Method for determining between same-frequency operation and different-frequency operation

Abstract

The solution outlined in the present disclosure is a method for determining intra-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation, the method comprising: obtaining a first measurement resource of a first cell as a reference measurement resource; obtaining a second measurement resource of a second cell, the second measurement resource of the second cell being of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell; and determining whether the second cell is operating on an intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell. The method may be performed in a user equipment or a network node.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the Chinese patent application with an application date of June 25, 2018, a Chinese national phase entry date of February 24, 2020, and an application number of 201880054961.7 (“Method for determining between same-frequency operation and different-frequency operation”). Technical Field

[0002] Particular embodiments relate to the field of distinguishing between co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation; and more specifically, to methods, devices and systems for determining co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation of user equipment in 5G radio. Background Art

[0003] Regarding the New Radio (NR) architecture, the so-called 5G system, from a radio perspective, standardization has begun in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), and the so-called NR is the name of the radio interface. One of the characteristics is that the frequency range will be higher than LTE (e.g., above 6 GHz), which has well-known more challenging propagation conditions (e.g., higher penetration losses). In order to mitigate some of this effect, multiple antenna technologies (e.g., beamforming) will be used extensively. Another NR feature is the use of multiple antennas in the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) of a cell or for a user equipment (UE) and / or in different frequency bands. Another feature is the possibility of achieving shorter latency times.

[0004] The NR architecture is being discussed in 3GPP and the current concepts are Figure 1 As shown in the figure, eNB represents LTE eNodeB, gNB represents NR base station (BS) (one NR BS can correspond to one or more transmission / reception points), and the lines between the nodes show the corresponding interfaces being discussed in 3GPP.

[0005] also, Figure 2 Deployment scenarios with NR BS discussed in 3GPP are shown. Both standalone and non-standalone NR deployments will be standardized in 3GPP. Standalone deployments can be single carrier or multi-carrier (e.g. NR carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity with NR primary cell (PCell) and NR primary secondary cell (PSCell)). Currently, non-standalone deployments are intended to describe deployments with LTE PCell and NR PSCell (there may also be one or more LTE secondary cells (SCell) and one or more NR SCells).

[0006] The following deployment options are explicitly captured in the NR work item description [RP-170847, New WID on New Radio Access Technology, NTT DoCoMo, March 2018]:

[0007] This work item is intended to support the following connection options:

[0008] For the single connection option:

[0009] - NR connection to the 5G Core Network (CN) (option 2 in TR 38.801 section 7.1).

[0010] For dual connection option:

[0011] - E-UTRA-NR DC via EPC, where E-UTRA is the primary device (option 3 / 3a / 3x in TR 38.801 clause 10.1.2);

[0012] - E-UTRA-NR DC via 5G-CN with E-UTRA as primary (option 7 / 7a / 7x in TR 38.801 section 10.1.4);

[0013] - NR-E-UTRA DC over 5G-CN with NR as the primary device (option 4 / 4A in TR 38.801 section 10.1.3); and

[0014] - After the work on Option 2, Series 3 and Series 7 is completed, work on Option 4 / 4A will begin.

[0015] Dual Connectivity (DC) between E-UTRA and NR (where E-UTRA is the primary case and the second priority is the NR primary case) and dual connectivity in NR.

[0016] Figure 3 Multiple measurement scenarios for intra-frequency UE operation and inter-frequency UE operation are shown. The UE performs intra-frequency operation (e.g., radio link monitoring (RLM), intra-frequency measurement, intra-frequency system information (SI) reading, intra-frequency cell identification, etc.) and inter-frequency / inter-radio access technology (RAT) operation (e.g., inter-frequency measurement, inter-frequency SI reading, inter-frequency cell identification, etc.).

[0017] To perform inter-frequency / inter-RAT operation, the UE usually needs measurement gaps, while for intra-frequency operation, measurement gaps are usually not required, except for bandwidth-constrained UEs further enhanced for machine type communication (FeMTC). In LTE, a gap pattern with a period of 40 ms or 80 ms is used. For example, in 36.300, intra-frequency neighbor (cell) measurement and inter-frequency neighbor (cell) measurement are defined as follows.

[0018] Regarding intra-frequency neighbor (cell) measurements, when the current cell and the target cell operate on the same (serving) carrier frequency, the neighbor cell measurements performed by the UE are intra-frequency measurements. Regarding inter-frequency neighbor (cell) measurements, when the neighbor cell operates on a different carrier frequency compared to the current cell, the neighbor cell measurements performed by the UE are inter-frequency measurements.

[0019] Whether the measurement is non-gap assisted or gap assisted depends on the capabilities of the UE and the current operating frequency. In a non-gap assisted scenario, the UE will be able to perform such measurements without measurement gaps. In a gap assisted scenario, it should not be assumed that the UE is able to perform such measurements without measurement gaps. The UE determines whether it needs to perform specific cell measurements in a transmit / receive gap, and the scheduler needs to know whether a gap is required.

[0020] Figure 3 Several scenarios are shown showing whether the target cell operates on a same-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier and whether the measurement is gap-free or gap-assisted.

[0021] Regarding scenario A, the current cell and the target cell have the same carrier frequency and cell bandwidth. Scenario A is a co-frequency scenario, and the measurement is gap-free assisted.

[0022] Regarding scenario B, the current cell and the target cell have the same carrier frequency, and the bandwidth of the target cell is smaller than the bandwidth of the current cell. Scenario B is a co-frequency scenario, and the measurement is gap-free assisted.

[0023] Regarding scenario C, the current cell and the target cell have the same carrier frequency, and the bandwidth of the target cell is greater than the bandwidth of the current cell. Scenario C is a co-frequency scenario, and the measurement is gap-free assisted.

[0024] Regarding scenario D, the current cell and the target cell have different carrier frequencies, and the bandwidth of the target cell is smaller than the bandwidth of the current cell, and the bandwidth of the target cell is within the bandwidth of the current cell. Scenario D is an inter-frequency scenario, and the measurement is gap-assisted.

[0025] For scenario E, the current cell and the target cell have different carrier frequencies, and the bandwidth of the target cell is greater than the bandwidth of the current cell, and the bandwidth of the current cell is within the bandwidth of the target cell. Scenario E is an inter-frequency scenario, and the measurement is gap-assisted.

[0026] Regarding scenario F, the current cell and the target cell have different carrier frequencies and non-overlapping bandwidths. Scenario F is an inter-frequency scenario, and the measurement is gap-assisted.

[0027] Regarding scenario G, the current cell and the target cell have the same carrier frequency, and there is no guarantee that the operating frequency of the low complexity (BL) UE with reduced bandwidth or the UE in enhanced coverage is aligned with the center frequency of the current cell. Scenario G is a co-frequency scenario, and the measurement is gap-assisted.

[0028] In LTE, the center frequency of the carrier comprises the DC carrier, and the physical signals and multicast / broadcast channels (eg, synchronization signals, positioning reference signals (PRS), physical broadcast channel (PBCH), etc.) are centered relative to DC.

[0029] There are certain challenges. In addition to the large bandwidth in NR, the synchronization signal and SS blocks are not necessarily centered within the system bandwidth. In addition, the network can configure multiple SS blocks within the carrier bandwidth in the same or different time resources (e.g., subframes). It becomes unclear how to distinguish between the same frequency and different frequencies. Summary of the invention

[0030] In order to address the aforementioned problems with existing solutions, a method and a network node for buffer handling using in-band control signaling are disclosed.

[0031] Several embodiments are described in the present disclosure. According to a first embodiment, the UE determines one or a group of reference or anchor radio measurement resources (RMRs) belonging to a first serving cell (cell 1), which are used as a reference for co-frequency operation (e.g., measurement, etc.). The determination may also be based on one or more of the following: rules or signaling / indications from a network node. The UE may also operate / configured with two or more serving cells (e.g., cell 1, cell 2, cell 3). For each serving cell, the UE will obtain the corresponding RMR and independently determine the corresponding co-frequency cell.

[0032] According to the second embodiment, based on the determined frequency resources for co-frequency operation, the UE uses the above information for one or more of the following: determining whether the neighboring cell (cell 2) is a co-frequency neighboring cell or an inter-frequency neighboring cell; distinguishing between co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation (for example, performing co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation in different ways; performing at least one different step for co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation; operating while satisfying co-frequency requirements and inter-frequency requirements, which are different for the same type of operation (for example, radio measurement)); configuring its bandwidth, for example, measurement bandwidth (BW) or reference bandwidth (RF BW); configuring its transmission (for example, in time division duplex (TDD) operation, etc., the UE transmission bandwidth does not exceed the determined co-frequency resources); and the like.

[0033] In another embodiment, a method used in a user equipment includes: obtaining a first measurement resource of a first cell as a reference measurement resource. The method also includes: obtaining a second measurement resource of a second cell, the second measurement resource of the second cell being of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell. The method also includes: determining whether the second cell operates on a same-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell.

[0034] In another embodiment, the user equipment obtains information about the reference measurement resource based on an indication received from the network node.In yet another embodiment, the user equipment described herein adapts the measurement procedure in response to determining whether the second cell operates on an intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier.

[0035] In yet another embodiment, a method used in a network node includes: obtaining a first measurement resource of a first cell as a reference measurement resource. The method also includes: obtaining a second measurement resource of a second cell, the second measurement resource of the second cell being of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell. The method also includes: determining whether the second cell is operating on a co-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell, and sending information to a user equipment regarding determining whether the second cell is operating on a co-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier.

[0036] In another embodiment, the network node determines the intra-frequency RMR and provides the intra-frequency RMR configuration to another node (eg, another network node or another UE). In yet another embodiment, the network node sends information about the acquired RMR to the user equipment.

[0037] In some embodiments, the first measurement resource and the second measurement resource include SS blocks or CSI-RS. In some embodiments, the network node described herein further comprises: adapting the measurement configuration sent to the user equipment in response to determining whether the second cell operates on a same-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier.

[0038] Specific embodiments for UE and network nodes are described. In one embodiment, a user equipment for determining intra-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation includes: at least one processing circuit; and at least one storage device storing processor executable instructions, the processor executable instructions, when executed by the processing circuit, enable the user equipment to: obtain a first measurement resource of a first cell as a reference measurement resource; obtain a second measurement resource of a second cell, the second measurement resource of the second cell being of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell; and determine whether the second cell is operating on an intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell.

[0039] In one embodiment, a network node for determining co-frequency operation and hetero-frequency operation of a user equipment comprises: at least one processing circuit; and at least one storage device storing processor executable instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuit, enable the network node to: obtain a second measurement resource of a second cell, where the second measurement resource of the second cell is of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell; determine whether the second cell is operating on a co-frequency carrier or a hetero-frequency carrier by comparing a reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell; and send information to the user equipment regarding determining whether the second cell is operating on a co-frequency carrier or a hetero-frequency carrier.

[0040] In another embodiment, a communication system for determining co-frequency operation and hetero-frequency operation includes a network node, the network node including at least one processing circuit, the processing circuit being configured to: obtain a first measurement resource of a first cell as a reference measurement resource; obtain a second measurement resource of a second cell, the second measurement resource of the second cell being of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell; and send the reference measurement resource and the second measurement resource of the second cell to a user equipment; and a user equipment in the network, including at least one processing circuit, the at least one processing circuit being configured to: receive the reference measurement resource and the second measurement resource of the second cell from the network node; and determine whether the second cell is operating on a co-frequency carrier or a hetero-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell.

