Carrier-specific scaling factor enhancement based on measurement gaps

Abstract

The present application relates to devices and components, including apparatus, systems and methods for carrier-specific scaling factor determination based on measurement gaps in a dual connectivity network.

Description

Background Art

[0001] 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 a user equipment from multiple base stations. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0002] Figure 1 A network environment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0003] Figure 2 A measurement process according to some embodiments is shown.

[0004] Figure 3 A measurement object configuration scenario according to some embodiments is shown.

[0005] Figure 4 Another measurement object configuration scenario according to some embodiments is shown.

[0006] Figure 5 An operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0007] Figure 6 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0008] Figure 7 Another operational flow / algorithm structure according to some embodiments is shown.

[0009] Figure 8 User equipment according to some embodiments is shown.

[0010] Fig. 9 A base station according to some embodiments is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0011] The following specific embodiments relate to the accompanying drawings. The same figure numbers may be used to identify the same or similar elements in different drawings. In the following description, for the purpose of illustration and not limitation, specific details, such as specific structures, architectures, interfaces, technologies, etc., are set forth to provide a thorough understanding of various aspects of various embodiments. However, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art who benefit from the present disclosure that various aspects of various embodiments may be practiced in other examples that deviate from these specific details. In some cases, descriptions of well-known devices, circuits, and methods are omitted so that the description of various embodiments will not be obscured by unnecessary details. For the purposes of this document, the phrase "A or B" refers to (A), (B), or (A and B).

[0012] The following is a glossary of terms that may be used in this disclosure.

[0013] 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 a memory (shared, dedicated, or group) configured to provide the described functions, 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 chip (SoC)), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc. In some embodiments, the circuit may execute one or more software or firmware programs to provide at least some of the described functions. The term "circuit" may also refer to a combination of one or more hardware elements and a 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 may be referred to as a specific type of circuit.

[0014] As used herein, the term "processor circuit" refers to, is part of, or includes a circuit capable of sequentially and automatically performing a series of arithmetic or logical operations or recording, storing, or transmitting digital data. The term "processor circuit" 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).

[0015] As used herein, the term "interface circuit" refers to a circuit that enables, is a part of, or includes information exchange between two or more components or devices. The term "interface circuit" may refer to one or more hardware interfaces, such as a bus, an I / O interface, a peripheral component interface, a network interface card, etc.

[0016] As used herein, the term "user equipment" or "UE" refers to a device that has radio communication capabilities and can describe a remote user of network resources in a communication network. In addition, 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. In addition, the term "user equipment" or "UE" may include any type of wireless / wired device or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0017] 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.

[0018] 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 a computer device, a mechanical device, a memory space, a processor / CPU time, a processor / CPU usage, a processor and accelerator load, a hardware time or usage, a power supply, an input / output operation, a port or a network socket, a channel / link allocation, throughput, memory usage, storage, a network, a database and an application, a unit of work, 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 virtualized infrastructure to an application, a device, a system, etc. The term "network resources" or "communication resources" may refer to resources that a computer device / system can access via a communication network. The term "system resources" may refer to any kind of shared entity that provides a service, and may include computing resources or network resources. System resources may be considered as a set of coherent functions, network data objects or services that can be accessed through a server, wherein such system resources reside on a single host or multiple hosts and can be clearly identified.

[0019] 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 to "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 representing a path or medium through which data is transmitted. In addition, as used herein, the term "link" refers to a connection made between two devices for transmitting and receiving information.

[0020] As used herein, the terms "instantiate," "instantiate," and the like refer to the creation of an instance. "Instance" also refers to a specific occurrence of an object, which may occur, for example, during the execution of program code.

[0021] 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.

[0022] As used herein, the term "network element" refers to physical or virtualized equipment or infrastructure for providing 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.

[0023] 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.

[0024] Figure 1 A network environment 100 is shown according to some embodiments. The network environment 100 may include a UE 104 that is 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.

[0025] The network environment 100 may support dual connectivity (DC) operation, where the UE 104 may be configured to utilize radio resources provided by different schedulers located in the eNB 108 and the gNB 112. Assuming that the eNB 108 and the gNB 112 provide different radio access technologies (RATs) to the serving cells, the 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 through an ideal or non-ideal backhaul.

[0026] One of the base stations may be configured as a master node (MN) to provide a control plane connection to the core network 116. The MN may be associated with a group 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 the MCG may also be referred to as a PCell.

[0027] 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 referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG), which includes a SpCell and one or more SCells in a CA deployment. The SpCell of the SCG may also be referred to as a PScell.

[0028] 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 a MN eNB 108, which provides an LTE PCell, and the gNB may be referred to as a SN gNB 112, which provides an NR PSCell.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] The base station may 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 may transfer data between the radio link control (RLC) layer and the medium access control (MAC) layer; transport channels may transfer data between the MAC and PHY layers; and physical channels may transfer information across the air interface. The UE 104 may include two MAC entities to enable communication with the MCG and SCG.

[0032] In some embodiments, the MN eNB 108 and the SN gNB 112 may configure measurement objects (MOs) to the UE 104. The MO may identify the time and frequency locations of the synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs) and channel state information-reference signal (CSI-RS) resources to be measured. In some embodiments, the MO may configure the measurements to enable the UE 104 to identify and measure intra-frequency, inter-frequency, or inter-RAT cells provided by, for example, a neighboring base station 120. The MO may configure the measurements to be performed within measurement gaps, in which the UE 104 suspends its communications with the serving cell to perform the measurements.

[0033] In some embodiments, both base stations may configure NR MOs for UE 104, for example, 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.

[0034] Figure 2 A measuring operation 200 is shown according to some embodiments.

[0035] The measurement operations 200 may include, at 204, the MN eNB 108 providing a PCell configured MO to configure the UE 104 to measure various component carriers. The component carriers configured for measurement may correspond to NR serving cells (e.g., component carriers of a PSCell or SCell supporting SCG) or NR non-serving cells (e.g., component carriers of a serving cell that does not support SCG).

[0036] The measurement operation 200 may also include, at 208, the SN gNB 112 providing a PSCell configured MO to configure the UE 104 to measure various component carriers. These component carriers configured for measurement may also correspond to NR serving cells or NR non-serving cells.

[0037] In some embodiments, MOs from MOs of a PCell configuration and MOs from MOs of a PSCell configuration may target the same frequency layer, which may complicate the calculation of the measurement period. Figure 3 to Figure 4 An example of an MO configuration scenario in which multiple MOs target a common NR frequency layer according to some embodiments is shown.

