User equipment, computer readable medium and method of operating a base station

Abstract

The present application relates to devices and components, including apparatus, systems and methods for carrier-specific scaling factors for measurements without measurement gaps in a dual connectivity network.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of communications. Background Art

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Technical Specifications (TS) define standards for wireless networks. These TSs include many details related to dual connectivity (DC) operation, where radio resources can be provided to user equipment from multiple base stations. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Embodiments of the present disclosure provide apparatus, systems, methods, and computer-readable media associated with user equipment (UE) in dual connectivity.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, comprising: a memory for storing a merging criterion; and a processing circuit coupled to the memory, the processing circuit being configured to: receive a first measurement object (MO) from a master node (MN) evolved node B (eNB) to configure measurements on a primary and secondary component carrier (PSCC); receive a second MO from a secondary node (SN) gNB to configure measurements on the PSCC; calculate a carrier specific scaling factor (CSSF) of the PSCC based on whether the first MO and the second MO meet the merging criterion; and perform one or more measurements on the PSCC based on the CSSF.

[0005] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, one or more computer-readable media are provided, having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to perform the following operations: establish a dual-connectivity communication session with a master node (MN) evolved node B (eNB) and a secondary node (SN) gNB; receive one or more measurement objects (MOs) from the MN eNB or the SN gNB to configure measurements outside the measurement gap in a primary and secondary cell component carrier (PSCC) provided by the SN gNB, wherein the one or more MOs include inter-radio access technology (RAT) new radio (NR) management objects (MOs) or intra-frequency NR MOs; determine a count value equal to one or two based on the one or more MOs; and determine a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) of the PSCC based on the count value.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present disclosure, a method for operating a first base station is provided, the method comprising: receiving a measurement object configuration from a second base station or transmitting the measurement object configuration to the second base station, wherein the first base station and the second base station provide an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) connection to a user equipment (UE), and the measurement object configuration is used to limit the provision of multiple measurement objects (MO) to the UE for one frequency layer of a New Radio (NR) cell or to limit the provision of the multiple MOs to the UE; and providing the MO to the UE to configure the UE to perform measurements outside the measurement gap on the frequency layer. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] Figure 1 A network environment is shown according to some embodiments.

[0008] Figure 2 A measurement process according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 3 A table describing the calculation of the carrier specific scaling factor (CSSF) according to some embodiments is shown.

[0010] Figure 4 Another table describing CSSF calculations according to some embodiments is shown.

[0011] Figure 5 Another table describing CSSF calculations according to some embodiments is shown.

[0012] Figure 6 Another table describing CSSF calculations according to some embodiments is shown.

[0013] Figure 7 An operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0014] Figure 8 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0015] Figure 9 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0016] Figure 10 User equipment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0017] Figure 11 A base station according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0018] The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings. The same reference numerals may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, so as to provide a thorough understanding of the various aspects of the various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from this disclosure that the various aspects of the various embodiments can be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods have been omitted so as not to obscure the description of the various embodiments due to unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0019] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0020] As used herein, the term "circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a hardware component such as an electronic circuit, a logic circuit, a processor (shared, dedicated, or group) or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functionality, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable device (FPD) (e.g., a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a complex PLD (CPLD), a high capacity PLD (HCPLD), a structured ASIC, or a programmable system on a chip (SoC)), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc. In some embodiments, the circuit can execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functionality. The term "circuit" can also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and program code for performing the functions of the program code (or a combination of circuits used in an electrical or electronic system). In these embodiments, the combination of hardware elements and program code can be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0021] As used herein, the term "processor circuitry" refers to, is part of, or includes circuitry that is capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuitry" may refer to an application processor, a baseband processor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit, a single-core processor, a dual-core processor, a triple-core processor, a quad-core processor, or any other device capable of executing or otherwise operating computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, and / or functional processes).

[0022] As used herein, the term "interface circuitry" refers to circuitry that enables, is part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuitry" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, and the like.

[0023] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can represent a remote user of network resources in a communication network. Furthermore, the terms "user equipment" or "UE" may be considered synonymous and may be referred to as a client, mobile phone, mobile device, mobile terminal, user terminal, mobile unit, mobile station, mobile user, subscriber, user, remote station, access agent, user agent, receiver, radio equipment, reconfigurable radio equipment, reconfigurable mobile device, etc. Furthermore, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0024] As used herein, the term "computer system" refers to any type of interconnected electronic devices, computer devices, or components thereof. Additionally, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to various components of a computer that are communicatively coupled to one another. Furthermore, the term "computer system" or "system" may refer to multiple computer devices or multiple computing systems that are communicatively coupled to one another and configured to share computing resources or networked resources.

[0025] As used herein, the term "resource" refers to a physical or virtual device, a physical or virtual component within a computing environment, or a physical or virtual component within a specific device, such as computer equipment, mechanical equipment, memory space, processor / CPU time, processor / CPU utilization, processor and accelerator load, hardware time or utilization, power, input / output operations, ports or network sockets, channel / link allocation, throughput, memory utilization, storage, network, database, and application, workload units, etc. "Hardware resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by physical hardware elements. "Virtualized resources" may refer to computing, storage, or network resources provided by a virtualization infrastructure to applications, devices, systems, etc. The terms "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources accessible to a computer device / system via a communication network. The term "system resource" may refer to any type of shared entity that provides a service and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered a set of coherent functions, network data objects, or services accessible through a server, where such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and are clearly identifiable.

[0026] As used herein, the term "channel" refers to any tangible or intangible transmission medium for transmitting data or data streams. The term "channel" may be synonymous or equivalent with "communication channel," "data communication channel," "transmission channel," "data transmission channel," "access channel," "data access channel," "link," "data link," "carrier," "radio frequency carrier," or any other similar term indicating a path or medium through which data is transmitted. Additionally, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

[0027] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a concrete occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0028] The term "connected" may mean that two or more elements at a common communication protocol layer have an established signaling relationship with each other through a communication channel, link, interface, or reference point.

[0029] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure used to provide wired or wireless communication network services. The term "network element" may be considered synonymous with or referred to as a networked computer, networking hardware, network equipment, network node, virtualized network function, etc.

[0030] The term "information element" refers to a structural element that contains one or more fields. The term "field" refers to the individual contents of an information element, or a data element that contains the contents. An information element may include one or more additional information elements.

[0031] Figure 1 A network environment 100 is shown according to some embodiments. The network environment 100 may include a UE 104 communicatively coupled to one or more base stations, such as, for example, an evolved Node B (eNB) 108 and a gNB 112. The UE 104 and the base stations may communicate over an air interface compatible with 3GPP TSs, such as those defining Long Term Evolution (LTE) and fifth generation (5G) New Radio (NR) system standards. The eNB 108 may provide one or more LTE Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) cells, thereby providing E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol terminations to the UE 104. The gNB 112 may provide one or more 5G NR cells to provide NR user plane and control plane protocol terminations to the UE 104.

[0032] The network environment 100 may support dual connectivity (DC) operation, in which the UE 104 may be configured to utilize radio resources provided by different schedulers located in the eNB 108 and gNB 112. Given that the eNB 108 and gNB 112 provide different radio access technologies (RATs) to the serving cell, DC operation may also be referred to as multi-RAT DC or multi-radio DC (MR DC). The base stations may be coupled to each other via an X2 interface with an ideal or non-ideal backhaul.

