U.S. patent application number 15/202028 was filed with the patent office on 2018-01-11 for hs-scch order recovery in multi-subscriber identity module (sim) wireless communication devices.
The applicant listed for this patent is QUALCOMM Incorporated. Invention is credited to Arun Agarwal, Mukesh Kumar, Kamalpreet Singh Padam, Ravi Kishore Paruchuru, Suresh Sanka.
Application Number | 20180013462 15/202028 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 59227932 |
Filed Date | 2018-01-11 |
United States Patent
Application |
20180013462 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Agarwal; Arun ; et
al. |
January 11, 2018 |
HS-SCCH ORDER RECOVERY IN MULTI-SUBSCRIBER IDENTITY MODULE (SIM)
WIRELESS COMMUNICATION DEVICES
Abstract
Examples described herein relate to managing communications on a
first subscription and a second subscription of a multi-Subscriber
Identity Module (SIM) wireless communication device via a Radio
Frequency (RF) resource, including, but not limited to, tuning the
RF resource away from the second subscription to the first
subscription, detecting a network-set activation state of a
secondary cell associated with the first subscription, and
adjusting the activation state of the secondary cell based on the
network-set activation state.
Inventors: |
Agarwal; Arun; (Hyderabad,
IN) ; Paruchuru; Ravi Kishore; (Hyderabad, IN)
; Sanka; Suresh; (Hyderabad, IN) ; Kumar;
Mukesh; (Hyderabad, IN) ; Padam; Kamalpreet
Singh; (Hyderabad, IN) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
QUALCOMM Incorporated |
San Diego |
CA |
US |
|
|
Family ID: |
59227932 |
Appl. No.: |
15/202028 |
Filed: |
July 5, 2016 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
1/1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H04W 48/18 20130101;
H04W 60/005 20130101; H04W 76/27 20180201; H04B 1/3816 20130101;
H04L 5/0098 20130101; H04W 88/06 20130101; H04W 8/08 20130101; H04W
72/12 20130101; H04W 72/02 20130101; H04W 24/08 20130101; H04W
36/36 20130101; H04W 76/15 20180201 |
International
Class: |
H04W 76/02 20090101
H04W076/02; H04W 8/08 20090101 H04W008/08; H04W 76/04 20090101
H04W076/04; H04W 72/02 20090101 H04W072/02; H04W 60/00 20090101
H04W060/00; H04W 48/18 20090101 H04W048/18; H04W 24/08 20090101
H04W024/08; H04W 36/36 20090101 H04W036/36 |
Claims
1. A method for a wireless communication device having a first
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) associated with a first
subscription and a second SIM associated with a second subscription
to manage communications on the first subscription and the second
subscription via a Radio Frequency (RF) resource, the method
comprising: tuning the RF resource away from the second
subscription to the first subscription; detecting a network-set
activation state of a secondary cell associated with the first
subscription; and adjusting a secondary cell activation state of
the wireless communication device based on the network-set
activation state.
2. The method of claim 1, further comprising tuning the RF resource
away from the first subscription to the second subscription.
3. The method of claim 2, further comprising: determining a length
of a tune-away gap for which the RF resource is tuned away from the
first subscription to the second subscription; determining whether
the length of the tune-away gap exceeds a threshold; and detecting
the network-set activation state of the secondary cell associated
with the first subscription in response to determining that the
length of the tune-away gap exceeds the threshold.
4. The method of claim 3, wherein the threshold is 48 ms.
5. The method of claim 2, further comprising determining a previous
secondary cell activation state of the wireless communication
device, wherein the previous secondary cell activation state is a
secondary cell activation state of the wireless communication
device before tuning the RF resource away from the first
subscription to the second subscription.
6. The method of claim 5, wherein adjusting the secondary cell
activation state of the wireless communication device based on the
network-set activation state comprises: determining that the
network-set activation state is different from the previous
secondary cell activation state; and setting the secondary cell
activation state of the wireless communication device as the
network-set activation state in response to determining that the
network-set activation state is different from the previous
secondary cell activation state.
7. The method of claim 6, wherein setting the secondary cell
activation state of the wireless communication device as the
network-set activation state in response to determining that the
network-set activation state is different from the previous
secondary cell activation state comprises designating the secondary
cell to be in a dual-carrier deactivated state in response to
determining that the previous secondary cell activation state was a
dual-carrier activated state and that the network-set activation
state is a dual-carrier deactivated state.
8. The method of claim 6, wherein setting the secondary cell
activation state of the wireless communication device as the
network-set activation state in response to determining that the
network-set activation state is different from the previous
secondary cell activation state comprises designating the secondary
cell to be in a dual-carrier activated state in response to
determining that the previous secondary cell activation state was a
dual-carrier deactivated state and that the network-set activation
state is a dual-carrier activated state.
9. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the network-set
activation state of the secondary cell associated with the first
subscription comprises determining whether the secondary cell is
designated to be in a dual-carrier activated state or dual-carrier
deactivated state.
10. The method of claim 1, wherein detecting the network-set
activation state of the secondary cell comprises: monitoring
whether data has been scheduled for the secondary cell; determining
that the network-set activation state of the secondary cell is
dual-carrier activated state in response to determining that data
has been scheduled for the secondary cell; and determining that the
network-set activation state of the secondary cell is dual-carrier
deactivated state in response to determining that data has not been
scheduled for the secondary cell.
11. The method of claim 10, wherein monitoring whether the data has
been scheduled for the secondary cell comprises monitoring a
High-Speed Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH) for a monitoring
duration.
12. The method of claim 11, wherein the monitoring duration is at
least one of 50 System Frame Numbers (SFNs) or 100 ms.
13. The method of claim 11, wherein determining that the data has
been scheduled for the secondary cell comprises determining that
the data has been scheduled for the HS-SCCH within the monitoring
duration.
14. The method of claim 11, wherein determining that the data has
not been scheduled for the secondary cell comprises determining
that the data has not been scheduled for the HS-SCCH within the
monitoring duration.
15. A wireless communication device, comprising: a Radio Frequency
(RF) resource; a processor configured to connect to a first
Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) associated with a first
subscription and to a second SIM associated with a second
subscription, and configured to: tune the RF resource away from the
second subscription to the first subscription; detect a network-set
activation state of a secondary cell associated with the first
subscription; and adjust a secondary cell activation state of the
wireless communication device based on the network-set activation
state; and a memory.
16. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein the
processor is further configured to tune the RF resource away from
the first subscription to the second subscription.
17. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the
processor is further configured to: determine a length of a
tune-away gap for which the RF resource is tuned away from the
first subscription to the second subscription; determine whether
the length of the tune-away gap exceeds a threshold; and detect the
network-set activation state of the secondary cell associated with
the first subscription in response to determining that the length
of the tune-away gap exceeds the threshold.
18. The wireless communication device of claim 17, wherein the
threshold is 48 ms.
19. The wireless communication device of claim 16, wherein the
processor is further configured to determine a previous secondary
cell activation state of the wireless communication device, wherein
the previous secondary cell activation state is a secondary cell
activation state of the wireless communication device before tuning
the RF resource away from the first subscription to the second
subscription.
20. The wireless communication device of claim 19, wherein
adjusting the secondary cell activation state of the wireless
communication device based on the network-set activation state
comprises: determining that the network-set activation state is
different from the previous secondary cell activation state; and
setting the secondary cell activation state of the wireless
communication device as the network-set activation state in
response to determining that the network-set activation state is
different from the previous secondary cell activation state.
