Methods, apparatuses, and computer readable media related to conditional cell changes

Abstract

A method is performed by a user equipment. The method includes associating a stored configuration for the first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first cell. The method also includes monitoring the condition after performing a cell change procedure leaving the first cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, apparatus, and computer-readable media related to communication networks, and more particularly to conditional cell changes. Background Art

[0002] Conditional Switch (CHO)

[0003] In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 16, conditional handover was standardized as a solution to improve robustness when handing over. In order to avoid an undesired dependency on the serving radio link at the time (and radio conditions) when the user equipment (UE) should perform a handover, the possibility of providing the UE with radio resource control (RRC) signaling for handover earlier has been standardized. A handover (HO) command may be associated with a condition (e.g. based on radio conditions that may be similar to those associated with an A3 event), where a given neighbor becomes X dB better than a target (where X is some threshold number). Once the condition is met, the UE performs the handover according to the provided handover command.

[0004] Such a condition could be, for example, that the quality of the target cell or beam becomes X dB stronger than the serving cell. The threshold Y used in the previous measurement report event should then be selected to be lower than the threshold in the handover execution condition. This allows the serving cell to prepare for the handover when the early measurement report is received and to provide mobilityControlInfo to RRCConnectionReconfiguration (or reconfigurationWithSync to RRCConnectionReconfiguration) when the radio link between the source cell and the UE is still stable. The execution of the handover is performed at a later point in time (and threshold) that is considered to be the best point in time for the handover execution.

[0005] Figure 1Conditional handover execution (involving UE 102, serving network node 104, and target network node 106) is shown, and an example with only serving and target cells is depicted. In practice, there may often be many cells or beams, which UE 102 reports as possible candidates based on its previous radio resource management (RRM) measurements. The network should then be free to issue conditional handover commands for several of these candidates. The RRCConnectionReconfiguration / RRCReconfiguration message for each of these candidates may differ not only in terms of the target cell, but also in terms of HO execution conditions (reference signals (RS) to be measured and thresholds to be exceeded) and random access (RA) preambles to be sent when the conditions are met.

[0006] At step 110 , the serving network node 104 sends user plane (UP) data to the UE 102 .

[0007] At step 112 , UE 102 sends a measurement report to serving network node 104 .

[0008] At step 114, the serving network node 104 makes a handover decision based on the early reports.

[0009] At step 116 , the serving network node 104 sends an “Early HO” request message to the target network node 106 .

[0010] At step 118, the target network node 106 accepts the HO and establishes the RRC configuration.

[0011] At step 120 , the target network node 106 sends a HO answer message (including the RRC configuration) to the serving network node 104 .

[0012] At step 122 , serving network node 104 sends a conditional HO command to UE 102 .

[0013] When UE 102 evaluates the condition, it continues to operate according to its current RRC configuration, i.e., does not apply the conditional HO command. When UE 102 determines that the condition is met (e.g., at step 124, HO is triggered if the measurement results meet the HO condition), it disconnects from the serving cell, applies the conditional HO command and connects to the target cell. These steps are equivalent to conventional handover execution.

[0014] At step 126, the UE 102 synchronizes with the target network node 106 and performs a random access procedure. When the UE 102 successfully performs a random access procedure towards the target cell during a conditional handover or a normal handover, it releases all conditional reconfigurations that it has stored.

[0015] At step 128 , UE 102 sends a HO confirm message to target network node 106 .

[0016] At step 130, the target network node 106 sends a HO complete message to the serving network 104. If the new condition reconfiguration is deemed useful, the target cell may configure the new condition reconfiguration to the UE 102.

[0017] At step 132 , the target network node 106 sends the UP data to the UE 102 .

[0018] Conditional Primary Secondary Cell (PSCell) Changes (CPC) in 3GPP Release 16

[0019] The conditional PSCell change (CPC) procedure has been standardized in Release 16. Therein, a UE operating in multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC) receives configurations of one or more target candidate cells under conditional reconfiguration, i.e., under one or more RRC reconfigurations (e.g., RRCReconfiguration* messages) containing an SCG configuration (e.g., secondaryCellGroup of IE CellGroupConfig). Each configuration of a target candidate cell with reconfigurationWithSync is stored and associated with an execution condition (e.g., a condition such as an A3 / A5 event). In this case, the asterisk "*" may represent a tag for distinguishing RRCReconfiguration messages associated with different cells (such that RRCReconfiguration1 is associated with one specific cell, RRCReconfiguration2 is associated with another cell, etc.), and / or different combinations of cells and execution conditions (such that RRCReconfiguration1 is associated with one specific cell and a first execution condition, RRCReconfiguration2 is associated with the same cell with different execution conditions, or with different cells, etc.). One of the stored messages (one of the RRCReconfiguration* messages) is applied when the execution condition is met, at which point the UE shall perform a PSCell change (e.g. if a better neighbor cell than the current SpCell of the SCG is found if the configured condition is similar to the A3 event defined in TS 38.331). Only Intra-SN CPC without involving a Master Node (MN) is standardized in 3GPP Release 16, i.e. for the case where the (candidate) target PSCell is located in the current serving Secondary Node (SN).

[0020] Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) and Inter-SN CPC in 3GPP Release 17

[0021] Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) and Inter-SN CPC were introduced in 3GPP Release 17. The CPA procedure is used to add a PSCell / SCG to the configuration of a UE that is currently configured with only a Master Cell Group (MCG) when the associated execution conditions are met. CPA configuration is initiated by the MN by requesting the SCG configuration from the (candidate) target SN (T-SN), which will be provided to the UE as part of the conditional reconfiguration, and then sending it to the UE together with the associated execution conditions under the conditional reconfiguration.

[0022] Inter-SN CPC can be initiated by the MN or the source SN (S-SN), where the signaling to the source SN and (candidate) target SN (T-SN) as well as to the UE is handled by the MN. One of the possible signaling sequences for the configuration of Inter-SN CPC initiated by the source SN can be in Figure 2 , which shows inter-SN CPC in 3GPP Release 17, involving UE 202, MN 204, S-SN 206, and T-SN 208. S-SN 206 serves PSCell ("Cell A"). T-SN 208 serves Cell B and Cell C.

[0023] At step 210, S-SN 206 sends an SN change required message (including cell B, cell C, conditions, etc.) to MN 204.

[0024] At step 212 , MN 204 sends an SN Add Request (CPC) message to T-SN 208 .

[0025] At step 214 , T-SN 208 sends an SN add request reply message to MN 204 .

[0026] At step 216, the MN 204 generates a conditional PSCell change configuration.

[0027] At step 218 , MN 204 sends an RRCReconfiguration message to UE 202 .

[0028] At step 220 , UE 202 sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to MN 204 .

[0029] At step 222 , MN 204 sends an SN Change Confirm (Accept Candidate) message to S-SN 206 .

[0030] Likewise, for Conditional PSCell Change (CPC) / Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) of Release 17, it is expected that a UE configured with CPC / CPA must release the CPC / CPA configuration upon completion of random access to the target PSCell.

[0031] Releases the CPC-related configuration of the target candidate upon successful execution

[0032] When the UE performs CPC or when the UE performs a handover (while configured with CPC), the UE i) releases the target candidate configuration, i.e., releases the stored RRCReconfiguration* messages (as described in TS 37.340 v17.1.0), which are stored in UE variables (e.g., VarConditionalReconfig of the New Radio (NR) target candidate PSCell); ii) releases the CPC-related measurement configuration, i.e., the condTriggerConfig in reportConfig is set to the measId of the condTriggerConfig (and the associated reportConfig and measObject).

[0033] See the following excerpt from 3GPP TS 38.311, v17.1.0:

[0034] 5.3.5.13.5 Conditional Reconfiguration Execution

[0035] The UE shall:

[0036] […]

[0037] For the selected cell where conditional reconfiguration is performed:

[0038] 2> Apply the stored condRRCReconfig of the selected cell and perform the actions specified in 5.3.5.3;

[0039] […]

[0040] 5.3.5.3 UE receives RRCReconfiguration

[0041] Upon receiving RRCReconfiguration or when performing a conditional reconfiguration (CHO, CPA or CPC), the UE shall perform the following actions:

[0042] […]

[0043] 1> If the spCellConfig of the MCG or SCG includes reconfigurationWithSync, and when the MAC of the NR cell group successfully completes the random access procedure triggered above:

[0044] […]

[0045] 2> If the spCellConfig of MCG includes reconfigurationWithSync; or

[0046] 2> If the spCellConfig of SCG includes reconfigurationWithSync and CPA or CPC is configured

[0047] 3>Remove all entries in VarConditionalReconfig (if any);

[0048] 3> Remove all entries (if any) in VarConditionalReconfiguration as specified in TS 36.331

[10] , clause 5.3.5.9.6;

[0049] 3>For each measId of the source SpCell configuration, if the associated reportConfig has reportType set to condTriggerConfig:

[0050] 4>For the associated reportConfigId:

[0051] 5> Remove the entry with matching reportConfigId from reportConfigList in VarMeasConfig;

[0052] 4> If the associated measObjectId is only associated with a reportConfig where reportType is set to condTriggerConfig:

[0053] 5> Remove the entry with matching measObjectId from measObjectList in VarMeasConfig;

[0054] 4> Remove the entry with matching measId from measIdList in VarMeasConfig;

[0055] [Finish]

[0056] NR-DC selectively activates cell groups (at least for SCG) via L3 enhancements in 3GPP Release 18

[0057] For 3GPP Release 18, enhancements are being introduced for the different mobility procedures, described in the work item in 3GPP RP-213565 ("New WI: Further NR Mobility Enhancements", MediaTek). One of the current goals is to "specify the mechanisms and procedures for NR-DC to selectively activate cell groups (at least for SCG) via L3 enhancements", which includes "allowing subsequent cell group changes after changing CG without reconfiguration and re-initiating CPC / CPA".

[0058] Therefore, it should be possible to perform subsequent cell group changes after the first cell group change without reconfiguring or re-initiating conditional PSCell change (CPC) or conditional PSCell addition (CPA). This is done to reduce the disruption time and signaling overhead of SCG changes, especially in NR where SCG changes are frequent when operating in FR2, compared to previous releases where these configurations are released when the UE completes random access to the target PSCell. Summary of the invention

[0059] There are some challenges at the moment.

[0060] In the work of 3GPP Release 18, when moving between different serving cells (e.g., PSCells), the UE should be able to store conditional reconfigurations, such as for conditional PSCell changes (CPC). In other words, the UE should not delete, discard or release the stored CPC-related configurations: such as CPC-related MeasConfig (e.g., measId, measObject and ReportConfig associated with the execution condition) and the RRC reconfiguration of each target candidate PSCell (RRCReconfiguration* for each candidate PSCell). As a result, the UE can move between different PSCells (for SCG), for example, without having to reconfigure the UE with CPC for the same PSCell target candidate already configured at the UE (or configure the UE with an unconditional PSCell change). This is expected to bring considerable efficiency savings in terms of signaling overhead and better utilization of radio resources.

[0061] However, even if the UE does not release the stored CPC-related configuration upon PSCell change, it is unclear what will happen to the current serving cell (i.e., source PSCell) that the UE is leaving. The serving cell that the UE is leaving is likely to be a good candidate PSCell after a CPC execution or a PSCell execution. According to the current Release 18 assumption, when a primary cell (PCell) change occurs, RRC reconfiguration will be required to add this previous cell, which defeats the purpose of introducing this feature in Release 18, e.g., avoiding the need for reconfiguration after each CPC or PSCell execution. For example, the CPC configuration of the current serving PSCell (i.e., with the current PSCell as the target cell) will be useful when the UE moves to another PSCell, where such CPC configuration will then be available for subsequent / later conditional PSCells of the current PSCell.

[0062] However, there is currently no procedure to configure a UE with the CPC configuration of the current serving PSCell. It would be ambiguous to configure a UE with the CPC configuration of the current serving PSCell as the target cell and with, for example, condEventA3 as the execution condition (i.e. "neighbor's offset is better than SpCell"). The same applies to CHO of the current serving PCell.

[0063] Therefore, there is no support for specifying to configure the UE with CPC configuration where the current PSCell is the target candidate cell. Therefore, it is unclear how to configure the UE with conditional configurations (e.g. CPC or CPA for the serving PSCell or CHO for the serving PCell) so that when the UE moves to another cell PSCell or PCell, it can be used as CPC or CHO configuration respectively.

[0064] Certain aspects of the present disclosure and embodiments thereof may provide solutions to these or other challenges.

[0065] UE Action

[0066] The present disclosure includes methods of configuring a UE using a conditional reconfiguration (eg, a conditional PSCell change (CPC) configuration) in which a target candidate cell is the same as a current serving cell (eg, a current serving PSCell).

