Method for validating measurements for reliable PUR transmission

Abstract

The wireless device performs an uplink transmission, such as an idle mode uplink transmission using a preconfigured uplink resource (PUR). The wireless device determines whether the serving cell signal measurement M2 has been completed within a predetermined time range before the reference time T2, where the reference time T2 corresponds to an uplink transmission opportunity. In response to determining that the serving cell signal measurement M2 has not been completed within the predetermined time range, the wireless device defers the transmission to a subsequent transmission opportunity, or abandons the uplink transmission, or collects additional serving cell measurements M2' that fall within the predetermined time range for verifying the TA used for transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity and / or estimating the PL for power control of the transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity.

Description

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62 / 887,589, filed on Aug. 15, 2019, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure generally relates to the field of wireless network communications, and more particularly, to verifying measurements for timing advance (TA) verification and / or path loss (PL) estimation, where TA verification and / or PL estimation are used for uplink transmission. Background Art

[0004] Members of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) have specified technologies covering use cases related to machine-to-machine (M2M) and / or Internet of Things (IoT). The latest work in 3GPP Releases 13 and 14 includes enhancements to support machine type communication (MTC) with new user equipment (UE) categories (Cat-M1, Cat-M2), thus supporting reduced bandwidth with six physical resource blocks (PRBs) (up to 24 PRBs for Cat-M2) and narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs providing a new radio interface (and UE categories Cat-NB1 and Cat-NB2).

[0005] The Long Term Evolution (LTE) enhancements introduced for MTC in 3GPP Releases 13, 14, and 15 can be referred to as "eMTC", including (but not limited to) support for bandwidth-constrained UEs, Cat-M1, and support for coverage enhancements. This is to separate the discussion from NB-IoT (used for any version notation herein), although the supported features are similar at the overall level.

[0006] There are multiple differences between "conventional" LTE and the procedures and channels defined for eMTC and NB-IoT. Some important differences include new physical channels (e.g., the physical downlink control channel, which is called MPDCCH (MTC physical downlink control channel) in eMTC and NPDCCH (narrowband physical downlink control channel) in NB-IoT), and a new physical random access channel (NPRACH) for NB-IoT. Another important difference is the coverage levels that these technologies can support (also called coverage enhancement levels). By applying repetition to the transmitted signals and channels, both eMTC and NB-IoT allow UEs to operate at much lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) levels compared to LTE, i.e., Es / Iot≥ -15 dB is the lowest operating point for eMTC and NB-IoT, which can be compared with -6 dB Es / IoT for "conventional" LTE.

[0007] Transmission using pre-configured uplink resources

[0008] In Release 16 of the 3GPP specifications, NB-IoT and eMTC enhancements include new features called transmission in pre-configured uplink resources (PUR) in idle and / or connected modes. The UE is allocated PUR resources during the Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state and is also assigned a Timing Advance (TA) value by the serving cell. The PUR resources can be of different types, namely dedicated, contention-free shared, or contention-based shared PUR resources. The PUR resources are defined as physical channel resources, such as Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) resources. That is, it is a resource allocated in both the time domain and the frequency domain. In the case of NB-IoT, the PUR resources are the same as the NB-IoT PUSCH (NPUSCH) resources. For Cat-M, it is the same as the PUSCH resources including 6 PRBs (e.g., for UE category M1) or 24 RBs (e.g., for UE category M2). Similar to PUSCH and NPUSCH, repetition can also be used for PUR transmission, especially when operating in extended coverage.

[0009] When transmitting using PUR resources in the idle state, the UE uses the pre-configured TA value provided that the serving cell has not changed. If the serving cell changes, the PUR resources and TA value from the old serving cell become invalid. In addition, the UE can also be configured to check the validity of the TA value based on the change in signal strength (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) in MTC or NRSRP in NB-IoT). The UE is only allowed to use PUR for transmission when the pre-configured TA value is valid because the signal conditions during transmission are similar to those when the TA was previously configured. For example, if the difference in the measured signal strength (e.g., RSRP) during transmission using PUR and the measured signal strength (e.g., RSRP) when the TA value was previously configured is below a specific threshold, the UE assumes the pre-configured TA value is valid. If the TA value is valid, the UE is allowed to use the PUR resources for transmission; otherwise, the UE should not use PUR to perform the transmission.

[0010] Power control for MTC and NB-IoT

[0011] For MTC, the setting of the UE transmit power for PUSCH transmission is defined as follows. If the UE transmits PUSCH for serving cell c without a simultaneous PUCCH, the UE transmit power P PUSCH,c (i) is given by the following formula:

[0012]

[0013] If the UE transmits a PUSCH simultaneously with the PUCCH for serving cell c, the UE transmit power P for the PUSCH transmission in subframe / slot / sub-slot i for serving cell c PUSCH,c (i) is given by:

[0014]

[0015] If the UE does not transmit a PUSCH for serving cell c, in order to accumulate the TPC commands received using DCI format 3 / 3A for the PUSCH, the UE will assume the UE transmit power P for the PUSCH transmission in subframe i for serving cell c PUSCH,c (i) is calculated by:

[0016] P PUSCH,c (i) = min{P CMAX,c (i), P O_PUSCH,c (1) + α c (1)·PL c + f c (i)} [dBm].

[0017] For NB-IoT, the UE transmit power P for the NPUSCH transmission in NB-IoT UL slot i for serving cell c NPUSCH,c (i) is given by:

[0018] For the NPUSCH (re)transmission corresponding to the random access response grant (if enhanced random access power control is not applied), and for all other NPUSCH transmissions, when the repetition count of the allocated NPUSCH RU is greater than 2:

[0019] P NPUSCH,c (i) = P CMAX,c (i) [dBm]

[0020] Otherwise

[0021]

[0022] In particular, for both MTC and NB-IoT, there is an element in the power control algorithm that depends on signal strength measurements (e.g., RSRP and NRSP measurements). This element is the path loss estimation for MTC and NB-IoT, which is defined below.

[0023] For MTC, PL c is the downlink path loss estimation (in dB) calculated in the UE for serving cell c, and PL c= referenceSignalPower - high layer filtered RSRP, where referenceSignalPower is provided by the high layer, RSRP is defined for the reference serving cell, and the high layer filter configuration is defined for the reference serving cell.

[0024] For NB-IoT, PL c is the downlink path loss estimate (in dB) calculated in the UE for serving cell c, and PL c = nrs-Power + nrs-PowerOffsetNonAnchor – NRSRP, where nrs-Power is provided by the high layer, nrs-powerOffsetNonAnchor is set to 0 (if not provided by the high layer), and NRSRP is defined for serving cell c.