[0033] One of the base stations may be configured as a master node (MN) to provide control plane connectivity to the core network 116. The MN may be associated with a set of serving cells, referred to as a master cell group (MCG), which includes a primary cell (SpCell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCells) in a carrier aggregation (CA) deployment. The SpCell of an MCG may also be referred to as a PCell.

[0034] Another base station may be configured as a secondary node (SN), which may not have a control plane connection to the core network 116. The SN may be used to provide additional resources to the UE 104. The SN may be associated with a group of serving cells called a secondary cell group (SCG), which includes an SpCell and one or more SCells in a CA deployment. The SpCell of the SCG may also be referred to as a PScell.

[0035] The embodiments described herein include an eNB 108 operating as a MN and a gNB 112 operating as a SN. This may be referred to as E-UTRA-NR(EN)DC. In this context, the eNB 108 may also be referred to as the MN eNB 108, and the gNB may be referred to as the SN gNB 112.

[0036] The cells of the MCG and SCG may be in a frequency range 1 (FR1) corresponding to a frequency range of 410 MHz-7125 MHz or a frequency range 2 (FR2) corresponding to a frequency range of 24,250 MHz-52,600 MHz.

[0037] At least the MN (e.g., eNB 108) may be coupled to the core network 116 via an S1 interface. In some embodiments, the SN (e.g., gNB 112) may also be coupled to the core network 116. In some embodiments, the core network 116 may be an evolved packet core (EPC), in which case the gNB 112 may be referred to as an en-gNB. In other embodiments, the core network 116 may be a 5G core network (5GC), in which case the eNB 108 may be an ng-eNB.

[0038] The base station can transmit information (e.g., data and control signaling) in the downlink direction by mapping logical channels onto transport channels and mapping transport channels onto physical channels. Logical channels can transfer data between the radio link control (RLC) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer; transport channels can transfer data between the MAC and PHY layers; and physical channels can transfer information across the air interface. The UE 104 may include two MAC entities to enable communication with the MCG and SCG.

[0039] In some embodiments, the MN eNB 108 and the SN gNB 112 may configure a measurement object (MO) to the UE 104. The MO may identify the time and frequency location of the synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block (SSB) and channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) resources to be measured.

[0040] In some embodiments, both base stations may configure NR MOs for UE 104, e.g., MOs that identify SBS / CSI-RS resources within an NR cell. These MOs may include intra-RAT MOs and inter-RAT MOs. Intra-RAT MOs may configure intra-RAT measurements, which may include inter-frequency and intra-frequency measurements. SN gNB 112 may provide intra-RAT MOs to UE 104 to configure UE 104 to measure NR frequency layers. Inter-RAT MOs may configure inter-RAT measurements. For example, MN eNB 108 may provide inter-RAT MOs to UE 104 to configure UE 104 to measure NR frequency layers.

[0041] In some embodiments, when the UE 104 is configured to monitor multiple MOs, the UE 104 may use CSSF to scale measurement delay requirements and NR Positioning Reference Signal (PRS) based measurements. 外-间隙,i It can be the scaling factor for the measurements of measurement object i performed outside the measurement gap. 外-间隙,i Applicable to intra-frequency and inter-frequency measurements without measurement gaps.

[0042] In some embodiments, the UE 104 may be configured with both an inter-RAT MO (from the PCell of the MN eNB 108) and an intra-frequency MO (from the PScell ​​of the SN gNB) for the same NR serving component carrier. Typically, the UE 104 may assume that only one MO will be configured on the NR frequency layer of the PSCell. Therefore, when two MOs are configured and they include some different parameters, the UE 104 may need to determine whether to treat them as the same or different. This may affect the calculation of the CSSF and, therefore, the measurement period used to perform the resulting measurements.

[0043] In 3GPP TS 38.133 v16.5.0 (2020-09), MO merging rules are provided for determining the number of layers that a UE 104 can monitor. Specifically, it states that "When an E-UTRA PCell and a PSCell configure the same NR carrier frequency layer to be monitored by a UE in intra-synchronization-band EN-DC, if the SFN and slot boundaries are aligned, then the layer shall be counted only once to the total number of valid carrier frequency layers, unless the configured NR carrier frequency layers to be monitored have: different RSSI measurement resources; or different deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications; or different [SSB-based measurement timing] configurations." 3GPP TS 38.133, section 9.1.3.2.

[0044] The deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication may provide information about frame boundary alignment to the UE 104. For example, when this indication is enabled, the UE 104 may assume that half-frame, subframe, and slot boundaries across cells on the same frequency carrier are aligned within a predetermined tolerance and that the SFNs of all cells on the same frequency carrier are the same.

[0045] In some embodiments, when the MO merging rules are met, the UE 104 may merge the inter-RAT MO and the intra-frequency MO and only count "1" in the CSSF design. However, if the MO merging rules are not met, in some cases, the UE 104 may still only need to count "1" in the CSSF design. For example, if the SSB-based measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations between the inter-RAT MO and the intra-frequency MO do not overlap in the time domain (e.g., they are time division multiplexed (TDMed)); or the received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement resources between the inter-RAT MO and the intra-frequency MO do not overlap in the time domain (e.g., they are TDMed). In some cases, the TDM nature of these different parameters may enable the MOs to be combined for the purpose of CSSF calculation as described in further detail herein.

[0046] Figure 2 A measurement operation 200 is shown according to some embodiments.

[0047] The measurement operations 200 may include, at 204, the MN eNB 108 providing an MO to configure the UE 104 to measure various component carriers. The component carriers may include a primary component carrier (PCC) providing a PCell, one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) providing corresponding SCells; a primary secondary component carrier (PSCC) providing a PSCell; and one or more SCCs providing corresponding SCells. In some embodiments, the MO may include an inter-RAT MO to configure the UE 104 to measure an NR frequency layer (e.g., NR frequency layer 1).

[0048] The measurement operations 200 may further include, at 208, the SN gNB 112 providing an MO to configure the UE 104 to measure various component carriers. The component carriers may include a PSCC and one or more SCCs providing corresponding SScells. In some embodiments, the MO may include an intra-frequency MO that configures the UE 104 to measure the same NR frequency layer (e.g., NR frequency layer 1) as the inter-RAT MO.

[0049] At 212, the UE 104 may calculate the CSSF for measurements configured by the MO outside of the measurement gap. Three options for calculating the CSSF are described in various embodiments.

[0050] In a first option, the UE 104 may calculate the CSSF by counting independent inter-RAT MOs and intra-frequency MOs on the same serving carrier, regardless of whether the MO merging rules are met.

[0051] In the second option, the UE can calculate the CSSF by counting independent inter-RAT MOs and intra-frequency MOs on the same serving carrier only when the MO merging rules cannot be met. In some special cases, even if the MO merging rules cannot be met, the UE 104 can still count the inter-RAT MOs and intra-frequency MOs as a single MO in the CSSF calculation.

[0052] In the third option, the UE 104 can calculate the CSSF by counting only intra-frequency MO or only inter-RAT MO. This may mean that the MN eNB 108 avoids configuring NR inter-RAT MO in the EN-DC case; or the SN avoids configuring NR intra-RAT MO in the EN-DC case.

[0053] These and additional options are described in further detail below.

[0054] At 216, SN gNB 112 may transmit reference signals on various component carriers, including, for example, carriers of NR frequency layer 1. These reference signals may be SSBs or CSI-RSs.

