NTN Mobility Enhancement

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to enhancement of NTN mobility. The present disclosure discloses an apparatus, system and method for enhancement of NTN mobility. A cellular base station may be used as a source base station for a handover procedure from a source base station to a target non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station. The cellular base station may configure parameters associated with the target NTN base station in a handover command, the parameters being related to NTN mobility, and send the handover command to a wireless device for use by the wireless device during the handover procedure. The wireless device may receive the handover command from the cellular base station and perform the handover procedure using the parameters associated with the target NTN base station.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to apparatuses, systems and methods for NTN mobility enhancement.

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these capabilities. In addition, there are many different wireless communication technologies and wireless communication standards. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (e.g., associated with WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), BLUETOOTH (Broadband Wi-Fi), and LTE-A. TM wait.

[0004] The introduction of an ever-increasing number of features and functions in wireless communication devices also requires continuous improvements in wireless communications and improvements in wireless communication devices. In order to increase coverage and better serve the increased demand and range of intended uses of wireless communications, in addition to the above-mentioned communication standards, there are wireless communication technologies being developed, including fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communications. Therefore, there is a need for improvements in the field of supporting such development and design. Summary of the invention

[0005] New cellular communication technologies are constantly being developed to increase coverage, better meet various needs and use cases, and for a variety of other reasons. One technology currently being developed can be related to non-terrestrial networks (NTNs).

[0006] In NTN, wireless devices can communicate with NTN base stations (such as satellite gNodeBs). The distance between wireless devices and NTN base stations is much greater than the distance between wireless devices and terrestrial network (TN) base stations (such as grounded gNodeBs). In addition, the coverage area of ​​NTN base stations may become larger than the coverage area of ​​TN base stations.

[0007] Due to the impact of the above changes, in NTN mobility scenarios (such as handover to an NTN base station or beam handover to a beam of an NTN base station), parameters related to NTN mobility may be necessary for wireless devices, and the signaling of the parameters may need to be redesigned. For example, the propagation delay in the NTN may become larger, so the timing relationship in the NTN mobility scenario may be different from the conventional timing relationship between the wireless device and the TN base station. In addition, the polarization information of the NTN base station may be necessary in the NTN mobility scenario.

[0008] However, the issue of how wireless devices can obtain parameters related to NTN mobility is still under discussion.

[0009] Embodiments in the present disclosure relate to apparatus, systems, and methods for enhancement of NTN mobility.

[0010] A cellular base station according to the techniques described herein can be used as a source base station for a handover procedure from a source base station to a target non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station. The cellular base station can configure parameters associated with the target NTN base station in a handover command, the parameters being related to NTN mobility; and send the handover command to a wireless device for use by the wireless device during the handover procedure.

[0011] The wireless device may be capable of receiving a handover command during a handover procedure and performing the handover procedure using parameters associated with a target NTN base station.

[0012] A cellular base station according to the techniques described herein can be used as a target NTN base station for a handover procedure from a source base station to a target NTN base station. The cellular base station can configure the parameters associated with the target NTN base station in system information to be acquired by a wireless device during the handover procedure.

[0013] The wireless device may be able to acquire system information of the target NTN base station during the handover procedure and perform the handover procedure using parameters associated with the target NTN base station.

[0014] Thus, at least according to some embodiments, NTN mobility may be enhanced.

[0015] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and a variety of other computing devices.

[0016] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0017] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0018] Figure 1 illustrating an exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0019] Figure 2 illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0020] Figure 3 shows an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments;

[0021] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some embodiments;

[0022] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments;

[0023] Figure 6 to Figure 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method of NTN mobility enhancement in a handover scenario according to some embodiments;

[0024] Figures 8 to 9 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method of NTN mobility enhancement in a beam switching scenario according to some embodiments;

[0025] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method for enhancement in NTN measurement scenarios according to some embodiments;

[0026] Figure 11 to Figure 12 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method for enhancement in NTN measurement scenarios according to some embodiments.

[0027] Although the features described herein are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit this document to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, their purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives that fall within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] the term

[0029] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0030] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDRRAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or a combination thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0031] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0032] Programmable hardware element - includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (field programmable gate array), PLD (programmable logic device), FPOA (field programmable object array), and CPLD (complex PLD). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic unit or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0033] Computer System—Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0034] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that can be easily transmitted by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0035] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0036] Communication device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0037] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0038] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, separate processors, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0039] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4 MHz to 20 MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22 MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1 MHz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0040] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0041] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the need for the action or operation to be directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatic" is in contrast to a user manually performing or specifying an action, wherein the user provides input to directly perform the action. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," wherein the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, wherein the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without requiring any user input to specify the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0042] Approximately - refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0043] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism," where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0044] Configured to - Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, the component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0045] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0046] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communications system

[0047] Figure 1 A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of possible systems, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0048] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B to user equipment 106N, etc. through a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as UE or UE device.

