Wireless cell activation and deactivation

Abstract

This document relates to methods, systems, and devices related to digital wireless communications, and more particularly, to techniques related to wireless cell activation and deactivation. In one example aspect, a method for data communication is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a terminal from a network node, a first message comprising information for performing a first action related to a secondary cell group. The method also includes performing, by the terminal in response to receiving the first message from the network node, the first action related to the secondary cell group in a deactivated state.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] This patent document relates generally to wireless communication. BACKGROUND

[0002] Mobile communication technology is turning the world into an increasingly connected and networked society. The rapid growth of mobile communications and advances in technology have led to greater demands for capacity and connectivity. Other aspects such as energy consumption, device cost, spectral efficiency, and latency are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios. Various techniques are being discussed, including new methods to provide higher quality of service. SUMMARY

[0003] This document discloses methods, systems, and devices related to digital wireless communication, and more specifically, to techniques related to wireless cell activation and deactivation.

[0004] In one example aspect, a method for data communication is disclosed. The method includes receiving, by a terminal from a network node, a first message comprising information for performing a first action related to a secondary cell group. The method further includes performing, by the terminal in response to receiving the first message from the network node, the first action related to the secondary cell group in a deactivated state.

[0005] In another example aspect, a wireless communication apparatus including a processor is disclosed. The processor is configured to implement methods described herein.

[0006] In yet another example aspect, the various techniques described herein can be implemented as processor-executable code on a computer readable program medium.

[0007] The details of one or more implementations are set forth in the accompanying annex, drawings, and description below.

[0008] Other features will be apparent from the specification and drawings, and from the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 is a signaling procedure for reporting instructions to perform actions related to SCG.

[0010] Figure 2 is a signaling procedure for SN and MN coordination to indicate whether SN is allowed to trigger SCG activation / deactivation.

[0011] Figure 3 is a block diagram of an example method for wireless cell activation and deactivation.

[0012] Figure 4An example of a wireless communication system to which the techniques according to one or more embodiments of the technology can be applied is shown.

[0013] Figure 5 Block diagram representation of a portion of a hardware platform. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0014] The use of section headings in this document is merely for readability and does not limit the scope of the embodiments and techniques disclosed in each section to the embodiments and techniques that are directly discussed in that section. An example of a fifth generation (5G) wireless protocol is used to describe certain features. However, the disclosed techniques are applicable to other wireless systems.

[0015] New generation wireless communications - The development of 5G New Radio (NR) communications is part of a continuous mobile broadband evolution promulgated by the ITU Radio communication Sector (ITU-R) in the international mobile telecommunications (IMT) - 2020 agenda. NR will provide large throughput to allow more users to be connected simultaneously. Other aspects such as energy consumption, device cost, spectrum efficiency, and latency are also important to meet the needs of various communication scenarios.

[0016] In a cellular mobile communication system, in order to support higher data throughput, a UE can be configured with more than one radio link for data transmission. In a 5G NR (New Radio) system, in addition to CA (Carrier Aggregation) operation, a UE can be configured with dual connectivity and connected to two radio access nodes. The radio access node that provides a control plane connection to the core network can be referred to as a master node (MN), and the group of serving cells associated with the master node can be referred to as a master cell group (MCG), which includes a PCell and optionally one or more SCells. The radio access node that provides an additional connection can be referred to as a secondary node (SN), and the group of serving cells associated with the secondary node can be referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG), which includes a PSCell and optionally one or more SCells. The MN and SN can belong to the same RAT (Radio Access Technology) or different RATs. For example, in EN-DC, a UE is connected to one eNB acting as a MN and one en-gNB acting as a SN. In NR-DC, a UE is connected to one gNB acting as a MN and another gNB acting as a SN.

[0017] However, with the application of dual connectivity, UE and network power consumption can be problematic because the UE can need to be connected to two nodes at the same time. Also, power consumption when communicating with the NR node is much higher than when communicating with the LTE node. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize power consumption as much as possible.

[0018] One possible solution is to release the SN connection when the power consumption of the UE is high or the data rate is low. However, the disadvantage is that when the power consumption of the UE is reduced and greater data transmission is required, the network can have to re-add the SN as quickly as possible. However, since the network has to acquire the measurement results of the UE to first identify a qualified SCG cell, the latency of the SN addition procedure can be large.

[0019] To balance power consumption and efficient state transition, another optional solution is to suspend / deactivate the SCG cell in this case, and resume / activate the SCG cell when the situation is resolved. In the present disclosure, a method for this method is provided.

[0020] In the 5G system, for CA operation, a mechanism called "SCell dormancy" can be introduced to reduce the power consumption of the UE. More specifically, the SCell can be configured with more than one Bandwidth Part (BWP), and one downlink BWP is configured as a dormant BWP, when the UE switches to this dormant BWP, the UE can not need to monitor the PDCCH, stop all uplink and downlink data transmission, so that the battery life of the UE can be saved. If the network wants to change the SCell from the dormant state to the non-dormant state, the network can trigger the BWP switching in the SCell. This can be done by sending RRC signaling or sending DCI to the UE via the corresponding primary cell (PCell or PSCell).

[0021] However, the above solution is only applicable to SCell. For PCell and PSCell, the cell can be in the active state until the cell is released, so the UE power consumption on the PCell / PSCell can remain unchanged in the current specification.

[0022] System overview

[0023] This embodiment relates to SCG suspension (e.g., SCG deactivation or SCG dormancy) and SCG recovery (e.g., SCG activation). The suspended SCG (e.g., deactivated SCG) can mean that the PSCell is in a deactivated state or a dormant state, and the SCell can be in a deactivated state or a dormant state. In addition, SCG recovery can mean that the PSCell is migrated from the deactivated state to the activated state, or the PSCell is migrated from the deactivated state to the dormant state, or the PSCell is migrated from the dormant state to the non-dormant state. SCG recovery can also mean that one or more SCells are migrated from the deactivated state to the activated state, or one or more SCells are migrated from the deactivated state to the dormant state, or one or more SCells are migrated from the dormant state to the non-dormant state.

[0024] In some embodiments, the MN can be an eNB, ng-eNB, or gNB, and the SN can be an eNB, ng-eNB, or gNB. In this document, a “RAN node” can also be referred to as a “network,” which can be an eNB, ng-eNB, or gNB.

[0025] The network can first send a first message (RRC or MAC CE or DCI) to the UE. The first message can indicate any of the following: whether the UE is allowed to trigger SCG recovery (e.g., activation) by performing a RACH procedure on the PSCell, a threshold of data buffer size for the UE to determine whether it needs to trigger the SCG recovery procedure, a validity timer and dedicated RACH resource on the PSCell for the UE to determine whether it needs to trigger the SCG recovery procedure, whether the UE should keep the configured SCG PUCCH resource, scheduling request (SR) resource after SCG time alignment timer (TAT) expiry, whether the UE should perform radio link monitoring (RLM) on the PSCell when the SCG is in a deactivated state, whether the UE should perform RRM measurement on the SCG serving cell when the SCG is in a deactivated state, which SN configured RRM measurement should be performed (or suspended) when the SCG is in a deactivated state, and / or a field indicating whether the UE should inform the network when the PSCell quality is below a threshold.

