SINGLE TRANSMISSION CHAIN

Cross-Reference to Related Applications

[0001] This application claims priority to Indian Patent Application Serial No.

201631033508, which was filed September 30, 2016, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

Technical Field

[0002] Various embodiments relate generally to mobile terminal devices and methods in mobile communication devices.

Background

[0003] Mobile phone designs that incorporate multiple Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs) have recently increased in popularity. There exist numerous variations of such multi-SIM designs, which each may allow for different degrees of operation for each included SIM. For example, straightforward designs such as Dual-Sim Dual-Standby (DSDS) designs may allow for one SIM to transmit and/or receive while the other SIM remains in standby mode. More complex designs including Dual-Receive Dual-SIM Dual-Standby (DR-DSDS) designs may allow for two SIMs to concurrently receive but only transmit on a time-sharing basis while Dual-Sim Dual-Active (DSDA) designs may allow two SIMs to simultaneously transmit and receive in parallel.

[0004] There may exist certain performance limitations in multi-SIM designs, where simultaneous transmission is accomplished using transmission (Tx) toggling (TxT) methods, which is to say, alternating activity in the transmitter between two transmission chains, one for each SIM. The TxT approach enables sharing the single transmitter between two active transmissions in order to maintain both the transmission connections intact, minimizing the probability of a call drop.

[0005] The main overhead of this method is the toggling mechanism itself, which results in missing transmission packets for one SIM when the single transmitter is given to the other. Also, toggling needs to ensure that each SIM is given access to the transmitter in an appropriate proportion to avoid a call drop in either of the connections.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0006] In the drawings, like reference characters generally refer to the same parts throughout the different views. The drawings are not necessarily to scale, emphasis instead generally being placed upon illustrating the principles of the invention. In the following description, various embodiments of the invention are described with reference to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 shows a mobile communication device in communication with multiple eNodeB/base stations;

FIG. 2 shows an internal configuration of a mobile terminal device;

FIG. 3 shows an internal configuration of a baseband system of a mobile terminal device;

FIG. 4 is a flowchart according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 5 is a schematic illustrating data processing according to an aspect of the disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a schematic illustrating data processing according to an aspect of the disclosure;

Description [0007] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings that show, by way of illustration, specific details and embodiments in which the invention may be practiced.

[0008] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any embodiment or design described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments or designs.

[0009] The words "plural" and "multiple" in the description and the claims, if any, are used to expressly refer to a quantity greater than one. Accordingly, any phrases explicitly invoking the aforementioned words (e.g. "a plurality of [objects]", "multiple [objects]") referring to a quantity, for example, of objects is intended to expressly refer to more than one of the said objects. The terms "group", "set", "collection", "series", "sequence", "grouping", "selection", etc., and the like in the description and in the claims, if any, are used to refer to a quantity equal to or greater than one, i.e. one or more. Accordingly, the phrases "a group of [objects]", "a set of [objects]", "a collection of [objects]", "a series of [objects]", "a sequence of

[objects]", "a grouping of [objects]", "a selection of [objects]", " [object] group", " [object] set", " [object] collection", " [object] series", " [object] sequence", " [object] grouping", " [object] selection", etc., used herein in relation to a quantity of objects is intended to refer to a quantity of one or more of said objects. It is appreciated that unless directly referred to with an explicitly stated plural quantity (e.g. "two [objects]" "three of the [objects]", "ten or more [objects]", "at least four [objects]", etc.) or express use of the words "plural", "multiple", or similar phrases, references to quantities of objects are intended to refer to one or more of said objects.

[0010] As used herein, a "circuit" may be understood as any kind of logic (analog or digital) implementing entity, which may be special purpose circuitry or a processor executing software stored in a memory, firmware, hardware, or any combination thereof. Furthermore, a

"circuit" may be a hard-wired logic circuit or a programmable logic circuit such as a programmable processor, for example a microprocessor (for example a Complex Instruction Set Computer (CISC) processor or a Reduced Instruction Set Computer (RISC) processor). A "circuit" may also be a processor executing software, for example any kind of computer program, for example a computer program using a virtual machine code such as for example Java. Any other kind of implementation of the respective functions which will be described in more detail below may also be understood as a "circuit". It is understood that any two (or more) of the described circuits may be combined into a single circuit with substantially equivalent functionality, and conversely that any single described circuit may be distributed into two (or more) separate circuits with substantially equivalent functionality. In particular with respect to the use of "circuitry" in the claims included herein, the use of "circuit" may be understood as collectively referring to two or more circuits.

[0011] A "processing circuit" (or equivalently "processing circuitry" or "processor") as used herein is understood as referring to any circuit that performs an operation(s) on signal(s), such as e.g. any circuit that performs processing on an electrical signal or an optical signal. A processing circuit may thus refer to any analog or digital circuitry that alters a characteristic or property of an electrical or optical signal, which may include analog and/or digital data. A processing circuit may thus refer to an analog circuit (explicitly referred to as "analog processing circuit(ry)"), digital circuit (explicitly referred to as "digital processing

circuit(ry)"), logic circuit, processor, microprocessor, Central Processing Unit (CPU),

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), Digital Signal Processor (DSP), Field Programmable Gate

Array (FPGA), integrated circuit, Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), etc., or any combination thereof. Accordingly, a processing circuit may refer to a circuit that performs processing on an electrical or optical signal as hardware or as software, such as software executed on hardware (e.g. a processor or microprocessor). As utilized herein, "digital processing circuit(ry)" may refer to a circuit implemented using digital logic that performs processing on a signal, e.g. an electrical or optical signal, which may include logic circuit(s), processor(s), scalar processor(s), vector processor(s), microprocessor(s), controller(s), microcontroller(s), Central Processing Unit(s) (CPU), Graphics Processing Unit(s) (GPU), Digital Signal Processor(s) (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array(s) (FPGA), integrated circuit(s), Application Specific Integrated Circuit(s) (ASIC), or any combination thereof. Furthermore, it is understood that a single a processing circuit may be equivalently split into two separate processing circuits, and conversely that two separate processing circuits may be combined into a single equivalent processing circuit.