[0025] DRX cycle operation

[0026] In LTE, discontinuous reception (DRX) cycles are used to enable the UE to save its battery. DRX cycles are used for the RRC idle state but can also be used for the RRC connected state. Examples of the DRX cycle lengths currently used in the RRC idle state are 320 ms, 640 ms, 1.28 s, and 2.56 s. Examples of the DRX cycle lengths currently used in the RRC connected state can be in the range of 2 ms to 2.56 s. The enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycle is expected to be very long, e.g., in the range from several seconds to several minutes, and even up to one or more hours. A typical value of the eDRX cycle can be between 4 - 10 minutes.

[0027] The DRX cycle is configured by the network node and characterized by the following parameters:

[0028] On-duration: During the on-duration of the DRX cycle, a timer named "onDurationTimer" configured by the network node is running. This timer specifies the number of consecutive control channel subframes (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH subframes) at the start of the DRX cycle. It can also be interchangeably referred to as the DRX on-cycle. More specifically, it is the duration in the downlink subframe after the UE wakes up from DRX to receive the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH). If the UE successfully decodes the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH) during the on-duration, the UE starts the drx-inactivity timer (see below) and remains awake until the timer expires. When onDurationTimer is running, the UE is considered to be in the DRX state of the DRX cycle.

[0029] drx-inactivity timer: It specifies the number of consecutive control channel (e.g., PDCCH) subframes after the subframe in which the control channel (e.g., PDCCH) indicates the initial UL or DL user data transmission of the media access control (MAC) entity. It is also configured by the network node. When the drx-inactivity timer is running, the UE is considered to be in the non-DRX state, i.e., DRX is not used.

[0030] Active time: This is the duration during which the UE monitors the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH). In other words, this is the total duration during which the UE is awake. This includes the "on duration" of the DRX cycle, the time during which the UE performs continuous reception and the inactivity timer has not expired, and the time during which the UE performs continuous reception and waits for a DL retransmission after a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) round-trip time (RTT). The minimum active time is equal to the length of the on duration, and the maximum active time is not defined (infinite).

[0031] In Figure 1 an example of the DRX on duration and DRX off duration of the DRX cycle is shown. In Figure 2 an example of DRX operation with more detailed parameters in LTE is shown. The DRX configuration in this article can also be an enhanced or extended DRX (eDRX) configuration. In traditional DRX-related processes, the UE can be configured with a DRX cycle length of up to 2.56 seconds. However, a UE supporting extended DRX (eDRX) can be configured with a DRX cycle that is at least longer than 2.56 seconds and typically much longer than 2.56 seconds, i.e., about several seconds to several minutes. The eDRX configuration parameters include the eDRX cycle length and the paging window length, also known as the paging time window (PTW) length, etc. Within the PTW of eDRX, the UE is also configured with one or more traditional DRX cycles. Summary of the Invention

[0032] There are problems related to TA. The transmission in RRC_IDLE mode using pre-configured uplink resources is achieved by the UE obtaining a TA command in the RRC_CONNECTED state and then using this TA in the RRC_IDLE state to adjust the timing of uplink transmission. However, after receiving a PUR configuration including a TA command, uplink transmission using PUR in the RRC_IDLE state may not occur immediately or may occur within a short period. Generally, it occurs alternatively at a later time. Before transmission, the UE needs to verify the received TA, which is done using two radio resource management (RRM) measurements, one of which is performed near the time of obtaining the TA, and the second is performed near the time of performing the verification. In addition, the power control algorithms for both MTC and NB-IoT utilize path loss (PL) estimation to determine the uplink transmit power, where this PL is also estimated from RRM measurements. One problem with this behavior is that the measurement window is not defined, resulting in ambiguous UE behavior, and the measurements used for TA verification and PL estimation may be rather stale. In such cases, these measurements may not reflect the actual radio conditions of the UE for various reasons, such as UE mobility, changes in the surrounding environment, UE timing drift, etc. Using such measurements for TA verification may lead to incorrect TA verification results and incorrect PL estimation.

[0033] The embodiments described herein are aimed at solving the problems that may lead to incorrect TA verification results and incorrect PL estimation. According to some embodiments related to a wireless device (such as a UE), the TA verification process and PL estimation are adapted at the UE based on the availability of measurements at the UE. Adapting the TA verification process and PL estimation has an impact on the expected transmission (such as a PUR transmission), which can allow the UE to perform the transmission or postpone or abort the PUR transmission. This adaptation can include comparing the available measurements with a set of measurement rules that specify whether the measurements can be used for TA verification, for PL estimation for power control, or for PL change estimation. (See Figure 3 .) If the measurement is invalid (e.g., not performed within a specific time range), the transmission can be postponed or aborted, or other measurements can be made.

[0034] According to some embodiments, a method for performing an uplink transmission (e.g., an idle mode uplink transmission using PUR) by a wireless device includes: determining whether a serving cell signal measurement M2 has been completed within a predetermined time range before and not later than a reference time T2, where the reference time T2 corresponds to an uplink transmission opportunity. The method further includes: in response to determining that the serving cell signal measurement M2 has not been completed within the predetermined time range, postponing the transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or abandoning the uplink transmission, or collecting additional serving cell measurements M2' that fall within the predetermined time range for use in verifying a TA for transmission at the transmission opportunity and / or estimating a power control PL for transmission at the transmission opportunity.

[0035] According to some embodiments, a method for performing an uplink transmission (e.g., an idle mode uplink transmission using PUR) by a wireless device includes: obtaining configuration information including a TA at a first reference time T1, and comparing a second reference time T2 with the first reference time T1, where the second reference time T2 is a time at which TA verification, path loss PL estimation for power control, and / or path loss change estimation are to be performed. The method further includes: in response to determining that a time difference between the first reference time T1 and the second reference time T2 does not satisfy a given difference threshold, performing one of the following: (a) performing the TA verification, the PL estimation for power control, and / or the PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing new measurements, and performing the uplink transmission based on the TA verification, the PL estimation for power control, and / or the PL change estimation; (b) postponing the uplink transmission until a third reference time T3; and (c) abandoning the uplink transmission.

[0036] Other aspects of the present invention relate to an apparatus, a wireless device, a UE, a network node, a base station, a relay node, a network device, a computer program product, or a computer-readable storage medium corresponding to the methods outlined above, and to the functional implementation of the wireless relay node outlined above.