[0055] The measurement operations 200 may further include, at 218, the UE 104 measuring the RS transmitted by the SN gNB 112. The measurements may be outside of a measurement gap as configured by the MO received from the MN eNB 108 and the SN gNB 112. The measurements may be performed within a measurement period determined based on the calculated CSSF.

[0056] In some embodiments, UE 104 may include multiple searchers capable of simultaneously measuring corresponding multiple component carriers. The searchers may correspond to RF and baseband processing resources available for measurement operations. In some embodiments, UE 104 may include two searchers. The first searcher may be dedicated to performing measurements on an SpCell (e.g., a PCell or PSCell), while the second searcher may be dedicated to performing measurements on one or more SCells. UE 104 may calculate multiple CSSFs, which may be used to facilitate sharing of searchers between different primary and secondary component carriers.

[0057] At 220, UE 104 may send a report to the network based on the measurement of the RS. The report may be sent to MN eNB 108 or SN gNB 112. The reporting may be periodic, aperiodic, or event-based.

[0058] As briefly described above, a first option for calculating the CSSF is to independently count both inter-RAT MOs and intra-frequency MOs on the same serving cell, regardless of whether the MO merging rules are met. Therefore, the UE 104 can calculate the CSSF outside the measurement gap by independently counting inter-RAT MOs configured from the LTE PCell (e.g., by the MN eNB 108) and intra-frequency MOs configured from the NR PScell ​​(e.g., by the SN gNB 112), regardless of whether they are on the same frequency layer.

[0059] Figures 3 to 6 A table describing the CSSF calculations for EN-DC with various scenarios is shown. The CSSF may include the CSSF for FR1PSCC 外_间隙,i ; CSSF of FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i ; CSSF of FR2 PSCC 外_间隙,i CSSF of FR2 SCC where neighboring cells need to be measured 外_间隙,i CSSF of FR2 SCC where no neighbor cell measurement is required 外_间隙,i ; and CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i These CSSFs will be described in further detail below based on their subsequent introduction.

[0060] Figure 3 Table 300 is shown describing a CSSF calculation for a scenario according to some embodiments. In this embodiment, the CSSF calculation can support EN-DC with FR1-only CA scenario. In this scenario, all NR component carriers (e.g., PSCC and SCC) can be in FR1. Therefore, Table 300 shows the CSSF for FR1 PSCC. 外_间隙,i , CSSF of FR1 SCC外_间隙,i CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i The CSSF of FR2 component carriers is not applicable to this scenario.

[0061] FR1 PSCC's CSSF 外_间隙,i It can be used to determine the measurement period for measuring the PSCC in FR1. As shown in the figure, when only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO is configured on the PSCC, UE 104 can set the CSSF of FR1 PSCC to 外_间隙,i Calculated as "1". Therefore, when one of the MOs is configured but not both MOs, the UE 104 may determine that the CSSF is "1". This may provide full allocation of the PSCC searcher to one MO.

[0062] When both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NR MO are configured on this PSCC, UE 104 may 外_间隙,i Calculated as "2". This provides half allocation of the PSCC searcher to each MO.

[0063] CSSF of FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i The CSSF can be used to determine the measurement period for measuring the SCC in FR1. The CSSF can support measurements corresponding to the MO configured by the SN gNB 112. As shown in the figure, the UE 104 can use the CSSF of the FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i Calculated as the sum of the number of configured FR1 SCells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC. This may include all MOs configured for the NR SCC, regardless of whether they are configured by the SN gNB 112 or the MN eNB 108. Thus, the CSSF for the FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i Allocation of an SCC searcher to be shared among MOs targeting the SCC as configured by both the SN gNB 112 and the MN eNB may be provided.

[0064] CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i It can be used to determine the measurement period for measuring the SCC corresponding to the MO configured by the MN eNB 108. As shown in the figure, the UE 104 can use the CSSF of the inter-RAT NR measurement on the SCC 外_间隙,i Calculated as the sum of the number of configured FR1 SCells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC. 外_间隙,i Equal to CSSF of FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i, and may include all MOs configured for the NR SCC, regardless of whether they are configured by the SN gNB 112 or the MN eNB 108. Thus, the CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC 外_间隙,i Allocation of an SCC searcher to be shared among MOs targeting the SCC as configured by both the SN gNB 112 and the MN eNB may be provided.

[0065] Figure 4 Table 400 is shown describing another scenario of CSSF calculation according to some embodiments. In this embodiment, CSSF calculation can support EN-DC with FR2-only intra-band CA scenario. In this scenario, all NR component carriers (e.g., PSCC and SCC) can be in the same frequency band in FR2. Therefore, Table 400 shows the CSSF for FR2 PSCC. 外_间隙,i CSSF of FR2 SCC where no neighbor cell measurement is required 外_间隙,i CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i FR1 CSSF is not applicable. In addition, the FR2 SCC CSSF that requires neighboring cell measurements is not applicable. 外_间隙,i Not applicable because in this scenario, the PSCell is in the same FR2 band as the SCell and therefore, the full capability SCC is not relevant. The full capability SCC is discussed below in conjunction with table 500 .

[0066] CSSF of FR2 PSCC 外_间隙,i It can be used to determine the measurement period for measuring the PSCC in FR2. As shown in the figure, when only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO is configured on the PSCC, UE 104 can use the CSSF of FR2 PSCC to measure the PSCC in FR2. 外_间隙,i Calculated as "1". Therefore, when one of the MOs is configured but not both MOs, the UE 104 may determine that the CSSF is "1". This may provide full allocation of the PSCC searcher to one MO.

[0067] When both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NR MO are configured on this PSCC, UE 104 may 外_间隙,i Calculated as "2". This provides half allocation of the PSCC searcher to each MO.

[0068] CSSF of FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are not required 外_间隙,iThe CSSF may be used to determine the measurement period for measuring the NRSCC in FR2. The CSSF may support measurements corresponding to the MO configured by the SN gNB 112. As shown in the figure, the UE 104 may include the CSSF of the FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are not required. 外_间隙,i Calculated as the sum of the number of configured FR2 SCells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC. This may include all MOs configured for NR SCCs to be in FR2, regardless of whether they are configured by the SN gNB 112 or the MN eNB 108. Thus, the CSSF for FR2 SCCs where neighbor cell measurements are not required is 外_间隙,i Allocation of an SCC searcher to be shared among MOs targeting the SCC as configured by both the SN gNB 112 and the MN eNB may be provided.

[0069] CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i It can be used to determine the measurement period for measuring the SCC corresponding to the MO configured by the MN eNB 108. As shown in the figure, the UE 104 can use the CSSF of the inter-RAT NR measurement on the SCC 外_间隙,i Calculated as the sum of the number of configured FR2 SCells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC. 外_间隙,i May be equal to the CSSF for FR2 where no neighbor cell measurements are required 外_间隙,i , and may include all MOs configured for the NR SCC, regardless of whether they are configured by the SN gNB 112 or the MN eNB 108. Thus, the CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC 外_间隙,i Allocation of an SCC searcher to be shared among MOs targeting the SCC as configured by both the SN gNB 112 and the MN eNB may be provided.

[0070] Figure 5 Table 500 is shown describing another scenario of CSSF calculation according to some embodiments. In this embodiment, CSSF calculation can support EN-DC with FR1 plus FR2 CA scenario. In this scenario, NR PSCell can be in FR1 and NR SCell can be in FR1 or FR2. Therefore, Table 400 shows the CSSF for FR1 PSCC. 外_间隙,i , CSSF of FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i , CSSF of FR2 SCC where neighboring cell measurements are required 外_间隙,i CSSF of FR2 SCC where no neighbor cell measurement is required 外_间隙,iCSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i The CSSF of FR2 PSCC is not applicable.

