Apparatus, system and method for cell detection and measurement for unlicensed nr

Abstract

The invention relates to an apparatus, system and method for cell detection and measurement of unlicensed NR. Apparatus, systems and methods for a user equipment device (UE, 106) and / or a cellular network (100) to perform cell detection and measurements, e.g., in an unlicensed new air interface (NR) (NR-U). The UE (106) may determine that a threshold condition related to a lost reference signal occasion is reached. In response, the UE (106) may modify the reference signal monitoring and / or measurements.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of the PCT international application with an international filing date of November 7, 2019, Chinese application number 201980102051.6, and invention name “Device, system and method for cell detection and measurement of unlicensed NR” entering the Chinese national phase. Technical Field

[0002] The present application relates to wireless devices, and more particularly to apparatus, systems and methods for cell detection and measurement of unlicensed NR. Background Art

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. Wireless devices, especially wireless user equipment devices (UE), have become widespread. In addition, there are various applications (or applications) hosted on user devices that perform or rely on wireless communication, such as applications that provide messaging, email, browsing, video streaming, short videos, voice streaming, real-time games or other various online services.

[0004] In some cases, the UE may communicate in an unlicensed spectrum. Listen-before-talk failure may occur and may interrupt cell detection and / or measurement. Therefore, improvements in this area are desired. Summary of the invention

[0005] Disclosed herein are techniques, devices, systems, and methods for user equipment devices (UE) and cellular networks to perform cell detection and measurement, for example, in an unlicensed new radio (NR) (NR-U). The UE may detect that a threshold condition related to lost reference signal opportunities has been reached (e.g., a threshold number of opportunities continuously or within a time period, etc.). In response, the UE may modify the monitoring and measurement of reference signals for one or more cells. The UE may alert the network to the threshold condition.

[0006] This disclosure is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] A better understanding of the embodiments disclosed herein may be obtained when the following detailed description is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0008] Figure 1 illustrating an exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments;

[0009] Figure 2illustrates a base station (BS) in communication with a user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments;

[0010] Figure 3 An exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is shown;

[0011] Figure 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a BS according to some embodiments;

[0012] Figure 5 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments;

[0013] Figure 6 and Figure 7 illustrates an example of a 5G NR base station (gNB) according to some embodiments;

[0014] Figure 8 An exemplary method of cell detection and measurement in an unlicensed NR according to some embodiments is shown.

[0015] Although the present invention is susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments thereof are shown by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, it should be understood that the drawings and detailed description thereof are not intended to limit the invention to the particular forms disclosed, but on the contrary, the purpose is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternative forms falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0016] Acronyms

[0017] The following acronyms may be used in this patent application:

[0018] UE: User Equipment

[0019] BS: Base Station

[0020] ENB: eNodeB (base station)

[0021] GNB: Distribution unit logical node base station (gNodeB)

[0022] TRP: Transmission-Reception Point (Base Station)

[0023] NR: New Radio

[0024] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0025] VoLTE: Voice over Long Term Evolution

[0026] UMTS: Universal Mobile Telecommunications System

[0027] RAT: Radio Access Technology

[0028] RAN: Radio Access Network E-UTRAN: Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RANCN: Core Network

[0029] EPC: Evolved Packet Core

[0030] MME: Mobility Management Entity

[0031] HSS: Home Subscriber Server

[0032] SGW: Serving Gateway

[0033] PS: Packet Switching

[0034] CS: Circuit Switched

[0035] EPS: Evolved Packet Switching System

[0036] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0037] IE: Information Element

[0038] UL: Uplink

[0039] DL: Downlink

[0040] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0041] RS: Reference signal

[0042] PLMN: Public Land Mobile Network

[0043] SMTC: SSB-based measurement timing configuration DMTC: Reference signal measurement timing configuration MG: Measurement gap

[0044] MO: Measurement object

[0045] PSS: Primary Synchronization Signal

[0046] SSS: Secondary synchronization signal

[0047] SSB: Synchronization Signal Block

[0048] the term

[0049] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0050] Memory medium - any of various types of non-transitory memory devices or storage devices. The term "memory medium" is intended to include installation media, such as CD-ROM, floppy disk or tape devices; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash memory, magnetic media, for example, hard disk drive or optical storage device; registers or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transitory memory or combinations thereof. In addition, the memory medium may be located in the first computer system executing the program, or may be located in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer for execution. The term "memory medium" may include two or more memory media that may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., expressed as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0051] Carrier Medium—storage media as described above, and physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that transport signals such as electrical, electromagnetic or digital signals.

[0052] Programmable hardware element - includes various hardware devices that include multiple programmable function blocks connected via programmable interconnects. Examples include FPGA (field programmable gate array), PLD (programmable logic device), FPOA (field programmable object array), and CPLD (complex PLD). Programmable function blocks can vary from fine-grained (combinational logic unit or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0053] Computer System - Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), a mainframe computer system, a workstation, a network appliance, an Internet appliance, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a television system, a grid computing system, or other devices or combinations of devices. In general, the term "computer system" can be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0054] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and that perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TMphones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptop computers, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), personal digital assistants, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is convenient for a user to carry and capable of wireless communication.

[0055] Wireless Device—Any of various types of computer system devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0056] Communication device - any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, where the communication may be wired or wireless. A communication device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0057] Base Station—The term “base station” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station that is installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or radio system.

[0058] Processing element - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0059] Channel - a medium used to transmit information from a sender (transmitter) to a receiver. It should be noted that since the characteristics of the term "channel" may vary according to different wireless protocols, the term "channel" used in the present invention may be considered to be used in a manner that conforms to the standards of the type of device to which the term is used. In some standards, the channel width may be variable (e.g., depending on device capabilities, frequency band conditions, etc.). For example, LTE may support scalable channel bandwidths of 1.4MHz to 20MHz. In contrast, a WLAN channel may be 22MHz wide, while a Bluetooth channel may be 1Mhz wide. Other protocols and standards may include different definitions of channels. In addition, some standards may define and use multiple types of channels, such as different channels for uplink or downlink and / or different channels for different purposes such as data, control information, etc.

