Determining reference cell availability

Abstract

A method for a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method includes determining a first time period for the UE based on whether the UE uses discontinuous reception (DRX) and whether the UE uses measurement gaps (MGs). The first time period indicates respective timing criteria for the UE to determine a time period for which to maintain an available downlink timing for a reference cell. The method also includes determining a first time threshold for the UE to determine reference cell availability based on the first time period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, and more specifically to user equipment (UE) reference timing in New Radio Unlicensed (NR-U). Background Technology

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE); the 5th Generation (5G) 3GPP New Radio (NR) standard; the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, commonly referred to by the industry organization as Global Microwave Access Interoperability (WiMAX); and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs), commonly referred to by the industry organization as Wi-Fi. In the 3GPP Radio Access Network (RAN) of an LTE system, a base station may include RAN nodes such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly referred to as an Evolved Node B, Enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) in the E-UTRAN, which communicates with wireless communication equipment called User Equipment (UE). In a fifth-generation (5G) wireless RAN, RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, New Radio (NR) nodes, or g node B (gNB), which communicate with wireless communication equipment (also known as user equipment (UE)). Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to aspects of this disclosure, a method for a user equipment (UE) is provided. The method may include: determining a first time period for the UE based on whether the UE uses discontinuous reception (DRX) and whether the UE uses measurement gaps (MG); and determining a first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of a reference cell based on the first time period. The first time period may indicate a corresponding timing standard for the UE to determine the time period for maintaining available downlink timing for the reference cell.

[0004] According to an aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) is provided, the apparatus including one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method described above.

[0005] According to an aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon is provided, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of the method described above.

[0006] According to an aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for a communication device is provided, the apparatus including means for performing the steps of the method described above.

[0007] According to an aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product includes a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of the method described above. Attached Figure Description

[0008] The features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the features of this disclosure by way of example.

[0009] Figure 1 It is a block diagram of a system including base stations and user equipment (UE) according to some implementation schemes.

[0010] Figure 2 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a user equipment (UE) according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0011] Figure 3 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a user equipment (UE) according to some implementation schemes is shown.

[0012] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments is shown.

[0013] Figure 5 Exemplary components of a device 500 according to some embodiments are shown.

[0014] Figure 6 An exemplary interface 600 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments is shown.

[0015] Figure 7 The components are shown according to some implementation schemes.

[0016] Figure 8 The architecture of a wireless network according to some implementation schemes is shown. Detailed Implementation

[0017] In this disclosure, a "base station" may include RAN nodes such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) node B (also commonly referred to as an evolved node B, enhanced node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a Radio Network Controller (RNC) and / or a 5G node, New Radio (NR) node, or g node B (gNB), which communicates with wireless communication equipment also referred to as User Equipment (UE). Although some examples may be described with reference to any of E-UTRAN node B, eNB, RNC, and / or gNB, such equipment can be replaced by any type of base station.

[0018] In a wireless communication system, if a UE uses a reference cell on a carrier frequency that has undergone idle channel assessment (CCA) to obtain the UE's transmission timing, the UE should meet the initial transmission requirements provided that at least one (synchronization signal block) SSB is available at the UE during the last 160ms.

[0019] The UE should first determine the availability of a reference cell (or reference timing), and then apply the aforementioned UE actions based on the availability of the reference cell (or reference timing). For the serving cell in the primary timing advance group (pTAG), the UE will use a special cell (SpCell) as the reference cell for obtaining the UE transmission timing of the cell in the pTAG. If the reference cell subject to CCA on the carrier frequency belonging to the pTAG is unavailable at the UE for more than 160 ms, the UE is allowed to use any of the available active secondary cells (SCells) in the pTAG at the UE as the new reference cell. If the SCell used as the reference cell is deactivated, or becomes unavailable for more than 160 ms, the UE is allowed to use another active serving cell in the pTAG as the new reference cell. For the serving cell in the secondary timing advance group (sTAG), the UE will use any of the active SCells as the reference cell for obtaining the UE transmission timing of the cell in the sTAG. If a reference cell subject to CCA on a carrier frequency belonging to sTAG is not available at the UE for more than 160ms, the UE is allowed to use any of the available active SCells at the UE in sTAG as a new reference cell.

[0020] Figure 1 A wireless network 100 according to some embodiments is shown. The wireless network 100 includes a UE 101 and a base station 150 connected via an air interface 190.

[0021] UE 101 and any other UE in the system can be, for example, a laptop computer, smartphone, tablet computer, printer, machine-type device, such as a smart meter or dedicated device for healthcare monitoring, remote security monitoring, intelligent transportation systems, or any other wireless device with or without a user interface. Base station 150 provides UE 101 with network connectivity to a wider network (not shown) via air interface 190 within the base station service area provided by base station 150. In some embodiments, such a wider network can be a wide area network operated by a cellular network provider, or it can be the Internet. Each base station service area associated with base station 150 is supported by an antenna integrated with base station 150. The service area is divided into multiple sectors associated with certain antennas. Such sectors can be physically associated with fixed antennas, or can be assigned to physical areas with tunable antennas or antenna configurations that can be adjusted during beamforming to direct signals to a particular sector. For example, one implementation of base station 150 includes three sectors, each covering a 120-degree area, wherein the antenna array is pointed at each sector to provide 360-degree coverage around base station 150.

[0022] UE 101 includes control circuitry 105 coupled to transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115. Transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may each be coupled to one or more antennas. Control circuitry 105 may be adapted to perform operations associated with MTC. In some embodiments, control circuitry 105 of UE 101 may perform calculations or initiate measurements associated with air interface 190 to determine the channel quality of an available connection to base station 150. These calculations may be performed in conjunction with control circuitry 155 of base station 150. Transmit circuitry 110 and receive circuitry 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. Control circuitry 105 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as the various UE-related operations described elsewhere in this disclosure. Transmit circuitry 110 may transmit multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. These multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM). Transmit circuitry 110 may be configured to receive block data from control circuitry 105 for transmission across air interface 190. Similarly, receiving circuitry 115 can receive multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels from air interface 190 and relay these physical channels to control circuitry 105. Uplink and downlink physical channels can be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. Transmitting circuitry 110 and receiving circuitry 115 can transmit and receive structured control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, video, etc.) within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0023] Figure 1A base station 150 according to various embodiments is also shown. The base station 150 circuitry may include control circuitry 155 coupled to transmitting circuitry 160 and receiving circuitry 165. Transmitting circuitry 160 and receiving circuitry 165 may each be coupled to one or more antennas, which may be used for communication via air interface 190.

