, referring toFIGS.4C and4D, DSS may be applied to one band (for example, a first band421for downlink transmission and a second band422for uplink transmission) among frequency bands (for example, the first band421for downlink transmission and the second band422for uplink transmission) operated for the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network). For example, the first band421allocated as a downlink band of the second communication network may be used as the downlink band (LTE DL) of the second communication network before a time point t1, and all or at least a part of the first band421may be used for data transmission of the first communication network (for example, NR communication network) after the time point t1. For example, the second band422allocated as an uplink band of the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) may be used as the uplink band (LTE UL) of the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) before the time point t1, and all or at least a part of the second band422may be used for data transmission of the first communication network (for example, NR communication network) after the time point t1.

According to various embodiments, the first band421allocated as the downlink band of the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) may be used as the downlink band (LTE DL) of the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) before the time point t1, all or at least a part of the first band421may be used for data transmission of the first communication network (for example, NR DL) after the time point t1, the second band422allocated as the uplink band of the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) may be used the uplink band (LTE UL) of the second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) before the time point t1, and all or at least a part of the second band422may be used for data transmission of the first communication network (for example, NR UL) after the time point t1.

FIG.4Cis a diagram illustrating a concept of DSS according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.4C, data of the first communication network (for example, NR communication network) may be transmitted through a TDD scheme in the first band421after the time point t1. For example, the first band421may be used as a downlink band (NR DL)423of the first communication network from the time point t1to a time point t2and used as an uplink band (NR UL)424of the first communication network from the time point t2.

FIG.4Dis a diagram illustrating a concept of DSS according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.4D, data of the first communication network (for example, NR communication network) may be transmitted through a FDD scheme in the first band421after the time point t1. For example, some (for example, 5 MHz) of the first band421may be used as a downlink band (NR DL)433of the first communication network from the time point t1, and the remaining band (for example, 5 MHz) of the first band421may be used as an uplink band (NR UL)434of the first communication network.

FIG.4Eis a diagram illustrating a concept of DSS according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.4E, at least some of the entire frequency bands allocated for the second communication network (LTE) may be used for data transmission of the first communication network (NR). The size of resources (for example, Resource Block (RB)) allocated for data of the first communication network (NR) may be changed according to the time as illustrated inFIG.4E. For example, the electronic device or the base station may change the size of the resources allocated for data of the first communication network (NR) in units of predetermined times (for example, every slot or every subframe (for example, according to a period of 1 ms) or according to a scheduling period of the base station, but is not limited thereto.

According to various embodiments, the size or the location of resources allocated for data of the first communication network (NR) may be changed in units of symbols (for example, 1/14 ms in the case of a normal Cyclic Prefix (CP) and 1/12 ms in the case of an extended CP). According to various embodiments, resources allocated for data of the first communication network (NR) may be differently allocated for each subcarrier, resource block, or resource element for the same symbol, the same subframe, or the same time interval inFIG.4E.

FIG.5Ais a diagram illustrating a structure of an MBSFN subframe to which DSS is applied according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.5A, the electronic device101may transmit and receive data of the NR communication system using a Multi-broadcast Single-Frequency Network (MBSFN) area (or MBSFN subframe) defined to use an evolved Multimedia Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS) in the LTE communication system. According to various embodiments, one MBSFN subframe may include a total of 14 symbols in the time axis. In the MBSFN subframe, a first area511including first two symbols may be configured as an area for LTE CRS and Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) data transmission, and a second area512including the remaining 12 symbols is an area allocated for the eMBMS and may be configured as an area for data transmission and reception of the NR communication system.

FIG.5Bis a diagram illustrating a structure of a non-MBMS subframe to which DSS is applied according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.5B, the electronic device101may transmit and receive data of the NR communication system using a non-MBSTN area (or non-MBSFN subframe) which is not the Multi-broadcast Single-Frequency Network (MBSFN) area (or MBSFN subframe) ofFIG.5Bdefined in the LTE communication system. According to various embodiments, one non-MBSFN subframe may include a total of 14 symbols in the time axis. In the non-MBSFN subframe, some Resource Elements (REs)525among 0th, 4th, 7th, and 11thsymbols may be allocated to transmit LTE CRS data. In the NR communication system, NR communication system data may be transmitted and received through the remaining symbols (for example, 1stto 3rd, 5th, 6th, 8thto 10th, 12th, and 13thsymbols) except for the symbols (for example, 0th, 4th, 7th, and 11thsymbols) for transmitting the LTE CRS data. The symbols for transmitting and receiving the NR communication system data may include four areas521,522,523, and524, and each area may be allocated to transmit and receive NR communication system data in the form of mini-slots. For example, in the NR communication system, data for an Ultra-Reliable and Low-Latency Communications (URLLC) service that requires a relatively short delay time may be transmitted and received using the mini-slots.

FIG.5Cis a diagram illustrating a structure of the non-MBSFN subframe to which DSS is applied according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.5C, the electronic device101may transmit and receive data of the NR communication system using a non-MBSFN area (or non-MBSFN subframe) which is not the Multi-broadcast Single-Frequency Network (MBSFN) area (or MBSFN subframe) ofFIG.5Cdefined in the LTE communication system. According to various embodiments, one non-MBSFN subframe may include a total of 14 symbols in the time axis. In the non-MBSFN subframe, 0thand 1stsymbols may be allocated to transmit LTE control channel data. According to various embodiments, 2ndto 13thsymbols may be configured as an area531for transmitting and receiving NR communication system data. Since the LTE CRS may be transmitted in some REs of some symbols (for example, 4thsymbol532, 7thsymbol533, and 11thsymbol534) in the area531for transmitting and receiving the NR communication system data, LTE data and NR data may overlap each other and may be transmitted in the corresponding symbols532,533, and534. The electronic device101may apply CRS rate matching in the symbols532,533, and534in which the LTE data and the NR data overlap and are transmitted. For example, the electronic device101may puncture each RE used for the LTE CRS in the symbols532,533, and534in which the LTE data and the NR data overlap and are transmitted, and accordingly, identify the RE used for the LTE CRS in advance when decoding PDSCH data to exclude the RE from the decoding.

