CN113924793B - Multi-user identity recognition module user equipment and operation method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Translated fromChinese

提供一种多用户身份识别模块(SIM)用户设备(UE)及其操作方法。多SIM UE包括第一SIM和第二SIM。方法包括：读取包括多个优先级组的框架，其中多个优先级组中的每个优先级组包括多个UE过程，且多个优先级组与对应的优先级相关联，以及方法包括：控制第一SIM和第二SIM之一使用对应的优先级来执行优先级组的UE过程，以获取共享硬件资源。

A multi-SIM user equipment (UE) and an operation method thereof are provided. The multi-SIM UE includes a first SIM and a second SIM. The method includes: reading a framework including a plurality of priority groups, wherein each priority group in the plurality of priority groups includes a plurality of UE processes, and the plurality of priority groups are associated with corresponding priorities, and the method includes: controlling one of the first SIM and the second SIM to execute the UE process of the priority group using the corresponding priority to obtain shared hardware resources.

Description

User equipment with multi-user identity recognition module and operation method thereof

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of communication systems, and more particularly, to a multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) and a method of operating the same.

Background

The use of wireless communication systems is rapidly growing. Furthermore, wireless communication technologies have evolved from voice-only communication to data transmission that also includes, for example, the internet and multimedia content. In some scenarios, a wireless device may include or be capable of utilizing multiple Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs).

Multi-SIM devices have been marketed for several years. Most such devices have shared baseband, radio Frequency (RF) antennas, and other hardware components between the two SIMs. The 3GPP does not standardize this type of multi-SIM UE. Thus, when both SIMs are independently operating in their own network, both the network and the UE suffer from performance degradation. Several examples are as follows:

1. When both SIMs are in idle mode, both SIMs need to monitor their paging messages on their own Paging Occasions (POs). The PO is calculated based on the UE Identity (ID). Because the two SIMs are independent, the POs they calculate may conflict with each other (in the time domain). It should be noted that the UE ID is fixed, so when a collision occurs, the collision will be persistent. In this case, it is apparent that one or both UEs may lose paging messages from the network.

2. When one SIM is actively communicating with its network, for example when the SIM is in a Packet Switched (PS) call, the other SIM may need to perform system information reading, cell reselection, or other UE procedures. Due to the shared hardware components, when a second of the two SIMs performs a procedure, a first of the two SIMs may lose communication with its network (e.g., the first network). This type of behavior is tune away. During the tune away period, the first network is unaware that the UE is away from the system. This can lead to inefficient scheduling behavior and server data throughput loss.

3. When both SIMs attempt to perform their own procedure, e.g. one SIM attempts to perform paging monitoring and the other SIM attempts to perform cell reselection, it is currently unclear which service may get higher priority. In this example one can easily argue that the SIM to perform the page monitoring is more important, but the opposite arguments are that the network will repeat the sending of the page message, so that cell reselection may get a higher priority. Today, priority handling depends on the implementation of the UE and the network has no control over it.

With the increasing complexity of 5G capable UEs and the increasing demand for multi-SIM devices in the market, there is an urgent need to consider allowing more cost-effective system enhancement functions to be implemented in such devices. Determining how to operate effectively and efficiently with multi-SIM capabilities can be a challenging problem. Accordingly, improvements in this area are needed. Therefore, a multi-SIM UE and a method of operating the same are required.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present disclosure to propose a multi-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) and a method of operation thereof, enabling effective and efficient operation with multi-SIM capabilities.

