CN113348726B

CN113348726B - Multi-user identity module user equipment, operation method thereof and storage medium

Info

Publication number: CN113348726B
Application number: CN201980090508.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 陈振豪; 许阳; 王淑坤; 刘建华
Original assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Current assignee: Guangdong Oppo Mobile Telecommunications Corp Ltd
Priority date: 2019-07-12
Filing date: 2019-07-12
Publication date: 2023-10-13
Anticipated expiration: 2039-07-12
Also published as: CN113348726A; WO2021007696A1

Abstract

A multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) and a method of operating the same are provided. The multi-SIM UE includes a first SIM associated with a first network and a second SIM associated with a second network. The multi-SIM UE is configured to communicate with a first network using a first SIM and to communicate with a second network using a second SIM. The method includes negotiating an appropriate time to allow the multi-SIM UE to switch to the second SIM to communicate with the second network.

Description

Multi-user identity module user equipment, operation method thereof and storage medium

Background

1. Technical field

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

2. Description of related Art

The use of wireless communication systems is rapidly growing. In addition, wireless communication technology has evolved from voice-only communication to transmission of data also including, for example, the internet and multimedia content. In some cases, the wireless device may include or be capable of using multiple Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs).

multi-SIM devices have been on the market for many years. Most such devices share baseband, RF antennas, and other hardware components between the two SIMs. The 3GPP has not standardized this type of multi-SIM UE. Thus, when the two SIMs operate independently in their respective networks, the performance of the network and the UE will be degraded. Some examples are as follows:

1. When both SIMs are in idle mode, both SIMs need to listen for their paging messages at their own Paging Occasions (POs). The PO is calculated based on the Identity (ID) of the UE. Since the two SIMs are independent, the computed POs of the two SIMs may collide (in the time domain) with each other. Note that the UE ID is fixed, so when a collision occurs, it will be permanent. In this case, it is apparent that one or both UEs may miss a paging message from the network.

2. While one SIM is actively communicating with its network, for example, 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. Because of 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 behavior is tune-away. During tune away, the first network is unaware that the UE is away from the system. This may lead to inefficient scheduling behavior and server data throughput loss.

3. When both SIMs attempt to perform their own procedures, for example, one SIM attempts to perform paging listening and the other SIM attempts to perform cell reselection. It is not clear which service can get higher priority. In this example, it may be easy to argue that SIM paging listening is more important, but the opposite arguments would say that the network will send paging messages repeatedly, so cell reselection may get higher priority. As today, priority handling depends on the implementation of the UE, which the network has no control over.

Mobile handsets allow a user to insert multiple Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), of which two, also known as dual SIM handsets, are most commonly allowed. In general, in the 3GPP circles, such a mobile phone having a plurality of SIMs is called a multi-SIM mobile phone. Some embodiments discuss the case of dual SIMs. However, all of the descriptions herein are equally applicable to the multi-SIM case. With the discussion of such multi-SIM in the 3GPP circle, it is recognized that such multi-SIM devices may be single-radio, i.e. single Downlink (DL), single Uplink (UL), multi-radio (e.g. dual radio), depending on a mix of uplink or downlink single radio and dual radio, e.g. dual DL-single Uplink (UL), e.g. single DL-dual Uplink (UL). Although such dual SIM handsets have been known for many years, nothing in the 3GPP specifications standardizes their work and interaction with 3GPP specified systems. All these dual SIM handsets conform to the 3GPP standard as if they were two separate single SIM handsets, and their "duality" and their connection to the network and public land mobile network (public land mobile network, PLMN) are entirely implementation dependent and currently not standardized.

For example, consider a dual-SIM handset having SIM-1 and SIM-2, and these SIMs belonging to different operators (e.g., SIM-1 is a vodafeng subscription card, and SIM-2 is a china mobile subscription card). Thus, when a user wants to place a call using the SIM-1 subscription card, what should SIM-2 do? What does SIM-2 occur when it is talking, if there is an incoming call to SIM-2 for the Network (NW) to which SIM-2 is registered? Whether the dual SIM handset's actions/reactions should depend on whether it has a single-shot dual-receive function? Vice versa? Even when both SIM-1 and SIM-2 are in an IDLE state (IDLE), how the mobile device should "tune" to each of the two NWs with which both SIMs are registered, e.g., to listen for pages, are implementation-specific. Thus, as such dual SIM handsets become more popular, 3GPP aspects are directed towards establishing some of the standardized behaviors of such dual SIM handsets.

As the complexity of 5G capable UEs grows and the market demand for multi-SIM devices continues to grow, there is an urgent need to consider system enhancements to allow for more cost-effective implementations 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. Accordingly, there is a need for a multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) and a method of operating the same.

Disclosure of Invention

An object of the present disclosure is to propose a multi-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) and a method of operation thereof, which can effectively and efficiently operate 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 for communicating 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, the second SIM. The processor is configured to negotiate an appropriate time to allow the multi-SIM UE to switch to the second SIM to communicate with the second network.

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 associated with a first network and a second SIM associated with a second network. The multi-SIM UE is configured to communicate with a first network using a first SIM and to communicate with a second network using a second SIM. The method includes negotiating an appropriate time to allow the multi-SIM UE to switch to the second SIM to communicate with the second network.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium has stored thereon instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the above-described method.

In a fourth aspect of the disclosure, a terminal device includes a processor and a memory for storing a computer program. The processor is configured to execute a computer program stored in the memory to perform the above method.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present disclosure or related techniques, the following drawings, which will be described in the embodiments, are briefly introduced. It is apparent that these figures are merely some embodiments of the present disclosure, and that one of ordinary skill in the art can obtain other figures from these figures without paying attention.

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

Fig. 2 is a block diagram of a multi-SIM UE and a network node in a communication network system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 is a block diagram of a multi-SIM UE and a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating frames/slots of logical channels/signaling channels constituting a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating the stealing time of logical channels/signaling channels of a PLMN according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) in a communication network system in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 7 is a dedicated time/frame/time slot/signaling channel/associated channel/logical channel diagram of a PLMN according to an embodiment of the disclosure.