21. The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein setting
the secondary cell activation state of the wireless communication
device as the network-set activation state in response to
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous secondary cell activation state comprises designating
the secondary cell to be in a dual-carrier deactivated state in
response to determining that the previous secondary cell activation
state was a dual-carrier activated state and that the network-set
activation state is a dual-carrier deactivated state.
22. The wireless communication device of claim 20, wherein setting
the secondary cell activation state of the wireless communication
device as the network-set activation state in response to
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous secondary cell activation state comprises designating
the secondary cell to be in a dual-carrier activated state in
response to determining that the previous secondary cell activation
state was a dual-carrier deactivated state and that the network-set
activation state is a dual-carrier activated state.
23. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein the
processor detects the network-set activation state of the secondary
cell associated with the first subscription by determining whether
the secondary cell is designated to be in a dual-carrier activated
state or dual-carrier deactivated state.
24. The wireless communication device of claim 15, wherein the
processor detects the network-set activation state of the secondary
cell by: monitoring whether data has been scheduled for the
secondary cell; determining that the network-set activation state
of the secondary cell is dual-carrier activated state in response
to determining that data has been scheduled for the secondary cell;
and determining that the network-set activation state of the
secondary cell is dual-carrier deactivated state in response to
determining that data has not been scheduled for the secondary
cell.
25. The wireless communication device of claim 24, wherein the
processor monitors whether the data has been scheduled for the
secondary cell by monitoring a High-Speed Shared Control Channel
(HS-SCCH) for a monitoring duration.
26. The wireless communication device of claim 25, wherein the
monitoring duration is at least one of 50 System Frame Numbers
(SFNs) or 100 ms.
27. The wireless communication device of claim 25, wherein the
processor determines that the data has been scheduled for the
secondary cell by determining that the data has been scheduled for
the HS-SCCH within the monitoring duration.
28. The wireless communication device of claim 25, wherein the
processor determines that the data has not been scheduled for the
secondary cell by determining that the data has not been scheduled
for the HS-SCCH within the monitoring duration.
29. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having
processor-readable instructions such that, when executed, causes a
processor to perform a method for managing communications on a
first subscription and a second subscription via a Radio Frequency
(RF) resource, the method comprising: tuning the RF resource away
from the second subscription to the first subscription; detecting a
network-set activation state of a secondary cell associated with
the first subscription; and adjusting a secondary cell activation
state of the wireless communication device based on the network-set
activation state.
30. A wireless communication device, comprising: means for tuning
the RF resource away from the second subscription to the first
subscription; means for detecting a network-set activation state of
a secondary cell associated with the first subscription; and means
for adjusting a secondary cell activation state of the wireless
communication device based on the network-set activation state.
31. The method of claim 1, wherein the network-set activation state
of the secondary cell is a dual-carrier network-set activation
state of the secondary cell.
Description
BACKGROUND
[0001] A wireless communication device, such as a mobile phone
device or a smart phone, may include two or more Subscriber
Identity Modules (SIMs). Each SIM may correspond to at least one
subscription via a Radio Access Technology (RAT). Such a wireless
communication device may be a multi-SIM wireless communication
device. In a Multi-SIM-Multi-Active (MSMA) wireless communication
device, all SIMs may be active at the same time. In a
Multi-SIM-Multi-Standby (MSMS) wireless communication device, if
any one SIM is active, then the rest of the SIM(s) may be in a
standby mode. The RATs may include, but are not limited to,
Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple
Access (TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) (particularly,
Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO)), Universal Mobile
Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) (particularly, Time Division
Synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA or TDS) Wideband Code Division Multiple
Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), evolved Multimedia
Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS), High-Speed Downlink Packet
Access (HSDPA), and the like), Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access 1x Radio
Transmission Technology (1x), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS),
Wi-Fi, Personal Communications Service (PCS), and other protocols
that may be used in a wireless communications network or a data
communications network.
[0002] A network (e.g., a WCDMA network) can configure various
carrier information with respect to a wireless communication device
through Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer signaling. Carrier
options such as activating or deactivating a secondary cell can be
configured through Layer 1 (L1) signaling, also known as Physical
Layer signaling. An activation/deactivation order (e.g., a
High-Speed Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH) order) can be used by
the network to dynamically enable or disable the secondary cell
based on resource needs of the wireless communication device and
current radio resource status (e.g., congestion status) of the
network. The HS-SCCH order mechanism can be implemented to
configure the secondary cell settings on the wireless communication
device more rapidly than RRC layer signaling, which spans over tens
of milliseconds.
[0003] Typically, the network sends a HS-SCCH order to a wireless
communication device for configuring the secondary cell settings.
The wireless communication device will send an Acknowledgement
signal (ACK) or Negative Acknowledgement signal (NACK) in uplink to
the network to indicate status of the HS-SCCH order. If the network
does not receive any response from the wireless communication
device, the network will retransmit the HS-SCCH order. If the
network fails to receive any response corresponding to the
retransmission(s) from the wireless communication device, the
network will trigger RRC-level signaling for activating or
deactivating the secondary cell configurations. The HS-SCCH order
decoding can be highly reliably, and probability of successful
Layer 1 signaling procedure with respect to HS-SCCH can approximate
100%. Therefore, due to the high reliability at Layer 1, the
network generally assumes successful completion of the HS-SCCH
order after the transmission/retransmission(s), and proceeds with
target configurations of the HS-SCCH order on the network-side,
even with the wireless communication device engaged in
Discontinuous Transmission (DTX).
[0004] On the other hand, a multi-SIM wireless communication device
having two or more subscriptions employs tune-away mechanisms for
sharing a common Radio Frequency (RF) resource. That is, the RF
resource can be tuned away from a first subscription to a second
subscription for activities of the second subscription while
suspending any activities of the first subscription, creating a
tune-away gap with respect to the first subscription. The
transmission/retransmission(s) of the HS-SCCH order that collide
(e.g., overlap in time) with a tune-away gap spanning 50 ms to 100
ms can be lost, resulting in Layer 1 procedure failure. That is,
the wireless communication device is not informed of the target
configurations contained in the HS-SCCH order due to the tune-away
gap.
[0005] Accordingly, given that the network proceeds with the target
configurations corresponding to the HS-SCCH order and that the
wireless communication device fails to receive the HS-SCCH order, a
mismatch or disconnect between the network and the wireless
communication device can result for the downlink channel
configuration, thus negatively impacting the High-Speed Dedicated
Physical Control Channel (HS-DPCCH) encoding in uplink. The
network, in turn, would fail to decode the HS-DPCCH properly,
resulting in failure to acquire Channel Quality Indicator (CQI)
from the wireless communication device. The CQI is a measurement of
quality of a communication link between the wireless communication
device and the network. The failure is caused by the fact that
different Reed-Muller tables are used for encoding for a single CQI
and dual CQI. When an inappropriate Reed-Muller table is used,
incompatible codewords are employed.
[0006] Subsequently, the network may stop scheduling downlink data
completely because the wireless communication device may continue
to retransmit Protocol Data Units (PDUs) in uplink until Radio Link
Control (RLC) resets given that ACK on the High-Speed Physical
Downlink Shared Channel (HS-PDSCH) is not being received by the
wireless communication device. The ACK for uplink PDUs is being
mapped to HS-PDSCH. At any rate, the wireless communication device
unnecessarily consumes a considerable amount of energy by remaining
in the connected state without actually transmitting and/or
receiving data. The low throughput can negatively impact user
experience due to page connection timeouts, slow buffering of
videos, and/or the like.