[0041] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Various embodiments are presented herein that address one or more of the issues disclosed herein.

[0042] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantages. The method disclosed in the present disclosure may provide the possibility to distinguish between co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation in NR. The method may also define UE behavior known to the network so that the network can control UE performance, since co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation usually have quite different performance.

[0043] Various other features and advantages will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art from the following detailed description and accompanying drawings. Certain embodiments may have none, some or all of the advantages described. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0044] The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0045] Figure 1 An example new radio architecture from the 3rd Generation Partnership Project is shown;

[0046] Figure 2 An exemplary deployment scenario with a new radio base station in 3GPP is shown;

[0047] Figure 3 Multiple measurement scenarios for intra-frequency UE operation and inter-frequency UE operation are shown;

[0048] Figure 4 illustrates an example wireless network in accordance with certain embodiments;

[0049] Figure 5 illustrates an example user device according to certain embodiments;

[0050] Figure 6 illustrates an example virtualized environment according to certain embodiments;

[0051] Figure 7 illustrates an example telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network in accordance with certain embodiments;

[0052] Figure 8 An example host computer is shown in accordance with some embodiments, communicating with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection;

[0053] Fig. 9 An example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user device according to some embodiments is shown;

[0054] Fig.10 Another example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user device according to some embodiments is shown;

[0055] Fig.11 Yet another example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments is shown;

[0056] Fig.12 Still another example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user equipment according to some embodiments is shown;

[0057] Fig.13 illustrates example configurations of synchronization signal (SS) blocks, SS bursts, and SS burst sets in accordance with certain embodiments;

[0058] Fig.14 illustrates multiple measurement scenarios for intra-frequency UE operation and inter-frequency UE operation according to certain embodiments;

[0059] Fig.15 A flow chart showing a method in a user equipment according to some embodiments;

[0060] Fig.16 A flow chart illustrating another method in a network node according to certain embodiments;

[0061] Fig.17 A block diagram illustrating an exemplary user equipment according to certain embodiments; and

[0062] Fig.18 A block diagram of an exemplary network node is shown in accordance with certain embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] In a typical LTE system, the current cell and the target cell can operate on the same frequency (same-frequency scenario) and / or on different frequencies (inter-frequency scenario). The selection between same-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation becomes critical because interference may occur when the target cell is adjacent to the current cell and operates on the same-frequency carrier, and it is not desirable to perform inter-frequency operation for every handover due to insufficient bandwidth. The UE needs to perform reconfiguration after receiving measurements indicating that the target cell is operating on an inter-frequency carrier. Sometimes this causes delays or handover failures.

[0064] In addition, in NR systems with larger bandwidths, synchronization signals and SS blocks are not necessarily centered within the system bandwidth. The network can configure multiple SS blocks within the carrier bandwidth in the same or different time resources (e.g., subframes). Therefore, the method for distinguishing between co-frequency operation and hetero-frequency operation of a UE in NR in the present disclosure provides a method for the above-mentioned problem. The method in the present disclosure determines whether the target cell is operating on the co-frequency carrier or the hetero-frequency carrier based on a comparison of a reference measurement resource with a target measurement resource, and distinguishes between co-frequency operation and hetero-frequency operation.

[0065] Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, other embodiments are included within the scope of the subject matter disclosed herein, and the disclosed subject matter should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided merely as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0066] Generally, unless clearly given and / or different meanings are implied from the context, all terms used in this article will be interpreted according to their common meaning in the relevant technical field. Unless otherwise clearly stated, all references to "one / an / described element, equipment, assembly, device, step, etc." should be openly interpreted as referring to at least one instance of an element, equipment, assembly, device, step, etc. Unless a step is clearly described as after or before another step and / or in the case where a step must be implicitly after or before another step, the steps of any method disclosed herein do not have to be performed in the exact order disclosed. Where appropriate, any feature of any embodiment disclosed herein may be applied to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may be applicable to any other embodiment, and vice versa. By the following description, other purposes, features and advantages of the attached embodiments will be apparent.

[0067] In some embodiments, the non-limiting term "UE" is used. The UE herein may be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another UE via radio signals. The UE may also be 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, an iPAD, a tablet, a mobile terminal, a smart phone, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB adapter, or a customer terminal equipment (CPE), etc.

[0068] In addition, in some embodiments, the general term "network node" is used. It can be any kind of network node, including a radio network node, such as a base station, a radio base station, a base transceiver station, a base station controller, a network controller, a multi-standard radio BS, a gNB, a NR BS, an evolved Node B (eNB), a Node B, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), a relay node, an access point, a radio access point, a remote radio unit (RRU), a remote radio head (RRH), a multi-standard BS (also known as an MSR BS), a core network node (e.g., an MME, a SON node, a coordination node, a positioning node, an MDT node, etc.), or even an external node (e.g., a third-party node, a node outside the current network), etc. The network node may also include a test device.

[0069] As used herein, the term "radio node" may be used to refer to a UE or a radio network node.

[0070] The term "signaling" as used herein may include any of the following: high-layer signaling (e.g., via radio resource control (RRC), etc.), low-layer signaling (e.g., via a physical control channel or a broadcast channel), or a combination thereof. Signaling may be implicit or explicit. Signaling may also be unicast, multicast, or broadcast. Signaling may also be sent directly to another node or via a third node.

[0071] The term "radio measurement" used herein may refer to any measurement performed on a radio signal. Radio measurements may be absolute or relative. Radio measurements may be referred to as signal levels, which may be signal quality and / or signal strength. Radio measurements may be, for example, co-frequency, inter-frequency, inter-RAT measurements, CA measurements, etc. Radio measurements may be unidirectional (e.g., DL or UL) or bidirectional (e.g., RTT, Rx-Tx, etc.). Some examples of radio measurements: timing measurements (e.g., TOA, timing advance, RTT, RSTD, Rx-Tx, propagation delay, etc.), angle measurements (e.g., angle of arrival), power-based measurements (e.g., received signal power, RSRP, received signal quality, RSRQ, SINR, SNR, interference power, total interference plus noise, RSSI, noise power, etc.), cell detection or cell identification, radio link monitoring (RLM), system information (SI) reading, etc. The UE performs inter-frequency measurements and inter-RAT measurements in measurement gaps unless the UE is able to perform such measurements without gaps. Examples of measurement gaps are measurement gap id #0 (a 6 ms gap occurring every 40 ms), measurement gap id #1 (a 6 ms gap occurring every 80 ms), etc. The measurement gaps are configured at the UE by the network node.

[0072] Performing measurements on a carrier may mean performing measurements on signals of one or more cells operating on the carrier, or performing measurements on signals of the carrier (also known as carrier-specific measurements, e.g., RSSI). Examples of cell-specific measurements are signal strength, signal quality, etc.

[0073] The term "measurement performance" as used herein may refer to any standard or metric that characterizes the performance of measurements performed by a radio node. The term "measurement performance" is also referred to as measurement requirements, measurement performance requirements, etc. The radio node must meet one or more measurement performance criteria related to the measurements performed. Examples of measurement performance criteria are measurement time, number of cells to be measured using the measurement time, measurement report delay, measurement accuracy, measurement accuracy with reference to a reference value (e.g., ideal measurement result), etc. Examples of measurement time are measurement period, cell identification period, evaluation period, etc.

[0074] The term "parameter set" herein may include any one or combination of the following: subcarrier spacing, number of subcarriers within a bandwidth, resource block size, symbol length, CP length, etc. In one specific non-limiting example, the parameter set includes a subcarrier spacing of 7.5 kHz, 15 kHz, 30 kHz, 60 kHz, 120 kHz, or 240 kHz. In another example, the parameter set is a CP length, which may be used with a subcarrier spacing of 30 kHz or greater.

[0075] The term "bandwidth" (BW) used in this article is the frequency range over which a node sends a signal to another node and / or receives a signal from another node. BW is interchangeably referred to as operating bandwidth, channel bandwidth, system bandwidth, configuration bandwidth, transmission bandwidth, cell bandwidth, cell transmission BW, carrier bandwidth, etc. BW can be expressed in any of the following: G1 MHz, G2 GHz, in units of the number of physical channels (e.g., G3 resource blocks, G4 subcarriers, etc.). In one example, BW may include a guard band, while in another example, BW may exclude a guard band. For example, a system or channel BW may include a guard band, while the transmission bandwidth consists of a BW without a guard band. For simplicity, the term BW is used in the embodiments.

[0076] The embodiments described herein are applicable to any multi-carrier system where at least two radio network nodes can configure radio measurements for the same UE. One specific example scenario includes a dual connectivity deployment with an LTE PCell and an NR PSCell. Another example scenario is a dual connectivity deployment with an NR PCell and an NR PSCell.

[0077] Figure 4 is an example wireless network according to some embodiments. Although the subject matter described herein can be implemented in any suitable type of system using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are related to wireless networks (e.g., Figure 4 For simplicity, Figure 4 The wireless network of FIG. 4 depicts only network 406, network nodes 460 and 460b, and wireless devices (WD) 410, 410b, and 410c. In practice, the wireless network may also include any additional elements suitable for supporting communications between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device (e.g., a landline phone, a service provider, or any other network node or terminal device). In the components shown, network node 460 and wireless device (WD) 410 are depicted with additional details. In some embodiments, network node 460 may be in Fig.16 and Fig.18 In some embodiments, the network node 460 may be a network node further described in Figures 7 to 12In some embodiments, the wireless device 410 may be a user device that Figure 5 , Figure 7 to Figure 12 and Figure 14 to Figure 16 A wireless network may provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate the wireless devices to access and / or use services provided by or via the wireless network.

[0078] A wireless network may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular and / or radio network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, a wireless network may be configured to operate according to a particular standard or other type of predefined rules or procedures. Thus, a particular embodiment of a wireless network may implement a communication standard such as a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standard; a wireless local area network (WLAN) standard, such as the IEEE 802.11 standard; and / or any other suitable wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0079] The network 406 may include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone networks (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide area networks (WANs), local area networks (LANs), wireless local area networks (WLANs), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks to enable communications between devices.

[0080] The network node 460 and the WD 410 include various components described in more detail below. These components work together to provide network node and / or wireless device functions, such as providing wireless connections in a wireless network. In different embodiments, the wireless network may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relay stations, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via a wired connection or via a wireless connection).

[0081] As used herein, a network node refers to a device that is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or with other network nodes or devices in a wireless network to enable and / or provide wireless access to a wireless device and / or perform other functions (e.g., management) in a wireless network. Examples of network nodes include (but are not limited to) access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations can be classified based on the amount of coverage provided by the base station (or in other words, the transmit power level of the base station), and therefore the base station can also be referred to as a femto base station, a pico base station, a micro base station, or a macro base station. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). These remote radio units may be integrated with the antenna as "radio devices with integrated antennas", or may not be integrated with the antenna as "radio devices with integrated antennas". The parts of the distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Some further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment (e.g., MSR BS), network controllers (e.g., radio network controllers (RNC) or base station controllers (BSC)), base transceiver stations (BTS), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSC, MME), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLCs) and / or MDTs. As another example, a network node may be a virtual network node, as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node may represent any suitable device (or device group) as follows: the device (or device group) is capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to implement and / or provide access of a wireless device to a wireless network, or to provide a certain service to a wireless device that has accessed a wireless network.

