WO2022213804A1

WO2022213804A1 - Enhancements for wideband operation of reduced-capability new radio user equipment in mobile communications

Info

Publication number: WO2022213804A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/082477
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jozsef Gabor NEMETH; Mohammed S Aleabe AL-IMARI
Original assignee: Mediatek Singapore Pte. Ltd.; Mediatek Inc.
Priority date: 2021-04-07
Filing date: 2022-03-23
Publication date: 2022-10-13

Abstract

Various examples pertaining to enhancements for wideband operation of reduced-capability (RedCap) New Radio (NR) user equipment (UE) in mobile communications are described. A UE performs a radio frequency (RF) retuning based on scheduling. Upon completion of the RF retuning, the UE communicates with a network node of a network. The UE is configured with a bandwidth part (BWP) having a larger bandwidth than a RF bandwidth of the UE.

Description

ENHANCEMENTS FOR WIDEBAND OPERATION OF REDUCED-CAPABILITY NEW RADIO USER EQUIPMENT IN MOBILE COMMUNICATIONS

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION (S)

The present disclosure is part of a non-provisional application claiming the priority benefit of U.S. Patent Application Nos. 63/171,629 and 63/186,851, filed 07 April 2021 and 11 May 2021, respectively, the contents of which being incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to mobile communications and, more particularly, to enhancements for wideband operation of reduced-capability (RedCap) New Radio (NR) user equipment (UE) in mobile communications.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.

In wireless communications, such as mobile communications under the 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification (s) for 5 ^th Generation (5G) NR, bandwidth part (BWP) switching for single component carrier (CC) in a licensed spectrum has been defined in Technical Specification (TS) 38.133 of Release 15 (Rel-15) and Release 16 (Rel-16) of the 3GPP specification. In particular, trigger to start BWP switch in a downlink (DL) slot n can be triggered by a downlink control information (DCI) -based BWP switch request at DL slot n on a serving cell. For example, DCI triggering BWP switch (during the first three symbols) may be the only transmission to a UE. The slot n is the first slot of a DL subframe (FR1) or DL half-subframe (FR2) immediately after a BWP-inactivity timer bwp-InactivityTimer expires on the serving cell. The UE is to receive a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) transmission (for DL active BWP switch) or to perform a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission (for uplink (UL) active BWP switch) , on a new BWP on the serving cell on which BWP switch occurs, on the first DL or UL slot right after a time duration of T _{BWPswitchDelay}, which starts from the beginning of DL slot n. Depending on UE capability bwp-SwitchingDelay, the UE is to finish BWP switch within the time duration T _{BWPswitchDelay} defined in Table 8.6.2-1 of the 3GPP specification. However, how the UE is to operate when the UE is configured with an initial BWP that has a larger bandwidth (BW) than a radio frequency (RF) BW of the UE itself has yet to be defined. Therefore, there is a need for a solution of enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications.

SUMMARY

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce concepts, highlights, benefits and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Select implementations are further described below in the detailed description. Thus, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

An objective of the present disclosure is to propose solutions or schemes that address the issue (s) described herein. More specifically, various schemes proposed in the present disclosure are believed to provide solutions involving enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications. For instance, under various proposed schemes herein, RedCap UEs may use the same UL initial BWP as non-RedCap UEs even when it is wider than the RF bandwidth of the RedCap UEs, thereby achieving wide BWP or fast BWP switching. This allows co-existence of RedCap UEs with non-RedCap UEs, as resources are allocated within the same bandwidth (e.g., less frequency fragmentation due to RedCap physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) allocations) . Moreover, larger frequency hops may achieve better frequency diversity, and retuning would not involve changes to the digital configuration. It is also noteworthy that RF retuning delays may need to be handled by allocation and scheduling. At subcarrier spacing (SCS) = 30 kHz, it may be assumed that two symbols are required for RF retuning (and BW adjustment) .

In one aspect, a method may involve a UE performing a RF retuning based on scheduling. The method may also involve the UE communicating with a network node of a network upon completion of the RF retuning. The UE may be configured with a BWP having a larger bandwidth than a RF bandwidth of the UE.

