RRM for SDT combining eDRX and other UE activity

Abstract

Apparatus, systems, and methods for frequency range 2 (FR2) measurement window bound determination, UE behavior for small data transmission occasions when conflicting with measurement occasions, and UE behavior for SDT occasions when configuring enhanced discontinuous reception (eDRX) in an inactive mode. The measurement window boundary may be determined based at least in part on one or more of a threshold and / or a product of a beam scan factor and a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatus, systems and methods for measurement (e.g., RSRP measurement) window boundary determination and UE behavior for small data transmission (SDT) operations during various scenarios (e.g., in 5G NR systems and beyond).

[0002] Related technical description

[0003] The use of wireless communication systems is growing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smart phones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. In addition to supporting phone calls, many mobile devices now also provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, and navigation using the Global Positioning System (GPS), and are capable of operating sophisticated applications that utilize these functions.

[0004] Long Term Evolution (LTE) is currently the technology of choice for most wireless network operators around the world, providing mobile broadband data and high-speed Internet access to their subscriber base. LTE was first proposed in 2004 and first standardized in 2008. Since then, as the use of wireless communication systems has grown exponentially, the need for wireless network operators to support higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users has also risen. As a result, research into new radio access technologies began in 2015, and in 2017, the first version of Fifth Generation New Radio (5G NR) was standardized.

[0005] 5G-NR (also referred to as NR) provides higher capacity for a higher density of mobile broadband users compared to LTE, while also supporting ultra-reliable and massive machine-type communications from device to device, as well as lower latency and / or lower battery consumption. In addition, NR may allow for more flexible UE scheduling compared to current LTE. Therefore, efforts are being made to continue the development of 5G-NR to take advantage of the higher throughput possible at higher frequencies. Summary of the invention

[0006] Embodiments relate to wireless communications, and more particularly to apparatus, systems, and methods for measurement (e.g., RSRP measurement) window boundary determination and UE behavior for small data transmission (SDT) operations during various scenarios (e.g., in 5G NR systems and beyond).

[0007] For example, in some embodiments, a user equipment device (UE) may be configured to receive a configuration grant (CG) for a small data transmission (SDT) from a base station. The UE may be configured to determine boundaries of a first measurement window and a second measurement window based at least in part on a beam scanning factor and a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period when operating in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) frequency range 2 (FR2).

[0008] As another example, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to determine that the early measurement report (EMR) is configured for inactive mode. The UE may be configured to determine that the EMR measurement conflicts with the SDT. The UE may be configured to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active.

[0009] In another example, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to determine that the positioning measurement is configured for the inactive mode. The UE may be configured to determine that the positioning measurement conflicts with the SDT. The UE may be configured to determine to prioritize the positioning measurement and discard the SDT transmission based at least in part on an effective positioning reference signal (PRS) period of the positioning measurement exceeding a threshold.

[0010] In another example, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to determine that enhanced DRX (eDRX) is configured for inactive mode. Before performing verification of CG-SDT timing when operating in 5G NR FR1, the UE may be configured to transition to a legacy DRX state. The UE may be configured to perform verification of CG-SDT timing when in a legacy DRX state (e.g., when operating in 5G NR FR1).

[0011] In yet another example, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to determine that eDRX is configured for inactive mode.When operating in 5G NR FR1, the UE may be configured to determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the eDRX cycle length, for example, for verification of CG-SDT timing.

[0012] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a variety of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), unmanned aerial vehicle controllers (UACs), UTM servers, base stations, access points, cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and any of a variety of other computing devices.

[0013] 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

[0014] A better understanding of the present subject matter may be obtained when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered in conjunction with the following drawings, in which:

[0015] Figure 1A An example wireless communication system is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0016] Figure 1B Examples of base stations and access points in communication with user equipment (UE) devices are shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0017] Figure 2 An example block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments is shown.

[0018] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a server according to some embodiments is shown.

[0019] Figure 4 An example block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0020] Figure 5 An example block diagram of cellular communication circuitry is shown according to some embodiments.

[0021] Fig. 6A An example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown that combines both 3GPP (e.g., cellular) access to the 5GCN as well as non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access.

[0022] Figure 6B An example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown that combines both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access to 5GCN as well as non-3GPP access.

[0023] Figure 7 An example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE according to some embodiments is shown.

[0024] Figure 8 An example of a measurement window according to some embodiments is shown, which can be determined based on the measurement time plus or minus a measurement window boundary value.

[0025] Fig. 9A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining measurement window boundaries according to some embodiments is shown.

[0026] Fig.10 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for mitigating conflicts between EMR measurements and SDT according to some embodiments.

[0027] Fig.11 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for mitigating conflicts between positioning measurements and SDT according to some embodiments.

[0028] Fig.12 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining measurement window boundaries when configured for eDRX according to some embodiments.

[0029] Fig.13 A block diagram illustrating an example of another method for determining measurement window boundaries when configured for eDRX according to some embodiments.

[0030] Although the features described herein may be 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 be limited to the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, are intended to cover all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Acronyms

[0032] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. Definitions of the most commonly used acronyms that may appear throughout this disclosure are provided below:

[0033] 3GPP: Third Generation Partnership Project

[0034] UE: User Equipment

[0035] RF: Radio Frequency

[0036] DL: Downlink

[0037] UL: Uplink

[0038] LTE: Long Term Evolution

[0039] NR: New Radio

[0040] 5GS: 5G system

[0041] 5GMM: 5GS Mobility Management

[0042] 5GC / 5GCN: 5G core network

[0043] IE: Information Element

[0044] CE: Control Element

[0045] MAC: Media Access Control

[0046] SSB: Synchronous Signal Block

[0047] CSI: Channel State Information

[0048] CSI-RS: Channel State Information Reference Signal

[0049] CMR: Channel Measurement Resource

[0050] PDCCH: Physical Downlink Control Channel

[0051] PDSCH: Physical Downlink Shared Channel

[0052] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0053] RRM: Radio Resource Management

[0054] CORESET: Control resource set

[0055] TCI: Transmit Configuration Indicator

[0056] DCI: Downlink Control Indicator

[0057] the term

[0058] The following is a glossary of terms used in this disclosure:

[0059] 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, such as hard disk drives or optical storage devices; 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 a first computer system executing a 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, which may reside in different locations in different computer systems connected, for example, via a network. The memory medium may store program instructions (e.g., embodied as a computer program) that may be executed by one or more processors.

[0060] Carrier Media—Memory media as described above, as well as physical transmission media such as a bus, network, and / or other physical transmission media that convey signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0061] 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 range from fine-grained (combinatorial logic or lookup table) to coarse-grained (arithmetic logic unit or processor core). Programmable hardware elements may also be referred to as "configurable logic units".

[0062] Computer system (or computer) – Any of various types of computing or processing systems, including a personal computer system (PC), mainframe computer system, workstation, network appliance, Internet appliance, personal digital assistant (PDA), television system, grid computing system, or other device or combination 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.

[0063] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE device") - any of various types of computer system devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communications. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhones). TM, based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy Advance TM , iPhone TM ), laptops, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), 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 easily transportable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0064] 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.

[0065] Processing element (or processor) - refers to various elements or combinations of elements that are capable of performing functions in a device, such as user equipment or a cellular network device. 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.

[0066] Channel - a medium used to convey information from a transmitter (sender) 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" as used herein 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.

[0067] 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.

[0068] Wi-Fi—The term "Wi-Fi" (or WiFi) has the full scope of its usual meaning and includes at least wireless communication networks or RATs that are served by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provide connectivity to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi". Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are distinct from cellular networks.