[0082] exist Figure 4 In FIG. 4 , the network node 460 includes a processing circuit 470, a device readable medium 480, an interface 490, an auxiliary device 484, a power supply 486, a power supply circuit 487, and an antenna 462. Figure 4The network node 460 shown in the exemplary wireless network of can represent a device including a combination of the hardware components shown, but other embodiments can include network nodes with different combinations of components. It should be understood that the network node includes any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. In addition, although the components of the network node 460 are depicted as a single box located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in reality, the network node may include multiple different physical components that constitute a single illustrated component (for example, the device readable medium 480 may include multiple separate hard drives and multiple RAM modules).

[0083] Similarly, the network node 460 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may have respective corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node 460 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may be considered a single separate network node in some cases. In some embodiments, the network node 460 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such an embodiment, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 480 for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 462 may be shared by the RATs). In some embodiments, the network node 460 may perform the functions of the wireless device 410, for example, referring to Fig.15 The network node 460 may also include multiple groups of various components shown for different wireless technologies (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 460. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 460.

[0084] The processing circuitry 470 is configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being provided by the network node. Such operations performed by the processing circuitry 470 may include processing information acquired by the processing circuitry 470 by, for example, converting the acquired information to other information, comparing the acquired information or the converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired information or the converted information and making a determination as a result of the processing. In certain embodiments, the processing circuitry 470 of the network node 460 may perform Fig.15 and Fig.16The method is further shown in .

[0085] The processing circuit 470 may include a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide network node 460 functions alone or in conjunction with other network node 460 components (e.g., device readable medium 480). For example, the processing circuit 470 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 480 or stored in a memory within the processing circuit 470. Such functions may include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or benefits discussed herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 470 may include a system on a chip (SOC).

[0086] In some embodiments, processing circuitry 470 may include one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 472 and baseband processing circuitry 474. In some embodiments, radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 472 and baseband processing circuitry 474 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 472 and baseband processing circuitry 474 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0087] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by a processing circuit 470 that executes instructions stored on a device-readable medium 480 or a memory within the processing circuit 470. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by the processing circuit 470, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable medium. In any of these embodiments, the processing circuit 470 may be configured to perform the functions described, whether or not instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functions are not limited to only the processing circuit 470 or to other components of the network node 460, but are enjoyed by the network node 460 as a whole and / or generally by end users and wireless networks.

[0088] Device-readable medium 480 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including (but not limited to) permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD), or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile memory or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that can be used by processing circuit 470. Device-readable medium 480 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, etc., and / or other instructions that can be executed by processing circuit 470 and used by network node 460. Device-readable medium 480 may be used to store any calculations made by processing circuit 470 and / or any data received via interface 490. In some embodiments, processing circuitry 470 and device readable medium 480 may be considered integrated.

[0089] Interface 490 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network node 460, network 406 and / or WD 410. As shown, interface 490 includes port / terminal 494, for example, sending data to network 406 and receiving data from network 406 via wired connection. Interface 490 also includes radio front-end circuit 492, which can be coupled to antenna 462, or is a part of antenna 462 in some embodiments. Radio front-end circuit 492 includes filter 498 and amplifier 496. Radio front-end circuit 492 can be connected to antenna 462 and processing circuit 470. Radio front-end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal communicated between antenna 462 and processing circuit 470. Radio front-end circuit 492 can receive digital data, which will be sent to other network nodes or WDs via wireless connection. Radio front-end circuit 492 can use a combination of filter 498 and / or amplifier 496 to convert digital data into a radio signal with suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. Radio signal can then be sent via antenna 462. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 462 may collect radio signals, which may then be converted to digital data by radio front end circuitry 492. The digital data may be passed to processing circuitry 470. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0090] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 460 may not include a separate radio front end circuit 492, and instead, the processing circuit 470 may include the radio front end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 462 without the separate radio front end circuit 492. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 472 may be considered part of the interface 490. In other embodiments, the interface 490 may include one or more ports or terminals 494, the radio front end circuit 492, and the RF transceiver circuit 472 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the interface 490 may communicate with the baseband processing circuit 474 as part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0091] Antenna 462 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 462 may be coupled to radio front-end circuit 492 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly sending and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 462 may include one or more omnidirectional, sector or planar antennas operable to send / receive radio signals between, for example, 2 GHz and 66 GHz. Omnidirectional antennas may be used to transmit / receive radio signals in any direction, sector antennas may be used to transmit / receive radio signals for devices within a specific area, and panel antennas may be line of sight antennas for transmitting / receiving radio signals in a relatively straight manner. In some cases, using more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 462 may be separated from network node 460 and may be connected to network node 460 via an interface or port.

[0092] Antenna 462, interface 490 and / or processing circuit 470 can be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain acquisition operation described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data and / or signal can be received from a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 462, interface 490 and / or processing circuit 470 can be configured to perform any sending operation performed by a network node as described herein. Any information, data and / or signal can be sent to a wireless device, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0093] The power circuit 487 may include a power management circuit or be coupled to a power management circuit, and is configured to provide power for performing the functions described herein to the components of the network node 460. The power circuit 487 may receive power from the power supply 486. The power supply 486 and / or the power circuit 487 may be configured to provide power to the various components of the network node 460 in a form suitable for the various components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each corresponding component). The power supply 486 may be included in the power circuit 487 and / or the network node 460 or outside the power circuit 487 and / or the network node 460. For example, the network node 460 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or an interface such as a cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit 487. As another example, the power supply 486 may include a power source in the form of a battery or a battery pack, which is connected to or integrated in the power circuit 487. If the external power source fails, the battery can provide backup power. Other types of power sources, such as photovoltaic devices, may also be used.

[0094] Alternative embodiments of network node 460 may include beyond Figure 4 , which additional components may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of the network node (including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein). For example, the network node 460 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 460 and to allow information to be output from the network node 460. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 460.

[0095] As used herein, a wireless device (WD) refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise specified, the term WD is used interchangeably with user equipment (UE) herein. In some embodiments, the wireless device 410 may be a wireless device that is capable of, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Figure 13 to Figure 15 and Fig.17. Wireless communication may involve sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information through the air. In some embodiments, a WD may be configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a WD may be designed to send information to a network on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network. Examples of WDs include (but are not limited to) smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, rechargeable devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. WD may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) communication, and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication, and in this case may be referred to as a D2D communication device. As another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, WD may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another WD and / or network node. In this case, WD may be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, WD may be a UE that implements the 3GPP narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, metering devices (e.g., power meters), industrial machines, or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearable devices (e.g., watches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, WD may represent a vehicle or other device that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation. As mentioned above, WD can represent the end point of wireless connection, in which case, the device can be referred to as a wireless terminal. In addition, as mentioned above, WD can be mobile, in which case, it can also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

[0096] As shown, wireless device 410 includes antenna 411, interface 414, processing circuit 420, device-readable medium 430, user interface device 432, auxiliary device 434, power supply 436, and power supply circuit 437. WD 410 may include multiple sets of one or more of the components shown for different wireless technologies supported by WD 410, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to mention just a few. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets as other components within WD 410.

[0097] Antenna 411 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals and connected to interface 414. In some alternative embodiments, antenna 411 may be separated from WD 410 and may be connected to WD 410 via an interface or port. Antenna 411, interface 414 and / or processing circuit 420 may be configured to perform any receiving or transmitting operation described herein as being performed by WD. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a network node and / or another WD. In some embodiments, radio front-end circuitry and / or antenna 411 may be considered as an interface.

[0098] As shown, the interface 414 includes a radio front-end circuit 412 and an antenna 411. The radio front-end circuit 412 includes one or more filters 418 and an amplifier 416. The radio front-end circuit 412 is connected to the antenna 411 and the processing circuit 420, and is configured to adjust the signal communicated between the antenna 411 and the processing circuit 420. The radio front-end circuit 412 may be coupled to the antenna 411 or may be part of the antenna 411. In some embodiments, the WD 410 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit 412; instead, the processing circuit 420 may include a radio front-end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 411. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 422 may be considered as part of the interface 414. The radio front-end circuit 412 may receive digital data, which will be sent out to other network nodes or WDs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 412 may use a combination of filters 418 and / or amplifiers 416 to convert the digital data into a radio signal having suitable channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal may then be sent via the antenna 411. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 411 may collect radio signals, which may then be converted to digital data by radio front end circuit 412. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 420. In other embodiments, the interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0099] The processing circuit 420 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide WD 410 functionality alone or in conjunction with other WD 410 components (e.g., device readable medium 430). Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 420 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 430 or in a memory within the processing circuit 420 to provide the functionality disclosed herein. In a particular embodiment, the processing circuit 420 of the wireless device 410 may execute instructions stored in the device readable medium 430 or in a memory within the processing circuit 420 to provide the functionality disclosed herein. Fig.15 The method is further shown in .

[0100] As shown, the processing circuit 420 includes one or more of the RF transceiver circuit 422, the baseband processing circuit 424, and the application processing circuit 426. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may include different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 420 of the WD 410 may include a SOC. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuit 422, the baseband processing circuit 424, and the application processing circuit 426 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In an alternative embodiment, part or all of the baseband processing circuit 424 and the application processing circuit 426 may be combined into one chip or chipset, and the RF transceiver circuit 422 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In another alternative embodiment, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit 422 and the baseband processing circuit 424 may be on the same chip or chipset, and the application processing circuit 426 may be on a separate chip or chipset. In other alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit 422, the baseband processing circuit 424, and the application processing circuit 426 may be combined in the same chip or chipset. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuitry 422 may be part of interface 414. RF transceiver circuitry 422 may condition RF signals for processing circuitry 420.

[0101] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein as being performed by the WD may be provided by a processing circuit 420 executing instructions stored on a device-readable medium 430, which in some embodiments may be a computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by the processing circuit 420, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of those specific embodiments, the processing circuit 420 may be configured to perform the described functions, regardless of whether instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to only the processing circuit 420 or to other components of the WD 410, but are enjoyed by the WD 410 as a whole and / or generally by end users and wireless networks.

[0102] Processing circuit 420 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by WD. Such operations performed by processing circuit 420 may include processing information acquired by processing circuit 420 by, for example, converting the acquired information to other information, comparing the acquired information or the converted information to information stored by WD 410, and / or performing one or more operations based on the acquired information or the converted information and making a determination as a result of the processing.

[0103] Device-readable medium 430 is operable to store computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, etc., and / or other instructions executable by processing circuit 420. Device-readable medium 430 may include computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by processing circuit 420. In some embodiments, processing circuit 420 and device-readable medium 430 may be considered integrated.