[0067] The method may include the UE performing a PSCell change (e.g., due to CPC execution or PSCell change triggered by the network) from a source PSCell (e.g., cell A) to a target PSCell (e.g., cell B), and considering the source PSCell (e.g., cell A) as a target candidate for CPC when it operates in the target cell (i.e., after the PSCell change). The method may also include one or more of the following: - Storing the configuration of the source PSCell (e.g. storing the RRCReconfiguration* of cell A) as the target candidate configuration of the CPC; - Associate the stored source PSCell configuration with the execution conditions; - Monitor the associated execution conditions.

[0068] The method may also include: when the UE is in the target PScell ​​(e.g., cell B), determining that an execution condition associated with the source PSCell (e.g., cell A) is satisfied, and selecting the previous source PSCell (cell A) as the target candidate PSCell; then, applying the stored configuration of the previous source PSCell (e.g., the UE applies RRCReconfiguration* of cell A).

[0069] The method may further include: when performing a PSCell change to a PSCell (eg, cell B), the UE determines whether to consider a source PSCell (eg, cell A) as a target candidate PSCell.

[0070] For example, the method may further include determining based on an indication, wherein the indication may be one or more of the following: - signalling received from the network (e.g., RRC submitted, Information Element (IE)) indicating that if the UE performs a PSCell change, the UE should consider the current PSCell as a target PSCell candidate; and / or - signalling received from the network (e.g., submitted RRC, IE), indicating that if the UE performs a PSCell change to one or more PSCells (e.g., cell B), the UE should consider the current PSCell as a target PSCell candidate, otherwise the UE does not consider the current PSCell as a target PSCell candidate; in other words, the indication may be for each target candidate cell;

[0071] For example, the method may also include the UE performing one or more of the following items:

[0072] i. Storing the configuration of the source PSCell (e.g., storing RRCReconfiguration* of cell A) as the configuration of the target candidate configuration of the CPC, and determining whether to consider the source PSCell as a target candidate after performing a PSCell change to a first target (candidate) PSCell (e.g., cell B), and:

[0073] a. If "yes", monitor the associated execution conditions;

[0074] b. Otherwise, if "No", the associated execution condition is not monitored; and:

[0075] i. When performing a subsequent PSCell change to a second target (candidate) PSCell (e.g., from a first target PSCell (cell B) to cell C), determine whether the previous source PSCell (e.g., cell A) is considered as a target candidate cell after performing the PSCell change to the second target (candidate) PSCell (e.g., cell C).

[0076] ii. Determining whether the source PSCell (eg, cell A) should be considered as a target candidate after performing a PSCell change to a first target (candidate) PSCell (eg, cell B) is based on signaling received from the network.

[0077] Network Action

[0078] The method includes a network (e.g., a network node such as a radio access network (RAN) node) configuring a UE to perform one or more actions when the UE performs a PSCell change from a source PSCell (e.g., cell A) to a target PSCell (e.g., cell B) (e.g., due to a PSCell change or CPC execution triggered by the network), wherein the one or more actions include the UE considering the source PSCell (e.g., cell A) as a target candidate for CPC when operating in the target cell (i.e., after the PSCell change). The method may also include one or more of the following: - For example, in the UE context, the configuration of the source PSCell is stored (for example, the RRCReconfiguration* of cell A is stored) as the configuration of the target candidate configuration of the CPC; - Associate the stored configuration of the source PSCell with the execution condition.

[0079] Also disclosed are methods regarding interaction between a network and a UE to prepare for mobility using the stored conditional configuration.

[0080] A core embodiment is that the UE performs a PSCell change (eg CPC execution) from source cell A to target cell B, and when it is at least in cell B, stores the configuration of cell A (eg RRCReconfiguration* of cell A) as a target candidate configuration for CPC.

[0081] Certain embodiments may provide one or more technical advantages.

[0082] One advantage is that for a UE configured with a CPC target candidate cell (e.g., B, C, D), after a PCell change (e.g., CPC-executed or network-triggered PSCell change from source PSCell A to PScell ​​C), the source PSCell that the UE is leaving is considered as a target candidate cell after the PSCell execution. In other words, when the UE is in cell C, cell A is a target candidate PScell ​​for CPC, and the UE will have a stored configuration of cell A. Due to this, no additional reconfiguration is required after a PScell ​​change to add the source PSCell as a candidate.

[0083] Another advantage of this solution is that it provides a way to indicate to the UE whether to store the conditional reconfiguration before the cell group change procedure, wherein the conditional reconfiguration is for the source PSCell / current PSCell. This will help the UE and the network save signaling when sending the configuration. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0084] For a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure, and to show how the same may be implemented, reference will now be made, by way of example only, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0085] Figure 1 The signaling and processing flow for conditional handover execution is shown;

[0086] Figure 2 shows the inter-SN CPC in 3GPP Release 17;

[0087] Figure 3 A system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown;

[0088] Figure 4 is a flowchart of a method in a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0089] Figure 5 is a flow chart of a method in a network node according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0090] Figure 6 It is a signaling and / or processing flow condition configuration provided according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0091] Figure 7 is a flowchart of another method in a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0092] Figure 8 An example of a communication system according to some embodiments is shown;

[0093] Fig. 9 A UE according to some embodiments is shown;

[0094] Fig.10 illustrates a network node according to some embodiments;

[0095] Fig.11 is a block diagram of a host according to various aspects described herein;

[0096] Fig.12 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functionality implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized; and

[0097] Fig.13 is a block diagram illustrating a communication diagram in which a host communicates with a UE via a network node over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0098] Some embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings.The embodiments are provided merely as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0099] Initial Disclaimer

[0100] The present disclosure may relate to a first network node operating as a master node (MN), for example, with a master cell group (MCG) configured to a UE; the MN may be a gNodeB, or a central unit gNodeB (CU-gNB) or an eNodeB, or a central unit eNodeB (CU-eNB), or any network node and / or network function. The present disclosure also relates to a second network node acting as a secondary node (SN) or a source secondary node (S-SN), for example, with a secondary cell group (SCG) pre-configured (i.e. not connected) to a UE; the SN may be a gNodeB, or a central unit gNodeB (CU-gNB) or an eNodeB, or a central unit eNodeB (CU-eNB), or any network node and / or network function. Note that the MN, S-SN and T-SN may be from the same or different radio access technologies (and may be associated with different core network nodes).

[0101] This text generally refers to a "Secondary Node (SN)" or target SN. This is equivalent to saying that this is the target candidate SN, or the network node associated with the target candidate PSCell being configured. If the UE is to connect to this cell, then if the cell is associated with this node, then transmission and reception to the UE will be handled by this node.

[0102] This document could have indicated that the cell resides in a node, for example, the target candidate cell resides in an S-SN or a T-SN. This is equivalent to saying that the cell is managed by the node, or is associated with the node, or is associated with the node, or that the cell belongs to the node, or that the cell is of the node.

[0103] "SN initiated CPC" corresponds to a process in which the source SN of the UE configured with MR-DC determines to configure CPC. When determining, the source SN selects one or more target candidate cells (target candidate PSCells), for example based on the reported measurement results, wherein at least one cell is associated with the source SN and at least another cell is associated with a neighbor SN. It can be said that if all target candidate cells are associated with the source SN as "SN initiated intra-SN CPC", this can be called a Release 16 solution. It can be said that if at least one target candidate cell is associated with a neighbor SN as "SN initiated inter-SN CPC", this can be called a Release 17 solution.

[0104] This text may refer to a candidate SN or SN candidate or SN as a network node (e.g., gNodeB) that is ready and can create an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration**) with SCG configuration to be provided to the UE and stored with an execution condition during the CPA procedure, wherein the UE applies the message only when the execution condition is met. The candidate SN is associated with one or more PSCell candidate cells that the UE can configure. The UE can then execute the condition and access one of these candidate cells, which is associated with a candidate SN that becomes the SN or becomes the SN only after execution (i.e., when the execution condition is met).

[0105] This document may refer to the Conditional PSCell Change (CPC) configuration and procedures (such as CPA execution) generally as the procedures from the UE perspective. Other terms (such as conditional reconfiguration or conditional configuration) can be considered synonymous (because the message stored and applied when the conditions are met is RRCReconfiguration or RRCConnectionReconfiguration). From a terminological point of view, conditional handover (CHO) can also be understood in a broader sense, also including the CPA (conditional PSCell change) procedure. This document mentions conditional SN change most of the time to refer to the procedure from the UE perspective, referring to the procedure between network nodes, where the nodes request a target candidate SN (which can be the same as the source SN or a neighbor SN) to configure a conditional PSCell change (CPC) for at least one of its associated cells (the cells associated with the target candidate SN).

[0106] This text refers to CPAC as a way of referring to a Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) or a Conditional PSCell Change (CPC).

[0107] This paper could have referred to the neighbor SN and the source SN as different entities, although both could be target candidate SNs for CPC.

[0108] The configuration of CPC can be done using the same IE as conditional switching, which may sometimes be referred to as conditional configuration or conditional reconfiguration. The principle of configuration is the same as configuring the trigger / execution conditions and the reconfiguration message to be applied when the trigger condition is met. Configuration IE from TS 38.331, v17.1.0:

[0109] -ConditionalReconfiguration

[0110] IE ConditionalReconfiguration is used to add, modify, and release conditional configurations.

[0111] ConditionalReconfiguration Information Element

[0112] -- ASN1START

[0113] -- TAG-CONDITIONALRECONFIGURATION-START

[0114] ConditionalReconfiguration-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0115] attemptCcondReconfig-r16 ENUMERATED{true} OPTIONAL, -- Need N

[0116] condConfigToRemoveList-r16 CondConfigToRemoveList-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need N

[0117] condConfigToAddModList-r16 CondConfigToAddModList-r16 OPTIONAL, -- Need N ...

[0119] }

[0120] CondConfigToRemoveList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofCondCells)) OF CondConfigId-r16

[0121] -- TAG-CONDITIONALRECONFIGURATION-STOP

[0122] -- ASN1STOP

[0123]

[0124] -CondConfigId

[0125] IE CondConfigId is used to identify the CHO or CPC configuration.

[0126] CondConfigId Information Element

[0127] -- ASN1START

[0128] --TAG-CONDCONFIGID-START

[0129] CondConfigId-r16 ::= INTEGER (1.. maxNrofCond-Cells)

[0130] --TAG-CONDCONFIGID-STOP

[0131] --ASN1STOP

[0132] -CondConfigToAddModList

[0133] The IE CHO-ConfigToAddModList refers to a list of conditional configurations to be added or modified, where each entry has a cho-ConfigId and associated condExecutionCond and condRRCReconfig.

[0134] CondConfigToAddModList Information Element

[0135] --ASN1START

[0136] -- TAG-CONDCONFIGTOADDMODLIST-START

[0137] CondConfigToAddModList-r16 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE (1..maxNrofCondCells)) OF CondConfigToAddMod-r16

[0138] CondConfigToAddMod-r16 ::= SEQUENCE {

[0139] condConfigId-r16 CondConfigId-r16,

[0140] condExecutionCond-r16 SEQUENCE(SIZE (1..2)) OF MeasId OPTIONAL, -- Need S

[0141] condRRCReconfig-r16 OCTET STRING(CONTAINING RRCReconfiguration) OPTIONAL, -- Need S ...

[0143] }

[0144] -- TAG-CONDCONFIGTOADDMODLIST-STOP

[0145] --ASN1STOP

[0146] In different embodiments of the present disclosure, these IEs are used differently, for example, sometimes generated by the MN, sometimes generated by the source SN, and sometimes generated by the target candidate SN.

[0147] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, when the CPC configuration is not configured as an MR-DC configuration in an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup (as defined in TS 38.331), the CPC adopts the MN format. In other words, the UE receives an RRCReconfiguration from the MN, which may contain an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup (for example, when the UE is also configured with an SCG MeasConfig for inter-SN CPC), but the CPC is not within that container. This means that the IEs listed above (for example, IEconditionalReconfiguration) are not included in the mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup.

[0148] In various embodiments of the present disclosure, when the CPC configuration is configured as an MR-DC configuration in an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup (as defined in TS 38.331), the CPC adopts the SN format. In other words, the UE receives an RRCReconfiguration from the MN, which may contain an mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup, and the CPC is within the container. This means that the IEs listed above (e.g., IE ConditionalReconfiguration) are included in the mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup (e.g., in a series of other nested IEs).

[0149] This document relates to storing or releasing / discarding conditional reconfigurations by a UE when performing a mobility procedure. The mobility procedure performed may correspond to (but not limited to) a conditional reconfiguration (e.g., a conditional handover (CHO), a conditional PSCell change (CPC), or a conditional PSCell addition (CPA) procedure) or a corresponding non-conditional mobility procedure (e.g., a handover, a PSCell change, or a PSCell addition). It may also correspond to another type of reconfiguration (e.g., adding, modifying, or releasing a cell group or a cell) or another configuration. However, the mobility procedure performed may also correspond to a state change of a part of the UE configuration (e.g., a state change of a secondary cell group (SCG), where the SCG state changes from deactivated to activated or from activated to deactivated) or a state change of one or more secondary cells (SCells). The performance of the mobility procedure may include the UE performing a synchronous reconfiguration procedure (with or without performing a random access procedure to a (target) cell) or the UE not performing a synchronous reconfiguration.