[0069] 3GPP Access – refers to the access (e.g., radio access technology) specified by the 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, GSM / GPRS, LTE, LTE-A, and / or 5G NR. In general, 3GPP access refers to various types of cellular access technologies.

[0070] Non-3GPP access - refers to any access (e.g., radio access technology) not specified by the 3GPP standards. These accesses include, but are not limited to, WiMAX, CDMA2000, Wi-Fi, WLAN, and / or fixed networks. Non-3GPP accesses can be divided into two categories, "trusted" and "untrusted": trusted non-3GPP accesses can interact directly with the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) and / or 5G Core (5GC), while untrusted non-3GPP interoperates with the EPC / 5GC via network entities (such as Evolved Packet Data Gateways and / or 5GNR Gateways). In general, non-3GPP access refers to various types of non-cellular access technologies.

[0071] 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 that a user has taken.

[0072] 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 be application dependent. 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 desires or requirements of a particular application.

[0073] 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).

[0074] Various components may be described as being "configured to" perform one or more tasks. In such contexts, "configured to" is a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (e.g., a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect a module to another module even when the two modules are not connected). In some contexts, "configured to" may be a broad statement that generally means "having a structure" that performs one or more tasks during operation. Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently turned on. Typically, circuits that form a structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.

[0075] 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". Representing a component configured to perform one or more tasks expressly intends that the component does not invoke the interpretation of 35 U.S.C. §112(f).

[0076] Figure 1A and Figure 1B :Communication System

[0077] Figure 1A A simplified example wireless communication system according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 1A The system is merely one example of a possible system, and features of the present disclosure may be implemented in any of a variety of systems, as desired.

[0078] As shown, the example wireless communication system includes a base station 102A, which communicates with one or more user equipment 106A, user equipment 106B, etc. to user equipment 106N via a transmission medium. Each user equipment in the user equipment may be referred to as a "user equipment" (UE) in this document. Therefore, user equipment 106 is referred to as a UE or UE device.

[0079] The base station (BS) 102A may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site ("cellular base station") and may include hardware that enables wireless communications with the UEs 106A-106N.

[0080] The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell". The base station 102A and the UE 106 may be configured to communicate over a transmission medium using any of a variety of radio access technologies (RATs), which are 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, Advanced LTE (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 102A 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 102A is implemented in the context of 5G NR, it may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB".

[0081] As shown, the base station 102A may also be configured to communicate with a 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, the base station 102A may facilitate communications between user devices and / or between user devices and the network 100. Specifically, the cellular base station 102A may provide the UE 106 with various communication capabilities, such as voice, SMS, and / or data services.

[0082] Base station 102A and other similar base stations (such as base stations 102B, ..., 102N) operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards can therefore be provided as a network of cells that can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping service to UE 106A-106N and similar devices over a geographic area via one or more cellular communication standards.

[0083] Thus, while base station 102A may act as a "serving cell" for UEs 106A-N as shown in FIG. 1 , each UE 106 may also be able to receive signals from (and possibly be within communication range of) one or more other cells (which may be provided by base stations 102B-102N and / or any other base station), 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 that provide service area sizes. For example, base stations 102A-102B shown in FIG. 1 may be macro cells, while base station 102N may be a micro cell. Other configurations are also possible.

[0084] In some embodiments, base station 102A may be a next generation base station, e.g., 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 an NR 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.

[0085] Note that the UE 106 is capable of communicating using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE 106 may 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.) in addition to at least one cellular communication protocol (e.g., GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), etc.). If desired, the UE 106 may 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., ATSC-M / H or DVB-H), and / or any other wireless communication protocols. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0086] Figure 1B A user equipment 106 (e.g., one of device 106A through device 106N) is shown in communication with a base station 102 and an access point 112 according to some embodiments. The UE 106 may be a device with cellular communication capabilities and non-cellular communication capabilities (e.g., Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc.), such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a computer or tablet computer, or virtually any type of wireless device.

[0087] UE 106 may include a processor configured to execute program instructions stored in a memory. UE 106 may perform any of the method implementations 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 implementations described herein or any portion of any of the method implementations described herein.

[0088] 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), LTE / Advanced LTE, or 5G NR using a single shared radio component and / or GSM, LTE, Advanced LTE, or 5G NR 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 MIMO) for performing wireless communications. Typically, the radio component may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog 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 a transmit chain between multiple wireless communication technologies such as those discussed above.

[0089] 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.

[0090] Figure 2 :Block diagram of base station

[0091] Figure 2 An example block diagram of a base station 102 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The base station of is only one example of a possible base station. As shown, the base station 102 may include a processor 204 that may execute program instructions for the base station 102. The processor 204 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 240 or other circuit or device, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 204 and convert those addresses to locations in memory (e.g., memory 260 and read-only memory (ROM) 250).

[0092] The base station 102 may include at least one network port 270. The network port 270 may be configured to couple to a telephone network and provide access to multiple devices (such as the UE device 106) as described above in FIG. Figure 2 Access to the telephone network described in.

[0093] The network port 270 (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 270 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 a cellular service provider).

[0094] 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 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.

[0095] The base station 102 may include at least one antenna 234 and possibly multiple antennas. The at least one antenna 234 may be configured to operate as a wireless transceiver and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device 106 via the radio component 230. The antenna 234 communicates with the radio component 230 via a communication chain 232. The communication chain 232 may be a receive chain, a transmit chain, or both. The radio component 230 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.

[0096] The base station 102 may be configured to perform wireless communications using multiple wireless communication standards. In some cases, the base station 102 may include multiple radio components that enable the base station 102 to communicate according to multiple wireless communication technologies. For example, as one possibility, the 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 5G NR. In this case, the base station 102 may be able to operate as both an LTE base station and a 5GNR base station. As another possibility, the base station 102 may include a multimode radio component that can perform communications according to any one of a plurality of wireless communication technologies (e.g., 5G NR and Wi-Fi, LTE and Wi-Fi, LTE and UMTS, LTE and CDMA2000, UMTS and GSM, etc.).

[0097] As further described later herein, BS102 may include hardware and software components for implementing or supporting specific implementations of the features described herein. The processor 204 of the base station 102 may be configured to implement or support implementing 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, the processor 204 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 230, 232, 234, 240, 250, 260, 270, the processor 204 of the BS102 may be configured to implement or support implementing part or all of the features described herein.

[0098] In addition, as described herein, processor 204 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 204. Therefore, processor 204 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 204. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 204.

[0099] In addition, as described herein, radio 230 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in radio 230. Therefore, radio 230 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of radio 230. 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 230.

[0100] Figure 3 :Block diagram of the server

[0101] Figure 3 An example block diagram of a server 104 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 3 The server 104 is just one example of a possible server. As shown, the server 104 may include a processor 344 that can execute program instructions for the server 104. The processor 344 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 374, which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 344 and translate those addresses into locations in memory (e.g., memory 364 and read-only memory (ROM) 354) or to other circuits or devices.

[0102] The server 104 may be configured to provide a plurality of devices (such as the base station 102, the UE device 106, and / or the UTM 108) with access to network functionality, for example, as further described herein.

[0103] In some embodiments, server 104 can be part of a radio access network, such as a 5G new radio (5G NR) access network. In some embodiments, server 104 can be connected to a traditional evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or to a NR core (NRC) network.