[0104] The user interface device 432 may provide a component that allows a human user to interact with the WD 410. This interaction may have a variety of forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 432 is operable to generate output to the user and allow the user to provide input to the WD 410. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 432 installed in the WD 410. For example, if the WD 410 is a smart phone, the interaction may be performed via a touch screen; if the WD 410 is a smart meter, the interaction may be performed through a screen that provides usage data (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that provides an audible alarm (e.g., if smoke is detected). The user interface device 432 may include input interfaces, devices, and circuits, and may include output interfaces, devices, and circuits. The user interface device 432 is configured to allow information to be input into the WD 410, and is connected to the processing circuit 420 to allow the processing circuit 420 to process the input information. The user interface device 432 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, a key / button, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuits. The user interface device 432 is also configured to allow information to be output from the WD 410 and to allow the processing circuit 420 to output information from the WD 410. The user interface device 432 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone jack, or other output circuits. By using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface device 432, the WD 410 can communicate with an end user and / or a wireless network and allow them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0105] Auxiliary device 434 is operable to provide more specific functions that may not be typically performed by a WD. This may include specialized sensors for measuring for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communications (e.g., wired communications, etc.). Whether components of auxiliary device 434 are included and the types of components of auxiliary device 434 may vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0106] In some embodiments, the power supply 436 may be in the form of a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies may also be used, such as an external power supply (e.g., a power outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a battery cell. WD 410 may also include a power supply circuit 437 for delivering power from the power supply 436 to various parts of WD 410, and various parts of WD 410 require power from the power supply 436 to perform any functions described or indicated herein. In some embodiments, the power supply circuit 437 may include a power management circuit. The power supply circuit 437 may additionally or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power supply; in this case, the WD 410 may be connected to an external power supply (e.g., a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface (e.g., a power cable). In some embodiments, the power supply circuit 437 may also be operable to deliver power from an external power supply to the power supply 436. For example, this may be used for charging the power supply 436. The power supply circuit 437 may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modifications to the power from the power supply 436 so that the power is suitable for the various components of the WD 410 being powered.

[0107] Figure 5 One embodiment of a UE in accordance with various aspects described herein is shown. As used herein, a "user equipment" or "UE" may not necessarily have a "user" in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not or may not initially be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). UE 500 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a NB-IoT UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. As Figure 5 As shown, UE 500 is an example of a WD configured for communication according to one or more communication standards promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) (e.g., GSM, UMTS, LTE and / or 5G standards of 3GPP). In some embodiments, user equipment 500 may be a Figure 13 to Figure 15 and Fig.17 As mentioned above, the terms WD and UE are used interchangeably. Therefore, although Figure 5 It is a UE, but the components discussed in this article are also applicable to WD, and vice versa.

[0108] exist Figure 5In the embodiment, UE 500 includes a processing circuit 501, which is operably coupled to an input / output interface 505, a radio frequency (RF) interface 509, a network connection interface 511, a memory 515 including a random access memory (RAM) 517, a read-only memory (ROM) 519 and a storage medium 521, a communication subsystem 531, a power supply 513 and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 521 includes an operating system 523, an application 525 and data 527. In other embodiments, the storage medium 521 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may use Figure 5 All components shown in the , or only a subset of the components may be used. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, for example, multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0109] exist Figure 5 In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing circuit 501 can be configured to process computer instructions and data. The processing circuit 501 can be configured to implement any sequential state machine that is operable to execute machine instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in a memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.); programmable logic and suitable firmware; one or more stored programs, general-purpose processors (e.g., microprocessors or digital signal processors (DSPs)) and suitable software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 501 may include two central processing units (CPUs). The data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0110] In the depicted embodiment, the input / output interface 505 may be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or an input and output device. The UE 500 may be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 505. The output device may use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port may be used to provide input to and output from the UE 500. The output device may be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, a transmitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 500 may be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 505 to allow a user to capture information into the UE 500. The input device may include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a webcam, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional keypad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from the user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, other similar sensors, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

[0111] exist Figure 5 In the embodiment of the present invention, the RF interface 509 can be configured to provide a communication interface to the RF components (e.g., transmitters, receivers, and antennas). The network connection interface 511 can be configured to provide a communication interface to the network 543a. The network 543a can include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 543a can include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 511 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface, which is used to communicate with one or more other devices through a communication network according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc.). The network connection interface 511 can implement receiver and transmitter functions suitable for communication network links (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The transmitter and receiver functions can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or can be implemented separately alternatively.

[0112] RAM 517 may be configured to interface with processing circuit 501 via bus 502 to provide storage or caching of data or computer instructions during execution of software programs (e.g., operating systems, applications, and device drivers). ROM 519 may be configured to provide computer instructions or data to processing circuit 501. For example, ROM 519 may be configured to store unchanged low-level system code or data for basic system functions, such as basic input and output (I / O) stored in non-volatile memory, booting, or receiving keystrokes from a keyboard. Storage medium 521 may be configured to include memory, such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable cassette, or flash drive. In one example, storage medium 521 may be configured to include operating system 523, application 525 (e.g., web browser application), widget or gadget engine or another application, and data file 527. The storage medium 521 may store any one of various operating systems or a combination of operating systems for use by the UE 500 .

[0113] The storage medium 521 may be configured to include multiple physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a floppy disk drive, a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disk (HD-DVD) optical drive, a built-in hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (e.g., a subscriber identification module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module), other memories, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 521 may allow the UE 500 to access computer executable instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary storage medium to unload data or upload data. Articles such as articles utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 521, which may include a device-readable medium.

[0114] exist Figure 5In the embodiment of the present invention, the processing circuit 501 can be configured to communicate with the network 543b using the communication subsystem 531. The network 543a and the network 543b can be one or more identical networks, or one or more different networks. The communication subsystem 531 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with the network 543b. For example, the communication subsystem 531 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device (e.g., another WD, UE or base station of a radio access network (RAN)) capable of wireless communication according to one or more communication protocols (e.g., IEEE 802.5, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc.). Each transceiver can include a transmitter 533 and / or a receiver 535 to respectively implement a transmitter or receiver function (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.) suitable for a RAN link. In addition, the transmitter 533 and the receiver 535 of each transceiver can share circuit components, software or firmware, or can alternatively be implemented separately.

[0115] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 531 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication (e.g., Bluetooth), near-field communication, location-based communication (e.g., use of a global positioning system (GPS) for determining location), another similar communication function, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 531 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 543b may include a wired and / or wireless network, such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 543b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a near-field network. The power supply 513 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 500.

[0116] The features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of UE 500, or divided between multiple components of UE 500. In addition, the features, benefits and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 531 may be configured to include any component described herein. In addition, the processing circuit 501 may be configured to communicate with any such component via the bus 502. In another example, any such component may be represented by a program instruction stored in a memory, which performs the corresponding function described herein when executed by the processing circuit 501. In another example, the function of any such component may be divided between the processing circuit 501 and the communication subsystem 531. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0117] Figure 6 An example virtualization environment is shown in accordance with certain embodiments. Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a virtualized environment 600 in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device that may include virtualized hardware platforms, storage devices, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node) or a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device) or a component thereof, and involves an implementation in which at least a portion of functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., via one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers executed on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0118] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines implemented in one or more virtualization environments 600 hosted by one or more hardware nodes 630. Furthermore, in embodiments where the virtual nodes are not radio access nodes or do not require radio connectivity (e.g., core network nodes), then the network nodes may be fully virtualized.

[0119] These functions may be implemented by one or more applications 620 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.), which are operable to implement some features, functions, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein. The applications 620 run in a virtualized environment 600, which provides hardware 630 including processing circuitry 660 and memory 690. The memory 690 contains instructions 695 executable by the processing circuitry 660, whereby the applications 620 are operable to provide one or more features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0120] The virtualization environment 600 includes a general or special purpose network hardware device 630, which includes a set of one or more processors or processing circuits 660, which may be commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or any other type of processing circuit including digital or analog hardware components or special purpose processors. Each hardware device may include a memory 690-1, which may be a non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 695 or software executed by the processing circuit 660. Each hardware device may include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 670, also known as network interface cards, which include physical network interfaces 680. Each hardware device may also include a non-transitory, permanent machine-readable storage medium 690-2 in which the software 695 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuit 660 are stored. The software 695 may include any type of software, including software for instantiating one or more virtualization layers 650 (also known as hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines 640, and software that allows them to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein.

[0121] The virtual machine 640 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and can be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 650 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of an instance of the virtual appliance 620 can be implemented on one or more virtual machines 640, and the implementation can be done in different ways.

[0122] During operation, processing circuitry 660 executes software 695 for instantiating a hypervisor or virtualization layer 650 , which may sometimes be referred to as a virtual machine monitor (VMM). Virtualization layer 650 may present a virtual operating platform that appears to the networked hardware of virtual machine 640 .

[0123] like Figure 6As shown, hardware 630 can be an independent network node with common or specific components. Hardware 630 can include antenna 6225 and can implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 630 can be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or customer premises equipment (CPE)), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and coordination (MANO) 6100, which oversees the life cycle management of application 620, etc.

[0124] In some contexts, virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to unify many types of network equipment onto industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premises equipment.

[0125] In the context of NFV, a virtual machine 640 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executed on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 640 and the portion of hardware 630 that executes the virtual machine (whether it is hardware dedicated to the virtual machine and / or hardware shared by the virtual machine and other virtual machines in virtual machines 640) form a separate virtual network element (VNE).

[0126] Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF) is responsible for handling a specific network function that runs in one or more virtual machines 640 on the hardware network infrastructure 630 and corresponds to Figure 6 Application 620.

[0127] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 6200, each including one or more transmitters 6220 and one or more receivers 6210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 6225. The radio units 6200 may communicate directly with the hardware nodes 630 via one or more suitable network interfaces, and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to virtual nodes, such as radio access nodes or base stations.

[0128] In some embodiments, some signaling may be implemented using a control system 6230 , which may alternatively be used for communications between the hardware node 630 and the radio unit 6200 .

[0129] Figure 7 An example telecommunications network connected to a host computer via an intermediate network is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 7According to an embodiment, a communication system includes: a telecommunication network 710 (e.g., a cellular network of the 3GPP type), which includes an access network 711 (e.g., a radio access network) and a core network 714. The access network 711 includes a plurality of base stations 712a, 712b, 712c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each of which defines a corresponding coverage area 713a, 713b, 713c. In some embodiments, the plurality of base stations 712a, 712b, 712c may be as described in reference Fig.16 and Fig.18 In some embodiments, the plurality of base stations 712a, 712b, 712c may perform as described in reference Figure 13 to Figure 15 and Fig.17 The functions of the user equipment described. Each base station 712a, 712b, 712c can be connected to the core network 714 via a wired or wireless connection 715. The first UE 791 located in the coverage area 713c is configured to be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 712c or to be paged by the corresponding base station 712c. The second UE 792 in the coverage area 713a can be wirelessly connected to the corresponding base station 712a. Although multiple UEs 791, 792 are shown in this example, the disclosed embodiments are also applicable to the case where only one UE is located in the coverage area or only one UE is connected to the corresponding base station 712. In some embodiments, the multiple UEs 791, 792 can be as described in reference Figure 13 to Figure 15 and Fig.17 The user equipment.