Fig. 8 is a diagram illustrating paging processing duration of a multi-SIM UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 9 is a schematic diagram illustrating a format of a frame pattern according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a start of use time, period, and/or offset indication allowed time according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for operating a multi-SIM UE using an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for operating a multi-SIM UE using an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a process for operating a multi-SIM UE using an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific time for a multi-SIM UE to connect to a first network and a specific time for a multi-SIM UE to connect to a second network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a specific time for a multi-SIM UE to connect to a first network and a specific time for a multi-SIM UE to connect to a second network according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 16 is a flowchart illustrating a method for operating a multi-SIM UE according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Fig. 17 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 drawings in terms of technical problems, 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 invention.

In some embodiments, dual multi-user identity modules (SIMs) and multi-SIM devices for standardization purposes are as follows. A mechanism is provided for transmitting pages destined for USIM B while a User Equipment (UE) is actively communicating with USIM a. A mechanism is provided that allows suspension (or release) and resumption of an ongoing connection in the 3GPP system associated with USIM a so that the UE can temporarily leave the 3GPP system associated with USIM B and then return to the 3GPP system in a network controlled manner. The present disclosure determines how the network handles the presence of MT data or MT control plane activity on a suspended connection. A mechanism is provided for avoiding paging collision between USIM a and USIM B in UE. Handling of calls and sessions is provided. A process of service priority is provided, i.e., the present disclosure determines whether the UE's behavior is driven by USIM configuration and/or user preferences when receiving paging information. In some embodiments, it should also be noted that the scope of the present disclosure limits the kinds of multi-SIM devices to single-receive (Rx) (with respect to radio antenna characteristics)/single-transmit (Tx) (with respect to radio antenna characteristics) and dual Rx/single Tx UE implementations. It should further be appreciated that, in addition to dual-SIM handsets for dual Rx/dual Tx (i.e., dual DL/dual UL), dual-SIM devices can only connect or communicate with one of the PLMNs with which the two SIMs are registered at any time. This is because for dual Rx/dual Tx, a dual SIM handset can effectively operate as two handsets. Of course, if a multi-SIM device holds more than two SIMs, even a dual Rx/dual Tx handset cannot connect and communicate with more than two PLMNs at the same time. Thus, for single Rx/single Tx or even for dual Rx/single Tx, a dual SIM handset can only connect or communicate with one of the two PLMNs with which the two SIMs are registered at any time.

It should be understood that in some embodiments of the present disclosure, even though the description and discussion may be primarily directed to dual SIMs, multiple SIMs are applicable. That is, while some embodiments of the present disclosure primarily discuss dual SIM handsets, the problems, solutions, methods discussed and described herein are also extended to the case of multi SIM handsets.

Fig. 1 shows that in some embodiments, for single Rx/single Tx or even for dual Rx/single Tx, a dual SIM handset can only connect or communicate with one of the two PLMNs to which the two SIMs are registered at any time, as shown in fig. 1, where plmn_a is the Registered PLMN (RPLMN) of SIM1 and plmn_b is the RPLMN of SIM 2. For ease of further discussion, for fig. 1, it may be considered that SIM1 is an active SIM in a dual-SIM handset, that the serving PLMN is PLMN a, that SIM2 is passive (or even inactive), and that plmn_b may be considered a non-serving PLMN even though plmn_b is the RPLMN of SIM 2. Thus, unless plmn_a and plmn_b belong to the same operator, or may be equivalent PLMNs, or there is some special arrangement in terms of these PLMNs and dual card handset cooperation, it is apparent that the SIM 1-plmn_a relationship disregards the SIM 2-plmn_b relationship, or that plmn_a and plmn_b do not have any cooperation. Thus, if SIM1 is connected to or in communication with plmn_a and the terminating call/service arrives to plmn_b, plmn_b pages the mobile device for SIM2 in time, there is currently no standardized method for dual SIM handsets to learn of this incoming page. Currently, for dual SIM handsets, when one SIM is connected or communicating with its RPLMN, how the handset manages the other SIM and its relationship with the other RPLMN is to be implemented. Some embodiments of the present disclosure may solve the above-described problems.

Fig. 1 also shows that in some embodiments, one very common and simple implementation in current dual-SIM handsets is that SIM2 essentially pauses contact with the PLMN (plmn_b) with which it is registered when SIM 1 is connected or in communication with plmn_a. This active "suspension" will effectively indicate to plmn_b that the handset with SIM2 is not in coverage, and plmn_b can effectively place SIM2 in a deregistered state if SIM2 does not provide its periodic registration updates. Then, when it is possible to find a time to leave SIM 1, it re-registers itself (or performs a missed periodic registration) by SIM 2. Another problem is that even if during ongoing communication between SIM 1 and plmn_a, finding time for SIM2 to check plmn_b, the time away from SIM 1 and plmn_a does mean that plmn_a sends downlink data to SIM 1, the dual SIM handset will not be able to interact for SIM 1. In particular, if the check of plmn_b causes SIM2 to connect or communicate with plmn_b, plmn_a will be in the opposite case and plmn_a will not know what happens to the mobile device with SIM 1. For example, when a dual-SIM UE is active on SIM 1 for critical services (e.g., voice), the dual-SIM UE will not listen for pages to SIM2 until the voice ends. Even if the dual SIM UE listens to the page to SIM2, the dual SIM UE cannot respond to check or accept the page—perhaps the incoming page is much more important to the user than the current communication on SIM 1, and the user can make his/her choice, at least if such an incoming service is presented to the user. For simplicity, for a dual-SIM handset, the communication of one SIM with its respective RPLMN is completely uncoordinated with the other SIM and its RPLMN, so that interactions and paging from one of the other PLMNs to the intended SIM of the dual-SIM handset may be lost or at most unpredictable. The problems discussed above for dual SIMs apply equally to multi-SIM handsets that hold more than two SIMs. Some embodiments of the present disclosure may solve the above-described problems.

