Method and apparatus for performing radio measurements in autonomous gaps in multi-connectivity scenarios

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9949183-B2
Application number	US-201514857249-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 17, 2015
Priority date	Sep 18, 2014
Publication date	Apr 17, 2018
Grant date	Apr 17, 2018

Abstract

In one aspect of the teachings herein, a wireless device operating in a multi-connectivity configuration with respect to an associated wireless communication network applies asymmetrical blanking to two or more of its multi-connectivity connections in conjunction with acquiring system information for a target cell during one or more measurement gaps. “Blanking” as used here implies an interruption in downlink reception, or an interruption in uplink transmission, or both, and arises as a consequence of the measurement gaps used by a wireless device to make measurements on target-cell signals. Asymmetrical blanking results in, for example, the wireless device sending more or less acknowledgment/non-acknowledgment, ACK/NACK, signaling on one of the connections relative to another one of the connections, when acquiring the target-cell system information. In some embodiments, asymmetrical blanking is triggered and/or configured by the network, while in other embodiments it is triggered and/or configured by the wireless device.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A method at a wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network that supports multi-connectivity operation where the wireless device has at least two multi-connectivity connections with the network, and where each connection corresponds to a different cell group, CG, in the network, said method comprising:
determining that system information is to be acquired for a target cell;
determining that asymmetrical blanking is to be applied by the wireless device to two or more connections of the at least two multi-connectivity connections, in association with acquiring the system information; and
applying asymmetrical blanking to the two or more connections, according to an asymmetrical blanking configuration.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying the asymmetrical blanking to the two or more connections, according to an asymmetrical blanking configuration, comprises the wireless device transmitting a greater or lesser number of acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, ACK/NACK, signals on one or more of the connections as compared to one or more other ones of the connections, while acquiring the system information for the target cell.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asymmetrical blanking configuration accounts for a timing misalignment between signals received by the wireless device from the two or more connections.

4. The method of claim 3 , wherein determining that asymmetrical blanking is to be applied comprises determining that the timing misalignment exceeds a defined misalignment threshold.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein the two or more connections comprise a first CG connection and a second CG connection, wherein applying asymmetrical blanking to the two or more connections comprises applying misaligned measurement gaps to the first and second CG connections, for acquiring the system information, where the measurement gaps applied to the second CG connection are longer than the measurement gaps applied to the first CG connection by an amount that accounts for the timing misalignment.

6. The method of claim 1 , wherein determining that asymmetrical blanking is to be applied comprises determining that a condition or rule for using asymmetrical blanking is met, or determining that the network has indicated that asymmetrical blanking is to be applied.

7. The method of claim 1 , further comprising determining the asymmetrical blanking configuration at the wireless device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein determining the asymmetrical blanking configuration at the wireless device comprises obtaining the asymmetrical blanking configuration from configuration data stored in the wireless device.

9. The method of claim 1 , further comprising obtaining the asymmetrical blanking configuration, or an indication of the asymmetrical blanking configuration, from the network.

10. The method of claim 1 , further comprising sending capability information to the network, indicating that the wireless device has asymmetrical blanking capability.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein applying asymmetrical blanking to the two or more connections comprises the wireless device blanking one of the connections for longer than the wireless device blanks another one of the connections.

12. The method of claim 11 , further comprising determining which connection is subjected to the longer blanking according to a defined rule, or according to control signaling received from the network.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein the asymmetrical blanking configuration accounts for at least one of the following:
a timing misalignment between signals received at the wireless device from the CGs corresponding to the two or more connections;
differences in connection priorities;
differences in connection service type priorities;
a relationship between the target cell and any cell or cells associated with the two or more connections;
a nature or extent of radio receiver circuitry reconfiguration needed in the wireless device to tune to or back from the target cell;
whether radio receiver circuitry selected for tuning to the target cell is spare with respect to the two or more connections, or is in use for one of the two or more connections;
whether a receiver to be used by the wireless device to acquire the system information for the target cell is currently in use for one of the two or more connections; and
any default, preconfigured or dynamically determined rules for controlling asymmetrical blanking at the wireless device.

14. The method of claim 1 , wherein the wireless device at least has a connection to a first Cell Group, CG, and a connection to a second CG, and wherein the method includes:
obtaining an indication of a received time difference at least between signals received at the wireless device from the first CG and from the second CG;
determining, based at least on the received time difference, the asymmetric blanking configuration, wherein the asymmetric blanking configuration defines measurement gaps during which a selected receiver of the wireless device is tuned to the target cell and one or both connections to the first and second CGs is interrupted; and
wherein applying the asymmetrical blanking to the two or more connections comprises blanking one or both of the connections between the wireless device and the first and second CGs according to the asymmetric blanking configuration.

15. The method of claim 1 , wherein the method further comprises determining the asymmetrical blanking configuration to be applied by the wireless device to the two or more of the connections in association with acquiring the system information for the target cell, wherein the blanking applied by the wireless device to at least one of its connections differs from the blanking applied by the wireless device to at least one other ones of its connections.

16. A wireless device configured for operation in a wireless communication network that supports multi-connectivity operation where the wireless device has at least two multi-connectivity connections with the network, and where each connection corresponds to a different cell group, CG, in the network, said wireless device comprising:
a communication interface configured for transmitting signals to the network and receiving signals from the network; and
a processing circuit operatively associated with the communication interface and configured to:
determine that system information is to be acquired for a target cell;
determine that asymmetrical blanking is to be applied by the wireless device to two or more connections of the at least two multi-connectivity connections, in association with acquiring the system information; and
apply asymmetrical blanking to the two or more connections, according to an asymmetrical blanking configuration.

17. The wireless device of claim 16 , wherein the processing circuit is configured to apply the asymmetrical blanking to the two or more connections according to the asymmetrical blanking configuration by transmitting a greater or lesser number of acknowledgement/non-acknowledgement, ACK/NACK, signals on one or more of the connections as compared to one or more other ones of the connections, while acquiring the system information for the target cell.

18. The wireless device of claim 16 , wherein the asymmetrical blanking configuration accounts for a timing misalignment between signals received by the wireless device on the two or more connections.

19. The wireless device of claim 18 , wherein the processing circuit is configure

Assignees

• Ericsson Telefon Ab L M
• Ericsson Telefon Ab L M

Inventors

• Axmon Joakim
• Kazmi Muhammad
• Rahman Imadur

Classifications

• H04W24/10

  Scheduling measurement reports {; Arrangements for measurement reports} · CPC title

• H04W36/0094

  Definition of hand-off measurement parameters · CPC title

• H04L5/0055

  Physical resource allocation for ACK/NACK (for physical mapping arrangements in ARQ protocols H04L1/1861) · CPC title

• H04W36/0083 Primary

  Determination of parameters used for hand-off, e.g. generation or modification of neighbour cell lists · CPC title

• H04W36/00835

  Determination of neighbour cell lists · CPC title