[0026] In some embodiments, upon receiving the first message, the UE deactivates the SCG.

[0027] In some embodiments, within the first message, the above information can be provided by the MN only or the SN only, or partly by the MN and partly by the SN.

[0028] In some embodiments, the first message can be sent by the MN or the SN. In case the first message is sent from the MN to the UE, the message can comprise another message generated by the SN. In case the first message is sent from the SN to the UE, the message can be sent to the UE via the MN on SRB1, or the message can be sent directly to the UE on SRB3.

[0029] Figure 1 is a signaling procedure 100 for an example method for reporting instructions to perform an action related to SCG. At step 106, a network node (NW) 104 can send a first message to a UE 102. The first message can comprise information related to an action related to SCG to be performed. At step 108, the UE 102 can perform a first action related to SCG. The first action can involve a SCG activation / deactivation procedure as described herein.

[0030] Information type 1

[0031] The first type of information can comprise information indicating whether the UE is allowed to trigger SCG recovery by performing a RACH procedure on the PSCell. The information can be expressed in an explicit manner or in an implicit manner.

[0032] In some embodiments, the explicit manner can indicate an explicit field included in the first message;

[0033] In some embodiments, the implicit manner can indicate the reception of the first message itself, or the presence of other configurations (e.g. SRB3, or dedicated RACH resources on the PSCell).

[0034] In some embodiments, if the UE does not receive the information, or the received information indicates that the UE cannot trigger SCG recovery by performing a RACH procedure on the PSCell, the UE can send a SCG recovery request message to the PCell when the UE wants to recover the SCG.

[0035] In a first example, an EN-DC UE encounters an overheating issue and sends a UE assistance information message to the network because the UE wants to reduce its serving cells. Once receiving the message, the MN can decide to trigger SCG deactivation and then the MN first sends a message (e.g. SgNB Modification Request) to the SN informing the SN to suspend the SCG. After receiving a response message (e.g. SgNB Modification Request ack) from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE to inform the UE to deactivate the SCG. Meanwhile, the RRC message can comprise a field set to “False” indicating that the UE is not allowed to perform SCG recovery by triggering a RACH procedure to the PSCell during the SCG activation state.

[0036] Upon receiving the message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. Later, when the UE has UL data arrival and the UE’s overheating problem is mitigated, the UE can decide to trigger the SCG resume procedure. However, based on the received indication, the UE cannot directly trigger the RACH procedure to the PSCell, so the UE sends an SCG resume request message to the MN, requesting the MN to resume the SCG connection.

[0037] The second example can include an EN-DC UE encounters an overheating problem and sends a UE assistance information message to the network because the UE wants to reduce its serving cells. Upon receiving the message, the MN can decide to trigger the SCG deactivation, then the MN can first send a message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request) to the SN, informing the SN to suspend the SCG. Then, the SN can send a response message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request ack) to the MN. Within this response message, the SN can also include a field set to “False” because the SN can decide not to allow the UE to perform the SCG resume by triggering the RACH procedure to the PSCell.

[0038] Upon receiving the response message from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE, which can include a field indicating that the UE is not allowed to perform the SCG resume by triggering the RACH procedure to the PSCell. And this field can be included in a container transparent to the MN node.

[0039] Upon receiving the message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. Later, when the UE has UL data arrival and the UE’s overheating problem is mitigated, the UE can decide to trigger the SCG resume procedure. However, based on the received indication, the UE can know it cannot directly trigger the RACH procedure to the PSCell, and the UE can send an SCG resume request message to the MN, requesting the MN to resume the SCG connection.

[0040] The third example can include an NR-DC UE encounters an overheating problem and sends a UE assistance information message to the network because the UE wants to reduce its serving cells. Upon receiving the message, the MN can decide to trigger the SCG deactivation, then the MN can first send a message (e.g., SN Modification Request) to the SN, informing the SN to suspend the SCG. Then, the SN can send a response message (e.g., SN Modification Request ack) to the MN. Within this response message, the SN can also include dedicated RACH resources because the SN decides to allow the UE to perform the SCG resume by triggering the RACH procedure to the PSCell.

[0041] Upon receiving the response message from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE, which can include the SN configured dedicated RACH resource that can be used to perform SCG recovery by triggering a RACH procedure to the PSCell. The dedicated RACH configuration can be contained in a container that is transparent to the MN node.

[0042] Upon receiving the message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. After that, when there is UL data arrival and the UE’s overheating problem is mitigated, the UE determines to trigger the SCG recovery procedure. Based on the received dedicated RACH resource, the UE can directly trigger a RACH procedure to the PSCell to inform the SN to recover the SCG.

[0043] Information type 2

[0044] The second information type can include information of a data buffer size threshold, if provided, the UE can only trigger SCG recovery when the uplink data buffer size of the UE’s radio bearers (or DRBs) is higher than the threshold.

[0045] In some embodiments, the threshold can be provided per UE level or per DRB level.

[0046] In some embodiments, the threshold only applies to split bearers, including MN-terminated split bearers and SN-terminated split bearers.

[0047] In some embodiments, for split bearers, upon SCG deactivation, the UE can automatically switch the primary path of the bearers to the MCG leg.

[0048] In a first example, for EN-DC UEs, the MN can decide to deactivate the SCG, and the MN sends an RRC message to the UE, which is used to inform the UE to perform SCG deactivation (or suspension). Within the RRC message, the MN can include an UL data buffer size threshold, and the threshold applies to the configured split bearers.

[0049] After receiving the RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop UL / DL data transmission. In addition, the UE can automatically switch the primary path of the split bearer to the reference MCG leg. After that, when UL data arrives on the split bearer (DRB), the UE can compare the UL data buffer size of the DRB with the configured threshold, in the case that the UL buffer size of the split bearer is less than the configured threshold, the UE sends the UL data via the MCG leg of the split bearer and keeps the SCG in the deactivated state. In the case that the UL buffer size of the split bearer is greater than the configured threshold, the UE can trigger the SCG resume procedure. This can be done by sending an SCG resume request message to the MN, or by triggering a RACH procedure to the PSCell.

[0050] In the second example with EN-DC UE, the UE is configured with MN terminated split bearer (DRB1) and SN terminated split bearer (DRB2), the MN can decide to deactivate the SCG, the MN first sends a message (e.g. SgNB Modification Request) to the SN to inform the SN to suspend the SCG. Then, the SN can send a response message (e.g. SgNB Modification Request ack) to the MN. Within this response message, the SN can include an UL data buffer size threshold field (e.g. threshold2), and it applies to the SN terminated split bearer (i.e. the radio bearer configured by radioBearerConfig2 parameter, e.g. DRB2).

