Measurement control method and terminal device

Abstract

The application relates to a measurement control method and a terminal device. The measurement control method comprises the following steps: in the case that early measurement is stopped according to a radio resource control (RRC) message, a terminal device does not delete an early measurement configuration; and whether an early measurement result is valid is determined according to the early measurement configuration. In the embodiment of the application, the early measurement configuration is not deleted at the same time when the early measurement is stopped, so that the reporting of invalid early measurement results can be reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the field of communication, and more particularly, to a measurement control method and a terminal device. BACKGROUND

[0002] Early measurement technology allows a terminal to perform measurement on a specified frequency point in an idle state and an inactive state, and to report a measurement result or an indication of whether the measurement is valid to a network when connection is established or resumed. SUMMARY

[0003] Embodiments of the present application provide a measurement control method and a terminal device, which can reduce reporting of invalid early measurement results.

[0004] Embodiments of the present application provide a measurement control method, comprising:

[0005] In a case where early measurement is stopped according to a radio resource control (RRC) message, the terminal device does not delete early measurement configuration.

[0006] Embodiments of the present application provide a terminal device, comprising:

[0007] A processing unit is configured to, in a case where early measurement is stopped according to a radio resource control (RRC) message, not delete early measurement configuration.

[0008] Embodiments of the present application provide a terminal device comprising a processor and a memory. The memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processor is configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory, so that the terminal device performs the measurement control method in embodiments of the present application.

[0009] Embodiments of the present application provide a chip for implementing the measurement control method described above.

[0010] Specifically, the chip comprises a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program from a memory, so that a device installed with the chip performs the measurement control method in embodiments of the present application.

[0011] Embodiments of the present application provide a computer readable storage medium configured to store a computer program, which, when run by a device, causes the device to perform the measurement control method in embodiments of the present application.

[0012] Embodiments of the present application do not delete early measurement configuration at the same time when early measurement is stopped, which can reduce reporting of invalid early measurement results. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1 FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an application scenario according to embodiments of the present application.

[0014] Figure 2FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an early measurement configuration through a RRC connection release procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0015] Figure 3 FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of reporting whether an early measurement is valid through a RRC connection establishment procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0016] Figure 4 FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of reporting whether an early measurement is valid through a RRC connection resume procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0017] Figure 5 FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of reporting an early measurement result through a RRC connection resume procedure according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0018] Figure 6 FIG. 5 is a schematic flow chart of a measurement control method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0019] Figure 7 FIG. 6 is a schematic flow chart of a measurement control method according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0020] Figure 8 FIG. 7 is a flow chart of an early measurement in an idle state according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0021] Figure 9 FIG. 8 is a flow chart of an early measurement in an inactive state according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0022] Figure 10 FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0023] Figure 11 FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device according to another embodiment of the present application.

[0024] Figure 12 FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a communication device according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0025] Figure 13 FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a chip according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0026] Figure 14 FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a communication system according to an embodiment of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present application will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application can be applied to various communication systems, for example: Global System of Mobile communication (GSM) system, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) system, General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), Long Term Evolution (LTE) system, Advanced long term evolution (LTE-A) system, New Radio (NR) system, evolved system of NR system, LTE-based access to unlicensed spectrum (LTE-U) system, NR-based access to unlicensed spectrum (NR-U) system, Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTN) system, Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), Wireless Fidelity (WiFi), 5th-Generation (5G) system or other communication systems, etc.

[0029] Generally, the traditional communication system supports a limited number of connections, which is easy to implement. However, with the development of communication technology, the mobile communication system will not only support the traditional communication, but also support, for example, Device to Device (D2D) communication, Machine to Machine (M2M) communication, Machine Type Communication (MTC), Vehicle to Vehicle (V2V) communication, or Vehicle to everything (V2X) communication, etc. The embodiments of the present application can also be applied to these communication systems.

[0030] In an embodiment, the communication system in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to a carrier aggregation (CA) scenario, can also be applied to a dual connectivity (DC) scenario, and can also be applied to a standalone (SA) network deployment scenario.

[0031] In an embodiment, the communication system in the embodiments of the present application can be applied to an unlicensed spectrum, which can also be regarded as a shared spectrum, or can be applied to a licensed spectrum, which can also be regarded as a non-shared spectrum.

[0032] Embodiments of the present application combine network devices and terminal devices, wherein the terminal device can also be referred to as a user equipment (UE), an access terminal, a user unit, a user station, a mobile station, a mobile station, a remote station, a remote terminal, a mobile device, a user terminal, a terminal, a wireless communication device, a user agent or a user device, etc.

[0033] The terminal device can be a station (STA) in a WLAN, can be a cellular phone, a cordless phone, a Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) phone, a Wireless Local Loop (WLL) station, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) device, a handheld device with wireless communication function, a computing device or other processing device connected to a wireless modem, a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, a terminal device in a next-generation communication system such as an NR network, or a terminal device in a future evolved Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) network, etc.

[0034] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can be deployed on land, including indoor or outdoor, handheld, wearable or vehicle-mounted; can also be deployed on the water surface (such as ships, etc.); can also be deployed in the air (such as airplanes, balloons and satellites, etc.).

[0035] In the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can be a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a computer with wireless transceiver function, a virtual reality (VR) terminal device, an augmented reality (AR) terminal device, a wireless terminal device in industrial control, a wireless terminal device in self driving, a wireless terminal device in remote medical treatment, a wireless terminal device in smart grid, a wireless terminal device in transportation safety, a wireless terminal device in smart city, or a wireless terminal device in smart home, etc.