In some embodiments, with respect to the calculation of Paging Occasions (POs) and discontinuous reception (discontinuous reception, DRX) for paging, the UE may use Discontinuous Reception (DRX) in rrc_idle and rrc_inactive states to reduce power consumption. The UE listens to one Paging Occasion (PO) or some POs per DRX cycle. The PO is a set of physical downlink control channel (physical downlink control channel, PDCCH) listening opportunities, which may consist of multiple slots (e.g., subframes or orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing, OFDM) symbols) in which paging downlink control information (downlink control information, DCI) may be transmitted. A Paging Frame (PF) is a radio frame that may contain one or more POs or a start of a PO.

In the case of long term evolution (long term evolution, LTE), the computation time of PF and PO is as follows. The PF is given by the following equation. SFN mod t= (tdiv N) × (ue_id mod N). The index i_s pointing to PO from the subframe pattern will be derived from the following calculation. i_s=floor (ue_id/N) mod Ns.

In the case of a New Radio (NR), the PF and PO for LTE are calculated as follows. The pf_offset parameter is increased compared to LTE. This parameter is introduced because the paging message is contained in the PDCCH and not every radio frame will contain PDCCH information. The PF and PO for paging are determined by the following formula. The SFN of the PF is determined by: (sfn+pf_offset) mod t= (tdiv N) × (ue_id mod N). The index (i_s) representing the index of the PO is determined by: i_s=floor (ue_id/N) mod Ns.

The parameters in the above LTE and NR calculations are specifically described below. There are three types of DRX (T in the equation) parameters. Cell level DRX (base station preconfigured DRX is sent to all UEs within a cell by broadcast messages). UE-level DRX (for PF and PO calculations for UE in rrc_idle state, DRX is sent by the core network MME/AMF to the base station, which in turn sends DRX to the UE). RAN-level DRX (for PF and PO calculations for the UE in rrc_inactive state, DRX is also sent by the core network to the base station, which in turn sends DRX further to the UE). For the UE-ID parameter, in 4G, the UE-ID is IMSI mod 1024. In 5G, the UE-ID is 5G-S-TMSI mod 1024. The remaining parameters including "N", "Ns", "pf_offset" are system broadcast parameters, i.e. the UE obtains the remaining parameters through cell broadcast, and the parameter values of different UEs are generally the same.

The two groups of formulas are the calculation methods of PF and PO of LTE and NR respectively. Taking the second set of NR calculation formulas as an example here, in the first formula (sfn+pf_offset) mod t= (tdiv N) (ue_id mod N), both pf_offset and N are obtained in the cell broadcast information, and T is the DRX cycle transmitted by the core network or the base station side preconfigured cycle (if there are two or three possible DRX values, the minimum value of DRX is used). The UE_ID is a 5G-S-TMSI (part of a 5G-GUTI). Thus, it can be seen that only the SFN is unknown in this equation, and specific values of SFN can be obtained. The SFN determines the PF value.

Looking at the second formula i_s=floor (ue_id/N) mod Ns, i_s can be calculated. The parameter is used to indicate the index value of the PO. After the UE calculates the i_s number of its USIM, it is broadcasted through the system. The message may obtain listening time information (e.g., subframes or OFDM symbols) in the detailed radio frame corresponding to the i_s number so that the UE may listen for paging messages according to a specified time after entering rrc_idle and rrc_inactive states and need not listen at other times.

In multi-beam operation, the length of one PO is one period of beam scanning, and the UE can assume that the same paging message is repeated in all beams of the scanning pattern, so the selection of the beam for receiving the paging message depends on the implementation of the UE. The paging messages are the same for both RAN initiated paging and Core Network (CN) initiated paging. The UE initiates an RRC connection recovery procedure upon receiving the RAN page. If the UE receives a CN initiated page in RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE becomes RRC_IDLE and informs the NAS. PF and PO were determined by the following formulas, as shown in Table 1.

TABLE 1

In LTE, the PO is calculated in a similar manner. As shown in table 2 below.

TABLE 2

See description in TS 38.304 (shown in table 3 below).

TABLE 3 Table 3

Fig. 2 illustrates that in some embodiments a multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE) 10 and network nodes (e.g., a first network 20 and a second network 30) in a communication network system 1 according to embodiments of the present disclosure are provided. The communication network system 1 comprises a multi-SIM UE 10, a first network 20, a second network 30. The multi-SIM UE 10 may include a first SIM11 associated with a first network 20, a second SIM 12 associated with a second network 30, a memory 13, a transceiver 14 for communicating with the first network 20 using the first SIM11 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 SIM11, the second SIM 12.

Fig. 3 illustrates a multi-SIM UE 10 and a network node 40 in some embodiments according to embodiments of the present disclosure. Network node 40 may include a processor 41, a memory 42, and a transceiver 43. The processor 15 or 41 may be used to implement the proposed functions, processes, and/or methods described in this specification. The radio interface protocol layer may be implemented in the processor 15 or 41. Memory 13 or 42 is operatively coupled to processor 15 or 41 and stores various information to operate processor 15 or 41. The transceiver 14 or 43 is operatively coupled to the processor 15 or 41 and the transceiver 14 or 43 transmits and/or receives radio signals.

The processor 15 or 41 may include an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), other chipset, logic circuit, and/or data processing device. Memory 13 or 42 may include read-only memory (ROM), random-access memory (random access memory, RAM), flash memory, memory cards, storage mediums, and/or other storage devices. The transceiver 14 or 43 may include baseband circuitry for processing 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 or 42 and executed by the processor 15 or 41. The memory 13 or 42 may be implemented within the processor 15 or 41 or external to the processor 15 or 41, in which case the memory 13 or 42 can be communicatively coupled to the processor 15 or 41 via various means as is known in the art.

In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to negotiate an appropriate time to allow the multi-SIM UE 10 to switch to the second SIM 12 for communication with the second network 30.