[0024] Control circuitry 155 can be adapted to perform operations associated with the MTC. Transmitting circuitry 160 and receiving circuitry 165 can be adapted to transmit and receive data respectively within a narrow system bandwidth, which is narrower than the standard bandwidth used for personal communications. In some embodiments, for example, the transmission bandwidth can be set to or close to 1.4 MHz. In other embodiments, other bandwidths can be used. Control circuitry 155 can perform various operations, such as those associated with the base station described elsewhere in this disclosure.

[0025] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the transmitter circuit 160 can transmit multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels. These multiple downlink physical channels can be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmitter circuit 160 can transmit these multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels in a downlink superframe consisting of multiple downlink subframes.

[0026] Within a narrow system bandwidth, receiver circuit 165 can receive multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. These multiple uplink physical channels can be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. Receiver circuit 165 can receive these multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels in an uplink superframe composed of multiple uplink subframes.

[0027] As further described below, control circuits 105 and 155 may be involved in measuring the channel quality of air interface 190. Channel quality may be based, for example, on physical barriers between UE 101 and base station 150, electromagnetic interference from other sources, reflections, or indirect paths between UE 101 and base station 150, or other such signal noise sources. Based on channel quality, multiple retransmissions of data blocks can be scheduled, allowing transmitting circuit 110 to transmit multiple copies of the same data, and receiving circuit 115 to receive multiple copies of the same data.

[0028] Figure 2 A flowchart of an exemplary method for a user equipment according to some implementation schemes is shown. Figure 2 The method 200 shown can be derived from Figure 1 Implemented using UE 101 as described in the document.

[0029] Method 200 may begin at step S201, wherein the UE may determine a first time period for the UE based on whether the UE uses discontinuous reception (DRX) and whether the UE uses measurement intervals (MG). The first time period indicates a corresponding timing criterion for the UE to determine the time period for maintaining available downlink timing for the reference cell. In some embodiments, the first time period may be related to the sampling rate at the physical layer; in other words, the first time period may be based on the physical layer measurement time interval of the reference cell.

[0030] In step S202, the UE may determine a first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on a first time period.

[0031] The reference cell availability is determined through the two steps described above, taking into account the timing criteria used by the UE to determine the DL timing availability. Once the UE availability criteria are determined, UE behavior can then be applied based on the reference availability.

[0032] In some implementations, the UE may not use DRX. The first time period is determined based on the UE's Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) period based on synchronization signals and physical broadcast channel blocks (SSBs).

[0033] In some implementations, the UE does not use DRX and does not use MG; for example, the reference cell SSB is within the active bandwidth portion (BWP), and reference cell SSB time tracking can be performed without MG. The first time period is determined as the product of a first factor and the SMTC period.

[0034] like Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0035] In some implementations, the first factor can have a predefined value greater than or equal to 1. For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160 ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0036] X = max{M1 × SMTC period, 160ms}, M1 ≥ 1

[0037] Where X and M1 are the first time threshold and the first factor, respectively.

[0038] In some embodiments, the first factor may be a measurement resource sharing factor. In some embodiments, the measurement resource sharing factor may be the carrier-specific scaling factor CSSF defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0. For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160 ms, and the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0039] X = max{SMTC period × CSSF intra , 160 ms}

[0040] where X and CSSF intra are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor CSSF defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0, respectively.

[0041] In some embodiments, the first factor may be the product of the second factor and the measurement resource sharing factor. The second factor is based on how intra-frequency SMTC overlaps with MG; in other words, the second factor is based on the MG overlap condition. In some embodiments, the measurement resource sharing factor is the carrier-specific scaling factor CSSF defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0. For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160 ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0042] X = max{(K p ]>[[]]or ceiling(K p )) × SMTC period × CSSF intra , 160 ms}

[0043] where X and CSSF intra are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor CSSF defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0, respectively. In some embodiments, the second factor may be K p . In other embodiments, the second factor may be ceiling(K p ). Even if the UE does not use MG, the second factor can be determined based on MG because there are always MGs configured by the base station regardless of whether the UE uses them. When intra-frequency SMTC does not overlap with MG at all or intra-frequency SMTC completely overlaps with MG, K p = 1. When intra-frequency SMTC partially overlaps with MG, K p = 1 / (1 - (SMTC period / MGRP)), where SMTC period < MGRP and MGRP represents the measurement gap repetition period. K p is defined as in Section 9.2A.5.1 of TS 38.133 V16.6.0.

[0044] When the gNB is configured with at least one SSB, but due to the failure of DL CCA at the gNB during the last Xms, the first two consecutive candidate SSB locations for the same SSB index within the burst transmission window are found to be unavailable at the UE, the UE determines that the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency subject to CCA is unavailable at the UE; otherwise, the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency subject to CCA is considered available at the UE.

[0045] When the UE does not use DRX, in some implementations where the UE uses MG, the reference cell SSB is outside the active BWP, and reference cell SSB time tracking requires MG. The first time period is determined based on the greater of the SMTC period and the measurement interval repetition (MGRP).

[0046] In some implementations, the first time threshold is determined as the product of a third factor and the larger of the SMTC period and MGRP, where the third factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1. For example, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0047] X = N3 × max{MGRP, SMTC period}, N3 ≥ 1

[0048] Where X and N3 are the first time threshold and the third factor, respectively.

[0049] In some implementations, the first time period is determined as the product of the fourth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and MGRP, wherein the fourth factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0050] Again, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0051] For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0052] X = max{M4 × max{MGRP, SMTC period}, 160ms}, M4 ≥ 1

[0053] Where X and M4 are the first time threshold and the fourth factor, respectively.

[0054] In some implementations, the first time period is determined as the product of the resource sharing factor and the larger of the SMTC period and MGRP.

[0055] Again, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0056] In some implementations, the resource sharing factor is measured as the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0. For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160 ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0057] X = max{max{MGRP, SMTC period} × CSSF intra 160ms

[0058] Among them, X and CSSF intra These are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0, respectively.

[0059] In some implementations, the first time threshold is determined to be a predefined fixed value that is greater than or equal to the second time threshold, such as 160ms.