[0038] For the MO configuration scenario 300, the LTE PCell 304 (provided by the MN eNB 108) operating on frequency layer 1 and the NR PSCell 308 (provided by the SN gNB 112) operating on frequency layer 2 may provide MO for performing measurements on a target NR 312, which may be in frequency layer 3. In particular, the PCell 304 may be configured with an inter-RAT NR MO with measurement gaps (MGs) for the target NR 312 for the UE 104, and the PSCell 308 may be configured with an inter-frequency NR MO with MGs for the target NR 312 for the UE 104.

[0039] For the MO configuration scenario 400, the LTE PCell 404 (provided by the MN eNB 108) operating on frequency layer 1 and the NR PSCell 408 (provided by the SN gNB 112) operating on frequency layer 2 may provide an MO for performing measurements on a target NR 412, which may be in frequency layer 2 in this scenario. In particular, the PCell 404 may be configured with an inter-RAT NR MO with an MG for the target NR 412 for the UE 104, and the PSCell 408 may be configured with an intra-frequency NR MO with an MG for the target NR 412 for the UE 104. In some embodiments, rather than configuring the UE 104 with an intra-frequency NR MO with an MG for the target NR 412, the NR PSCell 408 may be configured with an intra-frequency NR MO that completely overlaps the MG for the UE 104. Therefore, even if the configured MO itself does not require measurement gaps, it may be configured in the MG that may correspond to, for example, another MO.

[0040] Reference again Figure 2 At 212, UE 104 may calculate CSSF for measurements configured by the MO. Various embodiments describe how to calculate CSSF for measurement periods for measurements performed within the MG based on MOs such as those described in various scenarios such as those described in 300 and 400.

[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. within_gap,i It can be the scaling factor for the measurement of measurement object i performed in the measurement gap. As defined in 3GPP TS 38.133 v16.5.0 (2020-09), CSSF within_gap,i Can be applied to measurements configured by the following MOs that may be relevant to embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0042] - Intra-frequency MO without measurement gaps in clause 9.2.5 when all [SSB Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC)] opportunities of the intra-frequency measurement object are overlapped by measurement gaps.

[0043] - Intra-frequency MO with measurement gaps in clause 9.2.6.

[0044] - If the UE supports interFrequencyMeas-NoGap-r16, inter-frequency measurement without measurement gaps in clause 9.3.9 when all SMTC occasions of this inter-frequency measurement object are overlapped by measurement gaps.

[0045] - Inter-frequency measurement objects with measurement gaps in clause 9.3.4.

[0046] - E-UTRA inter-RAT measurement objects in clauses 9.4.2 and 9.4.3.

[0047] …

[0048] - NR inter-RAT measurement objects configured by E-UTRAN PCell (TS 36.133 [v16.7.0 (2020-10-09)] clause 8.17.4).

[0049] TS 38.133, section 9.1.5.2.

[0050] In EN-DC, the MG-based CSSF design may include multiple components that affect the measurement process and the determination of measurement resource allocation by controlling the measurement delay of each MO on the same or different frequency layers. These components include the M corresponding to the number of intra-frequency MOs. intra The value and M corresponding to the number of inter-frequency MO inter Value. CSSF within_gap_i The calculation of may also be based on a measurement gap sharing scheme (measGapSharingScheme) that allocates measurement resources between inter-frequency measurement and intra-frequency measurement.

[0051] For example, TS 38.133 continues to define CSSF as follows within_gap,i :

[0052] If measGapSharingScheme is equal sharing, CSSF within_gap,i =max(ceil(R i ×M tot,i,j )), where j = 0 ... (160 / MGRP) - 1

[0053] If measGapSharingScheme is not equalsharing, and

[0054] - If measurement object i is an intra-frequency measurement object, then CSSF within_gap,i is the maximum value between:

[0055] -M inter,i,j ≠0 in the gap ceil (R i ×K intra ×M intra,i,j ), where j = 0 ... (160 / MGRP) - 1

[0056] -M inter,i,j = 0 in the gap ceil(R i ×M intra,i,j ), where j = 0 ... (160 / MGRP) - 1

[0057] - If measurement object i is an inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurement object, then CSSF within_gap,i is the maximum value between:

[0058] -M intra,i,j ≠0 in the gap ceil (R i ×K inter ×M inter,i,j ), where j = 0 ... (160 / MGRP) - 1

[0059] -M intra,i,j = 0 in the gap ceil(R i ×M inter,i,j ), where j = 0 ... (160 / MGRP) - 1

[0060] Where R i It is the maximum ratio of the number of measurement gaps in which measurement object i is a candidate to be measured to the number of measurement gaps in which measurement object i is a candidate and is not used for [reference signal time difference] RSTD measurement, where the periodicity Tprs>160ms or the periodicity Tprs=160ms but prs-MutingInfo-r9 is configured within any 1280ms period.

[0061] TS 38.133, section 9.1.5.2.1. A measurement gap repetition period (MGRP) may be the periodicity with which the configured measurement gaps are repeated, and may be, for example, 20 milliseconds (ms), 40 ms, 80 ms, or 160 ms.

[0062] In the CSSF based on EN-DC MG, M intra,i,j and M inter,i,j The case where LTE PCell and NR PSCell are configured with MG-based MO on the same frequency layer can be considered, and in this scenario, how to determine the MO within the MG can be considered.intra,i,j and M inter,i,j .

[0063] Various types of MOs may be described to facilitate discussion of embodiments.

[0064] A Type 1 MO may be an MO that configures measurements within a serving carrier. A Type 1 MO may include an intra-frequency NR MO based on an R15 MG configured by an NR PSCell. "MG-based" as used herein may mean that the measurement requires a measurement gap. As used herein, an R15 MO may be an MO compatible with Release 15 3GPP TS, including, for example, TS 38.133 (v15.11.0 (2020-10-09) (hereinafter referred to as "TS 38.133R15").

[0065] A Type 2 MO may be an MO that configures measurements within a serving carrier. A Type 2 MO may include an R15 intra-frequency NR MO that is not configured by an MG configured by an NR PSCell but that completely overlaps with the MG. For example, although a Type 2 MO may not require a measurement gap, it may be configured to perform measurements within a measurement gap provided for another MO or for another purpose.

[0066] Type 3 MO may be an MO that configures measurements within a non-serving component carrier. Type 3 MO may include R15 inter-frequency NR MO configured by NR PSCell. R15 inter-frequency MO may always require MG.

[0067] Type 4 MO may be an MO that configures measurements within a serving component carrier. Type 4 MO may be an inter-RAT NR MO that is configured by LTE PCell and on the same frequency layer as a Type 1 or Type 2 MO.