[0036] By way of example and not limitation, in the embodiments of the present application, the terminal device can also be a wearable device. The wearable device can also be referred to as a wearable smart device, which is a general term for devices that are designed and developed by applying wearable technology to daily wear, such as glasses, gloves, watches, clothing, and shoes, etc. The wearable device is a portable device that is directly worn on the body or integrated into the clothes or accessories of the user. The wearable device is not only a hardware device, but also has powerful functions through software support and data interaction and cloud interaction. The general wearable smart device includes devices with full functions, large size, and the ability to realize complete or partial functions without relying on a smart phone, such as smart watches or smart glasses, etc., and devices that focus on a certain type of application function and need to be used in cooperation with other devices, such as smart phones, such as various smart wristbands and smart jewelry for monitoring vital signs, etc.

[0037] In the embodiments of the present application, the network device can be a device for communicating with the mobile device. The network device can be an access point (AP) in a WLAN, a base transceiver station (BTS) in GSM or CDMA, a base station (NodeB, NB) in WCDMA, an evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB) in LTE, or a relay station or an access point, or a vehicle-mounted device, a wearable device, and a network device in an NR network, or a network device in a future evolved PLMN network, or a network device in an NTN network, etc.

[0038] By way of example and not limitation, in embodiments of the present application, a network device can have a mobile characteristic, for example, the network device can be a mobile device. Alternatively, the network device can be a satellite, a balloon station. For example, the satellite can be a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, a medium earth orbit (MEO) satellite, a geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite, a high elliptical orbit (HEO) satellite, etc. Alternatively, the network device can also be a base station disposed at a location on land, water, etc.

[0039] In embodiments of the present application, a network device can serve a cell, and a terminal device communicates with the network device through a transmission resource (for example, a frequency domain resource, or a spectrum resource) used by the cell. The cell can be a cell corresponding to the network device (for example, a base station), and the cell can belong to a macro base station or a base station corresponding to a small cell. The small cell can include a metro cell, a micro cell, a pico cell, a femto cell, etc., and these small cells have the characteristics of small coverage and low transmit power, and are suitable for providing high-speed data transmission services.

[0040] Figure 1 An exemplary communication system 100 is shown. The communication system includes one network device 110 and two terminal devices 120. In an implementation, the communication system 100 can include multiple network devices 110, and each network device 110 can include other numbers of terminal devices 120 within its coverage, which is not limited in embodiments of the present application.

[0041] In an implementation, the communication system 100 can further include a mobility management entity (MME), an access and mobility management function (AMF), and other network entities, which are not limited in embodiments of the present application.

[0042] The network device can include an access network device and a core network device. That is, the wireless communication system also includes a plurality of core networks for communicating with the access network device. The access network device can be an evolved node B (eNB or e-NodeB) macro base station, micro base station (also referred to as a "small base station"), pico base station, access point (AP), transmission point (TP), or new generation Node B (gNodeB) in a long-term evolution (LTE) system, a next radio (NR) system, or an authorized auxiliary access long-term evolution (LAA-LTE) system.

[0043] It should be understood that the devices with communication functions in the network / system in the embodiments of the present application can be referred to as communication devices. Figure 1 The communication system shown in the example can include network devices and terminal devices with communication functions. The network devices and terminal devices can be specific devices in the embodiments of the present application, which will not be described here. The communication devices can also include other devices in the communication system, such as network controllers, mobile management entities, and other network entities. The embodiments of the present application do not limit the above.

[0044] It should be understood that the terms "system" and "network" are often used interchangeably in this document. The term "and / or" in this document is only used to describe the association relationship of the associated objects. For example, A and / or B can represent three cases: A alone, A and B together, and B alone. In addition, the character " / " generally represents an "or" relationship between the associated objects.

[0045] It should be understood that the "indication" mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can be direct indication, indirect indication, or an indication with an associated relationship. For example, A indicates B, which can mean that B can be obtained directly through A; or A indirectly indicates B, for example, A indicates C, and B can be obtained through C; or A and B have an associated relationship.

[0046] In the description of the embodiments of the present application, the term "corresponding" can mean a direct or indirect corresponding relationship between the two, or an associated relationship between the two, or an indication and being indicated, configuration and being configured, etc.

[0047] For the convenience of understanding the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the related technologies of the embodiments of the present application are described as follows. The related technologies below can be combined with the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application in any manner, and all of them belong to the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0048] In order to improve the terminal data transmission and reception throughput, the network configures the terminal with carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC). Carrier aggregation refers to aggregating multiple continuous or non-continuous component carriers (CCs) into a larger bandwidth, thereby improving the utilization of spectrum resources. Dual connectivity is similar to carrier aggregation, which refers to that a UE (User Equipment) is connected to two base stations or two wireless systems at the same time.

[0049] The specific configuration mode of carrier aggregation and dual connectivity is that the network configures the terminal with measurement after the terminal enters the connected state, the terminal sends the measurement report to the network, and the network selects a cell with a signal quality meeting the condition to configure the terminal with carrier aggregation or dual connectivity according to the measurement report result. Since the measurement report needs to be performed after the security is activated, the time for configuring carrier aggregation and dual connectivity is relatively lagging, a large amount of frequency domain resources is wasted, and the user experience is affected.

[0050] In order to solve the above problems, the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) proposes an early measurement technology. This technology allows the terminal to perform measurement on specified frequency points in the idle state and the inactive state, and reports the measurement result or an indication of whether the measurement is valid to the network when the connection is established or restored. The network can request the measurement result in the idle state or the inactive state from the terminal through RRC (Radio Resource Control) Resume or UEInformationRequest (UE information request). The terminal reports the measurement result in the idle state or the inactive state to the network in RRCResumeComplete (RRC resume complete) or UEInformationResponse (UE information response). The network decides whether to configure the terminal with carrier aggregation or dual connectivity according to the result reported by the terminal.