In a first aspect of the disclosure, a multi-SIM UE includes a first SIM associated with a first network, a second SIM associated with a second network, a memory, a transceiver configured to communicate with the first network using the first SIM and with the second network using the second SIM, and a processor coupled to the memory, the transceiver, the first SIM, and the second SIM. The processor is configured to read a frame comprising a plurality of priority groups, wherein each of the plurality of priority groups comprises a plurality of UE processes and the plurality of priority groups are associated with corresponding priorities, and to control one of the first SIM and the second SIM to perform the UE processes of the priority groups using the corresponding priorities to acquire the shared hardware resources.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a method for operating a multi-SIM UE is provided. The multi-SIM UE includes a first SIM and a second SIM, the method includes reading a frame including a plurality of priority groups, wherein each of the plurality of priority groups includes a plurality of UE processes and the plurality of priority groups are associated with corresponding priorities, and the method includes controlling one of the first SIM and the second SIM to perform the UE processes of the priority groups using the corresponding priorities to acquire the shared hardware resources.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the related art or the present disclosure, the drawings in the embodiments are briefly described below. It is apparent that the figures are only some embodiments of the present disclosure, and that other figures can be obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art from these figures without providing any premise.

Fig. 1 is a block diagram of a multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) and a network in a communication network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating a multi-SIM UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a system for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings in terms of technical subject matter, structural features, achieved objects, and effects. In particular, the terminology in the embodiments of the disclosure is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the disclosure.

Fig. 1 illustrates that in some embodiments, a multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) 10 and networks (e.g., a first network 20 and a second network 30) are provided in a communication network system 1 according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The communication network system 1 comprises a multi-SIM UE 10, a first network 20 and a second network 30. The multi-SIM UE 10 may include a first SIM 11 associated with a first network 20, a second SIM 12 associated with a second network 30, a memory 13, a transceiver 14 configured to communicate with the first network 20 using the first SIM 11 and with the second network 30 using the second SIM 12, and a processor 15 coupled to the memory 13, the transceiver 14, the first SIM 11, and the second SIM 12. The processor 15 may be configured to implement the proposed functions, processes and/or methods described in the present specification. The various layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 15. The memory 13 is operatively coupled to the processor 15 and stores various information to operate the processor 15. The transceiver 14 is operatively coupled with the processor 15, and the transceiver 14 transmits and/or receives wireless signals.

The processor 15 may include an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit, and/or data processing device. Memory 13 may include Read Only Memory (ROM), random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage media, and/or other storage devices. The transceiver 14 may include baseband circuitry that processes radio frequency signals. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein may be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The modules may be stored in the memory 13 and executed by the processor 15. The memory 13 may be implemented within the processor 15 or external to the processor 15, in which case the memory 13 can be communicatively coupled to the processor 15 via various means as is known in the art.

Communication between UEs involves vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, including vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-pedestrian (V2P), and vehicle-to-infrastructure/network (V2I/N) according to side-link technologies developed under third generation partnership project (3 GPP) releases 14, 15, 16, 17 and beyond. UEs communicate directly with each other via a side-link interface, such as a PC5 interface.

In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to read a frame (as shown in Table 1) comprising a plurality of priority groups, wherein each of the plurality of priority groups comprises a plurality of UE processes and the plurality of priority groups are associated with corresponding priorities, and the processor 15 is configured to control one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 to perform the UE processes of the priority groups using the corresponding priorities to acquire the shared hardware resources.

The framework is provided to handle UE process priorities in a multi-SIM device (e.g., multi-SIM UE 10). In some embodiments, the framework is known to the multi-SIM UE 10. In some embodiments, the framework is configured by a network (e.g., first network 20 and second network 30) that is preconfigured or predefined in the 3GPP specifications.

In some embodiments, the priority groups include a low-priority low-acquisition group, a data call low group, a high-acquisition group, a system maintenance low group, a signaling connection group, a paging reception group, a system maintenance high group, and a data call high group.

In some embodiments, the acquisition low group and the acquisition high group include Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) searches, initial frequency scans, cell searches, acquisitions, and cell selections, the data call low group includes Downlink (DL) and/or Uplink (UL) data calls in Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected mode, random Access Channel (RACH) procedures, and measurements during connected mode, the system maintenance low group and the system maintenance high group include system information reads, idle mode, intra-frequency (on-frequency) measurements/inter-frequency (inter-frequency) measurements and inter-radio access technology measurements (inter-RAT measurements), and cell reselections, the signaling connection group includes non-access stratum (NAS) signaling including registration procedures, protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment and/or modification, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) registration, short Message Service (SMS), multimedia Message Service (MMS), and supplementary services, the paging reception group includes paging monitoring and associated intra-frequency (on-frequency) measurements, and the data call high group includes high priority data call and voice call data.

