WO2016033731A1

WO2016033731A1 - Method and apparatus of ue throughput improvement for lte+gsm phone in tdd-lte network with no dtx detection support

Info

Publication number: WO2016033731A1
Application number: PCT/CN2014/085728
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jiming Guo; Amir Aminzadeh Gohari; Chintan Shirish SHAH; Congchong Ru; Aziz Gholmieh
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2014-09-02
Filing date: 2014-09-02
Publication date: 2016-03-10
Also published as: EP3189682A4; EP3189682A1; CN106664541A; JP2017527211A; CN106664541B

Abstract

A method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device includes: receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT); determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT; and inhibiting uplinking of first RAT data to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS OF UE THROUGHPUT IMPROVEMENT FOR LTE+GSM PHONE IN TDD-LTE NETWORK WITH NO DTX DETECTION SUPPORT

BACKGROUND

Dual-Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) Dual Standby (DSDS) mobile communication devices may include two SIM cards—one card for a first subscription and a second card for a second subscription, and are capable of receiving services from two different networks. Each SIM card may correspond to a subscription with a different service provider. Further, each subscription may be associated with one or more radio access technology types (RATs) . For example, a first subscription may support Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) for voice calls, while the second subscription may support long term evolution (LTE) for data calls.

A DSDS mobile communication device (also referred to herein as a mobile communication device) typically contains one radio frequency (RF) chain, e. g. , antenna, transceiver, etc. , that is shared between the two subscriptions, e. g. , LTE and GSM. If the mobile communication device is on an active call using the LTE subscription, in order for the GSM subscription to maintain contact with the GSM network, tune away to the GSM network must be performed.

With an LTE network, a new uplink (UL) grant to the mobile communication device is required for each uplink data transmission to the network. During a GSM tune away period, neighboring GSM cell signal measurements may be combined with page reception to reduce the duration of the tune away gap. However, even with short GSM tune away period, for example, between ten and twenty milliseconds, in a time division duplex LTE packet switched (TDD- LTE PS) connected state, the LTE data interruption time from the last network new UL grant to the mobile communication device before tune away to the first network new UL grant to the mobile communication device after tune away may be larger, for example, between forty and fifty milliseconds, than the GSM tune away period.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating LTE data interruption time for a conventional mobile communication device. Referring to FIG. 1, a UL request or UL data is sent from the mobile communication device to the network just before tune away i. e. , during a pre-tune away phase. During tune away to GSM, a new UL grant for LTE UL data sent by the network may not be received by mobile communication device, i. e. , the new UL grant may be blocked during the GSM tune away period. If the new UL grant is not received the mobile communication device will not uplink data to the network. As a result, the network cannot decode expected UL data from mobile communication device.

The network has no mechanism for discovering that the new UL grant was not received by the mobile communication device and will repeatedly send re-transmit (Re-TX) UL grants to the mobile communication device. However, the mobile communication device cannot respond to the Re-TX UL grants received after GSM tune away because the Re-TX UL grants do not contain the UL resource information necessary for the mobile communication device to uplink data to the network； the UL resource information is only contained in new UL grants and the new UL grant was blocked during the GSM tune away period. Therefore, even after the GSM tune away period ends, the mobile communication device cannot uplink data until another new UL grant is received after the network sends a maximum number of Re-TX UL grants.

SUMMARY

Apparatuses and methods for inhibiting network downlink of a new UL grant to a mobile communication device during tune away are provided.

According to various embodiments there is provided a method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device. The method may include: receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ； determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT； and inhibiting uplinking of first RAT data to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.

According to various embodiments there is provided a method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device. The method may include: receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ； determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT； backing-off transmission power of the mobile communication device； and uplinking first RAT data to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase at the backed-off transmission power in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.

According to various embodiments there is provided a method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device. The method may include: receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ； determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT； and uplinking a buffer status report (BSR) to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.

According to various embodiments there is provided a method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device. The method may include: receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ； determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT； and controlling uplink communication to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.

Other features and advantages of the present inventive concept should be apparent from the following description which illustrates by way of example aspects of the present inventive concept.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Aspects and features of the present inventive concept will be more apparent by describing example embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating LTE data interruption time for a conventional mobile communication device；

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile communication device according to various embodiments； Qualcomm Ref. No. 143804WO1

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating data transmission blanking according to various embodiments；

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method for blanking data transmission according to various embodiments；

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating data transmission with power back-off according to various embodiments；

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method for data transmission with power back-off according to various embodiments；

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating data transmission control using a buffer status report according to various embodiments； and

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method for data transmission control using a buffer status report according to various embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

While certain embodiments are described, these embodiments are presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of protection. The apparatuses, methods, and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, various omissions, substitutions, and changes in the form of the example methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the scope of protection.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a mobile communication device 200 according to various embodiments. Referring to FIG. 2, the mobile communication device 200 may include a control unit 210, a first modem 220, a second modem 230, a transceiver 240, an antenna 250, a first SIM 260, a second SIM 270, and a storage 280.