According to various embodiments, the DSS schemes ofFIGS.5A,5B, and5C may be selectively used. For example, the DSS scheme using the MBSFN scheme ofFIG.5Amay be necessarily used for NR SSB allocation, and the DSS scheme using the non-MBSFN subframe ofFIGS.5B and5Cmay be additionally used as necessary.

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101transmits and receives data of the NR communication system through the DSS scheme using the non-MBSFN subframe ofFIGS.5B and5C, the electronic device may receive information on the MBSFN area and information on the LTE CRS location from the base station for LTE CRS rate matching as described above. For example, the information on the LTE CRS information may be configured as shown in Table 1 below and the information on the MBSFN area may be configured as shown in Table 2 below on the basis of the 3GPP standard document 38.331.

TABLE 1RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS ::= SEQUENCE {carrierFreqDLINTEGER (0..16383),carrierBandwidthDL ENUMERATED {n6, n15, n25, n50, n75, n100,spare2, spare1},mbsfn-SubframeConfigList EUTRA-MBSFN-SubframeConfigListOPTIONAL, -- Need MnrofCRS-PortsENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4},v-ShiftENUMERATED {n0, n1, n2, n3, n4, n5}}

TABLE 2EUTRA-MBSFN-SubframeConfigList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxMBSFN-Allocations)) OF EUTRA-MBSFN-SubframeConfigEUTRA-MBSFN-SubframeConfig ::= SEQUENCE {radioframeAllocationPeriod ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4, n8, n16, n32},radioframeAllocationOffset INTEGER (0..7),subfraineAllocation1CHOICE {oneFrameBIT STRING (SIZE(6)),fourFramesBIT STRING (SIZE(24))},subframeAIIocation2CHOICE {oneFrameBIT STRING (SIZE(2)),fourFramesBIT STRING (SIZE(8))}OPTIONAL, -- Need R...

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101transmits and receives data of the NR communication system using only the DSS scheme using the MBSFN subframe ofFIG.5A, LTE CRS rate matching is not needed, and thus the information an the MBSFN area and the information on the LTE CRS location may not be received from the base station. As the electronic device101does not receive the information on the MBSFN area and the information on the LTE CRS location from the base station, the electronic device does not know the location of the MBSFN subframe and may monitor downlink control data up to the non-MBSFN subframe rather than the MBSFN subframe. In various embodiments described above, the electronic device101transmitting and receiving data through the MBSFN-based DSS technology illustrated inFIG.5Amay expect or identify a slot (or subframe) (for example, non-MBSFN subframe) which is not used for NR resource allocation and control the corresponding slot (or subframe) to operate in a sleep state.

Hereafter, examples of a more detailed configuration of subframes according to the DSS schemes inFIGS.5A,5B, and5Care described with reference toFIGS.6A and6B.FIG.6A or6Bdescribed below is an example of the DSS scheme related toFIG.4B or4E, and embodiments described below are not limited to the above scheme and may be equally or similarly applied to the scheme inFIG.4A,4C, or4D.

FIG.6Ais a diagram illustrating the structure of the MBSFN subframe to which DSS is applied according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG.6Bis a diagram illustrating a structure of a non-MBSFN subframe to which DSS is applied according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIGS.6A and6B, one radio frame600may include 10 subframes. When it is assumed that one radio frame600is 10 ms, each subframe may be 1 ms. It may be assumed that the radio frame600is a radio frame configured in accordance with the LTE communication network. According to various embodiments, at least one of the 10 subframes included in the one radio frame600may be configured as the MBSFN subframe.

According to various embodiments, information on the MBSFN subframe may be broadcasted by a base station (for example, LTE eNB) through System Information Block (SIB) 2, and the electronic device101may receive information on the MBSFN subframe regardless of whether the broadcast service (for example, eMBMS) is supported. For example, SIB 2 may include MBSFN subframe information element (MBSFN-SubframeConfig information element) as shown in Table 3 below.

TABLE 3MBSFN-SubframeConfig information elementMBSFN-Subframeconiig ::= SEQUENCE {radioframeAllocationPeriod ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4, n8, n16, n32},radioframeAllocationOffset INTEGER {0..7}subframeAllocationCHOICE {oneFrameBIT STRING (SIZE(6)),fourFramesBIT STRING (SIZE(24))}}MBSFN-Subframeconfig-v1430 ::= SEQUENCE {subframeAllocation-v1430CHOICE {oneFrame-v1430BIT STRING (SIZE(2)),fourFrames-v1430BIT STRING (SIZE(8))}}

According to various embodiments, it is noted that referring toFIGS.6A and6B, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 8thsubframes of the radio frame600are candidates which can be configured as the MBSFN subframes. According to various embodiments, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 8thsubframes of the radio frame600may be configured as MBSFN subframe candidates when the electronic device101operates in a Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) mode, and 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 7th, 8th, and 9thsubframes of the radio frame600may be configured as MBSFN subframe candidates when the electronic device101operates in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) mode.

FIGS.6A and6Billustrate the case of the FDD mode, and it is noted that the first subframe of the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 6th, 7th, and 8thsubframes which are the MBSFN subframes is configured as the MBSFN subframe. Configuration information of the MBSFN subframes may be identified through SIB2 transmitted by the base station as described above.

According to various embodiments,FIG.6Aillustrates an example of the configuration of the corresponding subframe when NR communication network data is allocated to the MBSFN subframe and DSS is operated, andFIG.6Billustrates an example of the configuration of the corresponding subframe when NR communication network data is applied to the non-MBSFN subframe which is not configured as the MBSFN subframe and DSS is operated. AlthoughFIG.6Bbelow describes the structure of the subframe which is not configured as the MBSFN subframe in MBSFN subframe candidates, the same or similar application may be perform for a general LTE subframe (for example, 0th, 4th, 5th, and 9thsubframe, or each subframe of a radio frame which is not the radio frame600) which is not the MBSFN subframe candidate.