In some embodiments, communication with the second network 30 is to listen for pages from the second network 30, and the processor 15 is to tune to a paging channel of the second network 30 to check for pages to the second SIM 12 at the appropriate time. In some embodiments, the appropriate time is negotiated in order to maintain connection to the first network 20 and the second network 30 by switching to different networks according to the negotiated appropriate time. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to generate the steal time based on parameters for the communication schedule from at least one of the first network 20 and the second network 30 when the processor 15 switches to communicate with the second network 30 according to the first information. In some embodiments, it is understood that the connection may be where the UE and the network side have an activation context at a non-access-stratum (NAS) layer and/or an Access Stratum (AS) layer. In some embodiments, it is understood that it may also be clear that the connection may be that the UE sends data to the network side when a certain AS or NAS layer timer expires. In other words, it is understood that maintaining the connection may also be that the UE sends data before the timer of the AS or NAS layer expires.

In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to negotiate the appropriate times for the multi-SIM UE 10 to listen for pages from the second network 30 using the second SIM 12 when the multi-SIM UE 10 has a connection (e.g., a dedicated channel) with the first network 20, the negotiation being performed at any time during the connection of the first SIM 11 with the first network 20. The processor 15 is also operable to tune to a paging channel of the second network 30 to check for pages to the second SIM 12 at the appropriate time.

In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to register with the second network 30 using the second SIM 12 and to obtain parameters and information from the second network 30. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to calculate a Paging Occasion (PO) for the second SIM 12 to listen for pages from the second network 30 based on parameters and information from the second network 30. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to generate first information associated with the steal time based on the calculated PO, wherein the first information indicates the steal time to inform the first network 20 when the processor 15 switches to listen for pages from the second network 30. In some embodiments, the time of theft is defined by the time at which processor 15 steals time from multiple dedicated channels of first network 20. In some embodiments, the appropriate time is determined based on the steal time and the processor 15 is to tune to a paging channel of the second network 30 to check for pages to the second SIM 12 at the steal time.

In some embodiments, the transceiver 14 is configured to send the first information to the first network 20 in a signaling message, such as, but not limited to, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. In some embodiments, the first information includes the PO information directly or according to some variation of the PO information. In some embodiments, the first information may also include a paging duration. In some embodiments, the steal time is a paging processing duration including a PO for listening for pages from the second network 30 and a switch time that the processor 15 is ready to listen for pages from the second network 30 and/or that the processor 15 is invoked to listen for pages from the second network 30. In some embodiments, the transceiver 14 is configured to receive a frame pattern (frame pattern) from the first network 20 in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message), the frame pattern being generated from the first information. In some embodiments, the frame mode is used to tell the processor 15 when it is allowed to leave the first network 20. In some embodiments, when the processor 15 leaves the first network 20, the processor 15 switches to the second SIM 12 to listen for pages from the second network 30. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP).

In some embodiments, the format of the frame pattern is an index indicating: which subframe, slot, and/or symbol is the allowed time for the processor 15 to leave the first network 20. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to determine a start time, period, and/or offset indicative of an allowable time for the processor 15 to leave the first network 20. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to generate second information according to the frame pattern, the second information indicating an available time for the processor 15 to leave the first network 20. In some embodiments, the transceiver 14 is configured to send the second information to the second network 30 in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In some embodiments, the transceiver 14 is configured to receive the adjusted parameters from the second network 30 and recalculate the PO that satisfies the availability time of the processor 15 to leave the first network 20. In some embodiments, the adjusted parameters are adjusted according to a frame pattern. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP).

In some embodiments, the multi-SIM UE is a dual-SIM dual-active (dual SIM dual active, DSDA) UE. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to register with the first network 20 and the second network 30 via the first SIM 11 and the second SIM 12, respectively, and to obtain parameters for the communication schedule. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to generate first information associated with a steal time during which the processor 15 is away from the first SIM 11 to the second SIM 12. In some embodiments, the transceiver 14 is configured to send the first information to the first network 20 in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In some embodiments, the transceiver 14 is configured to receive the frame pattern associated with the first information from the first network 11 in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to remain active for both the first network 20 and the second network 30 by switching from the current network to a different network according to the negotiated frame mode. In some embodiments, the processor 15 is configured to send the first information to negotiate a frame pattern that causes the processor 15 to connect to the first network at a particular time and the processor 15 to connect to the second network at a particular time. In some embodiments, the particular time that the processor 15 is connected to the first network 20 is different than the particular time that the processor 15 is connected to the second network 30. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). In some embodiments, the first network 20 may be a RAN or a core network. In some embodiments, a "keep-alive" may be that the UE and NW-side AS and/or NAS contexts are not deleted.

Fig. 4 shows that in some embodiments, at the highest level, the proposed solution is standardization/specification of logical radio channels (or associated channels), given that those radio channels are standardized, let the network and dual-SIM UE know when a dual-SIM UE can steal time to check other PLMNs (e.g. plmn_b) of other SIMs (e.g. SIM 2) or even communicate with other PLMNs (e.g. plmn_b) of other SIMs (e.g. SIM 2) when connecting/communicating with a PLMN (e.g. plmn_a) through one SIM (e.g. SIM 1). The following figures show the highest level description of the solution. Consider that plmn_a has allocated a dedicated channel (i.e., frame or time slot) for SIM 1 to communicate with plmn_a.

Fig. 5 illustrates that in some embodiments, it is contemplated that for an allocated time frame, both the network and dual SIM UE are known to have certain predictable times that the UE can steal to do other things without losing connection and communication with plmn_a.

Fig. 6 shows that in some embodiments, one solution is that a dual-SIM handset can tune to the paging channel of plmn_b with "steal time" (or steal time) in SIM 1-plmn_a to check for pages to SIM 2. And since the time of theft (or theft time) is specific and predictable, plmn_b will know when a dual SIM UE is likely to be listening to the paging channel, while there is a utility on the UE side for paging to SIM 2 to occur and not be lost.

Fig. 7 illustrates that in some embodiments, another solution is to utilize a specific predictable time in SIM 1-plmn_a, plmn_b may allocate dedicated time/frame/time slot/signaling channel/associated channel/logical channel in plmn_b for the UE, whereby the UE may exchange signaling with plmn_b of SIM 2, as illustrated in fig. 7.