The mobile communication device 200 may be a DSDS mobile communication device and may be, for example but not limited to, a mobile telephone, smartphone, tablet, computer, etc. , capable of communications with one or more wireless networks. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the mobile communication device 200 may include one or more transceivers (communications units) and may interface with one or more antennas without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept.

The first SIM 260 may associate the mobile communication device 200 with a first subscription (Sub1) 192 on a first communication network 190 and the second SIM 270 may associate the mobile communication device 200 with a second subscription (Sub2) 197 on a second communication network 195.

The first communication network 190 and the second communication network 195 may be operated by the same or different service providers, and/or may support the same or different radio access technologies (RATs) , for example, but not limited to, LTE and GSM.

The first modem 220 may be configured to provide communications signals to the transceiver 240 and receive communications signals from the transceiver 240 according to a first RAT on Sub1 192. The second modem 230 may be configured to provide communications signals to the transceiver 240 and receive communications signals from the transceiver 240 according to a second RAT on Sub1 197.

The transceiver 240 may be configured to accept the communication signals from the first modem 220 and transmit the communication signals on the antenna 250 to the first communication network 190 according to the first RAT on Sub1 192, and receive communication signals on the antenna 250 from the first communication network 190 according to the first RAT on Sub1 192 and provide the received signals to the first modem 220.

The transceiver 240 may also be configured to accept the communication signals from the second modem 230 and transmit the communication signals on the antenna 250 to the second communication network 195 according to the second RAT on Sub2 197, and receive communication signals on the antenna 250 from the second communication network 195 according to the second RAT on Sub2 197 and provide the received signals to the second modem 230.

For convenience, throughout this disclosure Sub1 192 is associated with the LTE RAT, the first modem 220 (also referred to herein as the LTE modem) , and the first communication network 190 (also referred to herein as the LTE network) , and Sub2 197 is associated with the GSM RAT, the second modem 230 (also referred to herein as the GSM modem) , and the second communication network 195 (also referred to herein as the GSM network) . One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that either subscription may be associated with either SIM and/or communication network and/or modem without departing from the scope of the present inventive concept. One of ordinary skill in the art will also appreciate the present inventive concept may be applied for other RATs.

The control unit 210 may be configured to control overall operation of the mobile communication device 200 including control of the first and

second modems

220, 230, the transceiver 240, and the storage 280. The control unit 210 may be a programmable device, for example, but not limited to, a microprocessor or microcontroller.

The storage 280 may be configured to store application programs necessary for operation of the mobile communication device 200 that are executed by the control unit 210, as well as application data and user data.

In a GSM network (e. g. , the second communication network 195) , the timing of page bursts to be sent by the network is known by the mobile communication device 200. Accordingly, the mobile communication device 200 may schedule the RF chain (e. g. , the transceiver 240 and the antenna 250) based on the GSM discontinuous receive (DRX) cycle. Since the GSM DRX schedule is known, the GSM modem (e. g. , the second modem 230) may provide a signal to the control unit 210 to reserve the RF chain for GSM tune away. The control unit 210 may notify the LTE modem (e. g. , the first modem 220 between three and five milliseconds (3-5 ms) in advance (i. e. , during a pre-tune away phase) of the tune away to GSM.

Various embodiments provide methods for preventing a first network from sending a new UL grant to a mobile communication device during tune away to a second network.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating data transmission blanking according to various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in various embodiments, when a new UL grant 305 from the first communication network 190 is received by the mobile communication device 200 during the pre-tune away phase 310, the mobile communication device 200 may inhibit (i. e. , blank) UL data transmission 315 until a Re-TX UL grant 320 is received from the first communication network 190 after the second RAT tune away period 325. Some Re-TX UL grants 321, 322 may be blocked during the second RAT tune away period 325.