[0051] After receiving the response message from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE including the UL data buffer size threshold field configured by the SN. The UL data buffer size threshold field configured by the SN can be included in a container transparent to the MN. In addition, the MN can also include an UL data buffer size threshold field (e.g. threshold1) in this RRC message, and it can apply to the MN terminated split bearer (i.e. the radio bearer configured by radioBearerConfig parameter, e.g. DRB1).

[0052] After receiving this RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop UL / DL data transmission. In addition, the UE can automatically switch the primary path of all split bearers (DRB1 and DRB2) to the reference MCG leg.

[0053] UL data can arrive on a split bearer (DRB1). The UE can compare the UL data buffer size of DRB1 to a configured threshold (e.g., threshold 1), in case the UL buffer size of DRB1 is less than the configured threshold 1, the UE sends UL data via the MCG leg of the split bearer and keeps the SCG in deactivated state. In case the UL buffer size of DRB1 is greater than the configured threshold 1, the UE can trigger SCG resume procedure.

[0054] In some cases, UL data can arrive on a split bearer (DRB2). The UE can compare the UL data buffer size of DRB2 to a configured threshold (e.g., threshold 2), in case the UL buffer size of DRB2 is less than the configured threshold 2, the UE sends UL data via the MCG leg of the split bearer and keeps the SCG in deactivated state. In case the UL buffer size of DRB2 is greater than the configured threshold 2, the UE can trigger SCG resume procedure.

[0055] Information type 3

[0056] The third information type can include a validity timer along with the information of dedicated RACH resource on PSCell. If such information is provided, the UE can start the timer when the SCG is deactivated and the timer length is equal to the received timer value. Before the timer expires, if the UE wants to trigger SCG resume, the UE can trigger non-contention random access to PSCell based on the configured dedicated RACH resource.

[0057] In some embodiments, the UE can release the configured dedicated RACH resource when the timer expires;

[0058] In some embodiments, the UE can trigger contention-based random access to PSCell after the timer expires or after the non-contention random access procedure fails on PSCell.

[0059] In some embodiments, the validity timer can be provided per UE level or per RACH resource level.

[0060] In a first example, for EN-DC UE, the MN decides to trigger SCG deactivation and the MN first sends a message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request) to the SN informing the SN to suspend the SCG. Then, the SN can send a response message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request ack) to the MN. Inside this response message, the SN can also include the dedicated RACH resource and the validity timer value.

[0061] Upon receiving the response message from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE, which can also include the SN configured dedicated RACH resource and validity timer value. The dedicated RACH configuration and validity timer value can be contained in a container transparent to the MN node.

[0062] Upon receiving the RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. In addition, the UE can start a timer with a length equal to the received timer value. Thereafter, when UL data arrives, the UE can determine to trigger the SCG resume procedure. If the timer is still ongoing, based on the received dedicated RACH resource, the UE can directly trigger a contention-free RACH procedure to the PSCell to inform the SN to resume the SCG. If the timer has expired, the UE can trigger a contention-based RACH procedure to the PSCell to inform the SN to resume the SCG; or the UE can trigger a SCG resume request message to the MN node to request the MN to resume the SCG. In addition, when the timer is full, the UE can release the configured dedicated RACH resource.

[0063] Information type 4

[0064] The fourth information type can include information indicating whether the UE should keep the configured SCG PUCCH resource and SR resource after the SCG TAT expires. The information can be expressed in an explicit manner or an implicit manner.

[0065] In some embodiments, the explicit manner refers to an explicit field included in the first message. For example, a field set to “True” indicates that the UE should keep the configured SCG PUCCH and SR resource at the SCG TAT expiration when the SCG is deactivated; a field set to “False” indicates that the UE should release the configured SCG PUCCH and SR resource at the SCG TAT expiration when the SCG is deactivated.

[0066] In some implementations, the implicit manner is represented by a pre-defined rule in the standard. For example, the standard defines that the UE should maintain the configured SCG PUCCH and SR resource at the SCG TAT expiration when the SCG is deactivated; or the standard defines that the UE should release the configured SCG PUCCH and SR resource at the SCG TAT expiration when the SCG is deactivated.

[0067] In some embodiments, if the UE is instructed to release the configured SCG PUCCH and SR resource after the SCG TAT expires, the UE can use a pre-defined default PUCCH and SR configuration when triggering the SCG resume.

[0068] In a first example, for EN-DC UE, the MN decides to trigger SCG deactivation, and the MN first sends a message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request) to the SN informing the SN to suspend the SCG. Then, the SN can send a response message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request ack) to the MN. Within this response message, the SN can also include a field (e.g., 1 bit set to “True”) indicating that the UE should keep the configured SCG PUCCH and SR resources upon SCG TAT expiry.

[0069] After receiving the response message from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE, which also includes a SN configuration field indicating that the UE should keep the SCG PUCCH and SR resources upon SCG TAT expiry. This field can be included in a container transparent to the MN node.

[0070] Upon receiving this RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. When the SCG TAT expires, the UE can keep the SCG PUCCH and SR resources based on network configuration.

[0071] After that, when the UE determines to trigger the SCG resume procedure, and the UE decides to trigger the RACH procedure towards the PSCell, since the PUCCH and SR resources are kept, the UE can directly use these resources when needed.

[0072] Information type 5

[0073] The fifth information type can include information indicating whether the UE should perform RLM on the PSCell when the SCG is deactivated. This information can be expressed in an explicit way or an implicit way.

[0074] In some embodiments, the explicit way refers to an explicit field included in the first message. For example, a field set to “True” indicates that the UE should perform RLM on the PSCell when the SCG is deactivated; a field set to “False” indicates that the UE should stop RLM on the PSCell when the SCG is deactivated.

[0075] In some embodiments, the implicit way can mean that there is RLM resource configuration in the first message. For example, if the RLM resource of the PSCell is provided in the first message, the UE performs RLM on the PSCell; if the RLM resource of the PSCell is not provided or released in the first message, the UE stops RLM on the PSCell.

[0076] In some embodiments, the implicit way can be represented by pre-defined rules in the standard. For example, the standard defines that the UE shall perform RLM on PSCell when SCG is deactivated; or, the standard defines that the UE shall stop RLM on PSCell when SCG is deactivated.

[0077] In some embodiments, if the UE is indicated to perform RLM on PSCell without configured RLM reference signal resources, the UE can perform PSCell RLM based on all transmitted SSB indices in PSCell.

[0078] In some embodiments, the network can provide new RLM related parameters to the UE. For example, T310, N310, N311. And these parameters are used when the UE performs RLM during SCG deactivation state.

[0079] In some embodiments, when SCG is deactivated, and the UE evaluates that RLF occurs on PSCell, the UE sends SCG failure report to MN. The SCG failure report can also include measurement results of SCG serving cells and other neighboring cells.