[0049] Base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware to enable wireless communications with UEs 106A through 106N.

[0050] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Advanced LTE (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), and the like. Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". Note that if the base station 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0051] As shown, base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a cellular service provider's core network, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102A may provide UE 106 with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0052] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B...102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106A-N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0053] Thus, although base station 102A may function as Figure 1106A-N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-N and / or any other base stations), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells." Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity of service area size. For example, in Figure 1 The base stations 102A-B shown in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while the base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0054] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G new radio (5G NR) base station or "gNB". In some embodiments, the gNB may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to a new radio communications core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs. For example, base station 102A and one or more other base stations 102 may support joint transmissions such that UE 106 may be able to receive transmissions from multiple base stations (and / or multiple TRPs provided by the same base station).

[0055] It should be noted that the UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., Advanced Television Systems Committee—Mobile / Handheld (ATSC-M / H)), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0056] Figure 2A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A-106N) is shown in communication with a base station 102 according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer, laptop, tablet, smart watch or other wearable device, or indeed any type of wireless device.

[0057] UE 106 may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described in the present invention by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components configured to perform (e.g., individually or in combination) any of the method embodiments described herein or any part of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0058] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, NR or LTE using at least some shared radio components. As an additional possibility, the UE 106 may be configured to communicate using CDMA2000 (1xRTT / 1xEV-DO / HRPD / eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more portions of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0059] In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol with which it is configured to communicate. As another possibility, the UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or, in various possibilities, either LTE or 1xRTT, or either LTE or GSM), and an independent radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0060] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0061] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 may be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0062] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; input devices such as a microphone, camera, keyboard; output devices such as speakers; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to it, and wireless communication circuitry 330 (e.g., for LTE, LTE-A, NR, UMTS, GSM, CDMA2000, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, NFC, GPS, etc.). In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0063] Wireless communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as one or more antennas 335 as shown. Wireless communication circuitry 330 may include cellular communication circuitry and / or short- to medium-range wireless communication circuitry, and may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0064] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may include one or more receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR) for multiple RATs. Moreover, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may include a single transmit chain that may switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT (e.g., LTE) and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with a second radio component. A second radio component may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a shared transmit chain.

[0065] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0066] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345 .

[0067] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The one or more processors 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the one or more processors 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., memory 306, read-only memory (ROM) 350, NAND flash memory 310)), and / or to other circuits or devices (such as display circuit 304, wireless communication circuit 330, connector I / F 320, and / or display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0068] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transient computer-readable memory medium), the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described in the present invention. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more components in other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

[0069] In addition, as described in the present invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0070] In addition, as described herein, wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in wireless communication circuit 330. Therefore, wireless communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuit 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of wireless communication circuit 330.

[0071] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0072] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0073] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0074] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0075] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to an NR core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0076] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 430. The antenna 434 communicates with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5GNR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0077] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5G NR radio component for performing communications according to 5GNR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5GNR and LTE, 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0078] As further described later herein, the base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the features described herein.

[0079] In addition, as described herein, the one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the one or more processors 404.

[0080] In addition, as described herein, radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0081] Figure 5 —Block diagram of cellular communication circuit

[0082] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of cellular communication circuitry is merely one example of possible cellular communication circuitry; other circuitry, such as circuitry that includes or is coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, or circuitry that includes or is coupled to fewer antennas, such as circuitry that can be shared between multiple RATs, is also possible. According to some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device such as communication device 106 described above. As described above, communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or station, a wireless device or station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0083] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335a-b and 336 as shown. In some embodiments, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include dedicated receive chains for multiple RATs (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) dedicated processors and / or radio components (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include a first modem 510 and a second modem 520. The first modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and the second modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0084] As shown, the first modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0085] Similarly, the second modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0086] In some embodiments, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the first modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the first modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the second modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the second modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0087] As described herein, the first modem 510 and / or the second modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing any of the various features and techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processors 512, 522 may be configured as programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processors 512, 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein.

[0088] In addition, as described herein, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processors 512, 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processors 512, 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the processors 512, 522.

