Secondary cell group activation state configuration in multiple secondary cell group configurations

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) may assess link quality between the UE and target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCell) respectively associated with a target secondary node; selecting a target PSCell from the target PSCell based on the link quality and execution conditions respectively associated with the target PSCell of the target secondary node; initiating a conditional execution procedure to connect to a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; and in response to a source SCG state corresponding to a source PSCell of a source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RAK) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform the conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or maintaining the SCG state at the UE as the deactivated state without performing a RACK procedure.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This patent application claims priority to pending non-provisional patent application No. 17 / 842,287 filed with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on June 16, 2022, and which is assigned to the assignee of the present application and is hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference as if fully set forth below and for all applicable purposes. Technical Field

[0003] The techniques discussed below relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly to secondary cell group state configuration. Background Art

[0004] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide a variety of telecommunication services, such as telephony, video, data, messaging, and broadcasting. Typical wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies that can support communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, etc.). Examples of such multiple access technologies include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and time division synchronous code division multiple access (TD-SCDMA) systems and long term evolution (LTE). LTE / LTE-Advanced is a set of enhancements to the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) mobile standard promulgated by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0005] A user equipment (UE) may be served by multiple network nodes simultaneously. For example, a UE may be served by a serving primary node and a serving secondary node. Different cells of different network nodes may serve the UE at different times. For example, initially the UE may be served by a cell of a serving secondary node, and then a target secondary node may be selected to perform a handover from the serving secondary node to the target secondary node. Summary of the invention

[0006] An overview of one or more aspects of the present disclosure is presented below to provide a basic understanding of these aspects. This overview is not an extensive review of all expected features of the present disclosure, and is neither intended to identify key or important elements of all aspects of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to describe the scope of any or all aspects of the present disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the present disclosure in a form as a preface to a more detailed description presented later.

[0007] In one example, a method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) is disclosed. The method includes: operating the UE in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a source primary node and a source secondary node; evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes; selecting a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells based on one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; initiating a conditional execution procedure to connect to the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; and in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: (a) changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell.

[0008] In another example, a UE for wireless communication is disclosed. The UE includes at least one processor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. At least one processor may be configured to: operate a UE in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a source primary node and a source secondary node; evaluate one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with the one or more target secondary nodes; select a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells based on the one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; initiate a conditional execution procedure to connect to the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; and perform any of the following operations in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state: (a) change the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintain the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell.

[0009] In another example, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions thereon for a UE may be disclosed. The instruction, when executed by the processing circuit, causes the processing circuit to: operate the UE in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a source primary node and a source secondary node; evaluate one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with the one or more target secondary nodes; select a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells based on the one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; initiate a conditional execution procedure to connect to the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; and in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, perform any of the following operations: (a) change the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintain the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell

[0010]

[0011] In a further example, a UE for wireless communication may be disclosed. The UE includes: a component for operating the UE in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode for establishing a connection with a source primary node and a source secondary node; a component for evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with the one or more target secondary nodes; a component for selecting a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells based on the one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; a component for initiating a conditional execution procedure to connect to the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; and a component for performing any of the following operations in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state: (a) changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell.

[0011] In one example, a method for wireless communication by a network node is disclosed. The method includes: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; changing a source SCG state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source secondary node based on at least one of a request from the UE to change the SCG state or a network condition; determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells associated with one or more target secondary nodes, respectively, to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and avoiding notifying one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process.

[0012] In another example, a network node for wireless communication is disclosed. The base station includes at least one processor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor may be configured to: operate in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; change the source SCG state associated with the source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request from the UE to change the state of the source secondary cell group (SCG) or a network condition; determine that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells associated with one or more target secondary nodes, respectively, to select a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells; and avoid notifying one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process.

[0013] In another example, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions for a network node thereon may be disclosed. The instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to: operate in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; change a source SCG state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source secondary node based on at least one of a request from the UE to change the state of the SCG or a network condition; determine that a change in the state of the source SCG has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and avoid notifying the one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the state of the source SCG has occurred during the evaluation process.

[0014] In a further example, a network node for wireless communication may be disclosed. The base station includes: a component for operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode to establish a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; a component for changing a source secondary cell group (SCG) state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request to change the SCG state from the UE or a network condition; a component for determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and a component for avoiding notifying one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process.

[0015] In one example, a method for wireless communication by a network node is disclosed. The method includes: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; changing a source SCG state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source secondary node based on a request from the UE to change the state of the SCG or at least one of a network condition; determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, the evaluation process including evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells; and in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, initiating a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using one or more target secondary nodes, wherein the conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

[0016] In another example, a network node for wireless communication is disclosed. The base station includes at least one processor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor may be configured to: operate in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; change the source SCG state associated with the source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request from the UE to change the state of the source secondary cell group (SCG) or a network condition; determine that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, the evaluation process including evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells associated with one or more target secondary nodes, respectively, to select a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells; and initiate a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to one or more target secondary nodes.

[0017] In another example, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions for a network node thereon may be disclosed. The instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to: operate in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; change a source SCG state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source secondary node based on a request from the UE to change the state of the SCG or at least one of a network condition; determine that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, the evaluation process including evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells associated with the one or more target secondary nodes, respectively, to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and initiate a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

[0018] In a further example, a network node for wireless communication may be disclosed. The base station includes: a component for operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode to establish a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; a component for changing a source secondary cell group (SCG) state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request to change the SCG state from the UE or a network condition; a component for determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, the evaluation process evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and a component for initiating a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

[0019] In one example, a method for wireless communication by a network node is disclosed. The method includes: communicating with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that the network node is a target secondary node for potential connection to the UE and operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode; receiving at least one of the following during the preparation procedure: the time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources; determining the SCG state of a target PSCell of the network node based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB.

[0020] In another example, a network node for wireless communication is disclosed. The base station includes at least one processor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor. The at least one processor may be configured to: communicate with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that the network node is a target secondary node for potential connection to the UE and operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode; receive at least one of the following during the preparation procedure: the time elapsed between the past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and the past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources; determine the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB.

[0021] In another example, a non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions for a network node thereon may be disclosed. The instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to: communicate with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that the network node is a target secondary node operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode for potential connection to the UE; receive at least one of the following during the preparation procedure: an elapsed time between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources; determine an SCG state of a target PSCell of the network node based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB.

[0022] In a further example, a network node for wireless communication may be disclosed. The base station includes: a component for: communicating with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that the network node is a target secondary node operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode for potential connection to the UE; a component for: receiving during the preparation procedure at least one of: an elapsed time between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources; a component for determining an SCG state of a target PSCell of the network node based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB.

[0023] After studying the specific embodiments below, these and other aspects of the present disclosure will become more fully understood. After reading the description of the following specific, exemplary embodiments in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, other aspects, features and embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art. Although features may be discussed with respect to certain embodiments and figures below, all embodiments may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, although one or more embodiments may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used according to the various embodiments discussed herein. In a similar manner, although the exemplary embodiments may be discussed below as equipment, systems or method embodiments, it should be understood that these exemplary embodiments may be implemented in various devices, systems and methods. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0024] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system according to some aspects.

[0025] Figure 2 is a conceptual illustration of an example radio access network in accordance with some aspects.

[0026] Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the organization of wireless resources in an air interface utilizing orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) according to some embodiments.

[0027] Figure 4 is a conceptual illustration of wireless communications via multiple radio frequency (RF) carriers in accordance with some aspects.

[0028] Figure 5 is a conceptual illustration of examples of a Master Cell Group (MCG) and a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) according to some aspects.

[0029] Figure 6 is an example diagram illustrating a process of performing a conditional PSCell change or a conditional PSCell addition according to some aspects.

[0030] Figure 7 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a user equipment (UE) in accordance with some aspects.

[0031] 8 (8A and 8B) is a flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communication in accordance with some aspects.

[0032] Fig. 9 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a network node in accordance with some aspects.

[0033] Fig.10 is a flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communication in accordance with some aspects.

[0034] 11 (11A and 11B) is a flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communication in accordance with some aspects.

[0035] Fig.12 is a flow chart illustrating an example process for wireless communication in accordance with some aspects. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0036] The detailed description set forth below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to represent the only configurations in which the concepts described herein may be practiced. In order to provide a thorough understanding of the various concepts, the specific embodiments include specific details. However, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that these concepts may be practiced without these specific details. In some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form to avoid obscuring these concepts.

[0037] Although various aspects and embodiments are described in this application by illustrating some examples, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that additional specific implementations and use cases can be generated in many different arrangements and scenarios. The innovation described herein can be implemented across many different platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, and packaging arrangements. For example, the implementation and / or use can be generated via integrated chip implementations and other non-module-based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication equipment, computing equipment, industrial equipment, retail / purchase equipment, medical equipment, AI-enabled devices, etc.). Although some examples may or may not specifically point to use cases or applications, the applicability of various types of the described innovations may occur. The specific implementation may have a range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level specific implementations, and further to aggregated, distributed or OEM devices or systems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations. In some actual settings, the device in combination with the aspects and features must also include other components and features for the specific implementation and practice of the embodiments protected and described by the claims. For example, the transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarily include multiple components for analog and digital purposes (e.g., hardware components including antennas, RF chains, power amplifiers, modulators, buffers, processors, interleavers, adders / summers, etc.) It is expected that the innovations described herein can be practiced in a variety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc., having different sizes, shapes, and configurations.

[0038] The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may be implemented across a wide variety of telecommunication systems, network architectures, and communication standards. Figure 1 , various aspects of the present disclosure are illustrated with reference to a wireless communication system 100 as an illustrative example and not as a limitation. The wireless communication system 100 includes three interacting domains: a core network 102, a radio access network (RAN) 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. By means of the wireless communication system 100, the UE 106 may be enabled to perform data communications with an external data network 110, such as (but not limited to) the Internet.

[0039] The RAN 104 may implement any suitable one or more wireless communication technologies to provide radio access to the UE 106. As an example, the RAN 104 may operate according to the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) specification, commonly referred to as 5G. As another example, the RAN 104 may operate according to a hybrid of 5G NR and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standards, commonly referred to as LTE. 3GPP refers to such a hybrid RAN as the Next Generation RAN or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples may be utilized within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0040] As illustrated, RAN 104 includes multiple base stations 108. In a broad sense, a base station is a network element in a radio access network that is responsible for radio transmission and reception to or from a UE in one or more cells. In different technologies, standards or contexts, a base station may be referred to as a base transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radio transceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), an extended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a B node (NB), an e B node (eNB), a g B node (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP) or some other suitable terminology by those skilled in the art. In some examples, a base station may include two or more TRPs that may be co-located or non-co-located. Each TRP may communicate on the same or different carrier frequencies in the same or different frequency bands.

[0041] The radio access network 104 is also illustrated as supporting wireless communications for a plurality of mobile devices. In the 3GPP standard, a mobile device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE), but those skilled in the art may also refer to it as a mobile station (MS), a user station, a mobile unit, a user unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communication device, a remote device, a mobile user station, an access terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, or some other suitable term. A UE may be a device (e.g., a mobile device) that provides access to network services to a user.