[0007] The network can also misinterpret the CQI report, treating a
high CQI report as a low CQI report, vice versa. For instance,
while the wireless communication device remains in a connected
state, the network can reduce scheduling for the wireless
communication device as the network treats a high CQI report as a
low CQI report, thus drastically reducing throughput. On the other
hand, the network scheduling high Transport Block Size (TBS) for
the wireless communication device as the network treats a low CQI
report as a high CQI report, thus causing continuous decoding
failure and Radio Link (RL) failures as well as RLC resets. The
decoding failures, RL failures, and RLC resets can negatively
impact user experience.
SUMMARY
[0008] Examples described herein relate to apparatuses and methods
for determining a network-set activation state of a secondary cell
associated with a first subscription of a multi-Subscriber Identity
Module (SIM) wireless communication device having the first
subscription and a second subscription. The first subscription may
be enabled by a first SIM. The second subscription may be enabled
by a second SIM. The first subscription and the second subscription
may share a Radio Frequency (RF) resource, for example, in a
Multi-SIM-Multi-Standby (MSMS) wireless communication device. A
first mobile network corresponding to the first subscription may
send activation/deactivation orders (e.g., High-Speed Shared
Control Channel (HS-SCCH) orders) to the wireless communication
device for activating or deactivating the secondary cell (e.g., for
configuring an activation state of the secondary cell). In some
instances, while the RF resource is tuned away to the second
subscription, activation/deactivation orders may be sent to the
wireless communication device, resulting in reception or decoding
failure with respect to the activation/deactivation orders.
[0009] In some examples, the wireless communication device may
detect a network-set activation state of the secondary cell after
the tune-away gap by continuously monitoring the HS-SCCH for
scheduling information in response to determining that a length of
the tune-away gap exceeds a certain threshold. The first mobile
network sending scheduling information to the wireless
communication device indicates that the activation state of the
secondary cell (as known to the first mobile network) is
dual-carrier activated. On the other hand, the first mobile network
not sending scheduling information to the wireless communication
device indicates that the activation state of the secondary cell
(as known to the first mobile network) is dual-carrier deactivated.
Dual carrier High-Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) allows a
network to transmit HSDPA data from two cells to a wireless
communication device simultaneously, resulting in doubled peak rate
from 21 Mbps to 42 Mbps without the use of Multiple-Input
Multiple-Output (MIMO) in WCDMA, release 8. The peak rate can reach
84.4 Mbps with the use of MIMO in WCDMA, release 9. Dual carrier
HSDPA may also be referred to as dual cell HSDPA or DC-HSDPA.
During a DC-HSDPA call setup, the serving cell and the secondary
serving cell information is communicated to the wireless
communication device. In addition, the common channels and traffic
channels of the secondary serving cell are monitored by the
wireless communication device. Once a DC-HSDPA connection is
established, HS-SCCH orders may serve as a trigger to activate or
de-activate the secondary serving cell. Also, either the serving
cell or the secondary serving cell may de-activate the secondary
serving cell.
[0010] A previous activation state refers to an activate state of
the secondary cell set before the tune-away gap. The network-set
activation state being different from the previous activation state
indicates that a mismatch between the wireless communication device
and first mobile network has occurred due to the tune-away gap.
That is, the wireless communication device may have failed to
receive an activation/deactivation order due to the tune-away gap.
In response to detecting such mismatch, the wireless communication
device may set the activation state to the network-set activation
state, instead of remaining in the previous activation state.
[0011] According to some examples, a method for a wireless
communication device having a first SIM associated with a first
subscription and a second SIM associated with a second subscription
to manage communications on the first subscription and the second
subscription via a RF resource, the method including tuning the RF
resource away from the second subscription to the first
subscription. detecting a network-set activation state of a
secondary cell associated with the first subscription, and
adjusting the activation state of the secondary cell based on the
network-set activation state.
[0012] In some examples, the method further includes tuning the RF
resource away from the first subscription to the second
subscription.
[0013] In some examples, the method further determining a length of
a tune-away gap for which the RF resource is tuned away from the
first subscription to the second subscription, determining whether
the length of the tune-away gap exceeds a threshold, and detecting
the network-set activation state of the secondary cell associated
with the first subscription in response to determining that the
length of the tune-away gap exceeds the threshold.
[0014] In some examples, the threshold is 48 ms.
[0015] In some examples, the method further includes determining a
previous activation state of the secondary cell, wherein the
previous activation state of the secondary cell is an activation
state of the secondary cell before tuning the RF resource away from
the first subscription to the second subscription.
[0016] In some examples, adjusting the activation state of the
secondary cell based on the network-set activation state includes
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous activation state and setting the activation state of
the secondary cell as the network-set activation state in response
to determining that the network-set activation state is different
from the previous activation state.
[0017] In some examples, setting the activation state of the
secondary cell as the network-set activation state in response to
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous activation state includes designating the secondary
cell to be in a dual-carrier deactivated state in response to
determining that the previous activation state was a dual-carrier
activated state and that the network-set activation state is a
dual-carrier deactivated state.
[0018] In some examples, setting the activation state of the
secondary cell as the network-set activation state in response to
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous activation state includes designating the secondary
cell to be in a dual-carrier activated state in response to
determining that the previous activation state was a dual-carrier
deactivated state and that the network-set activation state is a
dual-carrier activated state.
[0019] In some examples, detecting the network-set activation state
of the secondary cell associated with the first subscription
includes determining whether the secondary cell is designated to be
in a dual-carrier activated state or dual-carrier deactivated
state.
[0020] In some examples, detecting the network-set activation state
of the secondary cell includes monitoring whether data has been
scheduled for the secondary cell, determining that the network-set
activation state of the secondary cell is dual-carrier activated
state in response to determining that data has been scheduled for
the secondary cell, and determining that the network-set activation
state of the secondary cell is dual-carrier deactivated state in
response to determining that data has not been scheduled for the
secondary cell.
[0021] In some examples, monitoring whether the data has been
scheduled for the secondary cell includes monitoring a HS-SCCH for
a monitoring duration.
[0022] In some examples, the monitoring duration is at least one of
50 System Frame Numbers (SFNs) or 100 ms.
[0023] In some examples, determining that the data has been
scheduled for the secondary cell includes determining that the data
has been scheduled for the HS-SCCH within the monitoring
duration.
[0024] In some examples, determining that the data has not been
scheduled for the secondary cell includes determining that the data
has not been scheduled for the HS-SCCH within the monitoring
duration.
[0025] According to various examples, the wireless communication
device includes a RF resource, a processor configured to connect to
a first SIM associated with a first subscription and to a second
SIM associated with a second subscription, and configured to tune
the RF resource away from the second subscription to the first
subscription, detect a network-set activation state of a secondary
cell associated with the first subscription, and adjust the
activation state of the secondary cell based on the network-set
activation state.
[0026] In some examples, the processor is further configured to
tune the RF resource away from the first subscription to the second
subscription.
[0027] In some examples, the processor is further configured to
determine a length of a tune-away gap for which the RF resource is
tuned away from the first subscription to the second subscription,
determine whether the length of the tune-away gap exceeds a
threshold, and detect the network-set activation state of the
secondary cell associated with the first subscription in response
to determining that the length of the tune-away gap exceeds the
threshold.