[0080] As a first example, for EN-DC UE, the MN can decide to trigger SCG deactivation, and the MN first sends a message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request) to SN to inform SN to suspend SCG. The SN can then send a response message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request ack) to the MN. Within this response message, the SN can include a field (e.g., 1 bit set to “True”) indicating that the UE shall perform RLM on PSCell when SCG is deactivated, and the SN can also provide new RLM related parameters (e.g., T310, N310, N311) in this response message.

[0081] After receiving the response message from SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE, which can also include a SN configuration field indicating that the UE shall perform RLM on PSCell when SCG is deactivated and related RLM parameters (e.g., T310, N310, N311). These fields can be contained in a container transparent to the MN node.

[0082] Upon receiving the RRC message, the UE can deactivate SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. In addition, based on the RLM configuration, the UE can continue radio link monitoring on PSCell by monitoring all transmitted SSBs in PSCell (i.e., transmitted SSBs are given by ssb-PositionsInBurst and ssb-periodicityServingCell parameters).

[0083] When the T310 timer expires, the UE can declare RLF on the PSCell, and then the UE can send a SCGFailureInformation report to the MN. In addition, the UE can also include the measurement results of the SCG serving cells and neighboring cells in the SCGFailureInformation report. After receiving the report, the MN can decide to release the SCG, or the MN can decide to change the PSCell / SN based on the received measurement results, or the MN can forward the content of the SCGFailureInformation to the SN and let the SN decide whether to change or release the SN.

[0084] Information type 6

[0085] The sixth information type can include information indicating whether the UE should perform RRM measurements on the SCG serving cells (e.g., PCell and / or SCG SCell) when the SCG is in the deactivated state. The information can be expressed in an explicit manner or an implicit manner.

[0086] In some embodiments, the explicit manner refers to an explicit field included in the first message. For example, a field set to “True” indicates that the UE should perform RRM measurements on the SCG serving cells (e.g., PSCell and / or SCG SCell) when the SCG is deactivated; a field set to “False” indicates that the UE should stop RRM measurements on the SCG serving cells (e.g., PSCell and SCG SCell) when the SCG is deactivated.

[0087] In some embodiments, the explicit field can also be provided per serving cell level. For example, the field can be a bit string, each bit corresponding to one serving cell in the SCG.

[0088] In some embodiments, the implicit manner can be represented by a pre-defined rule in the standard. For example, the standard defines that the UE should perform RRM measurements on the PSCell (or SCG SCell) when the SCG is deactivated; or the standard defines that the UE should stop RRM measurements on the PSCell (or SCG SCell) when the SCG is deactivated.

[0089] In some embodiments, the RRM measurements on the serving cells can be performed based on SSB resources and / or CSI-RS resources.

[0090] In some embodiments, the RRM measurements are performed on the SCG serving cells regardless of the configured s-Measure value.

[0091] In some embodiments, the measured quantities can be one or more of the following: SSB-RSRP, SSB-RSRQ, SSB-SINR, CSI-RS-RSRP, CSI-RS-RSRQ, CSI-RS-SINR.

[0092] Information type 7

[0093] The seventh information type can include information indicating which RRM measurement of the SN configuration the UE should perform (or suspend) when the SCG is deactivated. This information can be expressed in an explicit way or an implicit way.

[0094] In some embodiments, the explicit way refers to an explicit field included in the first message. The type of this field can be one of the following:

[0095] A bit string, each bit corresponding to a measurement identification (measID) configured by the SN. A bit value equal to "0" indicates that the UE should perform the corresponding measurement, while a bit equal to "1" indicates that the UE should suspend the corresponding measurement.

[0096] A list of measurement identifications (measIDs). If a measID is included in the list, this indicates that the UE should perform the measurement of this measID. Alternatively, this indicates that the UE should suspend / stop the measurement of this measID.

[0097] A field included in reportConfig, indicating whether the measID associated with this reportConfig should be performed (or suspended).

[0098] In some embodiments, the implicit way can be represented by a pre-defined rule in the standard. For example, the standard defines that the UE suspends all periodic reporting measurements when the SCG is deactivated. Alternatively, the standard defines that the UE suspends all measurements based on non-serving frequencies.

[0099] In some embodiments, "suspend measurement" means that the UE stops measurement performance, evaluation, and reporting. Optionally, the UE can resume measurement performance after the SCG is activated.

[0100] In the first example, for an NR-DC UE, both the MN and the SN have configured RRM measurements to the UE, and the SN can configure any of the following measurements:

[0101] measID = 1, A2 event on Freq1 (frequency of PSCell)

[0102] measID = 2, A3 event on Freq1 (frequency of PSCell);

[0103] measID = 3, A6 event on Freq2 (frequency of SCG SCell);

[0104] measID = 4, A4 event on Freq3 (non-serving frequency).

[0105] measID = 1 can indicate monitoring the quality of PSCell; measID = 2 can indicate triggering intra-frequency PSCell change; measID = 3 can indicate triggering SCell change; measID = 4 can indicate triggering inter-frequency PSCell change.

[0106] When the MN decides to trigger SCG deactivation, the MN can first send a message (e.g., SN Modification Request) to the SN to inform the SN to suspend the SCG. After receiving the message, in order to timely update the PSCell of the UE, the SN can decide to keep measID = 1 and 2 and suspend measID = 3 and 4 when the SCG is deactivated. The SN can send a response message (e.g., SN Modification Request ack) to the MN. In the response message, the SN can include a bitmap, the length of which is 32 (equal to the maximum number of measIDs that can be configured by the SN). And set “bit 0” (corresponding to measID = 1) and “bit 1” (corresponding to measID = 2) to “1”, and set all other bits to “0”.

[0107] After receiving the response message from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE, which can also include the SN-configured measurement bitmap field. And the field can be contained in a container transparent to the MN node.

[0108] Upon receiving the RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. In addition, based on the received bitmap, the UE stops measurement, evaluation and reporting of measID = 3 and measID = 4, and continues measurement on measID = 1 and measID = 2. In addition, if SRB3 is configured, upon SCG deactivation, the UE can suspend SRB3 transmission and send the SN-configured measurement report to the network (SN) via SRB1.

[0109] When the UE evaluates that measID = 2 is met (e.g., neighbor cell 2 is higher than PCell), the UE can send a measurement report (MR) to the network, which is contained in an MN RRC message, and the MN forwards the MR to the SN side. After receiving the MR, the SN can trigger a PSCell change and SN change procedure to move the UE context to target cell 2.

[0110] In this case, the UE can keep the SCG in deactivated state, so that the RACH procedure is not triggered immediately. Later, when the network or the UE can trigger the SCG resume procedure, the UE can trigger the RACH procedure to the PSCell.

[0111] When the UE evaluates that the measID=1 is met, the UE can send a measurement report (MR) to the network, the MR is contained in the MN RRC message, and the MN forwards the MR to the SN side. Upon receiving the MR, the SN can trigger the SN release procedure, and release the suspended SCG.