[0042] In this document, a "mobile" device does not necessarily need to have the ability to move, and it can be stationary. The term mobile device or mobile device refers to a wide variety of devices and technologies. A UE may include multiple hardware structural components of a size, shape, and arrangement that facilitate communication; such components may include antennas, antenna arrays, RF chains, amplifiers, one or more processors, etc. that are electrically coupled to each other. For example, some non-limiting examples of mobile devices include mobile stations, cellular (cell) phones, smart phones, session initiation protocol (SIP) phones, laptops, personal computers (PCs), notebooks, netbooks, smart books, tablet devices, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and a wide range of embedded systems, for example, corresponding to the "Internet of Things" (IoT). A mobile device may additionally be a car or other transportation vehicle, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot or robotic device, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a remote control device, a consumer and / or wearable device (such as glasses, wearable cameras, virtual reality devices, smart watches, health or fitness trackers, digital audio players (e.g., MP3 players), cameras, game consoles, etc.). The mobile device may additionally be a digital home or smart home device, such as home audio, video and / or multimedia equipment, appliances, vending machines, smart lighting, home security systems, smart meters, and the like. The mobile device may additionally be a smart energy device, security device, solar panel or solar array, municipal infrastructure equipment that controls power (e.g., smart grid), lighting, water, and the like; industrial automation and enterprise equipment; logistics controller; agricultural equipment; vehicles, and the like. Further, the mobile device may provide connected medicine or telemedicine support, such as health care at a distance. Telemedicine devices may include telemedicine monitoring devices and telemedicine management devices, whose communications may be given priority or access over other types of information, for example, in terms of priority access for transmission of critical service data and / or associated QoS for transmission of critical service data.

[0043] Wireless communication between RAN 104 and UE 106 may be described as utilizing an air interface. Transmissions from a base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE 106) over an air interface may be referred to as downlink (DL) transmissions. According to certain aspects of the present disclosure, the term "downlink" may refer to point-to-multipoint transmissions originating at a scheduling entity (described further below; e.g., base station 108). Another way to describe this scheme may be to use the term "broadcast channel multiplexing". Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station (e.g., base station 108) may be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. According to further aspects of the present disclosure, the term "uplink" may refer to point-to-point transmissions originating at a scheduled entity (described further below; e.g., UE 106).

[0044] In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, wherein a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station 108) allocates resources for communication between some or all devices and equipment within its service area or cell. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below, a scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning, reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduled entities. That is, for scheduled communications, a UE 106 (which may be a scheduled entity) may utilize resources allocated by the scheduling entity 108.

[0045] Base station 108 is not the only entity that can act as a scheduling entity. That is, in some examples, a UE can act as a scheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduled entities (e.g., one or more other UEs).

[0046] As in Figure 1 , the scheduling entity 108 may broadcast downlink traffic 112 to one or more scheduled entities 106. In a broad sense, the scheduling entity 108 is a node or device responsible for scheduling traffic in the wireless communication network, including downlink traffic 112 and (in some examples) uplink traffic 116 from one or more scheduled entities 106 to the scheduling entity 108. On the other hand, the scheduled entity 106 is a node or device that receives downlink control information 114 (including but not limited to scheduling information (e.g., grants), synchronization or timing information, or other control information) from another entity in the wireless communication network (such as the scheduling entity 108).

[0047] Generally speaking, the base stations 108 may include a backhaul interface for communicating with a backhaul portion 120 of the wireless communication system. The backhaul 120 may provide a link between the base stations 108 and the core network 102. Furthermore, in some examples, the backhaul network may provide interconnections between the respective base stations 108. Various types of backhaul interfaces may be employed, such as a direct physical connection using any suitable transport network, a virtual network, or the like.

[0048] The core network 102 may be part of the wireless communication system 100 and may be independent of the radio access technology used in the RAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 may be configured according to 5G standards (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the core network 102 may be configured according to 4G Evolved Packet Core (EPC) or any other appropriate standard or configuration.

[0049] See now Figure 2 , a schematic diagram of a RAN 200 is provided by way of example and not limitation. In some examples, the RAN 200 may be similar to the RAN 200 described above and in Figure 1The geographic area covered by the RAN 200 may be divided into cells that a user equipment (UE) may uniquely identify based on an identity broadcast from an access point or base station. Figure 2 Macro cells 202, 204, and 206, and small cells 208 are illustrated, each of which may include one or more sectors (not shown). A sector is a sub-area of ​​a cell. All sectors within a cell are served by the same base station. A radio link within a sector may be identified by a single logical identifier belonging to the sector. In a cell divided into sectors, multiple sectors within a cell may be formed by multiple groups of antennas, each of which is responsible for communicating with a UE in a portion of the cell.

[0050] exist Figure 2 In the example, two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204; and a third base station 214 is shown as controlling a remote radio head (RRH) 216 in cell 206. That is, the base station may have an integrated antenna, or may be connected to an antenna or RRH by a feeder cable. In the illustrated example, cells 202, 204, and 126 may be referred to as macro cells, because base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cells with larger sizes. In addition, a base station 218 is shown in a small cell 208 (e.g., a micro cell, a micro cell, a femto cell, a home base station, a home node B, a home evolved node B, etc.), which may overlap with one or more macro cells. In this example, cell 208 may be referred to as a small cell, because base station 218 supports a cell with a relatively small size. The cell size setting may be performed according to the system design and component constraints.

[0051] It should be understood that the radio access network 200 may include any number of wireless base stations and cells. In addition, relay nodes may be deployed to extend the size or coverage area of ​​a given cell. Base stations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide wireless access points to the core network for any number of mobile devices. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, 214, and / or 218 may be similar to those described above and in Figure 1 The same as the base station / scheduling entity 108 illustrated in FIG.

[0052] Figure 2 Further included is a mobile device 220 that can be configured to function as a base station. That is, in some examples, a cell may not necessarily be stationary, and the geographic area of ​​a cell may move depending on the location of a mobile base station, such as mobile device 220.

[0053] Within the RAN 200, cells may include UEs that may communicate with one or more sectors of each cell. In addition, each base station 210, 212, 214, 218, and 220 may be configured to provide access to the core network 102 (see FIG. 1 ) for all UEs in the corresponding cell. Figure 1 ) access point. For example, UEs 222 and 224 may communicate with base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 may communicate with base station 212; UEs 230 and 232 may communicate with base station 214 via RRH 216; UE 234 may communicate with base station 218; and UE 236 may communicate with mobile base station 220. In some examples, UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232, 234, 236, 238, 240, and / or 242 may communicate with the base stations described above and Figure 1 The UE / scheduled entity 106 illustrated in FIG.

[0054] In some examples, a mobile network node (eg, mobile device 220) can be configured to function as a UE. For example, mobile device 220 can operate within cell 202 by communicating with base station 210.

[0055] In another aspect of RAN 200, side link signals can be used between UEs without having to rely on scheduling or control information from a base station. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UE 226 and UE 228) can use peer-to-peer (P2P) or side link signals 227 to communicate with each other without relaying the communication through a base station (e.g., base station 212). In another example, UE 238 is illustrated as communicating with UEs 240 and 242. Here, UE 238 can be used as a scheduling entity or a primary side link device, and UE 240 or 242 can be used as a scheduled entity or a non-primary (e.g., secondary) side link device. In yet another example, a UE can be used as a scheduling entity in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P) or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network and / or a mesh network. In the mesh network example, in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity 238, UEs 240 and 242 can also optionally communicate directly with each other. Therefore, in a wireless communication system with scheduled access to time-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2P configuration, or a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one or more scheduled entities may communicate using the scheduled resources.

[0056] In the wireless access network 200, the ability of a UE to communicate while moving (independent of its location) is called mobility. This is usually done in an access and mobility management function (AMF, not shown, Figure 1The AMF establishes, maintains and releases various physical channels between the UE and the radio access network under the control of the AMF (part of the core network 102), where the AMF may include a security context management function (SCMF) that manages the security context of both control plane and user plane functionalities and a security anchor function (SEAF) that performs authentication.

[0057] In various aspects of the present disclosure, the radio access network 200 can utilize DL-based mobility or UL-based mobility to implement mobility and switching (i.e., the transfer of a UE's connection from one radio channel to another). In a network configured for DL-based mobility, during a call with a scheduling entity or at any other time, the UE can monitor various parameters of the signal from its serving cell and various parameters of neighboring cells. Based on the quality of these parameters, the UE can maintain communication with one or more neighboring cells. During this time, if the UE moves from one cell to another, or if the signal quality from a neighboring cell exceeds the signal quality from the serving cell for a given amount of time, the UE can perform a handover or handover from the serving cell to the neighboring (target) cell. For example, a UE 224 (illustrated as a vehicle, although any suitable form of UE can be used) can move from a geographic area corresponding to its serving cell 202 to a geographic area corresponding to a neighboring cell 206. When the signal strength or quality from a neighboring cell 206 exceeds the signal strength and quality of its serving cell 202 for a given amount of time, the UE 224 can send a report message indicating this to its serving base station 210. In response, UE 224 may receive the handover command, and the UE may proceed with the handover to cell 206 .

[0058] In a network configured for UL-based mobility, the network can select a serving cell for each UE using a UL reference signal from each UE. In some examples, base stations 210, 212, and 214 / 216 can broadcast a unified synchronization signal (e.g., a unified primary synchronization signal (PSS), a unified secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a unified physical broadcast channel (PBCH)). UE222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 can receive a unified synchronization signal, derive a carrier frequency and a time slot timing based on the synchronization signal, and send an uplink pilot or reference signal in response to the derived timing. The uplink pilot signal sent by a UE (e.g., UE 224) can be received concurrently by two or more cells (e.g., base stations 210 and 214 / 216) within the radio access network 200. Each of the cells may measure the strength of the pilot signal, and the radio access network (e.g., one or more of the base stations 210 and 214 / 216 and / or a central node within the core network) may determine a serving cell for the UE 224. As the UE 224 moves through the radio access network 200, the network may continue to monitor the uplink pilot signal sent by the UE 224. When the signal strength or quality of the pilot signal measured by the neighboring cell exceeds the signal strength and quality measured by the serving cell, the network 200 may hand over the UE 224 from the serving cell to the neighboring cell with or without notifying the UE 224.

[0059] Although the synchronization signals transmitted by base stations 210, 212 and 214 / 216 may be uniform, the synchronization signal may not identify a specific cell, but may identify a zone of multiple cells operating on the same frequency and / or using the same timing. Using zones in a 5G network or other next generation communication network implements an uplink-based mobility framework and improves the efficiency of both the UE and the network, because the number of mobility messages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network can be reduced.

[0060] Reference Figure 3 Various aspects of the present disclosure are described with reference to the OFDM waveforms schematically illustrated in . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to DFT-s-OFDMA waveforms in substantially the same manner as described below herein. That is, while some examples of the present disclosure may focus on OFDM links for clarity, it will be appreciated that the same principles may also be applied to DFT-s-OFDMA waveforms.

[0061] In this disclosure, a frame refers to a duration of 10 ms used for wireless transmission, where each frame consists of 10 subframes, each subframe is 1 ms. On a given carrier, there may be one set of frames in the UL and another set of frames in the DL. Now referring to Figure 3 , illustrates an expanded view of an exemplary DL subframe 302 showing an OFDM resource grid 304. However, as will be readily apparent to one skilled in the art, the PHY transmit structure for any particular application may differ from the examples described herein, depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in units of OFDM symbols in the horizontal direction; and frequency is in units of subcarriers or tones in the vertical direction.