[0028] In some examples, the threshold is 48 ms.
[0029] In some examples, the processor is further configured to
determine a previous activation state of the secondary cell,
wherein the previous activation state of the secondary cell is an
activation state of the secondary cell before tuning the RF
resource away from the first subscription to the second
subscription.
[0030] In some examples, adjusting the activation state of the
secondary cell based on the network-set activation state includes
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous activation state, and setting the activation state of
the secondary cell as the network-set activation state in response
to determining that the network-set activation state is different
from the previous activation state.
[0031] In some examples, setting the activation state of the
secondary cell as the network-set activation state in response to
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous activation state includes designating the secondary
cell to be in a dual-carrier deactivated state in response to
determining that the previous activation state was a dual-carrier
activated state and that the network-set activation state is a
dual-carrier deactivated state.
[0032] In some examples, setting the activation state of the
secondary cell as the network-set activation state in response to
determining that the network-set activation state is different from
the previous activation state includes designating the secondary
cell to be in a dual-carrier activated state in response to
determining that the previous activation state was a dual-carrier
deactivated state and that the network-set activation state is a
dual-carrier activated state.
[0033] In some examples, the processor detects the network-set
activation state of the secondary cell associated with the first
subscription by determining whether the secondary cell is
designated to be in a dual-carrier activated state or dual-carrier
deactivated state.
[0034] In some examples, the processor detects the network-set
activation state of the secondary cell by monitoring whether data
has been scheduled for the secondary cell, determining that the
network-set activation state of the secondary cell is dual-carrier
activated state in response to determining that data has been
scheduled for the secondary cell, and determining that the
network-set activation state of the secondary cell is dual-carrier
deactivated state in response to determining that data has not been
scheduled for the secondary cell.
[0035] In some examples, the processor monitors whether the data
has been scheduled for the secondary cell by monitoring a HS-SCCH
for a monitoring duration.
[0036] In some examples, the monitoring duration is at least one of
50 SFNs or 100 ms.
[0037] In some examples, the processor determines that the data has
been scheduled for the secondary cell by determining that the data
has been scheduled for the HS-SCCH within the monitoring
duration.
[0038] In some examples, the processor determines that the data has
not been scheduled for the secondary cell by determining that the
data has not been scheduled for the HS-SCCH within the monitoring
duration.
[0039] According to various examples, a non-transitory
computer-readable medium having processor-readable instructions
such that, when executed, causes a processor to perform a method
for managing communications on a first subscription and a second
subscription via a RF resource, the method including tuning the RF
resource away from the second subscription to the first
subscription, detecting a network-set activation state of a
secondary cell associated with the first subscription, and
adjusting the activation state of the secondary cell based on the
network-set activation state.
[0040] In some examples, the wireless communication device includes
means for tuning the RF resource away from the second subscription
to the first subscription, means for detecting a network-set
activation state of a secondary cell associated with the first
subscription, and means for adjusting the activation state of the
secondary cell based on the network-set activation state.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0041] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated herein and
constitute part of this specification, illustrate exemplary
examples of the disclosure, and together with the general
description given above and the detailed description given below,
serve to explain the features of the various examples.
[0042] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a communication system in
accordance with various examples.
[0043] FIG. 2 is a component block diagram of a wireless
communication device according to various examples.
[0044] FIG. 3 is a process flowchart diagram illustrating a
secondary cell configuration recovery method according to various
examples.
[0045] FIG. 3A is a process flowchart diagram illustrating a
secondary cell configuration recovery method according to one
example in which the length of the tune-away gap may be compared to
a threshold and in response to determining that the length of the
tune-away gap exceeds the threshold, and the network-set activation
state of the secondary cell may be detected.
[0046] FIG. 4 is a process flowchart diagram illustrating a
secondary cell configuration recovery method according to various
examples.
[0047] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the secondary
cell configuration recovery method according to some examples.
[0048] FIG. 6 is a process flowchart diagram illustrating a
secondary cell configuration recovery method according to various
examples.
[0049] FIG. 7 is a component block diagram of a wireless
communication device suitable for use with various examples.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0050] Various examples will be described in detail with reference
to the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference
numbers may be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or
like parts. Different reference numbers may be used to refer to
different, same, or similar parts. References made to particular
examples and implementations are for illustrative purposes, and are
not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure or the
claims.
[0051] Some modern communication devices, referred to herein as a
wireless communication device, User Equipment (UE), or Mobile
Station (MS), may include any one or all of cellular telephones,
smart phones, personal or mobile multi-media players, personal data
assistants, laptop computers, personal computers, tablet computers,
smart books, palm-top computers, wireless electronic mail
receivers, multimedia Internet-enabled cellular telephones,
wireless gaming controllers, and similar personal electronic
devices. Such a wireless communication device may include at least
one Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), a programmable processor,
memory, and circuitry for connecting to two or more mobile
communication networks.
[0052] A wireless communication device may include one or more SIMs
that provide users of the wireless communication devices with
access to one or multiple separate mobile communication networks.
The mobile communication networks may be supported by Radio Access
Technologies (RATs). The wireless communication device may be
configured to connect to one or more base stations via one or more
RATs. Examples of RATs may include, but not limited to, Frequency
Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access
(TDMA), Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) (particularly,
Evolution-Data Optimized (EVDO)), Universal Mobile
Telecommunications Systems (UMTS) (particularly, Time Division
Synchronous CDMA (TD-SCDMA or TDS), Wideband Code Division Multiple
Access (WCDMA), Long Term Evolution (LTE), evolved Multimedia
Broadcast Multicast Services (eMBMS), High-Speed Downlink Packet
Access (HSDPA), and the like), Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM), Code Division Multiple Access 1x Radio
Transmission Technology (1x), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS),
Wi-Fi, Personal Communications Service (PCS), and other protocols
that may be used in a wireless communications network or a data
communications network. Each RAT may be associated with a
subscription or SIM.
[0053] A wireless communication device provided with a plurality of
SIMs and connected to two or more subscriptions or networks with
one subscription or network being active at a given time is a
Multi-SIM-Multi-Standby (MSMS) communication device. In one
example, the MSMS communication device may be a
Dual-SIM-Dual-Standby (DSDS) communication device, which may
include two SIMs that may both be active on standby, but one is
deactivated when the other one is in use. In another example, the
MSMS communication device may be a Triple-SIM-Triple-Standby (TSTS)
communication device, which includes three SIMs that may all be
active on standby, where two may be deactivated when the third one
is in use. In other examples, the MSMS communication device may be
other suitable multi-SIM communication devices, with, for example,
four or more SIMs, such that when one is in use, the others may be
deactivated.
[0054] On the other hand, a wireless communication device that
includes a plurality of SIMs and connects to two or more
subscriptions or networks with two or more subscriptions or
networks being active at a given time may be a MSMA communication
device. An example MSMA communication device may be a
Dual-SIM-Dual-Active (DSDA) communication device, which may include
two SIM. Both SIMs may remain active. In another example, the MSMA
device may be a Triple-SIM-Triple-Active (TSTA) communication
device, which may include three SIM. All three SIMs may remain
active. In other examples, the MSMA communication device may be
other suitable multi-SIM communication devices with four or more
SIMs, all of which may be active.