[0130] The telecommunications network 710 itself is connected to a host computer 730, which may be embodied in the hardware and / or software of a stand-alone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, or as a processing resource in a server farm. The host computer 730 may be owned or under the control of a service provider, or may be operated by or on behalf of a service provider. Connections 721 and 722 between the telecommunications network 710 and the host computer 730 may extend directly from the core network 714 to the host computer 730, or may be via an optional intermediate network 720. The intermediate network 720 may be one of a public, private, or managed network, or a combination of more than one of them; the intermediate network 720 (if any) may be a backbone network or the Internet; in particular, the intermediate network 720 may include two or more sub-networks (not shown).

[0131] Figure 7The communication system as a whole implements connectivity between connected UEs 791, 792 and a host computer 730. The connection may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection 750. The host computer 730 and the connected UEs 791, 792 are configured to transmit data and / or signaling via the OTT connection 750 using the access network 711, the core network 714, any intermediate networks 720, and possibly other infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection 750 may be transparent in the sense that the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection 750 passes are unaware of the routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, the base station 712 may not be informed or need not be informed of the past routing of incoming downlink communications having data originating from the host computer 730 and to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to the connected UE 791. Similarly, the base station 712 does not need to know the future routing of outgoing uplink communications originating from the UE 791 and toward the host computer 730.

[0132] Figure 8 An example host computer is shown in accordance with some embodiments, communicating with a user device via a base station over a partially wireless connection. Reference will now be made to Figure 8 810 is a schematic diagram of a host computer 810. The host computer 810 includes hardware 815, which includes a communication interface 816, which is configured to establish and maintain a wired or wireless connection with the interface of different communication devices of the communication system 800. The host computer 810 also includes a processing circuit 818, which may have storage and / or processing capabilities. In particular, the processing circuit 818 may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of such devices (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The host computer 810 also includes software 811, which is stored in or accessible to the host computer 810 and can be executed by the processing circuit 818. The software 811 includes a host application 812. The host application 812 can be operated to provide services to remote users, such as UE 830 connected via an OTT connection 850, which terminates at UE 830 and the host computer 810. In providing services to remote users, the host application 812 may provide user data to be sent using the OTT connection 850 .

[0133] The communication system 800 also includes a base station 820 disposed in the telecommunication system and including hardware 825 that enables it to communicate with the host computer 810 and the UE 830. In some embodiments, the base station 820 may be a base station 820 as described in reference to FIG. Fig.16 and Fig.18The hardware 825 may include: a communication interface 826 for establishing and maintaining a wired or wireless connection between interfaces of different communication devices of the communication system 800; and a radio interface 827 for establishing and maintaining at least a connection with a network located in the coverage area served by the base station 820 (in Figure 8 The communication interface 826 may be configured to facilitate a connection 860 with the host computer 810. The connection 860 may be a direct connection, or the connection may be through a core network of the telecommunications system (in Figure 8 820) and / or through one or more intermediate networks external to the telecommunications system. In the illustrated embodiment, the hardware 825 of the base station 820 also includes a processing circuit 828, which may include one or more programmable processors, application specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination thereof (not shown) adapted to execute instructions. The base station 820 also has software 821 stored internally or accessible via an external connection.

[0134] The communication system 800 also includes the already mentioned UE 830. In some embodiments, the UE 830 may be as described in reference Figure 13 to Figure 15 and Fig.17 The user equipment described. The hardware 835 of the UE 830 may include a radio interface 837, which is configured to establish and maintain a wireless connection 870 with a base station serving the coverage area where the UE 830 is currently located. The hardware 835 of the UE 830 also includes a processing circuit 838, which may include one or more programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits, field programmable gate arrays, or a combination of such devices (not shown) suitable for executing instructions. The UE 830 also includes software 831, which is stored in or accessible by the UE 830 and can be executed by the processing circuit 838. The software 831 includes a client application 832. The client application 832 can be operated to provide services to human or non-human users via the UE 830 with the support of the host computer 810. In the host computer 810, the executing host application 812 can communicate with the executing client application 832 via an OTT connection 850, and the OTT connection 850 terminates at the UE 830 and the host computer 810. When providing services to users, the client application 832 can receive request data from the host application 812 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 850 can transmit both the request data and the user data. The client application 832 can interact with the user to generate the user data it provides.

[0135] Please note, Figure 8 The host computer 810, base station 820 and UE 830 shown can be respectively Figure 7The host computer 730, one of the base stations 712a, 712b, 712c and one of the UEs 791, 792 in FIG. 7 are similar or identical. That is, the internal workings of these entities may be as follows: Figure 8 As shown, and independently, the surrounding network topology can be Figure 7 network topology.

[0136] exist Figure 8 In FIG. 8 , an OTT connection 850 has been abstractly drawn to illustrate communication between a computer 810 and a UE 830 via a base station 820, but without explicitly mentioning any intermediate devices and the exact routing of messages via these devices. The network infrastructure may determine the routing, which may be configured to be hidden from the UE 830 or the service provider operating the host computer 810, or both. When the OTT connection 850 is active, the network infrastructure may further make decisions to dynamically change the routing (e.g., based on load balancing considerations or reconfiguration of the network).

[0137] The wireless connection 870 between the UE 830 and the base station 820 is consistent with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improves the performance of the OTT service provided to the UE 830 using the OTT connection 850, in which the wireless connection 870 forms the last part. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments can improve the handling of redundant data in the send buffer, and thereby provide benefits such as improving the efficiency of radio resource use (e.g., not sending redundant data) and reducing the delay in receiving new data (e.g., by removing redundant data in the buffer, new data can be sent faster).

[0138] A measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rates, delays, and other factors that are the subject of improvement of one or more embodiments. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 850 between the host computer 810 and the UE 830 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 850 may be implemented in the software 811 and hardware 815 of the host computer 810, or in the software 831 and hardware 835 of the UE 830, or in both. In an embodiment, a sensor (not shown) may be deployed in or associated with the communication device through which the OTT connection 850 passes; the sensor may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or providing the values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software 811, 831 can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. Reconfiguration of the OTT connection 850 may include: message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing, etc.; the reconfiguration does not need to affect the base station 820, and may be unknown or imperceptible to the base station 820. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, the measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates host computer 810 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. The measurements may be implemented by software 811 and 831 causing messages (particularly empty messages or "dummy" messages) to be sent using OTT connection 850 while monitoring propagation time, errors, etc.

[0139] Fig. 9 An example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user device according to some embodiments is shown. More specifically, Fig. 9 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be a reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 In order to simplify the present disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein will be included in this section. Fig. 9 . In step 910, the host computer provides user data. In sub-step 911 of step 910 (which may be optional), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 920, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE, the transmission carrying the user data. In step 930 (which may be optional), in accordance with 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 step 940 (which may also be optional), the UE executes a client application associated with the host application executed by the host computer.

[0140] Fig.10 An example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user device according to some embodiments is shown. More specifically, Fig.10 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 In order to simplify the present disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein will be included in this section. Fig.10 . In step 1010 of the method, the host computer provides user data. In an optional sub-step (not shown), the host computer provides the user data by executing a host application. In step 1020, the host computer initiates a transmission to the UE, the transmission carrying the user data. According to the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may be delivered via a base station. In step 1030 (which may be optional), the UE receives the user data carried in the transmission.

[0141] Fig.11 Another example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user device according to some embodiments is shown. More specifically, Fig.11 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 In order to simplify the present disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein will be included in this section. Fig.11 . In step 1110 (which may be optional), the UE receives input data provided by the host computer. Additionally or alternatively, in step 1120, the UE provides user data. In sub-step 1121 (which may be optional) of step 1120, the UE provides user data by executing a client application. In sub-step 1111 (which may be optional) of step 1110, the UE executes a client application that provides user data as a reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer. When providing user data, the executed client application may also consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data is provided, the UE initiates the transmission of the user data to the host computer in sub-step 1130 (which may be optional). In step 1140 of the method, the host computer receives user data sent from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure.

[0142] Fig.12Another example method implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a base station, and a user device according to some embodiments is shown. More specifically, Fig.12 is a flow chart showing a method implemented in a communication system according to an embodiment. The communication system includes: a host computer, a base station and a UE, which can be reference Figure 7 and Figure 8 In order to simplify the present disclosure, only the host computers, base stations and UEs described herein will be included in this section. Fig.12 In step 1210 (which may be optional), the base station receives user data from the UE in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure. In step 1220 (which may be optional), the base station initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer. In step 1230 (which may be optional), the host computer receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the base station.

[0143] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may include multiple of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via a processing circuit, which may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and other digital hardware (which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc.). The processing circuit may be configured to execute program codes stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory (RAM), a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuit may be used to cause the corresponding functional unit to perform the corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0144] Fig.13 Example configurations of synchronization signal (SS) blocks, SS bursts, and SS burst sets in a cell are shown in accordance with certain embodiments. Fig.13 Non-limiting examples of SS block and SS burst configurations performed by a user device that may be assumed in other embodiments are described. In some embodiments, the user device may be as described in reference Fig.15 and Fig.17 The signals included in the SS block can be used for measurements on NR carriers, including intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT (i.e., NR measurements from another RAT).

[0145] Regarding SS blocks, the NR primary synchronization signal (PSS), NR secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and / or NR physical broadcast channel (PBCH) can be sent within the SS block. For a given frequency band, the SS block corresponds to N OFDM symbols based on the default subcarrier spacing, and N is a constant. The UE will be able to at least identify the OFDM symbol index, the time slot index in the radio frame, and the radio frame number from the SS block. Each frequency band specifies a set of possible SS block time locations (e.g., relative to the radio frame or relative to the SS burst set). At least for the case of multi-beam, at least the time index of the SS block is indicated to the UE. The location of the actual transmitted SS blocks can be notified to help connected / idle mode measurements, help connected mode UEs receive DL data / control in unused SS blocks, and potentially help idle mode UEs receive DL data / control in unused SS blocks.

[0146] Regarding SS bursts, one or more SS blocks constitute an SS burst. The maximum number L of SS blocks within an SS burst set may or may not depend on the carrier frequency. For different frequency ranges, the maximum number L of SS blocks within an SS burst set is various. For example, when the frequency range is up to 3 GHz, L is 4. When the frequency range is 3 GHz to 6 GHz, L is 8. When the frequency range is 6 GHz to 52.6 GHz, L is 64.

[0147] Regarding SS burst sets, one or more SS bursts further form an SS burst set (or series), wherein the number of SS bursts within an SS burst set is limited. From the perspective of the physical layer specification, at least one period of the SS burst set is supported. From the perspective of the UE, the SS burst set transmission is periodic. At least for initial cell selection, the UE may assume a default period of SS burst set transmission for a given carrier frequency (e.g., one of 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms). The UE may assume that a given SS block is repeated with an SS burst set period. By default, the UE may neither assume that the gNB transmits the same number of physical beams nor the same physical beams between different SS blocks within an SS burst set. In special cases, an SS burst set may include one SS burst.

[0148] For each carrier, the SS blocks may be time aligned or completely or at least partially overlap, or the start of the SS blocks may be time aligned, even if the actual number of SS blocks sent is different in different cells.