[0071] The CSSF for the FR1 PSCC is used and determined in a manner similar to that discussed above in conjunction with Table 300. 外_间隙,i .

[0072] The second measurement priority of this scenario can be used with the CSSF of the FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are required. 外_间隙,i Related. In FR2, an SCC where neighbor cell measurements are required may be referred to as a full-capability SCC. A full-capability SCC may be one of the SCCs on which the UE 104 can be configured to report SSB-based measurements when neither the PCC nor the PSCC is in the same frequency band. If neighbor cell measurements are performed on a full-capability SCC, additional measurements in the same frequency band as the full-capability SCC may not be required. Therefore, a full-capability SCC may be prioritized over other SCCs. In some embodiments, 50% of the SCC searchers may be dedicated to full-capability SCCs.

[0073] When only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO is configured on an SCC, the UE 104 may store the CSSF of the FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurement is required. 外_间隙,i =2. Therefore, when one MO is configured on a full-capability SCC, 50% of the SCC searchers may be provided to that MO. When both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NR MO are configured on an SCC, the UE 104 may select the CSSF of the FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are required. 外_间隙,i This is calculated as “4.” Therefore, when two MOs are configured on a full-capacity SCC, 25% of the SCC searchers can be provided to each MO.

[0074] The remaining SCCs may have the third measurement priority in this scenario and may share the second half of the SCC searcher's capacity. The CSSFs corresponding to these SCCs include the CSSF of the FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i , CSSF of FR2SCC where no neighbor cell measurement is required 外_间隙,i CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i .

[0075] If the CSSF of the FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are required 外_间隙,i =2, then UE 104 can set the CSSF of FR1 SCC 外_间隙,iCalculated as 2×(number of configured SCells + number of inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC - 1). The value given by the expression (number of configured SCells + number of inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC) may include the total number of MOs configured for NR SCCs. This may include MOs configured for full-capability SCCs. When the CSSF of a FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are required 外_间隙,i = 2, there is one MO configured for the full-capability SCC. Because the full-capability SCC is handled separately, when determining the CSSF of the FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i The expression (number of configured SCells + number of inter-RAT NR measurements on an SCC - 1) is multiplied by 2 because 50% of the SCC searchers are shared among non-full capability SCCs.

[0076] If the CSSF of the FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are required 外_间隙,i =4, then UE 104 can set the CSSF of FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i Calculated as 2×(number of configured SCells + number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC - 2). 外_间隙,i = 4, there are two MOs configured for full-capability SCCs, so when determining the CSSF of the FR1 SCC 外_间隙,i , these two MOs can be subtracted from the total number of configured MOs.

[0077] CSSF of FR2 SCC where neighbor cell measurements are not required 外_间隙,i CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i The CSSF of the FR1 SCC can be calculated in this scenario as described above 外_间隙,i Calculate in the same way.

[0078] Figure 6 Table 600 is shown describing another scenario of CSSF calculation according to some embodiments. In this embodiment, CSSF calculation can support EN-DC with FR1 plus FR2 CA scenario. In this scenario, NR PSCell can be in FR2, and NR SCell can be in FR1 or FR2. Therefore, Table 600 shows the CSSF for FR1 SCC. 外_间隙,i 、CSSF of FR1 PSCC 外_间隙,i CSSF of FR2 SCC where no neighbor cell measurement is required 外_间隙,i CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,iThe CSSF of FR1 PSCC is not applicable, where the CSSF of FR2 SCC measured by neighboring cells is required. 外_间隙,i Also not applicable (because PSCell is in FR2).

[0079] CSSF of FR2 PSCC 外_间隙,i It can be calculated as shown in Table 400 above. Specifically, when only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO is configured on the PSCC, the CSSF of the FR2 PSCC is 外_间隙,i It can be "1"; and when both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NR MO are configured on the PSCC, it can be "2". In this way, the resources of the PSCC searcher can be divided between one or two MOs on the PSCC.

[0080] The resources of the SCC searcher may be divided among the MOs on the NR SCC, which may be configured by the MN eNB 108 or SN gNB 112 in FR1 or FR2.

[0081] UE 104 can calculate the CSSF of FR1 SCC in the same way 外_间隙,i CSSF of FR2 SCC where no neighbor cell measurement is required 外_间隙,i CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on SCC 外_间隙,i Specifically, each of these CSSFs may be set equal to the sum of the number of configured SCells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC. The number of configured SCells in this scenario may include all MOs configured by the SN gNB 112 for the NR SCC, whether in FR1 or FR2. The number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the SCC may support the MOs configured by the MN eNB 108 for the NR SCC, which may also be in FR1 or FR2.

[0082] Figure 7 An operational flow / algorithm structure 700 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104 or UE 1000) or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 1004A).

[0083] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may include establishing an EN-DC connection with the network at 704. The EN-DC connection may be established by connecting with the MN eNB and the SN gNB, as described above in conjunction with the network environment 100.

[0084] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include, at 708, receiving one or more MOs from the base station. The MO may configure measurements in an NR cell provided by the SN gNB, including, for example, an NR PSCell and one or more NR SCells. The NR cell may operate in FR1 or FR2. The MO may include an inter-RAT MO provided by the MN eNB to the UE 104 and an intra-RAT MO provided by the SN gNB to the UE 104. The intra-RAT MO may include an inter-frequency MO and an intra-frequency MO.

[0085] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may further include determining a count value based on the MO at 712. The count value may be determined based on the number of MOs configured for the PSCC and SCC, as described above in conjunction with the scenarios and CSSF described in Tables 300 to 600.

[0086] Operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include, at 716, determining a CSSF based on the count value. As described herein, a CSSF may be determined for a PSCC, and another CSSF may be determined for an SCC. For example, in some embodiments, a separate CSSF may be determined for measurements based on the SCC MO configured by the mobile node and the mobile node, or measurements of FR1 and FR2 SCCs. Additionally, in some cases, when, for example, a full-capability SCC is configured, a separate CSSF may be determined for the FR2 SCC.

[0087] The operational flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include performing measurements at 720. The measurements may be performed outside of measurement gaps, as configured by the MO received at 708. The measurements may be performed within a measurement period determined by the CSSF at 716. In some embodiments, the measurements may be performed by two searchers of the UE, one dedicated to the PSCC and one shared between the SCCs. When additional measurements need to be performed, the CSSF determined at 716 may facilitate allocation of searcher resources by providing a longer measurement period.

[0088] When calculating the CSSF of Tables 300 to 600, inter-RAT MOs and intra-frequency MOs on the same serving carrier are counted independently without reference to the MO merging rules. In other embodiments, for example, as described in conjunction with the second option above, whether these MOs are to be counted independently may be based on whether the MO merging rules are met.

[0089] For example, in some EN DC implementations, the CSSF scaling factor outside the measurement gap may independently count inter-RAT MOs configured from the LTE PCell (e.g., by the MN eNB 108) and intra-frequency MOs configured from the NR PSCell, provided that they are on different frequency layers; or they are on the same frequency layer but do not meet the MO merging criteria.

[0090] To accommodate these implementations, the fields of Tables 300 to 600 may include additional conditions: when one intra-frequency MO configured from the NR PSCell and one inter-RAT MO configured from the LTE PCell are on the same frequency layer and they meet the MO merging criteria, they are counted only once for CSSF calculation / accumulation; otherwise, if they are not on different layers or they cannot meet the MO merging criteria, they are counted as two for CSSF calculation / accumulation.