[0112] During the SCG resume procedure, the UE resumes all the SN configured measurements (measID=1&2&3&4).

[0113] In the second example, for a NR-DC UE, both the MN and the SN have configured RRM measurements to the UE, and the SN can configure any of the following measurements:

[0114] measID=1, A2 event on Freq1 (the frequency of the PSCell);

[0115] measID=2, A3 event on Freq1 (the frequency of the PSCell);

[0116] measID=3, A6 event on Freq2 (the frequency of the SCG SCell);

[0117] measID=4, A4 event on Freq3 (a non-serving frequency).

[0118] measID=1 can represent monitoring the quality of the PSCell; measID=2 can represent triggering an intra-frequency PSCell change; measID=3 can represent triggering a SCell change; measID=4 can represent triggering an inter-frequency PSCell change.

[0119] When the MN decides to trigger the SCG deactivation, the MN can first send a message (e.g., SN modification request) to the SN, informing the SN to suspend the SCG. After receiving the message, in order to timely update the PSCell of the UE, the SN can decide to keep measID=1 and 2 and suspend measID=3 and 4 when the SCG is deactivated. The SN can send a response message (e.g., SN modification request ack) to the MN. In the response message, the SN can include a list field, the first entry can be set to 1 (corresponding to measID=1), and the second entry can be set to 2 (corresponding to measID=2).

[0120] Upon receiving the response message from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE, which can also include the measID list field configured by the SN. And this field can be contained in a container transparent to the MN node.

[0121] Upon receiving the RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. Furthermore, based on the received bitmap, the UE stops the measurement, evaluation and reporting of measID=3 and measID=4, and continues the measurement on measID=1 and measID=2. Furthermore, if SRB3 is configured, upon SCG deactivation, the UE can suspend SRB3 transmission and send the measurement report configured by the SN to the network (SN) via SRB1.

[0122] In a third example, for a NR-DC UE, both the MN and the SN have configured RRM measurements to the UE, and the SN can configure the following measurements:

[0123] measID=1, reportConfig ID1, A2 event on Freq1 (frequency of PSCell)

[0124] measID=2, reportConfig ID2, A3 event on Freq1 (frequency of PSCell);

[0125] measID=3, reportConfig ID3, A6 event on Freq2 (frequency of SCG SCell);

[0126] measID=4, reportConfig ID4, A4 event on Freq3 (non-serving frequency).

[0127] measID=1 can represent monitoring the quality of PSCell; measID=2 can represent triggering intra-frequency PSCell change; measID=3 can represent triggering SCell change; measID=4 can represent triggering inter-frequency PSCell change.

[0128] During the normal measurement configuration procedure, the SN can include the field in the reportConfig (with ID 1 and 2) configuration separately, and set the field to “True”, which can imply that the associated measID=1 and 2 should be performed when the SCG of the UE is deactivated.

[0129] Afterwards, when the network triggers the SCG deactivation procedure, upon receiving the SCG deactivation message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. In addition, the UE can stop the measurement, evaluation and reporting of measID=3 and measID=4, and continue the measurement on measID=1 and measID=2. Furthermore, if SRB3 is configured, upon SCG deactivation, the UE can suspend SRB3 transmission and send the SN configured measurement report to the network (SN) via SRB1.

[0130] Information type 8

[0131] The eighth information type can include information indicating whether the UE should inform the network (MN or SN) when the measurement result of the PSCell is below a threshold. This information can be expressed in an explicit manner or an implicit manner.

[0132] In some embodiments, the explicit manner refers to an explicit field included in the first message. For example, a field set to "True" indicates that the UE should inform the network when the measurement result of the PSCell is below a threshold when the SCG is deactivated; a field set to "False" indicates that the UE does not need to inform the network immediately when the measurement result of the PSCell is below a threshold when the SCG is deactivated.

[0133] In some embodiments, the implicit manner can be represented by a pre-defined rule in the standard. For example, the standard defines that the UE should inform the network when the measurement result of the PSCell is below a threshold, or vice versa.

[0134] In some embodiments, the implicit manner can indicate that there is a threshold configuration. For example, in the case where the network provides a threshold parameter for PSCell judgment, it implies that the UE should inform the network immediately when the PSCell measurement result is below the threshold; in the case where the network does not provide a threshold parameter for PSCell judgment, it implies that the UE does not need to inform the network immediately when the PSCell measurement is bad.

[0135] In some embodiments, in the case where the UE does not need to inform the network immediately when the quality of the PSCell is below a threshold, during the network triggered SCG recovery procedure or during the UE triggered SCG recovery procedure, the UE can inform the network that the quality of the PSCell does not meet the threshold, or the UE can reject the recovery request by including a corresponding reason value (e.g. bad PSCell quality).

[0136] In some embodiments, when the UE sends response information to the network, the information can be included in an RRC message, and the UE can also include the measurement result of the serving cell and / or the measurement result of one or more neighboring cells in the same message.

[0137] In some embodiments, after receiving the information from the UE, the network can trigger an SN release, an SN change, or a PSCell change procedure.

[0138] In some embodiments, the type of measurement result can be one or more of the following: SSB-RSRP, SSB-RSRQ, SSB-SINR, CSI-RS-RSRP, CSI-RS-RSRQ, CSI-RS-SINR.

[0139] In a first example, for an EN-DC UE, the MN can decide to trigger SCG deactivation, and the MN first sends a message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request) to the SN informing the SN to suspend the SCG. After receiving a response message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request ack) from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE. Within this message, the MN includes an RSRP threshold field, which indicates that the UE should inform the MN when the RSRP of the PSCell is below the threshold.

[0140] Upon receiving this RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. During the SCG deactivation state, the UE can continue PSCell measurement and evaluate whether the RSRP of the PSCell is below the threshold.

[0141] When the PSCell RSRP is below the threshold, the UE can send a message to the MN, in which the UE indicates that the PSCell is not good, and the UE can also include the measurement results of the PSCell and other neighboring cells. Upon receiving the message from the UE, the MN decides whether to release the suspended SCG or trigger SN / PSCell change.

[0142] In a second example, for an EN-DC UE, the MN decides to trigger SCG deactivation, and the MN first sends a message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request) to the SN informing the SN to suspend the SCG. After receiving a response message (e.g., SgNB Modification Request ack) from the SN, the MN can send an RRC message to the UE. Within this message, the MN can include an RSRP threshold field and also indicate that the UE does not need to inform the MN when the RSRP of the PSCell is below the threshold.

[0143] Upon receiving this RRC message, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop DL / UL data transmission. During the SCG deactivation state, although the UE continues PSCell measurement, the UE can not be required to evaluate whether the RSRP of the PSCell is below the threshold.