[0037] Advantages of the embodiments include that TA verification is more reliable when the measurements used for TA verification better represent the time of receiving the TA and performing TA verification. Other advantages include a higher probability that the receiving node can receive the transmission. When these techniques are applied to PUR transmissions, this in turn enables better utilization of PUR resources. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0038] Figure 1 Shows DRX on periods and DRX off periods;

[0039] Figure 2 illustrates DRX cycle operation in LTE;

[0040] Figure 3 illustrates rules for TA verification based on RRM measurements according to some embodiments;

[0041] Figure 4 illustrates rules for associating M2 with T2 before TA verification according to some embodiments;

[0042] Figure 5 illustrates rules for associating M2 with T2 before TA verification according to some embodiments;

[0043] Figure 6 illustrates a block diagram of a wireless device according to some embodiments;

[0044] Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method in a wireless device according to some embodiments;

[0045] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method in a wireless device according to some embodiments;

[0046] Figure 9 schematically illustrates a telecommunication network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network according to some embodiments;

[0047] Figure 10 is an overall block diagram of a host computer communicating with a user equipment via a base station over a partial wireless connection according to some embodiments;

[0048] Figure 11 、 12 、13 and 14 are flowcharts illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment;

[0049] Figure 15 is a block diagram illustrating the functional implementation of a wireless device according to some embodiments;

[0050] Figure 16 is a block diagram illustrating the functional implementation of a wireless device according to some embodiments. Detailed Description

[0051] Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described more fully with reference to the following accompanying drawings, in which examples of embodiments of the concepts of the present invention are shown. However, the concepts of the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the concepts of the present invention to those skilled in the art. It should also be noted that these embodiments are not mutually exclusive. Components from one embodiment may be assumed to be present / used in another embodiment. Any two or more of the embodiments described herein may be combined with each other. The embodiments are described with respect to LTE or NR, but may be applicable to other radio access technologies where the techniques or options may be relevant.

[0052] The embodiments described herein relate to verifying measurements for TA verification and / or PL estimation. When this verification is performed in conjunction with PUR transmission, this results in better utilization of preconfigured resources (PUR).

[0053] In some embodiments described herein, the more general term "network node" is used. This term corresponds to any type of radio network node or any network node that communicates with a UE and / or another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, MeNB, SeNB, network nodes belonging to MCG or SCG, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node (e.g., MSR BS), eNodeB, gNodeB, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), repeater, donor node controlling the repeater, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission point, transmission node, RRU, RRH, nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS), core network nodes (e.g., MSC, MME, etc.), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), MDT, test equipment (physical node or software), etc.

[0054] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms user equipment (UE) or wireless device are used. As used herein, this term refers to any type of wireless device that communicates with a network node and / or another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UEs are target devices, device-to-device (D2D) UEs, machine-type UEs or UEs with machine-to-machine (M2M) communication capabilities, PDAs, PADs, tablets, mobile terminals, smart phones, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, ProSe UEs, V2V UEs, V2X UEs, etc.

[0055] Embodiments are described for LTE (e.g., MTC and NB-IoT). However, the embodiments are applicable to any RAT or multi-RAT system where a UE receives and / or transmits signals (e.g., data), such as LTE FDD / TDD, WCDMA / HSPA, GSM / GERAN, WiFi, WLAN, CDMA2000, 5G, NR, etc.

[0056] As used herein, the term "time resource" may correspond to any type of physical or radio resource expressed in terms of a time length. Examples of time resources are: symbols, mini-slots, slots, sub-frames, radio frames, TTIs, short TTIs, interleaved times, etc.

[0057] In a scenario including a UE served by a first cell (which may be referred to as "cell1"), cell1 is managed or served or operated by a network node (NW1) (e.g., a base station). The UE operates at a specific coverage enhancement (CE) level for a specific cell (e.g., for cell1). The UE is configured to receive signals (e.g., paging, WUS, NPDCCH, MPDCCH, NPDSCH, PDSCH, etc.) from at least cell1. The UE may also be configured to perform one or more measurements on cell1 and one or more additional cells (e.g., neighbor cells).

[0058] A number of embodiments related to a wireless device (e.g., a UE) operating under cell1 served by a network node NW1 will be described. According to some embodiments, in a first step, the UE obtains information about the PUR configuration at a time instance T1. This information may include, but is not limited to, any one or all of the following: whether the UE has PUR capabilities; whether any PUR transmission resources have been allocated to the UE, such as periodic, aperiodic resources; TA values associated with the PUR configuration; and PUR resources that may be of different types, namely, dedicated PUR resources, contention-free shared PUR resources, or contention-based shared PUR resources. The obtained information about the PUR configuration may include, for example, the PUR transmission period (e.g., the PUR transmission resources occur every N milliseconds for a duration of M milliseconds), the PUR start position, and timing advance information regarding the target cell. The PUR transmission resources may include one or more time-frequency resources (e.g., resource blocks, sub-carriers, etc.).

[0059] The received configuration may also include information about the TA verification method to be used, for example: whether the UE needs to use RRM measurements of cell1 to verify the TA before PUR transmission; whether the TA is always assumed to be valid in cell1; or whether the UE is configured to use any timers related to the TA (such as TAT), for example, so that the TA is always assumed to be valid until the timer expires. The embodiments described herein may assume that the UE is configured to use TA verification based on changes in serving cell measurements.

[0060] In a second step, the UE associates the first measurement (M1) with T1 according to a set of rules. According to a first aspect of these rules, the UE performs M1 on the signal transmitted by the serving cell at a time as close as possible to T1, because the aim is to reflect the actual radio conditions of the UE for cell1 at time instance T1. This is illustrated in Figure 3 where it is assumed that T1 is the reference time when the UE obtains a PUR configuration including a TA value. In another example, T1 corresponds to the time when the UE obtains an updated TA from NW1. For example, the updated TA can be obtained in a retransmission grant or L1 ACK or L2 / L3 ACK transmitted in response to a PUR transmission. T1' is the actual time when the UE performs M1 on the serving cell. More specifically, the UE completes M1 at time instance T1'. The measurement M1 is performed over a duration ΔT1 using N samples, where N >= 1. The UE can typically obtain one sample in each DRX cycle. The measurement period can also be interchangeably referred to as the L1 measurement period, evaluation period, measurement time, etc.

[0061] According to the rules applicable to some embodiments, the UE is only allowed to use M1 for TA verification if T1 and T1' are close to each other in time. For example, if the difference between T1 and T1' is within a specific margin, M1 is allowed to be used for TA verification. In a specific example, the UE is only allowed to use M1 for TA verification if the following condition is met:

[0062] (T1 - T01) ≤ T1' ≤ (T1 + T02) (1)

[0063] For the special case where T01 = T02, then:

[0064] (T1 - T01) ≤ T1' ≤ (T1 + T01).

[0065] In Figure 4This principle is illustrated in which T1' is the following time instance: If the UE completes M1 at this time instance, then M1 is considered valid. This means that M1 can start earlier than T1 - T01 or T1 + T02, but the last sample and the final measurement value for filtering are available within the range in (1). In other words, the measurement may have started earlier than T1 - T01 or T1 + T02, but the final sample and measurement value are available at the UE within the range (1). In some cases, T01 = T02.