[0012] As used herein, "memory" may be understood as an electrical component in which data or information can be stored for retrieval. References to "memory" included herein may thus be understood as referring to volatile or non-volatile memory, including random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, solid-state storage, magnetic tape, hard disk drive, optical drive, etc., or any combination thereof. Furthermore, it is appreciated that registers, shift registers, processor registers, data buffers, etc., are also embraced herein by the "term" memory. It is appreciated that a single component referred to as "memory" or "a memory" may be composed of more than one different type of memory, and thus may refer to a collective component comprising one or more types of memory. It is readily understood that any single memory "component" may be distributed or/separated multiple substantially equivalent memory components, and vice versa. Furthermore, it is appreciated that while "memory" may be depicted, such as in the drawings, as separate from one or more other components, it is understood that memory may be integrated within another component, such as on a common integrated chip.

[0013] The term "base station" used in reference to an access point of a mobile

communication network may be understood as a macro base station, micro base station, Node B, evolved NodeBs (eNB), Home eNodeB/base station, Remote Radio Head (RRH), relay point, etc. [0014] As used herein, a "cell" in the context of telecommunications may be understood as a sector served by a base station. Accordingly, a cell may be a set of geographically co-located antennas that correspond to a particular sectorization of a base station. A base station may thus serve one or more "cells" (or sectors), where each cell is characterized by a distinct communication channel. Furthermore, the term "cell" may be utilized to refer to any of a macrocell, microcell, femtocell, picocell, etc.

[0015] The term "multi-SIM" and its subset "dual-SIM" are used interchangeably herein to refer to mobile devices having at least two subscriber identity modules (SIMs). Whereas dual-SIM phones are discussed by way of example, the term "dual-SIM" is not intended to exclude hypothetical devices comprising three or more SIMs. Moreover, the term SIM is meant to encompass both a SIM embodied as a physical structure, or a circuit module including a chip that is selectively removable from a phone, as well as mobile phones capable of communicating in accordance with multiple subscriber identities simultaneously, whether or not a discrete module(s) is incorporated in the mobile device.

[0016] It is appreciated that the ensuing description may detail exemplary scenarios involving mobile device operating according to certain 3GPP (Third Generation Partnership Project) specifications, notably Long Term Evolution (LTE) and Long Term Evolution- Advanced (LTE-A). It is understood that such exemplary scenarios are demonstrative in nature, and accordingly may be similarly applied to other mobile communication technologies and standards, such as WLAN (wireless local area network), WiFi, UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), Bluetooth, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), etc.. The examples provided herein are thus understood as being applicable to various other mobile

communication technologies, both existing and not yet formulated, particularly in cases where such mobile communication technologies share similar features as disclosed regarding the following examples. [0017] For purposes of this disclosure, radio communication technologies may be classified as one of a Short Range radio communication technology, Metropolitan Area System radio communication technology, or Cellular Wide Area radio communication technology. Short Range radio communication technologies include Bluetooth, WLAN (e.g. according to any IEEE 802.11 standard), and other similar radio communication technologies. Metropolitan Area System radio communication technologies include Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax) (e.g. according to an IEEE 802.16 radio communication standard, e.g. WiMax fixed or WiMax mobile) and other similar radio communication technologies. Cellular Wide Area radio communication technologies include GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), CDMA, WCDMA, LTE-A, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE), High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), HSPA Plus (HSPA+), and other similar radio communication technologies.

[0018] The term "RAT system" as utilized herein refers to the hardware, software, and/or firmware components of a mobile device that support operation of at least one Radio Access Technology (RAT). A RAT system may thus include one or more

microprocessors/microcontrollers and/or one or more processing circuits, where the one or more microprocessors/microcontrollers may be configured to execute program code for software and/or firmware modules to control the microprocessor/microcontrollers to operate in accordance with the protocol stack (Layer 2 and 3) and/or physical layers (Layer 1) of a particular radio access technology. The microprocessors/microcontrollers may be configured to control the one or more processing circuits and any additional components in accordance with control logic provided by the software/firmware modules defined in the program code. It is appreciated that the RAT systems for multiple RATs may be integrated, such as in the case of a multi-mode baseband modem configured to support operation of more than one RAT.