First, referring toFIG.6A, when the 1stsubframe611is configured as the MBSFN subframe, the MBSFN subframe may be configured as a control area622and an MBSFN area623as illustrated. In the MBSFN subframe illustrated inFIG.6A, the horizontal axis may correspond to the time axis and the vertical axis may correspond to the frequency axis. One MBSFN subframe may include 14 OFDM symbols in the horizontal axis. The one MBSFN subframe may configure one Physical Resource Block (PRB)621including 12 subcarriers in the vertical axis. For example, the one PRB621may include 14 OFDM symbols in the horizontal axis and 12 subcarriers in the vertical axis. In the subframe, a unit including one OFDM symbol and one subcarrier may be referred to as a Resource Element (RE). For example, one PRB621may include 12×14=168 REs.

According to various embodiments, when it is assumed that a frequency area allocated for the DSS is 5 MHz and Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) is 15 kHz, one subframe may include a total 25 PRBs621in the vertical axis. According to various embodiments, Synchronization Signal Blocks (SSBs) may be allocated to a total of 20 PRBs from a 2ndPRB to a 21stPRB among the 25 PRBs621for the 1stsubframe611.

When it is assumed that the MBSFN subframe includes a total of 14 OFDM symbols from a 14thsymbol to a 27thsymbol, the control area622may be allocated to two symbols, such as a 14thsymbol and a 15thsymbol, and the MBSFN area623may be applied to 16thsymbol to 27thsymbol.

An LTE reference signal and/or an LTE control signal may be allocated to the control area622of the MBSFN subframe. For example, when subcarriers from the bottom to the top are designated to 0thto 11thsubcarriers the control area622, LTE Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRSS) may be allocated to 0th, 3rd, 6th, and 9thsubcarrier, A Physical Control Format Indictor Channel (PCFICH), a Physical Hybrid-ARQ Indicator Channel (PHICH), and a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) may be allocated to the remaining subcarriers (for example, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11thsubcarriers) of the control area622.

According to various embodiments, as the MBSFN subframes are configured as subframes for NR communication network data by the DSS, the NR communication network data may be allocated to the MBSFN area623. For example, data for the NR communication network may be allocated to 16thto 27thsymbols. According to various embodiments, a Control Resource Set (CORESET) corresponding to an NR PDCCH may be allocated to the 16thsymbol, an NR Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) may be allocated to the 17thsymbol and the 23rdsymbol, and an NR Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) may be allocated to the remaining symbols (for example, 18th22ndsymbols and 24thto 27thsymbols).

According to various embodiments, referring to FIG,6A, the entire MBSFN area623in one MBSFN subframe except for the control area622may be used for allocating NR communication network data through supporting of the DSS using the MBSFN subframe.

Subsequently, referring toFIG.6B, when the 2ndsubframe612is the non-MBSFN subframe which is not configured as the MBSFN subframe (for example, a subframe for LTE data transmission), the non-MBSFN subframe may include a control area632and a data area633(for example, LTE data area) as illustrated. In the non-MBSFN subframe illustrated inFIG.6B, the horizontal axis may correspond to the time axis and the vertical axis may correspond to the frequency axis. One non-MBSFN subframe may include 14 OFDM symbols in the horizontal axis. The one non-MBSFN subframe may configure one Physical Resource Block (PRB)631including 12 subcarriers in the vertical axis. For example, the one PRB631may include 14 OFDM symbols in the horizontal axis and 12 subcarriers in the vertical axis. In the subframe, a unit including one OFDM symbol and one subcarrier may be referred to as a Resource Element (RE).

According to various embodiments, when it is assumed that a frequency area allocated for the DSS is 5 MHz and Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) is 15 kHz, one subframe may include a total 25 PRBs631in the vertical axis.

When it is assumed that the non-MBSFN subframe includes a total of 14 OFDM symbols from a 28thsymbol to a 41stsymbol, the control area632may be allocated to two left symbols, such as a 28thsymbol and a 29thsymbol, and the data area633may be applied to 30thsymbol to 41stsymbol.

An LTE reference signal and/or an LTE control signal may be allocated to the control area632of the non-MBSFN subframe. For example, when subcarriers from the bottom to the top are designated to 0thto 11thsubcarriers in the control area622, LTE Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRSs) may be allocated to 0th, 3rd, 6th, and 9thsubcarriers. PDCCHs may be allocated to the remaining subcarriers (for example, 1st, 2nd, 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, 10th, and 11thsubcarriers) of the 28thsymbol in the control area622.

According to various embodiments, as the non-MBSFN subframes are configured as subframes for NR communication network data by the DSS, the NR communication network data may be allocated to the data area633. For example, data for the NR communication network ma be allocated to 30thto 41stsymbols. According to various embodiments, a Control Resource Set (CORESET) corresponding to an NR PDCCH may be allocated to a 30thsymbol, an NR Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) may be allocated to 31stto 40thsymbols, and an NR Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) may be allocated to the remaining symbols (for example, 32ndto 39thand 41stsymbols).

According to various embodiments, referring toFIG.6B, although the non-MBSFN subframe is allocated for transmitting and receiving data of the NR communication network, a CRS may be allocated for a function as the LTE subframe. The CRS is a reference signal transmitted with relatively high power and may be used for phase synchronization or channel estimation in the LTE communication network and used for maintaining time synchronization and frequency synchronization. For example, as illustrated inFIG.6B, LTE Cell-specific Reference Signals (CRSs) may be allocated to 0th, 3rd, 6th, and 9thsubcarrier of 32nd, 35th, 36thand39thsymbols in the data area633.

As the LTE CRSs are allocated to the data area633, the NR PDSCH should be allocated to an RE to which the LTE CRS is not allocated in the data area633, which may be referred to as CRS rate matching.

