Configuring beam measurements for cell groups

Abstract

Apparatuses, methods, and systems for configuring beam measurements for cell groups are disclosed. A method (1100) includes receiving (1102), at a user equipment, configuration information for a group of cells. The group of cells includes at least one cell separated from the current serving cell. The method (1100) includes performing (1104) beam measurements at a physical layer. The beam measurements correspond to a group of cells, a current serving cell, or a combination thereof. The method (1100) includes determining (1106) a trigger event for the physical layer based on the beam measurements. The trigger event corresponds to a trigger cell. The method (1100) comprises determining (1108) a type of report based on a configuration of the triggering cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to wireless communications and, more particularly, to configuring beam measurements for groups of cells. Background Art

[0002] In some wireless communication systems, communication may be performed at different layers, and the different layers may be configured separately from each other. Summary of the Invention

[0003] A method for configuring beam measurements for a cell group is disclosed. Apparatus and systems also perform the functions of these methods. One embodiment of a method includes receiving configuration information for a cell group at a user equipment (UE). The cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell. In some embodiments, the method includes performing beam measurements at a physical layer. The beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, the method includes determining a triggering event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements. The triggering event corresponds to a triggering cell. In various embodiments, the method includes determining a type of report based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

[0004] An apparatus for configuring beam measurement for a cell group includes a receiver for receiving configuration information for the cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from a current serving cell. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a processor configured to: perform beam measurement at a physical layer, wherein the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determine a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurement, wherein the trigger event corresponds to a triggering cell; and determine a report type based on a configuration of the triggering cell.

[0005] Another embodiment of a method for configuring beam measurement for a cell group includes transmitting, at a network device, configuration information for the cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from a current serving cell. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving a report from a UE. The report corresponds to the beam measurement via a report type corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0006] Another apparatus for configuring beam measurement for a cell group includes a transmitter for transmitting configuration information for the cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from a current serving cell. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a receiver for receiving a report from a UE. The report corresponds to the beam measurement via a report type corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0007] The above embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the specific embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. It should be understood that these drawings depict only some embodiments and are therefore not to be considered limiting of scope. The embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail using the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0008] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a wireless communication system for configuring beam measurements for a cell group;

[0009] Figure 2 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus that may be used to configure beam measurements for a cell group;

[0010] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus that may be used to configure beam measurements for a cell group;

[0011] Figure 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system for an inter-gNB handover (HO) procedure;

[0012] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system for HO within an AM and / or User Plane Function (UPF);

[0013] Figure 6 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of MIMO parameters including additional cells;

[0014] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a measurement model in the system;

[0015] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system using L1-based mobility;

[0016] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system using mobility and security key change supporting L1;

[0017] Figure 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system using L2-based mobility;

[0018] Figure 11 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method for configuring beam measurements for a cell group; and

[0019] Figure 12 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of a method for configuring beam measurements for a cell group. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, aspects of the embodiments may be embodied as systems, devices, methods, or program products. Thus, the embodiments may take the form of a complete hardware embodiment, a complete software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, which are generally referred to herein as "circuits," "modules," or "systems." In addition, the embodiments may take the form of a program product embodied in one or more computer-readable storage devices that store machine-readable code, computer-readable code, and / or program code, hereinafter referred to as code. The storage device may be tangible, non-transient, and / or non-transmitting. The storage device may not embody a signal. In a particular embodiment, the storage device only uses signals to access the code.

[0021] Some of the functional units described in this specification may be labeled as modules to more specifically emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit, including custom very large scale integrated circuit (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, or off-the-shelf semiconductors (such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components). A module may also be implemented in a programmable hardware device, such as a field programmable gate array, programmable array logic, or a programmable logic device.

[0022] Modules can also be implemented in code and / or software for execution by various types of processors. An identified code module can, for example, include one or more physical or logical blocks of executable code, which can, for example, be organized as objects, procedures, or functions. However, the executable programs of the identified modules need not be physically located together, but can include different instructions stored in different locations, which, when logically connected together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose of the module.

[0023] In practice, a code module can be a single instruction or a plurality of instructions, and can even be distributed across several different code segments, between different programs, and between several memory devices. Similarly, operational data can be identified and illustrated within a module and can be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data can be collected as a single data set or can be distributed across different locations, including on different computer-readable storage devices. Where a module or a portion of a module is implemented in software, the software portion is stored on one or more computer-readable storage devices.

[0024] Any combination of one or more computer-readable media may be utilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be a storage device that stores code. The storage device may be, for example, but not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic, micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0025] More specific examples of storage devices (a non-exhaustive list) include the following: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0026] The code for performing the operations of the embodiments can be any number of lines and can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​(such as Python, Ruby, Java, Smalltalk, C++, etc.), as well as traditional procedural programming languages ​​(such as the "C" programming language, etc.) and / or machine languages ​​(such as assembly language). The code can be executed entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a separate software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter case, the remote computer can be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or a connection to an external computer (e.g., via the Internet using an Internet service provider) can be implemented.

[0027] References throughout this specification to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," or similar language indicate that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, unless expressly provided otherwise, the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," and similar language throughout this specification may, but do not necessarily, refer to the same embodiment, but rather to "one or more but not all embodiments." Unless expressly provided otherwise, the terms "including," "comprising," "having," and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to." Unless expressly provided otherwise, an enumerated listing of items does not imply that any or all items are mutually exclusive. Unless expressly provided otherwise, the terms "a," "an," and "the" also mean "one or more."