[0068] Type 5 MO may be an MO that configures measurements within a non-serving component carrier. Type 5 MO may be an inter-RAT NR MO that is configured by LTE PCell and on the same frequency layer as Type 3 MO.

[0069] Type 6 MO may be an MO that configures measurements within a serving component carrier. Type 6 MO may be an inter-RAT NR MO that is configured by LTE PCell and is on a frequency layer different from the frequency layer where Type 1 MO or Type 2 MO is configured.

[0070] Type 7 MO may be an MO that configures measurements within a non-serving component carrier. Type 7 MO may be an inter-RAT NR MO that is configured by LTE PCell and is on a frequency layer different from the frequency layer where Type 3 MO is configured.

[0071] A Type 8 MO may be a MO for another type of RAT, such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) or E-UTRAN.

[0072] The embodiment discloses at least three options for resolving potential overlapping configurations of pairs of MOs. In the first option, for MO intra,i,j and M inter,i,j , UE 104 may count all configured MOs or carriers, regardless of whether the MOs are on the same frequency layer. intra,i,j and M inter,i,j , UE 104 may count the configured MOs or carriers based on whether they meet the merging criteria. MOs that do not meet the MO merging criteria may be counted independently. MOs that meet the MO merging criteria may be counted as one. In a third option, for MO intra,i,j and M inter,i,j , the network (e.g., MN eNB 108 and SN gNB 112) can be configured to avoid certain MO configuration scenarios. These options may be described in more detail below according to some embodiments.

[0073] Reference again Figure 2 At 216, the SN gNB 112 or the neighboring base station 120 may transmit reference signals on various component carriers (including, for example, serving or non-serving component carriers). These reference signals may be SSBs or CSI-RSs.

[0074] The measurement operation 200 may also include, at 220, the UE 104 measuring an RS transmitted by the SN gNB 112 or the neighboring base station 120. The measurement may be within a measurement gap as configured by the MO received from the MN eNB 108 and the SN gNB 112. The measurement may be performed within a serving component carrier or a non-serving component carrier within a measurement period determined based on the calculated CSSF.

[0075] 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 report may be periodic, aperiodic, or event-based.

[0076] According to the first option briefly described above, a UE 104 operating in EN-DC may independently perform the following operations on the M: intra,i,j and M inter,i,j The configured MOs are counted.

[0077] For M intra,i,j, UE 104 may count all configured MOs or carriers of type 1, 2, 4, and 6 independently (e.g., MOs configured on a serving NR component carrier). This may be the case if the MO is on the same frequency layer that was not previously addressed or on a different frequency layer consistent with the operation of a legacy network. To implement this option, MO intra,i,j The definition of M may be updated to the number of intra-frequency measurement objects on the serving carrier configured by the NR PSCell that are candidates for measurement in gap j, where measurement object i is also a candidate. Otherwise, M intra,i,j is equal to 0.

[0078] For M inter,i,j , the UE 104 may count all configured MOs or carriers of types 3, 5, 7, and 8 independently (e.g., MOs configured on non-serving NR component carriers or in other RATs). This may be the case if the MO is on the same frequency layer that was not previously addressed or on a different frequency layer consistent with the operation of a legacy network. To implement this option, the MO inter,i,j The definition of M may be updated to include the number of NR inter-frequency measurement objects on non-serving carriers configured by NR PSCell, NR inter-RAT measurement objects on serving carriers or non-serving carriers configured by E-UTRA PCell, E-UTRA inter-frequency measurement objects configured by E-UTRA PCell, and UTRA inter-RAT measurement objects configured by E-UTRA PCell as candidates to be measured in gap j, where measurement object i is also a candidate. Otherwise, M intra,i,j is equal to 0.

[0079] UE 104 may then determine M tot,i,j =M inter,i,j +M intra,i,j . M tot,i,j M may be the total number of intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT MOs (including, for example, MO types 1 to 8) that are candidates to be measured in gap j, with measurement object i also being a candidate. Otherwise, M tot,i,j is equal to 0.

[0080] Consider for example a MO configured by NR PSCell i for the measurements to be performed in measurement interval j. In order to determine M tot,i,j If the value is not set, UE 104 can determine all MOs that are also candidates for measurement in measurement gap j. tot,i,j Otherwise, you can set the M tot,i,j The value is sent to the determined number of MOs. Then, the UE 104 may tot,i,j value to determine the CSSF for MOi.

[0081] According to the second option briefly described above, a UE 104 operating in EN DC may count configured MOs or carriers based on whether they meet the combining criteria.

[0082] In some embodiments, UE 104 may selectively determine the MO configured on the same frequency layer before determining the MO. inter,i,j and M intra,i,j The value should be counted as one or two. This can be based on the merging rules provided in 3GPP TS 38.133 for determining the number of layers that UE 104 can monitor. In particular, it stipulates:

[0083] When an E-UTRA PCell and PSCell configure the same NR carrier frequency layer to be monitored by the 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 indication; or different [SSB-based measurement timing] configuration.

[0084] 3GPP TS 38.133, section 9.1.3.2.

[0085] 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.

[0086] In some embodiments, when the first MO and the second MO relate to the same frequency layer and meet the merging criteria (e.g., including the same SMT check configuration, the same RSSI measurement resources, and the same deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication), the UE 104 may merge the two MOs and send only the corresponding MO to the corresponding inter,i,j and M intra,i,j The value count is "1".

[0087] M can be determined for the second option as follows inter,i,j and M intra,i,j value.

[0088] For M intra,i,j, UE 104 may: independently count configured MOs or carriers of types 1, 2, 4, and 6 that cannot be merged due to the MO merging criteria described, for example, in TS 38.133 section 9.1.3.2 (e.g., MOs configured on a serving NR component carrier); and count MOs that can be merged based on the MO merging criteria as one MO. In addition to the possible merging of some MOs, MO intra,i,j The definition of M can be the same as in Option 1, for example, intra,i,j M may be the number of intra-frequency measurement objects on the serving carrier configured by the NR PSCell that are candidates for measurement in gap j, where measurement object i is also a candidate. Otherwise, M intra,i,j is equal to 0.

[0089] For M inter,i,j , UE 104 may: independently count configured MOs or carriers of types 3, 5, 7, and 8 that cannot be merged due to the MO merging criteria described, for example, in TS 38.133 section 9.1.3.2 (e.g., MOs configured on non-serving NR component carriers or in other RATs); and count MOs that can be merged based on the MO merging criteria as one MO. In addition to the possible merging of some MOs, MO inter,i,j The definition of M can be the same as in Option 1, for example, inter,i,j The number of NR inter-frequency measurement objects on non-serving carriers configured by NR PSCell, NR inter-RAT measurement objects on serving carriers or non-serving carriers configured by E-UTRA PCell, E-UTRA inter-frequency measurement objects configured by E-UTRA PCell, and UTRA inter-RAT measurement objects configured by E-UTRA PCell as candidates to be measured in gap j, where measurement object i is also a candidate. Otherwise, M intra,i,j is equal to 0.