In another aspect, an apparatus implementable in a UE may include a transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network node of a network. The apparatus may also include a processor coupled to the transceiver. The processor may perform, via the transceiver, a RF retuning based on scheduling. The processor may also communicate, via the transceiver, with a network node of a network upon completion of the RF retuning. The UE may be configured with a BWP having a larger bandwidth than a RF bandwidth of the UE.

It is noteworthy that, although description provided herein may be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as 5G/NR mobile communications, the proposed concepts, schemes and any variation (s) /derivative (s) thereof may be implemented in, for and by other types of radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as, for example and without limitation, Long-Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, Internet-of-Things (IoT) , Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) , Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) , vehicle-to-everything (V2X) , and non-terrestrial network (NTN) communications. Thus, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the present disclosure. The drawings illustrate implementations of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It is appreciable that the drawings are not necessarily in scale as some components may be shown to be out of proportion than the size in actual implementation in order to clearly illustrate the concept of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example network environment in which various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of an example communication system in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of an example process in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED IMPLEMENTATIONS

Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matters are disclosed herein. However, it shall be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matters which may be embodied in various forms. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that description of the present disclosure is thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the description below, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

Overview

Implementations in accordance with the present disclosure relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions pertaining to enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications. According to the present disclosure, a number of possible solutions may be implemented separately or jointly. That is, although these possible solutions may be described below separately, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one combination or another.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example network environment 100 in which various solutions and schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may be implemented. Referring to FIG. 1, network environment 100 may involve a UE 110 in wireless communication with a wireless network 120 (e.g., a 5G NR mobile network or another type of network such as an NTN) . UE 110 may be in wireless communication with wireless network 120 via a base station or network node 125 (e.g., an eNB, gNB or transmit-receive point (TRP) ) . In network environment 100, UE 110 and wireless network 120 (via network node 125) may implement various schemes pertaining to enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications, as described below.

Under a first proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, there may be scheduling restrictions allowing RF retuning by UE 110 between receptions or transmissions while disallowing frequency hopping. For instance, either or both of the N1 and N2 UE processing timelines may be extended in an event that UE 110 needs to performing RF retuning before UE 110 performs an UL transmission (e.g., a PUCCH or PUSCH transmission) . It is noteworthy that, as defined in the 3GPP specifications (e.g., Rel-15 and Rel-16) , the N1 UE processing timeline refers to the number of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols required for UE processing from an end of DL data (e.g., PDSCH) reception to the earliest possible start of a corresponding acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) transmission. Similarly, as defined in the 3GPP specifications (e.g., Rel-15 and Rel-16) , the N2 UE processing timeline refers to the number of OFDM symbols required for UE processing from an end of DL control (e.g., physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) ) reception containing an UL grant to the earliest possible start of a corresponding UL data (e.g., PUSCH) transmission. Under the first proposed scheme, the UE processing timeline (s) may be extended by adding X (symbols or milliseconds (ms) ) to N1 and/or N2, and the value of X may be reported by UE 110 as UE capability or predefined in the 3GPP specification. Alternatively, the value of X may be defined per SCS. Alternatively, or additionally, the scheduling of Message 1 (Msg1) , Message 2 (Msg2) , Message 3 (Msg3) and Message 4 (Msg4) in a random access (RA) procedure may take into account the delay of RF retuning when necessary.

Under a second proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, in case of a time conflict between semi-periodic or periodic (SP/P) measurement and a PDCCH monitoring occasion, SP/P measurement may take precedence and, thus, UE 110 may skip the PDCCH monitoring occasion.

Under a third proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, in case of a time conflict between SP/P measurement and a PDCCH monitoring occasion, PDCCH monitoring may take precedence. Thus, UE 110 may skip SP/P measurement when there is a time conflict between SP/P measurement and a given PDCCH monitoring occasion.

Under a fourth proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, a duration of a RF retuning gap may be predefined in the 3GPP specification or reported by UE 110 as a UE capability. Alternatively, or additionally, the duration of the RF retuning gap may depend on one or more configurations of UE 110 as well as a set of available frequency hops.