[0149] Regarding the method for determining co-frequency operation or inter-frequency operation performed in the UE and the network node, the UE determines one or a group of reference or anchor radio measurement resources (RMRs) belonging to the first serving cell (cell 1), which are used as a reference for co-frequency operation. The UE can also be operated / configured with two or more serving cells (e.g., cell 1, cell 2, cell 3). For each serving cell, the UE will obtain the corresponding RMR and independently determine the corresponding co-frequency cell. The UE can be in any RRC state, for example, idle, inactive or connected state.

[0150] The intra-frequency RMR or intra-frequency RMR configuration may be characterized by bandwidth, number of reference blocks (RBs) including a specific set of RBs, center of the RMR, start / end frequency of the RMR, offset from the reference in the frequency domain (e.g., delta RBs relative to DC or specific RBs), etc.

[0151] The intra-frequency RMR may be determined within a specific limited time period, for example, including one or more subframes, one or more radio frames, etc. In another embodiment, the intra-frequency RMR may change no more frequently than a certain time T1change. Also, the determination may be performed at least as frequently as T2determine.

[0152] The intra-frequency RMR may also be associated with specific periodic or aperiodic time domain resources or time domain patterns (e.g., UE activity pattern, DRX pattern, measurement time domain pattern, gap pattern, etc.). For example, the intra-frequency RMR is applicable to resources indicated by the pattern (e.g., one or more subframes or radio frames or time slots, etc.) and may not be applicable to other time domain resources.

[0153] Each of the same-frequency RMR, different-frequency RMR or non-same-frequency RMR may also include one or more so-called bandwidth parts. For example, different bandwidth parts may also be aggregated similar to carrier aggregation.

[0154] In yet another embodiment, the determination may be made periodically or aperiodically. For example, the determination may be made following a triggering event, condition, or indication / message received from another node.

[0155] The intra-frequency RMR may be common to all UEs in a cell, or may be specific to one or a group of UEs. The intra-frequency RMR may be statically configured, or may be changed dynamically or semi-statically (less frequently).

[0156] After the determination, the methods further distinguish between intra-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation. Examples of intra-frequency operation include (but are not limited to) RLM, intra-frequency operation in neighboring cells, intra-frequency measurement, intra-frequency system information reading, intra-frequency CGI reading, intra-frequency cell detection or cell identification, beam identification, channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) based measurement, CSI-RS group based measurement, etc.

[0157] In another embodiment, the same-frequency RMR may be determined explicitly or implicitly. The implicit determination may be determined, for example, based on a configuration parameter of a signal or a signal group / block configured for same-frequency operation of one or more UEs. The parameters include (but are not limited to) frequency resources, bandwidth, resource blocks, carrier parts, etc. For example, a signal to be used for RLM, one or more SS blocks to be used for same-frequency cell detection or cell identification, CSI-RS or CSI-RS group, one SS block or SS burst or SS burst set (also referred to as a reference SS block, reference SS burst or reference SS burst set) is selected from a plurality of SS blocks, SS bursts or SS burst sets at different frequency resources that may be located within the system bandwidth.

[0158] In yet another embodiment, the intra-frequency RMR may be specifically associated with one, some or all beams associated with the same cell. For example, a subset of beams in a cell are operated based on intra-frequency rules, while at least one other beam in the same cell is operated based on inter-frequency rules.

[0159] In some embodiments, the same-frequency operation is performed without measurement gaps. Therefore, in some embodiments, the same-frequency operation may also be interchangeably referred to as "operation without measurement gaps", "operation performed without measurement gaps", "gap-free assisted operation", "gap-free assisted measurement", etc. For example, if the UE can measure the signal of the cell without gaps, it can be considered as the same-frequency operation.

[0160] In some embodiments, the same-frequency operation is performed in the measurement gap. Therefore, in some embodiments, the same-frequency operation may also be interchangeably referred to as "operation requiring measurement gap", "operation performed in measurement gap", "gap-assisted operation", "gap-assisted measurement", etc.

[0161] In some embodiments, the term inter-frequency operation may also be interchangeably referred to as “operation requiring measurement gaps”, “operation performed in measurement gaps”, “gap-assisted operation”, “gap-assisted measurement”, etc.

[0162] The determination of the intra-frequency RMR may be based on one or more of: a predetermined location in frequency (which may be different or the same as the resource including the DC carrier), one or more intra-frequency rules and inter-frequency rules, and signaling / indication from another node.

[0163] Examples of intra-frequency rules and inter-frequency rules include (but are not limited to): intra-frequency RMR is a resource associated with a paging resource typically used for a UE or a specific subset of paging resources used for a UE, wherein the association may be signaled or predefined, and the paging may be idle mode paging, inactive mode paging, or connected mode paging; intra-frequency RMR is an SS block, SS burst, or SS burst set associated with a paging resource, an SS block, SS burst, or SS burst set closest to the paging resource in the frequency domain, wherein the paging may be idle mode paging, inactive mode paging, or connected mode paging; intra-frequency RMR is a resource configured for RLM; intra-frequency RMR is a configured intra-frequency measurement Resources within the bandwidth; intra-frequency RMR is resources including control channels (for example, resources for UE to receive control channels), where the control channel can be a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), E-PDCCH, etc.; intra-frequency RMR is resources including search space in the frequency domain, where the UE is expected to receive specific messages or channels, such as downlink control information; intra-frequency RMR is resources including all service cells or service beam dedicated transmissions for the UE; intra-frequency RMR is resources corresponding to the maximum UE bandwidth in a specific time resource, where the specific time source can be a specific subframe or radio frame, and the maximum UE bandwidth can be the maximum UE RF bandwidth or UE bandwidth capability, and includes all service cells or service beam dedicated transmissions for the UE even if the service cell / beam transmission is on a smaller bandwidth in the same time resource. The same-frequency RMR includes resources for at least one CSI-RS resource group, wherein the CSI-RS resource group can be a group of radio resources including a CSI-RS signal, and the CSI-RS resource group can also be characterized by a group-specific ID used in an SCI-RS sequence; the same-frequency RMR matches the channel grid; and the same-frequency RMR matches the synchronization grid, wherein the same-frequency RMR includes at least one synchronization grid point.

[0164] Examples of signaling / indications from another node (e.g., another UE or network node that needs to determine the same-frequency RMR prior to signaling) include (but are not limited to) the determination in the node is also based on rules or signaling from another node, wherein the other node may be an operation and maintenance node (OM) or a self-organizing network node (SON); UE bandwidth capabilities; specific UE capabilities related to the same-frequency RMR, which may also be considered by the node; the signaling or message includes one or more of the following: SS configuration information; CSI-RS group configuration information; an identifier or indicator of one of multiple CSI-RS groups; an identifier or indicator of one of multiple SS configurations; an identifier of a paging resource associated with the RMR; an indicator uniquely associated with the same-frequency RMR or that can be used to determine or derive the same-frequency RMR; an indicator or identifier associated with a group of SS blocks on the same frequency resources, wherein multiple SS blocks on a frequency may be associated with different identifiers.

[0165] Unless the UE obtains a different intra-frequency RMR via signaling, the UE may also assume a predetermined position in frequency. The predetermined position in frequency may be a frequency resource including the DC carrier or certain RBs but not exceeding the UE RF bandwidth capability, which may be less than the carrier bandwidth.

[0166] The signaling herein may include higher layer signaling, physical layer signaling, or a combination of the two, and may be via dedicated signaling, multicast, or broadcast.

[0167] In another embodiment, the network node determines the intra-frequency RMR and provides the intra-frequency RMR configuration to another node (eg, another network node or another UE).

[0168] In another embodiment, intra-frequency RMR may be allowed to use only one or more specific parameter sets (e.g., subcarrier spacing) from a larger set of parameter sets supported by other transmissions (e.g., data, control) in the frequency band in question. For example, a reference parameter set for the frequency band or a parameter set used by an SS block may be used in the frequency band.

[0169] If the UE parameter set for the intra-frequency RMR is known or can be determined by a rule (such as the above rule), the network does not need to explicitly indicate the parameter set in the intra-frequency RMR.

[0170] In another embodiment, the parameter set of the intra-frequency RMR is signaled / indicated by the network to the UE.

[0171] Regarding intra-frequency RMR and UE capabilities, different UEs can operate intra-frequency RMRs of different sizes. In one example, the above UE capabilities may include UE RF bandwidth capabilities, UE measurement bandwidth capabilities, UE capabilities to support intra-frequency operation on specific RMR resources, etc. This capability can be used to determine the intra-frequency RMR.

[0172] If an intra-frequency RMR is received from / configured by another node, the UE may also adjust the received / configured intra-frequency RMR (e.g., reduce the bandwidth of the intra-frequency RMR) to its capabilities, which is particularly useful when the other nodes may not be aware of the capabilities of the UE.

[0173] For example, upon a triggering event, condition, or request from the network, such UE capabilities may be signaled to the network node. After receiving such UE capabilities, the network node may use the capabilities to configure intra-frequency RMR.

[0174] Regarding the method of using the determined intra-frequency reference frequency, in yet another embodiment, based on the determined frequency resources for intra-frequency operation, the UE and / or the network node performs one or any combination of the following operations (1) to (7).

[0175] (1) Determine whether the neighboring cell (cell 2) is co-frequency or inter-frequency, including: if the center frequency of the measurement resource (e.g., RMR) in cell 2 is the same as the center frequency of the RMR in cell 1, the UE regards cell 2 as a co-frequency cell relative to the serving cell (cell 1). Otherwise, the UE regards cell 2 as an inter-frequency cell; and if the center frequency of the measurement resource (e.g., RMR) in cell 2 and the center frequency of the measurement resource (e.g., RMR) in cell 1 are within a certain margin (e.g., increment F), the UE regards cell 2 as a co-frequency cell. Otherwise, the UE regards cell 2 as an inter-frequency cell.

[0176] (2) Distinguish between co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation. For example, perform co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation in different ways; perform at least one different step for co-frequency operation and inter-frequency operation; operate while meeting co-frequency requirements and inter-frequency requirements that are different from the same type of operation (e.g., radio measurement). When equal to or greater than a threshold (which may be 1 RB or Y RBs, 5% of the operated RBs, or Z% of the BW), the operation involves at least some operating resources or all operating resources that are not included in the co-frequency RMR.

[0177] (3) Configure its bandwidth. For example, the measurement BW or RF BW is configured to include the same-frequency RMR.

[0178] (4) Configure its transmission. For example, in TDD-like operation, the UE transmission bandwidth includes the same-frequency RMR.

[0179] (5) Configuring UE measurement or controlling UE measurement configuration. For example, the intra-frequency measurement configuration is configured to be within the intra-frequency RMR.

[0180] (6) Adapting the scheduling of transmission and / or reception. For example, DL transmission scheduling at the network node, DL reception scheduling at the UE, UL transmission scheduling at the UE, and UL reception scheduling at the network node, so that the scheduled resources match the intra-frequency RMR, which means that the scheduled resources do not fall beyond or exceed the frequency domain.

[0181] (7) In the previous step, a measurement process for performing measurements on the neighboring cell / beam is adapted based on whether the neighboring cell / beam is co-frequency or inter-frequency. Examples of the adaptation of the measurement process are: if the neighboring cell is a co-frequency cell, then the neighboring cell is measured using a first measurement process (P1); and / or if the neighboring cell is an inter-frequency cell, then the neighboring cell is measured using a second measurement process (P2).