[0062] Resource grid 304 can be used to schematically represent the time-frequency resources for a given antenna port. That is, in a MIMO implementation with multiple available antenna ports, a corresponding number of resource grids 304 can be available for communication. Resource grid 304 is divided into multiple resource elements (REs) 306. RE (which is 1 subcarrier × 1 symbol) is the smallest discrete part of the time-frequency grid and contains a single complex value representing data from a physical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation utilized in a specific implementation, each RE can represent one or more bits of information. In some examples, a block of REs can be referred to as a physical resource block (PRB), or more simply a resource block (RB) 308, which contains any suitable number of consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. In one example, an RB can include 12 subcarriers (a number independent of the parameter set used). In some examples, depending on the parameter set, an RB can include any suitable number of consecutive OFDM symbols in the time domain. In the present disclosure, it is assumed that a single RB (such as RB 308) corresponds entirely to communication in a single direction (transmission or reception for a given device).

[0063] A UE typically utilizes only a subset of the resource grid 304. An RB may be the smallest unit of resources that may be allocated to a UE. Thus, the more RBs scheduled for a UE, and the higher the modulation scheme selected for the air interface, the higher the data rate for the UE.

[0064] In this illustration, RB 308 is shown as occupying less than the entire bandwidth of subframe 302, with some subcarriers illustrated above and below RB 308. In a given implementation, subframe 302 may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 308. Furthermore, in this illustration, RB 308 is shown as occupying less than the entire duration of subframe 302, although this is only one possible example.

[0065] Each subframe 302 (eg, a 1 ms subframe) may be composed of one or more adjacent time slots. Figure 3In the example shown, as an illustrative example, one subframe 302 includes four time slots 310. In some examples, a time slot may be defined according to a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclic prefix (CP) length. For example, a time slot may include 7 or 14 OFDM symbols with a nominal CP. Additional examples may include mini-slots with shorter durations (e.g., 1, 2, 4, or 7 OFDM symbols). In some cases, these mini-slots may be transmitted occupying resources scheduled for ongoing time slot transmissions for the same UE or for different UEs.

[0066] The expanded view of one of the time slots 310 illustrates that the time slot 310 includes a control region 312 and a data region 314. Generally speaking, the control region 312 may carry a control channel (e.g., PDCCH), and the data region 314 may carry a data channel (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH). Of course, a time slot may contain all DL, all UL, or at least one DL portion and at least one UL portion. Figure 3 The simple structure illustrated in is merely exemplary in nature, and different slot structures may be utilized and may include one or more regions in each of the control region and the data region.

[0067] Although in Figure 3 Although not illustrated in the figure, each RE 306 within the RB 308 may be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, including control channels, shared channels, data channels, etc. Other REs 306 within the RB 308 may also carry pilot signals or reference signals. These pilot signals or reference signals may be provided to a receiving device to perform channel estimation of the corresponding channel, which may enable coherent demodulation / detection of control channels and / or data channels within the RB 308.

[0068] In some examples, time slot 310 may be used for broadcast or unicast communication. For example, broadcast, multicast, or groupcast communication may refer to point-to-multipoint transmission from one device (e.g., a base station, UE, or other similar device) to other devices. Here, broadcast communication is delivered to all devices, while multicast communication is delivered to multiple intended recipient devices. Unicast communication may refer to point-to-point transmission from one device to a single other device.

[0069] In an example of cellular communication over a cellular carrier via a Uu interface, for DL ​​transmissions, a scheduling entity (e.g., a base station) may allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., within a control region 312) to one or more scheduled entities (e.g., UEs) to carry DL control information including one or more DL control channels, such as a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). The PDCCH carries downlink control information (DCI), including, but not limited to, power control commands (e.g., one or more open-loop power control parameters and / or one or more closed-loop power control parameters), scheduling information, grants, and / or assignments of REs for DL ​​transmissions and UL transmissions. The PDCCH may also carry HARQ feedback transmissions, such as an acknowledgment (ACK) or a negative acknowledgment (NACK). HARQ is a technique well known to those of ordinary skill in the art, wherein the integrity of a packet transmission may be checked for accuracy at the receiving side, for example, using any appropriate integrity check mechanism, such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrity of the transmission is confirmed, an ACK may be sent, and if the integrity of the transmission is not confirmed, a NACK may be sent. In response to the NACK, the sending device may transmit a HARQ retransmission, which may implement trace combining, incremental redundancy, and the like.

[0070] The base station may also allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., in the control region 312 or the data region 314) to carry other DL signals, such as a demodulation reference signal (DMRS); a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS); a channel state information (CSI) reference signal (CSI-RS); and a synchronization signal block (SSB). The SSB may be broadcast at regular intervals based on a periodicity (e.g., 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, 80ms, or 140ms). The SSB includes a primary synchronization signal (PSS), a secondary synchronization signal (SSS), and a physical broadcast control channel (PBCH). The UE may use the PSS and SSS to achieve radio frame, subframe, time slot, and symbol synchronization in the time domain, identify the center of the channel (system) bandwidth in the frequency domain, and identify the physical cell identity (PCI) of the cell.

[0071] The PBCH in the SSB may also include a master information block (MIB) containing various system information and parameters for decoding a system information block (SIB). The SIB may be, for example, SystemInformationType 1 (SIB1), which may include various additional system information. Examples of system information sent in the MIB may include, but are not limited to, subcarrier spacing, system frame number, configuration of a PDCCH control resource set (CORESET) (e.g., PDCCH CORESET0), and a search space for SIB1. Examples of additional system information sent in SIB1 may include, but are not limited to, random access search space, downlink configuration information, and uplink configuration information. The MIB and SIB1 together provide minimum system information (SI) for initial access.

[0072] In an UL transmission, a scheduled entity (e.g., a UE) may utilize one or more REs 306 to a scheduling entity to carry UL control information (UCI) including one or more UL control channels, such as a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH). The UCI may include various packet types and categories, including pilots, reference signals, and information configured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. In some examples, the UCI may include a scheduling request (SR), i.e., a request to the scheduling entity to schedule uplink transmissions. In this document, in response to the SR sent on the UCI, the scheduling entity may send downlink control information (DCI), which may schedule resources for uplink packet transmissions. The UCI may also include HARQ feedback, channel state feedback (CSF) (such as a CSI report), or any other appropriate UCI.

[0073] In addition to control information, one or more REs 306 (e.g., within the data region 314) may also be allocated for data traffic. Such data traffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels, such as for DL ​​transmissions, on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or for UL transmissions, on a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In some examples, one or more REs 306 within the data region 314 may be configured to carry other signals, such as one or more SIBs and DMRS.

[0074] In an example of sidelink communication over a sidelink carrier via a PC5 interface, a control region 312 of a time slot 310 may include a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) including sidelink control information (SCI) sent by an initiating (transmitting) sidelink device (e.g., a Tx V2X device or other Tx UE) to a set of one or more other receiving sidelink devices (e.g., an Rx V2X device or other Rx UE). A data region 314 of the time slot 310 may include a physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) including sidelink data traffic sent by an initiating (transmitting) sidelink device in resources reserved by the transmitting sidelink device on the sidelink carrier via the SCI. Other information may also be sent via various REs 306 within the time slot 310. For example, HARQ feedback information may be sent from a receiving sidelink device to a transmitting sidelink device in a physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) within the time slot 310.

[0075] Described above and Figure 1 and Figure 3 The channels or carriers shown in are not necessarily all channels or carriers that may be utilized between the scheduling entity 108 and the scheduled entity 106, and one of ordinary skill in the art will recognize that other channels or carriers, such as other traffic, control, and feedback channels, may be utilized in addition to the channels or carriers illustrated.

[0076] These physical channels described above are typically multiplexed and mapped to transport channels for processing at the medium access control (MAC) layer. The transport channels carry information blocks called transport blocks (TBs). Based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the number of RBs in a given transmission, the transport block size (TBS), which may correspond to the number of information bits, may be a controlled parameter.

[0077] The 5G-NR network may further support carrier aggregation (CA) of component carriers transmitted from different cells and / or different transmit reception points (TRPs) in a multi-cell transmission environment. Different TRPs may be associated with a single serving cell or multiple serving cells. In some aspects, the term component carrier may refer to a carrier frequency (or frequency band) used for communication within a cell.

[0078] Figure 4 The present invention is a conceptual illustration of a wireless communication system showing a base station (BS) and a user equipment (UE) communicating via multiple carriers according to some aspects. Specifically, Figure 4An example of a wireless communication system 400 is shown, which includes a primary serving cell (PCell) 402 and one or more secondary serving cells (SCells) 406a, 406b, 406c, and 406d. PCell 402 may be referred to as an anchor cell, which provides a radio resource control (RRC) connection with UE 410. In some examples, PCell and SCell may be co-located (e.g., different TRPs in the same location). UE 410 may correspond to Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 5 To any of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the diagrams in FIG. 8 .

[0079] One or more of the SCells 406a-406d may be activated or added to the PCell 402 to form a serving cell serving the UE 410. Each serving cell corresponds to a component carrier (CC). The CC of the PCell 402 may be referred to as a primary CC, and the CC of the SCells 406a-406d may be referred to as a secondary CC. The PCell 402 and one or more SCells 406 may be provided by corresponding base stations 404 and 408a-408c or with Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 to those illustrated in any of Figure 8. Figure 4 In the example shown in FIG. 4 , SCells 406a-406c are each served by a corresponding base station 408a-408c. SCell 406d is co-located with PCell 402. For example, base station 404 may include multiple TRPs, each supporting a different carrier. The coverage of PCell 402 and SCell 406d may be different because component carriers in different frequency bands may experience different path losses.

[0080] In some examples, PCell 402 may add or remove one or more of SCells 406a-406d to improve reliability and / or increase data rates for connections with UE 410. PCell 402 may be changed when handing over to another PCell.

[0081] In some examples, PCell 402 may utilize a first radio access technology (RAT), such as LTE, and one or more SCells 406 may utilize a second RAT, such as 5G-NR. In this example, the multi-cell transmission environment may be referred to as a multi-RAT-dual connectivity (MR-DC) environment. An example of MR-DC is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN)-New Radio (NR) Dual Connectivity (EN-DC) mode, which enables a UE to simultaneously connect to an LTE base station and an NR base station to receive data packets from and send data packets to the LTE base station and the NR base station.

[0082] In some examples, PCell 402 may be a low-band cell and SCell 406 may be a high-band cell. A low-band (LB) cell uses CCs in a frequency band lower than that of a high-band cell. For example, a high-band cell may use a millimeter wave (mmW) CC, while a low-band cell may use a CC in a frequency band lower than mmW (e.g., a band below 6 GHz). Generally speaking, a cell using mmW CCs may provide a larger bandwidth than a cell using low-band CCs. In addition, when using a frequency carrier higher than 6 GHz (e.g., mmW), in some examples, beamforming may be used to send and receive signals.