[0060] When the gNB is configured with at least one SSB, but due to the failure of DL CCA at the gNB during the last Xms, the first two consecutive candidate SSB locations for the same SSB index within the burst transmission window are found to be unavailable at the UE, the UE determines that the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency subject to CCA is unavailable at the UE; otherwise, the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency subject to CCA is considered available at the UE.

[0061] In some implementations, the UE can use DRX but not MG, where the reference cell SSB is within the active BWP, and reference cell SSB time tracking can be performed without MG. The first time period is determined based on the UE's Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) cycle based on synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB) and the DRX cycle.

[0062] In some implementations, the first time threshold is determined as the product of the fifth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, where the fifth factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1. For example, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0063] X = N5 × max{SMTC period, DRX period}, N5 ≥ 1

[0064] Where X and N5 are the first time threshold and the fifth factor, respectively.

[0065] In some implementations, the first time period is determined as the product of the sixth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, wherein the sixth factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0066] Again, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0067] For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0068] X = max{M6 × max{SMTC period, DRX period}, 160ms}, M6 ≥ 1

[0069] X and M6 are the first time threshold and the sixth factor, respectively.

[0070] When the UE uses DRX but not MG, in some implementations where the DRX period can be greater than the third time threshold, the first time threshold is determined as the product of the measurement resource sharing factor and the DRX period. In some implementations, the measurement resource sharing factor can be the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0. For example, when the third time threshold is defined as 320ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0071] X = DRX period × CSSF intra DRX cycle > 320ms

[0072] Where X is the first time threshold, and CSSF intra It is the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0.

[0073] When the UE uses DRX but not MG, in some implementations where the DRX period may not be greater than a third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of the following: the seventh factor, the measurement resource sharing factor, and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, wherein the seventh factor is greater than or equal to 1.

[0074] Again, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0075] In some implementations, the resource sharing factor is measured as the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0. For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160 ms and the third time threshold is defined as 320 ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0076] X = max{max{SMTC period, DRX period} × CSSF intra ,160ms}, DRX period≤320ms} where X and CSSF intra These are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0, respectively. The seventh factor is equal to 1.

[0077] For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160ms and the third time threshold is defined as 320ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0078] X = max{(1.5 or 2) × max{SMTC period, DRX period} × CSSF intra 160ms

[0079] DRX cycle ≤ 320ms}

[0080] Among them, X and CSSF intra These are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0, respectively. The seventh factor is equal to 1.5 or 2.

[0081] When the UE uses DRX but not MG, in some implementations where the DRX period is greater than the third time threshold, the first time threshold is determined as the product of the following: the eighth factor, the measurement resource sharing factor, and the DRX period, wherein the eighth factor is based on how the intra-frequency SMTC overlaps with the MG.

[0082] In some implementations, the measurement resource sharing factor is the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0.

[0083] For example, when the third time threshold is defined as 320ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0084] X = (K p or ceiling(K) p ))×DRX cycle×CSSF intra DRX cycle > 320ms, where X and CSSF intra These are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0, respectively. In some implementations, the eighth factor may be K. p In other implementations, the eighth factor can be ceiling(K). p ).

[0085] When the UE uses DRX but not MG, in some implementations where the DRX period may not be greater than a third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of the following: a ninth factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, wherein the ninth factor is based on how the intra-frequency SMTC overlaps with the MG.

[0086] Again, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0087] In some implementations, the ninth factor can be based on K. p For example, the ninth factor can be equal to K. p or ceiling(K) p In other implementations, the ninth factor can also be based on relaxation caused by the DRX mode. As a result, for example, the ninth factor could be (1.5 × K) p ) or ceiling(1.5×K p ).

[0088] In some implementations, the resource sharing factor is measured as the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0. For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160 ms and the third time threshold is defined as 320 ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0089] X = max{(K) p or ceiling(K)p )) × max{SMTC period, DRX period} × CSSF intra ,

[0090] 160 ms}, DRX period ≤ 320 ms

[0091] or

[0092] X = max{(1.5 × K p ) or ceiling(1.5 × K p )) × max{SMTC period, DRX period} ×

[0093] CSSF intra , 160 ms}, DRX period ≤ 320 ms

[0094] where X and CSSF intra are the first time threshold and the carrier - specific scaling factor CSSF defined in Section 9.1.5.1 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0, respectively.

[0095] Even if the UE does not use MG, the ninth factor can be determined based on MG because there is always an MG configured by the base station regardless of whether the UE uses them. When the in - band SMTC and MG do not overlap at all or the in - band SMTC and MG overlap completely, K p = 1. When the in - band SMTC and MG partially overlap, K p = 1 / (1 - (SMTC period, MGRP)), where SMTC period < MGRP and MGRP represents the measurement gap repetition. K p is defined as in Section 9.2A.5.1 of TS 38.133 V16.6.0.

[0096] In some embodiments, the first time threshold is determined as a predefined fixed value greater than or equal to the second time threshold, such as 160 ms. In some embodiments, the predefined fixed value is different between different DRX periods.

[0097] When the gNB configures at least one SSB, but due to DL CCA failure at the gNB during the last X ms, the first two consecutive candidate SSB positions for the same SSB index within the discovery burst transmission window are not available at the UE, the UE determines that the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency undergoing CCA is not available at the UE; otherwise, the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency undergoing CCA is considered available at the UE.

[0098] In some implementations, the UE may use DRX and MG, where the reference cell SSB is outside the active BWP, and reference cell SSB time tracking requires MG. The first time period is determined based on the UE's Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) period based on Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB), DRX period, and Measurement Interval Repetition (MGRP).

[0099] In some implementations, the first time threshold is determined as the product of the tenth factor and the largest of the SMTC period, DRX period, and MGRP, where the tenth factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1. For example, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0100] X = N 10 ×max{MGRP, SMTC period, DRX period}, N 10 ≥1

[0101] Where X and N 10 These are the first time threshold and the tenth factor, respectively.

[0102] In some implementations, the first time period is determined as the product of the eleventh factor and the largest of the SMTC cycle, DRX cycle, and MGRP, wherein the eleventh factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0103] Again, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0104] For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0105] X = max{M 11 ×max{MGRP, SMTC period, DRX period}, 160ms}, M 11 ≥1

[0106] Where X and M 11 These are the first time threshold and the eleventh factor, respectively.