[0055] Generally, examples described herein may be applicable to a
wireless communication device having a shared Radio Frequency (RF)
resource and/or a MSMS wireless communication device having at
least a first SIM and a second SIM. Illustrating with a
non-limiting example, the first SIM may be associated with a first
subscription via a first RAT, and the second SIM may be associated
with a second subscription via a second RAT. The examples may also
be applicable to a MSMA wireless communication device that suspends
first subscription communication activities due to blanking
pattern, power back-off, interference, and/or the like when the
second subscription receives pages or other types of
communications, vice versa.
[0056] As used herein, the terms "SIM," "SIM card," and "subscriber
identification module" may be used interchangeably to refer to a
memory that may be an integrated circuit or embedded into a
removable card, and that stores an International Mobile Subscriber
Identity (IMSI), related key, and/or other information used to
identify and/or authenticate a wireless device on a network and
enable communication services with the network. Because the
information stored in a SIM may be the wireless device to establish
a communication link for a particular communication service with a
particular network, the term "SIM" may also be used herein as a
shorthand reference to the communication service (e.g., the
networks, the subscriptions, the services, and/or the like)
associated with and enabled by the information (e.g., in the form
of various parameters) stored in a particular SIM as the SIM and
the communication network, as well as the services and RATs
supported by that network, correlate to one another.
[0057] Various examples may be implemented within a communication
system 100, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 1. Referring
to FIG. 1, a first mobile network 102 and second mobile network 104
may each associate with a plurality of cellular base stations. For
instance, a first base station 130 and a third base station 145 may
be associated with the first mobile network 102. A second base
station 140 may be associated with the second mobile network 104.
The first base station 130 may broadcast the first mobile network
102 in a first serving cell 150. The third base station 145 may
broadcast the first mobile network 102 in a secondary cell 170. The
second base station 140 may broadcast the second mobile network 104
in a second serving cell 160.
[0058] A wireless communication device 110 may be associated with
(within effective boundaries of) the first serving cell 150, second
serving cell 160, and secondary cell 170. Communications between
the wireless communication device 110 and the secondary cell 170
can be configured (e.g., activated or deactivated) using
activation/deactivation orders, such as, but not limited to, Speed
Shared Control Channel (HS-SCCH) orders. For instance, the first
mobile network 102 can dynamically activate or deactivate usage of
the secondary cell 170 with respect to the wireless communication
device 110 by sending the HS-SCCH orders containing configurations
of the usage of the secondary cell 170 to the wireless
communication device 110.
[0059] The first base station 130 may be in communication with the
first mobile network 102 over a wired or wireless connection 134.
The second base station 140 may be in communication with the second
mobile network 104 over a wired or wireless connection 144. The
third base station 145 may be in communication with the first
mobile network 102 over a wired or wireless connection 154.
[0060] The wireless communication device 110 may be in
communication with the first mobile network 102 through a first
cellular connection 132 to the first base station 130. The first
cellular connection 132 may correspond to the first RAT on a first
subscription (first SIM) of the wireless communication device 110.
The wireless communication device 110 may be in communication with
the second mobile network 104 through a second cellular connection
142 to the second base station 140. The second cellular connection
142 may correspond to the second RAT of the wireless communication
device 110. When activated, a third cellular connection 152 may be
established between the wireless communication device 110 and the
third base station 145 for accessing the first mobile network 102.
The third cellular connection 152 may correspond to a third RAT of
the wireless communication device 110 on the first
subscription.
[0061] The operator of the first mobile network 102 may provide the
secondary cell 170 for an additional point of communication, as in
the dual carrier High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA)
scenario. That is, the wireless communication device 110 can
communicate with the first mobile network 102 through both the
first serving cell 150 and the secondary cell 170 for improved
throughput.
[0062] The first cellular connection 132, second cellular
connection 142, and third cellular connection 152 may each be made
through two-way wireless communication links. Examples of each of
the first RAT, second RAT, and third RAT may include, but not
limited to, FDMA, TDMA, CDMA (e.g., EVDO), UMTS (e.g., TDS, WCDMA,
LTE, eMBMS, HSDPA, or the like), GSM, 1x, GPRS, Wi-Fi, PCS, and/or
another protocol used in a wireless communications network or a
data communications network. By way of illustrating with a
non-limiting example, the first RAT (employed by the cellular
connection 132) and the third RAT may each be WCDMA, LTE, or
another suitable RAT. In some examples, the first RAT may be the
same as the third RAT. In other examples, the first RAT may be
different from the third RAT. The second RAT (employed by the
second cellular connection 142) may be LTE or another suitable
RAT.
[0063] Each of the first base station 130, the second base station
140, and third base station 145 may include at least one antenna
group or transmission station located in the same or different
areas. The at least one antenna group or transmission station may
be associated with signal transmission and reception. Each base
station 130, 140, or 145 may include one or more processors,
modulators, multiplexers, demodulators, demultiplexers, antennas,
and the like for performing the functions described herein. In some
examples, each base station 130, 140, or 145 may be an access
point, Node B, evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), base transceiver
station (BTS), or the like.
[0064] In various examples, the wireless communication device 110
may be configured to access the first mobile network 102 and the
second mobile network 104 by virtue of the multi-SIM and/or the
multi-mode SIM configuration of the wireless communication device
110. When a SIM corresponding to a RAT is inserted, the wireless
communication device 110 may access the mobile communication
network associated with that RAT based on the information stored on
the SIM through registrations and call setups.
[0065] In some examples, the wireless communication device 110 may
establish a wireless connection with a peripheral device (not
shown) used in connection with the wireless communication device
110. For example, the wireless communication device 110 may
communicate over a Bluetooth.RTM. link with a Bluetooth-enabled
personal computing device (e.g., a "smart watch"). In some
examples, the wireless communication device 110 may establish a
wireless connection with a wireless access point (not shown), such
as over a Wi-Fi connection. The wireless access point may be
configured to connect to the Internet or another network over a
wired connection.
[0066] FIG. 2 is a functional block diagram of a wireless
communication device 200 suitable for implementing various
examples. According to various examples, the wireless communication
device 200 may be the wireless communication device 110 as
described with reference to FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1-2, the
wireless communication device 200 may include a first SIM interface
202a, which may receive a first identity module SIM-1 204a (the
first SIM) that is associated with the first mobile network 102.
The wireless communication device 200 may also include a second SIM
interface 202b, which may receive a second identity module SIM-2
204b (the second SIM) that is associated with the second mobile
network 104.
[0067] A SIM (e.g., SIM-1 204a, SIM-2 204b, and/or the like) in
various examples may be a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC)
that is configured with SIM and/or Universal SIM (USIM)
applications, enabling access to GSM and/or UMTS networks. The UICC
may also provide storage for a phone book and other applications.
Alternatively, in a CDMA network, a SIM may be a UICC removable
user identity module (R-UIM) or a CDMA Subscriber Identity Module
(CSIM) on a card. A SIM card may have a Central Processing Unit
(CPU), Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM),
Electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM) and
Input/Output (I/O) circuits. An Integrated Circuit Card Identity
(ICCID) SIM serial number may be printed on the SIM card for
identification. However, a SIM may be implemented within a portion
of memory of the wireless communication device 200, and thus need
not be a separate or removable circuit, chip, or card.
[0068] A SIM used in various examples may store user account
information, an IMSI, a set of SIM Application Toolkit (SAT)
commands, and other network provisioning information, as well as
provide storage space for phone book database of the user's
contacts. As part of the network provisioning information, a SIM
may store home identifiers (e.g., a System Identification Number
(SID)/Network Identification Number (NID) pair, a Home Public Land
Mobile Network (HPLMN) code, etc.) to indicate the SIM card network
operator provider.