[0083] Figure 5 5 is a conceptual illustration of a wireless communication system in which a UE 502 may be served by a master node (MN) 504 and one or more secondary nodes (e.g., a first secondary node (SN) 506 and / or a second SN 508). A master cell group (MCG) is associated with the MN 504 and includes a PCell and a SCell in this example. A first secondary cell group (SCG) is associated with the first SN 506 and includes two SCells in this example. A second SCG is associated with the second SN 508 and includes two SCells in this example. Different examples may include different numbers of SCells. The UE 502 may correspond to a cellular network in the example. Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figures 7 to 12 MN 504 may correspond to any of the UEs or scheduled entities shown in any of the figures. Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 7 to Figure 1 3. The first SN 506 and the second SN 508 may correspond to any of the BSs (e.g., gNB, eNB, MN, etc.) or scheduling entities shown in any of the figures. Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 7 to Figure 1 Any BS (e.g., gNB, eNB, SN, etc.) or scheduling entity shown in any of the figures in 3.

[0084] MN 504 may select the first SCG or the second SCG for MR-DC configuration. Then MN 504 may select one of the SCells of the selected SCG as the PSCell of the SCG (e.g., Figure 5 ). Therefore, for the PSCell selection process, one or more SCells in the SCells of the SCG may be considered as candidate PSCells.

[0085] The PSCell used to serve UE 502 may change over time. For example, due to traffic conditions at MN 504 or some other factor, MN 504 may choose to add another PSCell for serving UE 502. As another example, due to signaling conditions between UE 502 and one or more of the current PSCells (e.g., determined based on signal measurements made by UE 502), MN 504 or one of the PSCells may choose to replace one or more PSCells. For example, the current PSCell (which may be referred to as the source SN) may identify (e.g., based on signal measurements made by UE 502) another PSCell (which may be referred to as a target SN or target PSCell) that will provide better service to UE 502.

[0086] In some aspects, adding / changing a PSCell configuration may be conditional in that the addition of a target PCell or a change to a target PSCell may be conditional on signal measurements made at the UE. Here, the UE may verify whether the signaling conditions between the UE and the target PCell are acceptable. If so (e.g., the reference signal received power (RSRP) measured at the UE meets defined criteria), then the addition or change may be made.

[0087] In a wireless communication system, dual connectivity (DC) is intended to utilize radio resources within multiple carriers. DC can be used to increase throughput, provide mobility robustness, support load balancing between network nodes, etc. The DC operating mode is a mode in which a UE (e.g., UE 502) is configured to utilize radio resources of two different schedulers located in two network nodes (e.g., MN 504 and the first SN 506). These network nodes are referred to as a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Therefore, DC enables the UE to simultaneously send and receive data on multiple component carriers from a cell group via MN and SN. In the context of DC, a master cell group (MCG) is a group of service cells associated with a MN, and includes a primary cell (PCell) and optionally one or more secondary cells (SCell). In addition, a secondary cell group (SCG) is a group of service cells associated with a SN, and includes a primary secondary cell (PSCell) and optionally one or more SCells. Multiple cells in each node may be in a carrier aggregation framework.

[0088] The UE may be configured with a specific configuration by the serving MN (S-MN) and / or serving SN (S-SN) currently serving the UE, so that the UE can select a PSCell belonging to one of the target SNs to be connected. For example, if the UE loses connectivity with the current serving PSCell, the UE may perform a handover to a target PSCell of one of the target SNs. The procedure for the UE to perform a handover to a target PSCell may be referred to as a PSCell change procedure. The procedure for the UE to newly connect to an SN may be referred to as a PSCell addition procedure. Therefore, the conditional PSCell change (CPC) procedure is used for the UE to perform a handover to a target PSCell when certain conditions are met, and the conditional PSCell addition (CPA) procedure is used for the UE to newly connect to an SN when certain conditions are met.

[0089] In the CPC and CPA procedures, an SCG configuration (and associated MCG configuration) may be provided to the UE, wherein the SCG configuration may include a radio bearer (RB) configuration and an execution condition associated with a target PSCell for performing CPA or CPC, respectively. In some aspects, if the execution condition associated with a specific target PSCell is met, the UE may trigger the execution of CPA or CPC to connect to the specific target PSCell. For example, the execution condition may include a signal quality threshold associated with a specific target PSCell, so that when the signal quality of the specific target PSCell exceeds the signal quality threshold, the UE may trigger the execution of CPA or CPC. In some aspects, an RRC reconfiguration message from a network node (e.g., an S-MN) may provide the UE with an SCG configuration corresponding to the target PSCell and the associated SCG. Prior to transmitting the RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, the SCG configuration may be set during a preparation procedure involving communications between the S-MN, the S-SN, and the target SN.

[0090] After the UE performs CPA or CPC, the UE may delete the CPA or CPC configuration provided by the S-MN (e.g., via an RRC reconfiguration message). If the UE needs to perform another CPA or CPC procedure, the UE may be reconfigured by the S-MN (e.g., through another reconfiguration message) to perform the next conditional PSCell addition or change. For example, since the UE may be served by a different secondary node after performing CPA or CPC, the network may need to perform a new preparation procedure and the UE may need to be reconfigured (e.g., through another reconfiguration message).

[0091] In some aspects, all configurations required to perform a PSCell change or addition sequence may be provided to the UE at one time without reconfiguring the UE each time after the change or addition. For example, after the preparation procedure, the S-MN may transmit a CPC configuration message (CPC_config) to the UE so that the UE can perform a PSCell addition or change sequence without triggering a preparation procedure each time after performing the change or addition.

[0092] In some aspects, the SCG state of a particular SCG of a network node may be set to an activated state or a deactivated state. Thus, the SCG state of a particular SCG may indicate whether the particular SCG is used for data communications. In some aspects, if little or no data is communicated to a cell of a particular network node of the SCG within a certain amount of time, the particular network node may set the SCG state associated with the particular network node to a deactivated state (e.g., to reduce power consumption). On the other hand, if there is data communication to a cell of a particular network node of the SCG, the particular network node may set the SCG state associated with the particular network node to an activated state. The SCG state of each network node may be included in the SCG configuration communicated to the UE. In some examples, if the network node determines that data will not be sent on a certain SCG within a certain amount of time, the network node may set the SCG state to a deactivated state. For example, if there is little or no data transmission to a particular SCG, and / or if, based on a data service profile (e.g., based on past history), little or no data transmission to a particular SCG is expected during a certain time frame, the network node may send an SCG state to the UE so that the UE sets the SCG state at the UE to an SCG deactivated state. If the SCG state corresponding to a particular cell is a deactivated state, the UE may set the SCG state at the UE to a deactivated state and may not communicate with the particular cell (or other cells within the same SCG), for example by maintaining a low power mode. Thus, power and resources may be saved when there is little or no communication. If the SCG state corresponding to a particular cell is an activated state, the UE may set the SCG state at the UE to an activated state and may perform data communication with the particular cell (and / or other cells within the same SCG).

[0093] Figure 6 is an example diagram illustrating a process of performing a conditional PSCell change or a conditional PSCell addition according to some aspects. Figure 6 Communications between a UE 602, an S-MN 604, an S-SN 606, a first target SN 608, and a second target SN 610 are shown.

[0094] At 622, during the preparation procedure, the first target SN 608 may determine a first SCG state corresponding to the first target SN 608 and a first execution condition for connecting to the first target SN 608, and the second target SN 610 may determine a second SCG state corresponding to the second target SN 610 and a second execution condition for connecting to the second target SN 610. The first SCG state and the second SCG state may be included in the SCG configuration. The S-MN 604 may generate a CPA or CPC configuration including the SCG configuration and execution conditions for conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change, such as the first execution condition and the second execution condition. For example, the first execution condition may include a first signal quality threshold and the second execution condition may include a second signal quality threshold for satisfying the condition for PSCell addition / change. At 624, the S-MN 604 may send an RRC reconfiguration message including the CPA or CPC configuration to the UE 602. When UE 602 receives CPA or CPC configuration, UE 602 may be in an SCG activated state or in an SCG deactivated state with respect to the first target SN 608 based on the first SCG state received from S-MN 604, and may be in an SCG activated state or in an SCG deactivated state with respect to the second target SN 610 based on the second SCG state received from S-MN 604.

[0095] At 626, UE 602 may perform an evaluation process by evaluating a first link quality between UE 602 and a first target SN 608 and a second link quality between UE 602 and a second target SN 610 based on corresponding execution conditions. For example, UE 602 may determine whether the first link quality satisfies a first execution condition associated with the first target SN 608 (e.g., by exceeding a first signal quality threshold), and may determine whether the second link quality satisfies a second execution condition associated with the second target SN 610 (e.g., by exceeding a second signal quality threshold). UE 602 may determine to connect to a target SN that satisfies the execution conditions.

[0096] exist Figure 6In the example of , UE 602 determines that the first target SN 608 satisfies the execution condition. Therefore, at 628, UE 602 may trigger execution of CPA or CPC to connect to the PSCell of the first target SN 608. Therefore, at 630, UE 602 sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to S-MN 604 to indicate that the RRC reconfiguration has been completed and CPA or CPC has been performed to connect to the PSCell of the first target SN 608. Subsequently, at 632, S-MN 604 sends an SN reconfiguration complete message to the first target SN 608. When the execution is triggered at 628, UE 602 may set the SCG state at UE 602 based on the SCG state of the selected PSCell, where the SCG state is indicated in the SCG configuration. For example, if the evaluation process 626 selects the first target SN 608, UE 602 may set the SCG state at UE 602 according to the first SCG state of the first target SN 608 when the execution is triggered.

[0097] When the execution is triggered at 628, the UE 602 may perform a RACH process on the selected PSCell according to the SCG state of the selected PSCell, where the SCG state is indicated in the SCG configuration. For example, if the first SCG state indicated in the SCG configuration is an activated state, the UE 602 may perform a RACH process with the first target SN 608, otherwise the RACH process may not be performed.

[0098] The exact time when the UE will perform CPA or CPC is unknown. The execution time of the PSCell change may depend on the movement of the UE and / or the motion pattern of the UE, which is difficult to predict. Although a data service profile (e.g., based on history) may be available, it is still difficult to predict the exact time when data communication will occur. Since the exact time when the conditional execution is triggered is unknown, the target SN may not set the SCG state of the target PSCell of the target SN to a deactivated state. In other words, in the multi-SCG configuration in both the multi-SCG preparation and modification procedures, the default state of the SCG state of the target PSCell may be an activated state.

[0099] During the preparation procedure, each target SN may set its corresponding SCG state. The target SN may determine the SCG state based on the data service profile. The target SN still does not know the exact time when the conditional execution will be triggered, and therefore as a default setting, the SCG state may be set to activated.

[0100] When the UE receives the source SCG state associated with the source PSCell of the S-SN, the UE may set its SCG state at the UE based on the received source SCG state. Subsequently, the data communication activity of the UE may change. In some aspects, based on the change in data communication activity, the UE may attempt to change the SCG state and the source SCG state at the UE. For example, the UE may send a request to the S-MN to change the source SCG state. When the S-MN receives such a request, the S-MN may determine whether to change the SCG state based on the request and based on its communication with the S-SN. In some aspects, the S-MN may make such a determination autonomously based on network conditions (e.g., network traffic). If the S-MN determines to change the source SCG state, the S-MN may send a source SCG change indication to the UE to indicate the changed source SCG state.