[0104] As further described later herein, the server 104 may include hardware components and software components for implementing or supporting the features described herein. The processor 344 of the server 104 may be configured to implement or support part or all of the methods described herein, for example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transient computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor 344 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 components in other components 354, 364, and / or 374, the processor 344 of the server 104 may be configured to implement or support part or all of the features described herein.

[0105] In addition, as described herein, processor 344 may be composed of one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in processor 344. Therefore, processor 344 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 344. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 344.

[0106] Figure 4 :UE block diagram

[0107] Figure 4 An example simplified block diagram of a communication device 106 according to some embodiments is shown. Note that Figure 4 The block diagram of the communication device is only an example of a possible communication device. According to the embodiment, 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 (e.g., a laptop, a notebook or a portable computing device), a tablet computer, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), a UAV controller (UAC) and / or a combination of devices and other devices. As shown in the figure, the communication device 106 may include a group of components 400 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 400 may be implemented as a separate component or a group of components for various purposes. This group of components 400 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to various other circuits of the communication device 106.

[0108] For example, the communication device 106 may include various types of memory (e.g., including NAND flash memory 410), input / output interfaces such as connector I / F 420 (e.g., for connecting to a computer system; a docking station; a charging station; input devices such as a microphone, a camera, a keyboard; output devices such as a speaker; etc.), a display 460 that may be integrated with the communication device 106 or external to the communication device, and cellular communication circuits 430 such as for 5G NR, LTE, GSM, etc., and short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuits 429 (e.g., Bluetooth TM In some embodiments, the communication device 106 may include wired communication circuitry (not shown), such as, for example, a network interface card for Ethernet.

[0109] Cellular communication circuitry 430 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 435 and 436 as shown. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 may also be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as antennas 437 and 438 as shown. Alternatively, short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 may be (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 435 and 436 in addition to or in lieu of being (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to antennas 437 and 438. Short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuitry 429 and / or cellular communication circuitry 430 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.

[0110] In some embodiments, as further described below, the cellular communication circuit 430 can include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) 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). In addition, in some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 430 can include a single transmit chain that can switch between radio components dedicated to specific RATs. For example, a first radio component can be dedicated to a first RAT, such as LTE, and can communicate with a dedicated receive chain and a transmit chain shared with an additional radio component, such as a second radio component that can be dedicated to a second RAT (e.g., 5G NR) and can communicate with the dedicated receive chain and the shared transmit chain.

[0111] 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 460 (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 a speaker, 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.

[0112] The communication device 106 may also include one or more smart cards 445 with SIM (Subscriber Identity Module) functionality, such as one or more UICC (Universal Integrated Circuit Card) cards 445. Note that the term "SIM" or "SIM entity" is intended to include any of various types of SIM implementations or SIM functions, such as one or more UICC cards 445, one or more eUICCs, one or more eSIMs, removable or embedded, etc. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include at least two SIMs. Each SIM may execute one or more SIM applications and / or implement SIM functions in other ways. Thus, each SIM may be a single smart card that may be embedded, for example, soldered to a circuit board in the UE 106, or each SIM 410 may be implemented as a removable smart card. Thus, the SIM may be one or more removable smart cards (such as a UICC card, sometimes referred to as a "SIM card"), and / or the SIM 410 may be one or more embedded cards (such as an embedded UICC (eUICC), sometimes referred to as an "eSIM" or "eSIM card"). In some embodiments (such as when the SIM includes an eUICC), one or more of the SIMs may implement embedded SIM (eSIM) functionality; in such embodiments, a single SIM of the SIM may execute multiple SIM applications. Each SIM may include components such as a processor and / or a memory; instructions for performing SIM / eSIM functionality may be stored in the memory and executed by the processor. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may include a combination of removable smart cards and fixed / non-removable smart cards (such as one or more eUICC cards that implement eSIM functionality) as needed. For example, the UE 106 may include a combination of two embedded SIMs, two removable SIMs, or one embedded SIM and one removable SIM. Various other SIM configurations are also contemplated.

[0113] As described above, in some embodiments, UE 106 may include two or more SIMs. Including two or more SIMs in UE 106 may allow UE 106 to support two different phone numbers, and may allow UE 106 to communicate on corresponding two or more corresponding networks. For example, the first SIM may support a first RAT such as LTE, and the second SIM 410 may support a second RAT such as 5G NR. Of course, other specific implementations and RATs are also possible. In some embodiments, when UE 106 includes two SIMs, UE 106 may support dual card dual communication (DSDA) functionality. The DSDA functionality may allow UE 106 to be connected to two networks (and use two different RATs) at the same time, or allow two connections supported by two different SIMs using the same or different RATs to be maintained on the same or different networks at the same time. The DSDA functionality may also allow UE 106 to receive voice calls or data traffic on any phone number at the same time. In some embodiments, voice calls may be packet-switched communications. In other words, voice calls may be received using voice over LTE (VoLTE) technology and / or voice over NR (VoNR) technology. In some embodiments, the UE 106 may support dual SIM dual standby (DSDS) functionality. The DSDS functionality may allow either of the two SIMs in the UE 106 to standby for a voice call and / or data connection. In DSDS, when a call / data is established on one SIM, the other SIM is no longer active. In some embodiments, the DSDx functionality (DSDA or DSDS functionality) may be implemented using a single SIM (e.g., eUICC) that executes multiple SIM applications for different carriers and / or RATs.

[0114] As shown, the SOC 400 may include a processor 402 that may execute program instructions for the communication device 106 and a display circuit 404 that may perform graphics processing and provide display signals to a display 460. The processor 402 may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) 440 (which may be configured to receive addresses from the processor 402 and convert those addresses to locations in a memory (e.g., a memory 406, a read-only memory (ROM) 450, a NAND flash memory 410), and / or to other circuits or devices (such as the display circuit 404, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429, the cellular communication circuit 430, the connector I / F 420, and / or the display 460). The MMU 440 may be configured to perform memory protection and page table conversion or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU 440 may be included as part of the processor 402.

[0115] 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 perform methods for measurement (e.g., RSRP measurement) window boundary determination and UE behavior for small data transmission (SDT) operations during various scenarios (e.g., in 5G NR systems and higher), as further described herein.

[0116] As described herein, the communication device 106 may include hardware components and software components for implementing the above-described features of the communication device 106 to communicate a scheduling profile for power saving to the network. The processor 402 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some 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 402 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 other components in other components 400, 404, 406, 410, 420, 429, 430, 440, 445, 450, 460, the processor 402 of the communication device 106 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein.

[0117] In addition, as described herein, processor 402 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 402 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 402. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 402.

[0118] In addition, as described herein, the cellular communication circuit 430 and the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429 may each include one or more processing elements. In other words, one or more processing elements may be included in the cellular communication circuit 430, and similarly, one or more processing elements may be included in the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429. Therefore, the cellular communication circuit 430 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of the cellular communication circuit 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 the cellular communication circuit 430. Similarly, the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429 may include one or more ICs configured to perform the functions of the short-range to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429. 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 to medium-range wireless communication circuit 429.

[0119] Figure 5 : Block diagram of a cellular communication circuit

[0120] Figure 5 An example 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 circuit of is only one example of possible cellular communication circuits. According to an embodiment, the cellular communication circuit 530 (which may be the cellular communication circuit 430) 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.

[0121] Cellular communication circuitry 530 may be (eg, communicatively; directly or indirectly) coupled to one or more antennas, such as ( Figure 4 In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 530 may include dedicated receive chains (including and / or coupled to (e.g., communicatively; directly or indirectly) 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 530 may include modem 510 and modem 520. Modem 510 may be configured for communication according to a first RAT (e.g., such as LTE or LTE-A), and modem 520 may be configured for communication according to a second RAT (e.g., such as 5G NR).