[0066] If the conditions in (1) are met, the UE is allowed to use such a measurement (M1) to represent the measurement at T1, and subsequently use such a measurement (M1) for TA verification and / or providing a PL estimate. However, if the above conditions are not met, the UE needs to perform a new measurement that can better represent the measurement conditions at T1, and store this new measurement for subsequent use in TA verification and / or providing a PL estimate.

[0067] Since PUR transmissions typically include a small amount of data and they are sent directly from the inactive state (e.g., RRC_IDLE state), the UE achieves improved power consumption by not switching to the RRC_CONNECTED state for transmission purposes. Similarly, to further improve power consumption, the UE does not need to perform any dedicated measurements for TA verification purposes. However, importantly, the measurements for TA verification can meet the conditions in (1). With this rule, the UE can freely use any available measurement provided at the UE (which helps the UE reduce power consumption), but at the same time ensures that the measurement is not outdated. If the UE can meet the conditions in (1), it means that the maximum staleness of the measurement is -T01 or +T02, and the radio conditions are unlikely to change significantly within this short duration. Therefore, the UE is allowed to use M1 performed at T1' to represent the radio conditions at T1.

[0068] In the third step, the UE associates the second measurement (M2) with T2 according to another set of rules. T2 is the reference time when the UE uses two measurements, M1 (obtained from the previous step) and M2 (obtained as described below), to perform TA verification or determine path loss variation. M2 is also performed by the UE on the signals transmitted by the serving cell, and M2 can be independently used to estimate the PL term in the power control algorithms for both MTC and NB-IoT in order to determine the UL transmit power. Assume that M2 is actually performed by the UE before the time instance T2'. This means that by time T2', the UE has completed the measurement, even if the measurement has started before T2' (e.g., T2' - ΔT2), where ΔT2 = M2 measurement period during which the UE performs the measured value based on N samples, where N >= 1. The UE can typically also obtain one sample per DRX cycle. In other words, the last sample used to filter M2 is already available, and the filtered measurement is available before the reference time T2. This is a key difference compared to M1, where the UE is allowed to obtain measurements both at T01 time units before T1 and at T02 time units after T1. In this case, since TA verification is actually performed at T2, it does not make sense to wait for future available measurements. Thus, as a general rule, if the UE completes M2 by T2 at the latest but not earlier than the time instance (T2 - Tx), then M2 is considered valid for the TA verification method. Figure 5 Shows the rules for associating M2 with T2 before TA verification.

[0069] More specifically, M2 is considered a valid measurement for the TA verification method if M2 meets the following conditions:

[0070] (T2 - Tx) ≤ T2' ≤ T2 (2)

[0071] Otherwise, M2 is considered invalid, in which case the UE may need to perform a new measurement that meets the above conditions, or the UE can delay the PUR transmission until any future PUR transmission opportunity, which occurs at least T3 time units after T2, or the UE can abandon the PUR and fallback to the traditional RACH / EDT.

[0072] In the fourth step, according to some embodiments, if the measurements (M1 and M2) obtained from steps 2 and 3 are considered valid, for example, if M1 and M2 meet the conditions in (1) and (2) respectively, the UE performs TA verification and / or path loss estimation. For example, if both M1 and M2 measurements are valid, the UE can compare them with each other, and based on their comparison, determine whether the TA is valid. For example, if the magnitude of the difference between M1 and M2 is less than a specific threshold (G), the UE can assume that the TA is valid; otherwise, the TA is invalid. The UE can also be configured to use one or more additional methods (e.g., based on cell change) for verifying the TA.

[0073] If the UE is configured to use only the signal strength-based TA verification method (based on the M1 and M2 relationship), and if the TA is determined to be valid based on the signal strength, the UE can use the TA for PUR transmission; otherwise, the UE does not use the TA for PUR transmission. If at least one of the M1 and M2 measurements is invalid, the UE may not even use M1 and M2 to verify the TA. In this case, the UE will not use the TA for PUR transmission, or the UE may need to perform new dedicated measurements for TA verification purposes.

[0074] Another embodiment related to the wireless device will be described. The method in this embodiment may involve: a wireless device (UE) receives a PUR configuration, and obtains information about a reference time T1 corresponding to the time when the TA is obtained from the network node. The method may also include determining a reference time T2, that is, the time when it is expected that the UE performs TA verification. The method includes comparing T1 with T2, and based on the comparison result, taking any of the following actions: using M1 and M2 to perform TA verification (provided that |T1 - T2| ≥ X), or postponing the PUR transmission by T3, or abandoning the PUR transmission (as described in the previous embodiment).

[0075] According to the first step in the method according to this embodiment, the UE receives the PUR configuration including the TA. From this information, the UE knows the reference time T1. In the second step, the UE determines the reference time T2 at which the UE is expected to perform TA verification and / or provide a PL estimate for PUR transmission. T2 can be obtained explicitly or implicitly from the PUR configuration. For example, from the obtained PUR configuration, the UE knows when the UE is expected to wake up and send data. Alternatively, if the UE has been configured with an aperiodic PUR report, the UE should have information about when the data has been triggered or when the data is available for transmission. For example, when the data is available in the UE buffer, the UE can determine when the PUR transmission is expected, and before that (before T2) the UE must perform TA verification and / or provide a PL estimate. Thus, the UE knows T2. In addition, M2 associated with T2 can be independently used to estimate the PL term in the power control algorithms for both MTC and NB-IoT in order to determine the UL transmit power.

[0076] In the third step, the UE compares the values of T1 and T2 obtained in the previous steps, and performs TA verification or a change in path loss based on the comparison result. For example, assuming that T1 and T2 are related by a specific function, the UE needs to use the M1 and M2 measurements performed before the time instances T1' and T2' respectively (i.e., according to the conditions described in the second and third steps respectively); otherwise, the UE is allowed to use any measurements available at the UE for the TA verification method and / or PL estimate. Examples of such a function are the difference between T1 and T2, the comparison between T1 and T2, weighted comparison, etc. For example, if the magnitude of the difference between T1 and T2 is greater than a specific threshold X, the UE needs to use the M1 and M2 measurements (where M1 and M2 are as described in the previous section) for TA verification:

[0077] |T1 - T2| ≥ X (3)

[0078] Otherwise, if the above conditions are not met (i.e., |T1 - T2| < X), then in one example, the UE is allowed to use any measurements available at the UE for TA verification. The principle is that if T1 and T2 are widely separated in time, the radio conditions may change significantly between these two reference times, and then using M1 and M2 that are respectively performed at times close to T1 and T2 (e.g., before T1' and T2' respectively) can make the TA verification and / or path loss estimation more reliable. However, if T1 and T2 are close in time, the radio conditions at T1 and T2 may not be significantly different from each other. Therefore, the UE can use any available measurements. If the UE has no available measurements (e.g., M1 and M2 are not available) or the measurements are unreliable, the UE can also avoid performing the TA verification method. Therefore, in the latter case, it is better not to use TA verification based on such measurements at all. Alternatively, the UE can be allowed to use a TA verification method based on another method (e.g., serving cell measurement change), but in this case, the UE should perform dedicated measurements at T1 and T2. This will make the TA verification more reliable compared to performing M1 and M2 at times close to T1 and T2. If the UE cannot meet the conditions in (3), other options are to postpone the transmission for a specific time unit (T3) or abandon the transmission.