Under a fifth proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, a set of center frequencies used by UE 110 may be restricted to a set such that, for any scheduled resources, network node 125 may determine what center frequency UE 110 may tune to upon completion of RF retuning. For instance, the set of center frequencies may be defined in the 3GPP specification for each possible bandwidth options. Alternatively, the set of available center frequencies may be reported by UE 110 as a UE capability and, accordingly, network node 125 may select a subset from the reported set. Alternatively, the set of center frequencies may be configured with each BWP (of a plurality of BWPs) as part of a BWP configuration of UE 110.

Under a sixth proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, a long frequency hop requiring RF retuning (as opposed to a short frequency hop not requiring RF retuning) may be allowed during a transmission in a certain way. For instance, the last n symbols before the frequency hop may be used for the retuning, thus preserving the demodulation reference signal (DMRS) after the frequency hop. Here, the value of n may be determined based on the duration of the RF retuning gap according to the fourth proposed scheme described above. Under the sixth proposed scheme, the symbols used for retuning may be excluded from a transport block size (TBS) calculation and an encoding procedure.

Under a seventh proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, frequency hopping with proposer RF retuning may be supported for long PUCCH transmissions (e.g., when an RF or intermediate frequency (IF) frequency synthesizer is reconfigured) . For instance, an orthogonal cover code (OCC) may be selected based on a number of transmitted symbols excluding a time gap used for retuning. Alternatively, or additionally, to preserve the orthogonality of the PUCCH allocations amongst UEs, the applied OCC may be selected based on the number of transmitted symbols, and all UEs (RedCap UEs and/or non-RedCap UEs) multiplexed on such resources may omit transmission in the time gap.

Under an eighth proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, RF retuning or BWP switch may take place in case that a UE (e.g., UE 110) explicitly or implicitly acknowledges the fact of BWP switching due to reception of a trigger from a base station (e.g., gNB such as network node 125) . Advantageously, by doing so, UE 110 confirms to network node 125 that RF retuning has taken place, thereby allowing network node 125 to determine the center frequency used by UE 110. Under the eighth proposed scheme, UE 110 may implicitly acknowledge the switching trigger by transmitting a PUSCH or PUCCH scheduled by a DCI that carried a flag triggering the switch. Alternatively, or additionally, UE 110 may explicitly acknowledge the switching trigger by transmitting a scheduling request (SR) configured for the acknowledgement.

Illustrative Implementations

FIG. 2 illustrates an example communication system 200 having at least an example apparatus 210 and an example apparatus 220 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may perform various functions to implement schemes, techniques, processes and methods described herein pertaining to enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications, including the various schemes described above with respect to various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above, including network environment 100, as well as processes described below.

Each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may be a part of an electronic apparatus, which may be a network apparatus or a UE (e.g., UE 110) , such as a portable or mobile apparatus, a wearable apparatus, a vehicular device or a vehicle, a wireless communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. For instance, each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may be implemented in a smartphone, a smart watch, a personal digital assistant, an electronic control unit (ECU) in a vehicle, a digital camera, or a computing equipment such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer or a notebook computer. Each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may also be a part of a machine type apparatus, which may be an IoT apparatus such as an immobile or a stationary apparatus, a home apparatus, a roadside unit (RSU) , a wire communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. For instance, each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart fridge, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker or a home control center. When implemented in or as a network apparatus, apparatus 210 and/or apparatus 220 may be implemented in an eNodeB in an LTE, LTE-Advanced or LTE-Advanced Pro network or in a gNB or TRP in a 5G network, an NR network or an IoT network.

In some implementations, each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips such as, for example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors, or one or more reduced-instruction-set-computing (RISC) processors. In the various schemes described above, each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may be implemented in or as a network apparatus or a UE. Each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may include at least some of those components shown in FIG. 2 such as a processor 212 and a processor 222, respectively, for example. Each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may further include one or more other components not pertinent to the proposed scheme of the present disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device and/or user interface device) , and, thus, such component (s) of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 are neither shown in FIG. 2 nor described below in the interest of simplicity and brevity.