[0122] 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 sending 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.

[0123] 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 sending 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.

[0124] In some embodiments, the switch 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 530 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 530 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).

[0125] In some embodiments, the cellular communication circuit 530 may be configured to perform methods for measurement (e.g., RSRP measurement) window boundary determination and UE behavior for small data transmission (SDT) operations during various scenarios (e.g., in 5G NR systems and above), as further described herein.

[0126] As described herein, the modem 510 may include hardware components and software components for implementing the above-described features or for time-division multiplexing UL data of NSANR operations and various other techniques described herein. For example, by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium), the processor 512 may be configured to implement some or all of the features described herein. 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 some or all of the feature parts described herein.

[0127] In addition, as described herein, processor 512 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 512 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 512. In addition, each integrated circuit may include circuits (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 512.

[0128] As described herein, the modem 520 may include hardware and software components for implementing the above-described features for measurement (e.g., RSRP measurement) window boundary determination and UE behavior for small data transmission (SDT) operations during various scenarios (e.g., in 5G NR systems and higher), as well as various other techniques described herein. The processor 522 may be configured to implement part or all of the feature parts 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 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 in addition), 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.

[0129] In addition, as described herein, processor 522 may include one or more processing elements. Thus, processor 522 may include one or more integrated circuits (ICs) configured to perform the functions of processor 522. In addition, each integrated circuit may include a circuit (e.g., a first circuit, a second circuit, etc.) configured to perform the functions of processor 522.

[0130] Fig. 6A , Figure 6B and Figure 7 : 5G core network architecture—interworking with Wi-Fi

[0131] In some embodiments, the 5G core network (CN) can be accessed via (or through) a cellular connection / interface (e.g., via a 3GPP communication architecture / protocol) and a non-cellular connection / interface (e.g., a non-3GPP access architecture / protocol such as a Wi-Fi connection). Fig. 6AAn example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines both 3GPP (e.g., cellular) access and non-3GPP (e.g., non-cellular) access to 5G CN. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., such as UE106) can access 5G CN through both a radio access network (RAN, such as gNB 604, which can be a base station 102) and an access point (such as AP612). AP 612 may include a connection to the Internet 600 and a connection to a non-3GPP interworking function (N3IWF) 603 network entity. N3IWF may include a connection to a core access and mobility management function (AMF) 605 of the 5G CN. AMF 605 may include an instance of a 5G mobility management (5G MM) function associated with UE 106. In addition, the RAN (e.g., gNB 604) may also have a connection to AMF 605. Therefore, the 5G CN can support unified authentication on both connections and allow simultaneous registration of UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 612. As shown in the figure, AMF 605 may include one or more functional entities associated with 5GCN (e.g., network slice selection function (NSSF) 620, short message service function (SMSF) 622, application function (AF) 624, unified data management (UDM) 626, policy control function (PCF) 628 and / or authentication server function (AUSF) 630). It should be noted that these functional entities can also be supported by the session management function (SMF) 606a and SMF 606b of 5G CN. AMF 605 can be connected to (or communicate with) SMF 606a. In addition, gNB 604 can communicate with (or be connected to) user plane function (UPF) 608a, which can also communicate with SMF 606a. Similarly, N3IWF 603 can communicate with UPF 608b, which can also communicate with SMF 606b. Both UPFs can communicate with data networks (e.g., DN 610a and 610b) and / or the Internet 600 and Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem / IP Multimedia Core Network Subsystem (IMS) Core Network 610.

[0132] Figure 6BAn example of a 5G network architecture according to some embodiments is shown, which combines both dual 3GPP (e.g., LTE and 5G NR) access to 5GCN and non-3GPP access. As shown, a user equipment device (e.g., such as UE106) can access 5G CN through both a radio access network (RAN, such as gNB 604 or eNB 602, which can be a base station 102) and an access point (such as AP 612). AP 612 may include a connection to the Internet 600 and a connection to the N3IWF 603 network entity. N3IWF may include a connection to AMF 605 of 5G CN. AMF 605 may include an instance of a 5G MM function associated with UE 106. In addition, RAN (e.g., gNB 604) may also have a connection to AMF 605. Therefore, 5G CN can support unified authentication on two connections and allow simultaneous registration of UE 106 access via both gNB 604 and AP 612. In addition, the 5G CN may support dual registration of UEs on both the legacy network (e.g., LTE via eNB 602) and the 5G network (e.g., via gNB 604). As shown, the eNB 602 may have connections to a mobility management entity (MME) 642 and a serving gateway (SGW) 644. The MME 642 may have connections to both the SGW 644 and the AMF 605. In addition, the SGW 644 may have connections to both the SMF 606a and the UPF 608a. As shown, the AMF 605 may include one or more functional entities associated with the 5G CN (e.g., NSSF 620, SMSF 622, AF 624, UDM 626, PCF 628, and / or AUSF 630). It should be noted that the UDM 626 may also include a home subscriber server (HSS) function, and the PCF may also include a policy and charging rules function (PCRF). It should also be noted that these functional entities can also be supported by SMF 606a and SMF 606b of 5G CN. AMF 606 can be connected to (or communicate with) SMF 606a. In addition, gNB 604 can communicate with (or be connected to) UPF 608a, which can also communicate with SMF 606a. Similarly, N3IWF 603 can communicate with UPF 608b, which can also communicate with SMF 606b. Both UPFs can communicate with data networks (e.g., DN 610a and 610b) and / or the Internet 600 and the IMS core network 610.

[0133] Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-described network entities may be configured to perform methods for measurement (e.g., RSRP measurement) window boundary determination and UE behavior for small data transmission (SDT) operations during various scenarios (e.g., in 5G NR systems and higher), such as further described herein.

[0134] Figure 7 An example of a baseband processor architecture for a UE (eg, such as UE 106) is shown in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 7 The baseband processor architecture 700 described in the figure may be implemented on one or more radio components (e.g., the radio components 429 and / or 430 described above) or modems (e.g., modems 510 and / or 520) as described above. As shown, the non-access layer (NAS) 710 may include a 5G NAS 720 and a traditional NAS 750. The traditional NAS 750 may include a communication connection with a traditional access layer (AS) 770. The 5G NAS 720 may include a communication connection with a 5G AS 740 and a non-3GPP AS 730 and a Wi-Fi AS 732. The 5G NAS 720 may include functional entities associated with two access layers. Therefore, the 5G NAS 720 may include multiple 5G MM entities 726 and 728 and 5G session management (SM) entities 722 and 724. The traditional NAS 750 may include functional entities such as a short message service (SMS) entity 752, an evolved packet system (EPS) session management (ESM) entity 754, a session management (SM) entity 756, an EPS mobility management (EMM) entity 758, and a mobility management (MM) / GPRS mobility management (GMM) entity 760. In addition, the traditional AS 770 may include functional entities such as an LTE AS 772, a UMTS AS 774, and / or a GSM / GPRS AS 776.

[0135] Thus, the baseband processor architecture 700 allows for a common 5G-NAS for both 5G cellular and non-cellular (e.g., non-3GPP access). Note that, as shown, 5G MM can maintain separate connection management and registration management state machines for each connection. In addition, a device (e.g., UE 106) can register to a single PLMN (e.g., 5G CN) using 5G cellular access as well as non-cellular access. In addition, a device can be in a connected state in one access and in an idle state in another access, or vice versa. Finally, there may be common 5G-MM procedures (e.g., registration, deregistration, identification, authentication, etc.) for both accesses.