[0028] In addition, the features, structures or characteristics of the described embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. In the following description, many specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software modules, user selections, network transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a comprehensive understanding of the embodiments. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments can be practiced without one or more of the specific details or using other methods, components, materials, etc. In other cases, well-known structures, materials or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid confusing various aspects of the embodiments.

[0029] The following describes various aspects of the embodiments with reference to schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams of the methods, devices, systems, and program products according to the embodiments. It should be understood that each block of the schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams and the combination of blocks in the schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams can be implemented by code. The code can be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing device to generate a machine, so that instructions executed by the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing device can create a component for implementing the functions / actions specified in one or more schematic flow chart blocks and / or schematic block diagram blocks.

[0030] The code may also be stored in a storage device that can direct a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to operate in a specific manner so that the instructions stored in the storage device produce an article of manufacture including instructions for implementing the functions / actions specified in one or more schematic flowchart blocks and / or schematic block diagram blocks.

[0031] The code may also be loaded onto a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device so that a series of operational steps are executed on the computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device to produce a computer-implemented process, such that the code executed on the computer or other programmable apparatus provides a process for implementing the functions / actions specified in one or more flowchart blocks and / or block diagram blocks.

[0032] The schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams in the figures illustrate possible implementation architectures, functions, and operations of devices, systems, methods, and program products according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the schematic flow charts and / or schematic block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which includes one or more executable instructions of the code for implementing (a plurality of) specified logical functions.

[0033] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may not occur in the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functions involved. Other steps and methods are contemplated that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more blocks, or portions thereof, of the illustrated figures.

[0034] Although various arrow types and line types can be adopted in flow charts and / or block diagrams, it should be understood that they do not limit the scope of the corresponding embodiments. In fact, some arrows or other connectors can be used to indicate the logical flow of the depicted embodiment only. For example, an arrow can indicate a waiting or monitoring period of unspecified duration between the enumerated steps of the depicted embodiment. It will also be noted that each block of the block diagram and / or flow chart, and the combination of blocks in the block diagram and / or flow chart can be implemented by a system based on dedicated hardware that performs a specified function or action, or a combination of dedicated hardware and code.

[0035] The description of elements in each figure may refer to elements in subsequent figures. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout the drawings, including alternative embodiments of the like elements.

[0036] Figure 1 An embodiment of a wireless communication system 100 for configuring beam measurements for a group of cells is depicted. In one embodiment, the wireless communication system 100 includes a remote unit 102 and a network unit 104. Although Figure 1 A specific number of remote units 102 and network units 104 are depicted in FIG. 1 , but those skilled in the art will recognize that any number of remote units 102 and network units 104 may be included in the wireless communication system 100.

[0037] In one embodiment, the remote unit 102 may include a computing device such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a smartphone, a smart TV (e.g., a TV connected to the Internet), a set-top box, a game console, a security system (including a security camera), an in-vehicle computer, a network device (e.g., a router, a switch, a modem), an aircraft, a drone, etc. In some embodiments, the remote unit 102 includes a wearable device such as a smartwatch, a fitness band, an optical head-mounted display, etc. Furthermore, the remote unit 102 may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a UE, a user terminal, a device, or other terms used in the art. The remote unit 102 may communicate directly with one or more of the network units 104 via UL communication signals. In some embodiments, the remote unit 102 may communicate directly with other remote units 102 via sidelink communication.

[0038] The network elements 104 may be distributed over a geographical area. In some embodiments, the network elements 104 may also be referred to as and / or may include one or more of the following: access point, access terminal, base station, base station, location server, core network (CN), radio network entity, Node B, evolved Node B (eNB), 5G Node B (gNB), home Node B, relay node, device, core network, air server, radio access node, access point (AP), new radio (NR), network entity, access and mobility management function (AMF), unified data management (UDM), unified data repository (UDR), UDM / UDR, policy control function (PCF), radio access network (RAN), network slice selection function (NSSF), operation, maintenance and administration (OAM), session management function (SMF), UPF, application function, authentication server function (AUSF), security anchor function (SEAF), trusted non-3GPP gateway function (TNGF), or any other terminology used in the art. The network elements 104 are typically part of a radio access network that includes one or more controllers communicatively coupled to one or more corresponding network elements 104. The radio access network is typically communicatively coupled to one or more core networks, which may be coupled to other networks, such as the Internet and the public switched telephone network, among other networks. These and other elements of the radio access network and core network are not shown, but are generally known to those skilled in the art.

[0039] In one implementation, the wireless communication system 100 conforms to the NR protocol standardized in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), wherein the network unit 104 transmits on the downlink (DL) using an OFDM modulation scheme, and the remote unit 102 transmits on the uplink (UL) using a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) scheme or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme. However, more generally, the wireless communication system 100 may implement some other open or proprietary communication protocol, such as WiMAX, an Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 variant, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), a Long Term Evolution (LTE) variant, a Code Division Multiple Access 2000 (CDMA2000), ZigBee, Sigfox, etc. The present disclosure is not intended to be limited to any particular wireless communication system architecture or protocol implementation.

[0040] The network unit 104 can serve multiple remote units 102 within a service area (e.g., a cell or cell sector) via wireless communication links. The network unit 104 sends DL communication signals to serve the remote units 102 in the time, frequency, and / or spatial domains.