[0060] Frequency band—The term “frequency band” has the full breadth of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a segment of the spectrum (eg, radio frequency spectrum) in which channels are used or set aside for the same purpose.

[0061] Automatic—refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., a circuit, a programmable hardware element, an ASIC, etc.) without the action or operation being directly specified or performed by a user input. Thus, the term "automatically" is in contrast to an operation being manually performed or specified by a user, where the user provides input to directly perform the operation. An automatic process may be initiated by input provided by a user, but subsequent actions performed "automatically" are not specified by the user, i.e., are not performed "manually," where the user specifies each action to be performed. For example, a user filling out an electronic form by selecting each field and providing input specifying information (e.g., by typing in information, selecting checkboxes, radio selections, etc.) is manually filling out the form, even though the computer system must update the form in response to the user action. The form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, where the computer system (e.g., software executed on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills out the form without any user input specifying the answers to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke automatic filling out of a form, but not participate in the actual filling out of the form (e.g., the user does not manually specify the answers to the fields but rather they are automatically completed). This specification provides various examples of operations that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0062] Approximately - refers to a value that is close to a correct or exact value. For example, approximately can refer to a value that is within 1% to 10% of an exact (or desired) value. However, it should be noted that the actual threshold value (or tolerance) may depend on the application. For example, in some embodiments, "approximately" may mean within 0.1% of some specified or desired value, while in various other embodiments, the threshold value may be, for example, 2%, 3%, 5%, etc., depending on the expectations or requirements of a particular application.

[0063] Concurrency - refers to parallel execution or implementation, where tasks, processes, or programs are executed in an at least partially overlapping manner. For example, concurrency can be achieved using "strong" or strict parallelism, where tasks are executed (at least partially) in parallel on respective computing elements, or using "weak parallelism", where tasks are executed in an interleaved manner (e.g., by time multiplexing of execution threads).

[0064] Configured to - Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such environments, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors can be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" can be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, the component can be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, the circuitry that forms the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuitry.

[0065] For ease of description, various components may be described as performing one or more tasks. Such descriptions should be interpreted as including the phrase "configured to". The description of a component being configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to invoke 35 U.S.C. §112(f) interpretation of that component.

[0066] Figure 1 and Figure 2 —Communications system

[0067] Figure 1 A simplified exemplary wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1 The system is only one example of possible systems, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems as desired.

[0068] As shown, the exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station 102, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B, etc. to user equipment 106N through a transmission medium. Each user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this article. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as UE or UE device.

[0069] Base station (BS) 102 may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station"), and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with UEs 106A-106N.

[0070] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102 and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, Long Term Evolution-Advanced (LTE-A), 5G New Radio (5G NR), HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc. It should be noted that if the base station 102 is implemented in the context of LTE, it may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". It should be noted that if the base station 102 is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0071] As shown, base station 102 may also be configured to communicate with network 100 (e.g., a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet, among other possibilities). Thus, base station 102 may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. In particular, cellular base station 102 may provide UE 106 with various telecommunication capabilities such as voice, short message service (SMS), and / or data services.

[0072] Base station 102 and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may thus provide a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UEs 106A-106N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0073] Thus, although base station 102 may function as Figure 1106A-106N, but each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (possibly provided by other base stations 102B-102N), which may be referred to as "neighboring cells". Such cells may also be able to facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and network 100. Such cells may include "macro" cells, "micro" cells, "pico" cells, and / or cells of any various other granularity of service area size. Other configurations are also possible.

[0074] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, such as a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In some embodiments, a gNB may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to a New Radio Communications Core (NRC) network. In addition, a gNB cell may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). In addition, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0075] It should be noted that the UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interface), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.), the UE 106 can be configured to communicate using wireless networking (e.g., Wi-Fi) and / or peer-to-peer wireless communication protocols (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi peer-to-peer, etc.). If desired, the UE 106 can also or alternatively be configured to communicate using one or more global navigation satellite systems (GNSS, such as GPS or GLONASS), one or more mobile television broadcast standards (e.g., Advanced Television Systems Committee—Mobile / Handheld (ATSC-M / H)), and / or any other wireless communication protocol. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0076] Figure 2 A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of devices 106A-106N) is shown in accordance with some embodiments in communication with base station 102. UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities, such as a mobile phone, handheld device, computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0077] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or in addition, UE 106 may include a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein or any portion of any of the method embodiments described herein.

[0078] UE 106 may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more wireless communication protocols or technologies. In some embodiments, UE 106 may be configured to communicate using, for example, CDMA2000 (1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD) or LTE using a single shared radio component and / or GSM or LTE using a single shared radio component. The shared radio component may be coupled to a single antenna, or may be coupled to multiple antennas (e.g., for multiple input, multiple output or "multiple input-multiple output" (MIMO) antenna systems) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog radio frequency (RF) signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.) or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation and other digital processing). Similarly, the radio component may use the aforementioned hardware to implement one or more receive chains and transmit chains. For example, UE 106 may share one or more parts of a receive chain and / or transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0079] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). Similarly, BS 102 may also include any number of antennas and may be configured to use the antennas to transmit and / or receive directional wireless signals (e.g., beams). In order to receive and / or transmit such directional signals, the antennas of UE 106 and / or BS 102 may be configured to apply different "weights" to different antennas. The process of applying these different weights may be referred to as "precoding".