[0136] Note that in various embodiments, one or more of the above-mentioned functional entities of the 5G NAS and / or 5G AS may be configured to perform methods for measurement (e.g., RSRP measurement) window boundary determination and UE behavior for small data transmission (SDT) operations during various scenarios (e.g., in 5G NR systems and higher), such as further described herein.

[0137] Radio resource management for small data transmission operations

[0138] In 3GPP, small data transmission (SDT) is defined as data transmission when in an inactive state (e.g., a state in which a radio resource control (RRC) connection is suspended, such as RRC_inactive state in LTE / 5G NR and / or RRC_idle state with a suspended RRC connection in LTE). Specifically, SDT is a transmission for small data bursts in a connectionless state, where the device does not need to establish and tear down a connection when a small amount of data needs to be transmitted. Recent change requests have proposed timing advance (TA) verification requirements for SDT. It should be noted that timing advance is a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) used to control the timing of uplink signal transmission. The network keeps measuring the time difference between the reception of uplink transmissions (such as physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) and sounding reference signal (SRS)) from the user equipment (UE) and the subframe time, and transmits a timing advance command to the UE to change its uplink transmission timing so that the uplink transmission from the UE can be better aligned with the subframe timing on the network side. In addition, in the current 3GPP specification, an uplink (UL) timing alignment maintenance procedure is used to ensure that the UE remains synchronized with the network on UL transmissions. The UE maintains UL timing alignment based on a TA command received from the network and a TA value contained in the TA command. However, the existing UL timing alignment maintenance procedure is only applied to connected UEs and UEs switched to connected mode.

[0139] Therefore, for SDT operation, a TA verification procedure may be implemented to ensure that the UE maintains UL timing alignment with the network. A recent change request proposes a two-window requirement for reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement (e.g., a first RSRP measurement window and a second RSRP measurement window) and a relationship between the second RSRP measurement window and a configuration grant (CG) SDT (CG-SDT) timing. Specifically, for NR frequency range 1 (FR1), e.g., traditionally below 6 GHz bands but now including bands from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz, the effective measurement windows for the first RSRP measurement (e.g., RSRP1) and the second RSRP measurement (e.g., RSRP2) are defined by equations [1] and [2], respectively.

[0140] (T1–min(640ms,M1*T DRX ))≤T1'≤(T1+min(640ms,M1*T DRX )) [1]

[0141] (T2–min(640ms,M1*T DRX ))≤T2'≤T2 [2]

[0142] In addition, for NR frequency range 2 (FR2), for example, a frequency band from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz, the valid measurement windows for the first RSRP measurement (e.g., RSRP1) and the second RSRP measurement (e.g., RSRP2) are defined by equations [3] and [4], respectively.

[0143] (T1–[X1])≤T1'≤(T1+[X1]) [3]

[0144] (T2–[X1])≤T2'≤T2 [4]

[0145] In equations [1], [2], [3], and [4], T1 is the time when the UE obtains the TA value via the timing advance command MAC control element, T1' is the time when the UE has completed RSRP1, T2 is the time when the UE performs TA verification for transmission using CG-SDT, T2' is the time when the UE has completed RSRP2, and T DRX is the DRX cycle length in milliseconds, and M1 is a scaling factor defined by the standard. Note that if at least one of RSRP1 or RSRP2 is considered invalid based on the above equation, the UE may not use RSRP1 and RSRP2 to verify the CG-SDT, and the UE may not use CG-SDT for transmission. In addition, the UE may not transmit in a CG-SDT opportunity that occurs more than a specified time after T2. However, no agreement has been reached on the final value of X1.

[0146] In addition, according to the protocol, during subsequent SDT occasions, the UE is not required to meet the inter-frequency and inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement requirements. However, the UE behavior for SDT with early measurement report (EMR) measurements and / or positioning measurements has not been specified. In addition, there is no discussion on SDT radio resource management (RRM) measurements when enhanced DRX (eDRX) is configured in inactive mode.

[0147] The embodiments described herein provide systems, methods, and mechanisms for FR2 RSRP measurement window boundary determination and UE behavior for SDT scenarios when conflicts with EMR or positioning measurements and UE behavior for SDT scenarios when eDRX is configured in inactive mode. For example, in some cases, the measurement window boundaries can be determined based on the product of the beam scanning factor and the synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period and / or one or more of the thresholds. As another example, in some cases, when the SDT opportunity conflicts with other measurements, the UE can prioritize measurements in specific scenarios and prioritize SDT opportunities in other scenarios. As another example, in some cases, when an SDT opportunity occurs when eDRX is configured in inactive mode, the UE can determine the TA verification window based on the DRX cycle length or based on the eDRX cycle length (e.g., based on specific conditions).

[0148] For example, in some cases, a reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement window boundary (e.g., as defined in equations [3] and [4] and given by Figure 8 X1) shown, for example, the RSRP measurement window boundary can be determined at least in part based on the product of the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period as shown in equation [5].

[0149] X1=M*T SSB [5]

[0150] Note that M can be defined as the beam scanning factor, and T SSB The beam scanning factor may be defined as a SSB burst period. The beam scanning factor may be predefined and / or defined based at least in part on the DRX cycle length and / or the eDRX cycle length. In some cases, the beam scanning factor may be different between different DRX cycle lengths, for example, as shown in Table 1.

[0151] Table 1: Relationship between DRX cycle length and beam scanning factor

[0152] DRX cycle length [s] M 0.32 8 0.64 5 1.28 4 2.56 3

[0153] Therefore, if Figure 8 As shown, the measurement window may be determined based on a first measurement time (eg, T1) plus or minus a measurement window boundary value (eg, X1) and a second measurement time (eg, T2) minus a measurement window boundary value (eg, X1).

[0154] As another example, in some cases, the RSRP measurement window boundary (e.g., as defined in equations [3] and [4] and given by ) may be determined based at least in part on a (e.g., predefined and / or network-indicated) threshold and a maximum of a product of a beam scanning factor and an SSB burst period (e.g., as shown in equation [6]). Figure 8 X1 shown).

[0155] X1=max[T,M*T SSB ][6]

[0156] As discussed above, the beam scanning factor may be different between different DRX cycle lengths, for example, as shown in Table 1. In some cases, the threshold may be for power saving purposes, for example, when the SSB period is small (such as 10 ms) and results in a short measurement cycle interval (e.g., between 30 ms and 80 ms depending on the DRX cycle length), the threshold may allow a longer measurement cycle interval (e.g., 400 ms, 480 ms and / or 640 ms), thereby allowing the UE to make fewer measurements and save power.

[0157] As another example, in some cases, when EMR measurements are configured for inactive mode and conflict with SDT opportunities at the UE, the UE may prioritize EMR (early measurement report) measurements and may skip (e.g., discard) SDTs that conflict with EMR measurement opportunities only when the T331 timer (e.g., as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 section 7.1.1) is running (e.g., active). Note that the UE may prioritize EMR measurements on EMR carriers, but may not prioritize legacy measurements. In another example, in some embodiments, when all frequency carriers to be measured configured for the UE are EMR measurements and the timer T331 is running, the UE may prioritize EMR measurements and may skip (e.g., discard) SDTs that conflict with EMR measurement opportunities. Note that when not all frequency carriers to be measured configured for the UE are EMR measurements (e.g., at least one of the frequency carriers to be measured is a legacy measurement) and / or the timer T331 is not running, the UE may prioritize SDTs. In another example, in some embodiments, when at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurement and the timer T331 is running (e.g., active), the UE may prioritize measurements on all frequency carriers to be measured and may skip (e.g., discard) SDTs that conflict with the measurement opportunities. Note that when none of the frequency carriers to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurement and / or the timer T331 is not running (e.g., inactive), the UE may prioritize SDTs.