In some embodiments, these methods, individually or in combination, provide solutions that allow short time bursts to be pre-determined/pre-allocated within a dedicated channel (dedicated channel, DCH) of one network, wherein in those time bursts a UE can switch radio connections from one network to tune to the radio of another network. In addition, these solutions also provide for the use of standardized logical channels (which may be fast short burst channels) of other networks to send signaling messages to the other networks. In terms, these methods allow a standardized way of stealing time from a dedicated channel allocated to a UE. In terms of terminology, a logical channel (of another network) is a standardized associated channel, since it is used for short fast bursts of signaling payloads, which may even be referred to as a fast associated channel or a fast associated control channel.

Fig. 8 shows that in some embodiments, in order to implement the "steal time" (or steal time) mentioned in the previous embodiments, it is necessary to introduce something new. "first information" the UE is used to indicate the available or proposed time to tell the network when the USIM should be switched to listen for pages from another network. Specifically, the "first information" is generated based on the Paging Occasion (PO) that can be calculated using the above-described method. In fact, the first information may contain paging occasion information directly or some varying information based on paging occasions (e.g. paging processing duration as shown in fig. 8). The paging processing duration (i.e., the steal time) includes not only the paging occasions to listen for network pages, but also the handover time that the UE is ready to listen and/or the device is invoked to listen.

Fig. 9 illustrates a "frame mode" used in some embodiments to tell the UE when to be allowed to leave the current network. And by leaving the current network, the UE can switch the USIM to listen for pages from another network. The "frame pattern" is generated based on the "first information". For example, the time suggested in the "first information" is set to a time at which the UE is allowed to leave the current network. The format of the "frame pattern" may be an index indicating which subframe, slot, symbol is the allowed time. For example, since there are 10 subframes in one radio frame, the network may set an index of 0001000000 as a frame pattern to indicate that the UE is allowed to leave the network in the fourth subframe on the left side, as shown in fig. 9.

Fig. 10 illustrates that in some embodiments, another example is to use a start time, period, and offset to indicate an allowed time. The start time is optional and may be calculated by the UE so that no network transmission is required.

Fig. 11 illustrates that in some embodiments, up>A UE may negotiate an appropriate time to leave from up>A network node (e.g., RAN node up>A, also referred to as NW-up>A) to another network node (e.g., RAN node B, also referred to as NW-B) to listen for up>A page using the two parameters described above. The procedure is as follows. In operation, the UE registers with NW-B through USIM-2 and acquires parameters and information for paging listening. In operation, in step 1, the UE calculates a PO for listening to a page from NW-B based on information and parameters from NW-B. In operation, in step 2, the UE may generate "first information" of "time to steal" (or time to steal) based on the PO calculated in step 1. In operation, in step 3, the UE sends "first information" to NW-up>A in up>A signaling message (e.g., without limitation, RRC message). In operation, in step 4, the RAN node a generates a "frame pattern" based on the first information. In operation, NW-up>A sends up>A "frame pattern" to the UE in up>A signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). The negotiation may be performed at any time during the connection of the UE (i.e., USIM-1) with NW-up>A. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP).

Fig. 12 shows that in some embodiments, there may alternatively be an opposite way of achieving such negotiation. Assuming that the UE remains connected to NW-up>A and acquires up>A frame pattern that allows the UE to leave the network for up>A given period of time, the UE may tell the available time (referred to as "second information") to listen for the NW-B page. The NW-B may change parameters (e.g., DRX, S-TMSI) related to the derivation of the paging occasion based on the second information to make the paging occasion for the UE satisfy the available time. In operation, in step 1, NW-up>A sends up>A frame pattern to the UE in up>A signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message), for example, during RRC connection establishment. In operation, in step 2, the UE may generate "second information" indicating the available time for the UE to leave NW-up>A based on the "frame pattern". In operation, in step 3, the UE sends "second information" to NW-B in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, RRC message). In operation, in step 4, NW-B may adjust the parameters for PO calculation based on the second information and transmit the parameters to the UE. In operation, in step 5, the UE receives the adjusted parameters and recalculates the PO that satisfies the availability time for the UE to leave NW-up>A. This alternative approach may be more difficult to achieve "steal time" (or steal time) than the first solution. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP).

Fig. 13 illustrates that the mechanisms of some embodiments of the present disclosure may also be applied to a Dual SIM Dual Active (DSDA) scenario. In some embodiments, in operation, the UE registers with NW-up>A and NW-B through USIM-1 and USIM-2, respectively, and obtains parameters for communication scheduling, which is optional. NW-up>A and NW-B are, for example, RAN node up>A and RAN node B. In operation, in step 1, the UE may generate first information of a steal time during which the UE may switch to another USIM (e.g., USIM-2). In operation, in step 2, the UE sends first information to NW-up>A in up>A signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In operation, in step 3, the RAN node a generates a frame pattern based on the first information. In operation, in step 4, NW-up>A sends up>A frame pattern to the UE in up>A signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In operation, the UE may stay active for NW-up>A and NW-B by switching from the current network to up>A different Network (NW) according to the negotiated frame pattern. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). In some embodiments, a "keep-alive" may be that the UE and NW-side AS and/or NAS contexts are not deleted.

Fig. 14 and 15 illustrate that in some embodiments, according to the call flow illustrated in fig. 13, the UE may send "first information" to negotiate up>A frame pattern that causes the UE to connect to NW-up>A at up>A particular time and to connect to NW-B at up>A particular time, as illustrated in fig. 14 and 15. The two specific times may be different.

Fig. 16 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 comprises the following steps: at block 202, an appropriate time is negotiated that allows the multi-SIM UE to switch to the second SIM to communicate with the second network.