TABLE 1 framework (e.g., process priority Table)

In some embodiments, when one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 is in idle mode and then enters a connected mode for a Packet Switched (PS) data call, the one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 performs system information reading and cell reselection in idle mode using a corresponding priority of a system maintenance low group, monitors paging messages using a corresponding priority of a paging reception group, responds to paging by establishing an RRC connection, and performs a PS data call using a corresponding priority of a data call low group. Further, when the PS data call is completed, one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 is released to the idle mode by a corresponding one of the first network 20 and the second network 30, and the one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 performs an idle procedure including system information reading, cell reselection, and paging reception using a corresponding priority of a system maintenance low group.

For example, by looking at table 1, the first SIM 11 or the second SIM 12 can find a corresponding priority for its procedure. Consider that one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 is in idle mode and then enters a connected mode for PS data calls. In detail, one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 performs system information reading and cell reselection in the idle mode using a system maintenance low priority. The SIM of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 uses the paging reception priority to monitor the paging message. The SIM of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 responds to the page by establishing an RRC connection. A data call low priority is used for the PS data call. Thereafter, when the PS data call is completed, the corresponding network releases the multi-SIM UE 10 to the idle mode. The SIM of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 performs an idle procedure including system information reading, cell reselection, and/or paging reception again using the idle mode priority.

In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to use the common entity as an arbiter to allocate the shared hardware resource to one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12. In detail, when the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 apply priorities defined by the framework as shown in table 1 to request access to the shared hardware resources, a common entity is required to determine which SIM (the first SIM 11 or the second SIM 12) can acquire the shared hardware resources. In some embodiments, the SIM with the higher priority procedure (either the first SIM 11 or the second SIM 12) will win. However, there may be circumstances where the process on the first SIM 11 is about to end, so the first SIM 11 may reserve resources for a longer duration even though the process of the second SIM 12 has a higher priority. In this sense, the embodiments do not specify any particular rules of which SIM (first SIM 11 or second SIM 12) may acquire the shared hardware resources. Instead, embodiments define a common entity for arbitration.

In some embodiments, one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 is configured to use the other priority of the UE procedure if the current priority of the current UE procedure cannot acquire the shared hardware resource within a period of time. In detail, if the current priority cannot acquire hardware resources for a period of time, one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 may use (flip to) the other (higher) priority. In some cases, when the first SIM 11 performs a procedure having a higher priority than the requested procedure of the second SIM 12, then the second SIM 12 cannot acquire the shared hardware resource for a long time.

An example is shown below. The first SIM 11 is in a data call using a low priority (e.g., 200) of the data call, such as downloading a large file. The second SIM 12 attempts to perform an initial cell search using a low acquisition priority (e.g., 100). The second SIM 12 cannot perform acquisition as long as the data call on the first SIM 11 is active and will therefore be out of service. This is of course an undesirable behaviour. The acquisition process may be completed in hundreds of milliseconds. Such a length of interruption on the data call (on the first SIM 11) is acceptable. Thus, the second SIM 12 may request the shared hardware resource using a higher priority (in this case, using a get high priority). After the second SIM 12 completes the acquisition and enters idle mode, the data call on the first SIM 11 may be resumed. Then, both the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 are in normal service.

In some embodiments, one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 is configured to decrease the priority of the UE procedure if the UE procedure meets or exceeds a quality of service (QoS) requirement. In detail, for a procedure, if the procedure meets certain criteria, such as meeting QoS requirements, the SIM (first SIM 11 or second SIM 12) may reduce its priority. In some cases, if the process/service carried by the SIM can meet or exceed the QoS requirements, the SIM (one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12) may choose to decrease its priority of current use. If the other SIM (the other of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12) needs to perform a procedure, this may give the other SIM an opportunity to acquire shared hardware resources. One example is when the first SIM 11 is performing a high priority video stream, the first SIM 11 may decrease its priority (e.g. from 800 to 200) to allow a process of the second SIM 12, such as a system information read, if the application indicates that the quality exceeds the requirements.