[0107] When the UE uses DRX and MG, in some implementations where the DRX period can be greater than a third time threshold, the first time threshold is determined as the product of the DRX period and the measurement resource sharing factor. In some implementations, the measurement resource sharing factor is the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0. For example, when the third time threshold is defined as 320ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0108] X = DRX period × CSSF intra DRX cycle > 320ms

[0109] Among them, X and CSSF intra These are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0, respectively.

[0110] When the UE uses DRX and MG, in some implementations where the DRX period may not be greater than a third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of the following: the twelfth factor, the measurement resource sharing factor, and the largest of the SMTC period, DRX period, and MGRP, wherein the twelfth factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0111] Again, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S202, which determines the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period, includes: step S2021 comparing the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and step S2022 determining the larger of the second time threshold and the first time period as the first time threshold.

[0112] In some implementations, the measurement resource sharing factor is the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133 V16.6.0.

[0113] For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160ms and the third time threshold is defined as 320ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0114] X = max{max{MGRP, SMTC period, DRX period} × CSSF intra 160ms}, DRX period ≤ 320ms}

[0115] Among them, X and CSSF intraThese are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0, respectively. The twelfth factor equals 1.

[0116] For example, when the second time threshold is defined as 160ms and the third time threshold is defined as 320ms, the first time threshold can be determined by the following formula:

[0117] X = max{(1.5 or 2) × max{MGRP, SMTC period, DRX period} × CSSF intra ,

[0118] 160ms}, DRX cycle ≤ 320ms}

[0119] Among them, X and CSSF intra These are the first time threshold and the carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF) defined in Section 9.1.5.2 of 3GPP TS 38.133V16.6.0, respectively. The twelfth factor is equal to 1.5 or 2.

[0120] In some implementations, the first time threshold is determined to be a predefined fixed value greater than or equal to a second time threshold, such as 160 ms. In some implementations, the predefined fixed value is different between different DRX cycles.

[0121] When the gNB is configured with at least one SSB, but due to the failure of DL CCA at the gNB during the last Xms, the first two consecutive candidate SSB locations for the same SSB index within the burst transmission window are found to be unavailable at the UE, the UE determines that the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency subject to CCA is unavailable at the UE; otherwise, the reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency subject to CCA is considered available at the UE.

[0122] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of an apparatus for a user equipment (UE) according to some embodiments is shown. Figure 4 The device 400 shown can be used to achieve, for example, a combination Figure 2 Method 200 is shown.

[0123] like Figure 4 As shown, the device 400 includes a first determining unit 410 and a second determining unit 420.

[0124] The first determining unit 410 can be configured to determine a first time period for the UE based on whether the UE uses discontinuous reception (DRX) and whether the UE uses measurement gaps (MG), wherein the first time period indicates a corresponding timing standard for the UE to determine the time period for maintaining available downlink timing for the reference cell. The second determining unit 420 can be configured to determine a first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period.

[0125] According to the implementation of this application, by performing reference signal measurements in relaxed mode based on UE mobility, it is determined whether a reference cell or reference timing on the carrier frequency subject to CCA is available at the UE, and then UE behavior can be applied based on the availability of the reference cell.

[0126] Figure 5 Exemplary components of device 500 according to some embodiments are shown. In some embodiments, device 500 may include application circuitry 502, baseband circuitry 504, radio frequency (RF) circuitry (shown as RF circuitry 520), front-end module (FEM) circuitry (shown as FEM circuitry 530), one or more antennas 532, and power management circuitry (PMC) (shown as PMC 534) (at least coupled together as shown). The components of the illustrated device 500 may be included in a UE or RAN node. In some embodiments, device 500 may include fewer components (e.g., the RAN node may not utilize application circuitry 502, but instead include a processor / controller to process IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, device 500 may include additional components such as, for example, memory / storage devices, displays, cameras, sensors, or input / output (I / O) interfaces. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (e.g., the circuitry may be individually included in more than one device for a cloud-RAN (C-RAN) specific implementation).

[0127] Application circuitry 502 may include one or more application processors. For example, application circuitry 502 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor may include any combination of general-purpose processors and special-purpose processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processor may be coupled to or may include a memory / storage device and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory / storage device to enable various applications or operating systems to run on device 500. In some embodiments, the processor of application circuitry 502 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0128] Baseband circuitry 504 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Baseband circuitry 504 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic components to process baseband signals received from the receive signal path of RF circuitry 520 and to generate baseband signals for the transmit signal path of RF circuitry 520. Baseband circuitry 504 may interact with application circuitry 502 to generate and process baseband signals and control the operation of RF circuitry 520. For example, in some embodiments, baseband circuitry 504 may include a third-generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 506), a fourth-generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 508), a fifth-generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 510), or other existing, under development, or future generations of baseband processors 512 (e.g., second-generation (2G), sixth-generation (6G), etc.). Baseband circuitry 504 (e.g., one or more baseband processors in a baseband processor suite) can handle various radio control functions capable of communicating with one or more radio networks via RF circuitry 520. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the illustrated baseband processor may be included in modules stored in memory 518 and executed via a central processing unit ETnit (CPET 514). Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, encoding / decoding, RF shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuitry of baseband circuitry 504 may include Fast Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuitry of baseband circuitry 504 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity-check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Implementations of modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these examples, and other suitable functions may be included in other embodiments.

[0129] In some embodiments, baseband circuitry 504 may include a digital signal processor (DSP), such as one or more audio DSPs 516. The one or more audio DSPs 516 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments may include other suitable processing elements. In some embodiments, components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, a single chipset, or disposed on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all components of baseband circuitry 504 and application circuitry 502 may be implemented together, for example, on a system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0130] In some implementations, baseband circuit 504 can provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some implementations, baseband circuit 504 can support communication with the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). Implementations in which baseband circuit 504 is configured to support radio communication with more than one radio protocol may be referred to as multimode baseband circuits.

[0131] RF circuit 520 enables communication with a wireless network via a non-solid medium using modulated electromagnetic radiation. In various embodiments, RF circuit 520 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate communication with the wireless network. RF circuit 520 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry for down-converting the RF signal received from FEM circuit 530 and providing a baseband signal to baseband circuit 504. RF circuit 520 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry for up-converting the baseband signal provided by baseband circuit 504 and providing an RF output signal for transmission to FEM circuit 530.