[0089] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include only one transmit / receive chain. For example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include the modem 520, the RF front end 540, the DL front end 560, and / or the antenna 335b. As another example, the cellular communication circuit 330 may not include the modem 510, the RF front end 530, the DL front end 550, and / or the antenna 335a. In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may also not include the switch 570, and the RF front end 530 or the RF front end 540 may communicate with the UL front end 572, for example, directly.

[0090] Figure 6 and Figure 7 —Methods for enhancing NTN mobility in handover scenarios

[0091] Figure 6 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method for NTN mobility enhancement in a handover scenario according to some embodiments, wherein parameters related to NTN mobility are configured by a source base station in a handover command.

[0092] It should be understood that in the NTN mobility in the handover scenario discussed herein, the source base station indicates the current serving base station of the wireless device, and the target base station indicates the serving base station of the wireless device after the handover. Further, the source base station is a TN base station or an NTN base station, and the target base station is an NTN base station.

[0093] Figure 6 The cellular base station may correspond to a base station such as BS102 shown in various figures herein, and Figure 6 The wireless device may correspond to a wireless device such as UE 106 shown in various figures herein. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0094] exist Figure 6 In the present invention, the cellular base station is used as the source base station. That is, the handover procedure from the source base station to the target NTN base station will be performed by the wireless device.

[0095] At 602, a cellular base station acting as a source base station may configure parameters associated with the target NTN base station in a handover command, the parameters being related to NTN mobility.

[0096] At 604, the cellular base station may send a handover command to the wireless device for use by the wireless device during the handover procedure.

[0097] At 606, the wireless device may receive a handover command from a cellular base station, wherein the handover command includes parameters associated with a target NTN base station, the parameters being related to NTN mobility.

[0098] At 608, the wireless device may perform a handover procedure using parameters associated with the target NTN base station.

[0099] According to the present disclosure, parameters associated with the target NTN base station related to NTN mobility can be configured by the source base station and sent to the wireless device. Therefore, the wireless device can use the parameters related to NTN mobility in the handover procedure, and thus NTN mobility can be enhanced.

[0100] In some embodiments, the parameters related to NTN mobility may include a first parameter related to a timing relationship of a target NTN base station. As described above, due to the large scale of the NTN, the propagation delay in the NTN may become larger, and thus the timing relationship in the NTN mobility scenario may be different from the conventional timing relationship between the wireless device and the TN base station. By configuring the parameters related to the timing relationship of the target NTN base station in the handover command, the wireless device can obtain the timing relationship associated with the target NTN base station from the handover command, and thus the signal transmission after the handover procedure can become smoother.

[0101] In some embodiments, the first parameter related to the timing relationship of the target NTN base station may include at least one of K_offset and a common timing offset.

[0102] The K_offset in the NTN can be applied to indicate the first transmission opportunity of the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), and can also be applied to indicate the transmission timing of the PUSCH scheduled by the downlink control information (DCI). In addition, the common timing offset in the NTN can be applied to compensate for the timing advance (TA) of the wireless device in order to determine the uplink transmission timing of the wireless device.

[0103] It should be understood that the definition and meaning of "K_offset" and "common timing offset" in this document are the same as those in the 3GPP specification document. In addition, "K_offset" and "common timing offset" are merely examples of first parameters related to the timing relationship, and other parameters related to the timing relationship may also correspond to the first parameters of the present disclosure.

[0104] By configuring a first parameter related to the timing relationship of a target NTN base station in a handover command for use by a wireless device during a handover procedure, timing relationship enhancement for NTN mobility may be achieved.

[0105] In some embodiments, the parameters related to NTN mobility may include a second parameter related to polarization information of the target NTN base station. As described above, polarization information of the NTN base station may be necessary in the NTN mobility scenario. NTN mobility may be further enhanced by configuring polarization information in the handover command for use by the wireless device during the handover procedure. Exemplary polarization information may be based on vertical / horizontal polarization, single / dual polarization, etc.

[0106] In some embodiments, Figure 6 The cellular base station can configure the parameters associated with the target NTN base station in the "ServingCellConfigCommon" field in the handover command.

[0107] An exemplary signaling design of "ServingCellConfigCommon" in a handover command is shown below, in which three parameters associated with the target NTN base station and related to NTN mobility are configured, namely K_offset indicated by "k-offset", common timing offset indicated by "common-TimingOffset", and polarization information indicated by "polarization-info". Specifically, as shown in the following signaling design, "phyCellId" indicates the ID of the target NTN base station, and the parameters "k-offset", "common-TimingOffset", and "polarization-Info" are cell-specific information associated with the target NTN base station indicated by "phyCellId". In addition, "downlinkConfigCommon" and "uplinkConfigCommon" indicate the uplink and downlink configurations of the target NTN base station.