According to various embodiments, information of LTE CRS rate matching for a subframe to which the DSS is applied may be defined in the 3GPP TS 36.331 standard document to be transmitted in the form of Table 4 below.

TABLE 4RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS information element-- ASN1START-- TAG-RATEMATCHPATTERNLTE-CRS-STARTRateMatchPattemLTE-CRS ::= SEQUENCE {carrierFreqDLINTEGER (0..16383),camerBandwidthDL ENUMERATED {n6, n15, n25, n50, n75, n100,spare2, spare1},mbsfn-SubframeConfigList EUTRA-MBSFN-SubframeConfigListOPTIONAL, -- Need MnrofCRS-PortsENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4},v-ShiftENUMERATED {n0, n1, n2, n3, n4,n5}}LTE-CRS-PattemList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE(1..maxLTE-CRS-Patterns-r16)) OF RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS-- TAG-RATEMATCHPATTERNLTE-CRS-STOP-- ASN1STOP

According to various embodiments, in the non-MBSFN subframe illustrated inFIG.6B, NR data (for example, NR PDSCH) may be allocated to a relatively smaller number of REs compared to the MBSFN subframe illustrated inFIG.6Adue to LTE CRS rate matching.

According to various embodiments, it has been illustrated that the number of antenna ports is 4 in the non-MBSFN subframe illustrated inFIG.6B, the number and locations of CRSs may be variously changed according to a cell ID (for example, a Physical Cell ID (PCI)) and the number of antenna ports.

Hereinafter, a method of operating the electronic device according to various embodiments is described with reference toFIGS.7to10. The operation inFIGS.7to10described below may be applied to one device illustrated inFIGS.1,2A,2B,3A,3B, and3C.

FIG.7is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling the electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.7, the electronic device (for example, the first communication processor212ofFIG.2Aor the integrated communication processor260ofFIG.2B) may receive a signal corresponding to a first communication network (NR) from a first base station corresponding to the first communication network (for example, the NR communication network) supporting a first frequency band in operation710.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may identify a second communication network (for example, the LTE communication network) supporting a second frequency band including at least one some of the first frequency band in operation720. For example, the electronic device101may identify whether there is the second communication network supporting the second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band in order to identify whether DSS is operated. According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may receive a signal corresponding to the first communication network or the second communication network and identify relevant information in order to identify whether the DSS is operated. According to various embodiments, methods by which the electronic device101identifies whether there is the second communication network on the basis of the identified relevant information are described in detail with reference toFIGS.8,9, and10.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may identify a time interval allocated for transmitting data corresponding to the second communication network on the basis of the identification result of the second communication network in operation730. For example, when the electronic device101identifies the existence of the second communication network supporting the second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band, it may be estimated that the electronic device101operates in the DSS (MBSFN-based DSS). As it is estimated that the electronic device101operates in the DSS, the electronic device101may identify the time interval (for example, time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe) allocated for transmitting data corresponding to the second communication network.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may control switching to a sleep state in the identified time interval (for example, time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe) in operation740. For example, the electronic device101may identify the time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe while operating in the MBSFN-based DSS and switch to the sleep state in the time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe, so as to control monitoring of unnecessary downlink control data to be not performed.

FIG.8is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling the electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.8, the electronic device (for example, the first communication processor212ofFIG.2Aor the integrated communication processor260ofFIG.2B) may be connected to a first base station corresponding to the first communication network (for example, the NR communication network) supporting a first frequency band and receive a signal corresponding to the first communication network (NR) from the first base station in operation810.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may identify a second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) supporting a second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band. For example, the electronic device101may identify whether the first frequency band is a frequency band supporting the DSS for the first communication network and the second communication network in operation820.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify whether the first frequency band (for example, NR frequency band) used for the currently connected first communication network is a frequency band supporting a DSS service. For example, the electronic device101may insert information indicating whether the DSS service for the frequency band supported by the electronic device101is supported into information (for example, UE capability information) to be transmitted to the first base station and transmit the information into the first base station. According to various embodiments, information indicating whether the DSS service is supported may be configured as shown in Table 5 according to definition in the 3GPP standard document 38.306.

TABLE 5rateMatchingLTE-CRSBandYesNoNoIndicates whether the UE supports receivingPDSCH with resource mapping that excludes theREs determined by the higher layer configurationLTE-carrier configuring common RS, as specifiedin TS 38.214[12]

According o various embodiments, the electronic device101may insert information indicating whether the DSS service for each frequency band is supported on the basis of definition in Table 5 above into UE capability information and transmit the UE capability information to the first base station. For example, the UE capability information may be configured as shown in Table 6 below.

TABLE 6LTE RRC OTA Packet -- UL_DCCH / UECapabilityInformationvalue UE-NR-Capability ::={...rf-Parameters{supportedBandListNR{{bandNR 2...ue-PowerClass pc3,rateMatchingLTE-CRS supported,