[0101] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, when a UE is connected to an S-SN, if the source SCG state associated with the source PSCell of the S-SN changes during an evaluation process in which the UE is evaluating a target PSCell, the S-MN may not notify the target SN of the change in the source SCG state. For example, if the source SCG state changes during the evaluation process, the S-MN may not initiate a CPA or CPC configuration modification procedure to notify the target SN of the change in the source SCG state, wherein the CPA or CPC configuration modification procedure is used to modify the initial CPA or CPC configuration that has been provided to the UE via an RRC reconfiguration message. However, as discussed above, since the exact time when the conditional execution is triggered is unknown, the target SN may not set the SCG state of the target PSCell to a deactivated state and the SCG state of the target PSCell is in an activated state by default. Since the target SN does not set the SCG state, the S-MN does not need to notify the target SN of the change in the source SCG state during the evaluation process. The S-MN and S-SN may determine to change the source SCG state according to whether a service exists, but may not notify the target SN of the change in the source SCG state during the evaluation process.

[0102] Before performing CPA or CPC to connect to a specific target SN, the UE may be in a specific SCG state based on the source SCG state. If the source SCG state is an activated state when performing CPA or CPC, the UE may continue to make the SCG state at the UE an activated state. However, if the source SCG state is a deactivated state, as discussed above, considering that the default setting of the SCG state of the target PSCell is an activated state, a method for the UE to set the SCG at the UE has not yet been explored.

[0103] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, in a first option, if the source SCG state is a deactivated state when the execution of CPA or CPC is triggered, the UE may change the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure on a specific target PSCell to connect to the specific target PSCell. In some aspects, since the source SCG state is a deactivated state and the SCG state at the UE is changed to an activated state, the S-MN or the selected target SN may send a correction indication to the UE after the UE is connected to the selected target PSCell, so that the UE may change the SCG state at the UE back to an activated state based on the correction indication.

[0104] In a second option, according to some aspects of the present disclosure, if the source SCG state is in a deactivated state when CPA or CPC is triggered, the UE may retain the SCG state at the UE as a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on a specific target PSCell.

[0105] Alternatively, the S-MN may always update the target SN with changes in the source SCG state associated with the source SCG of the S-SN. Thus, according to some aspects of the present disclosure, if the source SCG state changes during the evaluation process in which the UE is evaluating the target PSCell, the S-MN may perform a CPA or CPC configuration modification procedure to notify the target SN of the changed source SCG state.

[0106] Subsequently, in some aspects, the target SN may provide updated SCG configurations corresponding to the PSCells, respectively, wherein the updated SCG configurations include updated SCG states corresponding to the PSCells. Thus, an updated SCG configuration may be generated based on the changed source SCG state notified by the S-MN. When the S-MN receives the updated SCG configuration, the S-MN may send the updated SCG configuration to the UE, for example, via another RRC configuration message.

[0107] In a Self Organizing Network (SON), the UE may report a successful handover report to the network node, which may include the time elapsed between the receipt of the conditional handover configuration and the conditional handover execution. The use of such reports in a conditional PSCell change or conditional PSCell addition has been explored.

[0108] According to some aspects of the present disclosure, a UE may report a successful conditional PSCell change or addition report to a source node (e.g., an S-MN or S-SN), the successful conditional PSCell change or addition report including similar parameters, such as the time elapsed between past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and past UE execution of a CPA and / or CPC. In some aspects, the source node (e.g., an S-MN or S-SN) may provide this information to a target SN during a preparation procedure to help determine the SCG state to be used when performing a CPA or CPC. In some aspects, the S-MN or S-SN may also provide information about a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources to help determine the SCG state to be used when performing a CPA or CPC. The traffic pattern may consist of an on-off cycle, where, for example, based on a past history of data traffic, data traffic is expected during the on period and no data traffic is expected during the off duration. After the target SN receives the elapsed time and / or traffic pattern, the target SN may determine the SCG based on such information. For example, assuming the elapsed time is 63 seconds and the traffic pattern indicates a recurring pattern of 10 seconds of data traffic (on) followed by 15 seconds of no traffic (off), the target SN will be able to predict whether there will be data traffic when this is performed, and therefore determine the SCG state based on this prediction.

[0109] Figure 7 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation for a UE 700 employing a processing system 714. For example, the UE 700 may be as in Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 A user equipment (UE) is illustrated in any one or more of the embodiments.

[0110] The UE 700 may be implemented using a processing system 714 including one or more processors 704. Examples of the processor 704 include a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a programmable logic device (PLD), a state machine, a gated logic, a discrete hardware circuit, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout the present disclosure. In various examples, the UE 700 may be configured to perform any one or more of the functions described herein. That is, the processor 704 as utilized in the UE 700 may be used to implement any one or more of the processes and procedures described below and illustrated in FIG. 8.

[0111] In this example, the processing system 714 may be implemented using a bus architecture (which is generally represented by bus 702). The bus 702 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system 714 and the overall design constraints. The bus 702 communicatively couples various circuits including one or more processors (generally represented by processor 704), memory 705, and computer-readable media (generally represented by computer-readable storage media 706). The bus 702 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further. The bus interface 708 provides an interface between the bus 702 and the transceiver 710. The transceiver 710 provides a communication interface or component for communicating with various other devices through a transmission medium. Depending on the nature of the device, a user interface 712 (e.g., a keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided. Of course, such a user interface 712 is optional and may be omitted in some examples (such as a base station).

[0112] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 704 may include an evaluation process circuit 740 configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving a conditional PSCell configuration indicating one or more target PSCells from a source master node. For example, the evaluation process circuit 740 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 804).

[0113] In some aspects, the evaluation process circuit 740 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) associated with one or more target secondary nodes, respectively. For example, the evaluation process circuit 740 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 806).

[0114] In some aspects, the evaluation process circuit 740 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, selecting a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells based on one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions associated with one or more target PSCells of one or more target secondary nodes, respectively. For example, the evaluation process circuit 740 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 808).

[0115] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 704 may include a communication management circuit 742 configured for various functions, including, for example, operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode of establishing a connection with a source primary node and a source secondary node. For example, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 802).

[0116] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, initiating a conditional execution procedure to connect to a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 810).

[0117] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 742 can be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message to the source master node to indicate the selected target PSCell when initiating a conditional execution procedure. For example, the communication management circuit 742 can be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 812).

[0118] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell in response to the source SCG state being an activated state. For example, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 814).

[0119] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, blocks 852 and 854).

[0120] In some aspects where the SCG state at the UE is set to an activated state and a RACH procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell in conjunction with a conditional execution procedure, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving a correction indication from a source primary node or a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell to correct the SCG state at the UE after connecting to the selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management circuit 742 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 856).

[0121] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 704 may include an SCG state management circuit 744 configured for various functions, including, for example, changing the SCG state at the UE to a deactivated state based on the correction indication. For example, the SCG state management circuit 744 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 858).

[0122] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 742 and the SCG state management circuit 744 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management circuit 742 and the SCG state management circuit 744 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to Figure 8 (including, for example, blocks 852 and 854).

[0123] The processor 704 is responsible for managing the bus 702 and general processing, which includes executing software stored on a computer-readable storage medium 706. This software, when executed by the processor 704, causes the processing system 714 to perform the various functions described below for any particular device. The computer-readable storage medium 706 and memory 705 may also be used to store data that is manipulated by the processor 704 when executing the software.

[0124] One or more processors 704 in the processing system may execute software. Software should be construed broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threads of execution, processes, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readable storage medium 706. The computer-readable storage medium 706 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. By way of example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media include magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, or key drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable storage medium 706 may reside in the processing system 714, external to the processing system 714, or distributed across multiple entities including the processing system 714. The computer-readable storage medium 706 may be embodied in a computer program product. By way of example, a computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0125] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium 706 may include an assessment process software / instructions 760 configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving a conditional PSCell configuration indicating one or more target PSCells from a source master node. For example, the assessment process software / instructions 760 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 804).

[0126] In some aspects, the evaluation process software / instructions 760 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) associated with one or more target secondary nodes, respectively. For example, the evaluation process software / instructions 760 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 806).

[0127] In some aspects, the evaluation process software / instructions 760 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, selecting a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells based on one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions associated with one or more target PSCells of one or more target secondary nodes, respectively. For example, the evaluation process software / instructions 760 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 808).

[0128] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium 706 may include communication management software / instructions 762 configured for various functions, including, for example, operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode of establishing a connection with a source primary node and a source secondary node. For example, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 802).

[0129] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, initiating a conditional execution procedure to connect to a target secondary node corresponding to a selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 810).

[0130] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message to the source master node to indicate the selected target PSCell when initiating a conditional execution procedure. For example, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 812).

[0131] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell in response to the source SCG state being an activated state. For example, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 814).

[0132] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to Figure 8 (including, for example, blocks 852 and 854).

[0133] In some aspects where the SCG state at the UE is set to an activated state and a RACH procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell in conjunction with a conditional execution procedure, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving a correction indication from a source primary node or a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell to correct the SCG state at the UE after connecting to the selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management software / instructions 762 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 856).

[0134] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium 706 may include SCG state management software / instructions 764 configured for various functions, including, for example, changing the SCG state at the UE to a deactivated state based on the correction indication. For example, the SCG state management software / instructions 764 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 8 (including, for example, block 858).

[0135] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 762 and the SCG state management software / instructions 764 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell. For example, the communication management software / instructions 762 and the SCG state management software / instructions 764 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to Figure 8 (including, for example, blocks 852 and 854).

[0136] Fig. 8A 800 for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE) according to some aspects. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 800 may be performed by Figure 7 In some examples, process 800 may be performed by any suitable device or component for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0137] At block 802, the UE may operate in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode with a connection established with a source primary node and a source secondary node. Figure 7 The communications management circuitry 742 shown and described may provide means for operating in MR-DC.

[0138] At block 804, in some aspects, the UE may receive a conditional PSCell configuration indicating one or more target PSCells from a source master node. Figure 7 The evaluation process circuit 740 shown and described may provide means for receiving a conditional PSCell configuration. In one aspect, the conditional PSCell configuration comprises a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration. In one aspect, the conditional PSCell configuration comprises one or more execution conditions. In one aspect, the conditional PSCell configuration is received via a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

[0139] At block 806, the UE evaluates one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) associated with the one or more target secondary nodes, respectively. Figure 7 The evaluation process circuitry 740 shown and described may provide means for evaluating one or more link qualities.

[0140] At block 808, the UE may select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells based on one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions associated with one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes, respectively. Figure 7 The evaluation process circuit 740 shown and described may provide means for selecting a target PSCell.

[0141] At block 810, the UE may initiate a conditional execution procedure to connect to a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell. Figure 7The communications management circuitry 742 shown and described may provide means for initiating conditional execution procedures.

[0142] At block 812, in some aspects, the UE may send a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message to the source master node to indicate the selected target PSCell when initiating the conditional execution procedure. Figure 7 The communications management circuitry 742 shown and described may provide means for sending an RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0143] At block 814, in some aspects, the UE may perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell in response to the source SCG state being an activated state. Figure 7 The communications management circuitry 742 shown and described may provide means for performing RACH procedures.

[0144] Figure 8B is an example of some aspects of Fig. 8A 800 of the exemplary process 800, a flowchart of an exemplary process 850 for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 850 may be performed by Figure 7 In some examples, process 850 may be performed by any suitable device or component for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0145] In response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being the deactivated state, the UE may perform any of the following operations: at block 852, change the SCG state at the UE to the activated state, and perform a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or at block 854, maintain the SCG state at the UE in the deactivated state without performing the RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell. For example, the above in conjunction with Figure 7 The communication management circuit 742 and SCG state management circuit 744 shown and described may provide means for performing either of the following operations: changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state and performing a RACH procedure, or maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state. In one aspect, the source primary node indicates to the target secondary node associated with the selected target PSCell that the source SCG state corresponding to the source secondary node is in a deactivated state during the conditional execution of the procedure.