In one aspect, each of processor 212 and processor 222 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC or RISC processors. That is, even though a singular term “a processor” is used herein to refer to processor 212 and processor 222, each of processor 212 and processor 222 may include multiple processors in some implementations and a single processor in other implementations in accordance with the present disclosure. In another aspect, each of processor 212 and processor 222 may be implemented in the form of hardware (and, optionally, firmware) with electronic components including, for example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors and/or one or more varactors that are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes in accordance with the present disclosure. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processor 212 and processor 222 is a special-purpose machine specifically designed, arranged and configured to perform specific tasks including those pertaining to enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications in accordance with various implementations of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, apparatus 210 may also include a transceiver 216 coupled to processor 212. Transceiver 216 may be capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, transceiver 216 may be capable of wirelessly communicating with different types of wireless networks of different radio access technologies (RATs) . In some implementations, transceiver 216 may be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown) such as, for example, four antenna ports. That is, transceiver 216 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communications. In some implementations, apparatus 220 may also include a transceiver 226 coupled to processor 222. Transceiver 226 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, transceiver 226 may be capable of wirelessly communicating with different types of UEs/wireless networks of different RATs. In some implementations, transceiver 226 may be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown) such as, for example, four antenna ports. That is, transceiver 226 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for MIMO wireless communications.

In some implementations, apparatus 210 may further include a memory 214 coupled to processor 212 and capable of being accessed by processor 212 and storing data therein. In some implementations, apparatus 220 may further include a memory 224 coupled to processor 222 and capable of being accessed by processor 222 and storing data therein. Each of memory 214 and memory 224 may include a type of random-access memory (RAM) such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) , static RAM (SRAM) , thyristor RAM (T-RAM) and/or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM) . Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 214 and memory 224 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM) such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM) , erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) and/or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) . Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 214 and memory 224 may include a type of non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) , magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) and/or phase-change memory.

Each of apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, a description of capabilities of apparatus 210, as a UE (e.g., UE 110) , and apparatus 220, as a network node (e.g., network node 125) of a wireless network (e.g., network 120 as a 5G/NR mobile network) , is provided below.

Under various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure pertaining to enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications, processor 212 of apparatus 210, implemented in or as UE 110, may perform, via transceiver 216, a RF retuning (e.g., autonomous RF retuning) based on scheduling when UE 110 is configured with a BWP having a larger bandwidth than a RF bandwidth of the UE 110. Specifically, processor 212 may perform the RF retuning with a restriction. Moreover, processor 212 may communicate, via transceiver 216, with a network node of a network (e.g., apparatus 220 as network node 125 of wireless network 120) upon completion of the RF retuning.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing the RF retuning between receptions or transmissions while refraining from frequency hopping.

In some implementations, the restriction may further involve extending an N1 processing timeline or an N2 processing timeline by an X number of symbols or milliseconds in an event that the RF retuning is performed before an UL transmission. Here, the N1 processing timeline refers to a number of OFDM symbols required for UE processing from an end of a DL data reception to an earliest start of a corresponding ACK or NACK transmission. Moreover, the N2 processing timeline refers to another number of OFDM symbols required for UE processing from an end of a DL control reception containing an UL grant to an earliest start of a corresponding UL data transmission.

In some implementations, a value of X may be either reported as a UE capability or predefined in a 3GPP specification (e.g., Release 17 (Rel-17) or a later release) . Alternatively, or additionally, a value of X may be defined per SCS.

In some implementations, the restriction may further involve scheduling one or more of Message 1 (Msg1) , Message 2 (Msg2) , Message 3 (Msg3) and Message 4 (Msg4) of a RA procedure with a delay of the RF retuning taken into account.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing a semi-periodic or periodic (SP/P) measurement in lieu of PDCCH monitoring in an event of a time conflict between the SP/P measurement and the PDCCH monitoring. Alternatively, the restriction may involve performing the PDCCH monitoring in lieu of the SP/P measurement in an event of the time conflict between the SP/P measurement and the PDCCH monitoring.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing the RF retuning with a duration of a RF retuning gap which is either reported as a UE capability or predefined in a 3GPP specification (e.g., Rel-17 or a later release) .