[0158] As another example, in some cases, when positioning measurements are configured for inactive mode and the positioning measurements conflict with SDT opportunities at the UE, the UE may prioritize the positioning measurements and skip (e.g., discard) the conflicting SDT when the valid positioning reference signal (PRS) period for the positioning measurements is greater than a threshold. The threshold may be a valid period threshold. The threshold may be a predefined value such as 80ms, 160ms; 320ms, etc. and / or the threshold may be indicated by the network. Note that the valid PRS period for positioning measurements means the actual implemented period taking into account both the configured period and the muting information. For example, if the configured period is 160ms, but the muting mode is to mute 1 PRS in every 2 PRS opportunities; then the valid period is 320ms.

[0159] As another example, in some cases, when SDT is configured in inactive mode and eDRX is configured, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the legacy DRX state for RSRP measurement during the TA verification period. Note that the RSRP measurement period for TA verification may be determined by the DRX cycle instead of the eDRX cycle. Note further that during a subsequent SDT transmission period, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the legacy DRX state for RRM measurement and time and frequency (T / F) tracking. In some cases, when SDT transmission is configured in inactive mode and eDRX is configured, during the TA verification period, the UE may use the eDRX state for RSRP measurement. Note that in equations [1] and [2], the RSRP measurement period for TA verification may be determined by the eDRX cycle instead of the DRX cycle, and the eDRX cycle length may be used instead of the DRX cycle length. Note further that during a subsequent SDT transmission period, the UE may transition from the eDRX cycle to the legacy DRX cycle for RRM measurement and T / F tracking. In some embodiments, when SDT transmission is configured in inactive mode and eDRX is configured, the UE may use the eDRX state for RSRP measurement during the TA verification period. Note that in equations [1] and [2], the RSRP measurement period for TA verification may be determined by the eDRX cycle instead of the DRX cycle, and the eDRX cycle length may be used instead of the DRX cycle length. Note further that during the subsequent SDT transmission period, the UE may use the eDRX cycle for RRM measurement and T / F tracking.

[0160] Fig. 9 A block diagram of an example of a method for determining a measurement window boundary according to some embodiments is shown. In addition to other devices, Fig. 9The method shown can also be used in combination with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some method elements shown can be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be executed as required. As shown in the figure, the method can operate as follows.

[0161] At 902, a UE such as UE 106 may receive a configuration grant (CG) for small data transmission (SDT) from a base station such as base station 102. Note that SDT may be defined as data transmission when in an inactive state (e.g., a state in which a radio resource control (RRC) connection is suspended, such as RRC_inactive state in LTE / 5GNR and / or RRC_idle state with a suspended RRC connection in LTE). Specifically, SDT is for transmission of small data bursts in a connectionless state, where a device does not need to establish and tear down a connection when a small amount of data needs to be transmitted.

[0162] At 904, when operating in fifth generation new radio (5G NR) frequency range 2 (FR2), the UE may determine boundaries of a first measurement window and a second measurement window based at least in part on a beam scanning factor and a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period. The beam scanning factor may be a predefined value. In some cases, the beam scanning factor may be one of a plurality of beam scanning factors. In this case, the UE may select the beam scanning factor from the plurality of beam scanning factors based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length. Additionally, as the DRX length increases, the beam scanning factor may decrease.

[0163] In some cases, in order to determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, the UE may determine the maximum value of the product of the threshold and the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, and determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the determined maximum value. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. In some cases, the threshold may be a value between 400 milliseconds and 640 milliseconds. In some cases, the threshold may be based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length.

[0164] At 906, the UE may perform verification of the CG-SDT opportunity. The verification may be based at least in part on results of a first measurement occurring in the first measurement window and a second measurement occurring in the second measurement window.

[0165] In some cases, the UE may determine that an early measurement report (EMR) is configured for an inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement conflicts with the SDT. In addition, the UE may determine to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement on the EMR carrier will be prioritized and the measurement on the non-ERM carrier will be skipped. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that all the frequency carriers to be measured configured to the UE are EMR measurements. In this case, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is not used for EMR measurement, and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurement. In this case, the UE may determine that none of the frequency carriers to be measured configured for the UE is used for EMR measurement and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, the UE may determine that the T331 timer is not active and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, T331 may be defined by the 3GPP standard.

[0166] In some cases, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement is configured for inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement conflicts with the SDT transmission. In addition, the UE may determine, at least in part, that the effective positioning reference signal (PRS) period of the positioning measurement exceeds a threshold to prioritize the positioning measurement and discard the SDT transmission. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. The effective PRS period may be defined as a period based on the actual implementation of the configured PRS period and the muting information.

[0167] In some cases, the UE may determine to configure an enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode. In addition, before performing the verification of the CG-SDT opportunity, the UE may transition to a traditional discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) state. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the traditional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and time and frequency (T / F) tracking.

[0168] In some cases, the UE may determine to configure an enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode. In addition, when operating in 5G NR frequency range 1 (FR1), the UE may determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the eDRX cycle length. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the traditional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may remain in the eDRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking.

[0169] In some cases, 5G NR Frequency Range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. In some cases, 5G NR FR2 may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.

[0170] Fig.10 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for mitigating conflicts between EMR measurements and SDT according to some embodiments. In addition to other devices, Fig.10 The method shown can also be used in combination with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some method elements shown can be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be executed as required. As shown in the figure, the method can operate as follows.

[0171] At 1002, a UE such as UE 106 may determine that early measurement reporting (EMR) is configured for an inactive mode.

[0172] At 1004, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement conflicts with a small data transmission (SDT). Note that SDT may be defined as data transmission when in an inactive state (e.g., a state in which a radio resource control (RRC) connection is suspended, such as an RRC_inactive state in LTE / 5G NR and / or an RRC_idle state with a suspended RRC connection in LTE). Specifically, SDT is a transmission for small data bursts in a connectionless state, where a device does not need to establish and tear down a connection when a small amount of data needs to be transmitted.

[0173] At 1006, the UE may determine to prioritize EMR measurements and skip SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active. In some cases, to determine to prioritize EMR measurements and skip SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that EMR measurements on EMR carriers will be prioritized and that measurements on non-ERM carriers will be skipped. In some cases, to determine to prioritize EMR measurements and skip SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that all frequency carriers to be measured configured to the UE are EMR measurements. In this case, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is not used for EMR measurements and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, to determine to prioritize EMR measurements and skip SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurements. In this case, the UE may determine that none of the frequency carriers to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurements and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, the UE may determine that the T331 timer is not active and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, T331 may be defined by 3GPP standards.

[0174] In some cases, the UE may receive a configuration grant (CG) for small data transmission (SDT) from a base station such as base station 102. In addition, when operating in the fifth generation new radio (5G NR) frequency range 2 (FR2), the UE may determine the boundary of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period. In addition, the UE may perform a verification of the CG-SDT timing. The verification may be based at least in part on the results of the first measurement occurring in the first measurement window and the second measurement occurring in the second measurement window. The beam scanning factor may be a predefined value. In some cases, the beam scanning factor may be one of a plurality of beam scanning factors. In this case, the UE may select the beam scanning factor from the plurality of beam scanning factors based at least in part on the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length. In addition, as the DRX length increases, the beam scanning factor may decrease. In some cases, in order to determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, the UE may determine the maximum value of the product of the threshold and the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, and determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the determined maximum value. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. In some cases, the threshold may be a value between 400 milliseconds and 640 milliseconds. In some cases, the threshold may be based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length.

