Conditional cell change

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to conditional cell changes. The embodiment of the invention relates to equipment, a method, a device and a computer readable storage medium for conditional cell change. In a method, a terminal device receives a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from a network device. The set of measurement configurations and execution conditions is associated with selective activation of the plurality of candidate cells. Then, the terminal device stores a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions, and performs a cell change between the plurality of candidate cells based on the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to methods, devices, apparatus, and computer-readable storage media for conditional cell change. Background Art

[0002] Multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) Dual Connectivity (MR-DC) with Selective Activation of Cell Groups aims to enable subsequent Conditional Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell) Change (CPC) or Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) after a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) change without the need to reconfigure and reinitialize CPC / CPA preparation from the network. This results in a reduction in signaling overhead and disruption time for SCG changes. Summary of the invention

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, a terminal device is provided. The terminal device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, enable the terminal device to at least: receive a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from a network device, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of multiple candidate cells; store the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions; and perform a cell change between multiple candidate cells based on the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, a network device is provided. The network device includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the network device at least: generates a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of multiple candidate cells for a terminal device; and sends the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided. The method includes: receiving a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from a network device, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of multiple candidate cells; storing the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions; and performing a cell change between the multiple candidate cells based on the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions.

[0006] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided, comprising: generating a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions associated with selective activation of multiple candidate cells for a terminal device; and sending the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, a first device is provided. The first device includes: a component for receiving a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from a network device, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of multiple candidate cells; a component for storing the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions; and a component for performing a cell change between the multiple candidate cells based on the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, a second apparatus is provided. The second apparatus comprises: a component for generating a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of multiple candidate cells for a terminal device; and a component for sending the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided, wherein the computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon, and the instructions are used to cause a device to at least execute the method according to the third or fourth aspect.

[0010] It should be understood that the invention summary is not intended to identify the key or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily understood through the following description. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0012] Figure 1A An example measurement configuration for conditional reconfiguration is shown;

[0013] Figure 1B Shown is the SCPAC preparation and measurement configuration in a new PSCell addition scenario.

[0014] Figure 2 shows an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 3 A signaling diagram illustrating an example communication process according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0016] Figure 4A and Figure 4B A flow chart illustrating an example process for a SCPAC mobility scenario according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 5A and Figure 5B An alternative example of SCPAS measurement configuration and conditions is shown;

[0018] Figure 6A flowchart of a method implemented at a terminal device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0019] Figure 7 A flowchart of a method implemented at a network device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown;

[0020] Figure 8 shows a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and

[0021] Fig. 9 A block diagram of an example computer-readable medium is shown according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are described only for illustrative purposes, and are helpful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The present disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways except for the modes described below.

[0024] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0025] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," "an example embodiment," etc. indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. In addition, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in conjunction with an embodiment, it is considered to be within the knowledge of those skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in conjunction with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0026] It should be understood that although the terms "first", "second", ..., etc. in front of (multiple) nouns can be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another element and do not limit the order of (multiple) nouns. For example, the first element can be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element can be referred to as the first element without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiment. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any combination and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0027] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions, where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one element, or at least any two or more elements, or at least all the elements.

[0028] As used herein, unless explicitly stated, performing a step “in response to A” does not indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs, and one or more intermediate steps may be included.

[0029] The terms used herein are only used for the purpose of describing specific embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" when used herein specify the presence of the features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0030] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following:

[0031] (a) only hardware circuits (such as analog and / or digital circuits) and

[0032] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (where applicable):

[0033] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) and software (e.g., firmware); and

[0034] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions, and

[0035] (c) Hardware circuits and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but where the software is not required for operation, the software may not be present.

[0036] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of only a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0037] As used herein, the term "cellular network" refers to a network that operates in accordance with any suitable radio access technology defined by a standard, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. In addition, the communication between the terminal device and the network device in the communication network can be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocol, including but not limited to the first generation (1G) communication protocol, the second generation (2G) communication protocol, the 2.5G communication protocol, the 2.75G communication protocol, the third generation (3G) communication protocol, the fourth generation (4G) communication protocol, the 4.5G communication protocol, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocol, and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure can be applied to various communication systems. In view of the rapid development of communication, there will certainly be future types of communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure can be embodied. It should not be considered that the scope of the present disclosure is limited to the above-mentioned system.

[0038] As used herein, the term "network device" refers to a node in a cellular network, via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. A network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved node B (eNodeB or eNB), a NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay device, an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, a low-power node (such as a femto node, a micro node), a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-terrestrial network equipment (such as satellite network equipment, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite, and a geosynchronous orbit (GEO) satellite), an aircraft network device, etc., depending on the terminology and technology applied. In some example embodiments, a radio access network (RAN) separation architecture includes a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node includes a mobile terminal (IAB-MT) portion, the IAB-MT portion behaves similarly to a UE toward a parent node, and the DU portion of the IAB node behaves similarly to a base station toward a next-hop IAB node.