[0108]

[0109] Under some conditions, the polarization information may be different for the uplink and the downlink.Thus, in some embodiments, the second parameter may include the uplink polarization information and the downlink polarization information. Figure 6 The cellular base station can configure uplink polarization information and downlink polarization information separately.

[0110] For example, the "polarization-Info" configured in the above-mentioned "ServingCellConfigCommon" can be divided into "uplink polarization-Info" and "downlink polarization-Info". As another example, the uplink polarization information and the downlink polarization information can be configured in the "uplinkConfigCommon" and "downlinkConfigCommon" fields in "ServingCellConfigCommon", respectively.

[0111] In addition, under some conditions, K_offset and / or common timing offset may be required only in uplink transmission, and therefore, the cellular base station may only configure K_offset and / or common timing offset in “UplinkConfigCommon”, but omit its configuration in “DownlinkConfigCommon”. An exemplary signaling design is shown below, in which the three parameters K_offset, common timing offset, and polarization information are configured in “UplinkConfigCommon”, and only polarization information is configured in “DownlinkConfigCommon”.

[0112]

[0113]

[0114] The above configuration of the parameters associated with the target NTN base station is a cell-specific configuration, i.e., the configuration of the parameters is the same for one target NTN base station. Under some conditions, the target NTN base station may include multiple beams. By configuring the parameters in a beam-specific manner, NTN mobility can be further enhanced.

[0115] Specifically, in some embodiments, the parameters may be associated with the beam of the target NTN base station to which the wireless device is to be switched. An exemplary signaling design for beam-specific configuration of the three parameters "k offset", "common-TimingOffset" and "polarization-info" in the switching command is shown below. It can be seen that the three parameters are associated not only with the target NTN base station indicated by "physCellId", but also with the target beam to be switched to (which is indicated by "BeamIndex"). In addition, in addition to "BeamIndex", the beam may also be indicated by a transmission configuration indication (TCI) index or a beam coverage area ID or other parameters that may specify the beam.

[0116]

[0117] Figure 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method for NTN mobility enhancement in a handover scenario according to some embodiments, wherein parameters related to NTN mobility are configured by a source base station in system information.

[0118] Figure 7 The cellular base station may correspond to a base station such as BS102 shown in various figures herein, and Figure 7The wireless device may correspond to a wireless device such as UE 106 shown in various figures herein. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0119] exist Figure 7 In the present invention, the cellular base station is used as the target NTN base station of the handover procedure. That is, the handover procedure from the source base station to the target NTN base station will be performed by the wireless device.

[0120] At 702, a cellular base station serving as a target NTN base station may configure parameters associated with the target NTN base station in system information, the parameters being related to NTN mobility. Figure 7 The parameters described and their configuration can be similar to Figure 6 , and therefore a detailed description of the parameters is omitted here.

[0121] At 704, the cellular base station may broadcast system information in its coverage area.

[0122] At 706, the wireless device may acquire system information of the target NTN base station during the handover procedure. For example, the wireless device may read the broadcasted system information of the target NTN base station, such as a system information block (SIB) or a master information block (MIB), to acquire parameters associated with the target NTN base station.

[0123] At 708, the wireless device may perform a handover procedure using parameters associated with the target NTN base station.

[0124] According to the present disclosure, parameters associated with a target NTN base station related to NTN mobility may be configured by the target NTN base station in system information. In addition, the wireless device is configured to read the system information during a handover procedure to obtain the parameters. Therefore, the wireless device may be able to use the parameters related to NTN mobility in a handover procedure, and thus NTN mobility may be enhanced.

[0125] During a conventional handover procedure, the wireless device will not read the system information of the target base station. However, in the present disclosure, since the wireless device is configured to obtain the system information of the target NTN base station during the handover procedure at 706, the interruption time of the handover delay caused by the handover procedure needs to be redesigned. In some embodiments, the interruption time of the handover delay caused by the handover procedure can be configured based on the system information acquisition time required for the wireless device to acquire the system information during the handover procedure. As a possible implementation, the interruption time can be extended to include the system information acquisition time of the target NTN base station.

[0126] For example, the following expression (1) shows the interruption time T defined in the existing 3GPP specification document for unconditional handover in which the UE reports the channel status to the serving cell: interrupt , and the serving cell decides whether to send a switching instruction to the UE based on the channel status.