[0041] In various embodiments, remote unit 102 may receive configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from the current serving cell. In some embodiments, remote unit 102 may perform beamforming measurements at the physical layer. The beamforming measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, remote unit 102 may determine a triggering event at the physical layer based on the beamforming measurements. The triggering event corresponds to a triggering cell. In various embodiments, remote unit 102 may determine a report type based on the configuration of the triggering cell. Thus, remote unit 102 may be configured to perform beamforming measurements for the cell group.

[0042] In certain embodiments, network unit 104 may transmit configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from the current serving cell. In some embodiments, network unit 104 may receive a report from a UE. The report corresponds to a beam measurement using a report type corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. Thus, network unit 104 may be configured to configure beam measurements for the cell group.

[0043] Figure 2One embodiment of an apparatus 200 that can be used to configure beam measurements for a cell group is depicted. Apparatus 200 includes one embodiment of a remote unit 102. Furthermore, remote unit 102 can include a processor 202, memory 204, an input device 206, a display 208, a transmitter 210, and a receiver 212. In some embodiments, input device 206 and display 208 are combined into a single device, such as a touch screen. In some embodiments, remote unit 102 may not include any input device 206 and / or display 208. In various embodiments, remote unit 102 may include one or more of processor 202, memory 204, transmitter 210, and receiver 212, and may not include input device 206 and / or display 208.

[0044] In one embodiment, the processor 202 may include any known controller capable of executing computer-readable instructions and / or capable of performing logical operations. For example, the processor 202 may be a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a central processing unit (CPU), a graphics processing unit (GPU), an auxiliary processing unit, a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or a similar programmable controller. In some embodiments, the processor 202 executes instructions stored in the memory 204 to perform the methods and routines described herein. The processor 202 is communicatively coupled to the memory 204, the input device 206, the display 208, the transmitter 210, and the receiver 212.

[0045] In one embodiment, the memory 204 is a computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, the memory 204 includes a volatile computer storage medium. For example, the memory 204 may include RAM, including dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM) and / or static RAM (SRAM). In some embodiments, the memory 204 includes a non-volatile computer storage medium. For example, the memory 204 may include a hard drive, a flash memory, or any other suitable non-volatile computer storage device. In some embodiments, the memory 204 includes both volatile and non-volatile computer storage media. In some embodiments, the memory 204 also stores program code and related data, such as an operating system or other controller algorithms operating on the remote unit 102.

[0046] In one embodiment, input device 206 may include any known computer input device, including a touchpad, buttons, keyboard, stylus, microphone, etc. In some embodiments, input device 206 may be integrated with display 208, for example, as a touch screen or similar touch-sensitive display. In some embodiments, input device 206 includes a touch screen, so that text can be entered using a virtual keyboard displayed on the touch screen and / or by handwriting on the touch screen. In some embodiments, input device 206 includes two or more different devices, such as a keyboard and a touchpad.

[0047] In one embodiment, the display 208 may include any known electronic controllable display or display device. The display 208 may be designed to output visual, auditory and / or tactile signals. In some embodiments, the display 208 includes an electronic display capable of outputting visual data to the user. For example, the display 208 may include, but is not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a projector, or a similar display device capable of outputting images, text, etc. to the user. As another non-limiting example, the display 208 may include wearable displays such as smart watches, smart glasses, and head-up displays. In addition, the display 208 may be a component of a smart phone, a personal digital assistant, a television, a desktop computer, a notebook (laptop) computer, a personal computer, a vehicle dashboard, etc.

[0048] In some embodiments, the display 208 includes one or more speakers for generating sound. For example, the display 208 can generate an audible alarm or notification (e.g., a beep or buzzer). In some embodiments, the display 208 includes one or more haptic devices for generating vibration, motion, or other tactile feedback. In some embodiments, all or part of the display 208 can be integrated with the input device 206. For example, the input device 206 and the display 208 can form a touch screen or similar touch-sensitive display. In other embodiments, the display 208 can be located near the input device 206.

[0049] In some embodiments, receiver 212 is configured to receive configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from the current serving cell. In some embodiments, processor 202 is configured to: perform beam measurements at the physical layer, where the beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determine a triggering event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements, where the triggering event corresponds to a triggering cell; and determine a report type based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

[0050] Although only one transmitter 210 and one receiver 212 are shown, the remote unit 102 may have any suitable number of transmitters 210 and receivers 212. The transmitter 210 and receiver 212 may be any suitable type of transmitter and receiver. In one embodiment, the transmitter 210 and receiver 212 may be part of a transceiver.

[0051] Figure 3 One embodiment of an apparatus 300 that can be used to configure beam measurements for a group of cells is depicted. Apparatus 300 includes one embodiment of a network unit 104. Furthermore, network unit 104 can include a processor 302, a memory 304, an input device 306, a display 308, a transmitter 310, and a receiver 312. It will be appreciated that processor 302, memory 304, input device 306, display 308, transmitter 310, and receiver 312 can be substantially similar to processor 202, memory 204, input device 206, display 208, transmitter 210, and receiver 212, respectively, of remote unit 102.

[0052] In certain embodiments, transmitter 310 is configured to transmit configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from the current serving cell. In some embodiments, receiver 312 receives a report from a UE. The report corresponds to a beam measurement using a report type corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0053] It should be noted that one or more embodiments described herein may be combined into a single embodiment.

