IP Library › Granted Patent US 12,520,358
Granted Patent B2
US 12,520,358 · App. 17/286,708 · Granted Jan 6, 2026

Uplink activity in secondary cell group suspension

Inventors: Peng Cheng (Beijing, CN); Yu-Ting Yu (Union City, CA); Huichun Liu (Beijing, CN); Linhai He (San Diego, CA); Gavin Bernard Horn (La Jolla, CA); Masato Kitazoe (Hachiouji, JP)
Assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
H04W76/15H04W24/08H04W24/10H04W56/0045H04W72/21H04W76/27
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12,520,358
App. No.
17/286,708
Granted
Jan 6, 2026
Kind
B2
Abstract

Methods, systems, and devices for wireless communications are described. The method may include receiving from a master cell group of a dual connectivity environment a first message indicating that a secondary cell group of the dual connectivity environment is suspended, maintaining a lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group and modifying a measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group based on the first message and while the secondary cell group is suspended, receiving from the master cell group a second message indicating that the secondary cell group is no longer suspended, and reconnecting to the secondary cell group using the lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group based on the second message.

Claims (84)

1 . A method of wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), comprising:

receiving, from a master cell group of a dual connectivity environment via a radio resource control message, a measurement periodicity configuration for a secondary cell group of the dual connectivity environment;

determining a system frame number offset between the master cell group and the secondary cell group;

receiving, from the master cell group, a first message indicating that the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein deactivation of the secondary cell group is based at least in part on first data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE before the secondary cell group is deactivated;

maintaining a lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group and modifying a measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the first message and while the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein modifying the measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group comprises limiting radio resource management measurements to a set quantity of frequencies among serving cells of the secondary cell group while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

performing a radio resource management measurement of the set quantity of frequencies among serving cells of the secondary cell group in accordance with the modified measurement report configuration and the received measurement periodicity while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

receiving, from the master cell group based at least in part on second data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE while the secondary cell group is deactivated, a second message indicating that the secondary cell group is no longer deactivated;

determining a timing advance parameter based at least in part on the system frame number offset, a first propagation delay associated with the master cell group, and a second propagation delay associated with the secondary cell group; and

reconnecting, in accordance with determining the timing advance parameter, to the secondary cell group using the lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the second message.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein reconnecting to the secondary cell group comprises:

reconfiguring the lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group such that data associated with the secondary cell group is mapped to lower layers of the master cell group.

3 . The method of claim 2 , further comprising:

receiving the reconfigured lower layer configuration of the secondary cell group from the master cell group while the secondary cell group is deactivated.

4 . The method of claim 2 , wherein reconnecting to the secondary cell group comprises:

reconfiguring the lower layer configuration of the secondary cell group such that data associated with the secondary cell group is mapped to a lower layer of the secondary cell group.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the first message or the second message comprises one or more of: a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), a downlink control information (DCI), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein reconnecting to the secondary cell group comprises:

performing a random access procedure with a primary secondary cell of the secondary cell group.

7 . The method of claim 6 , further comprising: receiving a second timing advance parameter from the secondary cell group during the random access procedure.

8 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving from the master cell group a first master information block indicating the first propagation delay; and

receiving from the secondary cell group a second master information block indicating the second propagation delay.

9 . The method of claim 1 , wherein modifying the measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group comprises:

refraining from performing one or more of: radio resource management measurements for the secondary cell group or channel quality indicator measurements for the secondary cell group.

10 . The method of claim 1 ,

wherein the set quantity of frequencies includes a frequency of a primary secondary cell of the secondary cell group.

11 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

transmitting, to the master cell group based at least in part on the radio resource management measurement, a radio resource management measurement report for the secondary cell group.

12 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

receiving from the master cell group, while the secondary cell group is deactivated, a channel measurement trigger for the secondary cell group;

performing a channel measurement of the secondary cell group based on a tracking reference signal; and

transmitting to the master cell group a channel measurement report for the secondary cell group.

13 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

determining, while the secondary cell group is deactivated, that there is data in an uplink buffer for the secondary cell group; and

transmitting to the master cell group an activation request for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the determination.

14 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:

stopping a timing advance (TA) timer for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the secondary cell group being deactivated, the TA timer indicating whether the UE has maintained synchronization with the secondary cell group.

15 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

releasing, based at least in part on the secondary cell group being deactivated, uplink resources for control information associated with the secondary cell group; and

transmitting to the master cell group an activation request for the secondary cell group based at least in part on releasing of the uplink resources for control information.

16 . The method of claim 1 further comprising:

releasing, based at least in part on the secondary cell group being deactivated, uplink resources configured by an uplink grant for the secondary cell group.