[0175] In some cases, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement is configured for inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement conflicts with the SDT transmission. In addition, the UE may determine, at least in part, that the effective positioning reference signal (PRS) period of the positioning measurement exceeds a threshold to prioritize the positioning measurement and discard the SDT transmission. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. The effective PRS period may be defined as a period based on the actual implementation of the configured PRS period and the muting information.

[0176] In some cases, the UE may determine to configure an enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode. In addition, before performing the verification of the CG-SDT opportunity, the UE may transition to a traditional discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) state. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the traditional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and time and frequency (T / F) tracking.

[0177] In some cases, the UE may determine to configure an enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode. In addition, when operating in 5G NR frequency range 1 (FR1), the UE may determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the eDRX cycle length. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the traditional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may remain in the eDRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking.

[0178] In some cases, 5G NR Frequency Range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. In some cases, 5G NR FR2 may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.

[0179] Fig.11 A block diagram of an example of a method for mitigating conflicts between positioning measurements and SDT according to some embodiments is shown. Among other devices, Fig.11 The method shown can also be used in combination with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some method elements shown can be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be executed as required. As shown in the figure, the method can operate as follows.

[0180] At 1102, a UE such as UE 106 may determine that positioning measurements are configured for an inactive mode.

[0181] At 1104, the UE may determine that the location measurement conflicts with a small data transmission (SDT) transmission. Note that SDT may be defined as data transmission when in an inactive state (e.g., a state in which a radio resource control (RRC) connection is suspended, such as RRC_inactive state in LTE / 5G NR and / or RRC_idle state with a suspended RRC connection in LTE). Specifically, SDT is a transmission for small data bursts in a connectionless state, where a device does not need to establish and tear down a connection when a small amount of data needs to be transmitted.

[0182] At 1106, the UE may determine to prioritize positioning measurements and discard SDT transmissions based at least in part on an effective positioning reference signal (PRS) period for positioning measurements exceeding a threshold. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. The effective PRS period may be defined as a period based on the actual implementation of the configured PRS period and muting information.

[0183] In some cases, the UE may receive a configuration grant (CG) for small data transmission (SDT) from a base station such as base station 102. In addition, when operating in the fifth generation new radio (5G NR) frequency range 2 (FR2), the UE may determine the boundary of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period. In addition, the UE may perform a verification of the CG-SDT timing. The verification may be based at least in part on the results of the first measurement occurring in the first measurement window and the second measurement occurring in the second measurement window. The beam scanning factor may be a predefined value. In some cases, the beam scanning factor may be one of a plurality of beam scanning factors. In this case, the UE may select the beam scanning factor from the plurality of beam scanning factors based at least in part on the discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length. In addition, as the DRX length increases, the beam scanning factor may decrease. In some cases, in order to determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, the UE may determine the maximum value of the product of the threshold and the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, and determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the determined maximum value. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. In some cases, the threshold may be a value between 400 milliseconds and 640 milliseconds. In some cases, the threshold may be based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length.

[0184] In some cases, the UE may determine that an early measurement report (EMR) is configured for an inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement conflicts with the SDT. In addition, the UE may determine to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement on the EMR carrier will be prioritized and the measurement on the non-ERM carrier will be skipped. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that all the frequency carriers to be measured configured to the UE are EMR measurements. In this case, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is not used for EMR measurement, and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurement. In this case, the UE may determine that none of the frequency carriers to be measured configured for the UE is used for EMR measurement and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, the UE may determine that the T331 timer is not active and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, T331 may be defined by the 3GPP standard.

[0185] In some cases, the UE may determine to configure an enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode. In addition, before performing the verification of the CG-SDT opportunity, the UE may transition to a traditional discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) state. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the traditional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and time and frequency (T / F) tracking.

[0186] In some cases, the UE may determine to configure an enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode. In addition, when operating in 5G NR frequency range 1 (FR1), the UE may determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the eDRX cycle length. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the traditional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may remain in the eDRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking.

[0187] In some cases, 5G NR Frequency Range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. In some cases, 5G NR FR2 may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.

[0188] Fig.12 A block diagram illustrating an example of a method for determining measurement window boundaries when configured for eDRX according to some embodiments. Fig.12 The method shown can be used in combination with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown can be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be executed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method can operate as follows.

[0189] At 1202, a UE such as UE 106 may determine that enhanced DRX (eDRX) is configured for an inactive mode.

[0190] At 1204, the UE may transition to a legacy DRX state prior to performing verification of a configuration grant (CG) small data transmit (SDT) opportunity when operating in 5G NR FR1.

[0191] At 1206, the UE may perform verification of the CG-SDT timing while in a legacy DRX state (e.g., when operating in 5G NR FR1). Note that SDT may be defined as data transmission when in an inactive state (e.g., a state in which a radio resource control (RRC) connection is suspended, such as RRC_inactive state in LTE / 5G NR and / or RRC_idle state with a suspended RRC connection in LTE). Specifically, SDT is for transmission of small data bursts in a connectionless state, where the device does not need to establish and tear down a connection when a small amount of data needs to be transmitted.

[0192] In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the legacy DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and time and frequency (T / F) tracking.

[0193] In some cases, the UE may receive a CG-SDT from a base station such as base station 102. In addition, when operating in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) frequency range 2 (FR2), the UE may determine the boundary of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on a beam scanning factor and a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period. In addition, the UE may perform a verification of the CG-SDT timing. The verification may be based at least in part on the results of a first measurement occurring in a first measurement window and a second measurement occurring in a second measurement window. The beam scanning factor may be a predefined value. In some cases, the beam scanning factor may be one of a plurality of beam scanning factors. In this case, the UE may select a beam scanning factor from the plurality of beam scanning factors based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length. In addition, as the DRX length increases, the beam scanning factor may decrease. In some cases, in order to determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, the UE may determine the maximum value of the product of the threshold and the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, and determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the determined maximum value. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. In some cases, the threshold may be a value between 400 milliseconds and 640 milliseconds. In some cases, the threshold may be based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length.

[0194] In some cases, the UE may determine that an early measurement report (EMR) is configured for an inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement conflicts with the SDT. In addition, the UE may determine to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement on the EMR carrier will be prioritized and the measurement on the non-ERM carrier will be skipped. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that all the frequency carriers to be measured configured to the UE are EMR measurements. In this case, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is not used for EMR measurement, and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurement. In this case, the UE may determine that none of the frequency carriers to be measured configured for the UE is used for EMR measurement and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, the UE may determine that the T331 timer is not active and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, T331 may be defined by the 3GPP standard.

[0195] In some cases, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement is configured for inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement conflicts with the SDT transmission. In addition, the UE may determine, at least in part, that the effective positioning reference signal (PRS) period of the positioning measurement exceeds a threshold to prioritize the positioning measurement and discard the SDT transmission. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. The effective PRS period may be defined as a period based on the actual implementation of the configured PRS period and the muting information.

[0196] In some cases, 5G NR Frequency Range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. In some cases, 5G NR FR2 may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.

[0197] Fig.13 A block diagram illustrating an example of another method for determining measurement window boundaries when configured for eDRX according to some embodiments. Fig.12The method shown can be used in combination with any one of the systems, methods or devices shown in the figure. In various embodiments, some of the method elements shown can be executed concurrently in a different order than shown, or can be omitted. Additional method elements can also be executed as needed. As shown in the figure, the method can operate as follows.