[0054] In certain embodiments, when a UE moves from the coverage area of ​​one cell to another, a serving cell change may be required at some point because the current serving cell is no longer a viable radio option. The serving cell change may be triggered by layer 3 (L3) measurements and may be performed by a reconfiguration triggered by radio resource control (RRC) signaling that is synchronized with the change of the primary cell (PCell) and primary secondary cell (PSCell). In some embodiments, there may be a release of the SCell. In various embodiments, there may be a full layer 2 (L2) and / or layer 1 (L1) reset that may result in longer latency, greater overhead, and longer outage time than beam switching mobility. In certain embodiments, L1 and / or L2 mobility enhancements may enable serving cell changes via L1 and / or L2 signaling to reduce latency, overhead, and / or outage time.

[0055] In various embodiments, conditional PSCell change (CPC) and / or conditional PSCell addition (CPA) (CPC / CPA). If random access for transmission to the target PSCell is completed, a UE configured with CPC / CPA may release the CPC / CPA configuration. In this case, if there is no previous CPC / CPA reconfiguration and reinitialization instruction from the network, the UE may not have the opportunity to perform subsequent CPC / CPA. This may increase the latency of the cell change and increase the signaling overhead (for example, for frequent secondary cell group (SCG) changes in frequency range 2 (FR2)). Therefore, multi-radio access technology (RAT) (MR) dual connectivity (DC) (MR-DC) with selective activation of cell groups can enable subsequent CPC / CPA after the SCG change without the need for reconfiguration and reinitialization of CPC / CPA from the network. This can reduce the signaling overhead and interruption time of the SCG change.

[0056] In some embodiments, conditional HO (CHO) and MR-DC cannot be configured simultaneously. This may limit the usefulness of these two features when MR-DC is configured. In some embodiments, CHO and MR-DC can be configured simultaneously. In various embodiments, CHO+MR-DC can consider CHO including a target master cell group (MCG) and multiple candidate SCGs for CPC / CPA.

[0057] In some embodiments, RRC connection mobility may be defined.

[0058] Network-controlled mobility can be applied to UEs in the RRC_CONNECTED state and can be divided into two types of mobility: cell-level mobility and beam-level mobility. Beam-level mobility includes intra-cell beam-level mobility and inter-cell beam-level mobility.

[0059] Cell-level mobility can be triggered using explicit RRC signaling (e.g., HO). For inter-gNB HO, the signaling procedure includes at least Figure 4 Basic components shown.

[0060] Figure 4 FIG4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 400 for an inter-gNB HO procedure. The system 400 includes a UE 402, a source gNB 404, and a target gNB 406. Each communication in the system 400 may include one or more messages.

[0061] In the first communication 408, the source gNB 404 initiates the HO and issues a handover request over the Xn interface.

[0062] The target gNB 406 performs 409 admission control and, in a second communication 410 , provides the new RRC configuration as part of the handover request acknowledgement.

[0063] In a third communication 412, source gNB 404 provides the RRC configuration to UE 402 by forwarding the RRC reconfiguration message received in the handover request acknowledgment. The RRC reconfiguration message includes at least the cell ID and all information required to access the target cell, allowing UE 402 to access the target cell without reading system information. In some cases, information required for contention-based and contention-free random access may be included in the RRC reconfiguration message. Access information to the target cell may include beam-specific information, if available.

[0064] UE 402 moves 414 the RRC connection to target gNB 406 and responds with an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message in a fourth communication 416. In some embodiments, user data may be sent in fourth communication 416 if the authorization allows.

[0065] For Dual Active Protocol Stack (DAPS) HO, the UE continues to receive downlink user data from the source gNB until the source cell is released, and continues uplink user data transmission to the source gNB until the random access procedure to the target gNB is successful.

[0066] Only the source and target PCells are used during DAPS HO. Carrier aggregation (CA), DC, Supplementary Uplink (SUL), Multiple Transmission Reception Points (TRPs) (Multi-TRP), (EHC), CHO, (UDC), NR sidelink configuration, and Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) sidelink configuration are released by the source gNB before the HO command is sent to the UE and are not configured by the target gNB until the DAPS HO is completed (e.g., at the earliest in the same message that releases the source PCell).

[0067] The HO mechanism triggered by RRC requires the UE to at least reset the Medium Access Control (MAC) entity and re-establish the Radio Link Connection (RLC), except for DAPS HO, where upon receiving the HO command, the UE: 1) creates a MAC entity for the target; 2) establishes an RLC entity and related Dedicated Traffic Channel (DTCH) logical channel for the target for each Data Radio Bearer (DRB) configured with DAPS; 3) reconfigures a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) entity with separate security and robust header compression (ROHC) functionality for the source and target for each DRB configured with DAPS, and associates it with the RLC entities configured by the source and target, respectively; and 4) retains the remaining source configuration until the source is released.

[0068] RRC managed HO with and without PDCP entity re-establishment is supported. For DRBs using RLC Acknowledged Mode (AM) mode, PDCP can be re-established with a security key change or a data recovery procedure can be initiated without a key change. For DRBs using RLC Unacknowledged Mode (UM) mode, PDCP can be re-established with a security key change or remain as is without a key change. For Signalling Radio Bearers (SRBs), PDCP can remain as is and discard its stored PDCP Protocol Data Units (PDUs) and / or Service Data Units (SDUs) without a key change or be re-established with a security key change.