Referring to Table 6, the information indicating whether the DSS service for each frequency band, such as “rateMatchingLTE-CRS supported” may be inserted into the UE capability information and the UE capability information may be transmitted to the first base station.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may hard code and store information on the corresponding frequency band in a binary within the communication processor (for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) or store the same in a Non-Volatile (NV) area of the memory in order to transmit information indicating whether the DSS for each frequency band is supported in the UE capability information to the first base station. The electronic device101may identify whether a frequency band used for transmitting and receiving data to and from the first base station connected through the current communication is a frequency band supporting the DSS by identifying whether the DSS for each frequency band supported by the electronic device101is supported. When the currently used frequency band is the frequency band supporting the DSS on the basis of the identification result, the electronic device101may estimate that the electronic device currently operates in the MBSFN-based DSS.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may estimate whether the electronic device101currently operates in the MBSFN-based DSS according to whether the first base station supports the DSS. For example, for the electronic device101subscribing to a network service provider, the network service provider managing the first base station corresponding to the first communication network may provide requirements such as information on a first frequency band (for example, NR frequency band) which can be supported by the network service provider through the first base station corresponding to the first communication network (for example, NR) or a second frequency band (for example, LTE frequency band) which can be supported through a second base station corresponding to the second communication network (for example, LTE). The electronic device101may identify information on the first frequency band or the second frequency band supported by the network service provider according to the information provided by the network service provider. According to various embodiments, the information on the first frequency band or the second frequency band which should be supported by a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) (for example, Mobile Country Code (MCC) or Mobile Network Code (MNC)) may be changed, and information thereon may be provided to the electronic device101. For example, the electronic device101may identify information on a frequency band supported according to the currently registered and used PLMN on the basis of PLMN information stored in a SIM card. According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may hard code and store the information on the first frequency band or the second frequency band supported by the network service provider in a binary within the communication processor (for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) or store the same in a Non-Volatile (NV) area of the memory. Table 7 below shows information on the first frequency band and the second frequency band supported by the electronic device.

TABLE 7FrequencyFirst frequencySecond frequencybandband (NR)band (LTE)Common use1∘xx2∘∘∘3xxx4∘xx5∘∘∘

Referring to Table 7 above, a 2ndfrequency band and a 5thfrequency band are frequency band indexes supported in common in NR and LTE, and thus the electronic device101may estimate that the electronic device101currently operates in the DSS (for example, MBSFN-based DSS) when the electronic device101currently communicates with the first base station through the 2ndfrequency band or the 5thfrequency band.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify whether there are frequency bands overlapping each other for the first frequency band (for example, NR frequency band) and the second frequency band (for example, LTE frequency band) on the basis of information on a neighbor cell. For example, the electronic device101may identify frequency band information for the neighbor cell through an SIB (for example, SIB 5) including information related to frequency measurement or cell reselection between Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (Inter RAT (IRAT)) or identify frequency band information for the neighbor cell with reference to Measurement Object (MO) information provided from the first base station.

Table 8 and Table 9 below show the configuration of SIB 5 defined in the standard documents 36.331 and 38.331.

TABLE 8InterFreqCarrierFreqInfo ::= SEQUENCE {dl-CarrierFreqARFCN-ValueEUTRA,q-RxLevMinQ-RxLevMin,p-MaxP-MaxOPTIONAL, -- Need OPt-ReselectionEUTRAT-Reselection,t-ReselectionEUTRA-SFSpeedStateScaleFactorsOPTIONAL, -- NeedOPthreshX-HighReselectionThreshold,threshX-LowReselectionThreshold,allowedMeasBandwidthAllowedMeasBandwidth,presenceAntennaPort1PresenceAntennaPort1,cellReselectionPriorityCellReselectionPriorityOPTIONAL, -- Need OPneighCellConfigNeighCellConfig,q-OffsetFreqQ-OffsetRangeDEFAULT dB0,interFreqNeighCellListInterFreqNeighCellListOPTIONAL, -- NeedORinterFreqBlackCellListInterFreqBlackCellListOPTIONAL, -- Need OR...,[[ q-QualMin-r9Q-QualMin-r9OPTIONAL, -- Need OPthreshX-Q-r9SEQUENCE {threshX-HighQ-r9ReselectionThresholdQ-r9,threshX-LowQ-r9ReselectionThresholdQ-r9}OPTIONAL -- Cond RSRQ]],[[ q-QualMinWB-r11Q-QualMin-r9OPTIONAL -- Cond WB-RSRQ]]}

TABLE 9SIB5 ::=SEQUENCE {carrierFreqListEUTRACarrierFreqListEUTRAOPTIONAL, -- Need Rt-ReselectionEUTRAT-Reselection,t-ReselectionEUTRA-SFSpeedStateScaleFactorsOPTIONAL, -- Need SlateNonCriticalExtensionOCTET STRINGOPTIONAL,...}

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify information on the neighbor cell included in SIB 5 as defined in Table 8 or Table 9 above and identify whether there is the second frequency band (for example, LTE frequency band) of the second base station overlapping the first frequency band (for example, NR frequency band) currently used for communication with the first base station. When there is an overlapping frequency band on the basis of the identification result, the electronic device101may estimate that the electronic device currently operates in the DSS (for example, MBSFN-based DSS).

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify whether there is the second frequency band overlapping the first frequency band on the basis of frequency band information of the previously connected second communication network. For example, the electronic device101may store information on the second base station corresponding to the second communication network on which the electronic device camps for a predetermined time in the memory. Table 10 below shows information on a base station on which the electronic device101recently camps.

TABLE 10History #RATarfcn1NR1763002LTE9003NR392000

Referring to Table 10 above, the electronic device101may identify that an absolute radio-frequency channel number (arfcn) indicating frequency band information of the LTE eNB among base stations on which the electronic device101recently camps is 900, and identify whether the frequency overlaps the frequency band currently used for communication with the first base station corresponding to the first communication network. When there is an overlapping frequency band on the basis of the identification result, the electronic device101may estimate that the electronic device currently operates in the DSS (for example, MBSFN-based DSS).

FIG.11is a diagram illustrating an LTE scan operation of the electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.11, according to various embodiments, the electronic device101may scan a frequency band corresponding to the second communication network while communicating with the first base station corresponding to the first communication network. For example, the electronic device101may identify information on a neighbor LTE base station by performing the LTE scan operation in an RRC idle state or a Connected mode Discontinuous Reception (CDRX) sleep state or a measurement gap time point while communicating with the first base station corresponding to the first communication network. According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify at least one of an LTE signal level, an LTE band, an LTE bandwidth, a cell ID, and a PLMN for the LTE band by decoding a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS)/Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS) through the LTE scan operation. The electronic device101may determine how much the corresponding neighbor LTE base station is close to the NR gNB which currently communicates and determine whether the neighbor LTE eNB is a base station which can operate in the DSS. The electronic device101may identify how much the NR frequency band currently used by the electronic device overlaps the LTE bandwidth. According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may acquire PLMN information by decoding SIB 1 through the LTE scan and may identify whether a communication service provider of the NR frequency band used by the electronic device101is a PLMN service provider on the basis of the PLMN information.