[0150] In some embodiments, when a mobility procedure is triggered so that the UE leaves the current serving cell (i.e., leaves the source cell) to reach a target cell (which will become the new serving cell after the mobility procedure), this document refers to the current serving cell and / or the source cell as the same cell to which the UE is connected or being served by it.

[0151] Figure 3 is an overview of the system structure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, and shows the main entities in the system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. For more information, see also the following about Figure 8 A wireless network is described. A user equipment (UE) 301 is a wireless terminal, such as a cellular smartphone. UE 301 is sometimes configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC).

[0152] UE 301 is connected to a first network node 306 via a radio interface 304 through a first cell group 302. UE 301 is also connected to a second network node 307 via a radio interface 305 through a second cell group 303 when UE 301 is configured as MR-DC.

[0153] A first network node 306 (sometimes referred to as a master node (MN)) controls a first cell group 302 (sometimes referred to as a master cell group (MCG)). The first cell group 302 is configured with a primary cell (eg, a primary cell (PCell)) and optionally multiple additional cells (eg, secondary cells (SCells) in a carrier aggregation (CA) configuration.

[0154] When UE 301 is configured as MR-DC, a second network node 307 (sometimes referred to as a secondary node (SN)) controls a second cell group 303 (sometimes also referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG)). The second cell group 303 is configured with a primary cell (e.g., a primary SCG cell (PSCell)) and optionally multiple additional cells (e.g., secondary cells (SCells) in a CA configuration). The second network node 307 is connected to the first network node 306 via an interface 309.

[0155] The third network node 308 is sometimes also referred to as a target secondary node (T-SN), a target MN (T-MN), a target gNB or a target eNB in ​​the context of a mobility procedure or conditional configuration. It controls a third cell group (not shown in the figure), including cells during a mobility procedure in the context of a mobility procedure or conditional configuration, sometimes referred to as candidate target cells or target cells. The third network node 308 is connected to the first network node 306 via an interface 310, and may also be connected to the second network node 307 via an interface 311.

[0156] Figure 4 Methods according to certain embodiments are described. Method 4 may be performed by a UE or a wireless device (eg, referring to Figure 3 , Figure 8 and Fig. 9 The UE may be initially served by a first cell. For example, the first cell may be a PCell or a PSCell.

[0157] The method begins at step 402, where, optionally, the UE receives a configuration from a communication network. For example, the configuration may be received from a serving network node of the UE. The configuration may be received in an RRC configuration message, or in a broadcast message (e.g., system information). The configuration may configure the UE to perform one or more of the following actions.

[0158] In response to determining that the UE is capable of performing one or more actions as discussed below, the UE may be configured as described herein. That is, upon connecting to a communications network, the UE may report its capabilities to the network. The capabilities may include an indication that the UE is capable of performing a conditional cell change procedure (such as CPA or CPC as defined above) and / or that the UE is capable of storing a conditional cell reconfiguration for a current serving cell.

[0159] For example, the UE may send at least one capability information to the network, the capability information indicating to the network that the UE is capable of receiving conditional reconfiguration, the conditional reconfiguration including the same target candidate cell as the current serving cell. The network then configures the UE using conditional configuration based on the received UE capability information, wherein one of the target candidate cells is the current serving cell (e.g., the UE's PSCell).

[0160] For more details on UE configuration, see Figure 5 In alternative or additional embodiments, the UE may be pre-programmed (eg, according to one or more wireless communication standards) to perform one or more actions set forth below.

[0161] In step 404, the UE associates the stored configuration of the first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first cell. For example, the stored configuration may include an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration* message) of the first cell. The execution of step 404 may be responsive to and / or subject to the configuration received in step 402.

[0162] Therefore, the UE stores a conditional reconfiguration associated with its current serving cell (i.e., the first cell). The conditional reconfiguration includes a configuration (e.g., an RRC configuration) to be applied when performing a cell change procedure to the first cell and a corresponding condition, and when the condition is met, the UE performs the cell change procedure to the first cell. The conditional reconfiguration may correspond to a conditional PSCell change (CPC) configuration, wherein the target PSCell (also referred to as a target candidate PSCell) is the same as the current serving PSCell (i.e., the first cell (which may be referred to as the source PSCell)). In another set of embodiments, the conditional reconfiguration may correspond to a conditional handover (CHO) configuration, wherein the target PCell (also referred to as a target candidate PCell) is the same as the current serving PCell (i.e., the first cell). In another embodiment, the conditional reconfiguration may correspond to a conditional PSCell addition (CPA), wherein the new PSCell corresponds to the first cell.

[0163] The condition for performing the cell change procedure may be associated with one or more radio measurements (e.g., reference signal received power, reference signal received quality, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), etc.) performed by the first cell and one or more neighboring cells on transmissions. For example, the condition may include one or more thresholds applied to the radio measurements of the first cell, the radio measurements of the neighboring cells, and / or the difference between the radio measurements of the first cell and the neighboring cells (e.g., the reference signal received power (RSRP) of the first cell is X dB greater than the RSRP of the neighboring cell, etc.). Note that in this context, when the condition is monitored and / or the cell change procedure to the first cell is performed, one of the neighboring cells may have become the serving cell. The one or more radio measurements may be specified in a measurement configuration (and / or a stored configuration) associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0164] The stored configuration may be associated with more than one condition. For example, the stored configuration may be associated with a first condition associated with changing from a second cell (e.g., a specific cell) to a first cell and a second condition associated with changing from a third cell to a first cell. That is, the UE may apply different conditions for changing to the first cell, depending on the cell that becomes its serving cell. In one embodiment, the stored configuration is associated with multiple conditions, each condition being associated with a cell change process from a corresponding cell to the first cell.

[0165] The UE may not monitor the condition before performing a cell change procedure to leave the first cell. Therefore, in this option, upon receiving and / or storing the condition reconfiguration, the UE monitors the execution condition associated with the target candidate cell only when the target candidate cell is not the current serving cell. For example, the UE monitors the execution condition associated with the target candidate cell only when the cell identifier (e.g., physical cell identifier (PCI)) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the cell identifier (e.g., PCI) of the current serving cell and the frequency (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) frequency) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the frequency (e.g., SSB frequency) of the current serving cell.

[0166] Alternatively or additionally, when receiving and / or storing the conditional reconfiguration, the UE considers the candidate cell as an applicable cell, i.e., a valid candidate cell to be monitored, only when the target candidate cell is not the current serving cell. For example, the UE considers the candidate cell as an applicable cell only when the cell identifier (e.g., PCI) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the cell identifier (e.g., PCI) of the current serving cell and the frequency (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) frequency) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the frequency (e.g., SSB frequency) of the current serving cell.

[0167] In another embodiment, the cell change procedure to the first cell is not performed or triggered before the cell change procedure away from the first cell is performed. In this case, the UE may monitor conditions for performing the cell change procedure to the first cell.

[0168] For example, even if the included target cell is the same as the current serving cell, the UE may perform an evaluation of the execution condition associated with the conditional reconfiguration, but even if the execution condition is met, it does not trigger any execution of the included configuration. If the conditional reconfiguration is maintained when the UE moves to another cell (i.e., in the case where the target cell included in the conditional reconfiguration is no longer the same as the current serving cell), the UE will perform an evaluation of the conditional reconfiguration (in this other serving cell) and then may also trigger execution of the conditional reconfiguration.

[0169] In an alternative scheme, in the case where the UE is configured with a conditional reconfiguration (wherein the included target candidate cell is the same as the current serving cell), the UE also checks the conditional events associated with the conditional reconfiguration (execution condition) so that the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration is skipped only for some types of conditional events. In one example, if the conditional event is any of CondEvent A3 (or Event A3) (i.e., "the offset of the neighbor is better than SpCell") or CondEventA5 (or Event A5) (i.e., "SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and the neighbor becomes better than threshold 2"), the UE skips the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration. In these cases, the execution condition of the conditional reconfiguration is related to the neighbor cell (the candidate target cell in the case of conditional reconfiguration) becoming better than the serving cell (i.e., SpCell). In one example, if the conditional event is CondEvent A4 (or Event A4) (i.e., "the neighbor becomes better than the threshold"), the UE skips the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration (wherein the included target cell is the same as the current serving cell).

[0170] Any one or more of these actions may be subject to or in response to the configuration received in step 402. For example, in the case where the target cell of the conditional reconfiguration is the same as the current serving cell, the UE may receive an indication from the network as to whether to skip the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration. In one example, if the network has set the indication and the target cell included in the conditional reconfiguration is the same as the current serving cell, the UE skips the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration. If the network has not set the indication, the UE performs the evaluation of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration even if the included target cell is the same as the current serving cell, and may also trigger the execution of the conditional reconfiguration. In one example, the indication from the network may be included in the conditional reconfiguration or included together with the conditional reconfiguration, so that the indication is valid for a specific conditional reconfiguration. In another example, the indication from the network is valid for several conditional reconfigurations, for example, for all conditional reconfigurations configured by the UE or for all conditional reconfigurations of a certain type.

[0171] In step 406, the UE performs a cell change procedure to leave the first cell.

[0172] As described above, the cell change process of leaving the first cell can be a conditional reconfiguration, for example, a cell change process performed when a condition monitored by the UE is met. In one example, the cell change process includes a cell change from the first cell to the second cell. That is, the UE moves from the first cell to the second cell. Such a change may include a switch from one PCell to another PCell (e.g., conditional switching); or a PSCell change from one PSCell to another PSCell (e.g., CPC). In another embodiment, the cell change process of leaving the first cell may include releasing the first cell. For example, the first cell may include a PSCell of a secondary cell group (SCG). The UE may leave the first cell by releasing the SCG (e.g., releasing dual connectivity). In this case, the cell change process to the first cell may correspond to a conditional PSCell addition (CPA), for example, addition to the SCG.

[0173] In one embodiment, the cell change procedure from the first cell to the second cell is therefore a conditional reconfiguration. In such an embodiment, the UE may continue to store the conditional reconfiguration to the second cell, for example, an RRCReconfiguration* message associated with the second cell. In this way, the UE has been configured with the stored configuration of the cell change procedure to the second cell (which has become the serving cell). The UE may send an indication or confirmation message to the network node serving the second cell to confirm that it has stored the configuration of the cell change procedure and that this does not require further configuration from the network. Such an indication or confirmation message may be sent in response to a query message from the network node serving the second cell.

[0174] In step 408, the UE monitors the cell change process condition of the first cell. The execution of step 408 may be in response to the configuration received in step 402.

[0175] When this condition is met, the UE may perform a cell change procedure to the first cell.

[0176] In additional embodiments, the UE may release the stored configuration and associated conditions in response to determining that the distance between the user equipment and the reference location associated with the first cell is greater than a threshold.

[0177] In one set of embodiments, for example, when a serving cell changes, a conditional reconfiguration is performed to instruct the UE (eg, by receiving an indication from the network) to keep or release the current serving PSCell.

[0178] In one embodiment, the UE is configured with a conditional reconfiguration including the current PSCell as a target candidate cell, i.e., including an RRCReconfiguration* whose at least one target candidate cell is the current PSCell. This means that the UE receives the configuration of the current PSCell, the conditional configurations of other target candidate PSCells, and the CPC configuration of the current PSCell. The CPC configuration of the current PSCell includes the execution conditions of the CPC and the configuration to be applied when the conditions are met (represented as RRCReconfiguration*).

[0179] In one option, the configuration to be applied may be an indication indicating that the UE can use the current PSCell configuration as the configuration to be applied when a condition is met.

[0180] In one option, the UE only receives these conditions and the configuration to be applied when the UE returns to the current PSCell is the current PSCell configuration.

[0181] These conditions may initially be "deactivated" as long as the UE remains in the current / first PSCell. When the UE has changed PSCell to a second PSCell, the conditions for returning to the first PSCell may become "activated".

[0182] In one example, the UE maintains the conditional configuration of the serving PSCell based on a defined timer, i.e., before performing a mobility procedure. The timer may be started when the UE receives other conditional reconfiguration from the network via, for example, an RRC reconfiguration message. When the timer expires, the UE chooses to release the stored conditional configuration.

[0183] In another example, the UE determines whether to release the conditional reconfiguration of the serving PSCell based on whether the distance between the UE and the configured reference location is greater than or shorter than a configured threshold. For example, if the distance is greater than the threshold, the conditional reconfiguration of the serving PSCell is released.

[0184] In another example, the UE decides to maintain the conditional configuration based on an instruction from the network (e.g., an indication within an RRC reconfiguration message) before performing the mobility procedure. The indication may be, for example, an indication for each conditional reconfiguration, such as a bit indicating "save" or a list of conditional reconfiguration identifiers (condReconfigId) to be saved. The existing addMod and release lists for conditional reconfigurations may also be reused, where the absence of condRRCReconfig (including the target configuration to be applied) indicates that the conditional reconfiguration should be maintained, while the release list is used to indicate that the conditional reconfiguration should not be maintained.