[0091] For example, consider the scenario of Table 300. If MN eNB 108 provides inter-RAT MO for FR1 PSCC to UE 104 and SNgNB 112 provides intra-frequency MO for FR1 PSCC to UE 104, UE 104 may determine whether to use the CSSF for FR1 PSCC as follows: 外_间隙,i Calculated as "1" or "2". UE 104 can determine that the two MOs will be counted as one unless they have different RSSI measurement resources, different deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications, or different SMTC configurations. If any of these parameters are different, the MO may be considered to not meet the MO merging criteria and may be counted as two.

[0092] In some embodiments, even if two MOs do not meet the MO merging criteria, they may still be merged if additional criteria are met.

[0093] For example, the CSSF scaling factor outside the measurement gap may independently count inter-RAT MOs configured from the LTE PCell (e.g., by the MN eNB 108) and intra-frequency MOs configured from the NR PSCell (e.g., by the SN gNB 112), provided that any of the following conditions are met: they are on different frequency layers; or they are on the same frequency layer but they do not meet the MO merging criteria, with the following exceptions: if the SMTC configured from the LTE PCell does not overlap at all with the SMTC configured from the NR PSCell on the same frequency layer (and the deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications from the two MOs are the same and the RSSI measurement resources are the same or do not overlap at all (e.g., TDMed as discussed below)), then for the CSSF, the two MOs may be counted once; and if the RSSI measurement resources from the LTE MN are TDMed at the symbol level with the RSSI measurement resources from the NR SN (and the deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications from the two MOs are the same and the SMTC configurations are the same or do not overlap at all), then for the CSSF, the two MOs may be counted once.

[0094] Figure 8 An operational flow / algorithm structure 800 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as, for example, UE 104 or UE 1000) or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 1004A).

[0095] The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may include, at 804, receiving MOs from the MN eNB and the SN gNB. The MOs may configure measurements on one or more cells provided by the SN gNB. The MOs may include inter-RAT MOs from the MN eNB or intra-RAT MOs from the SN gNB.

[0096] The operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may also include determining whether the MOs are on the same frequency layer at 808. For example, the UE may determine whether more than one MO targets the same component carrier, which may be a PSCC or SCC provided by the SN gNB.

[0097] If it is determined at 808 that the two MOs do not target the same frequency layer, the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to 816 : For CSSF calculation, count the two MOs as two.

[0098] After 816, the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to: performing measurements based on CSSF and MO. Figure 7 The measurements may be performed as described in operation 720 or elsewhere herein.

[0099] If it is determined at 808 that the two MOs target the same frequency layer, the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to 812 to determine whether the merging criteria are met. Determining whether the merging criteria are met may include comparing specified parameters from the first MO with specified parameters of the second MO. The specified parameters may include RSSI measurement resources, a derivedSSB-IndexFromCell indication, and an SMTC configuration.

[0100] If one or more of the specified parameters from the two MOs differ, the merge criteria cannot be met, and the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to 814 to determine whether additional criteria are met. As indicated by the dashed line, in some embodiments, the optional additional criteria determination may include a closer examination of the differing parameters that resulted in the merge criteria not being met.

[0101] For example, consider a scenario where the merging criteria are not met because the first MO includes a first SMTC that is different from the second SMTC of the second MO. If these SMTCs do not overlap at all, then it may not be necessary to count these MOs independently for CSSF determination. For example, consider a scenario where each SMTC is 14 ms and they are offset by 20 ms. The UE can perform measurements in a TDM manner without having to share frequency or baseband resources. While the two measurements may take some additional time, for example 20 ms, the measurement period does not need to be doubled.

[0102] As another example, if the merging criteria are not met because the RSSI measurement resources are different between two MOs, the two MOs may still be combined for CSSF purposes if the RSSI measurement resources indicated by the first MO are TDMed at the symbol level with the RSSI measurement resources indicated by the second MO. In a manner similar to the different SMTC configurations discussed above, the measurement period may not need to be scaled by two to accommodate the measurement of the two MOs in this case.

[0103] Thus, if any of these additional criteria are deemed satisfied at 814 , the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to 820 : For CSSF calculations, count MO to one.

[0104] If it is determined at 814 that these additional criteria are not met, then the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to 816 : For CSSF calculations, count MO to two.

[0105] In some embodiments, the merging criteria discussed at 812 may be considered first-stage merging criteria, while the additional criteria discussed at 814 may be considered second-stage merging criteria.

[0106] In the event that there are no additional (or second stage merge) criteria and it is determined at 812 that the merge criteria are not met, the operational flow / algorithm function 800 may proceed to 816 : for CSSF calculations, count both MOs as two.

[0107] At 812 , if all specified parameters from both MOs are the same, then the merge criteria may be met and the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to 820 : For CSSF calculations, count the MO as one.

[0108] After 820 , the operational flow / algorithm structure 800 may proceed to 824 : performing measurements based on the CSSF and the MO.

[0109] In the third option, as briefly described above, the CSSF design can be simplified by configuration on the network side. For example, in EN DC, the network can communicate between the LTE PCell (e.g., MN eNB 108) and the NR PSCell (e.g., SN gNB 112) to avoid MO configuration on the same frequency layer. In this case, to calculate the CSSF scaling factor outside of the measurement gap, the UE 104 can always count the inter-RAT MO configured from the LTE PCell and the intra-frequency MO configured from the NR PSCell independently. If both MOs are received on the same frequency layer, the UE 104 can consider this an error condition.

[0110] In some embodiments, the network may communicate between the LTE PCell and the NR PSCell to ensure that the LTE PCell will not configure inter-RAT NR measurements. In these embodiments, only the NR PSCell may configure NR measurements, for example, by providing intra-frequency NR MO. The UE may then determine the CSSF scaling factor outside of the measurement gap by counting only the intra-frequency NR MO configured from the NR PSCell.

[0111] In some implementations, the network may communicate between the LTE PCell and the NR PSCell to ensure that the LTE PCell will configure inter-RAT NR measurements. In these implementations, the NR PSCell will not configure intra-frequency NR measurements. The UE can then determine the CSSF scaling factor outside of the measurement gap by counting only the inter-RAT NR MOs configured from the LTE PCell.

[0112] Figure 9 An operational flow / algorithm structure 900 according to some embodiments is shown. The operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may be performed or implemented by a first base station such as, for example, MN eNB 108, SN gNB 112, or base station 1100, or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 1104A.

[0113] Operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may include, at 904, receiving a MO configuration from a second base station or transmitting the MO configuration to the second base station. The MO configuration may be transmitted from the MN to the SN or from the SN to the MN via an X2 interface. The MO configuration may limit the provision of multiple MOs to the UE for a frequency layer of the NR cell. For example, the MO configuration may prevent the network from transmitting both an inter-RAT MO from the MN eNB and an intra-frequency MO from the SN gNB targeting the same frequency layer.

[0114] In some embodiments, MO configuration may limit the provisioning of multiple MOs to either: one MO; or two MOs that meet the merging criteria. For example, MO configuration may allow the network to configure two MOs only if the two MOs meet the merging criteria and therefore can be counted as one for CSSF calculations.