[0090] UE 104 may then determine M tot,i,j =M inter,i,j +M intra,i,j . M tot,i,j M can be the total number of independent counts and combined pairs of intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT MOs (including, for example, MO types 1 to 8) that are candidates to be measured in gap j, with measurement object i also being a candidate. Otherwise, M tot,i,j is equal to 0.

[0091] According to the third option briefly described above, a network operating in EN-DC mode may operate to prevent certain MO configuration scenarios.

[0092] For example, the network may communicate between an LTE PCell (provided by, for example, MN eNB 108) and an NR PSCell (provided by, for example, SN gNB 112) to avoid MO configurations on the same frequency layer. Communication between MN eNB 108 and SN gNB 112 may be accomplished by transmitting measurement configurations. MN eNB 108 may provide these measurement configurations to SN gNB 112, and vice versa.

[0093] In some embodiments, the measurement configuration may restrict the network to configure type 4 MOs with type 1 MOs or type 2 MOs; or type 3 MOs with type 5 MOs. These restricted configurations result in MOs configured on the same frequency layer. Assuming that the network will avoid these specific configurations, the UE 104 can determine the MOs in the measurement gap by counting all configured MOs independently. inter,i,j and M inter,i,j .

[0094] The restricted configuration may be provided according to one of the following options.

[0095] 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 and that only the NR PSCell may configure type 1, 2, and 3 NR measurements. intra,i,j Counting of Type 1 and 2 NR MOs; and MGs configured from NR PSCell for M inter,i,j The type 3NR MO is counted.

[0096] In other embodiments, the network may communicate between the LTE PCell and the NR PSCell to ensure that the LTE PCell will configure inter-RAT NR measurements and that the NR PSCell will not configure type 1, 2, or 3 NR measurements. intra,i,j Counting the type 6NR MO; and configuring the MG from the LTE PCell for the M inter,i,j Type 7 and 8NR MO are counted.

[0097] Figure 5 An operational flow / algorithm structure 500 is shown according to some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may be performed or implemented by a UE (such as UE 104 or UE 800) or a component thereof (eg, baseband processor 804A).

[0098] The operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may include, at 504, receiving a first MO (MO i ) and one or more additional MOs. MO i can be used as a candidate for measurement within measurement gap j.

[0099] In some embodiments, the operational flow / algorithm structure 500 may be in the context of an EN-DC connection, and the MO may be received from an LTE PCell (e.g., from the MN eNB 108) or an NR PSCell (e.g., from the SN gNB 112). The MO may configure measurements on one or more NR frequency layers, in which case the MO received from the LTE PCell may be an inter-RAT MO, and the MO received from the NR PSCell may be an intra-RAT MO.

[0100] The operation flow / algorithm structure 500 may also include, at 508, determining M intra,i,j and M inter,i,j M may be determined based on the number of intra-frequency MOs and inter-frequency MOs received at 504. intra,i,j and M inter,i,j Values. In some embodiments, these values ​​can be determined by independently counting all MOs within a particular category. In other embodiments, these values ​​can be determined by independently counting MOs within a category that do not meet the merging criteria and counting pairs (or sets) of MOs within a category that meet the merging criteria.

[0101] In some embodiments, at 508, the UE may determine M based on the number of inter-frequency MOs that are candidates to be measured in the measurement gap. inter,i,j value, where the number of inter-frequency MOs includes the number of inter-frequency MOs configured by E-UTRA PCell and the number of inter-frequency MOs configured by NR PSCell.

[0102] In some embodiments, at 508, the UE may determine the M based on the number of intra-frequency MOs configured by the NR PSCell on the serving carrier and as candidates to be measured in the measurement gap. intra,i,j value.

[0103] The operation flow / algorithm structure 500 may also include, at 512, based on M intra,i,j or M inter,i,j value to determine CSSF.

[0104] If the measurement gap sharing scheme is equal sharing, CSSF can be based on M tot,i,j To determine, it is M intra,i,j or M inter,i,j The sum of the values, for example max(ceil(Ri xM tot,i,j )), where R i is the maximum ratio mentioned above.

[0105] If the measurement gap sharing scheme is equal sharing, the CSSF may be calculated based on the number of carriers to be measured. For example, if the UE receives two MOs for one target carrier, the target carrier CSSF may be equal to 2*carrier_number. The "2" in the calculation may indicate that the two MOs share the MG resources on the one target carrier; and carrier_number corresponds to all target carriers that share the MG resources equally, where each target carrier has a 1 / carrier_number portion of the MG resources.

[0106] If the measurement gap sharing scheme is not equal sharing and MO i is the intra-frequency MO, then CSSF can be the maximum value between: inter,i,j ≠0 in the gap ceil (R i ×K intra ×M intra,i,j ); and where M inter,i,j = 0 in the gap ceil(R i ×M intra,i,j ), where K intra =1 / ×*100 and X is based on the signaled measGapSharingScheme and Table 1.

[0107] measGapSharingScheme X value (%) "00” equal parts "01” 25 "10” 50 "11” 75

[0108] Table 1

[0109] If the measurement gap sharing scheme is not equal sharing and MO i If it is an inter-frequency or inter-RAT MO, then CSSF can be the maximum value of the following: inter,i,j ≠0 in the gap ceil (R i ×K inter ×M inter,i,j ); and where M inter,i,j = 0 in the gap ceil(R i ×M inter,i,j ), where K inter =1 / (100–X)*100, and X is based on the signaled measGapSharingScheme and Table 1.

[0110] The operation flow / algorithm structure 500 may also include, at 516, based on the MO i and CSSF to perform measurements. iThe measurements may be performed within the configured measurement gaps. The measurements may be performed within the measurement period determined by the CSSF. When additional measurements need to be performed, the CSSF determined at 512 may facilitate allocation of radio frequency or baseband resources of the searcher by scaling the measurement period.

[0111] Figure 6 An operational flow / algorithm structure 600 is shown according to some embodiments. The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may be performed or implemented by a UE such as, for example, UE 104 or UE 900; or a component thereof, such as baseband processor 904A.

[0112] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may include, at 604, receiving MOs from the MN eNB and the SN gNB. The MOs may configure measurements on one or more serving component carriers (e.g., cells provided by the SN gNB) or non-serving component carriers (e.g., cells provided by neighboring base stations). The MOs may be NR MOs including inter-RAT MOs from the MN eNB or intra-RAT MOs from the SN gNB for measurement gaps.