[0039] The term "terminal device" refers to any terminal device that can perform wireless communication. As an example and not limitation, the terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a portable subscriber station, a mobile station (MS) or an access terminal (AT). The terminal device includes, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet computer, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device (such as a digital camera), a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, a vehicle-mounted wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded device (LEE), a laptop mounted device (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless client device (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable device, a head mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, medical equipment and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial equipment and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of an industrial and / or automated processing chain), consumer electronic devices, equipment operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. The terminal device may also correspond to the mobile terminal (MT) part of an IAB node (eg, a relay node).In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0040] As used herein, the terms "resource", "transmission resource", "resource block", "physical resource block" (PRB), "uplink resource" or "downlink resource" may refer to any resource used to perform communication (e.g., communication between a terminal device and a network device), such as a resource in the time domain, a resource in the frequency domain, a resource in the space domain, a resource in the code domain, or any other combination of time, frequency, space and / or code domain resources to achieve communication. In the following, unless explicitly stated, resources in both the frequency domain and the time domain will be used as examples of transmission resources to describe some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It should be noted that the example embodiments of the present disclosure are also applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0041] The mechanisms and procedures for NR-DC with selective activation of cell groups (at least for SCG) via Layer 3 (L3) enhancement will be specified, and subsequent cell group changes after changing the cell group need to be allowed without reconfiguration and re-initiation of CPC / CPA.

[0042] Some baseline procedures to support subsequent secondary cell group changes include the following steps. Step 1: When the execution condition of a CPC candidate PScell ​​is met, the UE performs CPC on the candidate PScell. Step 2: After completing the PSCell addition or change, the UE does not release the conditional configuration of other candidate PSCells for subsequent CPC, and the UE continues to evaluate the execution conditions of other candidate PScells. Step 3: When the execution condition of a candidate PScell ​​is met, the UE performs CPC on the candidate PSCell.

[0043] Several scenarios of SCG selective activation can be assumed to be supported, including intra-SN SCG selective activation initiated by a secondary node (SN), inter-SN SCG selective activation initiated by a master node (MN), and inter-SN SCG selective activation initiated by a SN.

[0044] For SN-initiated inter-SN SCG selective activation, the source SN can generate execution conditions for the initial CPC. For SN-initiated SCG selective activation, the candidate SN can generate execution conditions for subsequent CPC. No special effort will be spent to support nested configuration for candidate cell configuration.

[0045] In NR-DC, the UE may receive two independent measurement configurations (e.g., information element (IE) measConfig), including: a measConfig IE associated with the MCG, which is included in an RRCReconfiguration message received via signaling radio bearer (SRB) 1; and a measConfig IE associated with the SCG, which is included in an RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB3, or alternatively, included in an SN RRCReconfiguration message embedded in an RRCReconfiguration message received via SRB1. In this case, the UE maintains independent measurement variables (e.g., VarMeasConfig IE and VarMeasReportList IE) associated with each measConfig IE received from each serving node.

[0046] The UE variable VarMeasConfig includes the cumulative configuration of measurements to be performed by the UE, covering intra-frequency mobility related measurements, inter-frequency mobility related measurements and inter-RAT mobility related measurements. Information about the VarMeasConfig UE variable is shown below.

[0047]

[0048] For measurement configurations for conditional primary cell (PCell) / PSCell changes, when the UE is configured with conditional handover (CHO) or conditional PSCell addition (CPA) / CPC, the serving cell will send a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration (referred to as RRC1) to the UE. The RRC reconfiguration contains the measurement configuration determined by the serving cell and also contains another RRC configuration (referred to as RRC2), which is the target cell configuration (condRRCReconfing IE). In short, the serving cell RRC configuration will contain the serving cell measurement configuration and the RRC reconfiguration of the target cell.

[0049] The measurement configuration tells the UE what the UE should measure and which condition to evaluate, i.e., measurement frequency, reference signal (RS), event type (e.g., A3, A4, or A5), condition offset, cell individual offset (CIO), trigger time (TTT), etc. Once the conditions are met, the UE identifies the relevant RRC reconfiguration (e.g., RRC2) and performs a handover to a cell configured in RRC2.

[0050] Figure 1AAn example measurement configuration for conditional reconfiguration is shown. In this example, the UE may receive the following information from the serving cell in RRC1.

[0051] The received information may include two measurement objects (e.g., MeasObj 102 with measObjectID 1 and MeasObj 104 with measObjectID 2). Each object may refer to a different frequency and CIO. The received information may include two conditions (e.g., ReportConfig 106 with ReportConfigID 1 and ReportConfig 108 with ReportConfigID 2), and each ReportConfig defines the type of condition to be evaluated, i.e., A3 or A5 110, hysteresis offset 112, TTT 114, RS type 116, and (multiple) event offsets. In short, it specifies the condition and its parameters (for CHO or CPAC). The received information may include three preparations for three target cells (e.g., CondReconfigToAddMod 118 with condReconfig ID 1, CondReconfigToAddMod 120 with condReconfig ID 2, and CondReconfigToAddMod 122 with condReconfig ID 3). In each preparation, condRRCReconfig is the target cell RRC (i.e., RRC2). Each preparation is linked to measID. The received information may also include measIDToAddMod that links measID to MeasObj and ReportConfig. MeasID 1 124 is linked to measobjID 1 126 and reportConfigID 1 128, that is, the UE should use the measurement configuration (e.g., freq, CIO) defined in MeasObj (ID1) to evaluate the conditions defined in reportconfig (with ID1).

