Device Category in 3GPP Communications

• US 20170196016A1
• Filed: 12/22/2016
• Published: 07/06/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 01/03/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Hussain, Awais M., Sauer, Matthias, Adler, Bernd W., Dimpflmaier, Ronald W., Smaini, Lydi, Tabet, Tarik, Mujtaba, Syed Aon, Elsayed, Moustafa M., Mucke, Christian W.
• Granted Patent: US 10,455,454 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0005 Time-frequency
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 5/0044 allocation of payload
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 28/24 Negotiating SLA [Service Level Agreement]; Negotiating QoS [Quality of Service]
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 52/0235 where the received signal is a power saving command
• CPC Class Codes: H04W 8/22 Processing or transfer of terminal data, e.g. status or physical capabilities
• CPC Class Codes: Y02D 30/70 in wireless communication networks

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) device may communicate according to a new device category satisfying specified QoS (quality of service) requirements while also satisfying specified link budget requirements, and/or additional optimization requirements. The UE device may communicate with a cellular base station according to a first mode of operation associated with the new device category, and may switch to communicating with the cellular base station according to a second mode of operation associated with a second (pre-existing) device category in response to the link budget requirements exceeding a specified value and the quality of service requirements not being sensitive. The UE device may also switch to communicating with the cellular base station according to a third mode of operation associated with a third (pre-existing) device type in response to the link budget requirement not exceeding the specified value, or the QoS requirements being sensitive and a downlink throughput requirement exceeding a specified throughput value.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising:

a non-transitory memory element configured to store information; and

a processing element coupled to the non-transitory memory element and configured to use at least a portion of the information to cause a wireless communication device to;

perform communications with a cellular base station as a device belonging to a first device category;

operate according to a plurality of communication parameters that at least partially define how the wireless communication device communicates with the cellular base station, wherein a first communication parameter of the plurality of communication parameters has a first value when associated with the first device category and has a second value when associated with a second device category, wherein the first value differs from the second value;

communicate with the cellular base station during a first period of time at least according to the first value; and

communicate with the cellular base station during a second period of time different from the first period of time at least according to the second value.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing element is configured to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a current application being executed by the wireless communication device.

3. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the processing element is configured to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a type of the current application being executed by the UE device.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing element is configured to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a quality of service required by a current application being executed by the wireless communication device.

5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing element is configured to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a present status of a battery of the wireless communication device.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the processing element is configured to further cause the wireless communication device to:

receive an instruction from the cellular base station specifying which one of the first value or the second value to use during communication of the wireless communication device with the cellular base station.

7. A wireless communication device comprising:

radio circuitry configured to facilitate wireless communications of the wireless communication device; and

a processing element coupled to the radio circuitry and configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to cause the wireless communication device to;

perform communications with a cellular base station as a device belonging to a first device category;

operate according to a plurality of communication parameters that at least partially define how the wireless communication device communicates with the cellular base station, wherein a first communication parameter of the plurality of communication parameters has a first value when associated with the first device category and has a second value when associated with a second device category, wherein the first value differs from the second value;

communicate with the cellular base station during a first period of time at least according to the first value; and

communicate with the cellular base station during a second period of time different from the first period of time at least according to the second value.

8. The wireless communication device of claim 7, wherein the processing element is configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a current application being executed by the wireless communication device.

9. The wireless communication device of claim 8, wherein the processing element is configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a type of the current application being executed by the UE device.

10. The wireless communication device of claim 7, wherein the processing element is configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a quality of service required by a current application being executed by the wireless communication device.

11. The wireless communication device of claim 7, wherein the processing element is configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to further cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a present status of a battery of the wireless communication device.

12. The wireless communication device of claim 7, wherein the processing element is configured to interoperate with the radio circuitry to further cause the wireless communication device to:

receive an instruction from the cellular base station specifying which one of the first value or the second value to use during communication of the wireless communication device with the cellular base station.

13. A non-transitory memory element storing instructions executable by a processing element to cause a wireless communication device to:

perform communications with a cellular base station as a device belonging to a first device category;

operate according to a plurality of communication parameters that at least partially define how the wireless communication device communicates with the cellular base station, wherein a first communication parameter of the plurality of communication parameters has a first value when associated with the first device category and has a second value when associated with a second device category, wherein the first value differs from the second value;

communicate with the cellular base station during a first period of time at least according to the first value; and

communicate with the cellular base station during a second period of time different from the first period of time at least according to the second value.

14. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processing element to cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a current application being executed by the wireless communication device.

15. The non-transitory memory element of claim 14, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processing element to cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a type of the current application being executed by the UE device.

16. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processing element to cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a quality of service required by a current application being executed by the wireless communication device.

17. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processing element to cause the wireless communication device to:

operate according to one of the first value or the second value based at least in part on a present status of a battery of the wireless communication device.

18. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processing element to cause the wireless communication device to:

receive an instruction from the cellular base station specifying which one of the first value or the second value to use during communication of the wireless communication device with the cellular base station.

19. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the plurality of communication parameter values define one or more of the following:

a first maximum transport block size for downlink communications and a second maximum transport block size for uplink communications, wherein the first maximum transport block size is different from the second maximum transport block size;

or

a first bandwidth for the uplink communications and a second bandwidth for the downlink communications, wherein the first bandwidth is different from the second bandwidth.

20. The non-transitory memory element of claim 13, wherein the instructions are further executable by the processing element to cause the wireless communication device to:

perform uplink communications during the first period of time; and

perform downlink communications during the second period of time.