[0080] In some embodiments, UE 106 may include a separate transmit chain and / or receive chain (e.g., including separate antennas and other radio components) for each wireless communication protocol configured to communicate with it. As another possibility, UE 106 may include one or more radio components shared between multiple wireless communication protocols, and one or more radio components used uniquely by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, UE 106 may include a shared radio component for communicating using either LTE or 5GNR (or LTE or 1xRTT, or LTE or GSM), and a separate radio component for communicating using each of Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. Other configurations are also possible.

[0081] In some implementations, a UE 106 may communicate with multiple BSs 102 (eg, in parallel).

[0082] Figure 3 —UE block diagram

[0083] Figure 3 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, in addition to other devices, the communication device 106 can be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or a mobile station, a wireless device or a wireless station, a desktop computer or a computing device, a mobile computing device (such as a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer and / or a combination of devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 300 configured to perform core functions. For example, the group of components may be implemented as a system on a chip (SOC), which may include parts for various purposes. Alternatively, the group of components 300 may be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 300 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0084] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 310), input / output interfaces such as a connector I / F 320 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; an input device such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; an output device such as a speaker; etc.), a display 360 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device 106, and cellular communication circuits 330 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 329 (e.g., Bluetooth TMIn some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0085] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 335 and 336 as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 337 and 338 as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 335 and 336 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 337 and 338. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 329 and / or cellular communication circuitry 330 may include multiple receive chains and / or multiple transmit chains for receiving and / or transmitting multiple spatial streams, such as in a multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) configuration.

[0086] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include dedicated receive chains (which include and / or are (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) coupled to a dedicated processor and / or radio component) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component may be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and may communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that may be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and may communicate with the dedicated receive chain as well as the shared transmit chain.

[0087] The communication device 106 may also include and / or be configured for use with one or more user interface elements. The user interface elements may include various elements such as a display 360 (which may be a touch screen display), a keyboard (which may be a separate keyboard or may be implemented as part of a touch screen display), a mouse, a microphone and / or speakers, one or more cameras, one or more buttons, and / or any of a variety of other elements capable of providing information to a user and / or receiving or interpreting user input.

[0088] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 345 having SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC cards (one or more Universal Integrated Circuit Cards) 345 .

[0089] As shown, the SOC 300 may include a processor 302 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 304 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 360. The processor 302 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 340 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 302 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 306, a read-only memory (ROM) 350, a NAND flash memory 310)) and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 304, the short-range wireless communication circuit 229, the cellular communication circuit 330, the connector I / F 320, and / or the display 360). The MMU 340 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 340 may be included as part of the processor 302.

[0090] As described above, the communication device 106 may be configured to communicate using wireless and / or wired communication circuits. The communication device 106 may be configured to transmit a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT and to transmit an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit a request to attach to a second network node. The request may include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first and second network nodes. In addition, the wireless device may be configured to receive an indication that a dual connection (DC) has been established with the first and second network nodes.

[0091] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware and software components for implementing features of using multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier (e.g., and / or multi-frequency carriers) and various other technologies described herein. The processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 302 may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 300, 304, 306, 310, 320, 329, 330, 340, 345, 350, 360, the processor 302 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described in the present invention.

[0092] In addition, as described in the present invention, processor 302 may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processor 302 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 302. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of one or more processors 302.

[0093] In addition, as described in the present invention, the cellular communication circuit 330 and the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may each include one or more processing elements and / or processors. In other words, one or more processing elements / processors may be included in the cellular communication circuit 330, and similarly, one or more processing elements / processors may be included in the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 330 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 330. Similarly, the short-range wireless communication circuit 329 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the short-range wireless communication circuit 329.

[0094] Figure 4 —Block diagram of a base station

[0095] Figure 4 An exemplary block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 4 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 404 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 404 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 404 and convert these addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 460 and read-only memory (ROM) 450).

[0096] Base station 102 may include at least one network port 470. Network port 470 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to the telephone network described above. Figure 1 and Figure 2 Multiple devices of the telephone network described in, such as UE device 106.

[0097] The network port 470 (or an additional network port) may also or alternatively be configured to couple to a cellular network, such as a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to multiple devices, such as the UE device 106. In some cases, the network port 470 may be coupled to a telephone network via the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (e.g., in other UE devices served by the cellular service provider).

[0098] In some embodiments, base station 102 may be a next generation base station, e.g., a 5G New Radio (5G NR) base station, or "gNB". In such embodiments, base station 102 may be connected to a legacy Evolved Packet Core (EPC) network and / or to an NR Core (NRC) network. Furthermore, base station 102 may be considered a 5G NR cell and may include one or more transition and reception points (TRPs). Furthermore, a UE capable of operating in accordance with 5G NR may be connected to one or more TRPs within one or more gNBs.

[0099] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 434 and possibly multiple antennas. The radio component 430 and the at least one antenna 434 may be configured to function as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106. The antenna 434 may communicate with the radio component 430 via a communication chain 432. The communication chain 432 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 430 may be configured to communicate via various wireless communication standards, including but not limited to 5G NR, LTE, LTE-A, GSM, UMTS, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, etc.

[0100] Base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, base station 102 may include multiple radios that enable base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, base station 102 may include an LTE radio component for performing communications according to LTE and a 5GNR radio component for performing communications according to 5GNR. In this case, base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5G NR base station. As another possibility, base station 102 may include a multimode radio component capable of performing communications according to any one of multiple wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0101] As further described later herein, the base station 102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting the implementation of the features described herein. The processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 404 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit) or a combination thereof. Alternatively (or in addition thereto), in combination with one or more of the other components 430, 432, 434, 440, 450, 460, 470, the processor 404 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support a portion or all of the implementation of the features described herein.