[0052] When the UE is configured with SN-initiated inter-SN CPAC, each CPAC configuration in the CPAC configuration shall include measurement configurations for other CPAC configurations. For example, when the UE is served by PScell-1, the UE is configured with PSCell-2 CPAC and PSCell-3 CPAC as SCPAC. When the UE is served by PSCell-1, the UE will be configured by the serving cell for measurement configurations and conditions to perform SCPAC of PSCell-2 and SCPAC of PSCell-3. When the UE performs PSCell-2 SCPAC configuration, the UE will be configured with measurement configurations and conditions through the executed PSCell-2 SCPAC configuration to perform SCPAC of PSCell-3 which is retained after PSCell-3 execution. In short, since the PSCell-2 configuration includes the condition, the PSCell-3 condition will be known to the UE.

[0053] In case a new SCPAC preparation is added and needed after SCPAC preparation, a problem occurs, the previous SCPAC configuration will not reflect the measurement configuration and CPAC configuration for the newly added SCPAC preparation. For example, if PSCell-4 is prepared after PSCell-2 and PSCell-3 preparation, the measurement configuration and execution conditions of PSCell-4 preparation do not exist in PScell-2 and PScell-3 preparation.

[0054] Currently, the only way to include measurement configurations and conditions in the SCPAC configuration is to release and add them, which may cause a lot of overhead in signaling and UE processing. Referring to the same example, the PSCell-2 and PSCell-3 preparation configurations should be released and added again to update the SCPAC preparation configuration so that it will reflect the measurement configurations and conditions prepared for PSCell-4. This re-preparation is an excessive solution and will result in high signaling overhead.

[0055] It can be argued that update information about provisioning can be provided to the UE, enabling the UE to update the provisioning configuration. However, the UE is not obliged to decode the provisioning configuration until the configuration is executed. Therefore, the UE cannot receive updates about previous configurations for updating those configurations.

[0056] Figure 1B Shown is the SCPAC preparation and measurement configuration in a new PSCell addition scenario.

[0057] like Figure 1BAs shown, on the right side of the figure, four different SCPAC configurations are shown, namely, PSCell-1 SCPAC configuration 150, PSCell-2 SCPAC configuration 152, PSCell-3 SCPAC configuration 154, and PSCell-4 SCPAC configuration 156. Each configuration contains measurement configurations and conditions for other prepared cells. For example, PSCell-1 SCPAC configuration 150 contains measurement configurations and conditions required for PSCell-2 SCPAC switching. This is because, when the UE switches to PSCell-1, the UE should evaluate the CPAC conditions of PSCell-2 immediately after PSCell-1 is accessed.

[0058] Problems arise when a new PSCell is prepared after the initial SCPAC preparation. Figure 1B In this example, a PSCell-5 CPAC configuration 158 is provided to the UE, which contains measurement configurations and conditions for all prepared cells. However, all previously prepared SCPAC configurations of the PSCell lack measurement configurations and conditions for the newly prepared PSCell (marked with a question mark in each box).

[0059] Therefore, in SCPAC, a measurement configuration solution is needed so that when a new SCPAC is ready to be added, reconfiguration and re-initiation of the previous configuration is avoided; when a new SCPAC is ready to be added, the UE should only receive updates on the measurement configuration and conditions for the newly added cell; the UE can start the evaluation of the SCPAC conditions of the newly added cell immediately after the execution of one of the previously prepared SCPAC configurations.

[0060] In addition to preparing new cells for SCPAC, when one of the preparations is released, the previously prepared configuration cannot be updated for the same reasons as above. Therefore, the UE may perform unnecessary measurements after executing one of the outdated CPAC configurations. In the worst case, if the add / release operation is repeated several times, the UE cannot be configured with a new SCPAC preparation due to the limited number of condReconfigID IEs and measID IEs that have been used and released in the previous configuration, where the measurement configurations within each CPAC configuration still reference those configurations that have been released. Therefore, in order to avoid any incorrect references, the UE cannot be configured with a new condRRCReconfig.

[0061] The exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure propose a configuration maintenance solution. With this solution, a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions for cell changes between candidate cells is generated by a network device and sent to a terminal device. The set of measurement configurations and execution conditions is associated with the selective activation of multiple candidate cells, so that the terminal device can store the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions. Based on the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions, the terminal device performs a cell change between candidate cells when necessary.

[0062] In this way, the terminal device can have a measurement configuration and execution condition for an additional cell change between all candidate cells, which can be used by the terminal device after switching from the source cell to one of the candidate cells. Therefore, the cell change can be implemented in a more efficient manner and the network performance can be improved.

[0063] It should be noted that although the problem originates from the SAPC scenario, the solution proposed in this article can generally be applied to the master cell group (MCG) selective activation scenario and other selective activation scenarios. In the following, some example embodiments will be described using the SAPC scenario as an example, and the example embodiments of this article can generally be applied to other selective activation scenarios.

[0064] Figure 2 An example communication environment 200 is shown in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented.

[0065] The communication environment 200 includes a terminal device 210 and four network devices, which may include a network device 220, a source network device 230, and a plurality of target network devices, the plurality of target network devices including a first target network device 240-1 and a second target network device 240-2. In some example embodiments, in a secondary cell group (SCG) selective activation, the network device 220 may operate as a MN, the source network device 230 may operate as a source SN, and the target network devices 240-1 and 240-2 may operate as target SNs (also referred to as T-SNs). In an MCG selective activation, the network device 220 may operate as a source MN, and the other network devices may operate as target MNs.