[0146] At block 856, in some aspects where the SCG state at the UE is set to an activated state and in conjunction with the conditional execution procedure to perform a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell, the UE may receive a correction indication from a source primary node or a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell to correct the SCG state at the UE after connecting to the selected target PSCell. Figure 7 The communications management circuitry 742 shown and described may provide means for receiving correction indications.

[0147] At block 858, in some aspects, the UE may change the SCG state at the UE to a deactivated state based on the correction indication. Figure 7 The SCG state management circuit 744 shown and described may provide means for changing the SCG state at the UE.

[0148] In one configuration, a UE 700 for wireless communication includes: a component for operating the UE in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode for establishing a connection with a source primary node and a source secondary node; a component for evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with the one or more target secondary nodes; a component for selecting a target PSCell from one or more target PSCells based on the one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; a component for initiating a conditional execution procedure to connect to the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; and a component for performing any of the following operations in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state: (a) changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform a conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintaining the SCG state at the UE in a deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell.

[0149] In some aspects, the UE 700 may also include a component for receiving a conditional PSCell configuration indicating one or more target PSCells from a source master node. In some aspects, the UE 700 may also include: in response to the source SCG state being an activated state, a component for performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell. In some aspects, the UE 700 may also include: a component for sending a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration completion message to the source master node to indicate the selected target PSCell when initiating conditional execution. In some aspects, the UE 700 may also include. In some aspects where the SCG state at the UE is set to an activated state and a RACH procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell, when performing the procedure, the UE 700 may also include: a component for receiving a correction indication from a source master node or a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell to correct the SCG state at the UE after connecting to the selected target PSCell; and a component for changing the SCG state at the UE back to an activated state based on the correction indication.

[0150] In one aspect, the aforementioned member may be Figure 7 The processor 704 shown in the figure is configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components. On the other hand, the aforementioned components can be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components.

[0151] Of course, in the above examples, the circuits included in the processor 704 are provided only as examples, and other components for performing the described functions may be included in various aspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to instructions stored in the computer-readable storage medium 706 or in Figure 1 , Figure 2 , Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 Any of the descriptions and use of the foregoing Figure 7 Any other suitable means or components of the described processes and / or algorithms.

[0152] Fig. 9 914 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardware implementation of a network node 900 employing a processing system 914. In one example, the network node 900 may be Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 In one example, the network node 900 may be a master node as exemplified in any one or more of Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 A secondary node instantiated in any one or more of .

[0153] The network node 900 may be implemented using a processing system 914 including one or more processors 904. Examples of processor 904 include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors (DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits, and other suitable hardware configured to perform various functionalities described throughout the present disclosure. In various examples, the network node 900 may be configured to perform any one or more of the functions described herein. That is, the processor 904 as utilized in the network node 900 may be used to implement the functions described below and in Figures 10 to 12 Any one or more of the processes and procedures illustrated in .

[0154] In this example, a processing system 914 may be implemented using a bus architecture (generally represented by bus 902). Bus 902 may include any number of interconnecting buses and bridges, depending on the specific application of the processing system 914 and the overall design constraints. Bus 902 communicatively couples various circuits including one or more processors (generally represented by processor 904), memory 905, and computer-readable media (generally represented by computer-readable storage media 906). Bus 902 may also link various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltage regulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in the art and therefore will not be described further. Bus interface 908 provides an interface between bus 902 and transceiver 910. Transceiver 910 provides a communication interface or component for communicating with various other devices through a transmission medium. Depending on the nature of the device, a user interface 912 (e.g., keypad, display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided. Of course, such a user interface 912 is optional and may be omitted in some examples (such as a base station).

[0155] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 904 may include a communication management circuit 940 configured for various functions, including, for example, operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode of establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement the following description of Fig.10 and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1002 and 1102).

[0156] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration indicating one or more target PSCells to the UE. For example, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured to implement the following Fig.10and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1004 and 1104).

[0157] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending an SCG change indication to the UE indicating that the source SCG state has changed. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement the following Fig.10 (including, for example, block 1008) One or more of the functions described.

[0158] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, avoiding notifying one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the state of the source SCG has occurred during the evaluation process. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to the figure (including, for example, block 1012).

[0159] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving from the UE a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.10 (including, for example, block 1014) one or more of the functions described.

[0160] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured for various functions, including, for example, at least one of sending an elapsed time to one or more target secondary nodes or utilizing a traffic mode of a data radio bearer (DRB) of SCG resources. For example, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.10 (including, for example, block 1016) one or more of the functions described.

[0161] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, initiating a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1110).

[0162] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving from one or more target secondary nodes one or more updated SCG configurations corresponding to one or more target PSCells, respectively, the one or more updated SCG configurations including one or more updated SCG states corresponding to the one or more target PSCells, respectively. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1152).

[0163] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending one or more updated SCG configurations to the UE. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1154).

[0164] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving from the UE a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1156).

[0165] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, at least one of sending an elapsed time to one or more target secondary nodes or a traffic mode of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1158).

[0166] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, communicating with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that a network node is a target secondary node operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode for potential connection to the UE. For example, the communication management circuit 940 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.12 (including, for example, block 1202) one or more of the functions described.

[0167] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving at least one of the following during the preparation procedure: the time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources. For example, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.12 (including, for example, block 1204) one or more of the functions described.

[0168] In some aspects, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the source master node, the source master node being configured to forward the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the UE. For example, the communication management circuit 940 can be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.12 (including, for example, block 1208) One or more of the functions described.

[0169] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the processor 904 may include an SCG state management circuit 942 configured for various functions, including, for example, changing a source SCG state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source secondary node based on at least one of a request from a UE to change the state of the source secondary cell group (SCG) or a network condition. For example, the SCG state management circuit 942 may be configured to implement the following description of Fig.10 and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1006 and 1106 ).

[0170] In some aspects, the SCG state management circuit 942 can be configured for various functions, including, for example, determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells. For example, the SCG state management circuit 942 can be configured to implement the following description of Fig.10 and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1010 and 1108).

[0171] In some aspects, the SCG state management circuit 942 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, determining the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB. For example, the SCG state management circuit 942 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.12(including, for example, block 1206) one or more of the functions described.

[0172] The processor 904 is responsible for managing the bus 902 and general processing, which includes executing software stored on the computer-readable storage medium 906. The software, when executed by the processor 904, causes the processing system 914 to perform the various functions described below for any particular device. The computer-readable storage medium 906 and the memory 905 may also be used to store data that is manipulated by the processor 904 when executing the software.

[0173] One or more processors 904 in the processing system may execute software. Software should be interpreted broadly to mean instructions, instruction sets, codes, code segments, program codes, programs, subroutines, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, threads of execution, processes, functions, etc., whether referred to as software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description language, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readable storage medium 906. The computer-readable storage medium 906 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. By way of example, non-transitory computer-readable storage media include magnetic storage devices (e.g., hard disks, floppy disks, magnetic strips), optical disks (e.g., compact disks (CDs) or digital versatile disks (DVDs)), smart cards, flash memory devices (e.g., card, stick, or key drives), random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable ROM (PROM), erasable PROM (EPROM), electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), registers, removable disks, and any other suitable medium for storing software and / or instructions that can be accessed and read by a computer. The computer-readable storage medium 906 may reside in the processing system 914, external to the processing system 914, or distributed across multiple entities including the processing system 914. The computer-readable storage medium 906 may be embodied in a computer program product. By way of example, a computer program product may include a computer-readable storage medium in packaging materials. Those skilled in the art will recognize how to best implement the described functionality presented throughout this disclosure, depending on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the overall system.

[0174] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium 906 may include communication management software / instructions 960 configured for various functions, including, for example, operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode to establish a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following description of Fig.10 and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1002 and 1102).

[0175] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration to the UE indicating one or more target PSCells. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following description of Fig.10 and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1004 and 1104).

[0176] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending an SCG change indication to the UE indicating that the source SCG state has changed. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.10 (including, for example, block 1008) One or more of the functions described.

[0177] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, avoiding notifying one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the state of the source SCG has occurred during the evaluation process. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to the figure (including, for example, block 1012).

[0178] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving from the UE a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.10 (including, for example, block 1014) one or more of the functions described.

[0179] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, at least one of sending elapsed time to one or more target secondary nodes or utilizing a data radio bearer (DRB) service mode of SCG resources. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.10 (including, for example, block 1016) one or more of the functions described.

[0180] In some aspects, the communications management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, initiating a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes. For example, the communications management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1110).

[0181] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving from one or more target secondary nodes one or more updated SCG configurations corresponding to one or more target PSCells, respectively, the one or more updated SCG configurations including one or more updated SCG states corresponding to one or more target PSCells, respectively. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1152).

[0182] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending one or more updated SCG configurations to the UE. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1154).

[0183] In some aspects, the communications management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving from the UE a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change. For example, the communications management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1156).

[0184] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, at least one of sending elapsed time to one or more target secondary nodes or a traffic mode of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement one or more of the functions described below with respect to FIG. 11 (including, for example, block 1158).

[0185] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, communicating with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that a network node is a target secondary node for potential connection to the UE while operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.12 (including, for example, block 1202) one or more of the functions described.

[0186] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, receiving during a preparation procedure at least one of: a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following with respect to Fig.12 (including, for example, block 1204) one or more of the functions described.

[0187] In some aspects, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, sending the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the source master node, the source master node being configured to forward the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the UE. For example, the communication management software / instructions 960 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.12 (including, for example, block 1208) One or more of the functions described.

[0188] In some aspects of the present disclosure, the computer-readable storage medium 906 may include SCG state management software / instructions 962 configured for various functions, including, for example, changing a source SCG state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source secondary node based on at least one of a request from a UE to change the state of the source secondary cell group (SCG) or a network condition. For example, the SCG state management software / instructions 962 may be configured to implement the following description of Fig.10 and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1006 and 1106 ).

[0189] In some aspects, the SCG state management software / instructions 962 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells associated with one or more target secondary nodes, respectively, to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells. For example, the SCG state management software / instructions 962 may be configured to implement the following description of Fig.10 and one or more of the functions described in FIG. 11 (including, for example, blocks 1010 and 1108).

[0190] In some aspects, the SCG state management software / instructions 962 may be configured for various functions, including, for example, determining the SCG state of a target PSCell of a network node based on at least one of an elapsed time or a traffic pattern of a DRB. For example, the SCG state management software / instructions 962 may be configured to implement the following regarding Fig.12 (including, for example, block 1206) one or more of the functions described.

[0191] Fig.10 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1000 for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 900 may be performed by Fig. 9 In some aspects, the network node performing process 1000 may be an S-MN. In some examples, process 900 may be performed by any suitable device or component for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0192] At block 1002, the network node may operate in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode to establish a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node. Fig. 9 The communications management circuit 940 shown and described may provide means for operating in MR-DC.

[0193] At block 1004, in some aspects, the network node may send a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration to the UE indicating one or more target PSCells. Fig. 9 The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for sending a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration.