[0051] The validityAreaList in the early measurement configuration, e.g. measIdleConfig, contains a list of frequencies and cells, indicating the range of cells where early measurement is valid. That is, if intra-RAT cell selection or reselection happens during early measurement, early measurement is valid as long as the cell does not exceed the list of frequencies and cells in the validityAreaList, otherwise it is not valid. An example configuration of early measurement is as follows Figure 2 Early measurement can be configured through RRC connection release procedure. The network device sends an RRC release message carrying measIdleConfig to the UE, thereby configuring the UE with early measurement configuration.

[0052] The reporting of early measurement can include the following forms, such as Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 . Figure 3 - Report whether early measurement is valid through RRC connection establishment procedure. Figure 4 - Report whether early measurement is valid through RRC connection resume procedure. Figure 5 - Report early measurement results through RRC connection resume procedure. The difference between Figure 4 and 5 is whether the idleModeMeasurementReq is carried in the RRC resume (RRCResume) message. If the idleModeMeasurementReq is carried in the RRCResume and the early measurement result is valid at present, the early measurement result will be reported to the network through the RRC resume complete (RRCResumeComplete) message. Otherwise, the terminal will report the early measurement result through the UE information (UE Information) procedure triggered by the network carrying the idleModeMeasurementReq after the connection resume is completed. For example, the network sends a UE information request (UEInformationRequest) message carrying the idleModeMeasurementReq to the UE, and the UE sends a UE information response (UEInformationResponse) message carrying the early measurement result (measResultIdle) to the network.

[0053] In the above early measurement reporting process, Figure 2 and Figure 3In the 3GPP protocol, early measurement is stopped when the terminal device receives the RRCSetup or RRCResume message, and the early measurement configuration is cleared. The reporting of the early measurement result is completed by the network-initiated UEInformationRequest procedure with idleModeMeasurementReq after the connection establishment or resumption.

[0054] In actual processes, a period of time is between the clearing of the early measurement configuration and the actual reporting of the early measurement result. If a link failure or other problems occur in the period of time, the terminal device cannot determine whether the current serving cell exceeds the validityAreaList when the terminal device reenters the connected state, that is, the terminal device cannot determine whether the early measurement result is still valid at this time. In this case, the early measurement result reported by the terminal device when the network requests the early measurement result can be invalid, which affects the subsequent configuration of carrier aggregation and dual connectivity, wastes a large amount of frequency domain resources, and reduces the user experience.

[0055] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a schematic flowchart of a measurement control method 600 according to an embodiment of the present application. The method can be optionally applied to the system shown in FIG. 1, but is not limited thereto. The method includes at least part of the following contents. Figure 1

[0056] S610, in the case of stopping early measurement according to a radio resource control (RRC) message, the early measurement configuration is not cleared.

[0057] S620, determining whether the early measurement result is valid according to the early measurement configuration.

[0058] In the embodiments of the present application, the early measurement configuration can be carried in the RRC release message of the network device received by the terminal device. The terminal device in the idle state can stop early measurement when receiving the RRC setup message of the network device, but the early measurement configuration is not cleared. The terminal device in the inactive state can stop early measurement when receiving the RRC resume message of the network device, but the early measurement configuration is not cleared. The terminal device does not clear the early measurement configuration when stopping early measurement, which can prevent the early measurement configuration from being cleared before the terminal device reports the early measurement result. When the terminal device needs to report the early measurement result, the early measurement result can be verified by using the reserved early measurement configuration to determine whether the early measurement result is valid. In this way, even if the terminal device reenters the connected state due to a link failure or other reasons, the reporting of the invalid early measurement result can be reduced according to the reserved early measurement configuration. ​

[0059] In an embodiment, the early measurement configuration is not cleared, comprising:

[0060] starting a first timer, and before the first timer expires, the early measurement configuration is not cleared.

[0061] In an embodiment, the method further comprises:

[0062] after the first timer expires, the early measurement configuration is cleared.

[0063] In the embodiments of the present application, the first timer can be a timer similar to the function of the T331 timer, which can be regarded as an extended timer of the T331 timer, and the specific timer name can be flexibly set.

[0064] For example, in the case that the terminal device in idle state receives the RRC setup message of the network device, the terminal device can stop the early measurement and start a first timer for controlling the clearing of the early measurement configuration. Before the first timer expires, the terminal device does not clear the early measurement configuration. After the first timer expires, the terminal device clears the early measurement configuration.

[0065] For another example, in the case that the terminal device in inactive state receives the RRC resume message of the network device, the terminal device can stop the early measurement and start a first timer for controlling the clearing of the early measurement configuration. Before the first timer expires, the terminal device does not clear the early measurement configuration. After the first timer expires, the terminal device clears the early measurement configuration.

[0066] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the method 700 further comprises: Figure 7

[0067] S710, receiving a first RRC message, wherein the first RRC message comprises the early measurement configuration. For example, the terminal device receives the first RRC message from the network device.

[0068] In an embodiment, the first RRC message is an RRC release message.

[0069] In an embodiment, the RRC release message further comprises a suspend configuration.

[0070] For example, after the terminal device receives the RRC release message comprising the early measurement configuration sent by the network device, the terminal device is converted from the connected state to the idle state.

[0071] For another example, after the terminal device receives the RRC release message comprising the early measurement configuration and the suspend configuration sent by the network device, the terminal device is converted from the connected state to the inactive state.

[0072] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the method 700 further comprises:​Figure 7 As shown in the method further comprises:

[0073] S720, a second RRC message is sent, and the second RRC message is used to initiate an RRC request according to a service requirement. For example, the terminal device sends the second RRC message to the network device.

[0074] In an implementation, the second RRC message is an RRC setup request message and / or an RRC resume request message.