[0066] It should be understood that the number and type of devices are shown in FIG. 1 for illustrative purposes only and do not represent any limitation. For example, the communication environment 100 may include any number of target network devices. For the purpose of discussion, the target network devices will be referred to individually or collectively as (multiple) target network devices 240.

[0067] In some example embodiments, the link from network device 220 to terminal device 210 is referred to as a downlink (DL), and the link from terminal device 210 to network device 220 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In the DL, network device 220 is a transmission (TX) device (or transmitter), and terminal device 210 is a reception (RX) device (or receiver). In the UL, terminal device 210 is a TX device (or transmitter), and network device 220 is an RX device (or receiver).

[0068] The terminal device 210 and the network devices 220, 230, 240 can communicate with each other. The communication in the communication environment 100 can be implemented according to any appropriate (multiple) communication protocols, including but not limited to cellular communication protocols such as the first generation (1G) communication protocol, the second generation (2G) communication protocol, the third generation (3G) communication protocol, the fourth generation (4G) communication protocol, the fifth generation (5G) communication protocol, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocol, a wireless local area network communication protocol (such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, etc.), and / or any other protocol currently known or to be developed in the future. In addition, the communication can utilize any appropriate wireless communication technology, including but not limited to: code division multiple access (CDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division duplex (FDD), time division duplex (TDD), multiple input multiple output (MIMO), orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDM), discrete Fourier transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technology currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0069] Figure 3 A signaling diagram illustrating an example communication process 300 between terminal device 210 , network device 220 , source network device 230 , and target network device 240 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown.

[0070] like Figure 3 As shown, the network device 220 can collect (310) measurement configurations and execution conditions for cell changes related to the corresponding candidate cells of the one or more other network devices from one or more other network devices (e.g., the source network device 230, the first target network device 240-1 and the second target network device 240-2). For example, the network device 220 can collect measurement configurations and execution conditions from all target SNs according to a subsequent conditional PSCell add / change (SCPAC) request. The measurement configuration and execution conditions can be within each SCPAC configuration in a transparent container, so that the network device 220 can read and understand the SCPAC configuration configured by each network device 230 or 240 for the terminal device 210.

[0071] The network device 220 generates (320) a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions for a cell change between a plurality of candidate cells for the terminal device 210. The set of measurement configurations and execution conditions is associated with the selective activation of the plurality of candidate cells. For example, the generated set of measurement configurations and execution conditions may be used for the execution of the SCPAC configuration. In some example embodiments, the generation of the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions may be based on the collected measurement configurations and execution conditions. In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions may be generated per candidate cell.

[0072] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions may include respective measurement configurations for a plurality of candidate cells and respective lists of execution conditions. In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions may include a common measurement configuration for a plurality of candidate cells and respective lists of execution conditions.

[0073] Then, the network device 220 sends (330) the set of measurement configuration and execution conditions to the terminal device 210. Correspondingly, the terminal device 210 receives the set of measurement configuration and execution conditions for the cell change between the plurality of candidate cells from the network device 220. For example, the network device 220 may provide the set of measurement configuration and execution conditions as a SCPAC configuration to the terminal device 210. The SCPAC configuration may be provided explicitly using an indication, or implicitly using the presence of a new IE in the configuration.

[0074] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 210 stores 340 the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions. For example, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions may be stored by the terminal device 210 as a set of SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions in a SCPACMeasUE variable.

[0075] In some example embodiments, the network device 220 may send a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device before switching from the source cell to a candidate cell among the plurality of candidate cells. By providing the terminal device 210 with the measurement configurations and execution conditions for the candidate cell before switching, the terminal device 210 may apply the measurement configurations and execution conditions of the candidate cell immediately after switching to the candidate cell. This enables the terminal device 210 to evaluate the switching conditions for the subsequent cell change immediately after switching, which is more efficient.

[0076] In some example embodiments, the network device 220 may send an update about the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device 210. The terminal device 210 may then update the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions based on the received update. In some example embodiments, the update may be sent from the network device 220 to the terminal device 210 in response to at least one of: adding an additional candidate cell to the plurality of candidate cells, releasing or removing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells, or replacing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells with an additional candidate cell.

[0077] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 210 performs ( 350 ) a cell change between a plurality of candidate cells based on the stored measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions.

[0078] In some example embodiments, network device 220 may send one or more preparation configurations to terminal device 210, the one or more preparation configurations being used to switch from a source cell to one or more target cells in a plurality of candidate cells. Network device 220 may send a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions in addition to (or independently of) the one or more preparation configurations. In this solution, after configuration or addition of a new SCPAC cell, the SCPAC configuration may be updated without any reconfiguration of the entire SCPAC preparation.

[0079] Example implementations of the present disclosure are referred to below Figure 4A and Figure 4B Described in detail. Figure 4A and Figure 4B FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing an example process 400 for a SCPAC mobility scenario according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, UE 402 acts as Figure 2 The example implementation operation of the terminal device 210 in FIG. 4 is as follows: Figure 2 SN1 with PSCell-1 406 operates as an example implementation of source network device 230, and SN2 with PSCell-2 408, SN3 with PSCell-3 410, and SN4 with PSCell-4 412 operate as example implementations of target network device 240.