[0115] The operational flow / algorithm structure 900 may further include providing an MO to the UE at 908. In an embodiment where the first base station is an MNeNB, the MO provided to the UE may be an inter-RAT MO for the NR frequency layer. In an embodiment where the first base station is an SNgNB, the MO provided to the UE may be an intra-frequency MO for the NR frequency layer.

[0116] Figure 10 UE 1000 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 1000 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 104 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0117] UE 1000 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., a microphone, a carbon dioxide sensor, a pressure sensor, a humidity sensor, a thermometer, a motion sensor, an accelerometer, a laser scanner, a fluid level sensor, an inventory sensor, a voltage / current meter, an actuator, etc.), a video monitoring / surveillance device (e.g., a camera, a camcorder, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or a loose IoT device.

[0118] UE 1000 may include a processor 1004, RF interface circuitry 1008, memory / storage 1012, a user interface 1016, sensors 1020, driver circuitry 1022, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 1024, antenna structures 1026, and a battery 1028. The components of UE 1000 may be implemented as integrated circuits (ICs), portions of integrated circuits, discrete electronic devices or other modules, logical components, hardware, software, firmware, or combinations thereof. Figure 10 The block diagram is intended to show a high-level view of certain of the components of the UE 1000. However, some of the components shown may be omitted, additional components may be present, and different arrangements of the components shown may occur in other implementations.

[0119] Components of UE 1000 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1032, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., that allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0120] The processor 1004 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 1004A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 1004B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 1004C. The processor 1004 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program code, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 1012) to cause the UE 1000 to perform operations as described herein.

[0121] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 1004A can access the communication protocol stack 1036 in the memory / storage device 1012 to communicate over a 3GPP-compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 1004A can access the communication protocol stack to perform user plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, SDAP layer, and PDU layer; and control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some embodiments, PHY layer operations can additionally / alternatively be performed by components of the RF interface circuit 1008.

[0122] The baseband processor circuit 1004A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compliant network. In some embodiments, the waveforms used for NR may be based on cyclic prefix OFDM ("CP-OFDM") in the uplink or downlink, and discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM ("DFT-S-OFDM") in the uplink.

[0123] The memory / storage 1012 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media containing instructions (e.g., the communication protocol stack 1036) that are executable by one or more processors in the processor 1004 to cause the UE 1000 to perform the various operations described herein. The memory / storage 1012 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that may be distributed throughout the UE 1000. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage 1012 may be located on the processor 1004 itself (e.g., an L1 cache and an L2 cache), while other memory / storage 1012 may be external to the processor 1004 but accessible via a memory interface. The memory / storage 1012 may include any suitable volatile or non-volatile memory, such as, but not limited to, dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, solid-state memory, or any other type of memory device technology.

[0124] The RF interface circuit 1008 may include transceiver circuitry and a radio frequency front-end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 1000 to communicate with other devices via a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 1008 may include various components arranged in a transmit path or a receive path. These components may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0125] In the receive path, the RFEM receives the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 1026 and further filters and amplifies the signal (using a low-noise amplifier). The signal can be provided to the transceiver's receiver, which down-converts the RF signal to a baseband signal that is provided to the baseband processor of the processor 1004.

[0126] In the transmit path, the transmitter of the transceiver up-converts the baseband signal received from the baseband processor and provides an RF signal to the RFEM. The RFEM may amplify the RF signal through a power amplifier before the signal is radiated across the air interface via the antenna 1026.

[0127] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 1008 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0128] Antenna 1026 may include antenna elements to convert electrical signals into radio waves to travel through the air and convert received radio waves into electrical signals. These antenna elements may be arranged into one or more antenna panels. Antenna 1026 may have antenna panels that are omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to enable beamforming and multiple-input / multiple-output communications. Antenna 1026 may include microstrip antennas, printed antennas fabricated on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, patch antennas, phased array antennas, and the like. Antenna 1026 may have one or more panels designed for a specific frequency band, including a band in FR1 or FR2.

[0129] User interface circuitry 1016 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with UE 1000. User interface 1016 includes input device circuitry and output device circuitry. Input device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for accepting input, including, in particular, one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., a reset button), a physical keyboard, a keypad, a mouse, a trackpad, a touch screen, a microphone, a scanner, a headset, etc. Output device circuitry includes any physical or virtual means for displaying or otherwise communicating information, such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information. Output device circuitry may include any number or combination of audio or visual displays, including, in particular, one or more simple visual outputs / indicators (e.g., binary state indicators (such as light emitting diodes "LEDs") and multi-character visual outputs), or more complex outputs, such as a display device or touch screen (e.g., a liquid crystal display "LCD," an LED display, a quantum dot display, a projector, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc., is generated or produced by the operation of UE 1100.

[0130] Sensors 1020 may include devices, modules, or subsystems whose purpose is to detect events or changes in their environment and to send information about the detected events (sensor data) to some other device, module, subsystem, etc. Examples of such sensors include, among others: an inertial measurement unit including an accelerometer, gyroscope, or magnetometer; a microelectromechanical system or nanoelectromechanical system including a three-axis accelerometer, three-axis gyroscope, or magnetometer; a fluid level sensor; a flow sensor; a temperature sensor (e.g., a thermistor); a pressure sensor; a barometric pressure sensor; a gravity meter; an altimeter; an image capture device (e.g., a camera or a lensless aperture); a light detection and ranging sensor; a proximity sensor (e.g., an infrared radiation detector, etc.); a depth sensor; an ambient light sensor; an ultrasonic transceiver; a microphone or other similar audio capture device; etc.

[0131] The driver circuit 1022 may include software and hardware components for controlling specific devices embedded in, attached to, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 1000. The driver circuit 1022 may include various drivers to allow other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in or connected to the UE 1000. For example, the driver circuit 1022 may include a display driver for controlling and allowing access to a display device, a touch screen driver for controlling and allowing access to a touch screen interface, a sensor driver for obtaining sensor readings from the sensor circuit 1020 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 1020, a driver for obtaining actuator positions of electromechanical components or controlling and allowing access to electromechanical components, a camera driver for controlling and allowing access to an embedded image capture device, and an audio driver for controlling and allowing access to one or more audio devices.

[0132] The PMIC 1024 may manage power provided to various components of the UE 1000. Specifically, with respect to the processor 1004, the PMIC 1024 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0133] In some embodiments, the PMIC 1024 may control or otherwise be part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 1000 , including DRX, as discussed herein.

[0134] The battery 1028 can power the UE 1000, but in some examples, the UE 1000 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 1028 can be a lithium-ion battery, a metal-air battery such as a zinc-air battery, an aluminum-air battery, a lithium-air battery, etc. In some implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 1028 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0135] Figure 11 FIGURE 1 shows a gNB 1100 according to some embodiments. The gNB node 1100 may be similar to Figure 1 base station 108 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0136] gNB 1100 may include a processor 1104, RF interface circuitry 1108, core network “CN” interface circuitry 1112, memory / storage device circuitry 1116, and antenna structures 1126.

[0137] Components of gNB 1100 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 1128.

[0138] The processor 1104, RF interface circuit 1108, memory / storage circuit 1116 (including communication protocol stack 1110), antenna structure 1126 and interconnect 1128 may be similar to those of reference Figure 10 Like-named elements are shown and described.

[0139] The CN interface circuitry 1112 can provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., a 5th Generation Core Network (5GC) using a 5GC-compatible network interface protocol (such as the Carrier Ethernet protocol) or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity can be provided to and from the gNB 1100 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 1112 can include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN controller circuitry 1112 can include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0140] In some embodiments, gNB 1100 may couple to a TRP such as TRP 112 or 116 using antenna structure 1126, CN interface circuitry, or other interface circuitry.