[0069] The wireless communication device 200 may include at least
one controller, such as a general-purpose processor 206, which may
be coupled to a coder/decoder (CODEC) 208. The CODEC 208 may in
turn be coupled to a speaker 210 and a microphone 212. The
general-purpose processor 206 may also be coupled to at least one
memory 214. The general-purpose processor 206 may include any
suitable data processing device, such as a microprocessor. In the
alternative, the general-purpose processor 206 may be any suitable
electronic processor, controller, microcontroller, or state
machine. The general-purpose processor 206 may also be implemented
as a combination of computing devices (e.g., a combination of a
Digital Signal Processor (DSP) and a microprocessor, a plurality of
microprocessors, at least one microprocessor in conjunction with a
DSP core, or any other such configuration).
[0070] The memory 214 may be a non-transitory processor-readable
storage medium that stores processor-executable instructions. For
example, the instructions may include routing communication data
relating to the first or second subscription though a corresponding
baseband-RF resource chain. The memory 214 may include any suitable
internal or external device for storing software and data. Examples
of the memory 214 may include, but are not limited to, RAM, ROM,
floppy disks, hard disks, dongles or other Recomp Sensor Board
(RSB) connected memory devices, or the like. The memory 214 may
store an Operating System (OS), user application software, and/or
executable instructions. The memory 214 may also store application
data, such as an array data structure.
[0071] The general-purpose processor 206 and the memory 214 may
each be coupled to baseband modem processor 216. The SIMs (e.g.,
the SIM-1 204a, the SIM-2 204b, and/or the like) in the wireless
communication device 200 may be associated with at least one
baseband-RF resource chain. A baseband-RF resource chain may
include the baseband modem processor 216, which may perform
baseband/modem functions for communications on the SIMs. The
baseband modem processor 216 may include one or more amplifiers and
radios, referred to generally herein as a RF resource 218 or RF
chain.
[0072] The examples described herein may be applicable to wireless
communication devices in which the SIMs 204a and 204b share a
common set of RF resource (particularly, the RF resource 218).
Alternatively, examples described herein may be applicable to
wireless communication devices in which each of the SIMs 204a and
204b has a separate RF resource, but activities of one of the SIMs
204a and 204b may be deactivated while the other one of the SIMs
204a and 204b is active. The examples can be applied to a
single-SIM wireless communication device that fails to receive or
decode activation/deactivation order from the first mobile network
102 due to interference, decoding failure, or the like, instead of
due to a tune-away gap.
[0073] The RF resource 218 may include at least one transceiver
that perform transmit/receive functions for the associated SIMs
204a and 204b of the wireless communication device 200. The RF
resource 218 may include separate transmit and receive circuitry,
or may include a transceiver that combines transmitter and receiver
functions. The RF resource 218 may be coupled to a wireless antenna
220. The RF resource 218 may also be coupled to the baseband modem
processor 216.
[0074] In some examples, the general-purpose processor 206, the
memory 214, the baseband modem processor 216, and the RF resource
218 may be included in the wireless communication device 200 as a
system-on-chip. In some examples, the SIMs 204a and 204b and their
corresponding interfaces 202a, 202b may be external to the
system-on-chip. Further, various input and output devices may be
coupled to components on the system-on-chip, such as interfaces or
controllers. Example user input components suitable for use in the
wireless communication device 200 may include, but are not limited
to, a keypad 224, a touchscreen display 226, and the microphone
212.
[0075] In some examples, the keypad 224, the touchscreen display
226, the microphone 212, or a combination thereof, may perform the
function of receiving a request to initiate an outgoing call. For
example, the touchscreen display 226 may receive a selection of a
contact from a contact list or receive a telephone number. In
another example, either or both of the touchscreen display 226 and
the microphone 212 may perform the function of receiving a request
to initiate an outgoing call. For example, the touchscreen display
226 may receive a selection of a contact from a contact list or to
receive a telephone number. As another example, the request to
initiate the outgoing call may be in the form of a voice command
received via the microphone 212. Interfaces may be provided between
the various software modules and functions in the wireless
communication device 200 to enable communication between them.
[0076] The wireless communication device 200 may include a recovery
module 230. The recovery module 230 may recover
activation/deactivation orders lost due to a tune-away gap from the
first mobile network 102 by determining a network-set activation
state of the secondary cell 170 after the tune-away gap. For
instance, the recovery module 230 may configure the RF resource 218
to monitor a HS-SCCH channel for scheduling information concerning
scheduling data over the secondary cell 170. The recovery module
230 may set the activation state with respect to the secondary cell
170 to dual-carrier activated state or dual-carrier deactivated
state, based on whether the network-set activation state matches a
previous activation state.
[0077] In some examples, the recovery module 230 may be implemented
within the general-purpose processor 206. For example, the recovery
module 230 may be implemented as a software application stored
within the memory 214 and executed by the general-purpose processor
206. Accordingly, such examples can be implemented with minimal
additional hardware costs. However, other examples relate to
systems and processes implemented with dedicated hardware
specifically configured for performing operations described herein
with respect to the recovery module 230. For example, the recovery
module 230 may be implemented as a separate processing component
(i.e., separate from the general-purpose processor 206). The
recovery module 230 may be coupled to the memory 214, the general
processor 206, the baseband processor 216, and/or the RF resource
218 for performing the function described herein.
[0078] Hardware and/or software for the functions may be
incorporated in the wireless communication device 200 during
manufacturing, for example, as a part of a configuration of an
original equipment manufacturer (OEM) of the wireless communication
device 200. In further examples, such hardware and/or software may
be added to the wireless communication device 200 post-manufacture,
such as by installing one or more hardware devices and/or software
applications onto the wireless communication device 200.
[0079] In some examples, the wireless communication device 200 may
include, among other things, additional SIM cards, SIM interfaces,
at least another RF resource associated with the additional SIM
cards, and additional antennas for connecting to additional mobile
networks.
[0080] FIG. 3 is a process flowchart diagram illustrating an
example of a secondary cell configuration recovery method 300
according to various examples. Referring to FIGS. 1-3, in some
examples, the secondary cell configuration recovery method 300 may
be performed by the recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose
processor 206 of the wireless communication device 200. The RF
resource 218 may be tuned away from the first subscription to the
second subscription, initiating a tune-away gap. An activation
state of the secondary cell 170 may refer to whether the first
subscription is in a dual-carrier activated state (e.g., the
secondary cell 170 is used) or a dual-carrier deactivated state
(e.g., the secondary cell 170 is not used). The activation state of
the secondary cell 170 set when (or before) the tune-away gap
starts may be referred to as a previous activation state. The first
subscription may be enabled by the first SIM (SIM-1 204a). The
second subscription may be enabled by the second SIM (SIM-2
204b).
[0081] At block B310, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may tune the RF resource 218 away
from the second subscription back to the first subscription, ending
the tune-away gap. Transmissions or retransmissions of an
activation/deactivation order from the first mobile network 102
over the first subscription may overlap with a portion of the
tune-away gap, and may thus be lost.