[0080] In this scenario, UE 402 may be initially configured with PSCell-2 and PSCell-3 SCPAC preparations. Then, UE 402 may be configured with another SCPAC preparation, for example, PSCell-4 preparation.

[0081] like Figure 4A and Figure 4BAs shown, in process 400, at 420, UE 402 may be connected to and served by MN PCell and SN1 PSCell 406, and thus UE 402 may be in dual connectivity.

[0082] At 422, UE 404 may send an L3 measurement report to SN1 406, which triggers preparation of PSCell-2 408 and PScell-3 410 for SCPAC.

[0083] At 424, SN1 406 may send an SN modification required message to MN 404 to request SCPAC preparation of PSCell-2 408 and PSCell-3 410. SN1 408 may also send measurement configuration and conditions required for the UE to evaluate CPC conditions of PSCell-2 408 and PSCell-3 410 (if the target SN accepts the preparation).

[0084] At 426, MN 404 may send an SN add request to SN2 408 for SCPAC preparation of PSCell-2 408. MN 404 may also indicate to SN2 408 that PSCell-3 of SN3 410 may also be prepared.

[0085] At 428, MN 404 may send an SN add request to SN3 410 for SCPAC preparation of PSCell-3. MN 404 may also indicate to SN3 410 that PSCell-2 of SN2 408 may also be prepared. In some example embodiments, 426 and 428 may be performed as parallel processes.

[0086] At 430, SN2 408 replies SN Add Request Ack to MN 404. SN2 408 also provides PSCell-2 SCPAC preparation configuration. SN2 408 also provides SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions for execution of PSCell-3 SCPAC preparation (which will be used by UE 402 to switch to PSCell-3 410 in the event that UE 402 switches to PSCell-2 408).

[0087] At 432, similar to the previous step, SN3 410 may reply to MN 402 the PSCell-3 preparation and the measurement configuration and conditions for PScell-2 SCPAC preparation (for the preparation of 430).

[0088] At 434, MN 402 may receive SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions for all SCPAC preparations from the source SN and all target SNs. MN 402 may use these configurations and conditions to generate a list of SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions.

[0089] In some example embodiments, Figure 5A An alternative example of SCPAS measurement configuration and conditions is shown. MN 402 can generate a measurement configuration for each prepared SCPAC. In addition, MN 402 can generate a list of conditions for each prepared SCPAC. For example, there will be a SCPAC measurement configuration (e.g., a list of MeasObj and ReportConfigs) and an execution condition that will be used by UE402 when UE 402 can perform PSCell-2 408 preparation. Similarly, another SCPAC measurement configuration and execution condition can be provided to UE 402, which UE 402 can use when UE accesses PSCell-3 410, so that UE 402 will know what to measure and evaluate after accessing PSCell-3 410.

[0090] In some example embodiments, Figure 5B Another alternative example of SCPAS measurement configuration and conditions is shown. MN 402 can generate a common measurement configuration for all prepared SCPACs. Therefore, in the case where each SCPAC prepares to share a common measobj or reportconfigs, the overhead in the configuration can be avoided. The SCPAC conditions can be the same as the above alternatives, for example, UE 402 can receive a list of execution conditions prepared by each SCPAC. In this example, UE 402 can receive the execution conditions of PSCell-3 to be used when the UE switches to PSCell-2 408. Similarly, UE 402 can receive the execution conditions of PSCell-2 408 to be used when UE 402 switches to PSCell-3 410. In this way, signaling overhead can be further minimized, as if MN 404 can provide a configuration that will be a common list of configurations in the target SN configuration.

[0091] In some example embodiments, UE 402 may also receive SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions for handover from PSCell-1 406 to PSCell-2 408 and from PSCell-1 406 to PSCell-3 410 .

[0092] At 436, MN 402 may provide SCPAC preparation configurations of PSCell-2 408 and PSCell-3 410 to UE 402 via an RRC reconfiguration message. MN 402 may also provide UE 402 with SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions that may have been previously generated by MN 402. The SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions may be provided to UE 402 in addition to the SCPAC preparation configurations so that those configurations may be modified / updated without decoding / updating the SCPAC preparation configurations.

[0093] At 438, UE 402 may receive the MN RRC reconfiguration and apply the MN RRC reconfiguration to its current configuration. UE 402 may store the SCPAC preparation configuration received in this message. UE 402 may also store the SCPAC measurement configuration conditions. Those SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions may be stored in UE variables, e.g., SCPACMeas UE variables. UE 402 may apply a portion of the SCPAC measurement configurations and conditions associated with PSCell1 406 (the current serving PSCell) and begin monitoring SCPAC conditions for the prepared PSCell-2 and PSCell-3.

[0094] At 440 , UE 402 may send an RRCReconfiguration Complete message to MN 404 to let MN 404 know that the RRC reconfiguration has been successfully decoded and applied to the current configuration of UE 402 .

[0095] At 442, UE 402 may send another L3 measurement report to indicate that PSCell-4 412 is a good candidate for SCPAC preparation.

[0096] At 444, SN1 406 may initiate preparation of PSCell-4 412 and send a message required for SN modification. Here, SN1 406 may indicate preparation of PSCell-4 412. SN1 406 may also send measurement configuration and conditions required for switching from PSCell-1 406 to PSCell-4 412.