[0113] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may also include determining whether the MOs are on the same frequency layer at 608. For example, the UE may determine whether more than one MO targets the same component carrier, which may be a serving or non-serving component carrier.

[0114] If it is determined at 608 that the two MOs do not target the same frequency layer, then the operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may proceed to: At 616, for the M value determination, the two MOs are counted as two. The M value determination may be used to determine the M intra,i,j or M inter,i,j value.

[0115] After 616, the operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may proceed to: At 620, a CSSF is calculated based on one or more M values. The CSSF may be as described above with respect to Figure 5 The 512 are calculated as described.

[0116] If it is determined at 608 that the two MOs target the same frequency layer, the operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may proceed to: At 612, 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, derivedSSB-IndexFromCell indication, and SMTC configuration.

[0117] If one or more of the specified parameters from the two MOs are different, the merge criteria may not be met, and the operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may proceed to: At 616, for the value of M, the MO is counted as two. Therefore, in this case, the count value for the pair of MOs is two.

[0118] If it is determined at 612 that all specified parameters from both MOs are the same, then the merge criteria may be met and the operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may proceed to: at 624, for the value of M, the MO is counted as one. Thus, in this case, the count value for the pair of MOs is one.

[0119] After 624, the operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may proceed to, at 620, calculating a CSSF based on one or more of the M values.

[0120] The operational flow / algorithm structure 600 may also include, after 620, performing measurements based on the CSSF and the MO. The MO for which the performance is performed may be one of the two MOs considered for merging or may be different.

[0121] In some embodiments, the determination of whether the MO can be merged (e.g., operations 608, 612, 616, and 624) may be performed for each of the multiple configured MOs. The MOs may then be determined by independently counting all MOs within a particular category that do not meet the merging criteria (e.g., intra-frequency MOs and inter-frequency / RAT) and counting pairs (or sets) of MOs within the category that meet the merging criteria. intra,i,j and M inter,i,j value.

[0122] 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 first base station (such as MN eNB 108, SN gNB 112, or base station 900) or a component thereof (e.g., baseband processor 904A).

[0123] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may include, at 704, receiving an MO configuration from the second base station or transmitting an 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 one frequency layer of the NR cell.

[0124] In some embodiments, MO configuration may restrict network nodes to configure Type 4 MOs with Type 1 MOs or Type 2 MOs; or restrict configuration of Type 3 MOs with Type 5 MOs.

[0125] In some embodiments, the MO configuration may restrict MN eNB to configure inter-RAT NR MO; while NR gNB may be allowed to configure type 1, 2 or 3 NR MO.

[0126] In some embodiments, the MO configuration may restrict NR gNB to configure type 1, 2, or 3 NR MO; while SN eNB may be allowed to configure inter-RAT MO.

[0127] The operation flow / algorithm structure 700 may also include, at 708, providing a MO to the UE to configure the UE to perform measurements within a measurement gap on the frequency layer. In an embodiment in which the first base station is a MN eNB, the MO provided to the UE may be an inter-RAT MO for the NR frequency layer. In an embodiment in which the first base station is an SN gNB, the MO provided to the UE may be an intra-frequency MO for the NR frequency layer.

[0128] Figure 8 UE 800 according to some embodiments is shown. UE 800 may be similar to Figure 1 UE 84 and is essentially interchangeable with it.

[0129] UE 800 can be any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as, for example, a mobile phone, a computer, a tablet, an industrial wireless sensor (e.g., microphone, carbon dioxide sensor, pressure sensor, humidity sensor, thermometer, motion sensor, accelerometer, laser scanner, fluid level sensor, inventory sensor, voltage / current meter, actuator, etc.), video monitoring / surveillance equipment (e.g., camera, camcorder, etc.), a wearable device (e.g., a smart watch), or a loose IoT device.

[0130] UE 800 may include a processor 804, an RF interface circuit 808, a memory / storage device 812, a user interface 816, a sensor 820, a driver circuit 822, a power management integrated circuit (PMIC) 824, an antenna structure 826, and a battery 828. The components of UE 800 may be implemented as an integrated circuit (IC), a portion of an integrated circuit, a discrete electronic device or other module, logical component, hardware, software, firmware, or a combination thereof. Figure 8 The block diagram of UE 800 is intended to show a high-level view of certain of the components of UE 800. 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.

[0131] Components of the UE 800 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 832, which may represent any type of interface, input / output, bus (local, system, or extension), transmission line, trace, optical connection, etc., which allows various circuit components (on a common or different chip or chipset) to interact with each other.

[0132] The processor 804 may include processor circuits such as a baseband processor circuit (BB) 804A, a central processor unit circuit (CPU) 804B, and a graphics processor unit circuit (GPU) 804C. The processor 804 may include any type of circuit or processor circuit that executes or otherwise operates computer-executable instructions (such as program codes, software modules, or functional processes from the memory / storage device 812) to cause the UE 800 to perform operations as described herein.

[0133] In some embodiments, the baseband processor circuit 804A can access the communication protocol stack 836 in the memory / storage device 812 to communicate through a 3GPP compatible network. Generally speaking, the baseband processor circuit 804A 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 perform control plane functions at the PHY layer, MAC layer, RLC layer, PDCP layer, RRC layer, and non-access layer. In some embodiments, the PHY layer operations can be additionally / alternatively performed by components of the RF interface circuit 808.

[0134] The baseband processor circuit 804A may generate or process baseband signals or waveforms that carry information in a 3GPP-compatible 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.

[0135] The memory / storage device 812 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions (e.g., communication protocol stack 836) that can be executed by one or more processors in the processor 804 to enable the UE 800 to perform various operations described herein. The memory / storage device 812 includes any type of volatile or non-volatile memory that can be distributed throughout the UE 800. In some embodiments, some of the memory / storage devices in the memory / storage device 812 may be located on the processor 804 itself (e.g., L1 cache and L2 cache), while other memory / storage devices 812 are located outside the processor 804, but can be accessed via a memory interface. The memory / storage device 812 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.

[0136] The RF interface circuit 808 may include a transceiver circuit and a radio frequency front end module (RFEM), which allows the UE 800 to communicate with other devices through a radio access network. The RF interface circuit 808 may include various elements arranged in a transmission path or a reception path. These elements may include, for example, switches, mixers, amplifiers, filters, synthesizer circuits, control circuits, etc.

[0137] In the receive path, the RFEM may receive the radiated signal from the air interface via the antenna structure 826 and continue to filter and amplify the signal (using a low noise amplifier). The signal may 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 804.