[0075] For example, after receiving the RRC release message sent by the network device, the terminal device is switched from the connected state to the idle state. The terminal device in the idle state can send an RRC setup request message to the network device.

[0076] For another example, after receiving the RRC release message sent by the network device, the terminal device is switched from the connected state to the inactive state. The terminal device in the inactive state can send an RRC resume request message to the network device.

[0077] In an implementation, as Figure 7 As shown in the method further comprises:

[0078] S730, in a case where a third RRC message is received, stopping the second timer and stopping the early measurement. For example, the terminal device receives the third RRC message from the network device.

[0079] In an implementation, the third RRC message is an RRC setup message and / or an RRC resume message.

[0080] For example, after the terminal device in the idle state sends an RRC setup request message to the network device, if an RRC setup message sent by the network device is received, a second timer such as T331 used to control the early measurement can be stopped, and the early measurement is stopped. However, the terminal device in the idle state can not clear the early measurement configuration in advance.

[0081] For another example, after the terminal device in the inactive state sends an RRC resume request message to the network device, if an RRC resume message sent by the network device is received, a second timer such as T331 used to control the early measurement can be stopped, and the early measurement is stopped. However, the terminal device in the inactive state can not clear the early measurement configuration in advance.

[0082] In the embodiment of the present application, after the terminal device receives the third RRC message from the network device, the second timer such as T331 can be stopped, and the early measurement is stopped. Then, the terminal device can restart the first timer such as the extended timer of T331, and wait for the first timer to time out before clearing the early measurement configuration. Alternatively, the terminal device can wait until the early measurement result is reported before clearing the early measurement configuration.

[0083] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 7 The method further comprises:

[0084] S740, in the case that it is found that the measurement result is valid, sending a fourth RRC message for informing the network device that the terminal device currently has a valid early measurement result.

[0085] In an embodiment, the fourth RRC message is an RRC setup complete message, and the RRC setup complete message carries information for indicating that the idle mode measurement result of the terminal device is valid.

[0086] For example, after receiving the RRC setup message sent by the network device and stopping the early measurement, the idle mode terminal device can send an RRC setup complete message to the network device to inform the network device that the terminal device has a valid measurement result, in the case that it is found that the measurement result is valid.

[0087] In an embodiment, the fourth RRC message is an RRC resume complete message, and the RRC resume complete message carries information for indicating that the inactive mode measurement result of the terminal device is valid.

[0088] For another example, after receiving the RRC resume message sent by the network device and stopping the early measurement, the inactive mode terminal device can send an RRC resume complete message to the network device to inform the network device that the terminal device has a valid measurement result, in the case that it is found that the measurement result is valid.

[0089] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 7 The method further comprises:

[0090] S750, in the case that a link failure occurs before the early measurement result is reported, causing the terminal device to re-enter the connected state, receiving a request message for requesting to report the measurement result.

[0091] In an embodiment, the request message for requesting to report the measurement result is a terminal device information request message, and the terminal device information request message carries idle mode measurement request information.

[0092] For example, after the terminal device informs the network device that the terminal device has valid measurement results, before the terminal device reports the measurement results, if the terminal device re-enters the connected state, the terminal device can receive a request message, i.e., a terminal device information request message, such as a UEInformationRequest, from the network device for requesting the terminal device to report the measurement results. The terminal device information request message received by the terminal device can carry idle mode measurement request information, such as idleModeMeasurementReq, and can trigger the terminal device to report early measurement results.

[0093] In an embodiment, before reporting the early measurement results, the terminal device can first determine whether the current early measurement results are valid according to the early measurement configuration. For example, if it is determined according to the early measurement configuration that the current serving cell is out of the validity area range, it indicates that the current early measurement results are invalid (or invalid). If it is determined according to the early measurement configuration that the current serving cell is not out of the validity area range, it indicates that the current early measurement results are valid.

[0094] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 6, in S620, determining whether the early measurement results are valid according to the early measurement configuration further includes: Figure 7

[0095] S760, in a case where it is determined according to the early measurement configuration that the current serving cell is out of the validity area range, the early measurement results are invalid, and the early measurement configuration and the early measurement results are cleared.

[0096] In an embodiment of the present application, the validity area range can include a validity area list (validityAreaList), and the validityAreaList can include a frequency point and a cell list. If the current serving cell is not out of the frequency point and the cell list that can be included in the validityAreaList, it indicates that the current serving cell is not out of the validity area range. Otherwise, it indicates that the current serving cell is out of the validity area range.

[0097] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the method further includes: Figure 7

[0098] S770, a response message not carrying the early measurement results is sent.

[0099] In an embodiment of the present application, in a case where it is determined according to the early measurement configuration that the current serving cell is out of the validity area range, if the early measurement configuration and the early measurement results are cleared, the terminal device does not carry the early measurement results of the terminal device in a response message, such as a UEInformationResponse, sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0100] ​​In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 7 In S620, determining whether the early measurement result is valid according to the early measurement configuration further includes:

[0101] S780, in the case that the current serving cell is judged not to exceed the valid area range according to the early measurement configuration, the early measurement result is valid, and a response message carrying the early measurement result is sent.

[0102] In the embodiments of the present application, in the case that the current serving cell is judged not to exceed the valid area range according to the early measurement configuration, if the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result are not cleared, the early measurement result of the terminal device can be carried in the response message, for example, UEInformationResponse, sent by the terminal device to the network device.

[0103] In an embodiment, as shown in Figure 8 The method further includes:

[0104] S790, after sending the response message carrying the early measurement result, the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result are cleared.

[0105] In an embodiment, the response message is a terminal device information response message, for example, UEInformationResponse.