[0097] At 446, MN 404 may send an SN add request to SN4 412 to request SCPAC preparation of PSCell-4 412. MN 404 may also indicate that PSCell-2 408 and PSCell-3 410 are SCPAC preparation cells.

[0098] At 448, SN4 412 may reply SN Add Request Ack to MN 404. SN4 412 may also provide PSCell-4 SCPAC preparation configuration. SN4 412 may also provide SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions for execution of PSCell-2 408 and PSCell-3 SCPAC preparation (which will be used by UE 402 to switch to PSCell-2 408 and PSCell-3 410 in the event that UE 402 switches to PSCell-4 412).

[0099] At 450-456, MN 404 may contact the SNs of previously prepared SCPAC PSCells (eg, PSCell-2 408 and PSCell-3 410). With this, MN 404 may inform them about the newly added PSCell-4 SCPAC preparation, and each SN provides PSCell-4 SCPAC conditions and necessary measurement configurations.

[0100] At 458-460, similar to 434 described above, MN 404 may compile the SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions received from SN4 412. MN 404 may also include updates (for PSCell-4 preparation) regarding the SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions received from SN2 408 and SN3 410. MN 404 may then provide the SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions newly added to the previous SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions.

[0101] At 462, UE 402 may update the SCPAC measurement configuration. It adds the SN4 measurement configuration and conditions to the common SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions. In addition, UE 402 may also update the SN1 406 SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions, SN2 408 SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions, and SN3 410 SCPAC measurement configuration and conditions received in preparation for the newly added PSCell-4 SCPAC. UE 402 may continue to use the SN1 SCPAC measurement configuration with the updated version of the SCPACMeas UE variable. In this way, UE 402 will always have the latest measurement configurations available, which can be used immediately after each PSCell change.

[0102] At 464 , PSCell- 2 406 may satisfy the SCPAC execution conditions and UE 402 may initiate handover to PSCell- 2 408 .

[0103] At 466 , the UE 402 may apply / activate the SCPAC measurement configuration stored in the SCPAC measurement configuration and associated with the PSCell- 2 408 .

[0104] At 468 - 472 , UE 402 may complete access to target SN2 408 .

[0105] At 474, UE 402 may continue to evaluate PSCell-3 410 and PSCell-4 SCPAC conditions using the updated measurement configuration and conditions. Since the measurement configuration and conditions that should be used in the execution of PSCell-2 SCPAC are updated at 462, UE 402 may start the evaluation of PSCell-4 SCPAC conditions immediately after accessing PSCell-2 408.

[0106] In some example embodiments, in the event that any preparation is released / removed from the list of SCPAC preparations, MN 404 has also updated the SCPAC measurement configuration stored in the UE variables by instructing UE 402 to remove the related measurement configuration and conditions defined for the retained SCPAC preparations, because the architecture and framework are flexible. In this way, UE 402 can be enabled to update the measurement configuration and conditions upon release or replacement of the prepared SCPAC configuration.

[0107] The proposed solution can be formulated not only by SCG selective activation (i.e., UE 402 is connected to one MN 404 and switches between PSCells of (multiple) SNs). However, the solution can also be applied to MCG selective activation (i.e., UE 402 switches between PCells of (multiple) MNs). In this case, the above scenario can assume that each SN is another MN and the measurement report is always received by the source MN.

[0108] Example Method

[0109] Figure 6 FIG. 6 is a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a terminal device 210 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described in detail in FIG. Figure 2 The perspective of the terminal device 210 is described.

[0110] At block 610 , the terminal device 210 receives a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from a network device, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells.

[0111] At block 620 , the terminal device 210 stores the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions.

[0112] At block 630, the terminal device 210 performs a cell change between the plurality of candidate cells based on the stored measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions.

[0113] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions includes respective measurement configurations for a plurality of candidate cells, and respective lists of execution conditions.

[0114] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions comprises a common measurement configuration for a plurality of candidate cells, and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

[0115] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 210 receives a set of measurement configuration and execution conditions from a network device before switching from a source cell to a candidate cell among a plurality of candidate cells.

[0116] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 210 receives an update on the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from the network device; and updates the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions based on the received update.

[0117] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 210 receives an update from the network device in response to at least one of: adding an additional candidate cell to the plurality of candidate cells, releasing or removing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells, or replacing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells with an additional candidate cell.

[0118] In some example embodiments, the terminal device 210 receives one or more preparation configurations from a network device for switching from a source cell to one or more target cells among a plurality of candidate cells, wherein a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions are received from the network device outside the one or more preparation configurations.

[0119] Figure 7 A flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a network device 220 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure is shown. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from Figure 2 The perspective of the network device 220 is described.

[0120] At block 710 , the network device 220 generates a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells for a terminal device.

[0121] At block 720 , the network device 220 sends a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device.

[0122] In some example embodiments, network device 220 collects measurement configurations and execution conditions associated with selective activation of corresponding candidate cells of the one or more further network devices from one or more further network devices; and generates a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions based on the collected measurement configurations and execution conditions.

[0123] In some example embodiments, network device 220 comprises a master node and one or more additional network devices comprise secondary nodes or additional master nodes.

[0124] In some example embodiments, network device 220 generates a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions per candidate cell.