Since the new UL grant 305 received by the mobile communication device 200 contains UL resource information for the mobile communication device 200 to uplink data, the data may be uplinked 330 to the first communication network 190 upon receipt of the Re-TX UL grant 320 after the second RAT tune away period 325. The number of Re-TX UL grants 326, 327 that may be sent by the first communication network 190 may be increased to ensure sufficient data re-transmissions are available to allow the first communication network 190 to properly decode the uplinked data.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart of a method 400 for blanking data transmission according to various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2-4, the mobile communication device 200 may receive a new UL grant 305 from a first communication network 190 for a first RAT (410) . If the new UL grant 305 is not received during a pre-tune away phase 310 for tune away to a second communication network 195 for a second RAT (420-N) , the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to uplink first RAT data to the first communication network 190 (470) . In various embodiments, the pre-tune away phase 310 may be a period of 3-5 ms immediately preceding the tune away period 325 and may be determined by the control unit 210 based on a signal received from the second modem 230 to reserve the RF chain for tune away to the second communication network 195 for the second RAT. In other embodiments, the pre-tune away phase 310 may last other suitable periods of time.

If the new UL grant 305 is received during the pre-tune away phase 310 (420-Y) , the control unit 210 may cause the first modem 220 and/or transceiver 240 to inhibit (blank) uplinking 315 of the first RAT data to the first communication network 190 during the pre-tune away phase 310 in response to the new UL grant 305 (430) .

The control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to tune away to the second communication network 195 for the second RAT (440) . After the tune away period 325 ends, the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to tune back to the first communication network 190 and may cause the first modem 220 to reacquire use of the RF chain to receive communication signals on the first RAT (450) .

In response to receipt of a Re-TX UL grant 320 from the first communication network 190 after the tune away period 325 ends (460) , the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to uplink the first RAT data 330 to the first communication network 190 (470) since the UL resource information necessary to uplink data was received by the mobile communication device 200 in the new UL grant 305 received the pre-tune away phase 310.

Since one or more Re-TX UL grants 321, 322 from the first communication network 190 may be blocked during the tune away period 325, the number of Re-TX UL grants 326, 327 permitted to be sent by the first communication network 190 may be increased to ensure sufficient data re-transmissions to allow the first communication network 190 to properly decode the uplinked first RAT data.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating data transmission with power back-off according to various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2 and 5, in various embodiments, when a new UL grant 505 from the first communication network 190 is received by the mobile communication device 200 during the pre-tune away phase 310, the mobile communication device 200 may UL data during the pre-tune away phase 310 with a power back-off 530 to prevent proper decoding of the data by the first communication network 190.

Upon receipt of a Re-TX UL grant 520 from the first communication network 190 after the second RAT tune away period 325, the mobile communication device 200 may uplink the data 535 without a power back-off. Some Re-TX UL grants 521, 522 may be blocked during the second RAT tune away period 325. The number of Re-TX UL grants 526, 527 that may be sent by the first communication network 190 may be increased to ensure sufficient data re-transmissions are available to allow the first communication network 190 to properly decode the uplinked data.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a method 600 for data transmission with power back-off according to various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2, 5, and 6, the mobile communication device 200 may receive a new UL grant 505 from a first communication network 190 for a first RAT (610) . If the new UL grant 505 is not received during a pre-tune away phase 310 for tune away to a second communication network 195 for a second RAT (620-N) , the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to uplink first RAT data to the first communication network 190 (680) . In various embodiments, the pre-tune away phase 310 may be a 3- 5ms period immediately preceding the tune away period 325 and may be determined by the control unit 210 based on a signal received from the second modem 230 to reserve the RF chain for tune away to the second communication network 195 for the second RAT. In other embodiments, the pre-tune away phase 310 may last other suitable periods of time.

If the new UL grant 505 is received during the pre-tune away phase 310 (620-Y) , the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to back off transmission power (625) and uplink first RAT data to the first communication network 190 at the backed-off power during the pre-tune away phase 310 before the tune away period 325 in response to the new UL grant 505 (630) . Transmission of uplinked data at backed-off power may prevent the first communication network 190 from successfully decoding the uplinked data resulting in Re-TX UL grants, but not a new UL grant, being sent to the mobile communication device 200 by the first communication network 190.

The control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to tune away to the second communication network 195 for the second RAT (640) . After the tune away period 325 ends, the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to tune back to the first communication network 190 and may cause the first modem 220 to reacquire use of the RF chain to receive communication signals on the first RAT (650) .

In response to receipt of a Re-TX grant 520 from the first communication network 190 after the tune away period 325 ends (660) , the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to reset the transmission power level to a power level appropriate for successful uplink and decoding of the first RAT data (670) , and may cause the transceiver 240 to uplink the first RAT data 330 to the first communication network 190 (680) .