[0102] In addition, as described herein, the one or more processors 404 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, the processor 404 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the processor 404. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., first circuits, second circuits, etc.) configured to perform the functions of the one or more processors 404.

[0103] In addition, as described herein, radio 430 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, radio 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 430. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of radio 430.

[0104] Figure 5 —Block diagram of cellular communication circuit

[0105] Figure 5 An exemplary simplified block diagram of a cellular communication circuit according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 5 The block diagram of the cellular communication circuitry of is only one example of possible cellular communication circuitry; other circuitry, such as circuitry that includes or is coupled to sufficient antennas for different RATs to perform uplink activities using separate antennas, is also possible. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuitry 330 may be included in a communication device such as the communication device 106 described above. As described above, the communication device 106 may be a user equipment (UE) device, a mobile device or mobile station, a wireless device or wireless station, a desktop computer or computing device, a mobile computing device (e.g., a laptop, notebook, or portable computing device), a tablet computer, and / or a combination of devices, among other devices.

[0106] Cellular communication circuitry 330 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 3 In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit system 330 may include dedicated receive chains (which include and / or are (e.g., communicatively, directly or indirectly) coupled to dedicated processors and / or radio components) for multiple RATs (e.g., a first receive chain for LTE and a second receive chain for 5G NR). For example, Figure 5 As shown, cellular communication circuitry 330 may include modem 510 and modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT, such as, for example, LTE or LTE-A, and modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT, such as, for example, 5GNR.

[0107] As shown, the modem 510 may include one or more processors 512 and a memory 516 in communication with the processor 512. The modem 510 may communicate with a radio frequency (RF) front end 530. The RF front end 530 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 530 may include a receiving circuit (RX) 532 and a transmitting circuit (TX) 534. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 532 may communicate with a downlink (DL) front end 550, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via an antenna 335a.

[0108] Similarly, the modem 520 may include one or more processors 522 and a memory 526 in communication with the processor 522. The modem 520 may communicate with the RF front end 540. The RF front end 540 may include circuits for transmitting and receiving radio signals. For example, the RF front end 540 may include a receiving circuit 542 and a transmitting circuit 544. In some embodiments, the receiving circuit 542 may communicate with the DL front end 560, which may include circuits for receiving radio signals via the antenna 335b.

[0109] In some embodiments, the switch (e.g., and / or a combiner, multiplexer, etc.) 570 may couple the transmit circuit 534 to an uplink (UL) front end 572. In addition, the switch 570 may couple the transmit circuit 544 to the UL front end 572. The UL front end 572 may include circuitry for transmitting radio signals via the antenna 336. Thus, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 510, the switch 570 may be switched to a first state that allows the modem 510 to transmit signals according to the first RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 534 and the UL front end 572). Similarly, when the cellular communication circuit 330 receives an instruction to transmit according to a second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572) supported by the modem 520, the switch 570 may be switched to a second state that allows the modem 520 to transmit signals according to the second RAT (e.g., via a transmit chain including the transmit circuit 544 and the UL front end 572).

[0110] In some embodiments, modems 510 and modems 520 may be configured to transmit simultaneously, receive simultaneously, and / or transmit and receive simultaneously. Thus, when cellular communication circuitry 330 receives instructions to transmit according to both a first RAT (e.g., supported via modem 510) and a second RAT (e.g., supported via modem 520), combiner 570 may be switched to a third state that allows modems 510 and 520 to transmit signals according to the first RAT and the second RAT (e.g., via transmit circuitry 534 and 544 and transmit circuitry of UL front end 572). In other words, the modems may coordinate communication activities, and each modem may perform transmit and / or receive functions at any time as needed.

[0111] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 330 may be configured to transmit a request to attach to a first network node operating according to a first RAT via the first modem when the switch is in the first state, and to transmit an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first network node and a second network node operating according to a second RAT via the first modem when the switch is in the first state. The wireless device may also be configured to transmit a request to attach to the second network node via the second radio component when the switch is in the second state. The request may include an indication that the wireless device is capable of maintaining a substantially concurrent connection with the first and second network nodes. In addition, the wireless device may be configured to receive an indication that a dual connection with the first and second network nodes has been established via the first radio component.

[0112] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware and software components for implementing features of using multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier and various other technologies described herein. The processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the features described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 512 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or in addition), in combination with one or more of the other components 530, 532, 534, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 512 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0113] In some embodiments, processors 512, 522, etc. may be configured to implement or support a specific implementation of part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, processors 512, 522, etc. may be configured as programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays or as application-specific integrated circuits or a combination thereof. In addition, as described in the present invention, processors 512, 522, etc. may include one or more processing elements. Therefore, processors 512, 522, etc. may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522, etc. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processors 512, 522, etc.

[0114] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the use of multiplexing to perform transmissions according to multiple radio access technologies in the same frequency carrier and various other technologies described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein. Alternatively (or in addition), the processor 522 may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array), or as an ASIC (application-specific integrated circuit). Alternatively (or additionally), in combination with one or more of the other components 540, 542, 544, 550, 570, 572, 335, and 336, the processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0115] Figure 6 to Figure 7 —5G NR architecture

[0116] In some implementations, fifth generation (5G) wireless communications will initially be deployed in parallel with other wireless communications standards (e.g., LTE). Figure 6 6 shows a possible standalone (SA) implementation of a Next Generation Core (NGC) network 606 and a 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), dual connectivity between LTE and 5G New Radio (5G NR or NR), such as according to Figure 7 The exemplary non-standalone (NSA) architecture shown has been specified as part of the initial deployment of NR. Figure 7 As shown, the evolved packet core (EPC) network 600 may continue to communicate with the current LTE base station (e.g., eNB 602). In addition, the eNB 602 may communicate with the 5G NR base station (e.g., gNB 604), and data may be transferred between the core network 600 and the gNB 604. In some cases, the gNB 604 may also have at least a user plane reference point with the EPC network 600. Thus, the EPC network 600 may be used (or reused), and the gNB 604 may serve as additional capacity for the user equipment, for example, to provide increased downlink throughput for the UE. In other words, LTE may be used for control plane signaling, and NR may be used for user plane signaling. Thus, LTE may be used to establish a connection with the network, and NR may be used for data services. It should be understood that many other non-independent architecture variants are possible.