[0069] In various embodiments, if the target gNB uses the same DRB configuration as the source gNB, data forwarding, in-sequence delivery, and avoidance of duplication at HO can be guaranteed.

[0070] A timer-based HO failure procedure may be supported in NR. In addition, the RRC connection reestablishment procedure may be used to recover from a HO failure, with the exception of certain CHO or DAPS HO scenarios: 1) When DAPS HO fails, the UE falls back to the source cell configuration, restores the connection to the source cell, and reports the DAPS HO failure via the source if the source link has not been released, without triggering RRC connection reestablishment; and 2) When the initial CHO execution attempt fails or the HO fails overall, the UE performs cell selection, and if the selected cell is a CHO candidate, and if the network configures the UE to attempt CHO after HO and / or CHO failure, the UE attempts CHO execution once, otherwise performs reestablishment. FR2 to FR2 DAPS HO may not be supported.

[0071] In standalone (SA) mode, the HO of an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) mobile terminal (MT) (IAB-MT) can follow the same procedures as described for the UE. After the backhaul is established, the HO of the IAB-MT can be part of the intra-central unit (CU) (intra-CU) topology adaptation process. The configuration of the backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) sublayer and higher protocol layers above the BAP sublayer can be modified.

[0072] Beam-level mobility does not require explicit RRC signaling. Beam-level mobility can occur within a cell or between cells, the latter being referred to as inter-cell beam management (ICBM). For ICBM, a UE can receive or transmit UE-specific channels and / or signals via a Transmission Relay (TRP) associated with a physical cell identifier (PCI) different from that of the serving cell, while non-UE-specific channels or signals can only be received via a TRP associated with the serving cell's PCI. The gNB provides the UE with a measurement configuration via RRC signaling. The measurement configuration contains the configuration of synchronization signal blocks (SSBs) and / or channel state information (CSI) resources and resource sets, as well as reports and triggering status for triggering channel and interference measurements and reporting. For ICBM, the measurement configuration includes SSB resources associated with a PCI different from that of the serving cell. Beam-level mobility is then handled at lower layers through physical and MAC layer control signaling, and RRC does not need to be aware of which beam is in use at a given point in time.

[0073] SSB-based beam-level mobility can be based on the SSB associated with the initial downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) and can be configured only for the initial DL BWP and for the DL BWP containing the SSB associated with the initial DL BWP. For other DL BWPs, beam-level mobility can be performed only based on the CSI reference signal (RS) (CSI-RS).

[0074] In some embodiments, a HO procedure may be present. In some embodiments, C-plane processing may be present. In such embodiments, intra-NR radio access network (RAN) HO performs the preparation and execution phases of the HO procedure, which is performed without involving a fifth generation cell (5GC) (e.g., preparation messages are exchanged directly between gNBs). During the HO completion phase, resource release at the source gNB is triggered by the target gNB. Figure 5 Depicts a basic HO scenario where neither the AMF nor the UPF changes.

[0075] Figure 5 FIG1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 500 for intra-AM and / or intra-UPF HO. The system 500 includes a UE 502, a source gNB 504, a target gNB 506, an AMF 508, and a UPF 510 (e.g., one or more UPFs). Each communication in the system 500 may include one or more messages.

[0076] In the first communication 512 and the second communication 514, user data may be transmitted.

[0077] In a third communication 516, the UE 502 context within the source gNB 504 contains information about roaming and access restrictions, which was provided at connection establishment or at the last timing advance (TA) update.

[0078] In a fourth communication 518, the source gNB 504 configures the UE 502 measurement procedure, and the UE 502 reports according to the measurement configuration.

[0079] The source gNB 504 decides 520 to perform HO for the UE 502 based on the MeasurementReport and the RRM information.

[0080] In a fifth communication 522, source gNB 504 issues a HO request message to target gNB 506, delivering a transparent RRC container with the necessary information to prepare for the HO on the target side. This information includes at least the target cell ID, KgNB*, the cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) of UE 502 in the source gNB, RRM configuration including UE inactivity time, basic AS configuration including antenna information and DL carrier frequency, current Quality of Service (QoS) flow-to-DRB mapping rules applied to UE 502, System Information Block 1 (SIB1) from the source gNB, UE 502 capabilities for different RATs, PDU session-related information, and may include UE-reported measurement information, including beam-related information (if available). PDU session-related information includes slice information and QoS flow-level QoS profiles. Source gNB 504 may also request DAPS HO for one or more DRBs. After issuing the HO request, source gNB 504 should not reconfigure UE 502, including performing Reflective QoS flow-to-DRB mapping.

[0081] Admission control may be performed 524 by the target gNB 506. Slice-aware admission control may be performed if slice information is sent to the target gNB 506. If a PDU session is associated with an unsupported slice, the target gNB 506 may reject such a PDU session.

[0082] In a sixth communication 526, the target gNB 506 prepares for a HO with L1 and / or L2 and sends a Handover Request Acknowledgement to the source gNB 504, which includes a transparent container to be sent as an RRC message to the UE 502 to perform the HO. The target gNB 506 also indicates whether the DAPS HO is accepted. Data forwarding can be initiated immediately after the source gNB 504 receives the Handover Request Acknowledgement, or after the transmission of the HO command is initiated in the downlink. For DRBs configured with DAPS, downlink PDCP SDUs are forwarded using the sequence number (SN) assigned by the source gNB 504 until the SN assignment is handed over to the target gNB 506, after which normal data forwarding occurs.