[0141] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0142] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components shown in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, or methods described in the Examples section below. For example, the baseband circuitry described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. For another example, circuitry associated with the UE, base station, network element, etc. described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples shown in the Examples section below.

[0143] Example

[0144] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0145] Embodiment 1 may include a method of operating a UE, the method comprising: establishing a dual-connectivity communication session with a master node (MN) evolved Node B (eNB) and a secondary node (SN) gNB; receiving one or more measurement objects (MOs) from the MN eNB or the SN gNB to configure measurements outside of a measurement gap in a primary and secondary cell component carrier (PSCC) provided by the SN gNB, wherein the one or more MOs include inter-radio access technology (RAT) New Radio (NR) management objects (MOs) or intra-frequency NR MOs; determining a count value equal to one or two based on the one or more MOs; and determining a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) of the PSCC based on the count value.

[0146] Embodiment 2 may include the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising scaling a measurement period of the measurement outside the measurement gap based on the CSSF.

[0147] Embodiment 3 may include the method of embodiment 1 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the PSCC is in frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2).

[0148] Embodiment 4 may include a method according to embodiment 3 or some other embodiments herein, wherein determining the count value includes: determining that the count value is equal to one when only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO is configured on the PSCC; and determining that the count value is equal to two when both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NR MO are configured on the PSCC.

[0149] Embodiment 5 may include a method according to embodiment 4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the method further comprises: performing the measurement in the PSCC using a first searcher based on the CSSF of the PSCC; and performing the measurement in the one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) using a second searcher based on the CSSF of the SCC.

[0150] Embodiment 6 may include a method according to embodiment 4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the method further comprises determining a CSSF for one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) equal to the number of configured secondary cells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the one or more SCCs.

[0151] Embodiment 7 may include a method according to embodiment 4 or some other embodiments herein, further comprising determining a CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) equal to the number of configured secondary cells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the one or more SCCs.

[0152] Embodiment 8 may include a method according to embodiment 4 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the method further comprises: if the FR2 SCC is configured with only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO, determining that the CSSF of the FR2 SCC in which neighbor cell measurement is required is equal to two, and if the FR2 SCC is configured with both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NRMO, determining that the CSSF is equal to four.

[0153] Embodiment 9 may include a method according to embodiment 8 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the method further comprises: if the CSSF of the FR 2 SCC in which neighbor cell measurement is required is two, determining the CSSF of the FR1 SCC to be equal to: 2×(the number of configured secondary cells + the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on all SCCs - 1); or if the CSSF of the FR 2 SCC in which neighbor cell measurement is required is four, determining the CSSF to be equal to: 2×(the number of configured secondary cells + the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on all SCCs - 2).

[0154] Embodiment 10 may include a method according to embodiment 3 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the dual connectivity communication session comprises Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) with: FR1 carrier aggregation (CA) only; FR2 intra-band CA only; FR1 and FR2 CA wherein the PSCC is in FR1; or FR1 and FR2 CA wherein the PSCC is in FR2.

[0155] Embodiment 11 includes a method of operating a UE, the method comprising: storing a merging criterion; receiving a first measurement object (MO) from a master node (MN) evolved node B (eNB) to configure measurements on a primary and secondary component carrier (PSCC); receiving a second MO from a secondary node (SN) gNB to configure measurements on the PSCC; calculating a carrier specific scaling factor (CSSF) of the PSCC based on whether the first MO and the second MO meet the merging criterion; and performing one or more measurements on the PSCC based on the CSSF.

[0156] Embodiment 12 may include the method according to embodiment 11 or some other embodiments of the present invention, further including: determining that the first MO and the second MO identify common RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication and SMTC configuration; determining that the first MO and the second MO meet the merging criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify common RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication and SMTC configuration; and calculating the CSSF of the PSCC as one based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO meet the merging criteria.

[0157] Embodiment 13 may include the method according to embodiment 11 or some other embodiments of the present invention, further including: determining that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications or SMTC configurations; determining that the first MO and the second MO do not meet the merging criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications or SMTC configurations; and calculating the CSSF of the PSCC as two based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO do not meet the merging criteria.

[0158] Embodiment 14 may include the method according to embodiment 13 or some other embodiments of the present invention, further including: determining that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications or SMTC configurations; determining that the first MO and the second MO do not meet the merging criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications or SMTC configurations; determining whether the first MO and the second MO meet additional criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO do not meet the merging criteria; and calculating the CSSF based on the determination of whether the first MO and the second MO meet the additional criteria.

[0159] Embodiment 15 may include a method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the first MO includes a first SMTC configuration, the second MO includes a second SMTC configuration different from the first SMTC configuration, and the method further includes: determining that the first MO in the second MO meets the additional criterion based on a determination that the first SMTC configuration and the second SMTC configuration do not overlap at all; and calculating the CSSF of the PSCC as one based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO meet the additional criterion.

[0160] Embodiment 16 may include a method according to embodiment 15 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the first MO and the second MO include the same deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication.

[0161] Embodiment 17 may include a method according to embodiment 14 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the first MO indicates a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement resource, the second MO indicates a second RSSI measurement resource different from the first RSSI measurement resource, and the method further comprises: determining, based on a determination that the first RSSI measurement resource is time division multiplexed (TDMed) with the second RSSI measurement resource at a symbol level, that the first MO and the second MO meet the additional criterion; and calculating the CSSF of the PSCC as one based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO meet the additional criterion.

[0162] Embodiment 18 may include a method according to embodiment 17 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the first MO and the second MO include the same deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication and SMTC configuration.

[0163] Embodiment 19 may include a method for operating a first base station, the method comprising: receiving a measurement object configuration from a second base station or transmitting the measurement object configuration to the second base station, wherein the first base station and the second base station provide an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) connection to a user equipment (UE), and the measurement object configuration is used to limit the provision of multiple measurement objects (MO) to the UE for one frequency layer of a New Radio (NR) cell or to limit the provision of the multiple MOs to the UE; and providing the MO to the UE to configure the UE to perform measurements outside the measurement gap on the frequency layer.

[0164] Embodiment 20 may include a method according to embodiment 19 or some other embodiments herein, wherein: the first base station is a master node (MN) eNB, the second base station is a secondary node (SN) gNB, the measurement object is configured to prevent intra-frequency NR MO from being provided from the SN gNB, and the MO is inter-RAT NR MO.

[0165] Embodiment 21 may include a method according to embodiment 19 or some other embodiments herein, wherein: the first base station is a secondary node (SN) gNB, the second base station is a master node (MN) eNB, the measurement object is configured to prevent inter-radio access technology (RAT) NR MO from being provided from the MN eNB, and the MO is intra-frequency NR MO.

[0166] Embodiment 22 may include the method of claim 19 or some other embodiments herein, wherein the measurement object configuration is used to limit the provision of multiple MOs to the UE for the one frequency layer to one MO or two MOs that meet a merging criterion.

[0167] Example 23 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Examples 1 to 22, or any other method or process described herein.

[0168] Embodiment 24 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 22 or any other method or process described herein.

[0169] Embodiment 25 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1-22, or any other method or process described herein.

[0170] Example 26 may include the methods, techniques, or processes described in or related to any one of Examples 1 to 22, or parts or components thereof.