[0185] In another example, the UE decides to also keep a certain number of conditional configurations of the previous serving cell based on its own implementation. In this example, the UE indicates to the network which conditional reconfigurations it has saved, for example by sending the stored reconfiguration condReconfigId.

[0186] In another example, the UE decides to keep one or more conditional configurations based on the target candidate cell being executed. For example, if the UE is in PCell 3 and has stored target candidate configurations for cells 1, 2, and 5, such as RRCReconfiguration (1), RRCReconfiguration (2), RRCReconfiguration (5). The UE has a mapping that indicates which target candidate configuration to store depending on which target candidate has been selected for CPC execution. An example of this mapping is as follows: - If the UE selects cell 1, RRCReconfiguration (2) and RRCReconfiguration (5) are stored. - If the UE selects cell 2, RRCReconfiguration (3) and RRCReconfiguration (5) are stored. - … - If the UE selects cell 5, store all. - If the UE selects cell 3, no configuration is stored.

[0187] In another example, the UE may store all target candidate configurations when CPC is executed, but it may determine a subset of target candidate cells that are applicable (ie, can be selected if conditions are met) (or a subset of target candidate cells monitored to meet execution conditions).

[0188] For example, if the UE is in PCell 3 and has stored target candidate configurations for cells 1, 2 and 5, e.g., RRCReconfiguration(1), RRCReconfiguration(2), RRCReconfiguration(5). The UE has a mapping that indicates which target candidate configuration to store depending on which target candidate has been selected for CPC execution. An example of this mapping is as follows:

[0189] In another embodiment, after the UE has performed conditional reconfiguration during a mobility procedure, the UE receives signaling to query whether it has stored the old conditional configuration from the source cell (ie, the previous serving PSCell).

[0190] In one example, the UE replies that it has stored the old conditional configuration of the source cell in an RRC message (eg, an RRCReconfigurationComplete message).

[0191] In another example, the UE replies that it does not have the conditional configuration for the source cell in the RRC message, which means the network may need to resend the conditional reconfiguration.

[0192] In another embodiment, after the UE has performed a conditional reconfiguration during a mobility procedure, the UE receives signaling from the network with a list of possible candidate PSCells for another conditional reconfiguration.

[0193] In one example, the UE compares the cell list provided by the network node with its stored conditional configurations and decides to inform the network in an RRC message which conditional reconfiguration(s) the UE has stored based on their availability.

[0194] In another embodiment, after the UE has performed conditional reconfiguration on the target cell (e.g., after performing CPC to the PSCell), for the cell that becomes the new serving cell, the UE stores (e.g., in UE variables) the conditional reconfiguration that has been applied. In one example, the UE indicates to the network that the conditional reconfiguration has been stored, e.g., in an RRC reconfiguration complete message.

[0195] In another embodiment, before the UE applies the conditional reconfiguration to the candidate target cell, the UE stores (eg, in a UE variable) the conditional reconfiguration in the source PSCell. In one example, the UE indicates to the network that the conditional reconfiguration has been stored, for example, in an RRCReconfiguration* message.

[0196] Therefore, the present disclosure includes different methods for a UE to determine whether to maintain or release a stored conditional configuration when performing a mobility procedure (eg, after successfully performing a random access procedure to a target SpCell).

[0197] In one set of embodiments, the network configures the UE with conditional reconfiguration, the conditional reconfiguration comprising at least a target candidate cell for the conditional reconfiguration (for which the UE receives a target candidate configuration represented as RRCReconfiguration* and / or associated execution conditions and / or measurement configuration associated with the execution conditions), the target candidate cell being the same as the current serving cell. In one example, "the same as the current serving cell" comprises that the cell identifier (physical cell identity (PCI) in the reconfiguration with synchronization IE, nested in IE ServingCellConfigCommon) in the received target candidate configuration (represented as RRCReconfiguration*) has the same value as the PCI of the current serving cell. Upon receipt, the UE stores the target candidate configuration (represented as RRCReconfiguration*), but does not perform an evaluation of the associated execution conditions and / or does not perform measurements associated with the execution conditions (at least as long as the target candidate cell is the current serving cell).

[0198] Figure 5 Methods according to certain embodiments are described. Method 5 may be performed by a network node (e.g., Figure 3 The first network node 306, the second network node 307 or the third network node 308 described, and / or respectively refer to Figure 8 and 10The network node may be a serving network node of a first cell to which the UE is connected. Alternatively or additionally, the network node may be a master network node (MN) serving the UE, regardless of whether the network node serves the first cell or another serving cell of the UE.

[0199] The method starts at step 502, where the network node configures the UE to associate the stored configuration of the first serving cell with the condition for performing the cell change procedure to the first cell. The configuration may be received in an RRC configuration message, or in a broadcast message (e.g., system information). The configuration may configure the UE to perform the above-mentioned configuration of the first serving cell. Figure 4 Describes one or more actions.

[0200] In response to determining that the UE is capable of performing one or more actions as discussed below, the UE may be configured as described herein. That is, upon connecting to a communications network, the UE may report its capabilities to the network. The capabilities may include an indication that the UE is capable of performing a conditional cell change procedure (such as CPA or CPC as defined above) and / or that the UE is capable of storing a conditional cell reconfiguration for a current serving cell.

[0201] For example, the UE may send at least one capability information to the network, which capability information indicates to the network that the UE is capable of receiving conditional reconfiguration, which conditional reconfiguration includes the same target candidate cell as the current serving cell. The network then configures the UE using conditional configuration based on the received UE capability information, where one of the target candidates is the current serving cell (e.g., the UE's PSCell).

[0202] The UE is configured to associate the stored configuration of the first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first cell. For example, the stored configuration may include an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration* message) of the first cell. For example, the network node may send a conditional reconfiguration message corresponding to the first cell to the UE.

[0203] Therefore, the UE is configured to store a conditional reconfiguration associated with its current serving cell (i.e., the first cell). The conditional reconfiguration includes a configuration (e.g., an RRC configuration) to be applied when performing a cell change procedure to the first cell and a corresponding condition, and when the condition is met, the UE performs the cell change procedure to the first cell. The conditional reconfiguration may correspond to a conditional PSCell change (CPC) configuration, wherein the target PSCell (also referred to as a target candidate PSCell) is the same as the current serving PSCell (i.e., the first cell (which may be referred to as the source PSCell)). In another set of embodiments, the conditional reconfiguration may correspond to a conditional handover (CHO) configuration, wherein the target PCell (also referred to as a target candidate PCell) is the same as the current serving PCell (i.e., the first cell). In another embodiment, the conditional reconfiguration may correspond to a conditional PSCell addition (CPA), wherein the new PSCell corresponds to the first cell.

[0204] The conditions for performing the cell change procedure may be associated with one or more radio measurements (e.g., reference signal received power, reference signal received quality, SNR, etc.) performed by the first cell and one or more neighboring cells on transmissions. For example, the conditions may include one or more thresholds applied to the radio measurements of the first cell, the radio measurements of the neighboring cells, and / or the difference between the radio measurements of the first cell and the neighboring cells (e.g., the RSRP of the first cell is X dB greater than the RSRP of the neighboring cell, etc.). Note that in this context, when the conditions are monitored and / or the cell change procedure to the first cell is performed, one of the neighboring cells may have become the serving cell. The one or more radio measurements may be specified in a measurement configuration (and / or a stored configuration) associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0205] The stored configuration may be associated with more than one condition. For example, the stored configuration may be associated with a first condition associated with changing from a second cell (e.g., a specific cell) to a first cell and a second condition associated with changing from a third cell to a first cell. That is, the UE may apply different conditions for changing to the first cell, depending on the cell that becomes its serving cell. In one embodiment, the stored configuration is associated with multiple conditions, each condition being associated with a cell change process from a corresponding cell to the first cell.

[0206] The UE may be configured not to monitor the condition before performing a cell change procedure away from the first cell. Thus, in this option, upon receiving and / or storing a condition reconfiguration, the UE monitors the execution condition associated with the target candidate cell only when the target candidate cell is not the current serving cell. For example, the UE monitors the execution condition associated with the target candidate cell only when the cell identifier (e.g., PCI) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the cell identifier (e.g., PCI) of the current serving cell and the frequency (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) frequency) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the frequency (e.g., SSB frequency) of the current serving cell.

[0207] Alternatively or additionally, the UE may be configured to: when receiving and / or storing the conditional reconfiguration, the UE considers the candidate cell as an applicable cell, i.e., a valid candidate cell to be monitored, only when the target candidate cell is not the current serving cell. For example, the UE considers the candidate cell as an applicable cell only when the cell identifier (e.g., PCI) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the cell identifier (e.g., PCI) of the current serving cell and the frequency (e.g., synchronization signal block (SSB) frequency) of the target candidate cell is not the same as the frequency (e.g., SSB frequency) of the current serving cell.

[0208] In another embodiment, the UE may be configured to not perform or trigger a cell change procedure to the first cell before performing a cell change procedure to leave the first cell. In this case, the UE may monitor conditions for performing a cell change procedure to the first cell.

[0209] For example, the UE may be configured to perform an evaluation of the execution condition associated with the conditional reconfiguration even if the included target cell is the same as the current serving cell, but it does not trigger any execution of the included configuration even if the execution condition is met. If the conditional reconfiguration is maintained when the UE moves to another cell (i.e., in the case where the target cell included in the conditional reconfiguration is no longer the same as the current serving cell), the UE will perform an evaluation of the conditional reconfiguration (in the other serving cell) and may then also trigger execution of the conditional reconfiguration.

[0210] In an alternative scheme, in the case where the UE is configured with a conditional reconfiguration (wherein the included target candidate cell is the same as the current serving cell), the UE also checks the conditional events associated with the conditional reconfiguration (execution condition) so that the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration is skipped only for some types of conditional events. In one example, if the conditional event is any of CondEvent A3 (or Event A3) (i.e., "the offset of the neighbor is better than SpCell") or CondEventA5 (or Event A5) (i.e., "SpCell becomes worse than threshold 1 and the neighbor becomes better than threshold 2"), the UE skips the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration. In these cases, the execution condition of the conditional reconfiguration is related to the neighbor cell (the candidate target cell in the case of conditional reconfiguration) becoming better than the serving cell (i.e., SpCell). In one example, if the conditional event is CondEvent A4 (or Event A4) (i.e., "the neighbor becomes better than the threshold"), the UE skips the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration (wherein the included target cell is the same as the current serving cell).

[0211] Therefore, in the case where the target cell of the conditional reconfiguration is the same as the current serving cell, the UE can receive an indication from the network as to whether to skip the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration. In one example, if the network has set the indication and the target cell included in the conditional reconfiguration is the same as the current serving cell, the UE skips the evaluation and / or triggering of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration. If the network has not set the indication, the UE performs the evaluation of the execution of the conditional reconfiguration and may also trigger the execution of the conditional reconfiguration even if the included target cell is the same as the current serving cell. In one example, the indication from the network may be included in the conditional reconfiguration or included together with the conditional reconfiguration, so that the indication is valid for a specific conditional reconfiguration. In another example, the indication from the network is valid for several conditional reconfigurations, for example, for all conditional reconfigurations configured by the UE or for all conditional reconfigurations of a certain type.

[0212] In one embodiment, the UE thus configures a conditional reconfiguration, where one of the target candidates is the current PSCell,

[0213] In this option, the UE is configured with a conditional reconfiguration of the current PSCell. This means that the UE can receive the configuration of the current PSCell, the conditional configuration of other target candidate PSCells, and the CPC configuration of the current PSCell. The CPC configuration of the current PSCell includes the execution conditions of the CPC and the configuration to be applied when the conditions are met.

[0214] In one option, the configuration to be applied may be an indication indicating that the UE can use the current PSCell configuration as the configuration to be applied when a condition is met.

[0215] In one option, the UE only receives these conditions and the configuration to be applied when the UE returns to the current PSCell is the current PSCell configuration.

[0216] These conditions may initially be "deactivated" as long as the UE remains in the current / first PSCell. When the UE has changed PSCell to a second PSCell, the conditions for returning to the first PSCell may become "activated".

[0217] The present disclosure includes a method for a network node to configure a UE with information about which conditional reconfiguration(s) to keep / store for a serving cell before performing another mobility procedure. The present disclosure also includes a method for a network node to query a UE for stored conditional reconfigurations and to suggest candidate cells for another mobility procedure to the UE.

[0218] In one embodiment, during conditional reconfiguration (eg, conditional PSCell change), the MN instructs the UE to maintain or release the conditional configuration of the current serving PSCell. The MN may receive a confirmation from the UE via an RRC message.