Accordingly, one or more microprocessors/microcontrollers, processing circuits, and/or software/firmware modules may be shared between multiple RAT systems. Such may include unified protocol stacks (Layers 2 and 3) and/or unified physical layers (Layer 1). A multi- mode RAT system may thus refer to one or more microprocessors/microcontrollers and one or more processing circuits that cooperatively support multiple RATs, such as in accordance with master and slave RAT roles; however it is appreciated that the term "RAT system" encompasses both single- and multi-mode RAT systems. A RAT system configured for a specific radio access technology may be denoted as e.g. an LTE system, a UMTS system, a GSM system, a Bluetooth system, a WiFi system, etc. A baseband modem may be referred to as a RAT system; however it is appreciated that a multi-mode baseband modem may be composed of multiple RAT systems, e.g. at least one RAT system for each radio access technology supported by the baseband modem, where each RAT system in a multi-mode baseband modem may be discrete or integrated relative to the other RAT systems.

[0019] The term "network" as utilized herein, e.g. in reference to a communication network such as a mobile communication network, is intended to encompass both an access component of a network (e.g. a radio access network (RAN) component) and a core component of a network (e.g. a core network component).

[0020] Unless explicitly specified, the term "transmit" encompasses both direct and indirect transmission. Similarly, the term "receive" encompasses both direct and indirect reception unless explicitly specified.

[0021] Multi-SIM designs may need to address timing conflicts caused by the operation of multiple SIMs. For example, both Dual-SIM Dual-Standby (DSDS) and Dual-Receive Dual- Sim Dual-Standby (DR-DSDS) designs may need to share reception and/or transmission resources between two SIMs, such as on a time-sharing basis in which only one SIM can receive and/or transmit at a given point in time. Similarly, multi-SIM designs that allow for one SIM to transmit simultaneously to the other SIM receiving (which may include DSDA, DR-DSDS, and DSDS depending on the specifics of each design) may need to limit transmission resources to avoid receiver desensitization, such as by scheduling lapses in transmission (i.e. "gaps") to reduce reception interference.

[0022] FIG. 1 illustrates a multi-SIM arrangement 100, including a mobile device 200 in communication with both a first base station 110, and a second base station 120. First transmission 104 from mobile device 200 is received by base station 110, whereas second transmission 106 is received by base station 120. Transmissions 104, 106 may be any of a random access channel request (RACH), scheduling request (SR), may be pursuant to a semi persistent scheduling (SPS) grant, or any other transmission from mobile device 200 to a base station, including signals intended for, but not necessarily received by the intended base station. According to at least one aspect of the disclosure, first transmission 104 is associated with a first SIM (SIM 1, illustrated in FIG. 2), and second transmission 106 is associated with a second SIM (SIM 2, FIG. 2). According to at least a further aspect of the disclosure, first transmission 104 takes place over a greater distance to base station 110 than second transmission 106 relative to base station 120.

[0023] Multi-SIM designs may minimize timing conflicts between each SIM by scheduling transmission and/or reception operations for each SIM in order to minimize missed or corrupted transmission and reception occasions. However, even careful scheduling may still result in certain missed or corrupted transmission and/or reception occasions for all SIMs. For example, as previously indicated a DSDS design may share a single set of receiver and transmitter resources between two independent SIMs. Accordingly, only one of the SIMs may receive and/or transmit at a time. It may therefore be unlikely for each SIM to be able to complete each scheduled transmission and reception occasion while participating in a transmission/reception time-sharing scheme with the other SIM, in particular when one or both SIMs are in a radio-active state.

[0024] Similar conflicts may occur between other radio access technologies, such as e.g. between a Cellular Wide Area radio access technology and a Short Range radio access technology (e.g. LTE and WiFi, LTE and Bluetooth, etc.), between two Short Range radio access technologies, etc. For example, a mobile terminal may be configured to support both an LTE radio connection and a WiFi radio connection, where certain LTE bands may interfere with WiFi bands. Alternatively, a mobile terminal may share transceiver resources between multiple such radio access technologies, and may accordingly not be able to concurrently perform radio activity for each radio access technology. Accordingly, there may exist reception and transmission conflicts in numerous mobile device designs.

[0025] In a multi-SIM scenario such as described herein, the two (or more) SIMs in the mobile device (or UE) can be connected to the same or different base stations. As discussed above transmission toggling (TxT) is utilized to prevent cross-transmission interference between the signals that carry transmissions 104 and 106. This approach is essentially a shift in the timing of the respective transmissions. Alternately, such collisions can be avoided by shifting the transmission frequency of the respective transmissions.

[0026] FIG. 2 shows a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of mobile device or terminal 200 according to an aspect of the disclosure. As will be detailed, mobile terminal

200 may be a device capable of supporting multiple radio connections, such as a multi-SIM device or another mobile device that supports multiple radio access technologies.

[0027] As illustrated in FIG. 2, mobile terminal 200 may include antenna 202, radio frequency (RF) transceiver/RF circuit 204, baseband system 206, application processor 208,

SIMl, and SIM2. As shown in in FIG. 2, the aforementioned components of mobile terminal

200 may be implemented as separate components. However, it is appreciated that the architecture of mobile terminal 200 depicted in FIG. 2 is for purposes of explanation, and accordingly one or more of the aforementioned components (or additional components not explicitly shown in FIG. 2) of mobile terminal 200 may be integrated into a single equivalent component or divided into two separate components with collective equivalence. It is understood that mobile terminal 200 may have one or more additional components, such as additional hardware, software, or firmware elements. For example, mobile terminal 200 may further include various additional components including processors/microprocessors, controllers/microcontrollers, memory, other specialty or generic hardware/processors/circuits, etc., in order to support a variety of additional operations. Mobile terminal 200 may also include a variety of user input/output devices (display(s), keypad(s), touchscreen(s), speaker(s), external button(s), camera(s), microphone(s), etc.), peripheral device(s), memory, power supply, external device interface(s), subscriber identify module(s) (SIM) etc.