17 . A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising:

one or more memories storing processor-executable code; and

one or more processors coupled with the one or more memories and individually or collectively operable to cause the UE to:

receive from a master cell group of a dual connectivity environment via a radio resource control message, a measurement periodicity configuration for a secondary cell group of the dual connectivity environment;

determine a system frame number offset between the master cell group and the secondary cell group;

receive, from the master cell group, a first message indicating that the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein deactivation of the secondary cell group is based at least in part on first data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE before the secondary cell group is deactivated;

maintain a lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group and modify a measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the first message and while the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein modifying the measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group comprises limiting radio resource management measurements to a set quantity of frequencies among serving cells of the secondary cell group while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

perform a radio resource management measurement of the set quantity of frequencies among the serving cells of the secondary cell group in accordance with the modified measurement report configuration and the received measurement periodicity while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

receive, from the master cell group based at least in part on second data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE while the secondary cell group is deactivated, a second message indicating that the secondary cell group is no longer deactivated;

determine a timing advance parameter based at least in part on the system frame number offset, a first propagation delay associated with the master cell group, and a second propagation delay associated with the secondary cell group; and

reconnect, in accordance with determining the timing advance parameter, to the secondary cell group using the lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the second message.

18 . The UE of claim 17 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

reconfigure the lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group such that data associated with the secondary cell group is mapped to lower layers of the master cell group.

19 . The UE of claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

receive the reconfigured lower layer configuration of the secondary cell group from the master cell group while the secondary cell group is deactivated.

20 . The UE of claim 18 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

reconfigure the lower layer configuration of the secondary cell group such that data associated with the secondary cell group is mapped to a lower layer of the secondary cell group.

21 . The UE of claim 17 , wherein the first message or the second message comprises one or more of: a medium access control (MAC) control element (MAC-CE), a downlink control information (DCI), or a radio resource control (RRC) message.

22 . The UE of claim 17 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

perform a random access procedure with a primary secondary cell of the secondary cell group.

23 . The UE of claim 22 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to: receive a second timing advance parameter from the secondary cell group during the random access procedure.

24 . The UE of claim 17 , wherein the one or more processors are individually or collectively further operable to execute the code to cause the UE to:

receive from the master cell group a first master information block indicating the first propagation delay; and

receive from the secondary cell group a second master information block indicating the second propagation delay.

25 . A UE for wireless communication, comprising:

means for receiving from a master cell group of a dual connectivity environment via a radio resource control message, a measurement periodicity configuration for a secondary cell group of the dual connectivity environment;

means for determining a system frame number offset between the master cell group and the secondary cell group;

means for receiving, from the master cell group, a first message indicating that the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein deactivation of the secondary cell group is based at least in part on first data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE before the secondary cell group is deactivated;

means for maintaining a lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group and modifying a measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the first message and while the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein modifying the measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group comprises limiting radio resource management measurements to a set quantity of frequencies among serving cells of the secondary cell group while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

means for performing a radio resource management measurement of the set quantity of frequencies among serving cells of the secondary cell group in accordance with the modified measurement report configuration and the received measurement periodicity while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

means for receiving, from the master cell group based at least in part on second data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE while the secondary cell group is deactivated, a second message indicating that the secondary cell group is no longer deactivated;

means for determining a timing advance parameter based at least in part on the system frame number offset, a first propagation delay associated with the master cell group, and a second propagation delay associated with the secondary cell group; and

means for reconnecting, in accordance with determining the timing advance parameter, to the secondary cell group using the lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the second message.

26 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing code for wireless communication at a user equipment (UE), the code comprising instructions executable by one or more processors to:

receive from a master cell group of a dual connectivity environment via a radio resource control message, a measurement periodicity configuration for a secondary cell group of the dual connectivity environment;

determine a system frame number offset between the master cell group and the secondary cell group;

receive, from the master cell group, a first message indicating that the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein deactivation of the secondary cell group is based at least in part on first data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE before the secondary cell group is deactivated;

maintain a lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group and modify a measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the first message and while the secondary cell group is deactivated, wherein modifying the measurement report configuration for the secondary cell group comprises limiting radio resource management measurements to a set quantity of frequencies among serving cells of the secondary cell group while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

perform a radio resource management measurement of the set quantity of frequencies among serving cells of the secondary cell group in accordance with the modified measurement report configuration and the received measurement periodicity while the secondary cell group is deactivated;

receive, from the master cell group based at least in part on second data traffic associated with the master cell group, the secondary cell group, and the UE while the secondary cell group is deactivated, a second message indicating that the secondary cell group is no longer deactivated;

determine a timing advance parameter based at least in part on the system frame number offset, a first propagation delay associated with the master cell group, and a second propagation delay associated with the secondary cell group; and

reconnect, in accordance with determining the timing advance parameter, to the secondary cell group using the lower layer configuration for the secondary cell group based at least in part on the second message.

Continuity (1)
Related Publication 20210352750A1 · Nov 11, 2021
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