[0182] Examples of P1 include (but are not limited to) performing gapless measurements; performing measurements using a first measurement sampling rate (R1); performing measurements at a first measurement time (T1), where T1 = 200 ms; and performing measurements at the first measurement time (T1) while satisfying a first measurement accuracy (A1), where, for RSRP measurements, A1 = ±3 dB.

[0183] Examples of P2 include (but are not limited to) performing measurements using a second measurement sampling rate (R2), where R2 < R1; performing measurements at a second measurement time (T2), where T2 > T1, and T2 = 800 ms, while T1 = 200 ms; performing measurements at a second measurement time (T2) while satisfying a second measurement accuracy (A2), where the magnitude of A2 is greater than the magnitude of A1, for example, for RSRP measurement, A2 = ±6 dB; and performing measurements in a measurement gap, for example, configuring a UE measurement gap for inter-frequency operation or for non-inter-frequency operation is based on determining that the operation is not inter-frequency operation because it involves resources that are not included in the inter-frequency RMR. For another example, if a gap is required for the inter-frequency operation, then for the inter-frequency operation, the configured measurement gap pattern may be different due to different periods or gap lengths.

[0184] The network may create assistance data based on the determined intra-frequency RMR, for example, a neighbor cell list for intra-frequency operation and / or a neighbor cell list for inter-frequency operation.

[0185] The network node may use the intra-frequency RMR information / configuration determined by itself or by the UE (when received from the UE).

[0186] The UE or network node may also use the results of the performed intra-frequency operation and / or inter-frequency operation to perform one or more operational tasks. Examples of tasks include (but are not limited to) using the measurements for cell change operations or mobility; reporting the measurement results to another node, where the other mode may be a network node or another UE; and using the measurements for positioning.

[0187] The network node and the UE may also potentially configure and use the same-frequency / inter-frequency RMR information to configure carrier aggregation for the UE. Inter-frequency resources or non-inter-frequency resources may be considered for aggregation with serving cell resources to enhance UE performance and achieve carrier aggregation gain from those current inter-frequency resources. Therefore, inter-frequency RMR or non-inter-frequency RMR may be considered as candidate frequency resources for carrier aggregation.

[0188] Fig.14 Multiple measurement scenarios for intra-frequency UE operation and inter-frequency UE operation according to certain embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, the UE may be Fig.15 and Fig.17 The UE determines whether specific cell measurements need to be performed in a transmit / receive gap, and the scheduler needs to know whether a gap is required.

[0189] Fig.14 Multiple scenarios are shown, which show whether the target cell operates on the same-frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier and whether the measurement is gap-free assisted or gap-assisted. In some embodiments, the current cell may be the first serving cell and the target cell may be the second serving cell. In some embodiments, the UE determines one or a group of RMRs belonging to the first serving cell (cell 1), which are used as a reference for the same-frequency operation. In another embodiment, the determination may be based on one or more of the following: a rule or a signaling / indication from the network. The UE may also be configured with two or more serving cells, for example, cell 1, cell 2, cell 3, and so on. For each serving cell, the UE will obtain the corresponding RMR and independently determine the corresponding same-frequency cell.

[0190] Regarding scenario A, the current cell and the target cell have the same SS burst set carrier frequency and cell bandwidth. Scenario A is a co-frequency scenario and is not measurement gap assisted.

[0191] Regarding scenario B, the current cell and the target cell have the same SS burst set carrier frequency, and the bandwidth of the target cell is smaller than the bandwidth of the current cell. Scenario B is a co-frequency scenario and is not measurement gap assisted.

[0192] Regarding scenario C, the current cell and the target cell have the same SS burst set carrier frequency, and the bandwidth of the target cell is greater than the bandwidth of the current cell. Scenario C is a co-frequency scenario and is not measurement gap assisted.

[0193] Regarding scenario D, the current cell and the target cell have different SS burst set carrier frequencies, and the bandwidth of the target cell is smaller than the bandwidth of the current cell, and the bandwidth of the target cell is within the bandwidth of the current cell. Scenario D is an inter-frequency scenario and is measurement gap assisted.

[0194] Regarding scenario E, the current cell and the target cell have different SS burst set carrier frequencies, and the bandwidth of the target cell is greater than the bandwidth of the current cell, and the bandwidth of the current cell is within the bandwidth of the target cell. Scenario E is an inter-frequency scenario and is measurement gap assisted.

[0195] Regarding scenario F, the current cell and the target cell have different SS burst set carrier frequencies and non-overlapping bandwidths. Scenario F is an inter-frequency scenario and is measurement gap assisted.

[0196] Regarding scenario G, the current cell and the target cell have the same SS burst set carrier frequency, and it cannot be guaranteed that the UE's operating frequency is aligned with the center frequency of the current cell. Scenario G is a co-frequency scenario and is measurement gap assisted.

[0197] Regarding scenario H, the current cell and the target cell have the same SS burst set carrier frequency. Scenario H is a co-frequency scenario and is not measurement gap assisted.

[0198] Regarding scenario I, the current cell and the target cell have different SS burst set carrier frequencies. Scenario I is an inter-frequency scenario and is measurement gap assisted.

[0199] Regarding scenario J, the current cell and the target cell have multiple SS burst sets, and at least one SS burst set in the SS burst sets of each cell shares the same carrier frequency. Scenario J is a co-frequency scenario and is not measurement gap assisted.

[0200] Regarding scenario K, the current cell and the target cell have multiple SS burst set scenarios, and each cell does not have any SS burst set sharing the same carrier frequency. Scenario K is an inter-frequency scenario and is measurement gap assisted.

[0201] Regarding scenario L, the current cell and the target cell have multiple SS burst set scenarios, at least one SS burst set in each cell's SS burst set shares the same carrier frequency, and the UE is not located on any of this / these SS burst sets. Scenario L is a co-frequency scenario and is measurement gap assisted.

[0202] Fig.15 is a flow chart of a method in a user equipment according to some embodiments. The method 1500 begins at step 1510, where the user equipment obtains a first measurement resource of a first cell. In some embodiments, the first cell may be a first serving cell (cell 1). In some embodiments, the first measurement resource may be considered a reference measurement resource. In some embodiments, the user equipment may be Figure 4 In some embodiments, the user equipment may be Figure 5 The user equipment shown.

[0203] At step 1520, the user equipment obtains a second measurement resource of the second cell, and the second measurement resource of the second cell is of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell. In some embodiments, the second cell may be a second serving cell (cell 2). In some embodiments, the user equipment may obtain measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells. In some embodiments, the neighboring cell may be a third serving cell (cell 3). In some embodiments, the measurement resource may include an SS block or a CSI-RS. In some embodiments, the UE obtains information about the RMR based on an indication received from a network node.

[0204] At step 1530, the user equipment determines whether the second cell is operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell. In some embodiments, the user equipment may also determine whether the one or more neighboring cells are operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the corresponding reference measurement resource with the measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells, respectively. In some embodiments, when the frequency of the second measurement resource of the second cell is the same as the frequency of the reference measurement resource, the user equipment may perform the same frequency operation on the second cell. In some embodiments, when the frequency of the second measurement resource of the second cell is different from the frequency of the reference measurement resource, the user equipment may perform the inter-frequency operation on the second cell. In some embodiments, the user equipment may further determine whether measurement gap assistance is required. In some embodiments, when the center frequency of the first cell is different from the center frequency of the second cell, measurement gap assistance is required. In some embodiments, when the center frequency of the first cell is within the first margin of the center frequency of the second cell, measurement gap assistance is required. In some embodiments, the user equipment may further adapt the measurement process in response to determining whether the second cell is operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier.

[0205] Fig.16is a flow chart of another method in a network node according to some embodiments. The method 1600 begins at step 1610, where the network node obtains a first measurement resource of a first cell. In some embodiments, the first cell may be a first serving cell (cell 1). In some embodiments, the first measurement resource may be used as a reference measurement resource. In some embodiments, the network node may be Figure 4 The network nodes depicted in .

[0206] At step 1620, the network node obtains a second measurement resource of the second cell, and the second measurement resource of the second cell is of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell. In some embodiments, the second cell may be a second serving cell (cell 2). In some embodiments, the network node may obtain measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells. In some embodiments, the neighboring cell may be a third serving cell (cell 3). In some embodiments, the measurement resource may include an SS block or a CSI-RS.

[0207] At step 1630, the network node determines whether the second cell operates on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell. In some embodiments, the network node may also determine whether the one or more neighboring cells operate on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the corresponding reference measurement resource with the measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells, respectively. In some embodiments, the network node may adapt the measurement configuration sent to the UE in response to determining whether the second cell operates on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier. In some embodiments, the network node may further adapt the scheduling of signals in the uplink and / or downlink for the UE in response to determining whether the second cell operates on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier.

[0208] At step 1640, the network node sends information to the user equipment regarding determining whether the second cell is operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier. In some embodiments, the network node sends the first measurement resource of the first cell, the second measurement resource of the second cell, and any possible measurement resource of any other neighboring cell to the user equipment to determine whether the second cell is operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier. In some embodiments, the network node may send information about the acquired RMR to the UE. In some embodiments, the network node may send a measurement configuration to the UE. In some embodiments, the network node may send a scheduling of signals in the uplink and / or downlink to the UE.

[0209] Fig.17 1700 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary user equipment according to some embodiments. The user equipment 1700 may be used in a wireless network (e.g., Figure 4The user equipment 1700 can be in a wireless device or a network node (e.g., Figure 4 The user equipment 1700 may be implemented in the wireless device 410 or the network node 460 shown in FIG. Fig.15 The example methods described herein and any other possible processes or methods disclosed herein. It should also be understood that Fig.15 The method is not necessarily performed by the user equipment 1700 alone. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0210] User device 1700 may include processing circuitry that may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers as well as other digital hardware (which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc.). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of user device 1700 may be Figure 4 In some embodiments, the processing circuit of the user equipment 1700 may be Figure 5 The processor shown. The processing circuit can be configured to execute program code stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory, a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. In several embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more techniques described herein. In some embodiments, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing circuit can be used to cause the acquisition unit 1710 and the determination unit 1720 and any other suitable unit of the user equipment 1700 to perform corresponding functions.

[0211] like Fig.17 As shown, the user equipment 1700 includes an acquisition unit 1710 and a determination unit 1720. The acquisition unit 1710 may be configured to acquire a first measurement resource of a first cell. In some embodiments, the first measurement resource may be considered as a reference measurement resource. In some embodiments, the first cell may be a first serving cell (cell 1). The acquisition unit 1710 may be configured to acquire a second measurement resource of a second cell, and the second measurement resource of the second cell is of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell. In some embodiments, the second cell may be a second serving cell (cell 2). In some embodiments, the acquisition unit 1710 may acquire measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells. In some embodiments, the neighboring cell may be a third serving cell (cell 3). In some embodiments, the measurement resource may include an SS block or a CSI-RS. In some embodiments, the UE acquires information about the RMR based on an indication received from a network node.

[0212] The determination unit 1720 may be configured to determine whether the second cell is operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell. In some embodiments, the determination unit 1720 may also determine whether the one or more neighboring cells are operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the corresponding reference measurement resource with the measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells, respectively. In some embodiments, the user equipment may further adapt the measurement process in response to determining whether the second cell is operating on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier.