[0117] Figure 8 -Cell detection and measurement

[0118] 5G NR may include communications in licensed and / or unlicensed spectrum. Since the NR-U (unlicensed NR) system may introduce LBT (listen before talk) functionality for network nodes (e.g., requiring BS102 to wait for an interruption / pause in other communications before starting transmission), the cell detection and measurement processes at the UE may be affected. For example, the transmission of reference signals such as primary synchronization signal (PSS), secondary synchronization signal (SSS) and / or synchronization signal block (SSB) may be delayed or disabled due to, for example, LBT failure at the BS. For example, PSS, SSS and / or SSB may be disabled due to transmissions detected by the BS during the "listening" portion of the LBT process (e.g., transmissions by devices using unlicensed spectrum for communications that may be independent of NR communications, such as devices using WLAN). In response to detecting such transmissions, the BS may determine that the unlicensed medium is busy and may therefore not transmit PSS, SSS and / or SSB on the unlicensed medium, for example, the BS may not "talk" during the opportunity to transmit PSS, SSS and / or SSB.

[0119] According to some embodiments, there are various possibilities for cell identification, detection and / or measurement delays. These tables show the cell identification and measurement time periods (T) for different discontinuous reception (DRX) conditions. The illustrated time periods do not have measurement gaps (MG). In other words, these tables may represent the expected delays when there are no measurement gaps for cell detection and measurement. As used in these tables, a threshold number of reference signals lost due to LBT failure (such as, for example, a maximum number of times) (L) may be used to determine the time period (T). For example, L may be the number of PSS / SSS opportunities that are unavailable at the UE due to LBT failure. Kp may represent, for example, a scaling factor for measurement resource allocation with or without measurement gaps.

[0120] The first table shows the time used for intra-frequency cell detection, ie, detecting neighboring cells whose SSBs share the same frequency and the same set of parameters as the serving cell SSB.

[0121]

[0122]

[0123] The second table shows the time for intra-frequency cell detection of a deactivated secondary cell (SCell).

[0124]

[0125] The third table shows the time used for the intra-frequency measurement.

[0126]

[0127] The fourth table shows the time used for inter-frequency cell detection.

[0128]

[0129] The fifth table shows the time used for inter-frequency measurements.

[0130]

[0131] In some embodiments, in a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode (e.g., RRC_connected), serving cell evaluation may be performed as follows. When a threshold number (such as, for example, a maximum number) of lost reference signal opportunities (e.g., L) is exceeded due to downlink (DL) LBT failures within a corresponding time period (e.g., T), the UE may restart the corresponding process, such as time index detection and measurement. In other words, after L lost reference signal opportunities within the time T, the UE may restart the physical layer process of detecting a reference signal above a noise threshold.

[0132] In some embodiments, in idle mode (e.g., RRC_IDLE mode), the serving cell evaluation may be different from that in connected mode. For example, if the serving cell cannot be measured for at least a certain number (Mp) of consecutive DRX cycles that are unavailable at the UE (e.g., due to DL LBT failure), the UE may initiate measurements of neighboring cells indicated by the serving cell. In addition, if the serving cell cannot be measured during at least a second number (Mq) of consecutive DRX cycles, the UE may initiate measurements of neighboring cells other than the cell indicated by the serving cell (e.g., any intra-frequency or inter-frequency). When Mq is reached, such measurements of other cells may be triggered regardless of any conditions of the signal quality or signal strength of the serving cell (e.g., SnonIntraSearchP and / or SnonIntraSearchQ). The values ​​of Mp and Mq may have various possible values ​​as needed. An exemplary set of values ​​for these parameters may be: Mp=4 when DRX cycle length < 1.28 seconds, Mp=2 when DRX cycle length ≥ 1.28 seconds, Mq=8 when DRX cycle length < 1.28 seconds, and Mq=4 when DRX cycle length ≥ 1.28 seconds.

[0133] In some cases, it may be a problem for mobility performance for the UE to restart serving cell measurements after reaching or exceeding a threshold acceptable number of DL LBT failures within a corresponding time period. Such behavior may eventually lead to RLF (radio link failure). For example, a long LBT failure (e.g., blocking multiple reference signal transmissions) may occur in the serving cell. The UE may continue to perform serving cell measurements but does not trigger any neighboring cell measurements for handover. Therefore, the UE may perform radio link monitoring on the serving cell and (e.g., after a longer evaluation period) may declare RLF because the handover conditions were not met during this period. After RLF, the UE may need to perform RRC reconstruction, resulting in further delays in the UE restoring the RRC link and further degradation of the mobility performance and capabilities of the network.

[0134] Figure 8 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary method of cell detection and measurement. Figure 8Aspects of the method of may be implemented by a UE 106 communicating with a cellular network (e.g., via one or more BSs 102) as shown in the figures and described with respect to the figures, or more generally, in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components shown in the figures and other devices as needed. For example, a processor (or multiple processors) of the UE (e.g., one or more processors 302, one or more processors associated with communication circuits 329 or 330 such as processors 512 and / or 522, etc.), a base station (e.g., one or more processors 404, or a processor associated with a radio component 430 and / or a communication link 432, among various possibilities), or a network element (e.g., any component of NGC 606, EPC 600, etc.) may cause the UE, the base station, and / or one or more network elements to perform some or all of the method elements shown. For example, a baseband processor or application processor of the UE may cause the UE to perform some or all of the method elements shown. It should be noted that although at least some elements of the method are described in a manner involving the use of communication technologies and / or features associated with 3GPP specification documents, such description is not intended to limit the present disclosure, and aspects of the method may be used in any suitable wireless communication system as required. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the method shown may be performed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional method elements may also be performed as required. As shown, the method may operate as follows.