[0127] T interrupt =T search +T IU +T processing +T Δ +T margin ms (1)

[0128] in:

[0129] T search It is the time required to search for the target cell when the target cell is not yet known when the UE receives the handover command;

[0130] T Δ It is the time used for fine time tracking and obtaining complete timing information of the target cell;

[0131] T processing is the time for UE processing;

[0132] T margin is the time for post-processing of the synchronization signal block (SSB);

[0133] T IU It is the interruption uncertainty in acquiring the first available Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH) opportunity in a new cell.

[0134] In some embodiments, the interruption time T of the unconditional switching delay according to the present disclosure is interrupt It can be extended from expression (1) to include T SI_NTN , which is the system information acquisition time for acquiring parameters related to the target NTN base station (e.g., K_offset and / or common timing offset and / or polarization information). interrupt An exemplary expression of is shown as the following Expression (2).

[0135] T interrupt =T search +T IU +T processing +T Δ +T SI_NTN +T margin ms (2)

[0136] As another example, the following expression (3) shows the interruption time T defined in the existing 3GPP specification document for conditional switching in which the serving cell notifies the UE of the switching condition: interrupt, and the UE autonomously performs switching based on the switching condition.

[0137] T interrupt =T processing +T IU +T Δ +T margin ms (3)

[0138] in:

[0139] T processing is the time for UE processing;

[0140] T IU is the interruption uncertainty in acquiring the first available PRACH opportunity in the new cell;

[0141] T Δ It is the time used for fine time tracking and obtaining complete timing information of the target cell;

[0142] T margin is the time for SSB post-processing.

[0143] In some embodiments, the interruption time T of the conditional switching delay according to the present disclosure is interrupt It can be extended from expression (3) to include T SI_NTN , which is the system information acquisition time for obtaining parameters related to the target NTN base station (e.g., K_offset and / or common timing offset and / or polarization information). interrupt An exemplary expression of is shown as the following Expression (4).

[0144] T interrupt =T processing +T IU +T Δ +T SI_NTN +T margin ms (4)

[0145] Figure 8 and Fig. 9 —Method for enhancing NTN mobility in beam switching scenarios

[0146] Figure 6 to Figure 7 A method for NTN mobility enhancement in a handover scenario is described. In an NTN beam handover scenario, the method for NTN beam handover can be similarly applied. Figure 6 to Figure 7 The technique described in this paper will be referenced Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Such methods for NTN mobility enhancement in beam switching scenarios are described.

[0147] It should be understood that Figure 8 and Fig. 9The NTN beam switching scenario discussed is a scenario in which a wireless device switches from an old beam (also referred to as a "first beam") to a new beam (also referred to as a "second beam") in the same NTN serving base station.

[0148] Figure 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method for NTN mobility enhancement in a beam switching scenario according to some embodiments, wherein parameters related to NTN mobility are configured by the NTN serving base station in the beam switching command.

[0149] Figure 8 The cellular base station may correspond to a base station such as BS102 shown in various figures herein, and Figure 8 The wireless device may correspond to a wireless device such as UE 106 shown in various figures herein. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0150] exist Figure 8 In the embodiment, the cellular base station is used as the NTN serving base station for the wireless device. The wireless device will perform a beam switching procedure from the first beam to the second beam in the NTN serving base station.

[0151] At 802, a cellular base station may configure parameters associated with a second beam in a beam switching command, the parameters being related to NTN mobility.

[0152] Similar to About Figure 6 As described, in some embodiments, the parameter may include at least one of a first parameter associated with the timing relationship of the second beam and a second parameter associated with the polarization information of the second beam. The first parameter may include at least one of K_offset and a common timing offset. The second parameter may indicate polarization information according to vertical / horizontal polarization, single / dual polarization, etc.

[0153] In addition, in some embodiments, since the beam switching is performed within the same NTN serving base station, it is not necessary to configure cell-specific parameters in the beam switching command, and only beam-specific configuration is required. An exemplary signaling design of parameters associated with the second beam is shown below, where "BeamIndex" (or TCI index or beam coverage area ID) can indicate the index of the second beam (i.e., the target new beam), and three parameters "k offset", "common-TimingOffset" and "polarization-info" can indicate parameters related to NTN mobility.

[0154]

[0155] Fig. 9 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method for NTN mobility enhancement in a beam switching scenario according to some embodiments, wherein parameters related to NTN mobility are configured by the NTN serving base station in system information.

[0156] Fig. 9 The cellular base station may correspond to a base station such as BS102 shown in various figures herein, and Fig. 9 The wireless device may correspond to a wireless device such as UE 106 shown in various figures herein. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0157] exist Fig. 9 In the embodiment, the cellular base station is used as the NTN serving base station for the wireless device. The wireless device will perform a beam switching procedure from the first beam to the second beam in the NTN serving base station. Fig. 9 The methods and Figure 8 The method in FIG. 1 is different because the parameters associated with the second beam are configured in the system information rather than as Figure 8 The beam switching commands are shown. Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Other aspects of the method in are similar and are therefore omitted here.