[0219] In another embodiment, after performing a mobility procedure (ie, the serving cell has been changed), the MN sends an RRC message to the UE to query whether it has conditional configuration for a specific serving cell (ie, a candidate cell).

[0220] In one example, the MN receives the message from the UE via an explicit indicator or a new message to indicate that the UE has information about conditional configuration of the candidate cells.

[0221] In another example, the MN receives the message from the UE via an explicit indicator or a failure message to indicate that the UE has no information about the conditional configuration of the candidate cells.

[0222] Figure 6 An example signaling flow for storing conditional configuration of a current serving PSCell is shown and involves UE 602 , MN 604 , S-SN 606 , candidate T-SN 1 608 , and candidate T-SN 2 610 .

[0223] At step 612 , the S-SN 606 sends an S-Node Change Required (CPC) message to the MN 604 .

[0224] At step 614 , the MN 604 sends an S-Node Add Request (CPC) message to the candidate T-SN 1 608 .

[0225] At step 616 , the MN 604 sends an S-Node Addition Request (CPC) message to the candidate T-SN 2 610 .

[0226] At step 618 , the candidate T-SN 1 608 sends an S-Node Add Request Reply (Target SCGRRCReconfiguration) message to the MN 604 .

[0227] At step 620 , the candidate T-SN 2 610 sends an S-Node Add Request Reply (Target SCGRRCReconfiguration) message to the MN 604 .

[0228] At step 622 , the MN 604 sends an RRCReconfiguration (CPC configuration from candidate T-SN) message to the UE 602 .

[0229] At step 624 , UE 602 sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to MN 604 .

[0230] At step 626, the UE receives the candidate configuration including the current serving PSCell. It stores the conditional reconfiguration of the current serving PSCell and does not perform an evaluation for execution.

[0231] At step 628 , MN 604 sends an S-Node Change Confirm message to S-SN 606 .

[0232] At step 630, the UE moves to another cell and starts evaluating the conditional configuration.

[0233] At step 632 , UE 602 sends an RRCReconfigurationComplete (SCG RRC Reconfiguration Complete) message to MN 604 .

[0234] In step 634 , MN 604 sends an S-Node Release Request message to S-SN 606 .

[0235] In step 636 , S-SN 606 sends an S-Node Release Response message to MN 604 .

[0236] In step 638 , MN 604 sends an S Node Reconfiguration Complete message to candidate T-SN 1 608 .

[0237] The following is an example implementation from 3GPP TS 38.331, using UnderlineText: If the current serving cell is a target cell (e.g., if the current serving PSCell is a target cell in a CPC configuration, or the current serving PCell is a target cell in a CHO configuration), the UE does not perform evaluation for conditional reconfiguration.

[0238] 5.3.5.13.4 Conditional Reconfiguration Evaluation

[0239] The UE shall:

[0240] 1>For each condReconfigId in VarConditionalReconfig:

[0241] 2> If RRCReconfiguration in condRRCReconfig includes masterCellGroup (which includes reconfigurationWithSync), the cell with a physical cell identity matching the value indicated in ServingCellConfigCommon included in reconfigurationWithSync in the masterCellGroup in the received condRRCReconfig is regarded as an applicable cell;

[0242] 2> If RRCReconfigation in condRRCReconfig includes secondaryCellGroup (which includes reconfigurationWithSync), the cell having a physical cell identity matching the value indicated in ServingCellConfigCommon included in reconfigurationWithSync in secondaryCellGroup in the received condRRCReconfig is regarded as an applicable cell;

[0243] 2> If condExecutionCondSCG is configured:

[0244] 3> In the remaining process, each measId indicated in condExecutionCondSCG is regarded as a measId in VarMeasConfig associated with SCGmeasConfig;

[0245] 2>If condExecutionCond is configured:

[0246] 3> If it is configured via SRB3, or via SRB1 in nr-SCG or in nr-SecondaryCellGroupConfig (specified in TS 36.331

[10] ):

[0247] 4> In the remaining process, each measId indicated in condExecutionCond is regarded as a measId in VarMeasConfig associated with SCGmeasConfig;

[0248] 3> Otherwise:

[0249] 4> In the remaining process, each measId indicated in condExecutionCond is treated as a measId in VarMeasConfig associated with MCGmeasConfig;

[0250] 2> If the applicable cell is the same as the current serving PCell or the current serving PSCell :

[0251] 3>For the conditional reconfiguration within VarConditionalReconfig with the corresponding condReconfigId, No evaluation is performed ;

[0252] 2> otherwise , for each measId included in the measIdList within the VarMeasConfig indicated in the condExecutionCondSCG or condExecutionCond associated with condReconfigId:

[0253] 3> if condEventId is associated with condEventT1, and if the applicable cell satisfies the entry conditions applicable to the event associated with condReconfigId (i.e., the event corresponding to the condEventId of the corresponding condTriggerConfig within VarConditionalReconfig); or

[0254] 3> if condEventId is associated with condEventD1, and during the corresponding timeToTrigger defined for that event in VarConditionalReconfig, if the applicable cell satisfies the entry conditions applicable to that event associated with condReconfigId (i.e., the event corresponding to the condEventId of the corresponding condTriggerConfig in VarConditionalReconfig); or

[0255] 3> If condEventId is associated with condEventA3, condEventA4, or condEventA5, and for all measurements after layer 3 filtering made during the corresponding timeToTrigger defined for that event in VarConditionalReconfig, if the applicable cell satisfies the entry conditions applicable to that event associated with condReconfigId (i.e., the event corresponding to the condEventId of the corresponding condTriggerConfig in VarConditionalReconfig):

[0256] 4> The event associated with the measId is considered completed;

[0257] 3> If the measId of the event associated with condReconfigId has been modified; or

[0258] 3> if condEventId is associated with condEventT1, and if the applicable cell satisfies the leaving condition applicable to the event associated with condReconfigId (i.e., the event corresponding to the condEventId of the corresponding condTriggerConfig within VarConditionalReconfig); or

[0259] 3> if condEventId is associated with condEventD1, and during the corresponding timeToTrigger defined for that event in VarConditionalReconfig, if the applicable cell satisfies the leaving condition applicable to that event associated with condReconfigId (i.e., the event corresponding to the condEventId of the corresponding condTriggerConfig in VarConditionalReconfig); or

[0260] 3> If condEventId is associated with condEventA3, condEventA4, or condEventA5, and for all measurements after layer 3 filtering made during the corresponding timeToTrigger defined for that event in VarConditionalReconfig, if the applicable cell satisfies the leaving condition applicable to that event associated with condReconfigId (i.e., the event corresponding to the condEventId of the corresponding condTriggerConfig in VarConditionalReconfig):

[0261] 4> The event associated with this measId is considered unfinished;

[0262] 2> If the events associated with all measIds in condTriggerConfig of the target candidate cell in the stored condRRCReconfig have been completed:

[0263] 3> The target candidate cell in the stored condRRCReconfig associated with condReconfigId is regarded as the triggered cell;

[0264] 3> Initiate conditional reconfiguration execution, as specified in 5.3.5.13.5;

[0265] Note: Up to 2 MeasIds can be configured for each condReconfigId. The conditional reconfiguration events of the 2 MeasIds can have the same or different event conditions, trigger quantity, trigger time, and trigger threshold.

[0266] Figure 7 The main steps performed by a UE in one example of the present disclosure are shown.

[0267] Step 701: Based on its own capabilities or based on instructions from the network, the UE chooses to store the conditional configuration of the current serving PSCell.

[0268] Step 702: After performing CPC for the first time, the UE changes the serving cell.

[0269] Step 703: The network node sends another RRC message to the UE to perform another mobility procedure.

[0270] Step 704: Check whether the UE has a stored conditional configuration for a candidate PSCell, which is one of the previous serving cells.

[0271] Step 705. The UE has no stored conditional configuration and informs the network node.

[0272] Step 706. The UE has the conditional configuration of the candidate PSCell stored and will be able to perform conditional reconfiguration.

[0273] Figure 8 An example of a communication system 800 is shown in accordance with some embodiments.

[0274] In this example, the communication system 800 includes: a telecommunications network 802, including an access network 804 such as a radio access network (RAN); and a core network 806, including one or more core network nodes 808. The access network 804 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 810a and 810b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 810), or any other similar third generation partnership project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP access points. The network node 810 facilitates direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as connecting UE 812a, 812b, 812c, and 812d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UE 812) to the core network 806 via one or more wireless connections.

[0275] Example wireless communications via wireless connections include sending and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for transmitting information without using wiring, cables, or other material conductors. In addition, in different embodiments, the communication system 800 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals (whether via a wired connection or via a wireless connection). The communication system 800 may include any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of systems, and / or be connected to any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar types of system interfaces.

[0276] UE 812 may be any of a variety of communication devices, including wireless devices that are arranged, configured and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with network node 810 and other communication devices. Similarly, network node 810 is arranged, capable, configured and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with UE 812 and / or with other network nodes or devices in telecommunication network 802 to enable and / or provide network access (such as wireless network access) and / or to perform other functions (such as management) in telecommunication network 802.

[0277] In the depicted example, the core network 806 connects the network node 810 to one or more hosts (such as the host 816). These connections may be direct connections or indirect connections via one or more intermediate networks or devices. In other examples, the network node may be directly coupled to the host. The core network 806 includes one or more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 808) composed of hardware and software components. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UE, the network node, and / or the host, so that their descriptions are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 808. The example core network node includes the functions of one or more of the following items: a mobile switching center (MSC), a mobility management entity (MME), a home subscriber server (HSS), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a session management function (SMF), an authentication server function (AUSF), a subscription identifier cancellation function (SIDF), a unified data management (UDM), a security edge protection agent (SEPP), a network open function (NEF), and / or a user plane function (UPF).

[0278] The host 816 may be owned or under the control of a service provider other than the operator or provider of the access network 804 and / or the telecommunications network 802, and may be operated by or on behalf of the service provider. The host 816 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more services. Examples of such applications include providing real-time and / or pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services (e.g., retrieving and compiling data about various environmental conditions detected by multiple UEs), analysis functions, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for alarm and monitoring centers, or any other such functions performed by a server.

[0279] As a whole, Figure 8 The communication system 800 enables connections between UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In this sense, the communication system can be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures such as a specific standard, including but not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE) and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standards (e.g., 6G); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standard (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standards, such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards (e.g., LoRa and Sigfox).

[0280] In some examples, the telecommunication network 802 is a cellular network implementing 3GPP standardized features. Therefore, the telecommunication network 802 can support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices connected to the telecommunication network 802. For example, the telecommunication network 802 can provide ultra-reliable low-latency communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or providing massive machine type communication (mMTC) / massive IoT services to yet other UEs.

[0281] In some examples, UE 812 is configured to send and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, the UE may be designed to send information to the access network 804 according to a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the access network 804. In addition, the UE may be configured to operate in a single RAT mode or a multi-RAT mode or a multi-standard mode. For example, the UE may operate using any one or a combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio), and LTE, i.e., configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio-Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0282] exist Figure 8In the example shown, the hub 814 communicates with the access network 804 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 812c and / or 812d) and a network node (e.g., network node 810b). In some examples, the hub 814 may be a controller, a router, a content source and analysis node, or any other communication device described herein with respect to the UE. For example, the hub 814 may be a broadband router that enables the UE to access the core network 806. As another example, the hub 814 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UE. The commands or instructions may be received from the UE, the network node 810, or received through executable code, scripts, processes, or other instructions in the hub 814. As another example, the hub 814 may be a data collector that acts as a temporary storage device for UE data, and in some embodiments, analysis or other processing of the data may be performed. As another example, the center 814 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, speaker, or other media delivery device, the hub 814 can retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, and then the hub 814 provides it directly to the UE after performing local processing and / or after adding additional local content. In yet another example, the hub 814 acts as a proxy server or coordinator for the UE, especially if one or more of the UEs are low-energy IoT devices.

[0283] The hub 814 may have a continuous / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 810b. The hub 814 may also allow different communication schemes and / or scheduling between the hub 814 and the UE (e.g., UE 812c and / or 812d) and between the hub 814 and the core network 806. In other examples, the hub 814 is connected to the core network 806 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. In addition, the hub 814 may be configured to be connected to an M2M service provider via the access network 804, and / or to another UE via a direct connection. In some scenarios, the UE may establish a wireless connection with the network node 810 while still being connected via a wired or wireless connection through the hub 814. In some embodiments, the hub 814 may be a dedicated hub, that is, a hub whose main function is to route communications from the network node 810b to the UE / route communications from the UE to the network node 810b. In other embodiments, the hub 814 may be a non-dedicated hub - ie, a device operable to route communications between UEs and the network node 810b but additionally capable of operating as a communications origin and / or endpoint for certain data channels.

[0284] Fig. 9A UE 900 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable of, configured, arranged and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other UEs. Examples of UEs include, but are not limited to, smart phones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, game consoles or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablet computers, laptop computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), smart devices, wireless client equipment (CPEs), vehicle-mounted or vehicle-embedded / integrated wireless devices, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UEs, machine type communication (MTC) UEs, and / or enhanced MTC (eMTC) UEs.