[0135] According to some embodiments, the UE 106 may establish a connection with a cellular network via one or more BSs 102 (802). In various possibilities, the connection may operate according to 5G NR. The UE and the network may communicate using unlicensed NR. The UE and the network may also communicate using licensed NR and / or other RATs. The UE and the network may exchange control information and / or application data in the UL and / or DL ​​directions.

[0136] The UE may communicate with one or more cells of the network, for example, a serving cell or a serving cell group, such as a primary cell (PCell) and one or more secondary cells (SCells). The PCell and any SCells may be provided by the same and / or different BSs 102. As one possible example, the PCell may use licensed spectrum and the SCell may use unlicensed spectrum.

[0137] The UE may monitor reference signals provided by the serving cell, such as PSS, SSS, and / or SSB. In addition to the serving cell, the UE may monitor reference signals of one or more neighboring cells, such as PSS, SSS, and / or SSB. The neighboring cells may be provided by the same and / or different BS 102 as the serving cell.

[0138] The network may provide the UE with control information regarding reference signal monitoring. For example, the network may indicate one or more cells (eg, measurement objects (MOs) or frequencies) to the UE for the UE to monitor under various conditions.

[0139] The UE may use the reference signals of the serving cell and / or neighboring cells for various purposes, including synchronization with the network, determining the frequency of the cell, and / or measuring the channel characteristics of the cell (e.g., signal strength, etc.). In addition, the UE may perform actions such as switching and / or reselection based on the measurement of the reference signals.

[0140] According to some embodiments, UE 106 may detect one or more lost reference signal opportunities (804). One or more lost reference signal opportunities may be SSBs (e.g., including PSS and / or SSS) that are not transmitted by BS 102 due to LBT failure. For example, due to transmission activity on an unlicensed medium (e.g., unlicensed NR medium) or other interference, BS 102 may not transmit reference signals in the scheduled opportunities. Among various possibilities, an example of such transmission activity may be a WLAN transmission. Therefore, the UE may determine that DL reference signals such as PSS, SSS, and / or SSB are not received at one or more opportunities of such DL reference signals. The lost DL reference signal may (e.g., expected) come from BS 102 of a serving cell or a neighboring cell. The UE may or may not detect transmissions or interference that cause the BS to skip reference signal transmissions, for example, due to the BS's LBT process.

[0141] UE 106 may track lost reference signal opportunities over time. Such tracking may be performed on a per-cell basis (e.g., per-frequency and / or per-measurement object (MO)). For example, the UE may track the number of reference signal opportunities lost by a serving cell independently of neighboring cells. Similarly, the UE may track the number of opportunities lost by a first neighboring (or serving) cell independently of a second neighboring (or serving) cell, etc. For example, the UE may track lost reference cell opportunities for one or more target cells, MOs, or frequencies, and determine whether the number of lost opportunities for any target cell, MO, or frequency reaches a corresponding threshold. Such thresholds may be target specific. In other words, different thresholds may be used for different types of targets, such as a serving cell and a neighboring cell, etc. For example, the UE may determine that the number of reference signal opportunities lost within a specified time period (e.g., T) meets (e.g., exceeds) a threshold. The threshold number of opportunities and the time period may be configured as needed. In some embodiments, a threshold number of consecutive lost reference signal opportunities may be used, for example, the UE may determine whether the number of consecutive lost opportunities exceeds a threshold. Similarly, the UE may determine whether the amount of time since the last reference signal was received has reached a threshold amount of time. For example, a timer or counter may be reset (eg, set to zero) each time a reference signal (eg, a reference signal of a target MO) is detected.

[0142] Thus, the UE may monitor one or more threshold conditions for determining that the reference signal of the target cell has not been adequately received recently, for example, a condition indicating that traffic on the unlicensed medium is preventing the target cell from providing a reference signal to the extent that it interferes with the UE's cell detection / measurement. Such a threshold condition may be a threshold for the number of lost opportunities (e.g., consecutively or within a time period) or the time period since the last reference signal was successfully received. Such a threshold condition may be configured by RRC or other signaling from the network. Such a threshold condition may be configured for a specific target cell (e.g., frequency, MO, etc.). In other words, different threshold conditions may be configured for different cells. For example, the network may consider associating different cells with different priorities, and may configure different threshold conditions accordingly.

[0143] In some embodiments, any of the various thresholds used to determine whether a threshold condition is reached may be dynamic, e.g., the threshold level may change over time based on changing conditions. In other words, the UE may change the threshold level based on factors such as past experience with one or more cells, measurements of radio link conditions, applications executed at the UE, quality of service considerations, etc. In addition, the network may signal to the UE to adjust such thresholds over time, e.g., based on changing traffic / load conditions at one or more base stations or other network elements.

[0144] According to some embodiments, in response to determining that a threshold condition has been reached, UE 106 may modify reference signal monitoring (806). The UE may modify monitoring of a neighboring cell in response to the neighboring cell reaching a threshold condition, and / or may modify monitoring of a serving cell and / or a neighboring cell in response to the serving cell reaching a threshold condition. Such modifications may take various forms as described below.