[0083] In the seventh communication 528, the source gNB 504 triggers a Uu HO by sending an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE 502 containing the information required to access the target cell. This information includes at least the target cell ID, the new C-RNTI, and the target gNB 506 security algorithm identifier for the selected security algorithm. It may also include a set of dedicated random access channel (RACH) resources, the association between RACH resources and SSBs, the association between RACH resources and UE-specific CSI-RS configurations, common RACH resources, and system information for the target cell. For DRBs configured with DAPS, the source gNB 504 does not stop sending downlink packets until a handover success message is received from the target gNB 506. CHO cannot be configured simultaneously with DAPS HO. The source gNB 504 may deliver 530 buffered data and new data from the UPF. Furthermore, the UE 502 may detach 532 from the old cell and synchronize to the new cell.

[0084] In communication 534, the source gNB 504 sends an Early State Transfer message for a DRB configured with DAPS. The DL COUNT value conveyed in the Early State Transfer message indicates the PDCP SN and hyperframe number (HFN) of the first PDCP SDU that the source gNB 504 forwards to the target gNB 506. The source gNB 504 does not stop allocating SNs to downlink PDCP SDUs until it sends the SN State Transfer message to the target gNB 506.

[0085] In a ninth communication 536, for DRBs not configured with DAPS, the source gNB 504 sends an SN Status Transfer message to the target gNB 506 to convey the uplink PDCP SN receiver status and downlink PDCP SN transmitter status of the DRBs for which PDCP status preservation applies (e.g., for RLC Acknowledgement Mode (AM)). The uplink PDCP SN receiver status includes at least the PDCP SN of the first lost UL PDCP SDU and may include a bitmap of the reception status of out-of-sequence UL PDCP SDUs that the UE 502 needs to retransmit in the target cell (if any). The downlink PDCP SN transmitter status indicates the next PDCP SN that the target gNB 506 can assign to new PDCP SDUs that do not yet have a PDCP SN. In the case of DAPS HO, the uplink PDCP SN receiver status and downlink PDCP SN transmitter status for DRBs with RLC AM (RLC-AM) and not configured with DAPS may be sent via the SN Status Transfer message. For DRBs configured with DAPS, the source gNB may additionally send an Early State Transfer message to notify the discard of already forwarded PDCP SDUs. The target gNB 506 does not send forwarded downlink PDCP SDUs to the UE 502 whose count is less than the transmitted DL count value and discards them if no transmission has been attempted.

[0086] In a tenth communication 538, user data may be transmitted. Additionally, the target gNB 506 may buffer 539 the user data from the source gNB 504.

[0087] In the eleventh communication 540, UE 502 synchronizes with the target cell and completes the RRC HO procedure by sending an RRC Reconfiguration Complete message to the target gNB 506. In the case of DAPS HO, UE 502 does not detach from the source cell after receiving the RRC Reconfiguration message. UE 502 releases the source resources and configuration and ceases DL and / or UL reception and / or transmission with the source after receiving an explicit release from the target node. From the RAN perspective, the DAPS HO is considered complete only after UE 502 releases the source cell in accordance with the explicit request from the target node. With RRC suspend, a subsequent HO or inter-RAT HO cannot be initiated until the source cell is released.

[0088] In the twelfth communication 542 and / or the thirteenth communication 544, in the case of DAPS HO, the target gNB 506 sends a Handover Success message to the source gNB 504 to inform the UE 502 that it has successfully accessed the target cell. In response, the source gNB 504 sends an SN Status Transfer message for the DRB configured with DAPS, followed by normal data forwarding. If DAPS is configured, the SN Status Transfer message also conveys the uplink PDCP SN receiver status and downlink PDCP SN transmitter status for the DRB in RLC Unacknowledged Mode (UM) (RLC-UM).

[0089] For DRBs configured with DAPS, the source gNB 504 does not stop delivering uplink QoS flows to the UPF until it sends the SN Status Transfer message in step 8b. The target gNB does not forward the QoS flows of successfully received in-sequence uplink PDCP SDUs to the UPF 510 until it receives the SN Status Transfer message in which the UL High Frequency Network (HFN) and the first missing SN in the uplink PDCP SN receiver status indicate the start of uplink PDCP SDDs to be delivered to the UPF 510. The target gNB 506 does not deliver any uplink PDCP SDUs with an UL count lower than the provided UL count.

[0090] In the fourteenth communication 546 , the fifteenth communication 548 , and the sixteenth communication 550 , user data is transmitted.

[0091] In the seventeenth communication 552, the target gNB 506 sends a path switch request message to the AMF 508 to trigger the 5GC to switch the DL data path to the target gNB 506 and establish an (NG-C) interface instance towards the target gNB 506.

[0092] In an eighteenth communication 554, the 5GC switches the DL data path to the target gNB 506. In a nineteenth communication 556, the UPF 510 sends one or more "end marker" packets to the source gNB 504 for each PDU session and / or tunnel on the old path, and may then release any user plane (U-plane) and / or TNL resources to the source gNB 502.

[0093] In a twentieth communication 558, user data may be transmitted.

[0094] In a twenty-first communication 560, the AMF 508 confirms the Path Switch Request message with a Path Switch Request Confirm message.