[0198] At 1302, a UE such as UE 106 may determine that enhanced DRX (eDRX) is configured for an inactive mode.

[0199] At 1304, when operating in 5G NR FR1, the UE may determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the eDRX cycle length, for example, for verification of the CG-SDT timing. Note that SDT may be defined as data transmission when in an inactive state (e.g., a state in which a radio resource control (RRC) connection is suspended, such as RRC_inactive state in LTE / 5G NR and / or RRC_idle state with a suspended RRC connection in LTE). Specifically, SDT is for transmission of small data bursts in a connectionless state, where the device does not need to establish and tear down a connection when a small amount of data needs to be transmitted.

[0200] In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may transition from the eDRX state to the conventional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking. In some cases, during a subsequent SDT opportunity, the UE may remain in the eDRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking.

[0201] In some cases, the UE may receive a CG-SDT from a base station such as base station 102. In addition, when operating in a fifth generation new radio (5G NR) frequency range 2 (FR2), the UE may determine the boundary of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on a beam scanning factor and a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period. In addition, the UE may perform a verification of the CG-SDT timing. The verification may be based at least in part on the results of a first measurement occurring in a first measurement window and a second measurement occurring in a second measurement window. The beam scanning factor may be a predefined value. In some cases, the beam scanning factor may be one of a plurality of beam scanning factors. In this case, the UE may select a beam scanning factor from the plurality of beam scanning factors based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length. In addition, as the DRX length increases, the beam scanning factor may decrease. In some cases, in order to determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, the UE may determine the maximum value of the product of the threshold and the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period, and determine the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based on the determined maximum value. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. In some cases, the threshold may be a value between 400 milliseconds and 640 milliseconds. In some cases, the threshold may be based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length.

[0202] In some cases, the UE may determine that an early measurement report (EMR) is configured for an inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement conflicts with the SDT. In addition, the UE may determine to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that the EMR measurement on the EMR carrier will be prioritized and the measurement on the non-ERM carrier will be skipped. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that all the frequency carriers to be measured configured to the UE are EMR measurements. In this case, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is not used for EMR measurement, and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, in order to prioritize the EMR measurement and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active, the UE may determine that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured to the UE is used for EMR measurement. In this case, the UE may determine that none of the frequency carriers to be measured configured for the UE is used for EMR measurement and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, the UE may determine that the T331 timer is not active and prioritize SDT transmission. In some cases, T331 may be defined by the 3GPP standard.

[0203] In some cases, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement is configured for inactive mode. In addition, the UE may determine that the positioning measurement conflicts with the SDT transmission. In addition, the UE may determine, at least in part, that the effective positioning reference signal (PRS) period of the positioning measurement exceeds a threshold to prioritize the positioning measurement and discard the SDT transmission. The threshold may be predefined or indicated by the base station. The effective PRS period may be defined as a period based on the actual implementation of the configured PRS period and the muting information.

[0204] In some cases, 5G NR Frequency Range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. In some cases, 5G NR FR2 may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz.

[0205] 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.

[0206] 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.

[0207] In some embodiments, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be configured such that it stores program instructions and / or data, wherein if executed by a computer system, the program instructions cause the computer system 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 of the method embodiments described herein or any combination of such subsets.

[0208] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE 106) 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 embodiments described herein (or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be implemented in any of a variety of forms.

[0209] By interpreting each message / signal X received by a user equipment (UE) in the downlink as a message / signal X sent by the base station, and interpreting each message / signal Y sent by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station, any of the methods for operating a UE described herein may become the basis for the corresponding method for operating a base station.

[0210] 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 include all such variations and modifications.

Claims

1. A method for determining a measurement window boundary, the method comprising: User Equipment (UE), receiving a configuration grant (CG) for small data transmission (SDT) from a base station; When operating in fifth generation new radio (5G NR) frequency range 2 (FR2), determining boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on a beam scanning factor and a synchronization signal block (SSB) burst period; as well as Verification of the CG-SDT opportunity is performed based on results of a first measurement occurring in the first measurement window and a second measurement occurring in the second measurement window.

2. The method according to claim 1, The beam scanning factor is one of a plurality of beam scanning factors, and the method further comprises the UE: The beam scanning factor is selected from the plurality of beam scanning factors based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length.

3. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, Wherein determining the boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window based at least in part on the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period comprises the UE: determining a maximum of a threshold and a product of the beam scanning factor and the SSB burst period; and The boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window are determined based on the determined maximum value.

4. The method according to claim 3, Wherein the threshold is based at least in part on a discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) length.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: The UE: Determining that Early Measurement Reporting (EMR) is configured for inactive mode; Determine if EMR measurement conflicts with SDT; as well as The determination to prioritize EMR measurements and skip the SDT is based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active.

6. The method according to claim 5, Wherein determining to prioritize EMR measurements and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active comprises the UE: determining that EMR measurements on the EMR carrier are to be prioritized; and Measurements on determined non-ERM carriers will be skipped.

7. The method according to claim 5, Wherein determining to prioritize EMR measurements and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active comprises the UE: It is determined that all frequency carriers to be measured that are configured for the UE are EMR measurements.

8. The method according to claim 7, further comprising: The UE: Determining that at least one frequency carrier to be measured configured for the UE is not used for EMR measurement; as well as The SDT transmission is prioritized.

9. The method according to claim 8, Wherein determining to prioritize EMR measurements and skip the SDT based at least in part on whether the T331 timer is active comprises the UE: At least one frequency carrier to be measured configured for the UE is determined to be used for EMR measurement.

10. The method according to claim 9, further comprising: The UE: Determining that none of the frequency carriers to be measured configured for the UE is used for EMR measurement; as well as The SDT transmission is prioritized.

11. The method according to any one of claims 5 to 10, further comprising: The UE: Determining that the T331 timer is not active; as well as The SDT transmission is prioritized.

12. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 11, further comprising: The UE: determining that the positioning measurements are configured for an inactive mode; Determine that the position measurement conflicts with the SDT transmission; as well as The determination to prioritize the positioning measurement and to discard the SDT transmission is based at least in part on a valid positioning reference signal (PRS) period of the positioning measurement exceeding a threshold.

13. The method according to claim 12, The effective PRS period is defined as a period actually implemented based on the configured PRS period and muting information.

14. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 13, further comprising: The UE: Determine to configure enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode; as well as Before performing the verification of the CG-SDT opportunity, transition to a conventional discontinuous reception cycle (DRX) state.

15. The method according to claim 14, further comprising: The UE: During the subsequent SDT occasion, there is a transition from the eDRX state to the legacy DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and time and frequency (T / F) tracking.

16. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 15, further comprising: The UE: Determine to configure enhanced discontinuous reception cycle (eDRX) in inactive mode; as well as When operating in 5G NR frequency range 1 (FR1), boundaries of the first measurement window and the second measurement window are determined based on an eDRX cycle length.

17. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: The UE: During the subsequent SDT occasion, a transition is made from the eDRX state to the conventional DRX state for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking.

18. The method according to claim 17, further comprising: The UE: During the subsequent SDT occasion, the eDRX state is maintained for radio resource management (RRM) measurements and T / F tracking.

19. A computer program product, the computer program product comprising: Computer instructions which, when executed by one or more processors, perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

20. A user equipment device (UE), the user equipment device (UE) comprising: one or more processors; and A memory having instructions stored thereon which, when executed by the one or more processors, perform the steps of the method according to any one of claims 1 to 18.

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