[0144] When the UE moves out of the coverage of the PSCell, the UE can not be able to detect the PSCell. In this case, the UE keeps the configured SCG context without notifying the MN immediately. Later, when the UE receives an SCG resume request from the network, the UE can evaluate the PSCell quality and find that the PSCell quality is below the configured threshold. In this case, the UE can send a response message to the MN by indicating that the PSCell quality is not good. Or the UE can reject the SCG resume procedure by sending an SCG resume reject message to the MN.

[0145] MN and SN coordination

[0146] Figure 2 Signaling procedure 200 is an example procedure for SN and MN coordination to indicate whether the SN is allowed to trigger SCG activation / deactivation. In step 208, the MN 206 can send an indication to the SN 204 whether the SN is allowed to trigger SCG activation / deactivation. In response to the SN being allowed to trigger SCG activation / deactivation, the SN 204 can send a first message 210 to the UE 202, which can include information related to the action related to SCG to be performed. In step 212, the UE 202 can perform the first action related to SCG.

[0147] The first node can send a message to the second node, which can include a field indicating whether the second node is allowed to trigger SCG deactivation and activation procedures to the UE.

[0148] In some embodiments, the field can be defined as an Xn / X2 AP IE, or in an inter-node RRC message.

[0149] In some embodiments, the message can be a UE-specific message (e.g., SN addition request or SN modification request), which can be a cell-specific message (e.g., Xn setup request, NG-RAN node configuration update). For the case of UE-specific message, the received field applies to the corresponding dual connectivity UE. For the case of cell-specific message, the received field applies to any UE that has configured the second node as a SN (or PSCell).

[0150] In some embodiments, in the case that the second node receives the field indicating that the second node is allowed to trigger SCG deactivation and activation procedures to the UE, the second node (acting as a SN) can trigger the deactivation (or activation) procedure by directly notifying the UE to deactivate (or activate / resume) the SCG. During the procedure, the second node can inform the first node about the SCG status. Or the second node can trigger a procedure that is transparent to the first node.

[0151] In some embodiments, the second node receives a field indicating that the second node is not allowed to trigger SCG deactivation and activation procedures towards the UE. If the second node (acting as SN) wants to deactivate (or activate) the SCG, the second node should first send a request message to the first node and let the first node inform the UE to deactivate (or activate) the SCG.

[0152] In some embodiments, when the SCG is deactivated, the network (MN or SN) can still trigger the SN RRC reconfiguration procedure (e.g., for the purpose of SN change, PSCell change, or SCG configuration update). In this case, the network can inform the UE to maintain the SCG in the deactivated state after applying the SN RRC reconfiguration message.

[0153] In some embodiments, upon receiving the SN RRC reconfiguration message, the UE can not immediately perform the RACH procedure on the PSCell, and the UE only triggers the RACH on the PSCell during the SCG activation procedure.

[0154] In a first example, for EN-DC UE, during the SN addition procedure, the MN sends a message (e.g., SgNB Addition Request) to the SN. Inside this message, the MN can include an X2AP field indicating that the SN is allowed to trigger SCG deactivation and activation procedures.

[0155] Afterwards, when the data transmission on the SCG is very low, or the SN receives UE assistance information indicating that the UE has overheating problem, the SN can decide to deactivate the SCG. The SN then generates a message (RRC or MAC CE or DCI) and sends it to the UE. This message can inform the UE to deactivate the SCG. Upon receiving the message from the SN, the UE can deactivate the SCG and stop the UL / DL data transmission.

[0156] Afterwards, when the SN receives DL data from the core network (e.g., on the SN-terminated SCG bearer), or the SN receives DL data from the MN (e.g., on the MN-terminated split bearer), the SN can decide to activate the SCG. The SN can generate a message (RRC or MAC CE or DCI) and send it to the UE. This message is intended to inform the UE to activate the SCG. Upon receiving the message from the SN, the UE activates the SCG and starts the UL / DL data transmission.

[0157] In a second example, for NR-DC UE, during the SN modification procedure, the MN can send a message (e.g., SN Modification Request) to the SN. Inside this message, the MN can include a field in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., CG-ConfigInfo) indicating that the SN is not allowed to trigger SCG deactivation and activation procedures.

[0158] Afterwards, when data transmission on SCG is very low, or the SN receives UE assistance information indicating that the UE has an overheating problem, the SN can decide to deactivate SCG. The SN then sends a message (e.g., SN Modification Required) to the MN, asking the MN to inform the UE to deactivate SCG. After receiving the message from the SN, the MN can generate a message (RRC or MAC CE or DCI) and send it to the UE. The message can inform the UE to deactivate SCG. Upon receiving the message from the MN, the UE can deactivate SCG and stop UL / DL data transmission. The MN can also send a response message to the SN, informing the SN that the SCG deactivation is successfully performed.

[0159] Afterwards, when the SN receives DL data from the core network (e.g., on SN terminated SCG bearers), the SN can decide to activate SCG. The SN then sends a message (e.g., SN Modification Required) to the MN, asking the MN to inform the UE to activate SCG. After receiving the message from the SN, the MN can generate a message (RRC or MAC CE or DCI) and send it to the UE. The message can inform the UE to activate SCG. Upon receiving the message from the MN, the UE can activate SCG and start UL / DL data transmission. The MN can also send a response message to the SN, informing the SN that the SCG activation is successfully performed.

[0160] In a third example, for EN-DC UEs, when SCG is in deactivated state, the network decides to trigger SN change procedure (e.g., based on UE’s measurement report), then the SN generates a SN RRC message with reconfigurationWithSync field. However, the SN can decide not to activate SCG during this procedure. The SN can include a field in the SN RRC message indicating that the UE should keep SCG in deactivated state.

[0161] The SN can send the SN RRC message to the MN, and the MN can generate a MN RRC message (containing the SN RRC message) and send it to the UE. After receiving the message, the UE can store the new SN RRC configuration. However, since the message indicates that the UE can keep SCG in deactivated state, the UE cannot perform RACH procedure to the target PSCell.

[0162] Afterwards, when the UE receives SCG activation command from the network, the UE can trigger RACH procedure to the PSCell, and activate SCG.

[0163] In a fourth example, for an EN-DC UE, when the SCG is in a deactivated state, the network decides to trigger an SN change procedure (e.g., based on a measurement report of the UE), and then the SN generates an SN RRC message with a reconfigurationWithSync field. The SN can send the SN RRC message to the MN, and the MN can generate an MN RRC message (containing the SN RRC message) and send to the UE. However, the MN decides not to activate the SCG during this procedure. The MN can include a field in the MN RRC message indicating that the UE can keep the SCG in the deactivated state. The MN can also inform the SN that the SCG is still in the deactivated state, so that no data transmission via the SCG is expected anymore.

[0164] After receiving this message, the UE can store the new SN RRC configuration. Moreover, since this message indicates that the UE should keep the SCG in the deactivated state, the UE cannot perform a RACH procedure towards the target PSCell.

[0165] Later, when the UE receives an SCG activation command from the network, the UE can trigger a RACH procedure towards the PSCell and activate the SCG.