[0285] The UE may, for example, support device-to-device (D2D) communications by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communications, dedicated short-range communications (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, the UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the associated device. Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is intended to be sold to or operated by a human user but may not or may not initially be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, the UE may represent a device that is not intended to be sold to or operated by an end user but may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0286] UE 900 includes a processing circuit 902, which is operatively coupled to an input / output interface 906, a power supply 908, a memory 910, a communication interface 912, and / or any other components or any combination thereof via a bus 904. Some UEs may utilize Fig. 9 All or a subset of the components shown. The level of integration between components may vary from UE to UE. In addition, some UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0287] The processing circuit 902 is configured to process instructions and data, and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operable to execute instructions stored in the memory 910 as a machine-readable computer program. The processing circuit 902 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.); programmable logic and suitable firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors (e.g., a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP)) and appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuit 902 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). The processing circuit 902 may be operable to provide UE 900 functionality alone or in combination with other UE 900 components (e.g., memory 910). For example, the processing circuit 902 may be configured to cause the UE 902 to execute reference Figure 4 and Figure 7 Any of the methods described in, and / or with reference to Figure 6 The signaling and processing described by the UE.

[0288] In this example, the input / output interface 906 can be configured to provide one or more interfaces to an input device, an output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of output devices include speakers, sound cards, video cards, displays, monitors, printers, actuators, transmitters, smart cards, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device can allow a user to capture information into the UE 900. Examples of input devices include touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive displays, cameras (e.g., digital cameras, digital video cameras, web cameras, etc.), microphones, sensors, mice, trackballs, directional keyboards, trackpads, rollers, smart cards, etc. The presence-sensitive display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device can use an interface port of the same type as an input device. For example, a universal serial bus (USB) port can be used to provide input devices and output devices.

[0289] In some embodiments, the power supply 908 is configured as a battery or a battery pack. Other types of power supplies may be used, such as an external power supply (e.g., a power socket), a photovoltaic device, or a battery. The power supply 908 may also include a power supply circuit for delivering power from the power supply 908 itself and / or an external power supply to various parts of the UE 900 via an input circuit or interface (such as a power cable). The delivered power may be used, for example, for charging the power supply 908. The power supply circuit may perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification on the power from the power supply 908 to make the power suitable for the corresponding components in the UE 900 to which the power is supplied.

[0290] The memory 910 may be or be configured to include a memory, such as a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), a magnetic disk, an optical disk, a hard disk, a removable tape, a flash drive, etc. In one example, the memory 910 includes one or more application programs 914, such as an operating system, a web browser application, a widget, a gadget engine, or other applications, and corresponding data 916. The memory 910 may store any one or a combination of operating systems used by the UE 900.

[0291] The memory 910 may be configured to include a plurality of physical drive units, such as a redundant array of independent disks (RAID), a flash memory, a USB flash drive, an external hard drive, a thumb drive, a pen drive, a key drive, a high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical drive, a built-in hard drive, a Blu-ray optical drive, a holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical drive, an external mini dual in-line memory module (DIMM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), an external micro DIMM SDRAM, a smart card memory (e.g., a tamper-proof module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC), including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as USIM and / or ISIM), other memories, or any combination thereof. The UICC may be, for example, an embedded UICC (eUICC), an integrated UICC (iUICC), or a removable UICC commonly referred to as a “SIM card”. The memory 910 may allow the UE 900 to access instructions, applications, etc. stored on a temporary or non-temporary storage medium to offload data or upload data. An article of manufacture, such as an article of manufacture utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in memory 910, which may be or include a device-readable storage medium.

[0292] The processing circuit 902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using a communication interface 912. The communication interface 912 may include one or more communication subsystems and may include an antenna 922 or be communicatively coupled to the antenna 922. The communication interface 912 may include one or more transceivers for communication (such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network)). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 918 and / or a receiver 920 suitable for providing network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocation, etc.). In addition, the transmitter 918 and the receiver 920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 922) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or may be implemented separately as an alternative.

[0293] In some embodiments, the communication functionality of the communication interface 912 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, near field communication, location-based communication (e.g., using a global positioning system (GPS) to determine location), another type of communication functionality, or any combination thereof. Communication may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards such as IEEE 802.11, code division multiple access (CDMA), wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, new radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol / Internet protocol (TCP / IP), synchronous optical network (SONET), asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), QUIC, hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP), etc.

[0294] Regardless of the type of sensor, the UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensor through its communication interface 912 via a wireless connection to a network node. The data captured by the UE's sensor may be transmitted via another UE via a wireless connection to a network node. The output may be periodic (e.g., every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to balance the load of reports from several sensors), in response to a trigger event (e.g., sending an alarm when humidity is detected), in response to a request (e.g., a user-initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0295] As another example, the UE includes an actuator, motor, or switch associated with a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input, the state of the actuator, motor, or switch can change. For example, the UE can include a motor that adjusts a control surface or rotor of a drone in flight based on the received input, or controls a robotic arm that performs a medical procedure based on the received input.

[0296] When the UE is in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, the UE may be a device used in one or more application areas including, but not limited to, urban wearable technology, extended industrial applications, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such IoT devices are devices that are or are embedded in connected refrigerators or freezers, televisions, connected lighting, electric meters, robotic vacuum cleaners, voice-controlled smart speakers, home security cameras, motion detectors, thermostats, smoke detectors, door / window sensors, flood / humidity sensors, electronic door locks, connected doorbells, air conditioning systems such as heat pumps, autonomous vehicles, monitoring systems, weather monitoring devices, vehicle parking monitoring devices, electric vehicle charging stations, smart watches, fitness trackers, head-mounted displays for augmented reality (AR) or virtual reality (VR), wearable devices for tactile or sensory enhancement, sprinklers, animal or item tracking devices, sensors for monitoring plants or animals, industrial robots, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and any type of medical device, such as a heart rate monitor or a teleoperated surgical robot. In addition to the above, the UE may be used to identify the user and device in question. Fig. 9 In addition to the other components depicted in the illustrated UE 900 , a UE in the form of an IoT device may include circuitry and / or software depending on the intended application of the IoT device.

[0297] As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and sends the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another UE and / or a network node. In this case, the UE may be an M2M device, which may be referred to as an MTC device in the 3GPP context. As a specific example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle (e.g., a car, bus, truck, ship, and airplane) or other device that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting its operating status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0298] In fact, for a single use case, any number of UEs may be used together. For example, a first UE may be a drone or integrated in a drone and provide the drone's speed information (obtained via a speed sensor) to a second UE, which is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone's speed. The first UE and / or the second UE may also include more than one of the above functions. For example, a UE may include a sensor and an actuator and handle data communications for both the speed sensor and the actuator.

[0299] Fig.10 A network node 1000 according to some embodiments is shown. As used herein, a network node refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or devices in a telecommunications network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), and NR NodeBs (gNBs)).

[0300] Base stations may be classified based on the amount of coverage they provide (or in other words, their transmit power level), and thus may be referred to as femto, pico, micro or macro base stations, depending on the amount of coverage provided. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station, such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes referred to as a remote radio head (RRH). These remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. Portions of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS).

[0301] Other examples of network nodes include a multi-transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access node, a multi-standard radio (MSR) device (e.g., an MSR BS), a network controller (e.g., a radio network controller (RNC) or a base station controller (BSC)), a base transceiver station (BTS), a transmission point, a transmission node, a multi-cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), an operation and maintenance (O&M) node, an operation support system (OSS) node, a self-organizing network (SON) node, a positioning node (e.g., an evolved serving mobile location center (E-SMLC)), and / or a minimization of drive tests (MDT).

[0302] The network node 1000 includes a processing circuit 1002, a memory 1004, a communication interface 1006 and a power supply 1008, and / or any other components or any combination thereof. The network node 1000 may be composed of multiple physically separated components (e.g., NodeB components and RNC components, or BTS components and BSC components, etc.), which may have their own corresponding components. In certain scenarios where the network node 1000 includes multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more separate components may be shared between several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such scenarios, each unique "NodeB and RNC pair" may be considered as a single separate network node in some cases. In some embodiments, the network node 1000 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1004 exists for different RATs), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 1010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1000 may also include multiple sets of the various components shown for different wireless technologies (e.g., GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, radio frequency identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies) integrated into the network node 1000. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or chipsets and other components within the network node 1000.

[0303] The processing circuit 1002 may include a combination of one or more of the following: a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and / or encoded logic, which is operable to provide network node 1000 functions alone or in combination with other network node 1000 components (e.g., memory 1004). For example, the processing circuit 1002 may be configured to cause the network node to execute reference Figure 5 The methods described, and / or references Figure 6 The signaling and processing described for any one of the MN, S-SN, candidate T-SN 1 and candidate T-SN 2 units.

[0304] In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1002 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1002 includes one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 1012 and a baseband processing circuit 1014. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit 1012 and the baseband processing circuit 1014 may be on separate chips (or chipsets), boards, or units (e.g., a radio unit and a digital unit). In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuit 1012 and the baseband processing circuit 1014 may be on the same chip or chipset, board set, or unit set.

[0305] The memory 1004 may include any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, including but not limited to permanent storage devices, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD) or digital video disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile memory or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and / or computer-executable memory device that stores information, data and / or instructions that can be used by the processing circuit 1002. The memory 1004 may store any suitable instructions, data or information, including computer programs, software, applications including one or more of logic, rules, codes, tables, and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 1002 and used by the network node 1000. The memory 1004 may be used to store any calculations performed by the processing circuit 1002 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1006. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 1002 and the memory 1004 are integrated together.

[0306] The communication interface 1006 is used for wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between network nodes, access networks and / or UEs. As shown, the communication interface 1006 includes a port / terminal 1016 for, for example, sending data to the network and receiving data from the network via a wired connection. The communication interface 1006 also includes a radio front-end circuit 1018, which can be coupled to the antenna 1010, or in some embodiments, coupled to a part of the antenna 1010. The radio front-end circuit 1018 includes a filter 1020 and an amplifier 1022. The radio front-end circuit 1018 can be connected to the antenna 1010 and the processing circuit 1002. The radio front-end circuit can be configured to adjust the signal transmitted between the antenna 1010 and the processing circuit 1002. The radio front-end circuit 1018 can receive digital data to be sent to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuit 1018 can use a combination of a filter 1020 and / or an amplifier 1022 to convert the digital data into a radio signal with appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters. The radio signal can then be sent via the antenna 1010. Similarly, when data is received, antenna 1010 may collect the radio signal, which may then be converted to digital data by radio front end circuit 1018. The digital data may be passed to processing circuit 1002. In other embodiments, the communication interface may include different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0307] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1000 does not include a separate radio front end circuit 1018, instead the processing circuit 1002 includes the radio front end circuit and is connected to the antenna 1010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuit 1012 is part of the communication interface 1006. In yet another embodiment, the communication interface 1006 includes one or more ports or terminals 1016, the radio front end circuit 1018 and the RF transceiver circuit 1012 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1006 communicates with a baseband processing circuit 1014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0308] Antenna 1010 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 1010 may be coupled to radio front end circuit 1018 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly sending and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 1010 is separate from network node 1000 and may be connected to network node 1000 via an interface or port.

[0309] Antenna 1010, communication interface 1006 and / or processing circuit 1002 may be configured to perform any receiving operation and / or certain obtaining operations performed by a network node as described herein. Any information, data and / or signal may be received from a UE, another network node and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 1010, communication interface 1006 and / or processing circuit 1002 may be configured to perform any sending operation performed by a network node as described herein. Any information, data and / or signal may be sent to a UE, another network node and / or any other network device.

[0310] The power supply 1008 provides power to the various components of the network node 1000 in a form suitable for the various components (e.g., at the voltage and current levels required by each corresponding component). The power supply 1008 may also include power management circuitry or be coupled to a power management circuitry to supply power to the components of the network node 1000 for performing the functions described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may be connected to an external power source (e.g., a power grid, a power outlet) via an input circuit or interface (e.g., a cable), whereby the external power source supplies power to the power circuit of the power supply 1008. As another example, the power supply 1008 may include a power source in the form of a battery or a battery pack, which is connected to the power circuit or integrated in the power circuit. If the external power source fails, the battery can provide backup power.

[0311] Embodiments of network node 1000 may include beyond Fig.10 Additional components to the components shown are used to provide certain aspects of the functionality of the network node (including any functionality described herein and / or any functionality required to support the subject matter described herein). For example, the network node 1000 may include a user interface device to allow information to be input into the network node 1000 and to allow information to be output from the network node 1000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other management functions for the network node 1000.

[0312] Fig.11 is a block diagram of a host 1100 according to various aspects described herein, which host 1100 may be Figure 8 100 is an embodiment of a host 816 of the present invention. As used herein, the host 1100 can be or include various combinations of hardware and / or software (including processing resources in a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, a container, or a server cluster). The host 1100 can provide one or more services to one or more UEs.