[0132] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of RF circuit 520 may include mixer circuit 522, amplifier circuit 524, and filter circuit 526. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of RF circuit 520 may include filter circuit 526 and mixer circuit 522. RF circuit 520 may also include synthesizer circuit 528 for synthesizing frequencies used by mixer circuit 522 for both the receive and transmit signal paths. In some embodiments, mixer circuit 522 for the receive signal path may be configured to down-convert the RF signal received from FEM circuit 530 based on the synthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuit 528. Amplifier circuit 524 may be configured to amplify the down-converted signal, and filter circuit 526 may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the down-converted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to baseband circuit 504 for further processing. In some embodiments, although not required, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal. In some implementations, the mixer circuit 522 for receiving the signal path may include a passive mixer, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0133] In some implementations, the mixer circuit 522 of the transmission signal path may be configured to up-convert the input baseband signal based on the synthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 528 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 530. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 504 and may be filtered by the filter circuit 526.

[0134] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 522 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 522 for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion and upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 522 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 522 for the transmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 522 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 522 may be arranged for direct downconversion and direct upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 522 for the receive signal path and the mixer circuit 522 for the transmit signal path may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0135] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, RF circuit 520 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry, and baseband circuit 504 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with RF circuit 520.

[0136] In some dual-mode implementations, separate radio IC circuits can be provided to process signals for each spectrum, but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect.

[0137] In some implementations, synthesizer circuit 528 may be a fractional N synthesizer or a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of implementations is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may also be suitable. For example, synthesizer circuit 528 may be a Δ-Σ synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a synthesizer including a phase-locked loop with a frequency divider.

[0138] Synthesizer circuit 528 can be configured to synthesize an output frequency based on the frequency input and the divider control input for use by mixer circuit 522 of RF circuit 520. In some embodiments, synthesizer circuit 528 may be a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0139] In some implementations, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), although this is not mandatory. The divider control input may be provided by baseband circuitry 504 or application circuitry 502 (such as an application processor) according to the desired output frequency. In some implementations, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by application circuitry 502.

[0140] The synthesizer circuit 528 of the RF circuit 520 may include a frequency divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the frequency divider may be a dual-mode divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal by N or N+1 (e.g., based on carry) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, the DLL may include a cascaded, tunable delay element, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a set of D-type flip-flops. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO cycle into Nd equal phase groups, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. Thus, the DLL provides negative feedback to help ensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0141] In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 528 may be configured to generate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency) and may be used in conjunction with quadrature generator and frequency divider circuitry to generate multiple signals having multiple different phases relative to each other at that carrier frequency. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, RF circuitry 520 may include an IQ / polarity converter.

[0142] FEM circuit 530 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or more antennas 532, amplify the received signals, and provide an amplified version of the received signals to RF circuit 520 for further processing. FEM circuit 530 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify transmit signals provided by RF circuit 520 for transmission by one or more of the one or more antennas 532. In various embodiments, amplification via the transmit or receive signal path may be performed only in RF circuit 520, only in FEM circuit 530, or in both RF circuit 520 and FEM circuit 530.

[0143] In some embodiments, FEM circuit 530 may include a TX / RX switch to switch between transmit and receive mode operation. FEM circuit 530 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of FEM circuit 530 may include an LNA to amplify the received RF signal and provide the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to RF circuit 520). The transmit signal path of FEM circuit 530 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify the input RF signal (e.g., provided by RF circuit 520), and one or more filters to generate an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., through one or more antennas in one or more antennas 532).

[0144] In some implementations, the PMC 534 can manage the power supplied to the baseband circuitry 504. Specifically, the PMC 534 can control power selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC 534 is typically included when the device 500 is capable of being battery powered, for example, when the device 500 is included in an EGE. The PMC 534 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing the desired implementation size and thermal characteristics.

[0145] Figure 5 A PMC 534 is shown that is coupled only to the baseband circuit 504. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 534 may additionally or alternatively be coupled to other components (such as, but not limited to, the application circuit 502, the RF circuit 520, or the FEM circuit 530) and perform similar power management operations for those components.

[0146] In some implementations, the PMC 534 can control or otherwise become part of various power-saving mechanisms of the device 500. For example, if the device 500 is in an RRC connected state, where it remains connected to the RAN node because it expects to receive communication soon, the device can enter a state called Discontinuous Receive Mode (DRX) after an inactive period. During this state, the device 500 can be powered down for short intervals, thereby saving power.

[0147] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, device 500 may transition to an RRC idle state, in which the device disconnects from the network and does not perform operations such as channel quality feedback or handover. Device 500 enters a very low power state and performs paging, in which the device periodically wakes up again to listen to the network, and then powers off again. Device 500 cannot receive data in this state, and in order to receive data, the device transitions back to the RRC connected state.

[0148] An additional power-saving mode allows the device to be unavailable from the network for periods exceeding the paging interval (ranging from seconds to hours). During this time, the device is completely unconnected to the network and can be completely powered off. Any data sent during this period will incur significant latency, which is assumed to be acceptable.

[0149] The processors of application circuit 502 and baseband circuit 504 are elements that can be used to execute one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuit 504 can be used alone or in combination to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, while the processor of application circuit 502 can utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) and further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., Transport Communication Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layers). As mentioned herein, layer 3 may include the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 2 may include the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which will be described in further detail below. As mentioned herein, layer 1 may include the physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which will be described in further detail below.

[0150] Figure 6 An exemplary interface 600 of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments is shown. As described above, Figure 5 The baseband circuitry 504 may include a 3G baseband processor 506, a 4G baseband processor 508, a 5G baseband processor 510, other baseband processors 512, a CPU 514, and a memory 518 used by the processors. As shown, each processor may include a corresponding memory interface 602 for sending / receiving data to / from the memory 518.

[0151] Baseband circuit 504 may further include: one or more interfaces for communicatively coupling to other circuits / devices, such as memory interface 604 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to baseband circuit 504); application circuit interface 606 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to baseband circuit 504); and application circuit interface 606 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from a memory external to baseband circuit 504). Figure 5 Application circuit 502 (interface for sending / receiving data); RF circuit interface 608 (e.g., for sending / receiving data to / from...). Figure 5 The RF circuit 520 is an interface for transmitting / receiving data; the wireless hardware connection interface 610 (e.g., for transmitting / receiving data to / from near field communication (NFC) components, Components (e.g.) (low power consumption) Interface for sending / receiving data to / from components and other communication components; and power management interface 612 (e.g., an interface for sending / receiving power or control signals to / from PMC 534).