[0028] It is appreciated that the aforementioned components of mobile terminal 200, in particular, RF transceiver 204, baseband system 206, and application processor 208 may be implemented in a number of different manners, such as by hardware, firmware, software executed on hardware (e.g. a processor), or any combination thereof. Various options include analog circuit(s), digital circuit(s), logic circuit(s), processor(s), microprocessor(s), controller(s), microcontroller(s), scalar processor(s), vector processor(s), Central Processing Unit(s) (CPU), Graphics Processing Unit(s) (GPU), Digital Signal Processor(s) (DSP), Field Programmable Gate Array(s) (FPGA), integrated circuit(s), or Application Specific Integrated Circuit(s) (ASIC).

[0029] In an abridged overview of the operation of mobile terminal 200, mobile terminal 200 may be configured to receive and/or transmit wireless signals according to multiple different wireless access protocols or radio access technologies (RATs), including any one of, or any combination of, LTE (Long Term Evolution), VVLA (wireless local area network), WiFi, UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System), GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications), Bluetooth, CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access), Wideband CDMA (W-CDMA), etc. The specific RAT capabilities of mobile terminal 200 may be dependent on the RAT capabilities of SIM 1 (e.g. as a first radio connection of mobile terminal 200), SIM2 (e.g. as a second radio connection of mobile terminal 200), and baseband system 206. [0030] Further to the abridged overview of operation of mobile terminal 200, RF transceiver 204 may receive radio frequency wireless signals via antenna 202, which may be implemented as e.g. a single antenna or an antenna array composed of multiple antennas. RF transceiver 204 may include various reception circuitry elements, which may include e.g. analog circuitry, configured to process externally received signals, such as mixing circuity to convert externally received RF signals to baseband and/or intermediate frequencies. RF transceiver 204 may also include amplification circuitry to amplify externally received signals, such as power amplifiers (PAs) and/or Low Noise Amplifiers (LNAs), although it is appreciated that such components may also be implemented separately. RF transceiver 204 may additionally include various transmission circuitry elements configured to transmit internally received signals, such as e.g. baseband and/or intermediate frequency signals provided by baseband system 206, which may include mixing circuitry to modulate internally received signals onto one or more radio frequency carrier waves and/or amplification circuitry to amplify internally received signals before transmission. RF transceiver 204 may provide such signals to antenna 202 for wireless transmission. RF transceiver 204 may be structurally configured according to various different transceiver architectures dependent on the intended capabilities of mobile terminal 200. For example, RF transceiver 204 may include a single receiver subsystem and single transmitter subsystem, e.g. for a DSDS multi-SIM design. Alternatively, RF transceiver 204 may include two receiver subsystems and a single transmitter subsystem, e.g. for a DR-DSDS multi-SIM design. Alternatively, RF transceiver 204 may include two receiver subsystems and two transmitter subsystems, e.g. for a DSD A multi-SIM design.

[0031] Further references herein to reception and/or transmission of wireless signals by mobile terminal 200 may thus be understood as an interaction between antenna 202, RF transceiver 204, and baseband system 206 as detailed above. Although not explicitly depicted in FIG. 2, RF transceiver 204 may be additionally connected to application processor 208. [0032] FIG. 3 shows a block diagram illustrating an internal configuration of baseband system 206 according to an aspect of the disclosure. Baseband system 206 may include RAT system RATI and RAT system RAT2, which may each be configured to support at least one radio connection each, where each radio connection may be for the same or different radio access technologies. In a multi-SIM context, RATI and RAT2 may be respectively allocated to SIM1 and SIM2 in accordance with a multi-SIM design. RATI may include digital processing circuit(s) 302a (one or more digital processing circuits) and memory 302b while RAT2 may include digital processing circuit(s) 304a and memory 304b. Digital processing circuit(s) 302a and 304a may each include at least one microprocessor/microcontroller configured to execute program code for software and/or firmware modules to control the at least one processor/controller to operate in accordance with protocol stack (Layer 2 and 3) and physical (Layer 1) layers of one or more radio access technologies. Each respective microprocessor/microcontroller of digital processing circuit(s) 302a and 304a may retrieve the corresponding code from memory 302b and 304b, respectively, and subsequently execute the program code. The respective microprocessors/microcontrollers of digital processing circuit(s) 302a and 304a may additionally control one or more additional processing circuits of digital processing circuit(s) 302a and 304a in accordance with control logic provided by the software/firmware modules defined in the program code. Further references to actions by RAT systems RATI and RAT2 may thus refer to operation of digital processing circuit(s) 302a and 304a in response to execution of program code stored in memory 304a and 304b, respectively.

[0033] Furthermore, RAT systems RATI and RAT2 of baseband system 206 may accordingly directly and/or indirectly control operations of RF transceiver 204, such as to perform specific transmission and/or reception activities as detailed above. RAT systems RATI and RAT2 of baseband system 206 may additionally control various other audio/video components (e.g. audio transducers including microphone(s) and/or speaker(s)) of mobile terminal 200.