In some embodiments, the communication with the second network is to listen for pages from the second network, and the multi-SIM UE is to tune to a paging channel of the second network to check for pages to the second SIM at an appropriate time. In some embodiments, the appropriate time is negotiated in order to maintain connectivity to the first network and the second network by switching to different networks according to the negotiated appropriate time. In some embodiments, the multi-SIM UE is configured to generate the steal time based on parameters for a communication schedule from at least one of the first network and the second network when the multi-SIM UE switches to communicate with the second network according to the first information. In some embodiments, it is understood that the connection may be where the UE and the network side have an activation context at a non-access stratum (NAS) layer and/or an Access Stratum (AS) layer. In some embodiments, it is understood that it may also be clear that the connection may be that the UE sends data to the network side when a certain AS or NAS layer timer expires. In other words, it is understood that maintaining the connection may also be that the UE sends data before the timer of the AS or NAS layer expires.

In some embodiments, the method includes negotiating an appropriate time for the multi-SIM UE 10 to listen for pages from the second network using the second SIM when the multi-SIM UE has a connection (e.g., a dedicated channel) to the first network, the negotiating being performed at any time during the connection of the first SIM with the first network, the method including tuning to the paging channel of the second network to check for pages to the second SIM at the appropriate time.

In some embodiments, the method further includes registering with the second network using the second SIM and obtaining parameters and information from the second network. In some embodiments, the method further comprises calculating a Paging Occasion (PO) for the second SIM to listen for pages from the second network based on the parameters and information from the second network. In some embodiments, the method further includes generating first information associated with the steal time based on the calculated PO, wherein the first information indicates the steal time to inform the first network multi-SIM UE when to switch to listening for pages from the second network. In some embodiments, the time of theft is defined by the time at which the multi-SIM UE steals time from multiple dedicated channels of the first network. In some embodiments, the appropriate time is determined based on the steal time, and the method further comprises tuning to a paging channel of the second network to check for pages to the second SIM at the steal time.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending the first information to the first network in a signaling message, such as, but not limited to, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message. In some embodiments, the first information includes the PO information directly or according to some variation of the PO information. In some embodiments, the first information may also include a paging duration. In some embodiments, the paging processing duration (i.e., the steal time) includes a PO for listening for pages from the second network and a switch time for the multi-SIM UE to be ready to listen for pages from the second network and/or for the multi-SIM UE to be invoked to listen for pages from the second network. In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a frame pattern from the first network in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message), the frame pattern being generated from the first information. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP).

In some embodiments, the frame mode is used to tell the multi-SIM UE when it is allowed to leave the first network. In some embodiments, when the multi-SIM UE leaves the first network, the multi-SIM UE switches to the second SIM to listen for pages from the second network. In some embodiments, the format of the frame pattern is an index indicating: which subframe, slot, and/or symbol is the allowed time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network. In some embodiments, the method further comprises determining a start time, period, and/or offset indicating an allowed time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network.

In some embodiments, the method further comprises generating second information from the frame pattern, the second information indicating an available time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network. In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending the second information to the second network in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving the adjusted parameters from the second network and recalculating the PO that satisfies the availability time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network. In some embodiments, the adjusted parameters are adjusted according to a frame pattern. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP).

In some embodiments, the multi-SIM UE is a dual-SIM dual-active (DSDA) UE. In some embodiments, the method further includes registering with the first network and the second network via the first SIM and the second SIM, respectively, and obtaining parameters for the communication schedule. In some embodiments, the method further includes generating first information associated with a steal time during which the multi-SIM UE is away from the first SIM to the second SIM. In some embodiments, the method further comprises sending the first information to the first network in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a frame pattern associated with the first information from the first network in a signaling message (e.g., without limitation, an RRC message). In some embodiments, the method further comprises simultaneously maintaining connectivity to the first network and the second network by switching from the current network to a different network according to the negotiated frame mode. In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting the first information to negotiate a frame pattern that causes the multi-SIM UE to connect to the first network at a particular time and the multi-SIM UE to connect to the second network at a particular time. In some embodiments, the specific time for the multi-SIM UE to connect to the first network is different from the specific time for the multi-SIM UE to connect to the second network. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is a non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling message. In some embodiments, the signaling message is data in a signaled message. In particular, the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane. In particular, the data is provided using a data provision method of the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). In some embodiments, the first network may be a RAN or a core network.

Hereinafter, anything attributed to a multi-SIM handset/mobile device/UE applies equally to a dual-SIM handset/mobile device/UE and vice versa. In summary, some embodiments of the present invention include the following technical features and technical solutions.

A method of: the current serving network allows multi-SIM UEs to have predictable presence and time to check for pages in other non-serving networks. A method of: multi-SIM handsets are known to have or allocate or allow other (non-serving) networks that have predictable presence and time to move away from the serving network, and can provide paging to provide terminating services for other SIMs or SIMs in the multi-SIM handset that match the time of movement away. One solution is: different ways are provided for the UE to signal the second NW or other NW providing the terminating service. This is to indicate rejection or acceptance of the provided terminating service. A method of: the non-serving network allocates logical channels, signaling channels, associated channels for the multi-SIM handset to signal to or exchange signaling with the non-serving PLMN associated with the inactive SIM. A method of: different manners are provided for the UE to signal to the second NW or other NW that is providing a terminating service to the UE the reaction/response of the UE (or user) to the provided service (e.g., user refuses to terminate service).

In some or all or a combination of the above methods, some embodiments of the present disclosure allow for a standardized way in which a multi-SIM mobile device can predictably extract time from its current communication/connection with a current serving PLMN. The methods described above further allow, in part or in whole, predictable behavior of multi-SIM handsets for other non-serving PLMNs of other SIMs held by the multi-SIM mobile device. In addition, these methods provide a non-serving PLMN to allocate logical channels/signaling channels/associated channels for interaction with the non-serving PLMN to support other passive or inactive SIMs. This approach allows the paged SIM to inform the PLMN providing the terminating service of the response of the paged SIM to the provided terminating service. In case the paged SIM refuses to provide the terminating service, knowing this will allow saving radio resources and internal network resources of the network providing the terminating service. This will further allow the network providing the terminating service to inform the calling party, i.e. the calling party, the calling application, the originating party. This awareness of the initiator will further save resources by not repeating the call.

In some embodiments, the term "steal time" is equivalent to the term "steal time" and may be "paging processing duration" as used herein.