Since one or more Re-TX UL grants 521, 522 from the first communication network 190 may be blocked during the tune away period 325, the number of Re-TX UL grants 526, 527 permitted to be sent by the first communication network 190 may be increased to ensure sufficient data re-transmissions to allow the first communication network 190 to properly decode the uplinked first RAT data.

FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating data transmission control using a buffer status report according to various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 5 and 7, in various embodiments, when a new UL grant 705 from the first communication network 190 is received by the mobile communication device 200 during the pre-tune away phase 310, the mobile communication device 200 may transmit a buffer status report (BSR) 710 to the first communication network 190 during the pre-tune away phase 310 indicating that the mobile communication device 200 has no data to uplink even when the mobile communication device 200 has data to be uplinked to the first communication network 190. The mobile communication device 200 may then send a service request (SR) 715 after the second RAT tune away period 325 and receive a new UL grant 720 from the first communication network 190 and uplink the data 725.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a method 800 for controlling data transmission using a buffer status report according to various embodiments. Referring to FIGS. 2, 7, and 8, the mobile communication device 200 may receive a new UL grant 705 from a first communication network 190 for a first RAT (810) . If the new UL grant 705 is not received during a pre-tune away phase 310 to a second communication network 195 for a second RAT (820-N) , the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to uplink first RAT data to the first communication network 190 (880) . In various embodiments, the pre-tune away phase 310 may be a 3-5 ms period immediately preceding the tune away period 325 and may be determined by the control unit 210 based on a signal received from the second modem 230 to reserve the RF chain for tune away to the second communication network 195 for the second RAT. In other embodiments, the pre-tune away phase 310 may last other suitable periods of time.

If the new UL grant 705 is received during the pre-tune away phase 310 (820-Y) , the control unit 210 may cause a buffer status report (BSR) 710 to be uplinked to the first communication network 190 during the pre-tune away phase 310 indicating that the mobile communication device 200 has no first RAT data to uplink even when the mobile communication device 200 has first RAT data to be uplinked to the first communication network 190 (830) . In various embodiments, in response to receipt of the BSR, the first communication network 190 will not send a new UL grant until a next BSR or service request (SR) is received from the mobile communication device 200.

The control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to tune away to the second communication network 195 for the second RAT (840) . After the tune away period 325 ends, the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to tune back to the first communication network 190 and may cause the first modem 220 to reacquire use of the RF chain to receive communication signals on the first RAT (850) .

The control unit 210 may cause an SR 715 to be uplinked to the first communication network 190 after the tune away period 325 ends (860) and may receive a new UL grant 720 from the first communication network 190 for the first RAT (870) . In response to the new UL grant 720 from the first communication network 190, the control unit 210 may cause the transceiver 240 to uplink the first RAT data 725 to the first communication network 190 (880) .

The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the protection. For example, the example apparatuses, methods, and systems disclosed herein can be applied to multi-SIM wireless devices subscribing to multiple communication networks and/or communication technologies. The various components illustrated in the figures may be implemented as, for example, but not limited to, software and/or firmware on a processor, ASIC/FPGA/DSP, or dedicated hardware. Also, the features and attributes of the specific example embodiments disclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additional embodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the present disclosure.

The foregoing method descriptions and the process flow diagrams are provided merely as illustrative examples and are not intended to require or imply that the steps of the various embodiments must be performed in the order presented. As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art the order of steps in the foregoing embodiments may be performed in any order. Words such as “thereafter, ” “then, ” “next, ” etc. are not intended to limit the order of the steps； these words are simply used to guide the reader through the description of the methods. Further, any reference to claim elements in the singular, for example, using the articles “a, ” “an, ” or “the” is not to be construed as limiting the element to the singular.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present invention.

The hardware used to implement the various illustrative logics, logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented or performed with a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but, in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of receiver devices, e. g. , acombination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration. Alternatively, some steps or methods may be performed by circuitry that is specific to a given function.

In one or more exemplary aspects, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or code on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or non-transitory processor-readable storage medium. The steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein may be embodied in processor-executable instructions that may reside on a non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage medium. Non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage media may be any storage media that may be accessed by a computer or a processor. By way of example but not limitation, such non-transitory computer-readable or processor-readable storage media may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, FLASH memory, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a computer. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD) , laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , floppy disk, and Blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above are also included within the scope of non-transitory computer-readable and processor-readable media. Additionally, the operations of a method or algorithm may reside as one or any combination or set of codes and/or instructions on a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium and/or computer-readable storage medium, which may be incorporated into a computer program product.