[0152] Figure 7 This is a block diagram illustrating component 700, according to some exemplary embodiments, capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and executing any or more methods discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 7 A schematic diagram of hardware resource 702 is shown, which includes one or more processors 712 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 718, and one or more communication resources 720, each of which is communicatively connected via bus 722. In an implementation utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 704 can be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices / subslices utilizing hardware resource 702.

[0153] Processor 712 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) (such as a baseband processor), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 714 and processor 716.

[0154] The memory / storage device 718 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 718 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory, such as 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 storage devices, etc.

[0155] Communication resource 720 may include interconnection devices or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 706 or one or more databases 708 via network 710. For example, communication resource 720 may include wired communication components (e.g., for coupling via Universal Serial Bus (USB), cellular communication components, NFC components, etc. Components (e.g.) (low power consumption) Components and other communication components.

[0156] Instruction 724 may include software, programs, applications, applets, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 712 to perform one or more of the methods discussed herein. Instruction 724 may reside wholly or partially within processor 712 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), memory / storage device 718, or any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any portion of instruction 724 may be transferred to hardware resource 702 from any combination of peripheral device 706 or database 708. Therefore, the memory of processor 712, memory / storage device 718, peripheral device 706, and database 708 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0157] 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, and / or methods as 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 below. As 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.

[0158] Figure 8 The architecture of a system 800 of a network according to some embodiments is shown. System 800 includes one or more user equipment (UEs), shown in this example as UE 802 and UE 804. UE 802 and UE 804 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices that can connect to one or more cellular networks), but it may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device, such as a personal data assistant (PDA), pager, laptop computer, desktop computer, wireless handheld terminal, or any computing device that includes a wireless communication interface.

[0159] In some implementations, either UE 802 or UE 804 may include an Internet of Things (IoT) UE, which may include a network access layer designed to utilize low-power IoT applications with short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may exchange data with an MTC server or device via technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) or machine-type communication (MTC), through a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN), Proximity-Based Service (ProSe) or Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. M2M or MTC data exchange may be machine-initiated data exchange. The IoT network describes interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) with short-lived connections. The IoT UE may execute background applications (e.g., keeping track of activity messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0160] UE 802 and UE 804 can be configured to connect (e.g., communicatively coupled) a radio access network (RAN) (shown as RAN 806). RAN 806 can be, for example, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (ETMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a Next Generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UE 802 and UE 804 utilize connection 808 and connection 810, respectively, where each connection includes a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in further detail below); in this example, connection 808 and connection 810 are shown as air interfaces for communication coupling and can be consistent with cellular communication protocols such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) network protocol, Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, Cellular PTT (POC) protocol, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, 5G protocol, New Radio (NR) protocol, etc.

[0161] In this implementation, UE 802 and UE 804 can also exchange communication data directly via ProSe interface 812. ProSe interface 812 may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface including one or more logical channels, including but not limited to the Physical Sidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), Physical Sidelink Shared Channel (PSSCH), Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and Physical Sidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

[0162] The diagram shows UE 804 configured to access an access point (AP) (shown as AP 814) via connection 816. Connection 816 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, where AP 814 will include Wireless Fidelity. Router. In this embodiment, AP 814 can connect to the Internet but not to the core network of the wireless system (described in further detail below).

[0163] RAN 806 may include one or more access nodes that enable connectivity 808 and connectivity 810. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BS), node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), next-generation Node Bs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may include ground stations (e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). RAN 806 may include one or more RAN nodes (e.g., macro RAN node 818) for providing macro cells, and one or more RAN nodes (e.g., low-power (LP) RAN nodes such as LP RAN node 820) for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macro cells).

[0164] Either macro RAN node 818 or LP RAN node 820 can terminate the air interface protocol and can be the first point of contact for UE 802 and UE 804. In some implementations, either macro RAN node 818 or LP RAN node 820 can fulfill various logical functions of RAN 806, including but not limited to radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and mobility management.

[0165] According to some implementations, EGE 802 and EGE 804 can be configured to communicate with each other or with either macro RAN node 818 or LP RAN node 820 on a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals, based on various communication technologies, such as, but not limited to, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technology (e.g., for downlink communication) or single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technology (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), but the scope of the implementation is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0166] In some implementations, the downlink resource grid can be used for downlink transmissions from either macro RAN node 818 or LP RAN node 820 to UE 802 and UE 804, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, referred to as a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources in the downlink within each time slot. This time-frequency plane representation is common practice for OFDM systems, making radio resource allocation intuitive. Each column and row of the resource grid corresponds to an OFDM symbol and an OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to a time slot in a radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit in the resource grid is represented as a resource element. Each resource grid comprises multiple resource blocks that describe the mapping of certain physical channels to resource elements. Each resource block comprises a set of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this can represent the minimum amount of resources currently available for allocation. Such resource blocks are used to transmit several different physical downlink channels.

[0167] The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) carries user data and higher-layer signaling to UE 802 and UE 804. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) carries information such as transmission format and resource allocation related to the PDSCH channel. It also informs UE 802 and UE 804 of transmission format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to UE 804 within the cell) can be performed at either macro RAN node 818 or LP RAN node 820 based on channel quality information fed back from either UE 802 or UE 804. Downlink resource allocation information can be transmitted on the PDCCH used (e.g., allocated to) each of UE 802 and UE 804.

[0168] PDCCH can use Control Channel Elements (CCEs) to transmit control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the complex-valued symbols of the PDCCH are first organized into quadruplets, which are then arranged using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. One or more of these CCEs can be used to transmit each PDCCH, where each CCE can correspond to a set of four physical resource elements (REGs) of nine. Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols can be mapped to each REG. Depending on the size of the Downlink Control Information (DCI) and channel conditions, one or more CCEs can be used to transmit the PDCCH. In LTE, four or more different PDCCH formats with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation levels, L = 1, 2, 4, or 8) can exist.

[0169] Some implementations may use the concept of resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some implementations may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs). Similarly, each ECCE may correspond to a set of nine physical resource elements, referred to as an enhanced resource element group (EREG). In some cases, an ECCE may have a different number of EREGs.

[0170] RAN 806 is communicatively coupled to the core network (CN) (shown as CN 828) via S1 interface 822. In various embodiments, CN 828 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) network, a next-generation packet core (NPC) network, or some other type of CN. In this embodiment, S1 interface 822 is divided into two parts: S1-U interface 1124, which carries service data between macro RAN node 818 and LP RAN node 820 and the serving gateway (S-GW) (shown as S-GW 1132); and S1-Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface (shown as S1-MME interface 826), which is the signaling interface between macro RAN node 818 and LP RAN node 820 and MME 830.