[0106] In the embodiments of the present application, S760 and S780 are two different operations performed after judging whether the current serving cell exceeds the valid area range according to the judgment result of the early measurement configuration, and there is no time sequence limit between the two. It is determined whether S760 or S780 is executed according to the judgment result. If S760 is executed, S770 can be executed. If S780 is executed, S790 can be executed.

[0107] In the embodiments of the present application, the early measurement configuration is not deleted at the same time when the early measurement is stopped, which can reduce the invalidation of the reported early measurement result. For example, according to the embodiments of the present application, the early measurement configuration is not cleared before the early measurement result is reported, which can effectively avoid the situation that the early measurement result is invalidated due to failure before the early measurement result is reported.

[0108] In the embodiments of the present application, by analyzing the abnormal scenarios existing in the early measurement scheme, it can be found that if the link fails, the terminal cannot determine whether the early measurement result is valid when it reenters the connected state within the time difference between clearing the early measurement configuration and actually reporting the early measurement. For this kind of scenario, the embodiments of the present application propose a scheme of postponing the clearing of the early measurement configuration, which avoids the problem of invalid early measurement result caused by the service cell exceeding the validityAreaList that may occur subsequently, can maximize the value of the early measurement technology, and improves the spectrum resource utilization.

[0109] Specifically, for the scenario that the early measurement of the terminal device in the non-connected state due to RRCSetup or RRCResume without idleModeMeasurementReq affects the user experience, the embodiments of the present application propose a measurement control method. The measurement control method can improve the early measurement in the non-connected state to solve the problem of invalid early measurement result caused by deleting the early measurement configuration too early.

[0110] For the above scenario, RRC can stop early measurement without clearing early measurement configuration when receiving RRCSetup or RRCResume. Wait until the network initiates the UEInformationRequest procedure with idleModeMeasurementReq, and then RRC reports the early measurement result through UEInformationResponse, and then clears the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result.

[0111] In an example, the steps of idle state early measurement can refer to Figure 9 :

[0112] S801. The terminal receives an RRC release (RRCRelease) message (an example of the first RRC message) carrying early measurement configuration (measIdleConfig) and enters the idle (idle) state (which can be referred to as idle state), starts the T331 timer, saves the early measurement configuration, and starts early measurement.

[0113] S802. The RRC setup (RRCSetup) procedure is initiated due to service demand. For example, the UE initiates an RRC setup request (RRCSetupRequest) message (an example of the second RRC message) to the network.

[0114] S803. The network sends an RRC setup (RRCSetup) message (an example of the third RRC message) to the UE. When the RRC of the UE receives the RRCSetup, the T331 timer is stopped, the early measurement is stopped, and the early measurement configuration is not cleared.

[0115] S804. If the early measurement result is valid at this time, the UE idle measurement available (UE-idleMeasAvailable) informs the network that there is a valid early measurement result currently in the RRC Setup Complete (RRCSetupComplete) message (an example of the fourth RRC message). The UE-idleMeasAvailable is used to indicate that the UE idle state measurement result is valid.

[0116] S805. Link failure occurs before the early measurement result is reported, causing the terminal to re-enter the connected state.

[0117] S806. The network initiates a UE Information Request (UEInformationRequest) message (an example of a terminal device information request message) carrying an idle mode measurement request (idleModeMeasurementReq) to request the early measurement result.

[0118] S807. The terminal determines whether the current serving cell is outside the validity area list (validityAreaList) according to the early measurement configuration.

[0119] S807a. If the validityAreaList is exceeded, the measurement result at this time is invalid, and the terminal can clear the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result, and does not carry the early measurement result in the UE Information Response (UEInformationResponse) message (an example of a terminal device information response message) sent by the terminal to the network. For example, the UEInformationResponse does not include the early measurement result (without measResultIdle).

[0120] S807b. If the validityAreaList is not exceeded, the terminal (for example, RRC) reports the early measurement result through the UEInformationResponse message, for example, the UEInformationResponse includes the early measurement result (measResultIdle). After the reporting is completed, the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result are cleared.

[0121] In another example, the steps of the non-active state early measurement can be seen from Figure 10 :

[0122] S901. The terminal receives the RRCRelease message (an example of the first RRC message) carrying the measIdleConfig and the suspend configuration (supendConfig) to enter the non-active state, starts the T331 timer, saves the early measurement configuration, and starts the early measurement.

[0123] S902. Initiate RRC resume (RRCResume) procedure due to service requirement. For example, UE initiates RRC resume request (RRCResumeRequest) message or RRC resume request 1 (RRCResumeRequest1) message (example of second RRC message) to network.

[0124] S903. When RRC receives RRC resume (RRCResume) message (example of third RRC message) without idleModeMeasurementReq, stop T331 timer, stop early measurement, and do not clear early measurement configuration.

[0125] S904. If the queried measurement result is valid, carry UE measurement available (UE-MeasurementsAvailable) in RRC resume complete (RRCResumeComplete) message (example of fourth RRC message) to notify network that there is valid early measurement result currently. The UE-MeasurementsAvailable is used to indicate that UE inactive state measurement result is valid.

[0126] S905. Link failure occurs before early measurement result is reported, causing terminal to re-enter connected state.

[0127] S906. Network initiates UE information request message (example of terminal device information request message) carrying idleModeMeasurementReq to request early measurement result.

[0128] S907. Terminal judges whether the current serving cell exceeds validityAreaList according to early measurement configuration.

[0129] S907a. If the validityAreaList is exceeded, the measurement result has been invalidated at this time, and the terminal can clear early measurement configuration and early measurement result, and does not carry early measurement result in UE information response (UEInformationResponse) message sent by the terminal to the network. For example, UEInformationResponse does not carry early measurement result (withoutmeasResultIdle).