[0082] The recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor
206 may detect a network-set activation state of the secondary cell
170 associated with the first subscription, at block B320. In one
example shown in FIG. 3A, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may determine a length of the
tune-away gap at block B322. The length of the tune-away gap may be
compared to a threshold, at block B324. In response to determining
that the length of the tune-away gap exceeds the threshold, the
recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may
detect the network-set activation state of the secondary cell 170
at block B326. The network-set activation state refers to the
activation state of the secondary cell 170 with respect to the
wireless communication device 200 as configured by the first mobile
network 102 after the tune-away gap. In some cases, the network-set
activation state may be the same as the previous activation state
because no HS-SCCH order has been transmitted/retransmitted by the
first mobile network 102 during the tune-away gap. In other cases,
the network-set activation state may be different from the previous
activation state because a HS-SCCH order has been
transmitted/retransmitted by the first mobile network 102 during
the tune-away gap and the first mobile network 102 proceeds with
the target configuration (e.g., the network-set activation state)
when the wireless communication device 200 has not received the
HS-SCCH order and therefore does not have knowledge of the target
configuration.
[0083] In some examples, detecting the network-set activation state
of the secondary cell 170 may include monitoring whether the
secondary cell 170 has been scheduled by monitoring the HS-SCCH for
a monitoring duration. In response to determining that the HS-SCCH
has been scheduled, the network-set activation state may be the
dual-carrier activated state. On the other hand, in response to
determining that the HS-SCCH has not been scheduled, the
network-set activation state may be the dual-carrier deactivated
state.
[0084] At block B330, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may adjust the activation state of
the secondary cell 170 based on the network-set activation state
detected at block B320. In some examples, such adjustments may
include determining whether the network-set activation state of the
secondary cell 170 is different from the previous activation state.
In response to determining that the network-set activation state
and the previous activation state are different, the recovery
module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may set the
network-set activation state as the activation state of the
secondary cell 170.
[0085] FIG. 4 is a process flowchart diagram illustrating an
example of a secondary cell configuration recovery method 400
according to various examples. FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram 500
illustrating an example of the secondary cell configuration
recovery method 400 according to some examples. Referring to FIGS.
1-5, one or more of blocks B405-B465 may correspond to one of
blocks B310-B330. The secondary cell configuration recovery method
400 may be performed by the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 of the wireless communication device
200. A first subscription 510 may be enabled by SIM-1 204a. A
second subscription 550 may be enabled by SIM-2 204b. The diagram
500 illustrates usage of the RF resource 218 by the first
subscription 510 and the second subscription 550. Activities 520,
530, 540a, and/or 540b of the first subscription 510 may be
provided by the first serving cell 150, or both the first serving
cell 150 and secondary cell 170, depending on the activation state
with respect to the secondary cell 170.
[0086] At block B405, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may determine the previous activation
state. The previous activation state may refer to the activation
state by which communications on the first subscription 510 is
handled before a tune-away gap 565 is started. Illustrating with a
non-limiting example, the previous activation state may be the
activation state by which the activities 520 are communicated to
the first mobile network 102. The activities 520 may include a
call, page monitoring, active data transfer, and/or the like.
[0087] At block B410, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may tune the RF resource 218 away
from the first subscription 510 to the second subscription 550, for
the tune-away gap 565. The RF resource 218 may be tuned for
second-subscription activities 560, such as, but not limited to, a
call, page monitoring, active data transfer, and/or the like. While
the RF resource 218 is tuned to the second subscription 550,
communications on the first subscription 510 may not be received.
Therefore, the wireless communication device 200 may fail to
receive and fail to decode any HS-SCCH order 530 originating from
the first mobile network 102 that collides (overlaps in time with)
the tune-away gap 565.
[0088] At block B415, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may tune the RF resource 218 back
from the second subscription 550 to the first subscription 510,
ending the tune-away gap 565. At block B420, the recovery module
230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may determine the
length of the tune-away gap 565. For instance, as tuning away to
the second subscription 550 occurs, the recovery module 230 and/or
the general-purpose processor 206 may initiate a timer, which ends
when the tune-away gap 565 ends.
[0089] At block B425, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may determine whether the length of
the tune-away gap 565 exceeds a threshold. The length of the
tune-away gap 565 exceeding the threshold indicates a high
probability that the transmissions and retransmissions of the
HS-SCCH order 530 collides with the tune-away gap 565. The HS-SCCH
order 530 may typically include a plurality of instances (e.g., 4
transmission/retransmissions total). Illustrating with a
non-limiting example, the threshold may be 48 ms. Illustrating with
other non-limiting examples, the threshold may be 25 ms, 50 ms, 75
ms, 100 ms, 200 ms, 25 to 200 ms, or the like.
[0090] In some examples, the threshold may vary based on the
network conditions of the first cellular connection 132 and third
cellular connection 152, the need of the wireless communication
device 200, a combination thereof, and/or the like. Illustrating
with a non-limiting example, whereas the previous activation state
is the dual-carrier deactivated state, the threshold may decrease
as the network conditions with respect to the first cellular
connection 132 deteriorates, vice versa. Illustrating with another
non-limiting example, whereas the previous activation state is the
dual-carrier activated state, the threshold may increase as the
network conditions with respect to the first cellular connection
132 deteriorates, vice versa. Illustrating with yet another
non-limiting example, whereas the previous activation state is the
dual-carrier deactivated state, the threshold may increase as the
network conditions with respect to the third cellular connection
152 deteriorates, vice versa. Illustrating with yet another
non-limiting example, whereas the previous activation state is the
dual-carrier activated state, the threshold may decrease as the
network conditions with respect to the third cellular connection
152 deteriorates, vice versa. Illustrating with yet another
non-limiting example, whereas the previous activation state is the
dual-carrier deactivated state, the threshold may decrease as a
need for throughput by the wireless communication device 200
increases, vice versa. Illustrating with yet another non-limiting
example, whereas the previous activation state is the dual-carrier
activated state, the threshold may increase or remain the same as a
need for throughput by the wireless communication device 200
increases, vice versa. One or more factors discussed herein may be
evaluated individually or as a weighted combination.
[0091] In response to determining that the length of the tune-away
gap 565 does not exceed the threshold (B425: NO), the method 400
ends. On the other hand, in response to determining that the length
of the tune-away gap 565 exceeds the threshold (B425: YES), the
recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may
monitor for a monitoring duration 545 whether the secondary cell
170 has been scheduled, at block B430. For instance, the recovery
module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may configure
the RF resource 218 to monitor the HS-SCCH on both carriers of the
first subscription 510 while in the previous activation state for
any scheduling blocks such as, but not limited to blocks 540a and
540b. in some examples, the monitoring on both carriers (e.g., the
first serving cell 150 and secondary cell 160) occurs regardless of
the previous activation state. In other words, even when the
wireless communication device 200 is set to be in the dual-carrier
deactivated state after the turn-away gap 565, the HS-SCCH on both
carriers may be monitored.
[0092] Illustrating with a non-limiting example, the monitoring
duration 545 may be 50 System Frame Numbers (SFNs). Illustrating
with another non-limiting example, the monitoring duration 545 may
be 100 ms. Other examples of the monitoring duration 545 may
include, but not limited to, 35 SFNs, 75 SFNs, 100 SFNs, 35 to 100
SFNs, 80 ms, 120 ms, 150 ms, 35 to 150 ms, or the like.
[0093] The recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor
206 may determine whether the secondary cell 170 has been scheduled
via the HS-SCCH (e.g., whether any scheduling block such as blocks
540a or 540b have been received) during the monitoring duration
545, at block B435. In response to determining that secondary cell
170 has been scheduled (B435: YES), the recovery module 230 and/or
the general-purpose processor 206 may determine that the
network-set activation state is the dual-carrier activated state,
at block B440. At block B445, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may determine whether the previous
activation state determined at block B405 is the same as the
network-set activation state (the dual-carrier activated
state).