[0138] 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 826.

[0139] In various embodiments, the RF interface circuit 808 may be configured to transmit / receive signals in a manner compatible with NR access technology.

[0140] Antenna 826 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 826 may have an antenna panel that is omnidirectional, directional, or a combination thereof to achieve beamforming and multiple input / multiple output communications. Antenna 826 may include a microstrip antenna, a printed antenna manufactured on the surface of one or more printed circuit boards, a patch antenna, a phased array antenna, etc. Antenna 826 may have one or more panels that are designed for a specific frequency band included in a band in FR1 or FR2.

[0141] The user interface circuit 816 includes various input / output (I / O) devices designed to enable a user to interact with the UE 800. The user interface 816 includes input device circuits and output device circuits. The input device circuit includes any physical or virtual device for accepting input, including in particular one or more physical or virtual buttons (e.g., reset button), physical keyboard, keypad, mouse, touchpad, touch screen, microphone, scanner, headset, etc. The output device circuit includes any physical or virtual device for displaying information or otherwise conveying information (such as sensor readings, actuator positions, or other similar information). The output device circuit 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 display devices or touch screens (e.g., liquid crystal displays "LCDs", LED displays, quantum dot displays, projectors, etc.), where the output of characters, graphics, multimedia objects, etc. is generated or produced by the operation of the UE1100.

[0142] Sensor 820 may include a device, module, or subsystem whose purpose is to detect events or changes in its environment and 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, a three-axis gyroscope, or a magnetometer; a 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.

[0143] The driver circuit 822 may include software elements and hardware elements for controlling a specific device embedded in the UE 800, attached to the UE 1100, or otherwise communicatively coupled to the UE 800. The driver circuit 822 may include a single driver, thereby allowing other components to interact with or control various input / output (I / O) devices that may be present in the UE 800 or connected to the UE. For example, the driver circuit 822 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 of the sensor circuit 820 and controlling and allowing access to the sensor circuit 820, a driver for obtaining an actuator position of an electromechanical component or controlling and allowing access to an electromechanical component, 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.

[0144] The PMIC 824 may manage the power provided to various components of the UE 800. Specifically, with respect to the processor 804, the PMIC 824 may control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion.

[0145] In some embodiments, the PMIC 824 may control or otherwise be a part of various power saving mechanisms of the UE 800, including DRX, as discussed herein.

[0146] The battery 828 can power the UE 800, but in some examples, the UE 800 can be installed in a fixed location and can have a power source coupled to the power grid. The battery 828 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 specific implementations, such as in vehicle-based applications, the battery 828 can be a typical lead-acid automobile battery.

[0147] Fig. 9 FIG. 9 shows a gNB 900 according to some embodiments. The gNB node 900 may be similar to Figure 1 base station 108 and is essentially interchangeable therewith.

[0148] The gNB 900 may include a processor 904, an RF interface circuit 908, a core network “CN” interface circuit 912, a memory / storage device circuit 916, and an antenna structure 926.

[0149] Components of the gNB 900 may be coupled to various other components via one or more interconnects 928.

[0150] The processor 904 , RF interface circuitry 908 , memory / storage circuitry 916 (including the communication protocol stack 910 ), antenna structures 926 , and interconnect 928 may be similar to similarly named elements shown and described with reference to FIG. 10 .

[0151] The CN interface circuitry 912 may provide connectivity to a core network (e.g., 5GC using a 5th Generation Core Network "5GC" compatible network interface protocol such as a Carrier Ethernet protocol or some other suitable protocol). Network connectivity may be provided to / from the gNB 900 via optical fiber or wireless backhaul. The CN interface circuitry 912 may include one or more dedicated processors or FPGAs for communicating using one or more of the aforementioned protocols. In some implementations, the CN interface circuitry 912 may include multiple controllers for providing connectivity to other networks using the same or different protocols.

[0152] In some embodiments, the gNB 900 may couple to a TRP such as TRP 92 or 96 using antenna structure 926, CN interface circuitry, or other interface circuitry.

[0153] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0154] 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 following example section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the following examples. For another example, the circuits 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 example section below.

[0155] Example

[0156] In the following sections, additional exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0157] Embodiment 1 includes a method of operating a UE, the method comprising: receiving a first measurement object (MO) that is a candidate for measurement within a measurement gap; determining the MO based on a number of inter-frequency MOs that are candidates for measurement in the measurement gap; interA value, wherein the number of inter-frequency MOs includes a first number of inter-frequency or inter-radio access technology (RAT) MOs configured by an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) primary serving cell (PCell) and a second number of inter-frequency MOs configured by a New Radio (NR) primary and secondary serving cell (PSCell); based on the M inter value to determine a carrier specific scaling factor (CSSF); and performing measurement based on the first MO and the CSSF.

[0158] Embodiment 2 may include the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: determining M based on the number of intra-frequency MOs configured by the NR PSCell on the serving carrier and as candidates to be measured in the measurement gap. intra value; and also based on the M intra value to determine the CSSF.

[0159] Embodiment 3 may include a method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the first number of inter-frequency or inter-RAT MOs configured by the E-UTRA PCell includes a third number of NR inter-RAT MOs, a fourth number of E-UTRA MOs, and a fifth number of UTRA MOs.

[0160] Embodiment 4 may include a method according to embodiment 3 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein the third number of NR inter-RAT MOs includes a sixth number of inter-RAT MOs on a serving carrier and a seventh number of inter-RAT MOs on a non-serving carrier.

[0161] Embodiment 5 may include the method according to embodiment 1 or some other embodiment herein, further comprising: performing the first measurement in a first component carrier; and performing the second measurement in a second component carrier.

[0162] Embodiment 6 may include a method of operating a UE, the method comprising: storing a merging criterion; intra The value determines the first number of intra-frequency measurement objects (MO), or for M inter The value determines a second number of inter-frequency measurement objects (MO); based on the M intra Value or M inter value to calculate a carrier specific scaling factor (CSSF); and perform measurements based on the CSSF and MO within a measurement gap, wherein in order to determine the first number or the second number, the processing circuit will determine whether a pair of MOs meets the merging criterion.

[0163] Embodiment 7 may include a method according to Embodiment 6 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pair of MOs includes a first MO and a second MO, and determining whether the pair of MOs meets the merging criteria includes: determining that the first MO and the second MO identify common received signal strength (RSSI) measurement resources, a deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication, and a synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configuration; determining that the pair of MOs meets the merging criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify common RSSI measurement resources, a deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication, and the SMTC configuration; and based on the determination that the pair of MOs meet the merging criteria, determining the first quantity or the second quantity based on a count value of one for the pair of MOs.