[0130] S907b. If the validityAreaList is not exceeded, the terminal (e.g., RRC) reports the early measurement result through a UEInformationResponse message (an example of a terminal device information response message), e.g., including the early measurement result (measResultIdle) in the UEInformationResponse. After the reporting is completed, the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result are cleared.

[0131] In the embodiments of the present application, the time for clearing the early measurement configuration and reporting the early measurement result can be unified, e.g., the early measurement configuration is cleared until the early measurement result is reported. In this way, even if the terminal has a link failure before reporting the early measurement result, it can still determine whether the current serving cell exceeds the validityAreaList after the connection is recovered, and report the valid early measurement result to the network, thereby avoiding reporting invalid early measurement result to the network due to the serving cell exceeding the validityAreaList.

[0132] From the perspective of frequency domain resources, the embodiments of the present application are beneficial to the network to quickly and accurately configure carrier aggregation and dual connectivity to the terminal, and ensure the utilization rate of frequency domain resources. From the perspective of time domain, the embodiments of the present application can ensure that even if a bottom layer link failure occurs, the early measurement can still be reported correctly, the fast transmission of user data can be ensured, and the user experience can be improved.

[0133] In the embodiments of the present application, in view of the time difference between clearing the early measurement configuration and reporting the early measurement, the early measurement scheme is improved, and based on the reason that the reported result of the early measurement may be invalid, a method for delaying the clearing of the early measurement configuration is proposed. The method does not clear the early measurement configuration before reporting the early measurement result, which can effectively avoid the situation that the queried early measurement result is invalid due to the failure occurring before the early measurement result is reported.

[0134] From the perspective of delaying the clearing of the early measurement configuration, the terminal can set a timer, which is started when the early measurement is stopped (i.e., when the terminal receives RRCSetup or RRCResume), and the early measurement configuration is not cleared before the timer expires, and is cleared after the timer expires. The early measurement result query failure due to the time difference between stopping the early measurement and reporting the early measurement is also within the protection scope of the embodiments of the present application.

[0135] Figure 11 is a schematic block diagram of a terminal device 1000 according to an embodiment of the present application. The terminal device 1000 can include:

[0136] The processing unit 1010 is configured to, in a case where early measurement is stopped according to a radio resource control (RRC) message, not clear the early measurement configuration, and determine whether an early measurement result is valid according to the early measurement configuration.

[0137] In an embodiment, the processing unit is configured to start a first timer, and not clear the early measurement configuration before the first timer expires.

[0138] In an embodiment, the processing unit is further configured to clear the early measurement configuration after the first timer expires.

[0139] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device 1100 further includes: Figure 11

[0140] The first receiving unit 1110 is configured to receive a first RRC message, and the first RRC message includes the early measurement configuration.

[0141] In an embodiment, the first RRC message is an RRC release message.

[0142] In an embodiment, the RRC release message further includes a suspend configuration.

[0143] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device further includes: Figure 11

[0144] The first sending unit 1120 is configured to send a second RRC message, and the second RRC message is used to initiate an RRC request according to a service requirement.

[0145] In an embodiment, the second RRC message is an RRC setup request message and / or an RRC resume request message.

[0146] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device further includes: Figure 11

[0147] The second receiving unit 1130 is configured to receive a third RRC message.

[0148] The processing unit is further configured to, in a case where the third RRC message is received, stop a second timer and stop early measurement.

[0149] In an embodiment, the third RRC message is an RRC setup message and / or an RRC resume message.

[0150] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device further includes: Figure 11

[0151] ​​​​The second sending unit 1140 is configured to send a fourth RRC message for informing the network device that the terminal device currently has valid early measurement results, in the case that the measurement result is found to be valid.

[0152] In an embodiment, the fourth RRC message is an RRC setup complete message, and the RRC setup complete message carries information for indicating that the idle mode measurement result of the terminal device is valid.

[0153] In an embodiment, the fourth RRC message is an RRC resume complete message, and the RRC resume complete message carries information for indicating that the non-active mode measurement result of the terminal device is valid.

[0154] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device further includes: Figure 11

[0155] The third receiving unit 1150 is configured to receive a request message for requesting the reporting of the measurement result, in the case that the terminal device re-enters the connected mode due to the occurrence of link failure before the reporting of the early measurement result.

[0156] In an embodiment, the request message for requesting the reporting of the measurement result is a terminal device information request message, and the terminal device information request message carries idle mode measurement request information.

[0157] In an embodiment, the processing unit is further configured to, in the case that the current serving cell is found to be out of the valid area range according to the early measurement configuration, determine that the early measurement result is invalid, and clear the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result.

[0158] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device further includes: Figure 11

[0159] The third sending unit 1160 is configured to send a response message that does not carry the early measurement result. For example, the third sending unit 1160 sends the response message that does not carry the early measurement result, in the case that the processing unit determines that the early measurement result is invalid.

[0160] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the terminal device further includes: Figure 12

[0161] The fourth sending unit 1170 is configured to send a response message that carries the early measurement result, in the case that the current serving cell is found to be within the valid area range according to the early measurement configuration, and the early measurement result is valid. For example, the fourth sending unit 1170 sends the response message that carries the early measurement result, in the case that the processing unit determines that the early measurement result is valid.

[0162] ​​​In an implementation, the processing unit is further configured to clear the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result after sending the response message carrying the early measurement result.

[0163] In an implementation, the response message is a terminal device information response message.

[0164] The terminal device 1000, 1100 of the embodiments of the present application can realize the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the method 600, 700 embodiments described above. The processes, functions, implementation manners and advantages of the corresponding modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the terminal device 1000, 1100 can be referred to the corresponding description in the method embodiments described above, and will not be repeated here. It should be noted that the functions described with respect to the modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.) in the terminal device 1000, 1100 of the embodiments of the present application can be realized by different modules (sub-modules, units or components, etc.), or can be realized by the same module (sub-module, unit or component, etc.).