In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to control the transceiver 14 to introduce multiple UE capabilities supported by multiple SIMs into one of the first network 20 and the second network 30, and the multiple UE capabilities supported by multiple SIMs include a capability to indicate whether the multiple SIM UE 10 supports multiple SIM operation, a capability to indicate whether the multiple SIM UE 10 supports dual receive operation, and/or a capability to indicate whether the multiple SIM UE 10 supports dual transmit operation.

In detail, the introduction of UE capabilities supporting multiple SIMs is provided. The capability may further indicate to the network about UE transmit (Tx)/receive (Rx) support, including, but not limited to, a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE 10 supports multi-SIM operation, a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE 10 supports dual (multi) Rx operation, and/or a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE 10 supports dual (multi) Tx operation. This embodiment allows the network to learn the capability of multi-SIM UE 10 to handle process concurrency. For example, if the UE indicates a single Rx-single Tx, the UE cannot perform any procedure on both SIMs at the same time. If the UE indicates dual Rx-single Tx, the UE cannot perform any connection mode (i.e., tx is required) procedure on both SIMs at the same time, but can perform idle mode procedure and idle mode procedure (i.e., rx and Rx) or idle mode procedure and connection mode procedure (i.e., rx and Tx) on both SIMs at the same time. If the UE indicates dual Rx-dual Tx, the UE can perform any procedure on both SIMs at the same time.

In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to control the transceiver 14 to introduce UE assistance information or multi-SIM supported capabilities into one of the first network 20 and the second network 30. The UE assistance information includes that one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 is used as a primary data connection subscription of the multi-SIM UE 10, or that one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12 is not used as a primary data connection subscription of the multi-SIM UE 10, and the multi-SIM supported capability indicates whether the current cell supports multi-SIM operation, the multi-SIM supported capability being broadcasted in system information or signaled in dedicated RRC signaling.

In detail, in some embodiments, introducing UE assistance information into the network is provided. The UE assistance information includes, but is not limited to, that the SIM (one of the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12) is used as a primary data connection subscription for the multi-SIM UE 10 and/or that the SIM is not used as a primary data connection subscription for the multi-SIM UE 10. With this embodiment, the network can understand the possible services running on the SIM, and thus different UE configurations can be applied. For example, if the first SIM 11 is not used as a primary data connection (meaning that the first SIM 11 is primarily used as a voice service SIM), the second network 30 may not configure the multi-SIM UE 10 to have Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO), a high modulation scheme, carrier aggregation, and so on.

In detail, in some embodiments, network capabilities are provided that introduce multi-SIM support. This capability indicates whether the current cell supports multi-SIM operation. This capability may be broadcast in the system information. This capability may also be signaled in dedicated RRC signaling.

Fig. 2 illustrates a method 200 for operating a multi-SIM UE in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. The multi-SIM UE includes a first SIM and a second SIM. The method 200 includes a block 202 of reading a frame including a plurality of priority groups, wherein each of the plurality of priority groups includes a plurality of UE processes and the plurality of priority groups are associated with corresponding priorities, and a block 204 of controlling one of the first SIM and the second SIM to perform the UE processes of the priority groups using the corresponding priorities to acquire shared hardware resources.

In some embodiments, the plurality of priority groups includes a low-priority low-acquisition group, a low-data call group, a high-acquisition group, a low-system maintenance group, a signaling connection group, a paging reception group, a high-system maintenance group, and a high-data call group.