Although the present disclosure provides certain example embodiments and applications, other embodiments that are apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, including embodiments which do not provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein, are also within the scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is intended to be defined only by reference to the appended claims.

Claims

A method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device, the method comprising:

receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ；

determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT； and

inhibiting uplinking of first RAT data to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.
The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-tune away phase is a 3-5 ms period immediately preceding a tune away period to the second communication network for the second RAT.
The method of claim 1, wherein the pre-tune away phase is determined based on a signal to reserve an RF chain for tune away to the second communication network for the second RAT.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a re-transmission (Re-TX) UL grant from the first communication network after a tune away period to the second communication network ends； and

uplinking the first RAT data to the first communication network in response to the Re-TX UL grant.
The method of claim 1, wherein the first RAT is different than the second RAT.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

tuning away to the second communication network for the second RAT； and

after a tune away period ends, tuning back to the first communication network reacquiring use of the RF chain to receive communication signals on the first RAT.
A method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device, the method comprising:

receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ；

determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT；

backing-off transmission power of the mobile communication device； and

uplinking first RAT data to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase at the backed-off transmission power in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.
The method of claim 7, wherein the pre-tune away phase is a 3-5 ms period immediately preceding a tune away period to the second communication network for the second RAT.
The method of claim 7, wherein the pre-tune away phase is determined based on a signal to reserve an RF chain for tune away to the second communication network for the second RAT.
The method of claim 7, further comprising:

receiving a re-transmission (Re-TX) UL grant from the first communication network after a tune away period to the second communication network ends； and

uplinking the first RAT data to the first communication network in response to the Re-TX UL grant.
The method of claim 10, further comprising:

before uplinking the first RAT data, resetting the transmission power of the mobile communication device to a power level appropriate for successful uplink and decoding of the first RAT data.
The method of claim 7, further comprising:

tuning away to the second communication network for the second RAT； and

after a tune away period ends, tuning back to the first communication network reacquiring use of the RF chain to receive communication signals on the first RAT.
The method of claim 7, wherein the first RAT is different than the second RAT.
A method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device, the method comprising:

receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ；

determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT； and

uplinking a buffer status report (BSR) to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.
The method of claim 14, wherein the BSR indicates that no first RAT data is available to uplink to the first communication network.
The method of claim 14, wherein the pre-tune away phase is a 3-5 ms period immediately preceding a tune away period to the second communication network for the second RAT.
The method of claim 14, wherein the pre-tune away phase is determined based on a signal to reserve an RF chain for tune away to the second communication network for the second RAT.
The method of claim 14, further comprising:

uplinking a service request (SR) to the first communication network after a tune away period to the second communication network ends；

receiving a new UL grant from the first communication network in response to the SR； and

uplinking first RAT data to the first communication network in response to the new UL grant.
The method of claim 14, wherein the first RAT is different than the second RAT.
The method of claim 14, further comprising:

tuning away to the second communication network for the second RAT； and

after a tune away period ends, tuning back to the first communication network reacquiring use of the RF chain to receive communication signals on the first RAT.
A method of managing a new uplink (UL) grant to a mobile communication device, the method comprising:

receiving a new UL grant from a first communication network for a first radio access technology (RAT) ；

determining whether the new UL grant was received during a pre-tune away phase to a second communication network for a second RAT； and

controlling uplink communication to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant was received during the pre-tune away phase.
The method of claim 21, wherein the controlling comprises inhibiting uplinking of first RAT data to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant if the new UL grant is received during the pre-tune away phase.
The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving a re-transmission (Re-TX) UL grant from the first communication network after a tune away period to the second communication network ends； and

uplinking the first RAT data to the first communication network in response to the Re-TX UL grant.
The method of claim 21, wherein the controlling comprises

backing-off transmission power of the mobile communication device if the new UL grant is received during the pre-tune away phase； and

uplinking first RAT data to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase at the backed-off transmission power in response to the new UL grant.
The method of claim 24, further comprising:

receiving a re-transmission (Re-TX) UL grant from the first communication network after a tune away period to the second communication network ends； and

uplinking the first RAT data to the first communication network in response to the Re-TX UL grant.
The method of claim 21, wherein the controlling comprises uplinking a buffer status report (BSR) to the first communication network during the pre-tune away phase in response to the new UL grant received during the pre-tune away phase.
The method of claim 26, further comprising:

uplinking a service request (SR) to the first communication network after a tune away period to the second communication network ends；

receiving a new UL grant from the first communication network in response to the SR； and

uplinking first RAT data to the first communication network in response to the new UL grant.
The method of claim 21, wherein the first RAT is different than the second RAT.