Method and apparatus for autonomous uplink timing advance maintenance

A mobile device comprising:

• a processor;
• a downlink timing monitor configured for determining a relative downlink timing change;
• and
• a timing advance adjustor configured for:
• calculating an adjustment of a timing advance toward a target timing advance in accordance with an adjustment parameter, the adjustment parameter comprising at least one of an adjustment step size and an adjustment time interval,
• the target timing advance being a function of the relative downlink timing change,
• the timing advance indicating uplink transmission timing relative to downlink reception timing;
• and
• upon receipt of a timing advance command, adjusting the adjustment parameter based on the timing advance command and at least one of:
• the difference between the target timing advance and the timing advance;
• and
• the adjustment of the timing advance.

A non-transitory computer readable medium having computer executable instructions stored thereon which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to implement a method in a mobile device, the method comprising:

• calculating an adjustment of a timing advance toward a target timing advance in accordance with an adjustment parameter, the adjustment parameter comprising at least one of an adjustment step size and an adjustment time interval,
• the target timing advance being a function of a relative downlink timing change,
• the timing advance indicating uplink transmission timing relative to downlink reception timing;
• and
• upon receipt of a timing advance command, adjusting the adjustment parameter based on the timing advance command and at least one of:
• a difference between the target timing advance and the timing advance;
• and
• the adjustment of the timing advance.