[0166] Figure 3 is a block diagram 300 of an example method for wireless cell activation and deactivation. The method can include receiving, by a terminal from a network node, a first message including information for performing a first action related to a secondary cell group (block 302). The first message can include information related to a SCG related action to perform, such as the first message 106 and 210 in Figures 1-2 In some cases, the network node can include an SN (e.g., SN 204), which can send the first message in response to receiving an indication (e.g., indication 208) that the SN is allowed to trigger SCG activation / deactivation, as described herein.

[0167] The method can also include performing, by the terminal in response to receiving the first message from the network node, the first action related to the secondary cell group in a deactivated state (block 304). The first action as described herein can include a first action related to SCG activation / deactivation as described herein (e.g., performance of the first action 108, 212).

[0168] In some embodiments, the information for the first action to perform indicates whether the terminal is allowed to trigger a secondary cell group activation procedure by performing a random access (RACH) procedure on a primary cell (PSCell) of the secondary cell group.

[0169] In some embodiments, the information for performing the first action includes a threshold data buffer size.

[0170] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to perform a first action related to a secondary cell group activation procedure in response to an uplink data buffer size of a radio bearer of the terminal being greater than a threshold data buffer size.

[0171] In some embodiments, the information for performing the first action includes a validity timer for a dedicated RACH resource on the PSCell.

[0172] In some embodiments, the validity timer is started in response to the secondary cell group transitioning to a deactivated state, and wherein a length of the validity timer is equal to a received timer value.

[0173] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to trigger a contention-free random access procedure on the dedicated RACH resource to the PSCell in order for the terminal to trigger the secondary cell group activation procedure before the validity timer expires.

[0174] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to release the dedicated RACH resource or trigger a contention-based random access procedure to the PSCell upon expiration of the validity timer.

[0175] In some embodiments, the information for performing the first action indicates whether the terminal is to maintain configured secondary cell group physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) resources and scheduling request (SR) resources after a secondary cell group (SCG) time alignment timer (TAT) expires.

[0176] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to use predefined default PUCCH and SR resources when triggering the secondary cell group activation procedure.

[0177] In some embodiments, the information for performing the first action indicates whether the terminal is to perform radio link monitoring (RLM) actions on the PSCell when the secondary cell group is in a deactivated state.

[0178] In some embodiments, the first action includes performing RLM actions on the PSCell based on all synchronization signal block (SSB) indexes transmitted in the PSCell.

[0179] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to send a secondary cell group failure report to a network node including a master node (MN), wherein the secondary cell group failure report is sent upon determining that a radio link failure (RLF) has occurred on the PSCell, and wherein the secondary cell group failure report includes measurement results for a secondary cell group serving cell and a set of neighboring cells.

[0180] In some embodiments, the information for performing the first action comprises an indication of whether the terminal is to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements on serving cells of the secondary cell group when the secondary cell group is in the deactivated state.

[0181] In some embodiments, the information for performing the first action comprises an indication of a set of RRM measurements of SN configurations to be performed when the secondary cell group is in the deactivated state.

[0182] In some embodiments, the information for performing the first action comprises an indication of whether the terminal is to send a notification message to a master node (MN) or a secondary node (SN) when a measurement related to the PSCell is below a threshold.

[0183] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to not send a notification message to the network node when a measurement related to the PSCell is below a threshold, and wherein the terminal is configured to respond to the network node when a measurement related to the PSCell is below a threshold or to reject a resume request related to the secondary cell group by sending a message comprising a corresponding cause value when the resume request is received and a measurement related to the PSCell is below a threshold.

[0184] In some embodiments, the notification message or the response message sent by the terminal comprises a measurement related to the PSCell, wherein the message further comprises a measurement related to a serving cell of the secondary cell group and / or a measurement related to a neighboring cell of the secondary cell group.

[0185] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to trigger a SN release procedure, a SN change procedure and / or a PSCell change procedure in response to sending the notification message or the response message to the network node.

[0186] In some embodiments, the network node comprises a secondary node (SN) configured to receive a second message from a master node (MN), wherein the second message comprises an indication of whether the SN is allowed to trigger a secondary cell group deactivation procedure and / or a secondary cell group activation procedure to the terminal.

[0187] In some embodiments, the network node triggers a SN RRC reconfiguration procedure when the secondary cell group is in the deactivated state, and wherein the network node sends a third message to the terminal to keep the secondary cell group in the deactivated state.

[0188] In some embodiments, the terminal is configured to delay a RACH procedure to the PSCell until the secondary cell group activation procedure is started.

[0189] Exemplary wireless system

[0190] Figure 4An example of a wireless communication system to which the techniques according to one or more embodiments of the technology can be applied is shown. The wireless communication system 400 can include one or more base stations (BSs) 405a, 405b, one or more wireless devices or terminals 410a, 410b, 410c, 410d, and a core network 425. The base stations 405a, 405b can provide wireless service to the wireless devices 410a, 410b, 410c, and 410d in one or more wireless sectors. In some implementations, the base stations 405a, 405b include directional antennas to produce two or more directional beams to provide wireless coverage in different sectors. As described herein, the base stations can implement the functionality of a scheduling cell or a candidate cell.

[0191] The core network 425 can communicate with the one or more base stations 405a, 405b. The core network 425 provides connectivity with other wireless communication systems and wired communication systems. The core network can contain one or more service subscription databases to store information related to subscribed wireless devices 410a, 410b, 410c, and 410d. The first base station 405a can provide wireless service based on a first wireless access technology, while the second base station 405b can provide wireless service based on a second wireless access technology. The base stations 405a and 405b can be co-located or can be separately installed at a site depending on the deployment scenario. The wireless devices 410a, 410b, 410c, and 410d can support multiple different wireless access technologies.

[0192] In some implementations, a wireless communication system can include multiple networks using different wireless technologies. A dual-mode or multi-mode wireless device includes two or more wireless technologies that can be used to connect to different wireless networks.

[0193] Figure 5 A block diagram representation of a portion of a hardware platform. The hardware platform 505 (such as a network node or base station or terminal or wireless device (or UE)) can include processor electronics 510 (such as a microprocessor) that implement one or more of the techniques presented herein. The hardware platform 505 can include transceiver electronics 515 to transmit and / or receive wired or wireless signals through one or more communication interfaces such as antennas 520 or wired interfaces. The hardware platform 505 can implement other communication interfaces with defined protocols for transmitting and receiving data. The hardware platform 505 can include one or more memories (not explicitly shown) configured to store information such as data and / or instructions. In some implementations, the processor electronics 510 can include at least a portion of the transceiver electronics 515. In some embodiments, at least some of the disclosed techniques, modules, or functions are implemented using the hardware platform 505.