In some embodiments, the acquisition low group and acquisition high group include Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) search, initial frequency scan, cell search, acquisition, and cell selection, the data call low group includes downlink and/or uplink data calls in Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected mode, random Access Channel (RACH) procedures, and measurements during connected mode, the system maintenance low group and system maintenance high group includes system information reading, idle mode, intra-frequency (on-frequency) measurements/inter-frequency (off-frequency) measurements and inter-radio access technology measurements (inter-RAT measurements), and cell reselection, the signaling connection group includes non-access stratum (NAS) signaling including registration procedures, protocol Data Unit (PDU) session establishment and/or modification, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) registration, short Message Service (SMS), multimedia Message Service (MMS), and supplementary service, the paging reception group includes paging monitoring and associated intra-frequency (on-frequency) measurements, and the data call high group includes high priority data calls and voice call.

In some embodiments, when one of the first SIM and the second SIM is in idle mode and subsequently enters a connected mode for a Packet Switched (PS) data call, the one of the first SIM and the second SIM performs system information reading and cell reselection in idle mode using a corresponding priority of a system maintenance low group, monitors paging messages using a corresponding priority of a paging reception group, responds to paging by establishing an RRC connection, and performs a PS data call using a corresponding priority of a data call low group.

In some embodiments, when the PS data call is completed, one of the first SIM and the second SIM is released to the idle mode by a corresponding one of the first network and the second network, and the one of the first SIM and the second SIM uses the corresponding priority of the system maintenance low group to perform idle procedures including system information reading, cell reselection, and paging reception.

In some embodiments, the method 200 further includes using the common entity as an arbiter to allocate the shared hardware resource to one of the first SIM and the second SIM.

In some embodiments, one of the first SIM and the second SIM is configured to use the other priority of the UE procedure if the current priority of the current UE procedure fails to acquire the shared hardware resource within a period of time.

In some embodiments, one of the first SIM and the second SIM is configured to decrease the priority of the UE procedure if the UE procedure meets or exceeds a quality of service (QoS) requirement.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises introducing multiple UE capabilities supported by the multi-SIM into one of the first network and the second network. The multiple UE capabilities supported by the multi-SIM include a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE supports multi-SIM operation, a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE supports dual-receive operation, and/or a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE supports dual-transmit operation.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises introducing UE assistance information or multi-SIM supported capabilities into one of the first network and the second network. The UE assistance information includes that one of the first SIM and the second SIM is used as a main data connection subscription of the multi-SIM UE or one of the first SIM and the second SIM is not used as a main data connection subscription of the multi-SIM UE, and the multi-SIM supported capability indicates whether the current cell supports multi-SIM operation, the multi-SIM supported capability is broadcasted in system information or signaled in dedicated RRC signaling.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of an exemplary system 700 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein may be implemented in the system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 3 illustrates that system 700 includes Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 710, baseband circuitry 720, application circuitry 730, memory/storage 740, display 750, camera 760, sensor 770, and input/output (I/O) interface 780 coupled to one another, at least as shown.

Application circuitry 730 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Processors may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors and application processors). The processor may be coupled with the memory/storage and configured to execute instructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applications and/or operating systems to run on the system.

Baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may comprise a baseband processor. The baseband circuitry may handle various wireless control functions that are capable of communicating with one or more wireless networks via the RF circuitry. Wireless control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may provide communications compatible with one or more wireless technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) and/or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMANs), wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), wireless Personal Area Networks (WPANs). Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry is configured to support wireless communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

In various embodiments, baseband circuitry 720 may include circuitry that operates with signals that are not strictly considered to be in baseband frequency. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may include circuitry that operates with signals having intermediate frequencies between baseband frequencies and radio frequencies.

RF circuitry 710 may enable communication with a wireless network using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuitry may include switches, filters, amplifiers, and the like to facilitate communication with the wireless network.

In various embodiments, RF circuitry 710 may include circuitry that operates with signals that are not strictly considered to be at radio frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuitry may include circuitry that operates with signals having intermediate frequencies between baseband frequencies and radio frequencies.

In various embodiments, the transmitter circuitry, control circuitry, or receiver circuitry discussed above with respect to the user equipment, eNB, or gNB may be implemented, in whole or in part, in one or more of RF circuitry, baseband circuitry, and/or application circuitry. As used herein, "circuitry" may refer to, or include, a portion of an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an electronic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) and/or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) that execute one or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logic circuit, and/or other suitable hardware components that provide the described functionality. In some embodiments, the electronic device circuitry may be implemented in one or more software or firmware modules, or the functionality associated with the circuitry may be implemented by one or more software or firmware modules.