[0034] The supported radio access technologies of RATI and RAT2 may depend on the RAT capabilities of SIM1 and SIM2. RAT systems RATI and RAT2 may each be multi- mode RAT systems, and accordingly may each be configured to operate in accordance with more than one radio access technology, e.g. two or more of LTE, UMTS, GSM, Bluetooth, WiFi, etc. RATI and RAT2 may each be configured to operate in accordance with master RAT and slave RAT roles, e.g. in accordance with a given RAT in a primary role (master RAT) while any remaining RATs assume a secondary role (slave RAT).

[0035] Baseband system 206 may be composed of one or more baseband modems, which may correspond to one or both of RATI and RAT2. For example, RAT system RATI may be implemented as a single baseband modem while RAT system RAT2 may be implemented as a separate baseband modem. Alternatively, RAT systems RATI and RAT2 may be implemented as a single unified baseband modem, e.g. a baseband modem configured to two separate network connections for SIM1 and SIM2 in accordance with a multi-SIM design (e.g. DSDS, DR-DSDS, DSDA, etc.).

[0036] RATI and RAT2 may be configured to exchange data over at least one interface, which may be unidirectional or bi-directional. The interface may be a data bus, shared memory, or another interface allowing exchange of data. As will be detailed, RATI and

RAT2 may be configured to exchange information regarding downlink data blocks in order to coordinate scheduling.

[0037] Application processor 208 may be implemented as a Central Processing Unit (CPU).

Application processor 208 may be configured to execute various applications and/or programs of mobile terminal 200, such as e.g. applications corresponding to program code stored in a memory component of mobile terminal 200 (not explicitly shown in FIG. 2). Application processor 208 may also be configured to control one or more further components of mobile terminal 200, such as user input/output devices (display(s), keypad(s), touchscreen(s), speaker(s), external button(s), camera(s), microphone(s), etc.), peripheral devices, memory, power supply, external device interfaces, etc.

[0038] Although baseband system 206 and application processor 208 are depicted separately in FIG. 2, it is appreciated that this illustration is not limiting in nature.

Accordingly, it is understood that baseband system 206 and application processor 208 may be implemented separately, implemented together (i.e. as an integrated unit), or partially implemented together.

[0039] Mobile terminal 200 may be structurally configured according to a multi-SIM design, such as DSDS, DR-DSDS, DSDA, etc. While the following exemplary descriptions may specifically refer to a specific multi-SIM design, it is appreciated that such is not considered limiting in nature.

[0040] It is a basic principle of aspects of the disclosure that simultaneous transmissions on the same frequency are possible without using TxT methods, in particular where the signals are coded to be orthogonal to each other. For example, orthogonality is inherent to signals using multiple access schemes, in particular CDMA which achieves separation of signals by scrambling or spreading codes. As understood, orthogonality in communications, such as those using multiple access, exists where an ideal receiver can completely reject arbitrarily strong unwanted signals from the desired signal by selectively decoding the coded transmission within the signal. Likewise, orthogonally coded transmissions achieve sufficient separation that a real -world receiver is able to adequately reject unwanted parts of the signal to decode the desired transmission.

[0041] Therefore, according to an aspect of the disclosure and as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, a method for transmission in a mobile communication device such as UE 200 may include coding (402) first transmission data 51 OA which may include data DPDCH (dedicated physical data channel) bits 502a and/or control information DPCCH (dedicated physical control channel) bits 504a according to a first scrambling code 512a, which results in an output of coded transmission data 520A. Likewise, coding (404) second transmission data 510B, which may likewise include DPDCH 502b and/or DPCCH 504b, according to a second scrambling code 512b may yield coded transmission data 520B. As discussed above, the scrambling codes 512a and 512b are either chosen to be or are inherently orthogonal to each other.

[0042] Because of the orthogonality of the coding, first coded transmission data 51 OA and second coded transmission data 501B can be combined (406) as shown in FIG. 6 within a common transmission (Tx) block or circuit 610, which circuit may contain one or more of the components RF 204, baseband circuit 206, application processor 208 (including digital processing circuits 302a and 304a, and/or memory 302b and 304b). Common Tx block 610 may also be considered part of a common or single 'transmission chain'.

[0043] Among the problems associated with CDMA or code-separated transmissions is the so-called 'near-far' problem, in that transmissions may be received at a first eNodeB/base station 110 at different power then at a second eNodeB/base station 120. As disclosed above, FIG. 1 illustrates an example where first base station 1 10 is a greater distance from mobile communication device 200 than base station 120. Typically, base stations close to the mobile communications device receive transmissions at higher power than what is received at more distant base stations. The result is that the closer base station may be saturated by

overpowered transmissions, and those further from the mobile communication device may not be able to decode the signal properly due to signal weakness.

[0044] Accordingly, in multi-SIM devices that may be connected to multiple base stations simultaneously, selecting (408) a common transmission power (P _Tx ) that is sufficiently high for the more distant base station 1 10 without overpowering the closer base station 120 may be an advantageous application of power control. According to an aspect of the disclosure, Ρχ _χ may be chosen based on indicated power control values for each of the first transmission data and the second transmission data. These may be received from eNodeB/base stations 1 10/120 as downloads 105/107, or by other means.

[0045] The selected Ρχ _χ may be applied by controlling (410) a power amplifier 612 in Tx block 610, such as via a control signal 614 derived from the selected Ρχ _χ to transmit both the first transmission data and the second transmission data simultaneously (620), for example at a power equal to Ρχ _χ .