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing the RF retuning with a duration of a RF retuning gap which depends on one or more configurations of the UE and a set of available frequency hops.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve a restriction on a set of center frequencies used by the UE such that, for a scheduled resource, a center frequency of the UE after the RF retuning is determinable by the network. In some implementations, the set of center frequencies may be either reported as a UE capability or predefined in a 3GPP specification (e.g., Rel-17 or a later release) . Alternatively, or additionally, the set of center frequencies may be configured with each BWP of a plurality of BWPs as part of a BWP configuration.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing the RF retuning responsive to a frequency hop requiring the RF retuning with one or more last symbols before the frequency hop used for the RF retuning. In some implementations, the one or more last symbols used for the RF retuning may be excluded from a TBS calculation and an encoding procedure.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing frequency hopping with the RF retuning for a PUCCH transmission with an OCC selected based on a number of transmitted symbols excluding a time gap used for the RF retuning.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing a BWP switch or the RF retuning with an acknowledgement to the network node. In some implementations, the acknowledgement may include an implicit acknowledgement acknowledging a trigger from the network node that triggers the BWP switch. In such cases, the implicit acknowledgement may include a PUSCH or PUCCH scheduled by DCI from the network node that carried a flag triggering the BWP switch. Alternatively, or additionally, the acknowledgement may include an explicit acknowledgement acknowledging a trigger from the network node that triggers the BWP switch. In such cases, the explicit acknowledgement may include a SR configured for the acknowledgement.

Illustrative Processes

FIG. 3 illustrates an example process 300 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 300 may represent an aspect of implementing various proposed designs, concepts, schemes, systems and methods described above, whether partially or entirely, including those pertaining to those described above. More specifically, process 300 may represent an aspect of the proposed concepts and schemes pertaining to enhancements for wideband operation of RedCap NR UEs in mobile communications. Process 300 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of

blocks

310 and 320. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 300 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks/sub-blocks of process 300 may be executed in the order shown in FIG. 3 or, alternatively in a different order. Furthermore, one or more of the blocks/sub-blocks of process 300 may be executed iteratively. Process 300 may be implemented by or in apparatus 210 and apparatus 220 as well as any variations thereof. Solely for illustrative purposes and without limiting the scope, process 300 is described below in the context of apparatus 210 as a UE (e.g., UE 110) and apparatus 220 as a communication entity such as a network node or base station (e.g., network node 125) of a wireless network (e.g., wireless network 120) . Process 300 may begin at block 310.

At 310, process 300 may involve processor 212 of apparatus 210 performing, via transceiver 216, a RF retuning (e.g., autonomous RF retuning) based on scheduling when the UE is configured with a BWP having a larger bandwidth than a RF bandwidth of the UE. In some implementations, process 300 may involve processor 212 performing the RF retuning with a restriction. Process 300 may proceed from 310 to 320.

At 320, process 300 may involve processor 212 communicating, via transceiver 216, with a network node of a network (e.g., apparatus 220 as network node 125 of wireless network 120) upon completion of the RF retuning.

In some implementations, a value of X may be either reported as a UE capability or predefined in a 3GPP specification (e.g., Rel-17 or a later release) . Alternatively, or additionally, a value of X may be defined per SCS.

In some implementations, the restriction may involve performing a SP/P measurement in lieu of PDCCH monitoring in an event of a time conflict between the SP/P measurement and the PDCCH monitoring. Alternatively, the restriction may involve performing the PDCCH monitoring in lieu of the SP/P measurement in an event of the time conflict between the SP/P measurement and the PDCCH monitoring.