Fig. 17 is a block diagram of an example system 700 for wireless communication according to an embodiment of the disclosure. The embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using any suitably configured hardware and/or software. Fig. 17 shows a system 700, the system 700 comprising 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 each other 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 running 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 radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks through the RF circuitry. Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation, encoding, decoding, radio frequency shifting, and the like. In some embodiments, baseband circuitry may provide communications compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (evolved universal terrestrial radio access network, EUTRAN) and/or other wireless metropolitan area networks (wireless metropolitan area network, WMAN), wireless local area networks (wireless local area network, WLAN), wireless personal area networks (wireless personal area network, WPAN). An embodiment of baseband circuitry for supporting radio communications for multiple wireless protocols may be referred to as a multimode baseband circuitry.

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

The 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 for operating on signals that are not strictly considered to be at radio frequencies. For example, in some embodiments, the RF circuitry may include circuitry for operating on signals having an intermediate frequency between a baseband frequency and a radio frequency.

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, be part of, or include 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, electronic device circuitry may be implemented in or with one or more software or firmware modules.

In some embodiments, some or all of the 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 a system. The memory/storage of an embodiment may include any combination of suitable volatile memory (e.g., dynamic random access memory (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 for allowing a user to interact with the system and/or a peripheral component interface for allowing a peripheral component 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 (universal serial bus, USB) ports, audio jacks, and power interfaces.

In various embodiments, the sensor 770 may include one or more sensing devices for determining 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 (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 can effectively and efficiently operate with multi-SIM capabilities. Embodiments of the present disclosure are a combination of techniques/procedures that may be employed in 3GPP specifications to create end products.

Those of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the various units, algorithms, steps described and disclosed in the embodiments of the invention are implemented using electronic hardware or combinations of computer software and electronic hardware. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the solution. Those of ordinary skill in the art may implement the functionality in varying ways for each particular application 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 systems, devices, and units described above are substantially the same, reference may be made to the operation of the systems, devices, and units described in the above embodiments. For ease of description and simplicity, these operations will not be described in detail.

It will be appreciated that the systems, apparatuses, methods disclosed in the embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in other manners. 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. Certain features may be omitted or skipped. In another aspect, the mutual coupling, direct coupling, or communicative coupling shown or discussed operates via some port, device, or unit, either indirectly or communicatively via electrical, mechanical, or other means.

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 limited to the disclosed embodiment, but is intended to cover various arrangements made without departing from the scope of the appended claims in its broadest interpretation.

The units are physically separate or not separated as separate parts for illustration. The display unit may or may not be a physical unit, i.e. located at one location or distributed over a plurality of network elements. Some or all of the units are used according to the purpose of the embodiment. Furthermore, the functional units of the various embodiments may be integrated in one processing unit (physically separate) or may be integrated in one processing unit having two or more units. If the software functional unit is implemented, used, sold as a product, it can be stored in a readable storage medium in a computer. Based on this understanding, the technical solutions proposed by the present disclosure may be implemented substantially or partly in the form of a software product. Alternatively, some of the technical solutions that are advantageous in the prior art may be implemented in the form of software products. The software product in the computer is stored in a storage medium that includes a plurality of commands for a computing device (e.g., a personal computer, server, or network device) to execute all or part of the steps disclosed by 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 medium capable of storing program code.

Claims

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 for communicating 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:

negotiating an appropriate time to allow the multi-SIM UE to switch to the second SIM to communicate with the second network;

wherein the processor is configured to register with the second network using the second SIM and obtain parameters and information from the second network, and to calculate a Paging Occasion (PO) for the second SIM to listen for pages from the second network based on the parameters and information from the second network; the processor is configured to generate first information associated with a steal time based on the calculated PO and inform the first network when the processor switches to listen for the page from the second network according to the first information, or to generate a steal time based on the parameter for a communication schedule from at least one of the first network and the second network when the processor switches to communicate with the second network according to the first information.

2. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein communication with the second network is to listen for pages from the second network, and the processor is to tune to a paging channel of the second network to check for the page to the second SIM at the appropriate time.

3. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1 or 2, wherein the appropriate time is negotiated in order to maintain connection to the first network and the second network by switching to different networks according to the negotiated appropriate time.

4. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1 or 2, wherein the negotiating is performed at any time during the connection of the first SIM with the first network.

5. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the steal time is defined by a time at which the processor steals time from a dedicated channel of the first network.

6. The multi-SIM UE of claim 5, wherein the appropriate time is determined from the steal time, and the processor is to tune to a paging channel of the second network to check the page to the second SIM at the steal time.

7. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the transceiver is to send the first information to the first network in a signaling message.

8. The multi-SIM UE of any one of claims 1, 5 to 7, wherein the first information directly includes PO information or some variation information according to the PO information.

9. The multi-SIM UE of any of claims 1, 5-7, wherein the steal time comprises the PO to listen for the page from the second network and a switch time that the processor is ready to listen for the page from the second network and/or that the processor is invoked to listen for the page from the second network.

10. The multi-SIM UE of claim 5, wherein the transceiver is to receive a frame pattern from the first network in a signaling message, the frame pattern generated from the first information.

11. The multi-SIM UE of claim 10, wherein the frame pattern is to inform the processor when it is allowed to leave the first network.

12. The multi-SIM UE of claim 11, wherein when the processor leaves the first network, the processor switches to the second SIM to listen for the page from the second network.

13. The multi-SIM UE of any of claims 10-12, wherein the format of the frame pattern is an index indicating: which subframe, slot, and/or symbol is the allowed time for the processor to leave the first network.

14. The multi-SIM UE of any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the processor is to determine a start time, period, and/or offset indicative of an allowed time for the processor to leave the first network.

15. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to generate second information from a frame pattern, the second information indicating an available time for the processor to leave the first network.

16. The multi-SIM UE of claim 15, wherein the transceiver is configured to send the second information to the second network in a signaling message.

17. The multi-SIM UE of claim 16, wherein the transceiver is to receive the adjusted parameters from the second network and recalculate the PO that satisfies the availability time of the processor to leave the first network.