[0046] This enables sharing a single transmitter (e.g. RF 204) between two active transmissions without TxT, even where both SIMs are active and using the same frequency. Given the same frequency of operation, SIMl and SIM2's Tx data 520A and 520B are clearly separated by their respective scrambling codes 512a and 512b. This is analogous to the operation of two different mobile phones each with a single SIM, where in the uplink the scrambling code is the separator for the phones.

[0047] The method illustrated in FIG. 4 may advantageously be configured such that the first transmission data comprises data for transmission according to a first radio access technology (RAT), and the second transmission data comprises data for a transmission according to a second RAT. RATI may be different from RAT2, or they may be the same. However, it is particularly advantageous when RATI and RAT2 are both 3G, particularly because the disclosed orthogonality is inherent to 3G radio technology. However, other radio technologies may be appropriate, or may be modified for use according to aspects of the disclosure.

[0048] As noted above, the first transmission data may be associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIMl) and the second transmission data is associated with a second subscriber identity module (SIM2). This is particularly the case where a multi-SIM phone is implementing the disclosed method. For each SIM, a first power control value (PI) associated with SIMl and a second power control value (P2) associated with SIM2 may be stored in mobile communication device 200, or transmitted thereto from a base station (e.g. eNodeB/base station 1 10/120).

[0049] The process of selecting P _Tx may further advantageously include determining a first multiplier (a) and a second multiplier (b) for PI and P2 respectively and calculating the common transmission power according to (a*Pl)+(b*P2)=P _Tx . Respective values of (a) and (b) may be based on the respective distances of the first and second eNodeB/base station from the mobile communication device.

[0050] In order for the simultaneous transmission of, for example, two 3G SIMs data, a common Tx block may be provided, which can take the transmission bits from both the SIMs and ensure that the resultant power of transmitted signal is well within the 'non-saturation' operating region of the power amplifier.

[0051] In this regard, power control values from both SIMs may not directly translate to the actual power that is transmitted for a particular SIM. However any issues so raised may be advantageously handled by retransmissions. Moreover, in terms of corner cases, such as where SIM1 is in the cell edge and SIM2 is in a good coverage distance, SIM1 needs to transmit at the highest TX power. This might result in SIM2 saturation at the eNodeB/base station. The values for (a) and (b) may be chosen with practical simulations to ensure clear transmission.

[0052] Additionally, common Tx block/circuit 610 may be present in the RF sub-system, where transmission bits from both SIMs are combined, after which the existing RF transmission process may proceed.

[0053] While the above description may focus on certain radio access technologies and radio connectivity states, it is appreciated that the detailed aspects of this disclosure are considered demonstrative in nature, and accordingly may be applied to other mobile devices that support multiple radio connections with the same or different radio access technologies, numbers of SIMs, and/or radio connectivity states. Furthermore, the implementations detailed herein may apply to conflicts for any type of radio activity for multiple radio connections, and thus may not be limited to the specific aspects described here by example.

[0054] It is appreciated that the terms "user equipment", "UE", "mobile terminal", mobile device, etc., may apply to any wireless communication device, including cellular phones, tablets, laptops, personal computers, and any number of additional electronic devices.

[0055] It is appreciated that implementations of methods detailed herein are demonstrative in nature, and are thus understood as capable of being implemented in a corresponding device. Likewise, it is appreciated that implementations of devices detailed herein are understood as capable of being implemented as a corresponding method. It is thus understood that a device corresponding to a method detailed herein may include a one or more components configured to perform each aspect of the related method.

[0056] The following Examples pertain to further aspects of this disclosure:

[0057] Example 1 is a method for mobile communication comprising:

[0058] generating a first data stream;

[0059] generating a second data stream different from the first data stream;

[0060] coding the first data stream according to a first scrambling code to generate a first transmission data;

[0061] coding the second data stream orthogonally to the first data stream to generate a second transmission data;

[0062] combining the first transmission data and the second transmission data into a combined data stream within a shared transmission circuit;

[0063] calculating a transmission power for transmission of the combined data stream; and [0064] controlling the shared transmission circuit based on the transmission power to transmit the combined first and second data streams simultaneously.

[0065] Example 2 may optionally be, wherein the first data stream of Example 1 optionally comprises data for transmission according to a first radio access technology (RATI), and the second data stream comprises data for a transmission according to a second radio access technology (RAT2).

[0066] Example 3 may optionally be the method of Example 2 wherein RATI and RAT2 are in accordance with a 3GPP standard.

[0067] Example 4 may optionally be the method of Example 1-3 wherein the first data stream and the second data stream are transmitted on the same radio frequency.

[0068] Example 5 may optionally be the method of Example 1-4 wherein the first data stream is associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIMl) and the second data stream is associated with a second subscriber identity module (SIM2).

[0069] Example 6 may optionally be the method of Example 5 further comprising determining a first power control value (PI) associated with SIMl and a second power control value (P2) associated with SIM2.

[0070] Example 7 may optionally be the method of Example 6 wherein the second power control value P2 is received from a second base station.

[0071] Example 8 may optionally be the method of Example 7 wherein said calculating further comprises:

[0072] determining a first multiplier (a) and a second multiplier (b) for the first power control value PI and the second power control value P2 respectively; and

[0073] calculating the common transmission power wherein the first power control value PI multiplied by first multiplier (a) plus the second power control value multiplied by second power control value P2 equals a common transmission power P _Tx .