[0125] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions includes respective measurement configurations for a plurality of candidate cells, and respective lists of execution conditions.

[0126] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions comprises a common measurement configuration for a plurality of candidate cells, and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

[0127] In some example embodiments, the network device 220 sends a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device before switching from a source cell to a candidate cell among multiple candidate cells; and in response to accessing a candidate cell among the multiple candidate cells, sends a list of execution conditions for the candidate cell to the terminal device.

[0128] In some example embodiments, network device 220 sends an update on the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions to the terminal device.

[0129] In some example embodiments, network device 220 sends the update in response to at least one of adding an additional candidate cell to the plurality of candidate cells, releasing or removing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells, or replacing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells with an additional candidate cell.

[0130] In some example embodiments, the network device 220 sends one or more preparation configurations to the terminal device, the one or more preparation configurations being used to switch from a source cell to one or more target cells among a plurality of candidate cells, wherein a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions are sent to the terminal device in addition to the one or more preparation configurations.

[0131] Example devices, equipment, and media

[0132] In some example embodiments, a first device (eg, Figure 2The terminal device 210 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 600. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented as a circuit device or a software module. The first device may be implemented as Figure 2 The terminal device 210 or the terminal device 210 included in Figure 2 In the terminal device 210.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes: means for receiving a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from a network device, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells; means for storing the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions; and means for performing a cell change between the plurality of candidate cells based on the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions includes: respective measurement configurations for a plurality of candidate cells, and respective lists of execution conditions.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions includes a common measurement configuration for a plurality of candidate cells and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes means for receiving a set of measurement configuration and execution conditions from a network device prior to switching from a source cell to a candidate cell of a plurality of candidate cells.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises: means for receiving an update on the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions from the network device; and means for updating the stored set of measurement configurations and execution conditions based on the received update.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes means for receiving an update from the network device in response to at least one of: adding an additional candidate cell to the plurality of candidate cells, releasing or removing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells, or replacing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells with an additional candidate cell.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus includes: means for receiving, from a network device, one or more preparation configurations for handover from a source cell to one or more target cells of a plurality of candidate cells, wherein the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions are received from the network device outside of the one or more preparation configurations.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: a component for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 600 or the terminal device 210. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the execution of the first apparatus.

[0141] In some example embodiments, a second device (eg, Figure 2 The network device 220 in the embodiment may include a component for performing the corresponding operation of the method 700. The component may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the component may be implemented in the form of a circuit device or a software module. The second device may be implemented as Figure 2 The network device 220 or is included in Figure 2 In the network device 220.

[0142] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises: means for generating a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells for a terminal device; and means for sending the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to the terminal device.

[0143] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes: a component for collecting measurement configurations and execution conditions associated with selective activation of corresponding candidate cells of the one or more additional network devices from one or more additional network devices; and a component for generating a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions based on the collected measurement configurations and execution conditions.

[0144] In some example embodiments, the network device comprises a master node and one or more additional network devices comprise secondary nodes or additional master nodes.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for generating a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions per candidate cell.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions includes: respective measurement configurations for a plurality of candidate cells, and respective lists of execution conditions.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions includes a common measurement configuration for a plurality of candidate cells and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises: a component for sending a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions to a terminal device before switching from a source cell to a candidate cell among a plurality of candidate cells; and a component for sending a list of execution conditions for a candidate cell to the terminal device in response to accessing the candidate cell among the plurality of candidate cells.

[0149] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for sending an update on the set of measurement configuration and execution conditions to the terminal device.

[0150] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for sending an update in response to at least one of: adding an additional candidate cell to the plurality of candidate cells, releasing or removing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells, or replacing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells with an additional candidate cell.

[0151] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus includes: a component for sending one or more preparation configurations to a terminal device, the one or more preparation configurations being used to switch from a source cell to one or more target cells among a plurality of candidate cells, wherein a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions are sent to the terminal device in addition to the one or more preparation configurations.

[0152] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for performing the method 700 or other operations in some example embodiments of the network device 220. In some example embodiments, the apparatus comprises: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the execution of the second apparatus.

[0153] Figure 8 800 is a simplified block diagram of a device suitable for implementing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement a communication device, such as Figure 2 The terminal device 210 or the network device 220 is shown. As shown in the figure, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processor 810.

[0154] The communication module 840 is used for two-way communication. The communication module 840 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communicating with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 840 may include at least one antenna.

[0155] Processor 810 may be of any type suitable for the local technology network, and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of the following: a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Device 800 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are time-slaved to a clock synchronized with a main processor.

[0156] The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 824, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), optical disk, laser disk, and other magnetic storage devices and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that will not persist over the duration of a power outage.

[0157] The computer program 830 includes computer executable instructions executed by the associated processor 810. The instructions of the program 830 may include instructions for performing the operations / actions of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 830 may be stored in a memory (e.g., ROM 824). The processor 810 may perform any appropriate actions and processes by loading the program 830 into the RAM 822.

[0158] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 830, so that the device 800 may perform any process of the present disclosure, such as referring to Figures 3 to 7 The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0159] In some example embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer-readable medium that may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or in other storage devices accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer-readable medium to the RAM 822 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer-readable medium may include any type of non-transitory memory, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. The term "non-transitory" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0160] Fig. 9An example of a computer readable medium 900 is shown, which may be in the form of a CD, DVD, or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 900 has a program 830 stored thereon.