[0095] After receiving the Path Switch Request Ack message from the AMF 508, in a twenty-second communication 562, the target gNB 506 sends a UE Context Release to notify the source gNB 504 of the success of the HO. The source gNB 504 may then release the radio and C-plane related resources associated with the UE context. Any ongoing data forwarding may continue. Figure 5 In the system 500, some steps 564 may correspond to HO preparation, some steps 566 may correspond to HO execution, and other steps 568 may correspond to HO completion.

[0096] The RRM configuration may include beam measurement information associated with the SSB and CSI-RS of the reported cell (e.g., for L3 mobility), if both types of measurements are available. Additionally, if Carrier Access Control (CA) is configured, the RRM configuration may include a list of the best cells for which measurement information is available on each frequency, and the RRM measurement information may also include beam measurements for the listed cells belonging to the target gNB.

[0097] The common RACH configuration for beams in the target cell is associated only with the SSB. The network may have dedicated RACH configurations associated with the SSB and / or dedicated RACH configurations associated with the CSI-RS within the cell. The target gNB may only include one of the following RACH configurations in the HO command to enable the UE to access the target cell: 1) common RACH configuration; 2) common RACH configuration + dedicated RACH configuration associated with the SSB; and 3) common RACH configuration + dedicated RACH configuration associated with the CSI-RS.

[0098] A dedicated RACH configuration allocates RACH resources and quality thresholds for their use. When dedicated RACH resources are provided, they are prioritized by the UE, and as long as the quality thresholds for these dedicated resources are met, the UE can switch to contention-free RACH resources. The order in which dedicated RACH resources are accessed depends on the UE implementation.

[0099] After receiving the HO command requesting DAPS HO, the UE suspends the source cell SRB, stops sending and receiving any RRC control plane signaling to the source cell, and establishes an SRB for the target cell. After a successful DAPS HO, the UE releases the source cell SRB configuration upon receiving a source cell release indication from the target cell. If the DAPS HO to the target cell fails, the UE reverts to the source cell configuration if the source cell link is available and resumes the source cell SRB for control plane signaling.

[0100] In some embodiments, mobility can be enhanced with the aim of specifying mechanisms and procedures for inter-cell mobility based on L1 and / or L2 to reduce mobility delays, which may include: 1) configuring and maintaining multiple candidate cells to allow rapid application of the configuration of candidate cells; 2) a dynamic switching mechanism between candidate serving cells (e.g., including SpCells and secondary cells (SCells)) for potentially applicable scenarios based on L1 and / or L2 signaling; 3) L1 enhancement for inter-cell beam management, including L1 measurement and reporting, and beam indication; 4) TA management; and / or 5) centralized unit-distributed unit (CU-DU) interface signaling to support L1 and / or L2 mobility. It should be noted that FR2-specific enhancements are not excluded and L1 and / or L2-based inter-cell mobility procedures may be applicable to the following scenarios: 1) standalone, CA, and NR-DC with serving cell change within one configuration grant (CG); 2) intra-DU and intra-CU inter-DU (e.g., applicable to standalone and CA: no new RAN interface is expected); 3) both intra-frequency and inter-frequency; 4) both FR1 and FR2; and / or 5) the source and target cells may be synchronized or unsynchronized.

[0101] In various embodiments, there may be mechanisms and procedures for L1 and / or L2 based inter-cell mobility for mobility delay reduction.

[0102] In a first embodiment, there may be the following elements for the mobility procedure: 1) measurement configuration; 2) measurement; 3) measurement reporting; and / or 4) network decision and / or response.

[0103] For measurement configurations, additional cells may be defined. Additional cells may be cells that are configured not as part of a serving cell configuration but as part of a cell group configuration. This may include adding multiple input multiple output (MIMO) parameters (MIMO parameters) on top of the cell group configuration. An example of an embodiment of the MIMO parameters is Figure 6 shown.

[0104] Figure 6 is a block diagram 600 illustrating one embodiment of MIMO parameters including additional cells.

[0105] The cell group configuration allows additional cells to be shared by the entire cell group. In addition, the cell group configuration acts as a multi-TRP case, where some of the TRPs belong to additional cells that have not yet become serving cells but can become serving cells in response to a measurement trigger. The beams (e.g., TCI status) belonging to these additional cells can be provided using any suitable means (e.g., BWP downlink -> BWP-downlink dedicated -> PDSCH configuration -> TCI status -> additional PCI). For signaling purposes, the additional cells can be indexed from 1 to N, where N additional cells are configured, or from X to X+N, where X-1 serving cells are configured at that point in time.

[0106] In some embodiments, additional cells are defined as part of the Scell ​​configuration and the SpCell configuration (e.g., defined in the MIMO parameters of ServingCellConfig), with the following conditions and / or characteristics: 1) additional cells in the Scell ​​can be added as (or replace) the Scell ​​using L1 and / or L2 procedures; 2) additional cells from the SpCell can be added as (or replace) the SpCell using L1 and / or L2 procedures; 3) additional cells of the PCell can replace the current PCell; and / or 4) additional cells of the PSCell can replace the current PSCell. For signaling purposes, additional cells are indexed from 1 to N, where N additional cells are configured, or from X to X+N, where X-1 serving cells are configured at that point in time.

[0107] In various embodiments, a new RRC configuration is used to indicate for each additional cell (or group of additional cells, e.g., if the additional cells are added directly to the cell group configuration) whether mobility to the cell requires RRC-based measurement reporting and / or RRC-based mobility (e.g., reconfiguration with Sync). If mobility to the additional cell requires a security key change, RRC-based measurement reporting may be required. To this end, a Boolean flag (e.g., RRC-based) may be added to the corresponding additional cell (or additional cell group) when configuring the cell and / or cell group.