[0074] Example 9 may optionally be the method of Example 8 wherein the respective values of the first multiplier (a) and the second multiplier (b) are based on the respective distances of the first base station and second base station from the mobile communication device.

[0075] Example 10 may optionally be the method of Examples 8-9 further comprising:

[0076] determining a non-saturating operating region of the power amplifier, and [0077] assigning values for the first multiplier (a) or the second multiplier (b) based on said operating region of the power amplifier.

[0078] Example 11 may optionally be the method of Examples 8-9 further comprising:

[0079] determining a first non-saturating operating region corresponding to the first base station;

[0080] determining a second non-saturating operating region corresponding to the second base station; and

[0081] assigning values for the first multiplier (a) or the second multiplier (b) to provide common transmission power P _Tx within the respective non-saturating operating regions of the first or the second base station.

[0082] Example 12 is a mobile communications device comprising:

[0083] a first subscriber identity module (SIM1) for generating a first data stream;

[0084] a second subscriber identity module (SIM2) for generating a second data stream;

[0085] a common transmission circuit connected to SIM1 and SIM2, the common transmission circuit comprising a radio frequency (RF) power amplifier and a baseband circuit; and

[0086] a processor connected to the common transmission circuit; wherein

[0087] the baseband circuit is configured to scramble the first data stream according to a first scrambling code and the second data stream is configured to scramble according to a second scrambling code orthogonal to the first scrambling code;

[0088] the processor is configured to calculate a common transmission power (P _Tx ) and to control the power amplifier according thereto; and

[0089] the common transmission circuit configured to simultaneously transmits the first and second data stream.

[0090] Example 13 may optionally be the mobile communications device of Example 12, wherein the first data stream comprises data for transmission according to a first radio access technology (RATI), and the second data stream comprises data for a transmission according to a second radio access technology (RAT2).

[0091] Example 14 may optionally be the mobile communications device of Example 13 wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first power control value (PI) associated with SIM1 and a second power control value (P2) associated with SIM2.

[0092] Example 15 may optionally be the mobile communications device of Example 14 wherein the processor is further configured to:

[0093] determine a first non-saturating operating region corresponding to the first base station;

[0094] determine a second non-saturating operating region corresponding to the second base station; and

[0095] assign values for a first multiplier (a) and a second multiplier (b) to provide a common transmission power P _Tx within the respective non-saturating operating regions of the first or the second base station.

[0096] Example 16 is a method for transmission for a mobile communication device, the method comprising:

[0097] coding a first transmission data according to a first scrambling code;

[0098] coding a second transmission data according to a second scrambling code orthogonal to the first scrambling code;

[0099] combining the first coded transmission data and the second coded transmission data in a common transmission (Tx) block;

[0100] selecting a common transmission power (P _Tx ) based on indicated power control values for each of the first transmission data and the second transmission data; and

[0101] controlling a power amplifier in the Tx block based on the selected transmission power to transmit both the first transmission data and the second transmission data simultaneously at Ρχ _χ . [0102] In Example 17 the method of Example 16 is optionally wherein the first transmission data comprises data for transmission according to a first radio access technology (RAT), and the second transmission data comprises data for a transmission according to a second RAT.

[0103] In Example 18 the method of Example 17 is optionally wherein the first RAT and the second RAT are the same.

[0104] In Example 19 the method of Example 18 is optionally wherein the first RAT and the second RAT comprises 3G.

[0105] In Example 20 the method of Example 16-19 is optionally wherein the first transmission data and the second transmission data are transmitted on the same radio frequency.

[0106] In Example 21 the method of Example 16-20 is optionally wherein the first transmission data is associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIMl) and the second transmission data is associated with a second subscriber identity module (SIM2).

[0107] In Example 22 the method of Example 21 optionally further comprises determining a first power control value (PI) associated with SIMl and a second power control value (P2) associated with SIM2.

[0108] In Example 23 the method of Example 22 is optionally wherein at least one of PI and P2 is received from an eNodeB/base station.

[0109] In Example 24 the method of Example 22 is optionally wherein PI is received from a first eNodeB/base station and P2 is received from a second eNodeB/base station.

[0110] In Example 25 the method of Example 24 is optionally wherein the first

eNodeB/base station is located a greater distance from the mobile communication device than the second eNodeB/base station.

[0111] In Example 26 the method of Example 25 is optionally wherein said selecting further comprises determining a first multiplier (a) and a second multiplier (b) for PI and P2 respectively; and calculating the common transmission power according to (a*Pl)+(b*P2)=P _Tx .

[0112] In Example 27 the method of Example 26 is optionally wherein the respective values of (a) and (b) are based on the respective distances of the first and second eNodeB/base station from the mobile communication device.

[0113] In Example 28 the method of Example 26-27 optionally further comprises determining a non-saturating operating region of the power amplifier, and assigning values for (a) and/or (b) based on said operating region of the power amplifier.

[0114] In Example 29 the method of Example 16-28 optionally further comprises refraining from transmission toggling (TxT).

[0115] In Example 30 the method of Example 26 is optionally wherein at least one of first multiplier (a) and/or second multiplier (b) is based on a saturation value for at least one of the first eNodeB/base station and/or the second eNodeB/base station.