[0158] At 902, a cellular base station may configure parameters associated with a second beam in system information, the parameters being related to NTN mobility.

[0159] At 904, the cellular base station may broadcast system information in its coverage area.

[0160] At 906, the wireless device may acquire system information of the NTN serving base station during the beam switching procedure. For example, the wireless device may be configured to read the broadcasted system information (such as SIB or MIB) of the cellular base station during the beam switching procedure.

[0161] At 908, the wireless device may perform a beam switching procedure using parameters associated with the second beam.

[0162] During the conventional beam switching procedure, the wireless device will not read the system information of the serving base station. However, in the present disclosure, since the wireless device is configured to obtain the system information of the NTN serving base station during the beam switching procedure at 906, the switching delay caused by the beam switching procedure needs to be redesigned. In some embodiments, the switching delay caused by the beam switching procedure can be configured based on the system information acquisition time required for the wireless device to obtain the system information during the beam switching procedure. As a possible implementation, the switching delay can be extended to include the system information acquisition time T of the NTN serving base station. SI_NTN .

[0163] In some embodiments, the system information acquisition time may be set to 0 if the system information is acquired by the wireless device before the beam switching procedure and is up to date for the wireless device. For example, the wireless device may have read and acquired the system information of the NTN serving base station to perform other operations recently. In this case, the wireless device may not need to reacquire the system information from the NTN serving base station during the beam switching procedure, and therefore the system information acquisition time may be set to 0.

[0164] The following expression (5) shows the switching delay defined in the existing 3GPP specification document in the TCI switching cycle based on radio resource control (RRC),

[0165] n+(T RRC_processing +TO k *(T first-SSB +T SSB-proc )) / NR slot length (5)

[0166] Where T RRC_processing is the RRC processing delay, T first-SSB is the time from the UE's RRC processing to the first SSB transmission, T SSB-proc = 2ms, if the target TCI state is not in the active TCI state list of the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), TO k =1, otherwise 0.

[0167] As an example, the switching delay according to the present disclosure can be extended from the above expression (5) to include K*T SI_NTN The redesigned switching delay is shown in the following expression (6),

[0168] n+(T RRC_processing +K*T SI_NTN +TO k *(T first-SSB +T SSB-proc )) / NR slot length (6)

[0169] Where TSI_NTN is the system information acquisition time for acquiring parameters related to the second beam (eg, beam-specific K_offset and / or common timing offset and / or polarization information). If the system information is known to the wireless device, K=0, otherwise K=1.

[0170] As another example, the following expression (7) shows the switching delay defined in the existing 3GPP specification document in the TCI switching cycle based on the medium access control-control element (MAC-CE),

[0171] n+T HARQ +(3ms+TO k *(T first-SSB +T SSB-proc ) / NR slot length (7)

[0172] Where T first-SSB is the time from the UE decoding the MAC CE command to the first SSB transmission, T SSB-proc = 2ms, if the target TCI state is not in the active TCI state list of PDSCH, then TO k =1, otherwise 0.

[0173] The switching delay according to the present disclosure can be extended from the above expression (7) to include K*T SI_NTN The redesigned switching delay is shown in the following expression (8),

[0174] n+T HARQ +(3ms+K*T SI_NTN +TO k *(T first-SSB +T SSB-proc ) / NR slot length (8) Where T SI_NTN is the system information acquisition time for acquiring parameters related to the second beam (eg, beam-specific K_offset and / or common timing offset and / or polarization information). If the system information is known to the wireless device, K=0, otherwise K=1.

[0175] Figures 10 to 12 —Enhanced method for NTN measurement scenarios

[0176] The NTN measurement scenario discussed herein is a scenario where the serving base station is an NTN base station, and the NTN serving base station will configure one or more wireless devices of the serving base station to measure neighboring cells (also referred to as "target cellular base stations to be measured"). The neighboring cells may correspond to TN base stations or NTN base stations.

[0177] In some embodiments, during NTN measurement scenarios, polarization information of neighboring cells may be used to enhance measurement performance. Fig.10 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary method for enhancement in NTN measurement scenarios according to some embodiments, wherein polarization information of a target cellular base station to be measured is configured by the NTN serving base station for use by the wireless device during the measurement of the target cellular base station.