Additional Notes

The herein-described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected" , or "operably coupled" , to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable" , to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

Further, with respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims, e.g., bodies of the appended claims, are generally intended as “open” terms, e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to, ” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least, ” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to, ” etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to implementations containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an, " e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more; ” the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number, e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations, " without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations. Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc. ” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc. In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc. ” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B. ”

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various implementations of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various implementations disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

A method, comprising:

performing, by a processor of an apparatus implementable in a user equipment (UE) , a radio frequency (RF) retuning based on scheduling; and

communicating, by the processor, with a network node of a network upon completion of the RF returning,

wherein the UE is configured with a bandwidth part (BWP) having a larger bandwidth than a RF bandwidth of the UE.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing the RF retuning with a restriction between receptions or transmissions while refraining from frequency hopping.
The method of Claim 2, wherein the restriction further comprises extending an N1 processing timeline or an N2 processing timeline by an X number of symbols or milliseconds in an event that the RF retuning is performed before an uplink (UL) transmission, wherein the N1 processing timeline comprises a number of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols required for UE processing from an end of a downlink (DL) data reception to an earliest start of a corresponding acknowledgement (ACK) or negative acknowledgement (NACK) transmission, and wherein the N2 processing timeline comprises another number of OFDM symbols required for UE processing from an end of a DL control reception containing an UL grant to an earliest start of a corresponding UL data transmission.
The method of Claim 3, wherein a value of X is either reported as a UE capability or predefined in a 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification.
The method of Claim 3, wherein a value of X is defined per subcarrier spacing (SCS) .
The method of Claim 2, wherein the restriction further comprises scheduling one or more of Message 1, Message 2, Message 3 and Message 4 of a random access (RA) procedure with a delay of the RF retuning taken into account.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing the RF retuning with a restriction with a semi-periodic or periodic (SP/P) measurement in lieu of physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in an event of a time conflict between the SP/P measurement and the PDCCH monitoring.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing the RF retuning with a restriction with physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring in lieu of a semi-periodic or periodic (SP/P) measurement in an event of a time conflict between the SP/P measurement and the PDCCH monitoring.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing the RF retuning with a restriction with the RF retuning with a duration of a RF retuning gap which is either reported as a UE capability or predefined in a 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing the RF retuning with a duration of a RF retuning gap which depends on one or more configurations of the UE and a set of available frequency hops.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing the RF retuning with a restriction on a set of center frequencies used by the UE such that, for a scheduled resource, a center frequency of the UE after the RF retuning is determinable by the network.
The method of Claim 11, wherein the set of center frequencies is either reported as a UE capability or predefined in a 3 ^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) specification.
The method of Claim 11, wherein the set of center frequencies is configured with each BWP of a plurality of BWPs as part of a BWP configuration.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing the RF retuning responsive to a frequency hop requiring the RF retuning with one or more last symbols before the frequency hop used for the RF retuning.
The method of Claim 14, wherein the one or more last symbols used for the RF retuning are excluded from a transport block size (TBS) calculation and an encoding procedure.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing frequency hopping with the RF retuning for a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) transmission with an orthogonal cover code (OCC) selected based on a number of transmitted symbols excluding a time gap used for the RF retuning.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the performing of the RF returning comprises performing a BWP switch or the RF retuning with an acknowledgement to the network node.
The method of Claim 17, wherein the acknowledgement comprises an implicit acknowledgement acknowledging a trigger from the network node that triggers the BWP switch, and wherein the implicit acknowledgement comprises a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) scheduled by downlink control information (DCI) that carried a flag triggering the BWP switch.
The method of Claim 17, wherein the acknowledgement comprises an explicit acknowledgement acknowledging a trigger from the network node that triggers the BWP switch, and wherein the explicit acknowledgement comprises a scheduling request (SR) configured for the acknowledgement.
An apparatus implementable in a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a transceiver configured to communicate wirelessly with a network node of a network; and

a processor coupled to the transceiver and configured to perform operations comprising:

performing, via the transceiver, a radio frequency (RF) retuning based on scheduling; and

communicating, via the transceiver, with the network node upon completion of the RF retuning,

wherein the UE is configured with a bandwidth part (BWP) having a larger bandwidth than a RF bandwidth of the UE.