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) identifies that the first frequency band (for example, NR frequency band) used for the currently connected first communication network is a frequency band supporting the DSS service and does not receive LTE MBSFN information related to the DSS from the first base station in operation830, it may be estimated that the electronic device operates in the MBSFN-based DSS described above with reference toFIG.5A or6A.

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) identifies the first frequency band is the frequency band supporting the DSS service in operation830(Yes of operation830), the electronic device may identify a pattern of downlink data in the first communication network in operation840. For example, the electronic device101may identify a pattern of a slot (or subframe) for receiving control data (for example, a Downlink Control Indicator (DCI)) among downlink data received for a preset time (for example, 50 ms or 100 ms).

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may receive an RRC reconfiguration message as shown in Table 11 below from the first base station, and monitor DCI on the basis of the location of a symbol for transmission of a PDCCH signal included in the received message.

TABLE 11NR5G RRC OTA Packet -- RRC_RECONFIG...commonSearchSpaceList{{searchSpaceId 1,controlResourceSetId 1,monitoringSlotPeriodicityAndOffset sl1 : NULL,monitoringSymbolsWithinSlot ‘00100000 000000’B,

For example, referring to Table 11 above, the electronic device101may identify that the symbol for transmission of the PDCCH signal may be configured in the 2ndsymbol through the RRC reconfiguration message received from the first base station.

FIG.12is a diagram illustrating symbols to which NR control data is allocated according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.12, NR slots (NR data transmission/reception interval) received through the MBSFN subframe may include 14 symbols from a 0thsymbol to a 13thsymbol. According to various embodiments, a 0thsymbol and a 1stsymbol in the MBSFN subframe are configured for transmission of an LTE PDCCH signal, and thus the base station of the NR communication network may transmit data through the remaining 12 symbols (for example, 2ndsymbol to 13thsymbol). For example, since the PDCCH signal is configured to be transmitted in the 2ndsymbol as shown in Table 11 above, the PDCCH signal may be transmitted through the 2ndsymbol1201among 14 symbols included in the entire slats inFIG.12. According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify whether DCI is allocated by monitoring the 2ndsymbol1201in each slot.

FIG.13is a diagram illustrating a method of identifying the non-MBSFN subframe using a pattern of NR control data according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

The electronic device101may identify whether DCI is allocated in every slot for a predetermined time (for example, 5 radio frames).

Referring toFIG.13, it may be noted that DCI is allocated in a 1stslot, a 6thslot, and a 7thslot in a first radio frame, DCI is allocated in a 1stslot, a 2ndslot, and a 7thslot in a second radio frame, DCI is allocated in a 1stslot, a 6thslot, and a 7thslot in a third radio frame, DCI is allocated in a 1stslot and a 2ndslot in a fourth radio frame, and DCI is allocated in a 1stslot and a 6thslot in a fifth radio frame.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may perform control to switch to a sleep state in a time interval expected that no downlink data of the first communication network is received therein in operation850. For example, the electronic device101may measure the MBSFN subframe and the non-MBSFN subframe through the pattern of the slot to which the DCI identified for the predetermined time is allocated and perform control to switch to a sleep state in a time interval expected that no downlink data of the first communication network is received therein (for example, a time interval estimated as the non-MBSFN subframe).

According to various embodiments, referring back toFIG.13, a time interval corresponding to the 1stt, the 2nd, the 6thslot, and the 7thslot which are slots in which DCI is identified at least once through the DCI allocation pattern identified during 5 radio frames may be estimated as a time interval configured as the MBSFN subframe. The electronic device101may maintain a state of monitoring DCI in the time interval configured as the MBSFN subframe (for example, the time interval corresponding to the 1stslot, the 2ndslot, the 6thslot, and 7thslot). According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may estimate a time interval corresponding to a 0thslot, a 3rdslot, a 4thslot, a 5thslot, an 8thslot, and a 9thslot in which the DCI is never identified for the predetermined time as a time interval that is not configured as the MBSFN subframe, and operate to switch to a sleep state in the time interval that is estimated to not be configured as the MBSFN subframe (for example, the time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe).

According to various embodiments, when an RRC state is changed (for example, change to an RRC idle state or reception of RRC reconfiguration), the electronic device101may initialize and reset the DCI allocation pattern illustrated inFIG.13.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may not perform operation840and operation850when the first frequency band is not identified as the frequency band supporting the DSS service in operation830(No of operation830).

FIG.9is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling the electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.9below, a description overlapping the description made with reference toFIG.8will be omitted. Referring toFIG.9, the electronic device (for example, the first communication processor212of FIG,2A or the integrated communication processor260ofFIG.2B) may be connected to first base station corresponding to the first communication network (for example, the NR communication network) supporting a first frequency band through communication and receive a signal corresponding to the first communication network (NR) from first base station the in operation910.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may identify a second communication network (for example, LTE communication network) supporting a second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band. For example, the electronic device101may identify whether the first frequency band is a frequency band supporting the DSS for the first communication network and the second communication network in operation920. Since the embodiments described in operation820ofFIG.8may be equally or similarly applied to the operation of whether the first frequency band is the frequency band supporting the DSS in operation920, a detailed description thereof is omitted.

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) identifies that the first frequency band (for example, NR frequency band) used for the currently connected first communication network is a frequency band supporting the DSS service and does not receive LTE MBSFN information related to the DSS from the first base station in operation930, it may be estimated that the electronic device operates in the MBSFN-based DSS described above with reference toFIG.5A or6A.