[0313] The host 1100 includes a processing circuit 1102, which is operably coupled to an input / output interface 1106, a network interface 1108, a power supply 1110, and a memory 1112 via a bus 1104. Other components may be included in other embodiments. The features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the previous figures (e.g., Fig. 9 and Fig.10 ) so that its description is generally applicable to corresponding components of the host 1100.

[0314] The memory 1112 may include one or more computer programs, including data 1116 and one or more host applications 1114, which may include user data, such as data generated by a UE for the host 1100, or data generated by the host 1100 for the UE. An embodiment of the host 1100 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application 1114 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for a variety of different categories, types, or implementations of UE (e.g., mobile phones, desktop computers, wearable display systems, head-up display systems). The host application 1114 may also provide user authentication and permission checks, and may periodically report health status, routing, and content availability to a central node (e.g., a device in the core network or a device on the edge of the core network). Thus, the host 1100 can select and / or indicate to the UE a different host for an over-the-top service. The host application 1114 can support various protocols, such as HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc.

[0315] Fig.121 is a block diagram showing a virtualized environment 1200, in which the functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means creating a virtual version of an apparatus or device that may include a virtualized hardware platform, storage device, and network resources. As used herein, virtualization may be applied to any device or component thereof described herein, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functions are implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs), which are implemented in one or more virtual environments 1200 hosted by one or more of a hardware node (e.g., a hardware computing device operating as a network node, UE, core network node, or host). In addition, in embodiments where a virtual node does not require a radio connection (e.g., a core network node or host), the node may be fully virtualized.

[0316] Application 1202 (which may alternatively be referred to as a software instance, a virtual appliance, a network function, a virtual node, a virtual network function, etc.) runs in a virtualized environment Q400 to implement some features, functions, and / or benefits of some embodiments disclosed herein.

[0317] Hardware 1204 includes processing circuitry, memory storing software and / or instructions that can be executed by the hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices described herein (such as network interfaces, input / output interfaces, etc.). Software can be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1206 (also referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1208a and VMs 1208b (one or more of which can be generally referred to as VMs 1208), and / or perform any functions, features, and / or benefits described in connection with some embodiments described herein. Virtualization layer 1206 can present a virtual operating platform to VMs 1208 that looks like networked hardware.

[0318] The VM 1208 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interfaces, and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1206. Different embodiments of instances of virtual devices 1202 may be implemented on one or more VMs 1208, and these implementations may be made in different ways. In some contexts, virtualization of hardware is referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to unify numerous network device types onto industry standard high-capacity server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that may be located in data centers and customer premises equipment (CPE).

[0319] In the context of NFV, VM 1208 can be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executed on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each VM 1208 and the hardware portion of 1204 that executes the VM (whether it is hardware dedicated to the VM and / or hardware shared by the VM with other VMs) form a separate virtual network element. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling a specific network function running in one or more VMs 1208 on the hardware 1204 and corresponding to an application 1202.

[0320] The hardware 1204 may be implemented in a standalone network node with general or specific components. The hardware 1204 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1204 may be part of a larger hardware cluster (e.g., in a data center or CPE), where many hardware nodes work together and are managed by management and orchestration 1210, which oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of the application 1202. In some embodiments, the hardware 1204 is coupled to one or more radio units, each of which includes one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. The radio unit may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces, and may be used in conjunction with virtual components to provide radio capabilities to a virtual node (e.g., a radio access node or base station). In some embodiments, some signaling may be provided by using a control system 1212, which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0321] Fig.13 A communication diagram is shown in which a host 1302 communicates with a UE 1306 via a network node 1304 over a partially wireless connection according to some embodiments. Fig.13 Describe the UE discussed in the previous paragraphs (e.g., Figure 8 UE 812a and / or Fig. 9 UE 900), network node (e.g., Figure 8 The network node 810a and / or Fig.10 network nodes 1000) and hosts (e.g., Figure 8 Host 816 and / or Fig.11 An example implementation of a host 1100 according to various embodiments.

[0322] Similar to the host 1100, an embodiment of the host 1302 includes hardware, such as a communication interface, a processing circuit, and a memory. The host 1302 also includes software that is stored in the host 1302 or can be accessed by the host 1302 and can be executed by the processing circuit. The software includes a host application that is operable to provide services to a remote user, such as a UE 1306 connected via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1350 extending between the UE 1306 and the host 1302. When providing services to the remote user, the host application can provide user data sent using the OTT connection 1350.

[0323] The network node 1304 includes hardware that enables it to communicate with the host 1302 and the UE 1306. The connection 1360 can be a direct connection or through a core network (such as Figure 8 The core network 806 of the present invention and / or one or more other intermediate networks (eg, one or more public, private, or managed networks). For example, the intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet.

[0324] UE 1306 includes hardware and software that is stored in or accessible by UE 1306 and can be executed by the processing circuitry of the UE. The software includes a client application (e.g., a web browser or an operator-specific "app") that is operable to provide services to a human or non-human user via UE 1306 with the support of host 1302. In host 1302, an executing host application can communicate with an executing client application via an OTT connection 1350, which terminates at UE 1306 and host 1302. When providing services to a user, the client application of the UE can receive request data from the host application of the host and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1350 can send both request data and user data. The client application of the UE can interact with the user to generate user data that is provided to the host application via the OTT connection 1350.

[0325] The OTT connection 1350 may extend via a connection 1360 between the host 1302 and the network node 1304 and via a wireless connection 1370 between the network node 1304 and the UE 1306 to provide connectivity between the host 1302 and the UE 1306. The connection 1360 and the wireless connection 1370 through which the OTT connection 1350 may be provided have been drawn abstractly to illustrate communications between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 via the network node 1304 without explicitly involving any intermediate devices and the precise routing of messages via those devices.

[0326] As an example of sending data via OTT connection 1350, in step 1308, host 1302 provides user data, which can be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a specific human user who interacts with UE 1306. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with UE 1306, which shares data with host 1302 without explicit human interaction. In step 1310, host 1302 initiates a transmission to UE 1306, which carries the user data. Host 1302 may initiate the transmission in response to a request sent by UE 1306. The request may be caused by human interaction with UE 1306 or by the operation of a client application executed on UE 1306. In accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, the transmission may be delivered via network node 1304. Thus, in step 1312, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node 1304 sends the user data carried in the transmission initiated by host 1302 to UE 1306. In step 1314, UE 1306 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executing on UE 1306 that is associated with a host application executed by host 1302.

[0327] In some examples, UE 1306 executes a client application that provides user data to host 1302. User data may be provided as a reaction or response to data received from host 1302. Therefore, in step 1316, UE 1306 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. When providing user data, the client application may also consider user input received from a user via an input / output interface of UE 1306. Regardless of the specific manner in which user data is provided, in step 1318, UE 1306 initiates a transmission of user data to host 1302 via network node 1304. In step 1320, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout the present disclosure, network node 1304 receives user data from UE 1306 and initiates sending the received user data to host 1302. In step 1322, host 1302 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by UE 1306.

[0328] One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to UE 1306 using OTT connection 1350, in which wireless connection 1370 forms the final part. More specifically, the teachings of these embodiments can improve latency and power consumption of user equipment (e.g., by reducing signaling overhead associated with conditional cell change procedures), thereby providing benefits such as reduced user waiting time, better responsiveness, and extended battery life.

[0329] In an example scenario, the host 1302 may collect and analyze plant status information. As another example, the host 1302 may process audio and video data that may have been retrieved from the UE for creating a map. As another example, the host 1302 may collect and analyze real-time data to help control vehicle congestion (e.g., control traffic lights). As another example, the host 1302 may store monitoring videos uploaded by the UE. As another example, the host 1302 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR, or AR, which may be broadcast, multicast, or unicast to the UE. As other examples, the host 1302 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time-critical power loads to balance power generation demand, positioning services, presentation services (e.g., compiling charts based on data collected from remote devices, etc.), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing, and / or sending data.

[0330] In some examples, a measurement process may be provided for monitoring data rates, latency, and other factors that are the subject of improvement of one or more embodiments. There may also be an optional network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1350 between the host 1302 and the UE 1306 in response to changes in the measurement results. The measurement process and / or the network function for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in the software and hardware of the host 1302 and / or the UE 1306. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in other devices through which the OTT connection 1350 passes, or associated with the other devices; the sensors may participate in the measurement process by providing the values ​​of the monitored quantities shown above, or providing the values ​​of other physical quantities from which the software can calculate or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguration of the OTT connection 1350 may include message formats, retransmission settings, preferred routes, etc.; the reconfiguration does not require direct changes to the operation of the network node 1304. Such processes and functions may be known and practiced in the art. In some embodiments, the measurement may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates the host 1302 to measure throughput, propagation time, latency, etc. Measurements may be made by software using the OTT connection 1350 to send messages (particularly empty or "dummy" messages) while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.

[0331] Although the computing devices (e.g., UE, network node, host) described herein may include a combination of the hardware components shown, other embodiments may include computing devices with different combinations of components. It should be understood that these computing devices may include any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. The determination, calculation, acquisition, or similar operations described herein may be performed by a processing circuit, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with the information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information, and making a determination based on the result of the processing. In addition, although the components are depicted as a single box located within a larger box or nested within multiple boxes, in fact, the computing device may include multiple different physical components constituting a single illustrated component, and the functions may be divided between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any component described herein, and / or the functions of the components may be divided between the processing circuit and the communication interface. In another example, the non-computationally intensive functions of any such component may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0332] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be provided by a processing circuit that executes instructions stored in a memory, which in some embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functions may be provided by a processing circuit, for example, in a hardwired manner, without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of these specific embodiments, the processing circuit may be configured to perform the described functions, regardless of whether instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium are executed. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to separate processing circuits or to other components of a computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole and / or are generally enjoyed by end users and wireless networks.

[0333] For the avoidance of doubt, the following numbered statements set forth embodiments of the present disclosure:

[0334] Group A Embodiment

[0335] 1. A method performed by a user equipment, the method comprising:

[0336] associating the stored configuration for the first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first cell; and

[0337] This condition is monitored after performing a cell change procedure away from a first cell.

[0338] 2. The method according to embodiment 1 further includes: after the condition is met, executing a cell change process to the first cell.

[0339] 3. The method according to embodiment 1 or 2, wherein one or more of the associating step and the monitoring step are performed in response to the configuration of the network node.

[0340] 4. The method of embodiment 3, wherein the network node is a serving network node of the first cell.

[0341] 5. A method according to any one of the preceding embodiments, wherein the cell change process of leaving the first cell includes a cell change from the first cell to the second cell, and wherein the cell change process to the first cell includes a cell change from the second cell to the first cell.

[0342] 6. A method according to embodiment 5, wherein the stored configuration is associated with a first condition and a second condition, wherein the first condition is used to perform a cell change process from the second cell to the first cell, and wherein the second condition is used to perform a cell change process from the third cell to the first cell.

[0343] 7. The method of embodiment 5, wherein the stored configuration is associated with a plurality of conditions, and wherein each condition is associated with a cell change procedure from a corresponding cell to the first cell.

[0344] 8. The method of any one of embodiments 5 to 7, wherein the first cell is a PSCell and the second cell is a target PSCell.

[0345] 9. The method of any one of embodiments 5 to 7, wherein the first cell is a PCell and the second cell is a target PCell.

[0346] 10. A method according to any one of embodiments 5 to 9, wherein the cell change process from the first cell to the second cell is a conditional reconfiguration, and further comprising: after executing the cell change process to the second cell, storing the conditional reconfiguration to the second cell.

[0347] 11. A method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 4, wherein the first cell is a PSCell belonging to a secondary cell group SCG, wherein the cell change procedure of leaving the first cell includes releasing the SCG, and wherein the cell change procedure to the first cell includes adding the PSCell.

[0348] 12. A method according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the conditions for performing the cell change procedure include conditions for one or more radio measurements applied to transmissions performed by the first cell and / or transmissions performed by the second cell.

[0349] 13. The method of embodiment 12, wherein the one or more radio measurements are specified in a measurement configuration associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0350] 14. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments further comprises: before executing a cell change procedure to leave the first cell, not monitoring the condition.

[0351] 15. The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 13 further includes: before executing the cell change procedure of leaving the first cell, not executing or triggering the cell change procedure to the first cell.

[0352] 16. The method of embodiment 15 further comprises: monitoring the condition before performing a cell change procedure to leave the first cell.

[0353] 17. The method of any preceding embodiment, wherein the stored configuration comprises a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message for the first cell.

[0354] 18. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments further comprises: in response to determining that the distance of the user equipment from the reference location associated with the first cell is greater than a threshold, releasing the stored configuration and associated conditions.

[0355] 19. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments further comprises: receiving a query message from a network node, the query message querying whether the user equipment has stored the configuration and the associated conditions.