[0161] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are shown and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, the boxes, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuits or logic, general hardware or controllers or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0162] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product (such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium) tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer executable instructions executed in a device on a target real or virtual processor, such as computer executable instructions included in a program module, to perform any of the above methods. Typically, a program module includes routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform specific tasks or implement specific abstract data types. The functions of the program modules can be combined or split between program modules as needed in various embodiments. Machine executable instructions for program modules can be executed in local or distributed devices. In distributed devices, program modules can be located in both local storage media and remote storage media.

[0163] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer or other programmable data processing device, so that the program code enables the function / operation specified in the flow chart and / or block diagram to be implemented when executed by the processor or controller. The program code can be executed completely on the machine, partially on the machine, as an independent software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or completely on a remote machine or server.

[0164] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program codes or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, etc.

[0165] The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared or semiconductor systems, devices or equipment, or any suitable combination of the above. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media include an electrical connection with one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. The term "non-transient" as used herein is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) relative to the limitation on data storage persistence (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0166] In addition, although the operations are depicted in a particular order, it should not be understood that it is required to perform these operations in the particular order or sequential order shown, or to require that all the operations shown be performed to achieve the desired result. In some cases, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although several specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these implementation details should not be interpreted as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but should be interpreted as descriptions of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. Unless explicitly stated, certain features described in the context of separate embodiments may also be combined in a single embodiment. On the contrary, unless explicitly stated, the various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately in multiple embodiments or implemented in any suitable sub-combination.

[0167] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological actions, it should be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Instead, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions, and when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the terminal device at least: receiving, from a network device, a measurement configuration and a set of execution conditions, the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions being associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells; storing the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions; as well as A cell change between the plurality of candidate cells is performed based on the stored measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the set of the measurement configuration and the execution condition comprises: A corresponding measurement configuration for the plurality of candidate cells and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

3. The terminal device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the set of the measurement configuration and the execution condition comprises: A common measurement configuration for the plurality of candidate cells, and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

4. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the terminal device to: The measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions are received from the network device before switching from a source cell to a candidate cell among the plurality of candidate cells.

5. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the terminal device to: receiving an update on the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions from the network device; and The stored set of the measurement configuration and the execution conditions are updated based on the received update.

6. The terminal device according to claim 5, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the terminal device to: Receiving the update from the network device in response to at least one of: adding further candidate cells to the plurality of candidate cells, releasing or removing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells, or A candidate cell in the plurality of candidate cells is replaced with another candidate cell.

7. The terminal device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the terminal device to: receiving one or more preparation configurations from a network device, the one or more preparation configurations being used for handover from a source cell to one or more target cells among the plurality of candidate cells, Wherein the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions are received from the network device outside of the one or more preparation configurations.

8. A network device comprising: at least one processor; as well as at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network device to at least: generating a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells for a terminal device; as well as The measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions are sent to the terminal device.

9. The network device of claim 8, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor cause the network device to: collecting, from one or more further network devices, measurement configurations and execution conditions associated with said selective activation of respective candidate cells of said one or more further network devices; and The set of the measurement configurations and the execution conditions is generated based on the collected measurement configurations and the execution conditions.

10. The network device of claim 9, wherein the network device comprises a master node and the one or more further network devices comprise secondary nodes or further master nodes.

11. The network device according to any one of claims 8 to 10, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the network device to: The measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions are generated according to candidate cells.

12. The network device according to claim 11, wherein the set of the measurement configuration and the execution condition comprises: Corresponding measurement configurations for the plurality of candidate cells, and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

13. The network device according to claim 11, wherein the set of the measurement configuration and the execution condition comprises: A common measurement configuration for the plurality of candidate cells, and a corresponding list of execution conditions.

14. The network device according to claim 11, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the terminal device to: Before switching from a source cell to a candidate cell among the plurality of candidate cells, sending the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions to the terminal device; and In response to accessing a candidate cell of the plurality of candidate cells, sending the list of execution conditions for the candidate cell to the terminal device.

15. The network device according to any one of claims 8 to 14, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the network device to: An update regarding the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions is sent to the terminal device.

16. The network device of claim 15, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor cause the network device to: The update is sent in response to at least one of: adding further candidate cells to the plurality of candidate cells, releasing or removing a candidate cell from the plurality of candidate cells, or A candidate cell in the plurality of candidate cells is replaced with another candidate cell.

17. The network device according to any one of claims 8 to 16, wherein the at least one memory and the at least one processor enable the network device to: sending one or more preparation configurations to the terminal device, where the one or more preparation configurations are used to switch from a source cell to one or more target cells among the multiple candidate cells, The measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions are sent to the terminal device outside of the one or more preparation configurations.

18. A method for communication, comprising: receiving, from a network device, a measurement configuration and a set of execution conditions, the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions being associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells; storing the measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions; as well as A cell change between the plurality of candidate cells is performed based on the stored measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions.

19. A method for communication, comprising: generating a set of measurement configurations and execution conditions, the set of measurement configurations and execution conditions being associated with selective activation of a plurality of candidate cells for a terminal device; as well as The measurement configuration and the set of execution conditions are sent to the terminal device.

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