[0164] Embodiment 8 may include a method according to Embodiment 6 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein the pair of MOs includes a first MO and a second MO, and determining whether the pair of MOs meets the merging criteria further includes: determining that the first MO and the second MO identify different received signal strength (RSSI) measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications, or synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations; determining that the pair of MOs 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 pair of MOs do not meet the merging criteria, determining the first quantity or the second quantity based on a count value of two for the pair of MOs.

[0165] Embodiment 9 may include a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the first number is based on a third number of intra-frequency MOs configured by a new radio (NR) primary and secondary serving cells (PSCells) on the serving carrier and as candidates to be measured in the measurement gap.

[0166] Embodiment 10 may include a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the second number of inter-frequency MOs includes a third number of inter-frequency or inter-radio access technology (RAT) MOs configured by an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) primary serving cell (PCell).

[0167] Embodiment 11 may include a method according to embodiment 10 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the third number of inter-frequency or inter-RAT MOs is based on a fourth number of NR inter-RAT MOs, a fifth number of E-UTRA MOs and a sixth number of UTRA MOs.

[0168] Embodiment 12 may include a method according to embodiment 11 or some other embodiment herein, wherein the fourth number of NR inter-RAT MOs includes the seventh number of inter-RAT MOs on the serving carrier and the eighth number of inter-RAT MOs on the non-serving carrier.

[0169] Embodiment 13 may include the method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein calculating the CSSF comprises: if a measurement gap sharing scheme is equal sharing, calculating the CSSF based on both the Minter value and the Mintra value.

[0170] Embodiment 14 may include a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein calculating the CSSF comprises: if the measurement gap sharing scheme is equal sharing between carriers, calculating the CSSF based on the number of carriers to be measured.

[0171] Embodiment 15 may include a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein calculating the CSSF comprises: if the measurement gap sharing scheme is not equal sharing and the MO is an inter-frequency MO, calculating the CSSF based on the Minter value.

[0172] Embodiment 16 may include a method according to embodiment 6 or some other embodiment herein, wherein calculating the CSSF comprises: if the measurement gap sharing scheme is not equal sharing and the MO is an intra-frequency MO, calculating the CSSF based on the Mintra value.

[0173] Embodiment 17 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 Air Interface 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 Air Interface (NR) cell; and providing the MO to the UE to configure the UE to perform measurements on the frequency layer within a measurement gap.

[0174] Embodiment 18 may include a method according to embodiment 17 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein: Type 1 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO based on measurement gap (MG) configured by an NR primary secondary cell (PSCell) to perform measurements in a serving carrier; Type 2 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO without measurement gaps configured by the NR PSCell and completely overlaps with the measurement gaps used to perform measurements in the serving carrier; and Type 4 MO is an inter-radio access technology (RAT) configured by an LTE PCell on the same frequency layer as a Type 1 MO or a Type 2 MO; and the measurement object configuration is used to prevent Type 1 MO or Type 2 MO from being provided with Type 4 MO.

[0175] Embodiment 19 may include a method according to embodiment 17 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein: type 3 MO is an inter-frequency NR MO configured by an NR PCell on a non-service carrier; type 5 MO is an inter-RAT NR MO configured by an LTE PCell on the same frequency layer as type 3; and the measurement object configuration is used to prevent the provision of type 3 MO and type 5 MO.

[0176] Embodiment 20 may include a method according to embodiment 17 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein: Type 1 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO based on measurement gap (MG) configured by an NR primary secondary cell (PSCell) for a serving carrier; Type 2 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO without a measurement gap configured by the NR PSCell and completely overlaps with the measurement gap for the serving carrier; Type 3 MO is an inter-frequency NR MO configured by an NR PCell on a non-serving carrier; and the measurement object configuration is used to prevent the LTE PCell from configuring inter-RAT NR measurements, wherein only the NR PSCell can configure type 1 MO, type 2 MO or type 3 MO.

[0177] Embodiment 21 may include a method according to embodiment 17 or some other embodiment of the present invention, wherein: Type 1 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO based on measurement gap (MG) configured by the NR primary secondary cell (PSCell) for the serving carrier; Type 2 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO without measurement gap configured by the NR PSCell and completely overlaps with the measurement gap for the serving carrier; Type 3 MO is an inter-frequency NR MO configured by the NR PCell on a non-serving carrier; LTE PCell configures inter-RAT NR measurement, and the measurement object configuration is used to prevent the NR PSCell from configuring type 1 MO, type 2 MO or type 3 MO.

[0178] Embodiment 22 may include an apparatus comprising means for performing one or more elements of the method described in or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 21, or any other method or process described herein.

[0179] Embodiment 23 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when one or more processors of an electronic device execute the instructions, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 21 or any other method or process described herein.

[0180] Embodiment 24 may include an apparatus comprising logic components, modules, or circuits for performing one or more elements of a method as described or related to any of Embodiments 1 to 21, or any other method or process described herein.

[0181] Embodiment 25 may include methods, techniques or processes described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 21, or parts or components thereof.

[0182] Embodiment 26 may include a device comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, wherein the one or more computer-readable media include instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 21.

[0183] Embodiment 27 may include a signal as described or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 21, or a portion or component thereof.

[0184] Embodiment 28 may include a datagram, information element, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message, or a portion or component thereof, as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 21, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0185] Embodiment 29 may include a signal encoded with data as described in or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 21, or a portion or component thereof, or as otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0186] Embodiment 30 may include a signal encoded with a datagram, IE, packet, frame, segment, PDU or message as described or associated with any one of Embodiments 1 to 21, or a portion or component thereof, or otherwise described in the present disclosure.

[0187] Embodiment 31 may include an electromagnetic signal carrying computer-readable instructions, wherein execution of the computer-readable instructions by one or more processors will cause the one or more processors to perform a method, technique, or process, or a portion thereof, described in or related to any one of Embodiments 1 to 21.

[0188] Embodiment 32 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 21, or a portion thereof.

[0189] Embodiment 33 may include signals in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0190] Embodiment 34 may include a method of communicating in a wireless network as shown and described herein.

[0191] Embodiment 35 may include a system for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0192] Embodiment 36 may include an apparatus for providing wireless communications as shown and described herein.

[0193] Unless explicitly 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 form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible in view of the above teachings or may be obtained from the practice of the various embodiments.