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) identifies that the first frequency band is the frequency band supporting the DSS service in operation930(Yes of operation930), the electronic device may identify data of the second communication network for a frequency band which is the same as the first frequency band currently used in the DSS in operation940. For example, the electronic device101may acquire MBSFN information of LTE being used in the DSS through the LTE scan operation as illustrated inFIG.11.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify SIB 2 by decoding a signal transmitted from a neighbor LTE eNB through the LTE scan operation. For example, SIB 2 may include MBSFN subframe allocation information (for example, an allocation period, an offset, and allocated subframes in a radio frame). According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may identify a time interval corresponding to the MBSFN subframe through SIB 2 in operation950.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may perform control to switch to a sleep state in a time interval (for example, a time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe) that is not used for the MBSFN in operation960on the basis of the MBSFN information identified in operation950.

FIG.14is a diagram illustrating control of the sleep operation of the electronic device receiving LTE MBSFN information according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Referring toFIG.14, a time interval corresponding to a 1stslot, a 2ndslot, a 7thslot, and an 8thslot may be identified as a time interval configured as the MBSFN subframe through the identification of SIB 2. The electronic device101may maintain a state of monitoring DCI in the time interval configured the time interval configured as the MBSFN subframe (for example, the time interval corresponding to the 1stslot, the 2ndslot, the 7thslot, and 8thslot). According to various embodiments, the electronic device101may operate to switch to the sleep state in the time interval that is not configured as the MBSFN subframe (for example, a time interval corresponding to a 0thslot, a 3rdslot, a 4thslot, a 5thslot, a 6thslot, and a 9thslot).

According to various embodiments, when an RRC state is changed (for example, change to an RRC idle state or reception of RRC reconfiguration), the electronic device101may initialize and reset the pattern illustrated inFIG.14.

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) identifies that the first frequency band is not the frequency band supporting the DSS service in operation930(No of operation930), operation940, operation950, and operation960may not be performed.

FIG.10is a diagram illustrating a method of controlling the electronic device according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

According to various embodiments, even when the electronic device101operates in MBSFN-based DSS as illustrated inFIG.5A, the first base station may perform control to transmit LTE CRS information (for example, “RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS” information) to the electronic device101.

Referring toFIG.10, according to various embodiments, a first communication network1000(for example, the first base station) may transmit a UE capability enquiry message to the electronic device101in operation1010. The electronic device101may receive the UE capability enquiry message from the first communication network1000and transmit UE capability information to the first communication network1000corresponding thereto in operation1020. According to various embodiments, the UE capability information may include information indicating whether the DSS service is supported for each frequency band as shown in Table 6, such as “rateMatchingLTE-CRS supported.”

According to various embodiments, the first communication network1000may identify whether the electronic device101supports the DSS service by identifying information included in the UE capability information. When it is determined that the electronic device101supports the DSS service on the basis of the identification result, the first communication network1000may insert information on the MBSFN area and/or information on the LTE CRS location into the RRC reconfiguration message and transmit the RRC reconfiguration message to the electronic device101in operation1030. The electronic device101may transmit an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the first communication network1000in response to reception of the RRC reconfiguration message in operation1040.

According to various embodiments, the RRC reconfiguration message which the first communication network1000transmits to the electronic device101may include information on the MBSFN area in the form shown in Table 12 or Table 13 below.

TABLE 12RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS ::=SEQUENCE {carrierFreqDLINTEGER (0..16383),carrierBandwidthDLENUMERATED {n6, n15, n25, n50, n75, n100, spare2,spare1},mbsfn-SubframeConfigList EUTRA-MBSFN-SubframeConfigList OPTIONAL,-- Need MnrofCRS-Ports ENUMERATED {n1,n2,n4},OPTIONAL, -- Need Mv-ShiftENUMERATED {n0, n1, n2, n3, n4, n5} OPTIONAL, -- Need M}

TABLE 13RateMatchPatternLTE-CRS ::=SEQUENCE {carrierFreqDLINTEGER (0..16383),carrierBandwidthDLENUMERATED {n6, n15, n25, n50, n75, n100, spare2,spare1},mbsfn-SubframeConfigList EUTRA-MBSFN-SubframeConfigList OPTIONAL,-- Need MnrofCRS-Ports ENUMERATED {n1, n2, n4},=>invalid value {n0}v-Shift ENUMERATED {n0, n1, n2, n3, n4, n5} =>invalid value {n7}}

According to various embodiments, when the electronic device101performs the MBSFN-based DSS operation, LTE CRS rate matching is not needed, and thus unnecessary parameters of “nrofCRS-Ports” and “v-Shift” may be omitted as shown in Table 12 or an invalid value may be used as shown in Table 13 to inform that the MBSFN-based DSS operation is being performed.

According to various embodiments, the electronic device101(for example, the first communication processor212or the integrated communication processor260) may identify information on the MBSFN area included in Table 12 or Table 13 and perform control to switch to the sleep state in a time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe. For example, the electronic device101may identify the time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe while operating in the MBSFN-based DSS and switch to the sleep state in the time interval corresponding to the non-MBSFN subframe, so as to control monitoring of unnecessary downlink control data to be not performed.

An electronic device according to one of various embodiments includes a communication processor, at least one Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit (RFIC) connected to the communication processor, and an antenna connected through the at least one RFIC and configured to transmit and receive a signal corresponding to at least one communication network, wherein the communication processor is configured to control the electronic device to receive a signal corresponding to a first communication network from a first base station corresponding to the first communication network supporting a first frequency band through the antenna, identify information related to a second communication network supporting a second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band, identify a time interval allocated for transmission of data corresponding to the second communication network on the basis of the information related to the second communication network, and control the electronic device to operate in a sleep state in the identified time interval.

According to various embodiments, the communication processor may control not to identify control data corresponding to the first communication network in the sleep state.

According to various embodiments, the communication processor may identify the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network when there is the second communication network supporting the second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band.

According to various embodiments, the communication processor may identify whether there is the second communication network on the basis of frequency band information related to a neighbor base station of the first base station.