[0171] Example 27 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or portion thereof, as described in or related to any one of Examples 1 to 22.

[0172] Embodiment 28 may include a signal as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 22, or a portion or component thereof.

[0173] Embodiment 29 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 22, or a part or component thereof, or otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0174] Embodiment 30 may include a signal encoded with data as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 22, or a portion or component thereof, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0175] Embodiment 31 may include a signal encoding a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described in or associated with any of Embodiments 1 to 22, or a portion or component thereof, or as otherwise described in this disclosure.

[0176] Embodiment 32 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein the computer-readable instructions are executed by one or more processors to cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 22, or a portion thereof.

[0177] Embodiment 33 may include a computer program comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform a method, technique, or process described in or related to any one of embodiments 1 to 22, or a portion thereof.

[0178] Embodiment 34 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0179] Embodiment 35 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0180] Embodiment 36 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0181] Embodiment 37 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0182] Unless expressly stated otherwise, any of the above examples may be combined with any other example (or combination of examples). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of the various embodiments.

[0183] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising: A memory, the memory being used to store the merging criteria; and A processing circuit, the processing circuit is coupled to the memory, and the processing circuit is used to: receiving a first measurement object (MO) from a master node (MN) evolved Node B (eNB) to configure measurements on a primary and secondary component carrier (PSCC); receiving a second MO from a secondary node (SN) gNB to configure measurements on the PSCC; calculating a carrier specific scaling factor (CSSF) of the PSCC based on whether the first MO and the second MO satisfy the merging criterion; and One or more measurements on the PSCC are performed based on the CSSF.

2. The UE according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: Determine that the first MO and the second MO identify a common RSSI measurement resource, a deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication, and an SMTC configuration; determining that the first MO and the second MO satisfy the merging criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify a common RSSI measurement resource, a deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication, and an SMTC configuration; and Based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO satisfy the merging criterion, the CSSF of the PSCC is calculated as one.

3. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications, or SMTC configurations; determining that the first MO and the second MO do not meet the merging criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications, or SMTC configurations; and Based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO do not satisfy the merging criterion, the CSSF of the PSCC is calculated as two.

4. The user equipment of claim 3, wherein the processing circuit is further configured to: Determining that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications, or SMTC configurations; determining, based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications, or SMTC configurations, that the first MO and the second MO do not meet the merging criteria; based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO do not satisfy the merged criterion, determining whether the first MO and the second MO satisfy an additional criterion; and The CSSF is calculated based on the determination of whether the first MO and the second MO satisfy the additional criterion.

5. The user equipment of claim 4, wherein the first MO comprises a first SMTC configuration, the second MO comprises a second SMTC configuration different from the first SMTC configuration, and the processing circuit is further configured to: Based on a determination that the first SMTC configuration and the second SMTC configuration do not overlap at all, determining that the first MO in the second MO satisfies the additional criterion; and Based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO satisfy the additional criterion, the CSSF of the PSCC is calculated as one.

6. The user equipment of claim 5, wherein the first MO and the second MO include the same deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication.

7. The user equipment of claim 4, wherein the first MO indicates a first received signal strength indication (RSSI) measurement resource, the second MO indicates a second RSSI measurement resource different from the first RSSI measurement resource, and the processing circuit is further configured to: determining that the first MO and the second MO meet the additional criterion based on a determination that the first RSSI measurement resource is time division multiplexed (TDMed) with the second RSSI measurement resource at a symbol level; and Based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO satisfy the additional criterion, the CSSF of the PSCC is calculated as one.

8. The UE according to claim 7, wherein the first MO and the second MO include the same deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication and SMTC configuration.

9. One or more computer-readable media having instructions that, when executed by one or more processors, cause a user equipment (UE) to: Establishing a dual-connectivity communication session with the master node (MN) evolved Node B (eNB) and the secondary node (SN) gNB; receiving one or more measurement objects (MOs) from the MN eNB or the SN gNB to configure measurements outside of a measurement gap in a primary and secondary cell component carrier (PSCC) provided by the SN gNB, wherein the one or more MOs include inter-radio access technology (RAT) New Radio (NR) management objects (MOs) or intra-frequency NR MOs; determining a count value equal to one or two based on the one or more MOs; and A carrier specific scaling factor (CSSF) of the PSCC is determined based on the count value.

10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the instructions further cause the UE to: scale a measurement period of the measurements outside of the measurement gaps based on the CSSF.

11. The one or more computer-readable media of any one of claims 9 to 10, wherein the PSCC is in frequency range 1 (FR1) or frequency range 2 (FR2).

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 11, wherein determining the count value comprises: When only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO is configured on the PSCC, determining that the count value is equal to one; as well as When both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NR MO are configured on the PSCC, the count value is determined to be equal to two.

13. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: performing the measurement in the PSCC using a first searcher based on the CSSF of the PSCC; and Measurements are performed in one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) using a second searcher based on the CSSF of the one or more SCCs.

14. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: The CSSF of one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) is determined to be equal to the number of configured secondary cells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the one or more SCCs.

15. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: The CSSF for inter-RAT NR measurements on one or more secondary component carriers (SCCs) is determined to be equal to the number of configured secondary cells plus the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on the one or more SCCs.

16. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 12, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: If the FR2 SCC is configured with only intra-frequency NR MO or only inter-RAT NR MO, the CSSF of the FR2 SCC in which neighbor cell measurement is required is determined to be equal to two, and if the FR2 SCC is configured with both intra-frequency NR MO and inter-RAT NR MO, the CSSF is determined to be equal to four.

17. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 16, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to: If the CSSF of the FR 2 SCC in which neighbor cell measurement is required is two, the CSSF of the FR1 SCC is determined to be equal to: 2×(the number of configured secondary cells+the number of inter-RAT NR measurements on all SCCs-1); or if the CSSF of the FR 2 SCC in which neighbor cell measurement is required is four, the CSSF is determined to be equal to: 2×(number of configured secondary cells + number of inter-RAT NR measurements on all SCCs - 2).

18. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 9, wherein the dual-connectivity communication session comprises an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Access-New Radio dual connectivity (EN-DC) having: FR1 carrier aggregation (CA) only; FR2 intra-band CA only; FR1 and FR2 CA wherein the PSCC is in FR1; or FR1 and FR2 CA wherein the PSCC is in FR2.

19. A method of operating a first base station, the method comprising: receiving a measurement object configuration from a second base station or transmitting the measurement object configuration to the second base station, wherein the first base station and the second base station provide an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access-New Radio Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) connection to a user equipment (UE), and the measurement object configuration is used to limit provision of a plurality of measurement objects (MOs) to the UE for one frequency layer of a New Radio (NR) cell or to limit provision of the plurality of MOs to the UE; and An MO is provided to the UE to configure the UE to perform measurements outside the measurement gap on the frequency layer.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein: The first base station is a master node (MN) eNB, the second base station is a secondary node (SN) gNB, the measurement object is configured to prevent intra-frequency NR MO from being provided from the SN gNB, and the MO is inter-RAT NR MO.

21. A method according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein: The first base station is a secondary node (SN) gNB, the second base station is a master node (MN) eNB, the measurement object is configured to prevent inter-radio access technology (RAT) NR MO from being provided from the MN eNB, and the MO is intra-frequency NR MO.

22. The method according to any one of claims 19 to 20, wherein the measurement object configuration is used to limit the provision of multiple MOs to the UE for the one frequency layer to one MO or two MOs that meet a merging criterion.

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