In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry, application circuitry, and/or memory/storage may be implemented together on a system on a chip (SOC).

Memory/storage 740 may be used to load and store data and/or instructions, for example, for the system. The memory/storage for one embodiment may comprise any combination of suitable volatile memory (e.g., dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM)) and/or non-volatile memory (e.g., flash memory).

In various embodiments, I/O interface 780 may include one or more user interfaces designed to enable a user to interact with the system and/or peripheral component interfaces designed to enable peripheral components to interact with the system. The user interface may include, but is not limited to, a physical keyboard or keypad, a touchpad, a speaker, a microphone, and the like. Peripheral component interfaces may include, but are not limited to, non-volatile memory ports, universal Serial Bus (USB) ports, audio jacks, and power interfaces.

In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may include one or more sensing devices to determine environmental conditions and/or location information related to the system. In some embodiments, the sensors may include, but are not limited to, gyroscopic sensors, accelerometers, proximity sensors, ambient light sensors, and positioning units. The positioning unit may also be part of or interact with baseband circuitry and/or RF circuitry to communicate with components of a positioning network, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites.

In various embodiments, display 750 may include a display, such as a liquid crystal display and a touch screen display. In various embodiments, system 700 may be a mobile computing device such as, but not limited to, a laptop computing device, a tablet computing device, a netbook, a superbook, a smartphone, and the like. In various embodiments, the system may have more or fewer components and/or different architectures. The methods described herein may be implemented as computer programs, where appropriate. The computer program may be stored on a storage medium, such as a non-transitory storage medium.

In embodiments of the present disclosure, a multi-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) User Equipment (UE), and a method of operating the same, are provided that are capable of effectively and efficiently operating with multi-SIM capabilities. Embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of techniques/procedures that may be employed in the 3GPP specifications to create the end product.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that each of the elements, algorithms, and steps described and disclosed in the presently disclosed embodiments may be implemented using electronic hardware, or a combination of software and electronic hardware for a computer. Whether a function is run in hardware or software depends on the design requirements and application conditions of the technical solution.

One of ordinary skill in the art may implement the functionality of each particular application in a different manner without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. It will be appreciated by those of ordinary skill in the art that since the operation of the above-described systems, devices and units are substantially identical, he/she may refer to the operation of the systems, devices and units in the above-described embodiments. For convenience of description and simplification, these working processes will not be described in detail.

It should be understood that the systems, devices, and methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in other ways. The above-described embodiments are merely exemplary. The partitioning of the cells is based solely on logic functions, while other partitions exist in the implementation. Multiple units or components may be combined or integrated in another system. Some features may also be omitted or skipped. On the other hand, the mutual coupling, direct coupling or communicative coupling shown or discussed operates through some ports, devices or units, whether indirectly or communicatively through electrical, mechanical or other kind of form.

The units as the separation assembly for illustration are physically separated or not. The units used for display may or may not be physical units, i.e. located in one location or distributed over a plurality of network units. Some or all of the units are used according to the purpose of the embodiment. Furthermore, each functional unit in each embodiment may be integrated in one processing unit, physically separate, or integrated in one processing unit having two or more units.

If the software functional unit is implemented, used, and sold as a product, the software functional unit may be stored in a readable storage medium in a computer. Based on this understanding, the technical project proposed by the present disclosure may be implemented substantially or partly in the form of a software product. Or a portion of the technical program that facilitates conventional techniques may be implemented in the form of a software product. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium, including a plurality of commands for causing a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, server, or network device) to execute all or some of the steps disclosed in embodiments of the present disclosure. The storage medium includes a USB disk, a removable hard disk, a read-only memory (ROM), a random-access memory (RAM), a floppy disk, or other kind of medium capable of storing program code.