According to various embodiments, the communication processor may identify whether there is the second communication network on the basis of frequency band information of the previously connected second communication network.

According to various embodiments, the first communication network may be a 5G communication network, and the second communication network may be an LTE communication network.

According to various embodiments, the communication processor may identify the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network on the basis of a reception pattern of downlink control data received from the first base station.

According to various embodiments, the communication processor may receive a signal transmitted from a second base station corresponding to the second communication network for a preset time and identify the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network from the received signal.

According to various embodiments, the communication processor may identify the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network on the basis of information received from the first base station corresponding to the first communication network.

According to various embodiments, the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network may correspond to a non-Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network subframe.

A method of controlling an electronic device according to one of various embodiments includes receiving a signal corresponding to a first communication network from a first base station corresponding to the first communication network supporting a first frequency band through the antenna, identifying information related to a second communication network supporting a second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band, identifying a time interval allocated for transmission of data corresponding to the second communication network on the basis of the information related to the second communication network, and controlling the electronic device to operate in a sleep state in the identified time interval.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include controlling the electronic device not to identify control data corresponding to the first communication network in the sleep state.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include identifying the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network when there is the second communication network supporting the second frequency band including at least a portion of the first frequency band.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include identifying whether there is the second communication network on the basis of frequency band information related to a neighbor base station of the first base station.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include identifying whether there is the second communication network on the basis of frequency band information of the previously connected second communication network.

According to various embodiments, the first communication network may be a 5G communication network, and the second communication network may be an LTE communication network.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include identifying the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network on the basis of a reception pattern of the downlink control data received from the first base station.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include receiving a signal transmitted from a second base station corresponding to the second communication network for a preset time and identifying the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network from the received signal.

According to various embodiments, the method may further include identifying the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network on the basis of information received from the first base station corresponding to the first communication network.

According to various embodiments, the time interval allocated for transmission of the data corresponding to the second communication network may correspond to a non-Multimedia Broadcast multicast service Single Frequency Network subframe.

The electronic device according to various embodiments may be one of various types of electronic devices. The electronic devices may include, for example, a computer device, a portable communication device (e.g., a smartphone), a portable multimedia device, a portable medical device, a camera, a wearable device, or a home appliance. According to an embodiment of the disclosure, the electronic devices are not limited to those described above.

It should be appreciated that various embodiments of the disclosure and the terms used therein are not intended to limit the technological features set forth herein to particular embodiments and include various changes, equivalents, or replacements for a corresponding embodiment. With regard to the description of the drawings, similar reference numerals may be used to refer to similar or related elements. It is to be understood that a singular form of a noun corresponding to an item may include one or more of the things, unless the relevant context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, each of such phrases as “A or B,” “at least one of A and B,” “at least one of A or B,” “A, B, or C,” “at least one of A, B, and C,” and “at least one of A, B, or C,” may include any one of, or all possible combinations of the items enumerated together in a corresponding one of the phrases. As used herein, such terms as “1st” and “2nd,” or “first” and “second” may be used to simply distinguish a corresponding component from another, and does not limit the components in other aspect (e.g., importance or order). It is to be understood that if an element (e.g., a first element) is referred to, with or without the term “operatively” or “communicatively,” as “coupled with,” “coupled to,” “connected with,” or “connected to” another element (e.g., a second element), it means that the element may be coupled with the other element directly (e.g., wiredly), wirelessly, or via a third element.

As used in connection with various embodiments of the disclosure, the term “module” may include a unit implemented in hardware, software, or firmware, and may interchangeably be used with other terms, for example, “logic,” “logic block,” “part,” or “circuitry.” A module may be a single integral component, or a minimum unit or part thereof, adapted to perform one or more functions. For example, according to an embodiment, the module may be implemented in a form of an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC).

Various embodiments as set forth herein may be implemented as software (e.g., the program) including one or more instructions that are stored in a storage medium (e.g., internal memory or external memory) that is readable by a machine (e.g., a master device or a task performing device). For example, a processor of the machine (e.g., the master device or the task performing device) may invoke at least one of the one or more instructions stored in the storage medium, and execute it. This allows the machine to be operated to perform at least one function according to the at least one instruction invoked. The one or more instructions may include a code generated by a complier or a code executable by an interpreter. The machine-readable storage medium may be provided in the form of a non-transitory storage medium. Wherein, the term “non-transitory” simply means that the storage medium is a tangible device, and does not include a signal (e.g., an electromagnetic wave), but this term does not differentiate between where data is semi-permanently stored in the storage medium and where the data is temporarily stored in the storage medium.

According to an embodiment, a method according to various embodiments of the disclosure may be included and provided in a computer program product. The computer program product may be traded as a product between a seller and a buyer. The computer program product may be distributed in the form of a machine-readable storage medium (e.g., compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM)), or be distributed (e.g., downloaded or uploaded) online via an application store (e.g., PlayStore™), or between two user devices (e.g., smart phones) directly. If distributed online, at least part of the computer program product may be temporarily generated or at least temporarily stored in the machine-readable storage medium, such as memory of the manufacturer's server, a server of the application store, or a relay server.

According to various embodiments, each component (e.g., a module or a program) of the above-described components may include a single entity or multiple entities, and some of the multiple entities may be separately disposed in different components. According to various embodiments, one or more of the above-described components or operations may be omitted, or one or more other components or operations may be added. Alternatively or additionally, a plurality of components (e.g., modules or programs) may be integrated into a single component. In such a case, the integrated component may still perform one or more functions of each of the plurality of components in the same or similar manner as they are performed by a corresponding one of the plurality of components before the integration. According to various embodiments, operations performed by the module, the program, or another component may be carried out sequentially, in parallel, repeatedly, or heuristically, or one or more of the operations may be executed in a different order or omitted, or one or more other operations may be added.

While the disclosure has been shown and described with reference to various embodiments thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.