[0079] Figure 6 An example wireless device 50 (e.g., a UE) configured to perform the techniques described herein for a UE is shown. The wireless device 50 can also be regarded as representing any wireless device that can operate in a network and is capable of communicating with a network node or another wireless device via radio signals. In various contexts, the wireless device 50 can also be referred to as a radio communication device, a target device, a device-to-device (D2D) UE, a machine-type UE or a UE capable of machine-to-machine (M2M) communication, a sensor equipped with a UE, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), a wireless tablet, a mobile terminal, a smart phone, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a wireless USB dongle, a client device (CPE), etc.

[0080] The wireless device 50 communicates with one or more radio nodes or base stations (e.g., one or more network nodes 30) via an antenna 54 and transceiver circuitry 56. The transceiver circuitry 56 can include a transmitter circuit, a receiver circuit, and associated control circuitry, which are jointly configured to transmit and receive signals according to a radio access technology to provide cellular communication services.

[0081] The wireless device 50 also includes one or more processing circuits 52, which are operatively associated with and control the radio transceiver circuit 56. The processing circuit 52 includes one or more digital processing circuits 62, such as one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any combination thereof. More generally, the processing circuit 52 may include fixed circuitry, or programmable circuitry that is specifically adapted by executing program instructions that implement the functions taught herein, or may include some combination of fixed circuitry and programmed circuitry. The processor 52 may be multi-core.

[0082] The processing circuit 52 also includes a memory 64. In some embodiments, the memory 64 stores one or more computer programs 66, and optionally stores configuration data 68. The memory 64 provides non-transitory storage for the computer programs 66 and it may include one or more types of computer-readable media, such as disk storage devices, solid state memory storage devices, or any combination thereof. By way of non-limiting example, the memory 64 includes any one or more of SRAM, DRAM, EEPROM, and FLASH memory, which may be within and / or separate from the processing circuit 52. Generally speaking, the memory 64 includes one or more types of computer-readable storage media that provide non-transitory storage for the computer programs 66 and any configuration data 68 used by the wireless device 50.

[0083] Thus, in some embodiments, the processing circuit 52 of the wireless device 50 is configured to perform an uplink transmission. For example, the uplink transmission may be an idle mode uplink transmission using PUR. The processing circuit 52 is configured to determine whether a serving cell signal measurement M2 has been completed within a predetermined time range before a reference time T2, where the reference time T2 corresponds to an uplink transmission opportunity. The processing circuit 52 is also configured to, in response to determining that the serving cell signal measurement M2 has not been completed within the predetermined time range, defer the transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or abort the uplink transmission, or collect additional serving cell measurements M2' that fall within the predetermined time range for use in verifying the TA for transmission at the transmission opportunity and / or estimating the power control PL for transmission at the transmission opportunity.

[0084] According to some embodiments, the processing circuit 52 is also configured to perform method 700. Figure 7The method 700 shown includes determining whether a serving cell signal measurement M2 has been completed within a predetermined time range before a reference time T2, where the reference time T2 corresponds to an uplink transmission opportunity, such as a transmission opportunity using PUR (block 702). The method 700 also includes, in response to determining that the serving cell signal measurement M2 has not been completed within the predetermined time range, postponing the transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or aborting the uplink transmission, or collecting additional serving cell measurements M2' that fall within the predetermined time range (block 704). In the latter case, the additional serving cell measurement M2' can be used in verifying the TA for transmission at the transmission opportunity and / or estimating the PL for transmission at the transmission opportunity.

[0085] The method 700 can include verifying whether a serving cell measurement M1 has been made within a predetermined time range near a reference time T1, where the reference time T1 corresponds to the time of establishing the TA. In some embodiments or instances, the method can further include, in response to determining that the serving cell measurement M1 has been completed within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1, verifying the TA for transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity, and in response to the verification of the TA, performing the uplink transmission. Here, verifying the TA can include: in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the measurement M1 and the second measurement M2 is less than a given difference threshold, verifying the TA.

[0086] In some embodiments or instances, the method 700 can further include, in response to determining that the serving cell measurement M1 has not been made within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1, collecting additional serving cell measurements M1' that fall within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1 for use in verifying the TA for a subsequent transmission opportunity and / or estimating the PL change at a subsequent transmission opportunity (such as using PUR). Verifying the TA can include: in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the additional serving cell measurement M1' and the second measurement M2 is less than a given difference threshold, verifying the TA, in which case, in response to the verification of the TA, the uplink transmission opportunity can be used for uplink transmission. Verifying the TA can include: in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the first measurement M1 and the additional serving cell measurement M2' is less than a given difference threshold, verifying the TA, and in response to the verification of the TA, PUR can be used for uplink transmission. In other instances of collecting the additional serving cell measurement M2', it may be the case that the additional serving cell measurement M2' is not less than the given difference threshold, in which case the uplink transmission can be postponed or aborted.

[0087] In some embodiments, the estimation of the PL change is based on the additional serving cell measurement M2', and in response to this estimation, the uplink transmission opportunity can be used for uplink transmission or the uplink transmission can be postponed.

[0088] According to other embodiments, the processing circuit 52 is configured to perform an uplink transmission (e.g., an idle mode uplink transmission using PUR) by obtaining configuration information including TA (e.g., PUR configuration information) at a first reference time T1, and comparing a second reference time T2 with the first reference time T1, where the second reference time T2 is the time at which TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or path loss change estimation are to be performed. In some embodiments, the second reference time T2 may be identified based on the configuration information. The processing circuit 52 is further configured to, in response to determining that the time difference between the first reference time T1 and the second reference time T2 does not meet a given difference threshold, perform one of the following: perform TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing new measurements, and perform an uplink transmission based on the TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or PL change estimation; postpone the uplink transmission, e.g., until a third reference time T3; and abandon the uplink transmission.