While the present disclosure has been described in connection with what is presently considered to be the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not to be limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope of the broadest interpretation of the appended claims.

Claims (18)

1. A multi-user identity module, SIM, user equipment, UE, comprising:

a first SIM associated with a first network;

a second SIM associated with a second network;

A memory;

A transceiver configured to communicate with the first network using the first SIM and with the second network using the second SIM, and

A processor coupled to the memory, the transceiver, the first SIM, and the second SIM;

Wherein the processor is configured to:

Reading a frame comprising a plurality of priority groups, wherein each priority group of the plurality of priority groups comprises a plurality of UE procedures and the plurality of priority groups are associated with corresponding priorities, and

Controlling one of the first SIM and the second SIM to perform a priority group UE procedure using a corresponding priority to acquire a shared hardware resource;

wherein the plurality of priority groups includes a data call low group, a system maintenance low group, and a paging reception group;

Wherein the low group of data calls comprises downlink and/or uplink data calls in a radio resource control, RRC, connected mode; the system maintenance low group comprises system information reading, idle mode and cell reselection, and the paging receiving group comprises paging monitoring;

Wherein when one of the first SIM and the second SIM is in the idle mode and subsequently enters a connected mode for a packet switched, PS, data call, the one of the first SIM and the second SIM performs the system information reading and the cell reselection in the idle mode using a corresponding priority of the system maintenance low group, monitors paging messages using a corresponding priority of the paging reception group, responds to paging by establishing an RRC connection, and performs the PS data call using a corresponding priority of the data call low group.

2. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the plurality of priority groups further comprises an acquisition low group, an acquisition high group, a signaling connection group, a system maintenance high group, and a data call high group, the priority being in order of low to high for the acquisition low group, the data call low group, the acquisition high group, the system maintenance low group, the signaling connection group, the paging reception group, the system maintenance high group, and the data call high group.

3. The multi-SIM UE of claim 2, wherein the acquisition low group and the acquisition high group comprise public land mobile network, PLMN, search, initial frequency scanning, cell search, acquisition, and cell selection, the data call low group further comprises a random access channel, RACH, procedure, and measurements during connected mode, the system maintenance low group further comprises intra-frequency/inter-frequency measurements and inter-radio access technology, RAT, measurements, the system maintenance high group comprises the same content as the system maintenance low group, the signaling connection group comprises non-access stratum, NAS, signaling, the non-access stratum NAS signaling comprises registration procedures, protocol data unit, PDU, session establishment and/or modification, IP multimedia subsystem, IMS, short message service, SMS, MMS, and supplementary services, the paging reception group further comprises associated intra-frequency measurements, the data call high group comprises high priority data calls and voice calls.

4. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein when the PS data call is completed, the one of the first and second SIMs is released to the idle mode by a corresponding one of the first and second networks, and the one of the first and second SIMs uses the corresponding priority of the system maintenance low group to perform idle procedures including the system information reading, the cell reselection, and paging reception.

5. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to use a common entity as an arbiter to allocate the shared hardware resource to one of the first SIM and the second SIM.

6. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein one of the first SIM and the second SIM is configured to use the other priority of a current UE procedure if the shared hardware resource cannot be acquired by the current priority of the current UE procedure for a period of time.

7. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein one of the first SIM and the second SIM is configured to decrease a priority of a UE procedure if the UE procedure meets or exceeds a quality of service QoS requirement.

8. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to control the transceiver to introduce multiple UE capabilities supported by multiple SIMs into one of the first network and the second network, and the multiple UE capabilities supported by multiple SIMs include a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE supports multi-SIM operation, a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE supports dual receive operation, and/or a capability to indicate whether the multi-SIM UE supports dual transmit operation.

9. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to control the transceiver to introduce UE assistance information or multi-SIM supported capabilities into one of the first network and the second network, the UE assistance information including one of the first SIM and the second SIM being used as a primary data connection subscription for the multi-SIM UE or one of the first SIM and the second SIM not being used as the primary data connection subscription for the multi-SIM UE, and the multi-SIM supported capabilities indicating whether a current cell supports multi-SIM operation, the multi-SIM supported capabilities being broadcasted in system information or signaled in dedicated RRC signaling.