[0145] As a first example, in response to determining that a threshold condition applicable to a particular neighboring cell has been reached, the UE may stop monitoring the neighboring cell and may begin monitoring one or more different neighboring cells. Thus, when a threshold condition is reached (e.g., a threshold acceptable number of DL LBT failures within a PSS / SSS detection, identification, synchronization time period is exceeded), the UE may stop performing PSS / SSS detection, identification, synchronization, or cell identification on the target unlicensed frequency layer (e.g., the target cell). In other words, the UE may stop monitoring reference signal opportunities for a cell that has reached a threshold number of lost opportunities.

[0146] In some embodiments of the first example, the UE may continue to perform PSS / SSS detection, identification, synchronization, or cell identification on the target unlicensed frequency layer until an internal timer expires. In other words, the UE may maintain a timer internally to determine whether to stop performing PSS / SSS detection, identification, synchronization, or cell identification on the target unlicensed frequency layer. Such a timer may provide the UE with additional time to detect reference signals from the target cell. Therefore, such a timer may be started when it is determined that a threshold condition (e.g., a threshold number of reference signal opportunities) has been reached. The timer may be configured by the network, or the timer may be controlled or generated by the UE itself. For example, the UE may determine the duration of the timer, the network may configure the duration of the timer (e.g., in 802), or the duration of the timer may be set in the technical standard. In the event that the internal timer has expired and no additional reference signals are received from the target cell, the UE may stop monitoring the reference signals of a particular neighboring cell, and may continue to modify the monitoring of other reference signals as described below.

[0147] In addition, the UE may alert the network that a threshold condition has been reached. For example, the UE may indicate to the network that the PSS / SSS detection, identification, synchronization failure. In other words, the UE may indicate to the serving cell that a threshold condition has been reached for a target cell (e.g., a neighboring cell) and may provide details about the threshold condition. For example, the UE may indicate a failure to the network by using, for example, RRC signaling transmitted via the serving cell. Among various possibilities, the RRC signaling may indicate a synchronization detection failure (e.g., a reference signal detection failure) of a configured target cell, for example, indicated by a measurement object (MO) and / or a configured carrier frequency.

[0148] In addition, the UE may switch to another carrier frequency for new PSS / SSS detection / identification / synchronization. In other words, the UE may begin monitoring reference signal timing associated with a second target cell (e.g., a different neighboring cell). Among various possibilities, the second neighboring cell may operate according to NR-U. For example, if the network was previously configured with such a target (e.g., in 802), the UE may switch to a preconfigured carrier frequency (e.g., the target cell). Alternatively, for example, if the network has not previously configured any other carrier frequency for cell detection, the UE may choose to switch to a carrier frequency determined by the UE itself, or wait for additional control information or configuration from the network (e.g., transmitted by RRC, medium access control (MAC) control element (CE), etc.). Such additional control information may identify a new carrier frequency or MO.

[0149] In some embodiments, the first example may be applied to a UE operating in an idle mode (e.g., RRC_IDLE). In other words, the UE may be in an idle mode while monitoring a reference signal of a first target cell, and may remain in an idle mode after detecting a threshold condition and switching to monitoring a reference signal of a second target cell.

[0150] As a second example, consider that the UE performs serving cell measurements in connected mode (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED). When a threshold condition of the serving cell is reached (e.g., a threshold acceptable number of DL LBT failures within a corresponding time period is exceeded), the UE may restart the serving cell measurements and also modify the neighboring cell measurements.

[0151] For example, if the network has previously configured an MO for an intra-frequency or inter-frequency carrier (e.g., in 802), the UE may initiate measurements of neighboring cells configured by the serving cell. In other words, the UE may start (e.g., or increase) monitoring of reference signals of neighboring cells and perform measurements of these reference signals. In some embodiments, in addition to other possibilities, if the reference signal of the serving cell cannot be measured for at least a certain number (Y1) of (e.g., consecutive) SSB opportunities (e.g., including PSS and / or SSS), the UE may only initiate neighboring cell measurements. Note that the value of Y1 may be the same or different from the threshold used to determine the threshold condition (e.g., in 804). In addition, if the reference signal of the serving cell cannot be measured during at least a second number (Y2) of (e.g., consecutive) reference signal opportunities, the UE may initiate measurements of neighboring cells of other cells (e.g., cells that were not previously configured by the network, e.g., any intra-frequency or inter-frequency cells). In some embodiments, such measurements may be performed on additional neighboring cells regardless of any MO configuration from the network. In other words, after reaching the second threshold (Y2), the UE may select one or more other neighbor cells for measurement / monitoring from any number of possible neighbor cells. Note that Y2 may be greater than or equal to Y1.

[0152] Similarly, if the network has not previously configured MO for an intra-frequency or inter-frequency carrier, the UE may initiate monitoring and measurement of any intra-frequency or inter-frequency neighboring cell if it is not possible to measure the reference signal of the serving cell during at least a third number (Z) of (e.g., consecutive) reference signal opportunities. Y1, Y2, and Z may be configured by the UE and / or the network as needed (e.g., in the control information during 802).

[0153] In some embodiments, the monitoring modification may include initiating monitoring of a cell that was not previously monitored (eg, MO). In some embodiments, the monitoring modification may include adjusting the relative priority of monitoring one cell relative to another cell.

[0154] According to some embodiments, based on the monitoring modification (eg, determined in 806), the UE 106 may implement a modified monitoring mode (808).

[0155] For example, the UE may monitor one or more different neighboring cells. The monitored neighboring cells may be candidate cells for handover. Therefore, if a handover event is triggered, the UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode may increase the likelihood of successful handover by updating / modifying the neighboring cell or the list of neighboring cells. For example, at a first time, the UE in RRC_CONNECTED mode may detect that a threshold condition of a first neighboring cell is reached, for example, due to the number of reference signal opportunities being lost reaching a threshold, for example, as in 804. In response, the UE may stop monitoring the first neighboring cell and start monitoring and measuring a second neighboring cell, for example, as in 806. Then, at a second time, the UE may switch from the current serving cell to the second neighboring cell based in part on monitoring the second neighboring cell.