[0194] Conclusion

[0195] The disclosed and other embodiments, modules and the functional operations described in this document can be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer software, firmware, or hardware, including the structural equivalents of such as disclosed in this document, or in combinations of one or more of them. The disclosed and other embodiments can be implemented as one or more computer program products, i.e., one or more modules of computer program instructions encoded on a computer readable medium for execution by, or to control the operation of, data processing apparatus. The computer readable medium can be a machine-readable storage device, a machine-readable storage substrate, a memory device, a composition of matter effecting a machine-readable propagated signal, or a combination of one or more of them. The term "data processing apparatus" encompasses all apparatus, devices, and machines for processing data, including by way of example a programmable processor, a computer, or multiple processors or computers. The apparatus can include, in addition to hardware, code that creates an execution environment for the computer program in question, e.g., code that constitutes processor firmware, a protocol stack, a database management system, an operating system, or a combination of one or more of them. A propagated signal is an artificially generated signal, e.g., a machine-generated electrical, optical, or electromagnetic signal, that is generated to encode information for transmission to suitable receiver apparatus.

[0196] A computer program (also known as a program, software, software application, script, or code) can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and it can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program does not necessarily correspond to a file in a file system. A program can be stored in a portion of a file that holds other programs or data (e.g., one or more scripts stored in a markup language document), in a single file dedicated to the program in question, or in multiple coordinated files (e.g., files that store one or more modules, sub programs, or portions of code). A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer or on multiple computers that are located at one site or distributed across multiple sites and are interconnected by a communication network.

[0197] The processes and logic flows described in this document can be performed by one or more programmable processors executing one or more computer programs to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The processes and logic flows can also be performed by, and apparatus can also be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, e.g., an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

[0198] Processors suitable for the execution of a computer program include, by way of example, both general and special purpose microprocessors, and any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The essential elements of a computer are a processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer will also include, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to, or both, one or more mass storage devices for storing data, e.g., magnetic, magneto-optical, or optical disks, or one or more other types of nonvolatile memory devices. However, a computer need not have such devices. Computer readable media suitable for storing computer program instructions and data include all forms of non-volatile memory, media and memory devices, including by way of example semiconductor memory devices, e.g., EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices; magnetic disks, e.g., internal hard disks or removable disks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks. The processor and the memory can be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

[0199] Although the present patent document contains many details, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of any invention or of what can be claimed, but as merely describing features that can be specific to certain embodiments of the inventions. Certain features described herein in the context of separate embodiments can also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described herein in the context of a single embodiment can also be implemented separately or in any suitable subcombination. Moreover, although features can be described above as acting in certain combinations and even initially claimed as such, one or more features from a claimed combination can in some cases be excised from the combination and the claimed combination can be directed to a subcombination or variation of a subcombination.

[0200] Similarly, while operations are depicted in the drawings in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such order, nor that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing can be advantageous. Moreover, the separation of various system components in the embodiments described herein should not be understood as requiring such separation in all embodiments.

[0201] Only a few implementations and examples are described and other implementations, enhancements and variations can be made based on what is described and illustrated in this patent document.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: receiving, by a terminal from a network node, a first message comprising information for performing a first action related to a secondary cell group, SCG, wherein the information for performing the first action indicates whether the terminal is to perform a radio link monitoring, RLM, action on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group when the SCG is in a deactivated state; and performing, by the terminal, the first action related to the SCG in the deactivated state in response to receiving the first message from the network node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the information for performing the first action comprises a field, wherein the field is set to False to indicate that the terminal stops performing a radio link monitoring, RLM, on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group when the SCG is deactivated, and wherein the field is set to True to indicate that the terminal performs a radio link monitoring, RLM, on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group when the SCG is in a deactivated state.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, the terminal is configured to send a secondary cell group failure report to the network node comprising a master node, MN, wherein the secondary cell group failure report is sent upon determining that a radio link failure, RLF, occurs on the PSCell, and wherein the secondary cell group failure report comprises measurement results of a secondary cell group serving cell and a set of neighboring cells.

4. The method of claim 1, comprising: receiving, by the terminal from the network node, a second message to keep the SCG in the deactivated state when an SN RRC reconfiguration procedure is triggered while the SCG is in the deactivated state.

5. The method according to any of claims 1 and 4, wherein, the terminal is configured to delay a RACH procedure towards a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group until a secondary cell group, SCG, activation procedure is initiated.

6. An apparatus for wireless communication, comprising processor electronics configured to: receiving, from a network node, a first message comprising information for performing a first action related to a secondary cell group, SCG, wherein the information for performing the first action indicates whether the apparatus is to perform a radio link monitoring, RLM, action on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group when the SCG is in a deactivated state; and performing the first action related to the SCG in the deactivated state in response to receiving the first message from the network node.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, the information for performing the first action comprises a field, wherein the field is set to False to indicate that the apparatus stops performing a radio link monitoring, RLM, on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group when the SCG is deactivated, and wherein the field is set to True to indicate that the apparatus performs a radio link monitoring, RLM, on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group when the SCG is in a deactivated state.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein, the processor electronics are configured to: sending a secondary cell group failure report to the network node comprising a master node, MN, wherein the secondary cell group failure report is sent upon determining that a radio link failure, RLF, occurs on the PSCell, and wherein the secondary cell group failure report comprises measurement results of a secondary cell group serving cell and a set of neighboring cells.

9. The apparatus of claim 6, receiving, by the apparatus from the network node, a second message to keep the SCG in the deactivated state when an SN RRC reconfiguration procedure is triggered.

10. The apparatus of any one of claims 6 and 9, wherein, The processor electronics are configured to delay a RACH procedure towards a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group, SCG, until a secondary cell group, SCG, activation procedure is initiated.

11. A non-transitory computer-readable medium having code stored thereon, the code, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to: receiving, from a network node, a first message comprising information for performing a first action related to a secondary cell group, SCG, wherein The information for performing the first action indicates whether a device is to perform a radio link monitoring, RLM, action on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group, SCG, when the SCG is in a deactivated state; and performing the first action related to the SCG in a deactivated state in response to receiving the first message from the network node.

12. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein, The information for performing the first action comprises a field, wherein the field is set to False to indicate that the device stops performing a radio link monitoring, RLM, on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group, SCG, when the SCG is deactivated, wherein the field is set to True to indicate that the device performs a radio link monitoring, RLM, on a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group, SCG, when the SCG is in a deactivated state.

13. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, wherein, The code, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: sending a secondary cell group failure report to the network node comprising a master node, MN, wherein the secondary cell group failure report is sent upon determining that a radio link failure, RLF, occurs on the PSCell, and wherein the secondary cell group failure report comprises measurement results of a secondary cell group serving cell and a set of neighboring cells.

14. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 11, receiving, by the apparatus from the network node, a second message to keep the SCG in the deactivated state when an SN RRC reconfiguration procedure is triggered when the SCG is in the deactivated state.

15. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of any one of claims 11 and 14, wherein, The code, when executed by the processor, causes the processor to: delay a RACH procedure towards a primary secondary cell, PSCell, of a secondary cell group, SCG, until a secondary cell group, SCG, activation procedure is initiated.

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