[0194] At block 1006, the network node may change the source SCG state associated with the source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request from the UE to change the source SCG state or a network condition. Fig. 9 The SCG state management circuit 942 shown and described may provide means for changing the source SCG.

[0195] At block 1008, in some aspects, the network node may send an SCG change indication to the UE indicating that the source SCG state has changed. Fig. 9 The communications management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for sending an SCG change indication.

[0196] At block 1010, the network node may determine that a change in the state of the source SCG has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells. Fig. 9 The SCG state management circuitry 942 shown and described may provide means for determining that a change in the state of a source SCG has occurred during an evaluation process.

[0197] At block 1012, the network node may refrain from notifying one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the state of the source SCG has occurred during the evaluation process. Fig. 9 The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for avoiding notification of one or more target secondary nodes.

[0198] At block 1014, in some aspects, the network node may receive from the UE a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change. Fig. 9 The communications management circuit 940 shown and described may provide means for receiving the elapsed time.

[0199] At block 1016, in some aspects, the network node may send at least one of an elapsed time or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources to one or more target secondary nodes. Fig. 9 The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for transmitting at least one of elapsed time or traffic patterns.

[0200] In one configuration, a network node 900 for wireless communication includes: a component for operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode to establish a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; a component for changing a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) state associated with a source secondary node based on a request to change the state of a source secondary cell group (SCG) from the UE or at least one of a network condition; a component for determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and a component for avoiding notifying one or more target secondary nodes that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process. In some aspects, the network node 900 may also include a component for sending a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration indicating one or more target PSCells to the UE.

[0201] In one aspect, the aforementioned member may be Fig. 9 The processor 904 shown in the figure is configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components. On the other hand, the aforementioned components can be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components.

[0202] Fig.11A 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1100 for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 900 may be performed by Fig. 9 In some aspects, the network node performing process 1100 may be an S-MN. In some examples, process 900 may be performed by any suitable device or component for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0203] At block 1102, in some aspects, the network node may operate in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode to establish a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node. Fig. 9 The communications management circuit 940 shown and described may provide means for operating in MR-DC.

[0204] At block 1104, in some aspects, the network node may send a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration to the UE indicating one or more target PSCells. Fig. 9The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for sending a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration.

[0205] At block 1106, the network node may change the source SCG state associated with the source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request from the UE to change the source SCG state or a network condition. Fig. 9 The SCG state management circuit 942 shown and described may provide means for changing the source SCG.

[0206] At block 1108, the network node may determine that a change in the state of the source SCG has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells. Fig. 9 The SCG state management circuitry 942 shown and described may provide means for determining that a change in the state of a source SCG has occurred during an evaluation process.

[0207] At block 1110, the network node may initiate a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure with one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes. Fig. 9 The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for initiating a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure.

[0208] Fig. 11B is an example of some aspects of Fig.11A 1100 of the exemplary process 1100, and a flowchart of an exemplary process 1150 for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE). As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 1150 may be performed by Fig. 9 In some examples, process 1150 may be performed by any suitable device or component for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0209] At block 1152, in some aspects, the network node may receive from one or more target secondary nodes one or more updated SCG configurations corresponding to the one or more target PSCells, respectively, the one or more updated SCG configurations including one or more updated SCG states corresponding to the one or more target PSCells, respectively. Fig. 9 The communications management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for receiving one or more updated SCG configurations.

[0210] At block 1154, in some aspects, the network node may send one or more updated SCG configurations to the UE. Fig. 9 The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for transmitting one or more updated SCG configurations.

[0211] At block 1156, in some aspects, the network node may receive from the UE a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change. Fig. 9 The communications management circuit 940 shown and described may provide means for receiving the elapsed time.

[0212] At block 1158, in some aspects, the network node may send at least one of an elapsed time or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources to one or more target secondary nodes. Fig. 9 The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for transmitting at least one of elapsed time or traffic patterns.

[0213] In one configuration, a network node 900 for wireless communication includes: a component for operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode to establish a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; a component for changing a source secondary cell group (SCG) state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of a source secondary node based on a request to change the SCG state from the UE or at least one of a network condition; a component for determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, the evaluation process evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and a component for initiating a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that a change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure includes communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

[0214] In some aspects, the network node 900 may also include: receiving one or more updated SCG configurations corresponding to one or more target PSCells, respectively, from one or more target secondary nodes, the one or more updated SCG configurations including one or more updated SCG states corresponding to the one or more target PSCells, respectively, and means for sending the one or more updated SCG configurations to the UE. In some aspects, the network node 900 may also include: means for receiving from the UE a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, and means for sending to the one or more target secondary nodes at least one of the elapsed time or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources.

[0215] In one aspect, the aforementioned member may be Fig. 9 The processor 904 shown in the figure is configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components. On the other hand, the aforementioned components can be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components.

[0216] Fig.12 1 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1200 for wireless communication according to some aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or all of the illustrated features may be omitted in certain implementations within the scope of the present disclosure, and some of the illustrated features may not be required for implementations of all embodiments. In some examples, process 900 may be performed by Fig. 9In some aspects, the network node performing process 1200 may be a target SN. In some examples, process 900 may be performed by any suitable device or component for performing the functions or algorithms described below.

[0217] At block 1202, a network node may communicate with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that the network node is a target secondary node operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode for potential connection to the UE. Fig. 9 The communication management circuit 940 shown and described may provide means for communicating with a source master node.

[0218] At block 1204, the network node may receive during the preparation procedure at least one of: a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources. Fig. 9 The communication management circuitry 940 shown and described may provide means for receiving at least one of elapsed time or traffic patterns.

[0219] At block 1206, the network node may determine the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB. Fig. 9 The SCG state management circuit 942 shown and described may provide means for determining the state of the SCG.

[0220] At block 1208, the network node may send the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the source master node, which is configured to forward the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the UE. Fig. 9 The communication management circuit 940 shown and described may provide means for transmitting the SCG status.

[0221] In one configuration, a network node 900 for wireless communication includes: a component for communicating with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that the network node is a target secondary node for potential connection to the UE while operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode; a component for receiving at least one of the following during the preparation procedure: an elapsed time between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources; and a component for determining an SCG state of a target PSCell of the network node based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB. In some aspects, the network node 900 may also include a component for sending the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the source primary node, the source primary node being configured to forward the SCG state of the target PSCell of the network node to the UE.

[0222] In one aspect, the aforementioned member may be Fig. 9 The processor 904 shown in the figure is configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components. On the other hand, the aforementioned components can be a circuit or any device configured to perform the functions described by the aforementioned components.

[0223] Of course, in the above examples, the circuits included in the processor 904 are provided only as examples, and other components for performing the functions described may be included in various aspects of the present disclosure, including but not limited to those stored in the computer-readable storage medium 906 or in the computer-readable storage medium 906. Figure 4 , Figure 5 and / or Figure 6 In any other suitable device or means described in any of the foregoing and utilizing, for example, Fig.10 , Figure 11 and / or Fig.12 Instructions of the described processes and / or algorithms.

[0224] A summary of several aspects of the disclosure is provided below.

[0225] Aspect 1: A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: operating the UE in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a source primary node and a source secondary node; evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes; selecting a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells based on the one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; initiating a conditional execution procedure to connect to the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; and performing any of the following operations in response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state: (a) changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform the conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintaining the SCG state at the UE in the deactivated state without performing the RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell.

[0226] Aspect 2: The method according to Aspect 1 further includes: receiving a conditional PSCell configuration indicating the one or more target PSCells from the source master node, wherein the evaluation of the one or more link qualities is performed on the one or more target PSCells indicated in the conditional PSCell configuration.

[0227] Aspect 3: The method according to aspect 2, wherein the conditional PSCell configuration includes a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change configuration.

[0228] Aspect 4: The method according to aspect 2 or 3, wherein the conditional PSCell configuration includes the one or more execution conditions.

[0229] Aspect 5: The method according to any one of aspects 2 to 4, wherein the conditional PSCell configuration is received via a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

[0230] Aspect 6: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 5, wherein the source master node indicates to the target secondary node associated with the selected target PSCell that the source SCG state corresponding to the source secondary node is in a deactivated state during the conditional execution procedure.

[0231] Aspect 7: The method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 6 further includes: in response to the source SCG state being an activated state, performing the random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell.

[0232] Aspect 8: The method according to any one of aspects 1 to 7 further includes: sending a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message to the source master node to indicate the selected target PSCell when initiating the conditional execution procedure.

[0233] Aspect 9: A method according to any one of Aspects 1 to 8, wherein the SCG state at the UE is set to the activated state and the RACH procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell in combination with the conditional execution procedure, and wherein the method further includes: receiving a correction indication from the source master node or the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell to correct the SCG state at the UE after connecting to the selected target PSCell; and changing the SCG state at the UE to the deactivated state based on the correction indication.

[0234] Aspect 10: A user equipment (UE), comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a radio access network; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform any one of Aspects 1 to 9.

[0235] Aspect 11: A UE configured for wireless communication, the UE comprising: at least one component for performing any one of aspects 1 to 9.

[0236] Aspect 12: A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions thereon for a UE, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform any of aspects 1 to 9.

[0237] Aspect 13: A method for wireless communication by a network node, the method comprising: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; changing the source secondary cell group (SCG) state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on a request to change the SCG state from the UE or at least one of a network condition; determining that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation process comprises evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and avoiding notifying the one or more target secondary nodes that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process.

[0238] Aspect 14: The method according to aspect 13, wherein the notification to the one or more target secondary nodes is part of a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure indicating the change of the source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

[0239] Aspect 15: The method according to aspect 13 or 14, wherein the corresponding SCG state of each of the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes is preset to an activated state as a default setting.

[0240] Aspect 16: The method according to any one of Aspects 13 to 15 further includes: sending a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration indicating the one or more target PSCells to the UE, wherein the evaluation process is performed on the one or more target PSCells indicated in the conditional PSCell addition or the conditional PSCell change configuration.

[0241] Aspect 17: The method according to any one of Aspects 13 to 16 further includes: sending an SCG change indication to the UE indicating that the source SCG state has changed.

[0242] Aspect 18: The method according to any one of Aspects 13 to 17 further includes: receiving from the UE the time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change; and sending to the one or more target secondary nodes at least one of the elapsed time or a business mode of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources, wherein one or more SCG states of one or more target PSCells respectively used for the one or more target secondary nodes are configured based on the elapsed time or the at least one of the business modes of the DRB.

[0243] Aspect 19: A network node, comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a radio access network; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform any one of aspects 13 to 18.

[0244] Aspect 20: A network node configured for wireless communication, the network node comprising: at least one means for performing any one of aspects 13 to 18.

[0245] Aspect 21: A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions thereon for a network node, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform any of aspects 13 to 18.

[0246] Aspect 22: A method for wireless communication by a network node, the method comprising: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode in which a connection is established with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; changing the source secondary cell group (SCG) state associated with a source primary SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on a request to change the SCG state from the UE or at least one of network conditions; determining that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation process performed by the UE, the evaluation process comprising evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; and initiating a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure using the one or more target secondary nodes in response to determining that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process, wherein the conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure comprises communicating the changed source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

[0247] Aspect 23: The method according to Aspect 22 further includes: receiving one or more updated SCG configurations corresponding to the one or more target PSCells respectively from the one or more target secondary nodes, the one or more updated SCG configurations including one or more updated SCG states corresponding to the one or more target PSCells respectively; and sending the one or more updated SCG configurations to the UE.