[0089] Thus, according to some embodiments, the processing circuit 52 is configured to perform method 800. Figure 8 The illustrated method 800 includes obtaining configuration information including TA, e.g., PUR configuration information, at a first reference time T1 (block 802), and comparing a second reference time T2 with the first reference time T1, where the second reference time T2 is the time at which TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or path loss change estimation are to be performed (block 806). In some embodiments, the method may include identifying the second reference time T2 based on the configuration information (block 804). Method 800 further includes, in response to determining that the time difference between the first reference time T1 and the second reference time T2 does not meet a given difference threshold, performing one of the following: performing TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing new measurements, and performing an uplink transmission based on the TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or PL change estimation; postponing the uplink transmission; and abandoning the uplink transmission (block 808).

[0090] According to some embodiments, Figure 9A communication system is shown that includes a telecommunications network 910 (e.g., a 3GPP-type cellular network), which includes an access network 911 such as a radio access network and a core network 914. The access network 911 includes a plurality of base stations 912a, 912b, 912c, such as NB, eNB, gNB, or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 913a, 913b, 913c. Each base station 912a, 912b, 912c can be connected to the core network 914 via a wired or wireless connection 915. A first UE 991 located in the coverage area 913c is configured to be wirelessly connected to or paged by the corresponding base station 912c. A second UE 992 in the coverage area 913a can be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 912a. Although a plurality of UEs 991, 992 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to the case where there is a single UE in the coverage area or a single UE is connected to the corresponding base station 912.

[0091] The telecommunications network 910 itself is connected to a host computer 930, which can be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a stand-alone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 930 can be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or can be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. The connections 921, 922 between the telecommunications network 910 and the host computer 930 can extend directly from the core network 914 to the host computer 930, or can be via an optional intermediate network 920. The intermediate network 920 can be one of a public, private, or managed network, or a combination of more than one of them; the intermediate network 920 (if any) can be a backbone network or the Internet; specifically, the intermediate network 920 can include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0092] Overall, Figure 9The communication system enables connectivity between one of the connected UEs 991, 992 and the host computer 930. This connectivity can be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 950. The host computer 930 and the connected UEs 991, 992 are configured to transfer data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 950 using the access networks 911, core network 914, any intermediate network 920, and possibly other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 950 can be transparent because the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 950 passes are unaware of the routing of the uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 912 may not be notified or need not be notified of the past routing of the incoming downlink communication of data originating from the host computer 930 and destined to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 991. Similarly, the base station 912 need not know the future routing of the outgoing uplink communication from the UE 991 to the host computer 930.

[0093] Now reference will be made to Figure 10 an example implementation of the UE, base station, and host computer discussed in the preceding paragraphs according to an embodiment. In the communication system 1000, the host computer 1010 includes hardware 815, and the hardware 815 includes a communication interface 1016 configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection to interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 1000. The host computer 1010 further includes a processing circuit 1018, and the processing circuit 1018 may have storage and / or processing capabilities. Specifically, the processing circuit 1018 may include one or more programmable processors suitable for executing instructions, application-specific integrated circuits, field-programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these items (not shown). The host computer 1010 further includes software 1011, which is stored in or accessible by the host computer 1010 and executable by the processing circuit 1018. The software 1011 includes a host application 1012. The host application 1012 is operable to provide services to remote users such as the UE 1030 connected via an OTT connection 1050 terminating at the UE 1030 and the host computer 1010. When providing services to remote users, the host application 1012 may provide user data transmitted using the OTT connection 1050.

[0094] The communication system 1000 further includes a base station 1020 disposed in the telecommunication system, and the base station 1020 includes hardware 1025 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 1010 and the UE 1030. The hardware 1025 may include a communication interface 1026 for establishing and maintaining a wired or wireless connection to interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 1000, and for establishing and maintaining a connection with a coverage area served by the base station 1020 ( Figure 10The radio interface 1027 of at least the radio connection 1070 of the UE 1030 (not shown in )). The communication interface 1026 may be configured to facilitate the connection 1060 with the host computer 1010. The connection 1060 may be direct, or the connection 1060 may pass through the core network of the telecommunications system ( Figure 10 not shown in ) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 1025 of the base station 1020 further includes a processing circuit 1028, which may include one or more programmable processors suitable for executing instructions, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these items (not shown). The base station 1020 also has software 1021 stored internally or accessible through an external connection.

[0095] The communication system 1000 also includes the UE 1030 already mentioned. The hardware 1035 of the UE 1030 may include a radio interface 1037, which is configured to establish and maintain a radio connection 1070 with a base station in the coverage area where the UE 1030 is currently located. The hardware 1035 of the UE 1030 further includes a processing circuit 1038, which may include one or more programmable processors suitable for executing instructions, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of these items (not shown). The UE 1030 also includes software 1031 stored in the UE 1030 or accessible by the UE 1030 and executable by the processing circuit 1038. The software 1031 includes a client application 1032. The client application 1032 is operable to provide services to a human or non - human user via the UE 1030 with the support of the host computer 1010. In the host computer 1010, the executing host application 1012 may communicate with the executing client application 1032 via an OTT connection 1050 terminating at the UE 1030 and the host computer 1010. In providing services to the user, the client application 1032 may receive request data from the host application 1012 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1050 may transmit both request data and user data. The client application 1032 may interact with the user to generate user - provided user data.

[0096] Note that Figure 10 the illustrated host computer 1010, base station 1020, and UE 1030 may be the same as one of the Figure 9 host computers 930, base stations 912a, 912b, 912c, and one of the UEs 991, 992 respectively. That is, the internal working principles of these entities may be as Figure 10 shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology may be Figure 9 the surrounding network topology of.

[0097] In Figure 10 this, the OTT connection 1050 has been abstractly depicted to show the communication between the host computer 1010 and the user equipment 1030 via the base station 1020, without explicitly referring to any intermediate devices and the exact routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure can determine the routing, and the network infrastructure can be configured to hide the routing from the UE 1030 or from the service provider operating the host computer 1010 or both. When the OTT connection 1050 is active, the network infrastructure can further make a decision according to which the network infrastructure dynamically changes the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0098] The wireless connection 1070 between the UE 1030 and the base station 1020 is provided according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, for example, by nodes such as wireless devices and relay nodes 30 and the corresponding methods 700 and 800. The embodiments described herein provide improved TA verification and PL estimation. The teachings of these embodiments can use the OTT connection 1050 to improve the reliability, connection, data rate, capacity, latency, and / or power consumption of the network and the UE 1030.