10. A method for operating a multi-user identity module, SIM, user equipment, UE, the multi-SIM UE comprising a first SIM and a second SIM, the method comprising:

Reading a frame comprising a plurality of priority groups, wherein each priority group of the plurality of priority groups comprises a plurality of UE procedures and the plurality of priority groups are associated with corresponding priorities, and

Controlling one of the first SIM and the second SIM to perform a priority group UE procedure using a corresponding priority to acquire a shared hardware resource;

wherein the plurality of priority groups includes a data call low group, a system maintenance low group, and a paging reception group;

Wherein the low group of data calls comprises downlink and/or uplink data calls in a radio resource control, RRC, connected mode; the system maintenance low group comprises system information reading, idle mode and cell reselection, and the paging receiving group comprises paging monitoring;

Wherein when one of the first SIM and the second SIM is in the idle mode and subsequently enters a connected mode for a packet switched, PS, data call, the one of the first SIM and the second SIM performs the system information reading and the cell reselection in the idle mode using a corresponding priority of the system maintenance low group, monitors paging messages using a corresponding priority of the paging reception group, responds to paging by establishing an RRC connection, and performs the PS data call using a corresponding priority of the data call low group.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the plurality of priority groups further comprises an acquisition low group, an acquisition high group, a signaling connection group, a system maintenance high group, and a data call high group, the priority being in order of low to high for the acquisition low group, the data call low group, the acquisition high group, the system maintenance low group, the signaling connection group, the paging reception group, the system maintenance high group, and the data call high group.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the acquisition low group and the acquisition high group comprise public land mobile network, PLMN, search, initial frequency scanning, cell search, acquisition, and cell selection, the data call low group further comprises random access channel, RACH, procedures, and measurements during connected mode, the system maintenance low group further comprises intra-frequency/inter-frequency measurements and inter-radio access technology, RAT, the system maintenance high group comprises the same content as the system maintenance low group, the signaling connection group comprises non-access stratum, NAS, signaling, the non-access stratum NAS signaling comprises registration procedures, protocol data unit, PDU, session establishment and/or modification, IP multimedia subsystem, IMS, registration, short message service, SMS, MMS, and supplementary services, the paging reception group further comprises associated intra-frequency measurements, the data call high group comprises high priority data calls and voice calls.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein when the PS data call is completed, the one of the first SIM and the second SIM is released to the idle mode by a corresponding one of first network and second network, and the one of the first SIM and the second SIM uses the corresponding priority of the system maintenance low group to perform idle procedures including the system information reading, the cell reselection, and paging reception.

14. The method of claim 10, further comprising using a common entity as an arbiter to allocate the shared hardware resource to one of the first SIM and the second SIM.

15. The method of claim 10, wherein one of the first and second SIMs is configured to use the other priority of a current UE procedure if the shared hardware resource cannot be acquired within a period of time.

16. The method of claim 10, wherein one of the first and second SIMs is configured to decrease a priority of a UE procedure if the UE procedure meets or exceeds a quality of service QoS requirement.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising introducing multiple multi-SIM supported UE capabilities into one of the first network and the second network, wherein the multiple multi-SIM supported UE capabilities include a capability to indicate whether the multiple SIM UE supports multi-SIM operation, a capability to indicate whether the multiple SIM UE supports dual receive operation, and/or a capability to indicate whether the multiple SIM UE supports dual transmit operation.

18. The method of claim 10, further comprising introducing UE assistance information or multi-SIM supported capabilities into one of a first network and a second network, wherein the UE assistance information includes one of the first SIM and the second SIM being used as a primary data connection subscription for the multi-SIM UE or one of the first SIM and the second SIM not being used as the primary data connection subscription for the multi-SIM UE and the multi-SIM supported capabilities indicating whether a current cell supports multi-SIM operation, the multi-SIM supported capabilities being broadcast in system information or signaled in dedicated RRC signaling.