[0178] Fig.10 The cellular base station may correspond to a base station, such as BS102 shown in various figures herein. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in a different order than shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0179] exist Fig.10 In the embodiment of the present invention, the cellular base station is used as an NTN serving base station. At 1002, the cellular base station may configure polarization information associated with a target cellular base station to be measured by a wireless device in the NTN serving base station for use by the wireless device during measurement of the target cellular base station. Therefore, the wireless device may use polarization information associated with the target cellular base station (e.g., a neighboring cell) during measurement, and thus may enhance measurement performance.

[0180] In an NTN serving base station, UEs in the coverage area of ​​the NTN serving base station may have different polarization modes, depending on the specific implementation of the antenna of the corresponding UE. In order to provide polarization information in a more flexible manner, in some embodiments, the NTN serving base station may dynamically configure the polarization information of each UE in the serving cell. In other words, UE-specific configuration of the polarization information for measurement may be implemented.

[0181] Fig.11 is a signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method for dynamically configuring UE-specific polarization information in connected mode according to some embodiments.

[0182] Fig.11 The cellular base station may correspond to a base station such as BS102 shown in various figures herein, and Fig.11 The wireless device may correspond to a wireless device such as UE 106 shown in various figures herein. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0183] Fig.11 The method may be implemented in a connected mode, wherein the wireless device is connected to a cellular base station.

[0184] At 1102, a cellular base station serving as an NTN serving base station may configure polarization information associated with a target base station to be measured, which is specified for a wireless device in a measurement configuration.

[0185] At 1104, the cellular base station may send a measurement configuration to the wireless device.

[0186] At 1106, the wireless device may receive a measurement configuration including polarization information associated with a target cellular base station to be measured from the NTN serving base station.

[0187] At 1108, the wireless device may use the polarization information to perform measurements on the target cellular base station.

[0188] According to the present disclosure, polarization information designated for a wireless device can be sent to the wireless device through a dedicated measurement configuration, and the wireless device can use the dynamically configured polarization information to perform measurements on neighboring cells. Therefore, measurement performance can be enhanced.

[0189] Above Fig.11 A method implemented in a connected mode is shown. However, in an idle or inactive mode where the wireless device is not connected to a cellular base station, a dedicated measurement configuration may not be available. In this case, in some embodiments, the NTN serving base station may configure the polarization information of the target base station to be measured in the system information of the NTN serving base station.

[0190] Fig.12 A signaling diagram illustrating an exemplary method for configuring polarization information that is public to wireless devices of an NTN serving base station in idle or inactive mode according to some embodiments.

[0191] Fig.12 The cellular base station may correspond to a base station such as BS102 shown in various figures herein, and Fig.12 The wireless device may correspond to a wireless device such as UE 106 shown in various figures herein. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be performed as needed.

[0192] At 1202, a cellular base station serving as an NTN serving base station may configure polarization information associated with a target base station to be measured in system information, the polarization information being common to wireless devices of the cellular base station. In some embodiments, the polarization information may be configured in a cell reselection configuration in system information (e.g., SIB2 / 3 / 4).

[0193] At 1204, a cellular base station may broadcast system information in its coverage area.

[0194] At 1206, the wireless device may acquire system information including polarization information associated with a target cellular base station to be measured by the wireless device. In some embodiments, the wireless device may read broadcast system information (eg, SIB 2 / 3 / 4) to acquire the information.

[0195] At 1208, the wireless device may use the polarization information to perform measurements on the target cellular base station.

[0196] According to the present disclosure, polarization information associated with neighboring cells may be provided to wireless devices to facilitate measurements of neighboring cells even in idle or inactive modes. Thus, measurement performance may be enhanced.

[0197] In some embodiments, polarization information may be configured by a cellular base station (i.e., an NTN serving base station) per frequency layer or per measurement object (MO) or per target cellular base station. For example, the cellular base station may configure polarization information specified for each wireless device relative to each frequency layer or MO in the measurement configuration. Similarly, the cellular base station may configure polarization information specified for each wireless device relative to each target base station to be measured. As another example, the cellular base station may configure polarization information relative to each frequency layer or MO or relative to each target cellular base station to be measured, and the polarization information is common to the wireless devices of the cellular base station in the system information.

[0198] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0199] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0200] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0201] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106 or BS 102) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementation of the method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0202] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A cellular base station, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; as well as a processor coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the cellular base station is used as the source base station for a handover procedure from a source base station to a target non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station, and the processor is configured to: configuring parameters associated with the target NTN base station in a handover command, the parameters being related to NTN mobility, wherein the parameters include at least one of a first parameter related to a timing relationship of the target NTN base station and a second parameter related to polarization information of the target NTN base station, and wherein the second parameter includes uplink polarization information and downlink polarization information, and the processor is configured to: respectively configuring the uplink polarization information and the downlink polarization information; as well as The handover command is sent via the at least one radio component to a wireless device for use by the wireless device during the handover procedure.