[0099] A measurement process can be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency, and other factors that are improved in one or more embodiments. In response to a change in the measurement results, there can also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 between the host computer 1010 and the UE 1030. The measurement process and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1050 can be implemented in the software 1011 of the host computer 1010 or in the software 1031 of the UE 1030 or in both. In an embodiment, sensors (not shown) can be deployed in or associated with the communication devices through which the OTT connection 1050 passes; the sensors can participate in the measurement process by providing values of the monitored quantities exemplified above or by providing values of other physical quantities from which the software 1011, 1031 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1050 can include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc. The reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 1020, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 1020. Such processes and functions can be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement can involve proprietary UE signaling, which facilitates the measurement of throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. by the host computer 1010. The measurement can be implemented because the software 1011, 1031 causes the use of the OTT connection 1050 to send messages, especially empty messages or "dummy" messages, during its monitoring of propagation time, errors, etc.

[0100] Figure 11is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be those host computers, base stations, and UEs described by reference Figure 9 and Figure 10 For the sake of simplicity of the present disclosure, only the drawing references to Figure 11 are included in this section. In the first step 1110 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step 1111 of the first step 1110, the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In the second step 1120, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. In an optional third step 1130, according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the base station sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the host computer to the UE. In an optional fourth step 1140, the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0101] Figure 12 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be those host computers, base stations, and UEs described by reference Figure 9 and Figure 10 For the sake of simplicity of the present disclosure, only the drawing references to Figure 12 are included in this section. In the first step 1210 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides user data by executing a host application. In the second step 1220, the host computer initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the UE. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, this transmission may be via the base station. In an optional third step 1230, the UE receives the user data carried in this transmission.

[0102] Figure 13 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be those host computers, base stations, and UEs described by reference Figure 9 and Figure 10 For the sake of simplicity of the present disclosure, only the drawing references to Figure 13Attached drawing references. In an optional first step 1310 of the method, the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step 1320, the UE provides user data. In an optional sub-step 1321 of the second step 1320, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In another optional sub-step 1311 of the first step 1310, the UE executes a client application that provides user data in response to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner of providing user data, the UE initiates the transmission of the user data to the host computer in an optional third step 1330. In a fourth step 1340 of the method, the host computer receives the user data sent from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure.

[0103] Figure 14 is a flowchart showing a method implemented in a communication system. The communication system includes a host computer, a base station, and a UE, which may be those host computers, base stations, and UEs described with reference to Figure 9 and Figure 10 described. To simplify this disclosure, only the attached drawing references to Figure 14 are included in this section. In an optional first step 1410 of the method, the base station receives user data from the UE according to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional second step 1420, the base station initiates the transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In a third step 1430, the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0104] As discussed in detail above, the techniques described herein (such as the techniques shown in the process flowcharts of Figure 7 and 8 ) may be implemented in whole or in part using computer program instructions executed by one or more processors. It should be understood that the functional implementation of these techniques may be represented in terms of functional modules, where each functional module corresponds to a functional unit of software executed in an appropriate processor or to a functional digital hardware circuit, or to some combination of both.

[0105] Figure 15An example functional module or circuit architecture of a wireless device 50 is shown. The wireless device 50 is configured to perform uplink transmissions, such as idle mode uplink transmissions using PUR. This implementation includes a determination module 1502 for determining whether a serving cell signal measurement M2 has been made within a predetermined time range before a reference time T2, where the reference time T2 corresponds to a transmission opportunity. This implementation also includes an execution module for postponing the transmission to a subsequent transmission opportunity or collecting additional serving cell measurements M2' that fall within the predetermined time range in response to determining that the serving cell signal measurement M2 has not been made within the predetermined time range, for use in verifying the TA for transmission at the transmission opportunity and / or estimating the power control PL for transmission at the transmission opportunity. This implementation may also include a usage module 1506 for performing uplink transmissions.

[0106] Figure 16 Another example functional module or circuit architecture of a wireless device 50 is shown. This functional implementation includes an acquisition module 1602 for acquiring configuration information including TA, such as PUR configuration information, at a first reference time T1; and an identification module 1604 for identifying a second reference time T2 at which TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or path loss change estimation are to be performed based on the configuration information. This implementation also includes a comparison module 1606 for comparing the second reference time T2 with the first reference time T1; and an execution module 1608 for, in response to determining that the time difference between the first reference time T1 and the second reference time T2 does not meet a given difference threshold, performing one of the following: performing TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing new measurements, and performing an uplink transmission based on the TA verification (e.g., using PUR resources), the PL estimation for power control, and / or the PL change estimation; postponing the uplink transmission until a third reference time T3; and aborting the uplink transmission.

[0107] Example embodiments

[0108] Example embodiments may include, but are not limited to, the examples listed below:

[0109] 1. A method performed by a wireless device for performing an idle mode uplink transmission using pre-configured uplink resources PUR, the method including:

[0110] Determining whether a serving cell signal measurement M2 has been made within a predetermined time range before a reference time T2, where the reference time T2 corresponds to a transmission opportunity using PUR; and

[0111] In response to determining that the serving cell signal measurement M2 has not been performed within a predetermined time range, the transmission is postponed to a subsequent transmission opportunity using PUR or additional serving cell measurements M2' falling within the predetermined time range are collected for use in verifying the timing advance TA for transmission at the transmission opportunity and / or estimating the path loss PL for transmission at the transmission opportunity.

[0112] 2. The method according to Example Embodiment 1, wherein the method further includes, prior to the determining:

[0113] Verify whether the serving cell measurement M1 has been performed within a predetermined time range near the reference time T1, where the reference time T1 corresponds to the time when TA is established.

[0114] 3. The method according to Example Embodiment 2, wherein the method further includes: in response to determining that the serving cell measurement M1 has not been performed within a predetermined time range near the reference time T1, collecting additional serving cell measurements M1' falling within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1 for use in verifying the TA for a subsequent transmission opportunity using PUR and / or estimating the PL change at a subsequent transmission opportunity using PUR.

[0115] 4. The method according to Example Embodiment 3, wherein:

[0116] Verifying TA includes: in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the additional serving cell measurement M1' and the second measurement M2 is less than a given difference threshold, verifying TA; and

[0117] wherein, in response to verifying TA, PUR is used for uplink transmission.

[0118] 5. The method according to Example Embodiment 1, wherein:

[0119] Verifying TA includes: in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the first measurement M1 and the additional serving cell measurement M2' is less than a given difference threshold, verifying TA; and

[0120] wherein, in response to verifying TA, PUR is used for uplink transmission.

[0121] 6. The method according to any one of Example Embodiments 1-5, wherein:

[0122] The estimation of the PL change is based on the additional serving cell measurement M2'; and

[0123] wherein, in response to the estimation, PUR is used for uplink transmission or postponed.