[0356] 20. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising:

[0357] Provide user data; and

[0358] User data is forwarded to the host via transmission to the network node.

[0359] Group B Example

[0360] 21. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising:

[0361] The user equipment is configured to associate the stored configuration for the first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first cell.

[0362] 22. The method of embodiment 21, wherein the network node is a serving network node of the first cell.

[0363] 23. The method of embodiment 21 or 22, wherein the cell change procedure away from the first cell comprises a cell change from the first cell to the second cell, and wherein the cell change procedure to the first cell comprises a cell change from the second cell to the first cell.

[0364] 24. The method according to embodiment 23 also includes: configuring the user equipment to associate the stored configuration with a first condition and a second condition, wherein the first condition is used to perform a cell change process from the second cell to the first cell, and wherein the second condition is used to perform a cell change process from the third cell to the first cell.

[0365] 25. The method of embodiment 23 further comprises configuring the user equipment to associate the stored configuration with a plurality of conditions, and wherein each condition is associated with a cell change procedure from a corresponding cell to the first cell.

[0366] 26. The method of any one of embodiments 23 to 25, wherein the first cell is a PSCell and the second cell is a target PSCell.

[0367] 27. The method of any one of embodiments 23 to 25, wherein the first cell is a PCell and the second cell is a target PCell.

[0368] 28. A method according to any one of embodiments 23 to 27, wherein the cell change process from the first cell to the second cell is a conditional reconfiguration, and further includes: after the user equipment has performed the cell change process to the second cell, receiving confirmation from the user equipment that the conditional reconfiguration has been stored in the second cell by the user equipment.

[0369] 29. The method according to embodiment 21 or 22, wherein the first cell is a PSCell belonging to a secondary cell group SCG, wherein the cell change procedure leaving the first cell includes releasing the SCG, and wherein the cell change procedure to the first cell includes adding the PSCell.

[0370] 30. The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 29, wherein the conditions for performing the cell change procedure include conditions for one or more radio measurements applied to transmissions performed by the first cell and / or transmissions performed by the second cell.

[0371] 31. The method of embodiment 30, wherein the one or more radio measurements are specified in a measurement configuration associated with the first cell and / or the second cell.

[0372] 32. The method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 31 further includes configuring the user equipment to not monitor the condition before performing a cell change procedure to leave the first cell.

[0373] 33. The method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 31 further includes configuring the user equipment to: not execute or trigger a cell change procedure to the first cell before executing a cell change procedure to leave the first cell.

[0374] 34. The method of embodiment 33 further comprises configuring the user equipment to monitor the condition before performing a cell change procedure to leave the first cell.

[0375] 35. The method of any one of embodiments 21 to 34, wherein the stored configuration includes a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message for the first cell.

[0376] 36. The method according to any one of embodiments 21 to 35 further includes configuring the user equipment to: release the stored configuration and associated conditions in response to determining that the distance of the user equipment from the reference location associated with the first cell is greater than a threshold.

[0377] 37. The method according to any of the preceding embodiments, further comprising:

[0378] obtain user data; and

[0379] Forwards user data to the host or user device.

[0380] Group C Example

[0381] 38. A user equipment comprising:

[0382] A processing circuit configured to enable the user equipment to perform any steps according to any embodiment of group A; and

[0383] The power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0384] 39. A network node, the network node comprising:

[0385] A processing circuit configured to cause the network node to perform any of the steps described in any of the embodiments of Group B;

[0386] The power supply circuit is configured to supply power to the processing circuit.

[0387] 40. A user equipment (UE), the UE comprising:

[0388] an antenna configured to transmit and receive wireless signals;

[0389] a radio front end circuit coupled to the antenna and the processing circuit and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuit;

[0390] A processing circuit configured to perform any of the steps described in any of the embodiments of group A;

[0391] an input interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to allow information to be input into the UE for processing by the processing circuitry;

[0392] an output interface connected to the processing circuit and configured to output information that has been processed by the processing circuit from the UE; and

[0393] A battery is connected to the processing circuit and is configured to supply power to the UE.

[0394] 41. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0395] processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

[0396] A network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),

[0397] The UE includes a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE are configured to perform any steps described in any embodiment of Group A to receive user data from the host.

[0398] 42. The host according to the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to send user data from the host to the UE.

[0399] 43. The host according to the above two embodiments, wherein:

[0400] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and

[0401] The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0402] 44. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system, the communication system also comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0403] Providing user data to the UE; and

[0404] A transmission is initiated to a UE via a cellular network including a network node, the transmission carrying user data, wherein the UE performs any operation described in any of the embodiments in Group A to receive the user data from the host.

[0405] 45. The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises:

[0406] At the host, a host application associated with the client application executing on the UE is executed to receive user data from the UE.

[0407] 46. ​​The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises:

[0408] sending, at the host, input data to a client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application,

[0409] Therein, user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application.

[0410] 47. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0411] processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

[0412] A network interface configured to initiate transmission of user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE),

[0413] The UE includes a communication interface and a processing circuit, and the communication interface and the processing circuit of the UE are configured to perform any steps described in any embodiment of Group A to send user data to the host.

[0414] 48. The host according to the preceding embodiment, wherein the cellular network further comprises a network node configured to communicate with the UE to send user data from the UE to the host.

[0415] 49. The host according to the above two embodiments, wherein:

[0416] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and

[0417] The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0418] 50. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system also comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0419] At a host, user data sent by a UE to the host via a network node is received, wherein the UE performs any steps described in any embodiment of Group A to send the user data to the host.

[0420] 51. The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises:

[0421] At the host, a host application associated with the client application executing on the UE is executed to receive user data from the UE.

[0422] 52. The method according to the preceding embodiment further comprises:

[0423] sending, at the host, input data to a client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application,

[0424] Therein, user data is provided by the client application in response to input data from the host application.

[0425] 53. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0426] processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and

[0427] A network interface, configured to initiate sending user data to a network node in a cellular network for sending to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any operation described in any of the embodiments in Group B to send the user data from a host to the UE.

[0428] 54. A host according to the preceding embodiment, wherein:

[0429] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, the host application providing user data; and

[0430] The UE includes processing circuitry configured to execute a client application associated with a host application to receive a transmission of user data from the host.

[0431] 55. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system also comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0432] Providing user data to the UE; and

[0433] A transmission is initiated to a UE via a cellular network including a network node, the transmission carrying user data, wherein the network node performs any operation described in any of the embodiments in Group B to send the user data from a host to the UE.

[0434] 56. The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: at the network node, sending user data provided by the host for the UE.

[0435] 57. A method according to any one of the preceding two embodiments, wherein user data is provided at the host by executing a host application, the host application interacting with a client application executed on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0436] 58. A communication system configured to provide an over-the-top service, the communication system comprising:

[0437] Host, including:

[0438] a processing circuit configured to provide user data to a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with an over-the-top service; and

[0439] A network interface is configured to initiate sending user data to a cellular network node for sending to a UE, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any operation described in any of the embodiments in Group B to send user data from a host to a UE.

[0440] 59. The communication system according to the preceding embodiment further comprises:

[0441] Network nodes; and / or

[0442] User equipment.

[0443] 60. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising:

[0444] a processing circuit configured to initiate reception of user data; and

[0445] A network interface configured to receive user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and a processing circuit, the processing circuit of the network node being configured to perform any operation described in any of the embodiments in Group B so as to receive user data from a user equipment (UE) for a host.

[0446] 61. A host according to the preceding embodiment, wherein:

[0447] The processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application to provide user data; and

[0448] The host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application.

[0449] 62. A host according to any one of the preceding two embodiments, wherein initiating reception of user data comprises requesting user data.

[0450] 63. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system, the communication system also comprising a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising:

[0451] At the host, reception of user data from the UE is initiated, the user data originating from a transmission that the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any steps according to any of the embodiments in Group B to receive user data from the UE for the host.

[0452] 64. The method according to the aforementioned embodiment further includes: at the network node, sending the received user data to the host.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment (900), the method comprising: associating a stored configuration for a first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first serving cell (404); as well as After performing a cell change procedure away from the first cell, the condition is monitored (408).

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: After the condition is met, a cell change procedure to the first cell is performed (406).

3. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The cell change procedure out of the first cell comprises a cell change from the first cell to a second cell, and wherein the cell change procedure to the first cell comprises a cell change from the second cell to the first cell.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein: The stored configuration is associated with a first condition and a second condition, wherein the first condition is used to perform a cell change procedure from the second cell to the first cell, and wherein the second condition is used to perform a cell change procedure from a third cell to the first cell.

5. The method according to any one of claims 3 to 4, wherein: The cell change procedure from the first cell to the second cell is a conditional reconfiguration, and further includes: after performing the cell change procedure to the second cell, storing the conditional reconfiguration to the second cell.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein: The first cell is a PSCell belonging to a secondary cell group SCG, wherein a cell change procedure of leaving the first cell includes releasing the SCG, and wherein a cell change procedure to the first cell includes adding a PSCell.

7. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The conditions for performing the cell change procedure include conditions for one or more radio measurements applied to transmissions of the first cell and / or transmissions of one or more neighboring cells.

8. The method according to claim 7, wherein: The one or more radio measurements are specified in a measurement configuration associated with the first cell and / or the one or more neighboring cells.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: When the first cell is a serving cell of the user equipment (900), the condition is not monitored.

10. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising: When the first cell is a serving cell of the user equipment (900), a cell change procedure to the first cell is not performed or triggered.

11. The method according to claim 10, further comprising: The condition is monitored prior to performing a cell change procedure away from the first cell.

12. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The stored configuration comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, reconfiguration message for said first cell.

13. A method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The cell change process to the first cell includes one of the following items: conditional handover CHO; conditional PSCell change CPC; and conditional PSCell addition CPA.

14. A method performed by a network node (1000), the method comprising: The user equipment (900) is configured (502) to associate a stored configuration for a first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first cell.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein: The network node (1000) is a serving network node of the first cell.

16. The method according to claim 14 or 15, wherein: The cell change process to the first cell includes: a cell change from a second cell to the first cell.

17. The method according to claim 16, further comprising: The user equipment (900) is configured to associate the stored configuration with a first condition and a second condition, wherein the first condition is used to perform a cell change procedure from the second cell to the first cell, and wherein the second condition is used to perform a cell change procedure from a third cell to the first cell.

18. The method according to any one of claims 16 to 17, wherein: The cell change procedure from the first cell to the second cell is a conditional reconfiguration and further comprises: after the user equipment (900) has performed the cell change procedure to the second cell, receiving a confirmation from the user equipment (900) that the user equipment (900) has stored the conditional reconfiguration to the second cell.

19. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 18, wherein: The conditions for performing the cell change procedure include conditions for one or more radio measurements applied to transmissions of the first cell and / or transmissions of one or more neighboring cells.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein: The one or more radio measurements are specified in a measurement configuration associated with the first cell and / or the one or more neighboring cells.

21. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, further comprising configuring the user equipment (900) to not monitor the condition when the first cell is a serving cell of the user equipment (900).

22. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 20, further comprising configuring the user equipment (900) to not perform or trigger a cell change procedure to the first cell when the first cell is a serving cell of the user equipment (900).

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising configuring the user equipment (900) to monitor the condition before performing a cell change procedure away from the first cell.

24. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 23, wherein: The stored configuration comprises a Radio Resource Control, RRC, reconfiguration message for said first cell.

25. The method according to any one of claims 14 to 24, wherein: The cell change process to the first cell includes one of the following items: conditional handover CHO; conditional PSCell change CPC; and conditional PSCell addition CPA.

26. A user equipment (900) for performing a conditional cell change, comprising: Processing circuit (902); as well as A memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuit (902), cause the user device (900) to: associating a stored configuration for a first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first serving cell (404); as well as After performing a cell change procedure away from the first cell, the condition is monitored (408).

27. The user equipment (900) according to claim 26, wherein: The instructions, when executed by the processing circuit (902), also cause the user equipment (900) to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 13.

28. A user device (900), adapted to: associating a stored configuration for a first serving cell with conditions for performing a cell change procedure to the first serving cell (404); and After performing a cell change procedure away from the first cell, the condition is monitored (408).

29. The user equipment (900) according to claim 28, wherein The user equipment (900) is further adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 2 to 13.

30. A network node (1000) for configuring a conditional cell change, the network node (1000) comprising: processing circuit (1002); and A memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the processing circuit (1002), cause the network node (1000) to: The user equipment (900) is configured (502) to associate a stored configuration for a first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first serving cell.

31. The network node (1000) according to claim 30, wherein The instructions, when executed by the processing circuit (1002), also cause the network node (1000) to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 25.

32. A network node (1000), adapted for: The user equipment (900) is configured (502) to associate a stored configuration for a first serving cell with a condition for performing a cell change procedure to the first serving cell.

33. The network node (1000) according to claim 32, wherein: The network node (1000) is further adapted to perform the method according to any one of claims 15 to 25.

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