2. The cellular base station according to claim 1, wherein the processor is configured to: The parameters associated with the target NTN base station are configured in a "ServingCellConfigCommon" field in the handover command.

3. A cellular base station, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; as well as a processor coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the cellular base station is used as the target non-terrestrial network (NTN) base station for a handover procedure from a source base station to a target NTN base station, and the processor is configured to: configuring parameters associated with the target NTN base station in system information, wherein the parameters are related to NTN mobility, wherein the system information is to be acquired by the wireless device during the handover procedure, and wherein the parameters include at least one of a first parameter related to a timing relationship of the target NTN base station and a second parameter related to polarization information of the target NTN base station, and wherein the second parameter includes uplink polarization information and downlink polarization information, and the processor is configured to: The uplink polarization information and the downlink polarization information are configured separately.

4. The cellular base station according to claim 3, wherein the processor is configured to: An interruption time of a handover delay caused by the handover procedure is configured based on a system information acquisition time required for the wireless device to acquire the system information during the handover procedure.

5. The cellular base station of claim 3, wherein the first parameter comprises at least one of K_offset and a common timing offset, and the processor is configured to: The K_offset and the common timing offset are configured in "UplinkConfigCommon" in the handover command.

6. The cellular base station according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the parameter is associated with a beam of the target NTN base station to which the wireless device is to be handed over.

7. A cellular base station, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; as well as a processor coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the cellular base station serves as a non-terrestrial network (NTN) serving base station for the wireless device during a beam switching procedure from a first beam to a second beam in the NTN serving base station, and the processor is configured to: configuring parameters associated with the second beam in a beam switching command, the parameters being related to NTN mobility, wherein the parameters include at least one of a first parameter related to a timing relationship of a target NTN base station and a second parameter related to polarization information of the target NTN base station, and wherein the second parameter includes uplink polarization information and downlink polarization information, and the processor is configured to: respectively configuring the uplink polarization information and the downlink polarization information; as well as The beam switching command is sent to the wireless device via the at least one radio component for use by the wireless device during the beam switching procedure.

8. A cellular base station, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; as well as a processor coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the cellular base station serves as a non-terrestrial network (NTN) serving base station for the wireless device during a beam switching procedure from a first beam to a second beam in the NTN serving base station, and the processor is configured to: configuring parameters associated with the second beam in system information, wherein the parameters are related to NTN mobility, The system information is to be acquired by the wireless device during the beam switching procedure, wherein the system information acquisition time is set to 0 if the system information is acquired by the wireless device before the beam switching procedure and is the latest for the wireless device.

9. The cellular base station of claim 8, wherein the processor is configured to: A switching delay caused by the beam switching procedure is configured based on a system information acquisition time used by the wireless device to acquire the system information during the beam switching procedure.

10. The cellular base station according to any one of claims 8 to 9, wherein the parameter comprises at least one of a first parameter related to a timing relationship of the second beam and a second parameter related to polarization information of the second beam.

11. The cellular base station of claim 10, wherein the first parameter comprises at least one of K_offset and a common timing offset.

12. The cellular base station according to claim 10, wherein the second parameter comprises uplink polarization information and downlink polarization information.

13. A cellular base station, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; as well as a processor coupled to the at least one radio, wherein the cellular base station serves as a non-terrestrial network (NTN) serving base station for the wireless device during a beam switching procedure from a first beam to a second beam in the NTN serving base station, and the processor is configured to: configuring parameters associated with the second beam in system information, wherein the parameters are related to NTN mobility, wherein the system information is to be acquired by the wireless device during the handover procedure, and The parameters include at least one of a first parameter related to a timing relationship of the second beam and a second parameter related to polarization information of the second beam, and the second parameter includes uplink polarization information and downlink polarization information.

14. The cellular base station of claim 13, wherein the processor is configured to: A switching delay caused by the beam switching procedure is configured based on a system information acquisition time used by the wireless device to acquire the system information during the beam switching procedure.

15. The cellular base station of claim 13, wherein the system information acquisition time is set to 0 if the system information is acquired by the wireless device before the beam switching procedure and is up to date for the wireless device.

16. The cellular base station of claim 13, wherein the first parameter comprises at least one of K_offset and a common timing offset.

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