[0165] Figure 13 FIG. 12 is a schematic structural diagram of a communication device 1200 according to an embodiment of the present application. The communication device 1200 includes a processor 1210. The processor 1210 can invoke and run a computer program from a memory to enable the communication device 1200 to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application.

[0166] In an implementation, the communication device 1200 can further include a memory 1220. The processor 1210 can invoke and run a computer program from the memory 1220 to enable the communication device 1200 to implement the methods in the embodiments of the present application.

[0167] The memory 1220 can be a separate device independent of the processor 1210, or can be integrated in the processor 1210.

[0168] In an implementation, the communication device 1200 can further include a transceiver 1230. The processor 1210 can control the transceiver 1230 to communicate with other devices. Specifically, the transceiver 1230 can send information or data to other devices, or receive information or data sent by other devices.

[0169] The transceiver 1230 can include a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 1230 can further include an antenna, and the number of antennas can be one or more.

[0170] In an implementation, the communication device 1200 can be a terminal device of the embodiments of the present application, and the communication device 1200 can realize the corresponding processes realized by the terminal device in the various methods of the embodiments of the present application. For brevity, details will not be repeated here.

[0171] Figure 14 FIG. 13 is a schematic structural diagram of a chip 1300 according to an embodiment of the present application. The chip 1300 includes a processor 1310, which can invoke and run a computer program from a memory to implement the method in the embodiments of the present application.

[0172] In an embodiment, the chip 1300 can further include a memory 1320. The processor 1310 can invoke and run a computer program from the memory 1320 to implement the method performed by the terminal device or the network device in the embodiments of the present application.

[0173] The memory 1320 can be a separate device independent of the processor 1310, or can be integrated in the processor 1310.

[0174] In an embodiment, the chip 1300 can further include an input interface 1330. The processor 1310 can control the input interface 1330 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, can acquire information or data sent by other devices or chips.

[0175] In an embodiment, the chip 1300 can further include an output interface 1340. The processor 1310 can control the output interface 1340 to communicate with other devices or chips, and specifically, can output information or data to other devices or chips.

[0176] In an embodiment, the chip can be applied to the terminal device in the embodiments of the present application, and the chip can implement the corresponding processes in the methods of the embodiments of the present application performed by the terminal device. For brevity, details are not described herein.

[0177] It should be understood that the chip mentioned in the embodiments of the present application can also be referred to as a system chip, a system-on-chip, a chip system or a system-on-chip, etc.

[0178] The processor mentioned above can be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or other programmable logic devices, transistor logic devices, discrete hardware components, etc. The general-purpose processor mentioned above can be a microprocessor or any conventional processor, etc.

[0179] The above-mentioned memory can be a volatile memory or a non-volatile memory, or can include both volatile and non-volatile memories. Among them, the non-volatile memory can be a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically EPROM (EEPROM), or a flash memory. The volatile memory can be a random access memory (RAM).

[0180] It should be understood that the above-mentioned memory is an example but not a limiting description, for example, the memory in the embodiments of the present application can also be a static RAM (SRAM), a dynamic RAM (DRAM), a synchronous DRAM (SDRAM), a double data rate SDRAM (DDR SDRAM), an enhanced SDRAM (ESDRAM), a synch link DRAM (SLDRAM), and a direct memory bus random access memory (Direct Rambus RAM, DR RAM), and the like. That is, the memory in the embodiments of the present application is intended to include but not limited to these and any other suitable types of memory.

[0181] ​ is a schematic block diagram of a communication system 1400 according to the embodiments of the present application. The communication system 1400 includes a terminal device 1410 and a network device 1420.

[0182] The terminal device is configured to stop early measurement configuration without clearing the early measurement configuration when early measurement is stopped according to a RRC message.

[0183] The network device is configured to send the RRC message to the terminal device.

[0184] The terminal device 1410 can be configured to implement the corresponding functions of the terminal device in the above-mentioned method, and the network device 1420 can be configured to implement the corresponding functions of the network device in the above-mentioned method. For the sake of brevity, it will not be repeated here.

[0185] In the above embodiments, the processes can be implemented in whole or in part by software, hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When implemented in software, the processes can be implemented in the form of a computer program product. The computer program product includes one or more computer instructions. When loaded and executed by a computer, the computer instructions generate the processes or functions in the embodiments of the present application in whole or in part. The computer can be a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a computer network, or other programmable devices. The computer instructions can be stored in a computer-readable storage medium or transferred from one computer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storage medium, for example, the computer instructions can be transferred from one website, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer, server, or data center through a wired (for example, coaxial cable, optical fiber, digital subscriber line (DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, wireless, microwave, etc.) manner. The computer-readable storage medium can be any available medium accessible by a computer or a data storage device such as a server, data center, etc. containing one or more available media sets. The available medium can be a magnetic medium (for example, floppy disk, hard disk, magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, DVD), or a semiconductor medium (for example, solid state disk (SSD)), etc.

[0186] It should be understood that the size of the sequence number of each process described above in various embodiments of the present application does not mean the order of execution, and the execution order of each process should be determined by its function and inherent logic, and should not constitute any limitation on the implementation process of the embodiments of the present application.

[0187] Those skilled in the art can clearly understand that, for the convenience and brevity of description, the specific working process of the system, device and unit described above can refer to the corresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments, which will not be described here.