18. The multi-SIM UE of claim 17, wherein the adjusted parameters are adjusted according to the frame pattern.

19. The multi-SIM UE of claim 1, wherein the multi-SIM UE is a dual-SIM dual-active (DSDA) UE.

20. The multi-SIM UE of claim 19, wherein the processor is configured to register with the first network and the second network via the first SIM and the second SIM, respectively, and to obtain parameters for communication scheduling.

21. The multi-SIM UE of claim 19, wherein the processor is to generate first information associated with a steal time during which the processor is to leave from the first SIM to the second SIM.

22. The multi-SIM UE of claim 21, wherein the transceiver is configured to receive a frame pattern associated with the first information from the first network in a signaling message.

23. The multi-SIM UE of claim 22, wherein the processor is configured to remain active for the first network and the second network by switching from a current network to a different network according to a negotiated frame pattern.

24. The multi-SIM UE of claim 22 or 23, wherein the processor is configured to send the first information to negotiate the frame pattern, the frame pattern causing the processor to connect to the first network at a particular time and the processor to connect to the second network at a particular time.

25. The multi-SIM UE of claim 24, wherein the particular time at which the processor connects to the first network is different from the particular time at which the processor connects to the second network.

26. The multi-SIM UE of claim 7, 10, 16, or 22, wherein the signaling message is one of: radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling messages, non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling messages, and signaling messages.

27. The multi-SIM UE of claim 26, wherein the data is data provided over a control plane or a data plane, and the data is provided using a third generation partnership project (3 GPP) data provision method.

28. A method for operating a multi-user identity module (SIM) User Equipment (UE), the multi-SIM UE including a first SIM associated with a first network and a second SIM associated with a second network, the multi-SIM UE for communicating with the first network using the first SIM and with the second network using the second SIM, the method comprising:

negotiating an appropriate time to allow the multi-SIM UE to switch to the second SIM for communication with the second network;

wherein the method further comprises:

registering with the second network using the second SIM and obtaining parameters and information from the second network;

calculating a Paging Occasion (PO) for the second SIM to listen for pages from the second network based on the parameters and information from the second network;

Generating first information associated with a steal time based on the calculated PO and informing the first network when the multi-SIM UE switches to listen for the page from the second network according to the first information, or generating a steal time based on the parameters for communication scheduling from at least one of the first network and the second network when the multi-SIM UE switches to communicate with the second network according to the first information.

29. The method of claim 28, wherein communicating with the second network is to listen for pages from the second network, and further comprising tuning to a paging channel of the second network to check for the page to the second SIM at the appropriate time.

30. The method of claim 28 or 29, wherein negotiating the appropriate time is to maintain connectivity to the first network and the second network by switching to different networks according to the negotiated appropriate time.

31. The method of claim 28 or 29, wherein the negotiating is performed at any time during the connection of the first SIM with the first network.

32. The method of claim 28, wherein the steal time is defined by a time at which the multi-SIM UE steals time from a dedicated channel of the first network.

33. The method of claim 32, wherein the appropriate time is determined from the steal time, and further comprising tuning to a paging channel of the second network to check for the page to the second SIM at the steal time.

34. The method of claim 28, further comprising sending the first information to the first network in a signaling message.

35. The method of any of claims 28, 32 to 34, wherein the first information comprises directly PO information or some variation information according to the PO information.

36. The method of any of claims 28, 32-34, wherein the steal time includes a switch time for the PO to listen for the page from the second network and the multi-SIM UE is ready to listen for the page from the second network and/or the multi-SIM UE is invoked to listen for the page from the second network.

37. The method of claim 32, further comprising receiving a frame pattern from the first network in a signaling message, the frame pattern generated from the first information.

38. The method of claim 37, wherein the frame mode is used to tell the multi-SIM UE when to be allowed to leave the first network.

39. The method of claim 38, wherein the multi-SIM UE switches to the second SIM to listen for the page from the second network when the multi-SIM UE leaves the first network.

40. The method of any of claims 37 to 39, wherein the format of the frame pattern is an index indicating: which subframe, slot, and/or symbol is the allowed time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network.

41. The method of any of claims 37 to 39, further comprising determining a start time, period, and/or offset indicative of an allowed time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network.

42. The method of claim 28, further comprising generating second information from a frame pattern, the second information indicating an available time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising sending the second information to the second network in a signaling message.

44. The method of claim 43, further comprising receiving the adjusted parameters from the second network and recalculating the PO that satisfies the availability time for the multi-SIM UE to leave the first network.

45. A method as defined in claim 44, wherein the adjusted parameters are adjusted according to the frame pattern.

46. The method of claim 28, wherein the multi-SIM UE is a dual-SIM dual-active (DSDA) UE.

47. The method of claim 46, further comprising registering with the first network and the second network via the first SIM and the second SIM, respectively, and obtaining parameters for communication scheduling.

48. The method of claim 46, further comprising generating first information associated with a steal time during which the multi-SIM UE is away from the first SIM to the second SIM.

49. The method of claim 48, further comprising receiving a frame pattern associated with the first information from the first network in a signaling message.

50. The method of claim 44, further comprising maintaining activation of the first network and the second network by switching from a current network to a different network according to a negotiated frame mode.

51. The method of claim 49 or 50, further comprising transmitting the first information to negotiate the frame pattern, the frame pattern causing the multi-SIM UE to connect to the first network at a particular time and the multi-SIM UE to connect to the second network at a particular time.

52. The method of claim 51, wherein the particular time at which the multi-SIM UE connects to the first network is different from the particular time at which the multi-SIM UE connects to the second network.

53. The method of claim 34, 37, 43, or 49, wherein the signaling message is one of: radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling messages, non-access stratum (NAS) level signaling messages, and signaling messages.

54. The method of claim 53, wherein the data is data provided through a control plane or a data plane and the data is provided using a third generation partnership project (3 GPP) data provision method.

55. A non-transitory machine-readable storage medium having instructions stored thereon, which when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of claims 28 to 54.

56. A terminal device, comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program, the processor for executing the computer program stored in the memory to perform the method according to any one of claims 28 to 54.