[0124] 7. A method for performing an idle mode uplink transmission using a pre-configured uplink resource PUR, performed by a wireless device, the method comprising:

[0125] Obtaining PUR configuration information including a timing advance TA at a first reference time T1;

[0126] Identifying a second reference time T2 at which TA verification, path loss PL estimation for power control, and / or path loss change estimation are to be performed, based on the PUR configuration information;

[0127] Comparing the second reference time T2 with the first reference time T1; and

[0128] In response to determining that the time difference between the first reference time T1 and the second reference time T2 does not meet a given difference threshold, performing one of the following:

[0129] Performing TA

[0130] verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing new measurements, and using the PUR resource for uplink transmission based on the TA verification, PL estimation for power control, and / or PL change estimation;

[0131] Postponing using the PUR resource for uplink transmission until a third reference time T3; and

[0132] Abandoning using the PUR resource for uplink transmission.

[0133] 8. A wireless device adapted to perform the method according to any one of example embodiments 1-7.

[0134] 9. A wireless device comprising a transceiver circuit and a processing circuit, the processing circuit being operatively associated with the transceiver circuit and configured to perform the method according to any one of example embodiments 1-7.

[0135] 10. A computer program comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuit, cause the at least one processing circuit to perform the method according to any one of example embodiments 1-7.

[0136] 11. A carrier containing the computer program according to example embodiment 10, wherein the carrier is one of an electrical signal, an optical signal, a radio signal, or a computer-readable storage medium.

[0137] A1. A communication system comprising a host computer, the host computer comprising:

[0138] A processing circuit configured to provide user data; and

[0139] A communication interface configured to forward user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment UE, wherein the cellular network includes a base station, the UE has a radio interface and a processing circuit, and the processing circuit of the UE is configured to perform any operation including Embodiments 1-7.

[0140] A2. The communication system according to the previous embodiment, further comprising: a base station.

[0141] A3. The communication system according to the previous two embodiments, further comprising: a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0142] A4. The communication system according to the previous three embodiments, wherein:

[0143] The processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and

[0144] The UE includes a processing circuit configured to execute a client application associated with the host application.

[0145] A5. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment UE, the method comprising:

[0146] At the host computer, providing user data; and

[0147] At the host computer, initiating a transmission of the user data to the UE via a cellular network including the base station, wherein the UE performs any step according to any one of Embodiments 1-7.

[0148] A6. The method according to the previous embodiment, further comprising: at the base station, transmitting the user data.

[0149] A7. The method according to the previous two embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host computer by executing a host application, and the method further comprises: at the UE, executing a client application associated with the host application.

[0150] A8. A communication system including a host computer, the host computer including a communication interface configured to receive user data sourced from a transmission from a user equipment UE to a base station, the UE including a radio interface and a processing circuit configured to communicate with the base station and cooperatively perform any operation according to any one of Embodiments 1-7.

[0151] A9. The communication system according to the previous embodiment, further comprising: a base station.

[0152] A10. The communication system according to the previous two embodiments further includes: a UE, wherein the UE is configured to communicate with the base station.

[0153] A11. The communication system according to the previous three embodiments, wherein:

[0154] The processing circuit of the host computer is configured to execute a host application; and

[0155] The UE is further configured to execute a client application associated with the host application, so as to provide user data to be received by the host computer.

[0156] A12. A method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment UE, the method including:

[0157] At the host computer, receiving user data from the base station that originated from a transmission received by the base station from the UE, wherein the UE performs any step according to any one of Embodiments 1-7.

[0158] A13. The method according to the previous embodiment further includes: at the base station, receiving user data from the UE.

[0159] A14. The method according to the previous two embodiments further includes: at the base station, initiating transmission of the received user data to the host computer.

[0160] Many variations and modifications can be made to the embodiments without significantly departing from the principles of the inventive concept. All such variations and modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the inventive concept. Therefore, the subject matter disclosed above is considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and the examples of the embodiments are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments that fall within the spirit and scope of the inventive concept. Therefore, to the maximum extent permitted by law, the scope of the inventive concept will be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of this disclosure that includes the examples of the embodiments and their equivalents, and should not be limited or defined by the foregoing detailed description.

Claims

1. A method for performing uplink transmission by a wireless device, the method comprising: Determining whether a serving cell signal measurement M2 has been completed within a predetermined time range before and not later than a reference time T2, the reference time T2 corresponding to an uplink transmission opportunity; And In response to determining that the serving cell signal measurement M2 has not been completed within the predetermined time range, postponing the transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or aborting the uplink transmission, or collecting additional serving cell measurements M2' that fall within the predetermined time range; Wherein, the method further comprises: before the determining, Verifying whether a serving cell measurement M1 has been completed within a predetermined time range near a reference time T1, the reference time T1 corresponding to the time of obtaining a timing advance TA for transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The uplink transmission opportunity is a time-frequency resource in the idle mode uplink for performing an uplink transmission using pre-configured uplink resources PUR.

3. The method according to claim 1 further comprises: In response to determining that the serving cell measurement M1 has been completed within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1, Verifying the TA for transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity, wherein verifying the TA comprises: verifying the TA in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the serving cell measurement M1 and the serving cell signal measurement M2 is less than a given difference threshold; and In response to the verification of the TA, performing transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity.

4. The method according to claim 1 further comprises: In response to determining that the serving cell measurement M1 has been completed within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1, Determining that the magnitude difference between the serving cell measurement M1 and the serving cell signal measurement M2 is not less than a given difference threshold; and In response to the determining, aborting the uplink transmission.

5. The method according to claim 1, wherein The method further comprises: in response to determining that the serving cell measurement M1 has not been completed within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1, collecting additional serving cell measurements M1' that fall within the predetermined time range near the reference time T1.

6. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: Verifying the TA for transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity, wherein verifying the TA comprises: verifying the TA in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the additional serving cell measurement M1' and the serving cell signal measurement M2 is less than a given difference threshold; and In response to the verification of the TA, performing transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity.

7. The method according to claim 5, further comprising: Determining that the magnitude difference between the additional serving cell measurement M1' and the serving cell signal measurement M2 is not less than a given difference threshold; And In response to the determining, aborting the uplink transmission.

8. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein The method comprises: collecting the additional serving cell measurements M2', and wherein, the method further comprises: Verify the TA for transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity, wherein verifying the TA includes: verifying the TA in response to determining that the magnitude difference between the serving cell measurement M1 and the additional serving cell measurement M2' is less than a given difference threshold; and In response to verification of the TA, perform transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity.

9. The method according to any one of claims 1-3, 5, 6, further comprising: Estimate the path loss PL for power control of transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity, wherein estimating the PL is based on the additional serving cell measurement M2'; and Based on the estimation, perform transmission at the uplink transmission opportunity.

10. A wireless device (50) comprising transceiver circuitry (56) and processing circuitry (52), the processing circuitry (52) being operatively associated with the transceiver circuitry (56) and configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

11. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program (66) comprising instructions which, when executed on at least one processing circuit, cause the at least one processing circuit to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-9.

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