[0188] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art can easily think of changes or replacements within the technical scope disclosed in the present application, which should be covered within the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A method for measurement control, comprising: receiving a first radio resource control (RRC) message, wherein the first RRC message comprises early measurement configuration; starting a second timer for controlling early measurement, saving the early measurement configuration, and starting early measurement; sending a second RRC message for initiating an RRC request according to service requirement; stopping the second timer and stopping early measurement upon receiving a third RRC message; starting a first timer for controlling clearing of the early measurement configuration upon stopping early measurement according to the third RRC message, wherein the early measurement configuration is not cleared before the first timer expires; determining whether early measurement result is valid according to the early measurement configuration.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: clearing the early measurement configuration after the first timer expires.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, The first RRC message is an RRC release message.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, The RRC release message further comprises suspend configuration.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein, The second RRC message is an RRC setup request message and / or an RRC resume request message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, The third RRC message is an RRC setup message and / or an RRC resume message.

7. The method of any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein, The method further comprises: sending a fourth RRC message for notifying a network device that there is valid early measurement result in a terminal device upon determining that the measurement result is valid.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein, The fourth RRC message is an RRC setup complete message, wherein the RRC setup complete message carries information for indicating that idle mode measurement result in the terminal device is valid.

9. The method of claim 7, wherein, The fourth RRC message is an RRC resume complete message, wherein the RRC resume complete message carries information for indicating that inactive mode measurement result in the terminal device is valid.

10. The method of any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving a request message for requesting reporting of measurement result upon link failure causing the terminal device to re-enter a connected state before reporting of the early measurement result.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein, The request message for requesting reporting of measurement result is a terminal device information request message, wherein the terminal device information request message carries idle mode measurement request information.

12. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein, Determining whether early measurement result is valid according to the early measurement configuration comprises: determining that the early measurement result is invalid and clearing the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result upon determining that a current serving cell exceeds a valid area range according to the early measurement configuration.

13. The method of claim 12, wherein, The method further comprises: sending a response message without carrying the early measurement result.

14. The method of any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein, Determining whether early measurement result is valid according to the early measurement configuration comprises: determining that the early measurement result is valid and sending a response message carrying the early measurement result upon determining that a current serving cell does not exceed a valid area range according to the early measurement configuration.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein, The method further comprises: clearing the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result after sending the response message carrying the early measurement result.

16. The method of any one of claims 13-15, wherein, The response message is a terminal device information response message. 17.A terminal device, comprising: a first receiving unit configured to receive a first radio resource control (RRC) message, wherein the first RRC message comprises early measurement configuration; The processing unit is configured to start a second timer for controlling early measurement, save an early measurement configuration, and start early measurement; The first sending unit is configured to send a second RRC message, where the second RRC message is used to initiate an RRC request according to a service requirement; The second receiving unit is configured to receive a third RRC message; The processing unit is further configured to stop the second timer and stop early measurement when the third RRC message is received; The processing unit is further configured to start a first timer for controlling clearing of the early measurement configuration when early measurement is stopped according to the third RRC message, and not to clear the early measurement configuration before the first timer expires; and determine whether an early measurement result is valid according to the early measurement configuration.

18. The terminal device of claim 17, wherein, The processing unit is further configured to clear the early measurement configuration after the first timer expires.

19. The terminal device of claim 17, wherein, The first RRC message is an RRC release message.

20. The terminal device of claim 19, wherein, The RRC release message further includes a suspend configuration.

21. The terminal device of claim 17, wherein, The second RRC message is an RRC setup request message and / or an RRC resume request message.

22. The terminal device of claim 17, wherein, The third RRC message is an RRC setup message and / or an RRC resume message.

23. The terminal device of any one of claims 17 to 22, wherein, The terminal device further includes: The second sending unit is configured to send a fourth RRC message when it is found that the measurement result is valid, where the fourth RRC message is used to inform a network device that the terminal device currently has a valid early measurement result.

24. The terminal device of claim 23, wherein, The fourth RRC message is an RRC setup complete message, and the RRC setup complete message carries information indicating that an idle mode measurement result of the terminal device is valid.

25. The terminal device of claim 23, wherein, The fourth RRC message is an RRC resume complete message, and the RRC resume complete message carries information indicating that a non-active mode measurement result of the terminal device is valid.

26. The terminal device of any one of claims 17 to 25, wherein, The terminal device further includes: The third receiving unit is configured to receive a request message for requesting reporting of a measurement result when a link failure occurs to cause the terminal device to re-enter a connected state before the early measurement result is reported.

27. The terminal device of claim 26, wherein, The request message for requesting reporting of the measurement result is a terminal device information request message, and the terminal device information request message carries idle mode measurement request information.

28. The terminal device of any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein, The processing unit is further configured to determine that the early measurement result is invalid and clear the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result when it is found that a current serving cell exceeds a valid area range according to the early measurement configuration.

29. The terminal device of claim 28, wherein, The terminal device further includes: The third sending unit is configured to send a response message that does not carry the early measurement result.

30. The terminal device of any one of claims 17 to 27, wherein, The terminal device further includes: The fourth sending unit is configured to send a response message that carries the early measurement result when it is found that the current serving cell does not exceed the valid area range according to the early measurement configuration.

31. The terminal device of claim 30, wherein, The processing unit is further configured to clear the early measurement configuration and the early measurement result after the response message that carries the early measurement result is sent.

32. The terminal device of any one of claims 29 to 31, wherein, The response message is a terminal device information response message.

33. A terminal device comprising: a processor and a memory for storing a computer program, said processor being configured to invoke and run the computer program stored in the memory to cause the terminal device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

34. A chip comprising: a processor configured to invoke and run a computer program from a memory to cause a device in which the chip is installed to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

35. A computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program which, when run by a device, causes the device to perform the method according to any one of claims 1 to 16.

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