[0171] In this implementation, CN 828 includes an MME 830, an S-GW 832, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) (shown as P-GW 834), and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (shown as HSS 836). The MME 830 is functionally similar to the control plane of a legacy General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MME 830 manages access-related mobility aspects such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 836 may include a database for network users, containing subscription-related information to support network entities in handling communication sessions. Depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capacity, network organization, etc., CN 828 may include one or more HSS 836s. For example, the HSS 836 may provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependencies, etc.

[0172] The S-GW 832 can terminate the S1 interface 822 toward RAN 806 and route data packets between RAN 806 and CN 828. Furthermore, the S-GW 832 can serve as a local mobility anchor for inter-RAN node handover and can also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, charging, and enforcement of certain policies.

[0173] P-GW 834 can terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN. P-GW 834 can route data packets between CN 828 (e.g., an EPC network) and external networks such as a network including an application server 842 (alternatively referred to as an application function (AF)) via Internet Protocol (IP) (shown as IP communication interface 838). Generally, application server 842 can be an element that provides applications that use IP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., ETMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, LTE PS data service, etc.). In this embodiment, the illustrated P-GW 834 is communicatively coupled to application server 842 via IP communication interface 838. Application server 842 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, group communication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for UE 802 and UE 804 via CN 828.

[0174] The P-GW 834 can also serve as a node for policy enforcement and charging data collection. The Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) (shown as PCRF 840) is the policy and charging control element of CN 828. In non-roaming scenarios, a single PCRF may exist in the domestic public land mobile network (HPLMN) associated with the ETE's Internet Protocol Connectivity Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In roaming scenarios with local traffic breaches, two PCRFs may exist associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: a domestic PCRF within the HPLMN (H-PCRF) and a visited PCRF within the visited public land mobile network (VPLMN) (V-PCRF). PCRF 840 can be communicatively coupled to the application server 842 via the P-GW 834. The application server 842 can signal PCRF 840 to indicate new service flows and select appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and charging parameters. PCRF 840 can configure the rule as a policy and charging enforcement function (PCEF) (not shown) with an appropriate communication flow template (TFT) and QoS category identifier (QCI), which begins with QoS and charging specified by application server 842.

[0175] Additional Examples

[0176] 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, and / or methods as 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 below. As 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.

[0177] The following examples relate to other implementation schemes.

[0178] Example 1 is a method for user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0179] A first time period for the UE is determined based on whether the UE uses discontinuous reception (DRX) and whether the UE uses measurement gaps (MG), wherein the first time period indicates a corresponding timing standard for the UE to determine the time period for maintaining available downlink timing for a reference cell; and

[0180] A first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell is determined based on the first time period.

[0181] Example 2 is the method according to Example 1, wherein when the UE does not use DRX, the first time period is determined according to the UE's Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) period based on synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB).

[0182] Example 3 is the method according to Example 2, wherein when the UE does not use MG, the first time period is determined as the product of a first factor and the SMTC period, and

[0183] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0184] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0185] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0186] Example 4 is the method according to Example 3, wherein the first factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0187] Example 5 is the method according to Example 3, wherein the first factor is a measurement resource sharing factor.

[0188] Example 6 is the method according to Example 3, wherein the first factor is the product of the second factor and the measurement resource sharing factor, and wherein the second factor is based on how the intra-frequency SMTC overlaps with the MG.

[0189] Example 7 is the method according to Example 5 or 6, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

[0190] Example 8 is the method according to Example 2, wherein when the UE uses MG, the first time period is determined based on the greater of the SMTC period and the measurement gap repetition (MGRP).

[0191] Example 9 is the method according to Example 8, wherein the first time threshold is determined as the product of a third factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the MGRP, the third factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0192] Example 10 is the method according to Example 8, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of a fourth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the MGRP, the fourth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and

[0193] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0194] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0195] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0196] Example 11 is the method according to Example 8, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of the measurement resource sharing factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the MGRP, and

[0197] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0198] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0199] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0200] Example 12 is the method according to Example 11, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

[0201] Example 13 is the method according to Example 1, wherein when the UE uses DRX but not MG, the first time period is determined based on the UE's Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) period based on Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB) and the DRX period.

[0202] Example 14 is the method according to Example 13, wherein the first time threshold is determined as the product of a fifth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, the fifth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0203] Example 15 is the method according to Example 13, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of a sixth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, the sixth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and

[0204] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0205] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0206] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0207] Example 16 is the method according to Example 13, wherein when the DRX period is greater than a third time threshold, the first time period is determined to be the product of the following: the measurement resource sharing factor and the DRX period.

[0208] Example 17 is the method according to Example 16, wherein when the DRX period is not greater than the third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of the following: a seventh factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, wherein the seventh factor is greater than or equal to 1, and

[0209] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0210] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0211] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0212] Example 18 is the method according to Example 17, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

[0213] Example 19 is the method according to Example 13, wherein when the DRX period is greater than a third time threshold, the first time threshold is determined as the product of the following: an eighth factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the DRX period, wherein the eighth factor is based on how the intra-frequency SMTC overlaps with the MG.

[0214] Example 20 is the method according to Example 19, wherein when the DRX period is not greater than the third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of: a ninth factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, and wherein the ninth factor is based on how the intra-frequency SMTC overlaps with the MG, and

[0215] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0216] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0217] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0218] Example 21 is the method according to Example 19 or 20, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

[0219] Example 22 is the method according to Example 1, wherein when the UE uses DRX and MG, the first time period is determined based on the UE's Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) period based on Synchronization Signal and Physical Broadcast Channel Block (SSB), DRX period, and Measurement Interval Repetition (MGRP).

[0220] Example 23 is the method according to Example 22, wherein the first time threshold is determined as the product of the tenth factor and the largest of the SMTC period, the DRX period and the MGRP, the tenth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

[0221] Example 24 is the method according to Example 22, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of the eleventh factor and the largest of the SMTC period, the DRX period, and the MGRP, the eleventh factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and

[0222] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0223] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0224] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0225] Example 25 is the method according to Example 22, wherein when the DRX period is greater than a third time threshold, the first time threshold is determined to be the product of the DRX period and the measurement resource sharing factor.