[0248] Aspect 24: The method according to Aspect 23, wherein the one or more updated SCG configurations are sent to the UE via a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

[0249] Aspect 25: The method according to any one of Aspects 22 to 24 further includes: receiving from the UE the time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change; and sending to the one or more target secondary nodes at least one of the elapsed time or a business mode of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources, wherein one or more SCG states of one or more target PSCells respectively used for the one or more target secondary nodes are configured based on the elapsed time or the at least one of the business modes of the DRB.

[0250] Aspect 26: A network node, the network node comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a radio access network; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform any one of aspects 13 to 18.

[0251] Aspect 27: A network node configured for wireless communication, the network node comprising: at least one means for performing any one of aspects 13 to 18.

[0252] Aspect 28: A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions thereon for a network node, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform any of aspects 13 to 18.

[0253] Aspect 29: A method for wireless communication by a network node, the method comprising: communicating with a source primary node of a user equipment (UE) during a preparation procedure to determine that the network node is a target secondary node operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode for potential connection to the UE; receiving at least one of the following during the preparation procedure: the time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional primary secondary cell (PSCell) configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change, or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources; and determining the SCG state of the PSCell of the network node based on the elapsed time or the at least one of the traffic pattern of the DRB.

[0254] Aspect 30: The method according to aspect 29 further includes: sending the SCG state of the network node to the source master node, and the source master node is configured to forward the SCG state of the network node to the UE.

[0255] Aspect 31: A network node, comprising: a transceiver configured to communicate with a radio access network; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, wherein the processor and the memory are configured to perform any one of aspects 29 to 30.

[0256] Aspect 32: A network node configured for wireless communication, the network node comprising: at least one means for performing any one of aspects 29 to 30.

[0257] Aspect 33: A non-transitory processor-readable storage medium having instructions thereon for a network node, wherein the instructions, when executed by a processing circuit, cause the processing circuit to perform any of aspects 29-30.

[0258] Several aspects of wireless communication networks have been presented with reference to exemplary implementations. As those skilled in the art will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout this disclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, network architectures and communication standards.

[0259] By way of example, various aspects may be implemented within other systems defined by 3GPP, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), Evolved Packet System (EPS), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), and / or Global System for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects may also be extended to systems defined by the Third Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), such as CDMA2000 and / or Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples may be implemented within systems employing IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE802.20, Ultra Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and / or other suitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, network architecture, and / or communication standard employed will depend on the specific application and the overall design constraints imposed on the system.

[0260] Within the present disclosure, the word "exemplary" is used to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration". Any specific implementation or aspect described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as superior or superior to other aspects of the present disclosure. Likewise, the term "aspect" does not require that all aspects of the present disclosure include the discussed features, advantages, or modes of operation. The term "coupled" is used herein to refer to a direct or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if object A physically contacts object B, and object B contacts object C, objects A and C may still be considered to be coupled to each other, even if they are not in direct physical contact with each other. For example, a first object may be coupled to a second object, even if the first object has never been in direct physical contact with the second object. The terms "circuit" and "circuitry" are used broadly, and they are intended to include both hardware implementations of electronic devices and conductors (where these electronic devices and conductors, when connected and configured, implement the execution of the functions described in the present disclosure, without limitation on the type of electronic circuits) and software implementations of information and instructions (where these information and instructions, when executed by a processor, implement the execution of the functions described in the present disclosure).

[0261] Figures 1 to 12 One or more of the illustrated components, steps, features, and / or functions may be rearranged and / or combined into a single component, step, feature, or function or may be embodied in several components, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps, and / or functions may also be added without departing from the novel features disclosed herein. Figures 1 to 12 The apparatus, devices and / or components illustrated in the examples may be configured to perform one or more of the methods, features or steps described herein. The novel algorithms described herein may also be effectively implemented in software and / or embedded in hardware.

[0262] It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the disclosed methods is an illustration of an exemplary process. It should be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps in these methods can be rearranged based on design preferences. The attached method claims provide elements of various steps in an exemplary order, but are not intended to be limited to the specific order or hierarchy provided unless explicitly stated herein.

[0263] The foregoing description is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to practice the various aspects described herein. Various modifications to these aspects will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other aspects. Therefore, the claims are not intended to be limited to the various aspects shown herein, but to conform to the full scope consistent with the text of the claims, wherein unless explicitly stated otherwise, reference to an element in the singular form is not intended to mean "one and only one", but "one or more". Unless otherwise specifically stated, the term "some" refers to one or more. The phrase "at least one" referring to a list of items refers to any combination of those items, including a single member. As an example, "at least one of a, b or c" is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, b and c. All structural and functional equivalents of the elements of the various aspects described throughout the present disclosure that are known or will be known later to a person of ordinary skill in the art are expressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to be covered by the claims. In addition, regardless of whether such disclosures are explicitly cited in the claims, anything disclosed herein is not intended to be disclosed to the public. No claim element is to be construed under 35 USC §112(f) unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in the case of a method claim, the phrase “step for.”

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode establishing connections with a source primary node and a source secondary node; evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes; selecting a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells based on the one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; Initiate a conditional execution procedure to connect to a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; as well as In response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: (a) changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform the conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintaining the SCG state at the UE in the deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: receiving from the source master node a conditional PSCell configuration indicating the one or more target PSCells, Wherein said evaluation of said one or more link qualities is performed on said one or more target PSCells indicated in said conditional PSCell configuration. 3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the conditional PSCell configuration comprises a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change configuration. The method of claim 2 , wherein the conditional PSCell configuration comprises the one or more execution conditions.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein the conditional PSCell configuration is received via a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein the source master node indicates to a target secondary node associated with the selected target PSCell that a source SCG state corresponding to the source secondary node is in a deactivated state during the conditional execution procedure.

7. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: In response to the source SCG state being an activated state, the random access channel (RACH) procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell.

8. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: A radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message is sent to the source master node upon initiation of the conditional execution procedure to indicate the selected target PSCell.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the SCG state at the UE is set to the activated state and the RACH procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell in conjunction with the conditional execution procedure, and wherein the method further comprises: receiving a correction indication from the source primary node or the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell to correct the SCG state at the UE after connecting to the selected target PSCell; as well as The SCG state at the UE is changed to the deactivated state based on the correction indication.

10. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, the user equipment (UE) comprising: at least one processor; a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode establishing connections with a source primary node and a source secondary node; evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target primary and secondary cell group (SCG) cells (PSCells) respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes; selecting a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells based on the one or more link qualities and one or more execution conditions respectively associated with the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes; Initiate a conditional execution procedure to connect to a target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell; as well as In response to the source SCG state corresponding to the source PSCell of the source secondary node being a deactivated state, performing any of the following operations: (a) changing the SCG state at the UE to an activated state, and performing a random access channel (RACH) procedure on the selected target PSCell to perform the conditional execution procedure to connect to the selected target PSCell, or (b) maintaining the SCG state at the UE in the deactivated state without performing a RACH procedure on the selected target PSCell.

11. The UE of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving from the source master node a conditional PSCell configuration indicating the one or more target PSCells, The at least one processor configured to evaluate the one or more link qualities is configured to evaluate the one or more link qualities for the one or more target PSCells indicated in the conditional PSCell configuration. 12 . The UE according to claim 11 , wherein the conditional PSCell configuration comprises a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change configuration.

13. The UE of claim 11, wherein the conditional PSCell configuration comprises the one or more execution conditions.

14. The UE of claim 11, wherein the conditional PSCell configuration is received via a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message.

15. The UE of claim 10, wherein the source primary node indicates to a target secondary node associated with the selected target PSCell that a source SCG state corresponding to the source secondary node is in a deactivated state during the conditional execution procedure.

16. The UE of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: In response to the source SCG state being an activated state, the random access channel (RACH) procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell.

17. The UE of claim 10, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: A radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration complete message is sent to the source master node upon initiation of the conditional execution procedure to indicate the selected target PSCell.

18. The UE of claim 10, wherein the SCG state at the UE is set to the activated state and the RACH procedure is performed on the selected target PSCell in conjunction with the conditional execution procedure, and wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving a correction indication from the source primary node or the target secondary node corresponding to the selected target PSCell to correct the SCG state at the UE after connecting to the selected target PSCell; and The SCG state at the UE is changed to the deactivated state based on the correction indication.

19. A method for wireless communication by a network node, the method comprising: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; changing a source primary secondary cell group (SCG) state associated with a source SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request to change the SCG state from the UE or a network condition; determining that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation procedure performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation procedure includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; as well as Avoid notifying the one or more target secondary nodes that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the notification to the one or more target secondary nodes is part of a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure indicating the change of the source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

21. The method of claim 19, wherein a corresponding SCG state of each of the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes is preset to an activated state as a default setting.

22. The method of claim 19, further comprising: sending a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration indicating the one or more target PSCells to the UE, The evaluation process is performed on the one or more target PSCells indicated in the conditional PSCell addition or the conditional PSCell change configuration.

23. The method of claim 19, further comprising: Send an SCG change indication to the UE indicating that the source SCG state has changed.

24. The method according to claim 19, further comprising receiving, from the UE, a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change; and sending at least one of the elapsed time or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources to the one or more target secondary nodes, Wherein one or more SCG states of one or more target PSCells respectively used for the one or more target secondary nodes are configured based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB.

25. A network node for wireless communication, the network node comprising: at least one processor; a transceiver communicatively coupled to the at least one processor; and a memory communicatively coupled to the at least one processor, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: operating in a multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) mode establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) and a source secondary node; changing a source primary secondary cell group (SCG) state associated with a source SCG cell (PSCell) of the source secondary node based on at least one of a request to change the SCG state from the UE or a network condition; determining that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during an evaluation procedure performed by the UE, wherein the evaluation procedure includes evaluating one or more link qualities between the UE and one or more target PSCells respectively associated with one or more target secondary nodes to select a target PSCell from the one or more target PSCells; as well as Avoid notifying the one or more target secondary nodes that the change in the source SCG state has occurred during the evaluation process.

26. The network node of claim 25, wherein the notification to the one or more target secondary nodes is part of a conditional PSCell add or conditional PSCell change configuration modification procedure indicating the change of the source SCG state to the one or more target secondary nodes.

27. The network node according to claim 25, wherein a corresponding SCG state of each of the one or more target PSCells of the one or more target secondary nodes is preset to an activated state as a default setting.

28. The network node of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: sending a conditional PSCell addition or conditional PSCell change configuration indicating the one or more target PSCells to the UE, The evaluation process is performed on the one or more target PSCells indicated in the conditional PSCell addition or the conditional PSCell change configuration.

29. The network node of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: Send an SCG change indication to the UE indicating that the source SCG state has changed.

30. The network node of claim 25, wherein the at least one processor is configured to: receiving, from the UE, a time elapsed between a past UE reception of a conditional PSCell configuration and a past UE execution of at least one of a conditional PSCell addition or a conditional PSCell change; and sending at least one of the elapsed time or a traffic pattern of a data radio bearer (DRB) utilizing SCG resources to the one or more target secondary nodes, Wherein one or more SCG states of one or more target PSCells respectively used for the one or more target secondary nodes are configured based on at least one of the elapsed time or the traffic pattern of the DRB.

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