[0094] In response to determining that the previous activation
state is the same as the network-set activation state (the
dual-carrier activated state) (B445: YES), the method 400 ends. On
the other hand, in response to determining that the previous
activation state is not the same as the network-set activation
state (the dual-carrier activated state) (B445: NO), the recovery
module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may set the
activation state with respect to the secondary cell 170 as the
dual-carrier activated state, at block B450.
[0095] On the other hand, in response to determining that secondary
cell 170 has not been scheduled with the monitoring duration 545
(B435: NO), the recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose
processor 206 may determine that the network-set activation state
is the dual-carrier deactivated state, at block B455. At block
B460, the recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor
206 may determine whether the previous activation state determined
at block B405 is the same as the network-set activation state (the
dual-carrier deactivated state).
[0096] In response to determining that the previous activation
state is the same as the network-set activation state (the
dual-carrier deactivated state) (B460: YES), the method 400 ends.
On the other hand, in response to determining that the previous
activation state is not the same as the network-set activation
state (the dual-carrier deactivated state) (B460: NO), the recovery
module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may set the
activation state with respect to the secondary cell 170 as the
dual-carrier deactivated state, at block B465.
[0097] FIG. 6 is a process flowchart diagram illustrating an
example of a secondary cell configuration recovery method 600
according to various examples. Referring to FIGS. 1-6, one or more
of blocks B610-B630 may correspond to one or more of blocks
B310-B330 and/or one or more of blocks B405-B465. The secondary
cell configuration recovery method 600 may be performed by the
recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 of the
wireless communication device 200.
[0098] In some examples, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may tune the RF resource 218 from the
second subscription 550 back to the first subscription 510 after
the tune-away gap 565 ends, at block B610. At block B620, the
recovery module 230 and/or the general-purpose processor 206 may
monitor the HS-SCCH with respect to the secondary cell 170 for
scheduling. At block B630, the recovery module 230 and/or the
general-purpose processor 206 may determine a mismatch between the
previous activation state and the network-set activation state, for
example, based on whether the secondary cell 170 has been
scheduled.
[0099] The various examples may be implemented in any of a variety
of wireless communication devices 110 and 200, an example of which
is illustrated in FIG. 7, as wireless communication device 700. As
such, the wireless communication device 700 may implement the
process and/or the apparatus of FIGS. 1-6, as described herein.
[0100] With reference to FIGS. 1-7, the wireless communication
device 700 may include a processor 702 coupled to a touchscreen
controller 704 and an internal memory 706. The processor 702 may be
one or more multi-core integrated circuits designated for general
or specific processing tasks. The memory 706 may be volatile or
non-volatile memory, and may also be secure and/or encrypted
memory, or unsecure and/or unencrypted memory, or any combination
thereof. The touchscreen controller 704 and the processor 702 may
also be coupled to a touchscreen panel 712, such as a
resistive-sensing touchscreen, capacitive-sensing touchscreen,
infrared sensing touchscreen, etc. Additionally, the display of the
wireless communication device 700 need not have touch screen
capability.
[0101] The wireless communication device 700 may have one or more
cellular network transceivers 708a, 708b coupled to the processor
702 and to at least one antenna 710 and configured for sending and
receiving cellular communications. The transceivers 708a, 708b and
antenna 710 may be used with the above-mentioned circuitry to
implement the various example methods. The cellular network
transceivers 708a, 708b may be the RF resource 218. The antenna 710
may be the antenna 220. The wireless communication device 700 may
include two or more SIM cards 716a, 716b, corresponding to SIM-1
204a (the first SIM) and SIM-2 204b (the second SIM), coupled to
the transceivers 708a, 708b and/or the processor 702. The wireless
communication device 700 may include a cellular network wireless
modem chip 711 (e.g., the baseband modem processor 216) that
enables communication via at least one cellular network and is
coupled to the processor 702.
[0102] The wireless communication device 700 may include a
peripheral device connection interface 718 coupled to the processor
702. The peripheral device connection interface 718 may be
singularly configured to accept one type of connection, or multiply
configured to accept various types of physical and communication
connections, common or proprietary, such as USB, FireWire,
Thunderbolt, or PCIe. The peripheral device connection interface
718 may also be coupled to a similarly configured peripheral device
connection port (not shown).
[0103] The wireless communication device 700 may also include
speakers 714 for providing audio outputs. The wireless
communication device 700 may also include a housing 720,
constructed of a plastic, metal, or a combination of materials, for
containing all or some of the components discussed herein. The
wireless communication device 700 may include a power source 722
coupled to the processor 702, such as a disposable or rechargeable
battery. The rechargeable battery may also be coupled to a
peripheral device connection port (not shown) to receive a charging
current from a source external to the wireless communication device
700. The wireless communication device 700 may also include a
physical button 724 for receiving user inputs. The wireless
communication device 700 may also include a power button 726 for
turning the wireless communication device 700 on and off
[0104] The various examples illustrated and described are provided
merely as examples to illustrate various features of the claims.
However, features shown and described with respect to any given
example are not necessarily limited to the associated example and
may be used or combined with other examples that are shown and
described. Further, the claims are not intended to be limited by
any one example.
[0105] The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow
diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not
intended to require or imply that the steps of various examples
must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by
one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing
examples may be performed in any order. Words such as "thereafter,"
"then," "next," etc. are not intended to limit the order of the
steps; these words are simply used to guide the reader through the
description of the methods. Further, any reference to claim
elements in the singular, for example, using the articles "a," "an"
or "the" is not to be construed as limiting the element to the
singular.
[0106] The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits,
and algorithm steps described in connection with the examples
disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware,
computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate
this interchangeability of hardware and software, various
illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have
been described above generally in terms of their functionality.
Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software
depends upon the particular application and design constraints
imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the
described functionality in varying ways for each particular
application, but such implementation decisions should not be
interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present
examples.
[0107] The hardware used to implement the various illustrative
logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in
connection with the examples disclosed herein may be implemented or
performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal
processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC),
a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic
device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware
components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the
functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a
microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any
conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state
machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of
computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a
microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more
microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such
configuration. Alternatively, some steps or methods may be
performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.
[0108] In some exemplary examples, the functions described may be
implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination
thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as
one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory
computer-readable storage medium or non-transitory
processor-readable storage medium. The steps of a method or
algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in a
processor-executable software module which may reside on a
non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage
medium. Non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable
storage media may be any storage media that may be accessed by a
computer or a processor. By way of example but not limitation, such
non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage
media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, FLASH memory, CD-ROM or other
optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic
storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store
desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures
and that may be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used
herein, includes compact disc (CD), laser disc, optical disc,
digital versatile disc (DVD), floppy disk, and blu-ray disc where
disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce
data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also
included within the scope of non-transitory computer-readable and
processor-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method
or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes
and/or instructions on a non-transitory processor-readable storage
medium and/or computer-readable storage medium, which may be
incorporated into a computer program product.
[0109] The preceding description of the disclosed examples is
provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the
present examples. Various modifications to these examples will be
readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic
principles defined herein may be applied to some examples without
departing from the spirit or scope of the examples. Thus, the
present examples are not intended to be limited to the examples
shown herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with
the following claims and the principles and novel features
disclosed herein.
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