[0156] In addition, the UE may measure the monitored reference signal. The UE may report the measurement result to the network based on the monitored reference signal (e.g., by providing a channel state information report, etc.). The UE may perform switching or reselection based on the measurement result of the monitored reference signal. For example, if the serving cell reaches a threshold number of LBT failures (e.g., Y1 or Y2 lost reference signal opportunities), the UE may start monitoring the neighboring cell as described above, and if the measurement result of the monitored reference signal of the neighboring cell meets the threshold (e.g., sufficiently high signal strength, etc.), the UE may reselect to such a neighboring cell.

[0157] Additional information and examples

[0158] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of forms. For example, some embodiments may be implemented as computer-implemented methods, computer-readable storage media, or computer systems. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more custom-designed hardware devices such as ASICs. Other embodiments may be implemented using one or more programmable hardware elements such as FPGAs.

[0159] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if the program instructions are executed by a computer system, the computer system is caused to perform a method, such as any one of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0160] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., a UE) may be configured to include a processor (or a group of processors) and a memory medium, wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, wherein the processor is configured to read and execute the program instructions from the memory medium, wherein the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method implementations described herein (or any combination of the method implementations described herein, or any subset of any method implementations described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of various forms.

[0161] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0162] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, numerous variations and modifications will become apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is fully appreciated. It is intended that the following claims be interpreted to encompass all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method comprising: At the User Equipment (UE): receiving control information from a serving cell, the control information comprising a measurement object regarding monitoring a synchronization signal of a first neighboring cell on a first frequency carrier operating in an unlicensed spectrum; monitoring a downlink synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum according to the control information, wherein the monitoring comprises: determining whether an actual number of unusable synchronization signal opportunities during a time period exceeds a maximum number of unusable synchronization signal opportunities; and In response to the determination, performing one of the following: stop monitoring the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum, and indicate a detection failure of the measurement object via radio resource control (RRC) signaling; or Continue to monitor the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum for the duration of a timer, and if the timer expires and no further synchronization signal is received from the target cell, indicate via RRC signaling that detection of the measurement object has failed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the downlink synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum comprises a synchronization signal block (SSB).

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE operates in a connected mode while monitoring the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum. The method of claim 1 , wherein the duration of the time period is configured by a cellular network.

5. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: and determining that a number of downlink (DL) listen-before-talk (LBT) failures of the serving cell has reached a first threshold, wherein the monitoring of the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum is in response to determining that the number of DL LBT failures of the serving cell has reached the first threshold.

6. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Second control information identifying a second neighboring cell on a second frequency carrier is received from the serving cell. The method of claim 1 , wherein a duration of the timer is configured by a cellular network.

8. A device, comprising: A processor configured to, when executing instructions stored in the memory, perform operations including: receiving control information from a serving cell, the control information comprising a measurement object regarding monitoring a synchronization signal of a first neighboring cell on a first frequency carrier operating in an unlicensed spectrum; monitoring a downlink synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum according to the control information, wherein the monitoring comprises: determining whether an actual number of unusable synchronization signal opportunities during a time period exceeds a maximum number of unusable synchronization signal opportunities; and In response to the determination, performing one of the following: stop monitoring the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum, and indicate a detection failure of the measurement object via radio resource control (RRC) signaling; or Continue to monitor the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum for the duration of a timer, and if the timer expires and no further synchronization signal is received from the target cell, indicate via RRC signaling that detection of the measurement object has failed.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the downlink synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum comprises a synchronization signal block (SSB).

10. The apparatus of claim 8, the operations further comprising operating in a connected mode while monitoring the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum.

11. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the duration of the time period is configured by a cellular network.

12. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: and determining that a number of downlink (DL) listen-before-talk (LBT) failures of the serving cell has reached a first threshold, wherein the monitoring of the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum is in response to determining that the number of DL LBT failures of the serving cell has reached the first threshold.

13. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: Second control information identifying a second neighboring cell on a second frequency carrier is received from the serving cell.

14. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein a duration of the timer is configured by a cellular network.

15. A computer readable medium (CRM), the CRM comprising: Program instructions, which when executed are configured to cause the user equipment to perform operations including: receiving control information from a serving cell, the control information comprising a measurement object regarding monitoring a synchronization signal of a first neighboring cell on a first frequency carrier operating in an unlicensed spectrum; monitoring a downlink synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum according to the control information, wherein the monitoring comprises: determining whether an actual number of unusable synchronization signal opportunities during a time period exceeds a maximum number of unusable synchronization signal opportunities; and In response to the determination, performing one of the following: stop monitoring the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum, and indicate a detection failure of the measurement object via radio resource control (RRC) signaling; or Continue to monitor the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum for the duration of a timer, and if the timer expires and no further synchronization signal is received from the target cell, indicate via RRC signaling that detection of the measurement object has failed.

16. The CRM of claim 15, wherein the downlink synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum comprises a synchronization signal block (SSB).

17. The CRM according to claim 15, wherein the operation further comprises: Operating in a connected mode while monitoring the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum.

18. The CRM of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: and determining that a number of downlink (DL) listen-before-talk (LBT) failures of the serving cell has reached a first threshold, wherein the monitoring of the synchronization signal of the first neighboring cell on the first frequency carrier in the unlicensed spectrum is in response to determining that the number of DL LBT failures of the serving cell has reached the first threshold.

19. The CRM of claim 15, wherein the operations further comprise: Second control information identifying a second neighboring cell on a second frequency carrier is received from the serving cell.

20. The CRM of claim 15, wherein the duration of the timer is configured by a cellular network.

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