[0116] Example 31 discloses a method for mobile communication comprising generating a first data stream; generating a second data stream different from the first data stream; coding the first data stream according to a first scrambling code to generate a first transmission data; coding the second data stream orthogonally to the first data stream to generate a second transmission data; combining the first transmission data and the second transmission data into a combined data stream within a shared transmission circuit; calculating a transmission power for transmission of the combined data stream; and controlling the shared transmission circuit according to the transmission power to transmit the combined data stream simultaneously.

[0117] In Example 32 the method of Example 31, is optionally wherein the first data stream comprises data for transmission according to a first radio access technology (RATI), and the second data stream comprises data for a transmission according to a second radio access technology (RAT2). [0118] In Example 33 the method of Example 32 is optionally wherein RATI and RAT2 are the same.

[0119] In Example 34 the method of Example 33 is optionally wherein RATI and RAT2 comprises 3GPP.

[0120] In Example 35 the method of Example 31 -34 is optionally wherein the first data stream and the second data stream are transmitted on the same radio frequency.

[0121] In Example 36 the method of Example 31 -35 is optionally wherein the first data stream is associated with a first subscriber identity module (SIMl) and the second data stream is associated with a second subscriber identity module (SIM2).

[0122] In Example 37 the method of Example 36 optionally further comprises determining a first power control value (PI) associated with SIMl and a second power control value (P2) associated with SIM2.

[0123] In Example 38 the method of Example 37 is optionally wherein at least one of PI and P2 is received from an eNodeB/base station.

[0124] In Example 39 the method of Example 37 is optionally wherein PI is received from a first eNodeB/base station and P2 is received from a second eNodeB/base station.

[0125] In Example 40 the method of Example 39 is optionally wherein said calculating further comprises determining a first multiplier (a) and a second multiplier (b) for PI and P2 respectively; calculating the common transmission power according to (a*Pl)+(b*P2)=P _Tx .

[0126] In Example 41 the method of Example 40 is optionally wherein the respective values of (a) and (b) are based on the respective distances of the first eNodeB/base station and second eNodeB/base station from the mobile communication device.

[0127] In Example 42 the method of Example 39-40 optionally further comprises determining a non-saturating operating region of the power amplifier, and assigning values for (a) and/or (b) based on said operating region of the power amplifier. [0128] In Example 43 the method of Example 39-40 optionally further comprises determining a first non-saturating operating region corresponding to the first eNodeB/base station; determining a second non-saturating operating region corresponding to the second eNodeB/base station; and assigning values for (a) and/or (b) such that Ρχ _χ is within the respective non-saturating operating regions of the first and/or the second eNodeB/base station.

[0129] In Example 44 a mobile communications device is disclosed comprising a first subscriber identity module (SIM1) for generating a first data stream; a second subscriber identity module (SIM2) for generating a second data stream; a common transmission circuit connected to SIM1 and SIM2, the transmission circuit comprising a radio frequency (RF) power amplifier and a baseband circuit; and a processor connected to the common

transmission circuit; wherein the first data stream is scrambled by the baseband circuit according to a first scrambling code and the second data stream is scrambled by the baseband circuit according to a second scrambling code orthogonal to the first scrambling code; the processor is configured calculate a common transmission power (P _Tx ) and to control the power amplifier according thereto; and the common transmission circuit simultaneously transmits the first and second data stream.

[0130] In Example 45 the mobile communications device of Example 44, is optionally wherein the first data stream comprises data for transmission according to a first radio access technology (RATI), and the second data stream comprises data for a transmission according to a second radio access technology (RAT2).

[0131] In Example 46 the mobile communications device of Example 45 is optionally wherein RATI and RAT2 are the same.

[0132] In Example 47 the mobile communications device of Example 46 is optionally wherein RATI and RAT2 comprises 3G. [0133] In Example 48 the mobile communications device of Example 47 is optionally wherein the first data stream and the second data stream are transmitted on the same radio frequency.

[0134] In Example 49 the mobile communications device of Example 48 is optionally wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first power control value (PI) associated with SIM1 and a second power control value (P2) associated with SIM2.

[0135] In Example 50 the mobile communications device of Example 49 is optionally wherein at least one of PI and/or P2 is received from an eNodeB/base station.

[0136] In Example 51 the mobile communications device of Example 49 is optionally wherein PI is received from a first eNodeB/base station and P2 is received from a second eNodeB/base station.

[0137] In Example 52 the mobile communications device of Example 51 is optionally wherein said calculating a common transmission power includes: determining a first multiplier (a) and a second multiplier (b) for PI and P2 respectively; and calculating the common transmission power according to (a*Pl)+(b*P2)=P _Tx .

[0138] In Example 53 the mobile communications device of Example 52 is optionally wherein the respective values of (a) and (b) are based on the respective distances of the first eNodeB/base station and second eNodeB/base station from the mobile communication device.

[0139] In Example 54 the mobile communications device of Example 53, is optionally wherein the processor is further configured to determine a non-saturating operating region of the RF power amplifier, and assign values for (a) and/or (b) based on said operating region of the RF power amplifier.

[0140] In Example 55 the mobile communications device of Example 53-54 is optionally wherein the processor is further configured to determine a first non-saturating operating region corresponding to the first eNodeB/base station; determine a second non-saturating operating region corresponding to the second eNodeB/base station; and assign values for (a) and/or (b) such that P _Tx is within the respective non-saturating operating regions of the first and/or the second eNodeB/base station.

[0141] While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes in form and detail may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. The scope of the invention is thus indicated by the appended claims and all changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore intended to be embraced.