[0194] 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 device for wireless communication, the device 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: For M intra The value determines the first number of intra-frequency measurement objects MO, or for M inter The value determines a second number of inter-frequency measurement objects MO; Based on the M intra Value or M inter The value is used to calculate the carrier specific scaling factor CSSF; as well as performing measurements based on the CSSF and the MO within a measurement gap, In order to determine the first number or the second number, the processing circuit is used to determine whether a pair of MOs meets the merging criteria.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of MOs comprises a first MO and a second MO, and in order to determine whether the pair of MOs satisfies the merging criterion, the processing circuit is configured to: Determine that the first MO and the second MO identify a common received signal strength RSSI measurement resource, a deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication, and a synchronization signal block SSB measurement timing configuration SMTC configuration; determining that the pair of MOs meets 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 pair of MOs satisfy the merging criterion, the first number or the second number is determined based on a count value of one for the pair of MOs.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pair of MOs comprises a first MO and a second MO, and in order to determine whether the pair of MOs satisfies the merging criterion, the processing circuit is further configured to: Determine that the first MO and the second MO identify different received signal strength RSSI measurement resources, deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indications, or synchronization signal block SSB measurement timing configurations SMTC configurations; determining that the pair of MOs does not meet the merging criteria based on the determination that the first MO and the second MO identify different RSSI measurement resources, a deriveSSB-IndexFromCell indication, or an SMTC configuration; and Based on the determination that the pair of MOs do not satisfy the merging criterion, the first number or the second number is determined based on a count value of two for the pair of MOs.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is used to determine the first number and the first number is based on a third number of intra-frequency MOs configured by a new radio interface NR primary and secondary serving cell PSCell on a serving carrier and as candidates to be measured in the measurement gap.

5. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the processing circuit is used to determine the second number and the second number of inter-frequency MOs includes a third number of inter-frequency or inter-radio access technology RAT MOs configured by an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) primary serving cell (PCell).

6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the third number of inter-frequency or inter-RAT MOs is based on a fourth number of NR inter-RAT MOs, a fifth number of E-UTRA MOs, and a sixth number of UTRA MOs.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the fourth number of NR inter-RAT MOs comprises a seventh number of inter-RAT MOs on a serving carrier and an eighth number of inter-RAT MOs on a non-serving carrier.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein to calculate the CSSF, the processing circuit is further configured to: If the measurement gap sharing scheme is equal sharing, then based on the M inter value and the M intra The CSSF is calculated using both values.

9. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein in order to calculate the CSSF, the processing circuit is further configured to: If the measurement gap sharing scheme is equal sharing between carriers, the CSSF is calculated based on the number of carriers to be measured.

10. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein in order to calculate the CSSF, the processing circuit is further configured to: If the measurement gap sharing scheme is not equal sharing and the MO is inter-frequency MO, then based on the MO inter value to calculate the CSSF.

11. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein in order to calculate the CSSF, the processing circuit is further configured to: If the measurement gap sharing scheme is not equal sharing and the MO is intra-frequency MO, then based on the MO intra value to calculate the CSSF.

12. A computer readable medium having instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, cause a processing circuit to: Receiving a first measurement object MO as a candidate for measurement in a measurement gap, wherein the first MO is an inter-frequency MO or an intra-frequency MO; M is determined based on the number of inter-frequency MOs that are candidates to be measured in the measurement gap. inter A value, wherein the number of inter-frequency MOs includes a first number of inter-frequency or inter-radio access technology RAT MOs configured by an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) primary serving cell (PCell) and a second number of inter-frequency MOs configured by a New Radio (NR) primary and secondary serving cell (PSCell); Based on the M inter value to determine the carrier specific scaling factor CSSF; as well as Measurement is performed based on the first MO and the CSSF.

13. A computer readable medium according to claim 12, wherein the instructions when executed further cause the processing circuit to: M is determined based on the number of intra-frequency MOs configured by the NR PSCell on the serving carrier and as candidates to be measured in the measurement gap. intra value; and Also based on the M intra value to determine the CSSF.

14. A computer-readable medium according to claim 12, wherein the first number of inter-frequency or inter-RAT MOs configured by the E-UTRA PCell includes a third number of NR inter-RAT MOs, a fourth number of E-UTRA MOs and a fifth number of UTRA MOs.

15. A computer-readable medium according to claim 14, wherein the third number of NR inter-RAT MOs includes a sixth number of inter-RAT MOs on a serving carrier and a seventh number of inter-RAT MOs on a non-serving carrier.

16. A computer readable medium according to any one of claims 12 to 15, wherein the measurement is a first measurement, and the instructions, when executed, cause the processing circuit to perform the first measurement in a first component carrier and to perform a second measurement in a second component carrier.

17. A method of wireless communication, the method comprising: receiving a measurement object configuration from a base station or transmitting the measurement object configuration to the base station, wherein the base station provides at least a part of 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 Mo to the UE for one frequency layer of a New Radio NR cell; and An MO is provided to the UE to configure the UE to perform measurement on the frequency layer within the measurement gap.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein: Type 1 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO based on the measurement gap MG configured by the NR primary and secondary cells PSCell to perform measurements in the serving carrier; Type 2 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO without a measurement gap configured by the NR PSCell and completely overlaps with the measurement gap used to perform measurements in the serving carrier; and Type 4 MO is an inter-radio access technology RAT configured by the LTE Pcell on the same frequency layer as Type 1 MO or Type 2 MO; and the measurement object configuration is used to prevent Type 1 MO or Type 2 MO from being provided with Type 4 MO.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein: Type 3 MO is an inter-frequency NR MO configured by NR PCell on a non-serving carrier; Type 5 MO is an inter-RAT NR MO configured by LTE PCell on the same frequency layer as Type 3; and the measurement object configuration is used to prevent the provision of Type 3 MO and Type 5 MO.

20. The method of claim 17, wherein: Type 1 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO based on the measurement gap MG configured by the NR primary and secondary cells PSCell for the service carrier; Type 2 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO without a measurement gap configured by the NR PSCell and completely overlaps with the measurement gap for the service carrier; Type 3 MO is an inter-frequency NR MO configured by the NR PCell on a non-service carrier; and the measurement object configuration is used to prevent LTEPCell from configuring inter-RAT NR measurements, where only NRPSCell can configure type 1 MO, type 2 MO or type 3 MO.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein: Type 1 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO based on the measurement gap MG configured by the NR primary and secondary cells PSCell for the serving carrier; Type 2 MO is an intra-frequency NR MO with no measurement gaps configured by the NR PSCell and completely overlaps with the measurement gaps for the serving carrier; Type 3 MO is inter-frequency NR MO configured by NR PCell on a non-serving carrier; LTE PCell is configured with inter-RAT NR measurements; and The measurement object configuration is used to prevent NR PSCell configuration type 1MO, type 2MO or type 3MO.

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