[0213] Fig.18 1800 is a schematic block diagram of an exemplary network node according to some embodiments. The network node 1800 may be used in a wireless network (e.g., Figure 4 The network node 1800 may be in a wireless device (e.g., Figure 4 The network node 1800 is operable to perform the reference Fig.16 The example methods described herein and any other possible processes or methods disclosed herein. It should also be understood that Fig.16 The method is not necessarily performed by the network node 1800 alone. At least some operations of the method may be performed by one or more other entities.

[0214] The network node 1800 may include processing circuitry that may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers and other digital hardware (which may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc.). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry of the network node 1800 may be Figure 4 The processing circuit 470 shown. The processing circuit can be configured to execute program codes stored in a memory, which may include one or more types of memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM), a random access memory, a cache memory, a flash memory device, an optical storage device, etc. In some embodiments, the program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for executing one or more telecommunications and / or data communication protocols and instructions for executing one or more techniques described herein. In some embodiments, according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure, the processing circuit can be used to cause the acquisition unit 1810, the determination unit 1820, the sending unit 1830, and any other suitable unit of the network node 1800 to perform corresponding functions.

[0215] like Fig.18As shown, the network node 1800 includes an acquisition unit 1810, a determination unit 1820, and a sending unit 1830. The acquisition unit 1810 may be configured to acquire a first measurement resource of a first cell. In some embodiments, the first cell may be a first serving cell (cell 1). In some embodiments, the first measurement resource may be considered as a reference measurement resource. The acquisition unit 1810 may be configured to acquire a second measurement resource of a second cell, and the second measurement resource of the second cell is of the same type as the first measurement resource of the first cell. In some embodiments, the second cell may be a second serving cell (cell 2). In some embodiments, the acquisition unit 1810 may acquire measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells. In some embodiments, the neighboring cell may be a third serving cell (cell 3). In some embodiments, the measurement resource may include an SS block or a CSI-RS.

[0216] The determination unit 1820 may be configured to determine whether the second cell is operating on the same frequency carrier or the different frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with the second measurement resource of the second cell. In some embodiments, the determination unit 1820 may also determine whether the one or more neighboring cells are operating on the same frequency carrier or the different frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with one or more measurement resources of one or more neighboring cells, respectively.

[0217] The sending unit 1830 may be configured to send a determination of whether the second cell operates on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier to the user equipment. In some embodiments, the sending unit 1830 may send a first measurement resource of the first cell, a second measurement resource of the second cell, and any possible measurement resource of any other neighboring cell to the user equipment for determining whether the second cell operates on the same frequency or on an inter-frequency. In some embodiments, the sending unit 1830 may send information about the acquired RMR to the UE. In some embodiments, the sending unit 1830 may send a measurement configuration to the UE in response to determining whether the second cell operates on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier. In some embodiments, the sending unit 1830 may send a scheduling of signals in the uplink and / or downlink to the UE in response to determining whether the second cell operates on the same frequency carrier or on an inter-frequency carrier.

[0218] The term "unit" may have a conventional meaning in the field of electronics, electrical devices and / or electronic devices, and may include, for example, electrical and / or electronic circuits, devices, modules, processors, receivers, transmitters, memories, logical solid-state and / or discrete devices, computer programs or instructions for performing corresponding tasks, processes, calculations, output and / or display functions, etc., such as those described herein.

[0219] According to various embodiments, an advantage of the features herein is that redundant data can be discarded before being transmitted over the air interface, thereby saving valuable bandwidth. Another advantage is that a DU that temporarily loses coverage can clear its redundant data buffer and be ready to send new data immediately after coverage is restored.

[0220] Although the processes in the figures illustrate a particular order of operations performed by certain embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that this order is exemplary (eg, alternative embodiments may perform operations in a different order, combine certain operations, overlap certain operations, etc.).

[0221] Although the present invention has been described in terms of several embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but can be implemented with modifications and alterations within the spirit and scope of the appended claims. The description is therefore to be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

Claims

1. A method used in a user equipment UE, comprising: Acquire a first measurement resource of the first cell as a reference measurement resource; Acquire a second measurement resource of a second cell, where the second measurement resource of the second cell and the first measurement resource of the first cell are associated with a synchronization signal SS block; as well as determining whether the second cell operates on an intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with a second measurement resource of the second cell, The determining whether the second cell operates on the intra-frequency carrier or the inter-frequency carrier is at least partially based on one or more rules of the reference measurement resource, and the rules include at least one of the following: - the reference measurement resource is associated with a paging resource for the UE; - the reference measurement resources are a subset of the paging resources of the UE; - the reference measurement resource is a synchronization signal SS block or SS burst or SS burst set associated with the paging resource; - the reference measurement resource is an SS block or SS burst or SS burst set closest to the paging resource in the frequency domain; - the reference measurement resource is configured for radio link monitoring RLM; - the reference measurement resource comprises a control channel, and the UE receives information in the control channel; - the reference measurement resource comprises a search space in the frequency domain, and the UE receives information in the search space; - the reference measurement resource comprises a serving cell-specific transmission to the UE; - the reference measurement resource is a resource having a maximum UE bandwidth; - the reference measurement resources include resources of at least one channel state information reference signal resource group; - the reference measurement resources are matched to a channel grid; and - The reference measurement resource is matched to a synchronization grid.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the frequency of the second measurement resource of the second cell is the same as the frequency of the reference measurement resource, a co-frequency operation is performed on the second cell.

3. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the frequency of the second measurement resource of the second cell is different from the frequency of the reference measurement resource, an inter-frequency operation is performed on the second cell.

4. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Determine if measurement gap assistance is required.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein: When the center frequency of the first cell is different from the center frequency of the second cell, the measurement gap assistance is required.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When at least one synchronization signal burst of the first cell shares the same frequency with at least one synchronization signal burst of the second cell, a co-frequency operation is performed on the second cell.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: When the synchronization signal burst of the first cell does not share the same frequency with any synchronization signal burst of the second cell, performing an inter-frequency operation on the second cell.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining whether the second cell operates on a same-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier is based at least in part on a predetermined location in frequency.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein: Determining whether the second cell operates on a intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier is based at least in part on an indication from a network node or from another UE.

10. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Information about the reference measurement resource is obtained based on an indication received from a network node.

11. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The first measurement resource and the second measurement resource include SS blocks or CSI-RS.

12. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to determining whether the second cell is operating on a same-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier, a measurement procedure is adapted.

13. A user equipment UE for determining same-frequency operation and different-frequency operation, comprising: at least one processing circuit; as well as at least one storage device storing processor-executable instructions that, when executed by the processing circuit, cause the user device to: Acquire a first measurement resource of the first cell as a reference measurement resource; Acquire a second measurement resource of a second cell, where the second measurement resource of the second cell and the first measurement resource of the first cell are associated with a synchronization signal SS block; as well as determining whether the second cell operates on an intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with a second measurement resource of the second cell, The determining whether the second cell operates on the intra-frequency carrier or the inter-frequency carrier is at least partially based on one or more rules of the reference measurement resource, and the rules include at least one of the following: - the reference measurement resource is associated with a paging resource for the UE; - the reference measurement resources are a subset of the paging resources of the UE; - the reference measurement resource is a synchronization signal SS block or SS burst or SS burst set associated with the paging resource; - the reference measurement resource is an SS block or SS burst or SS burst set closest to the paging resource in the frequency domain; - the reference measurement resource is configured for radio link monitoring RLM; - the reference measurement resource comprises a control channel, and the UE receives information in the control channel; - the reference measurement resource comprises a search space in the frequency domain, and the UE receives information in the search space; - the reference measurement resource comprises a serving cell-specific transmission to the UE; - the reference measurement resource is a resource having a maximum UE bandwidth; - the reference measurement resources include resources of at least one channel state information reference signal resource group; - the reference measurement resources are matched to a channel grid; and - The reference measurement resource is matched to a synchronization grid.

14. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The instruction further causes the user equipment to: when the frequency of the second measurement resource of the second cell is the same as the frequency of the reference measurement resource, perform a co-frequency operation on the second cell.

15. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The instruction further causes the user equipment to: perform an inter-frequency operation on the second cell when a frequency of a second measurement resource of the second cell is different from a frequency of the reference measurement resource.

16. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The instructions also cause the user equipment to determine whether measurement gap assistance is needed.

17. The user equipment according to claim 16, wherein: When the center frequency of the first cell is different from the center frequency of the second cell, the measurement gap assistance is required.

18. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The instructions further cause the user equipment to: perform co-frequency operation on the second cell when at least one synchronization signal burst of the first cell shares the same frequency with at least one synchronization signal burst of the second cell.

19. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The instructions further cause the user equipment to: perform an inter-frequency operation on the second cell when a synchronization signal burst of the first cell does not share the same frequency with any synchronization signal burst of the second cell.

20. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: Determining whether the second cell operates on a same-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier is based at least in part on a predetermined location in frequency.

21. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: Determining whether the second cell operates on a intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier is based at least in part on an indication from a network node or from another UE.

22. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The instructions further cause the user equipment to: acquire information about the reference measurement resource based on an indication received from a network node.

23. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The first measurement resource and the second measurement resource include SS blocks or CSI-RS.

24. The user equipment according to claim 13, wherein: The instructions further cause the user equipment to adapt a measurement procedure in response to determining whether the second cell operates on a same-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier.

25. A communication system for determining same-frequency operation and different-frequency operation, the communication system comprising: A network node comprising at least one processing circuit, wherein the at least one processing circuit is configured to: Acquire a first measurement resource of the first cell as a reference measurement resource; Acquire a second measurement resource of a second cell, where the second measurement resource of the second cell and the first measurement resource of the first cell are associated with a synchronization signal SS block; as well as Sending the reference measurement resource and the second measurement resource of the second cell to a user equipment; as well as A user equipment UE in a network comprises at least one processing circuit, wherein the at least one processing circuit is configured to: receiving, from the network node, the reference measurement resource and a second measurement resource of the second cell; as well as determining whether the second cell operates on an intra-frequency carrier or an inter-frequency carrier by comparing the reference measurement resource with a second measurement resource of the second cell, The determining whether the second cell operates on the intra-frequency carrier or the inter-frequency carrier is at least partially based on one or more rules of the reference measurement resource, and the rules include at least one of the following: - the reference measurement resource is associated with a paging resource for the UE; - the reference measurement resources are a subset of the paging resources of the UE; - the reference measurement resource is a synchronization signal SS block or SS burst or SS burst set associated with the paging resource; - the reference measurement resource is an SS block or SS burst or SS burst set closest to the paging resource in the frequency domain; - the reference measurement resource is configured for radio link monitoring RLM; - the reference measurement resource comprises a control channel, and the UE receives information in the control channel; - the reference measurement resource comprises a search space in the frequency domain, and the UE receives information in the search space; - the reference measurement resource comprises a serving cell-specific transmission to the UE; - the reference measurement resource is a resource having a maximum UE bandwidth; - the reference measurement resources include resources of at least one channel state information reference signal resource group; - the reference measurement resources are matched to a channel grid; and - The reference measurement resource is matched to a synchronization grid.

Images