[0226] Example 26 is the method according to Example 25, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

[0227] Example 27 is the method according to Example 25, wherein when the DRX period is not greater than the third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of the following: a twelfth factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the largest of the SMTC period, the DRX period, and the MGRP, wherein the twelfth factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and

[0228] The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time includes:

[0229] Compare the second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing with the first time period; and

[0230] The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

[0231] Example 28 is the method according to Example 27, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

[0232] Example 29 is an apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising:

[0233] One or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 28.

[0234] Example 30 is a computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, which, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 28.

[0235] Example 31 is an apparatus for a communication device, the apparatus including means for performing the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 28.

[0236] Example 32 is a computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 28.

[0237] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific embodiments provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise forms disclosed. In view of the teachings above, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations may be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0238] It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific implementations. These implementations may be combined into a single system, partially integrated into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise partitioned or combined. Furthermore, it is conceivable to use parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., of one implementation in another implementation. For clarity, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., are described only in one or more implementations, and it should be recognized that unless specifically stated herein, these parameters / attributes / aspects, etc., may be combined with or replace parameters / attributes, etc., of another implementation.

[0239] As is widely recognized, the use of personally identifiable information should comply with privacy policies and practices that are generally accepted to meet or exceed industry or governmental requirements for protecting 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 explained to users.

[0240] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that many alternative ways exist to implement both the processes and apparatus described herein. Therefore, embodiments of the invention should be considered illustrative rather than restrictive, and this specification is not limited to the details given herein, but can be modified within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for equipping a user (UE), comprising: The first time period of the UE is determined based on whether the UE uses discontinuous reception DRX and whether the UE uses measurement gap MG, wherein the first time period indicates a corresponding timing standard for the UE to determine the time period for maintaining available downlink timing for the reference cell; as well as A first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell is determined based on the first time period.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein when the UE does not use DRX, the first time period is based on the UE's measurement timing configuration SMTC based on synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block (SSB). It is determined by the cycle.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein when the UE does not use MG, the first time period is determined as the product of a first factor and the SMTC period, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein the first factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein the first factor is a measurement resource sharing factor.

6. The method according to claim 3, wherein the first factor is the product of the second factor and the measurement resource sharing factor, and wherein the second factor is K p or ceiling(K p ), when the in-band SMTC and the MG do not overlap at all or the in-band SMTC and the MG overlap completely, K p = 1, when the in-band SMTC and the MG partially overlap, K p = 1 / (1 - (SMTC period / MGRP)), where the SMTC period < MGRP and MGRP represents the measurement gap repetition period.

7. The method of claim 5 or 6, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

8. The method of claim 2, wherein when the UE uses MG, the first time period is determined based on the greater of the SMTC cycle and the measurement interval repeat MGRP.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein the first time threshold is determined as the product of a third factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the MGRP, the third factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

10. The method of claim 8, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of a fourth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the MGRP, the fourth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

11. The method of claim 8, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of the measurement resource sharing factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the MGRP, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

13. The method of claim 1, wherein when the UE uses DRX but not MG, the first time period is determined based on the UE's measurement timing configuration SMTC period based on synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block SSB and the DRX period.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first time threshold is determined as the product of a fifth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, the fifth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of a sixth factor and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, the sixth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein when the DRX period is greater than a third time threshold, the first time period is determined to be the product of the following: the measurement resource sharing factor and the DRX period.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein when the DRX period is not greater than the third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of: a seventh factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, wherein the seventh factor is greater than or equal to 1, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

19. The method according to claim 13, wherein when the DRX cycle is greater than a third time threshold, the first time threshold is determined as the product of an eighth factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the DRX cycle, where the eighth factor is K p or ceiling(K p ), when the intra-frequency SMTC and the MG do not overlap at all or the intra-frequency SMTC and the MG completely overlap, K p = 1, when the intra-frequency SMTC and the MG partially overlap, K p = 1 / (1 - (SMTC cycle / MGRP)), where the SMTC cycle < MGRP and MGRP represents the measurement gap repetition period.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein when the DRX period is not greater than the third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of a ninth factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the larger of the SMTC period and the DRX period, and wherein the ninth factor is K p , 1.5 × K p , ceiling(K p ) or ceiling(1.5 × K p ), one of which is selected when in-band SMTC and MG do not overlap at all or in-band SMTC and MG overlap completely. When in-band SMTC and MG do not overlap at all or in-band SMTC and MG overlap completely, K p = 1. When in-band SMTC and MG partially overlap, K p = 1 / (1 - (SMTC period / MGRP)), where the SMTC period < MGRP and MGRP represents the measurement gap repetition period, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

21. The method of claim 19 or 20, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

22. The method of claim 1, wherein when the UE uses DRX and MG, the first time period is determined based on the UE's measurement timing configuration SMTC period, DRX period, and measurement interval repeat MGRP based on the synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel block SSB.

23. The method of claim 22, wherein the first time threshold is determined as the product of a tenth factor and the largest of the SMTC period, the DRX period, and the MGRP, the tenth factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1.

24. The method of claim 22, wherein the first time period is determined as the product of an eleventh factor and the largest of the SMTC period, the DRX period, and the MGRP, the eleventh factor having a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

25. The method of claim 22, wherein when the DRX period is greater than a third time threshold, the first time threshold is determined as the product of the DRX period and the measurement resource sharing factor.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

27. The method of claim 25, wherein when the DRX period is not greater than the third time threshold, the first time period is determined as the product of: a twelfth factor, a measurement resource sharing factor, and the largest of the SMTC period, the DRX period, and the MGRP, wherein the twelfth factor has a predefined value greater than or equal to 1, and The determination of the first time threshold for the UE to determine the availability of the reference cell based on the first time period includes: The second time threshold for the UE to maintain local DL timing is compared with the first time period; as well as The larger of the second time threshold and the first time period is determined as the first time threshold.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the measurement resource sharing factor is a carrier-specific scaling factor (CSSF).

29. An apparatus for a user equipment (UE), the apparatus comprising: One or more processors, the one or more processors being configured to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

30. A computer-readable medium having a computer program stored thereon, the computer program causing a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28 when executed by one or more processors.

31. An apparatus for a communication device, the apparatus comprising components for performing the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

32. A computer program product comprising a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 28.

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