[0108] In some embodiments, transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration and activation of additional cells may be performed (e.g., their configuration may follow the RRC+MAC+Phy(DCI) model). In some embodiments, the lower layers of the RRC configuration may have the new information described herein and other configuration information.

[0109] In various embodiments, new measurements may be performed. In such embodiments, there may be new measurement events (e.g., triggering events), such as: 1) event A1_L1 (e.g., the beam of the serving cell becomes better than a threshold); 2) event A2_L1 (e.g., the beam of the serving cell becomes worse than a threshold); 3) event A3_L1 (e.g., the beam of the additional cell becomes better than the best beam offset of the SpCell); 4) event A4_L1 (e.g., the beam of the additional cell becomes better than a threshold); 5) event A5_L1 (e.g., the first beam of the SpCell becomes worse than a first threshold, while the second beam of the additional cell becomes better than a second threshold); and / or 6) event A6_L1 (e.g., the beam of the additional cell becomes better than the best beam offset of the SCell). In addition, in such embodiments, there may be measurement configurations with information elements (IEs) that indicate thresholds, hysteresis, trigger times, etc. configured by RRC for L1 or MAC.

[0110] In certain embodiments, new measurement events may be evaluated, such as using a combination of functions in the physical (Phy) and RRC layers (e.g., Figure 7 shown).

[0111] Figure 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a measurement model in a system 700. The system 700 includes a UE 702 that receives an input (A) including a first gNB beam 704, a second gNB beam 706, and up to K gNB beams 708. The UE 702 applies L1 filtering to the input to provide an output (A 1 ). The UE 702 provides the output to the beam combining and / or selection 710 function. The beam combining and / or selection 710 device also receives parameters 712 configured by the RRC to generate an output (e.g., cell quality, B), which is provided to the L3 filtering 714 function for cell quality. In addition, the L3 filtering 714 device for cell quality also receives parameters 716 configured by the RRC to generate an output (C), which is provided to the evaluation of reporting criteria 718 function. In addition, the evaluation of reporting criteria 718 function receives a second input (C 1) 720 and RRC configured parameters 722 to produce an output (D) 724. UE 702 also provides its output to an L3 beam filtering 726 function that performs L3 beam filtering. The L3 beam filtering 726 function also receives RRC configured parameters 728 to produce an output (E) of K beams, which are provided to a beam selection 730 function for reporting. Furthermore, the beam selection 730 function for reporting also receives RRC configured parameters 732 to produce an output (F) 734 of X beams. In various embodiments, filtering among multiple parameters may include examining values ​​associated with the parameters and selecting a subset of parameters based on the examined values. In particular, beam filtering herein may include examining signal strengths obtained when applying spatial filters associated with multiple beams and then selecting one or more beams with the highest associated signal strengths. Unless explicitly mentioned, the term "filtering" herein may refer to beam filtering. If filtering is performed by the physical layer, data link layer, or RRC, the filtering may be referred to as L1 filtering, L2 filtering, or L3 filtering, respectively. L1 and / or L2 filtering may be performed faster than L3 filtering at the expense of reliability.

[0112] In various embodiments, different measurement models may be used for L1 and / or L2 based mobility procedures, such as: 1) a first model in which measurement events are evaluated at the Phy layer for a short period of time and an L1 measurement report is sent to the gNB - according to this model, the Phy layer directly uses beam measurements and, after filtering, determines whether any events configured by RRC (e.g., triggering events) are met (e.g., triggered); and / or 2) a second model in which measurement events are evaluated at the MAC - according to this model, the MAC uses a Figure 7 The functionality of RRC is shown. Depending on the RRC measurement configuration, L3 filtering may or may not be applied.

[0113] In some embodiments, there may be some kind of measurement reporting.

[0114] In one embodiment, the Phy layer can be used for reporting. In addition, in one implementation, the Phy layer reports the best beam corresponding to the additional cell. This can be based on an event trigger condition in response to one or more events being triggered (for example, one or more thresholds being met). The device can implement periodic reporting configured by RRC. Since the reporting is performed directly at the Phy layer, it can be performed faster than L3 reporting. It will be understood that without L3 filtering, the measurements obtained at the Phy layer will not be considered very stable. In some embodiments, the network can configure whether to use L1 and / or L2-based mobility or only L3 mobility - this depends on UE mobility (for example, low mobility vs. high mobility), available spectrum (for example, whether FR2 is available), UE capabilities, scattering environment, etc. In one example, if the UE indicates high mobility characteristics to the network, such as high-speed trains / vehicles, the network can configure L1 / L2-based mobility procedures instead of L3-based mobility procedures. In another example, OAM or another network entity can pre-configure the gNB RRC to configure all UEs (or only high-speed UEs in an alternative example) when connected in urban areas and / or on the FR2 band. In these examples, faster mobility procedures may be preferred over L3 mobility. When measurement results are available, the actual reporting can be done using: 1) a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) based on a PUCCH format that uses spatial relationship information (PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo) of the serving cell and / or a cell group containing additional cells; or 2) a sounding reference signal (SRS) spatial relationship indication media access control element (MAC CE) based on the set of additional cells.

[0115] In various embodiments, MAC may be used for reporting. In such embodiments, a RACH+MAC CE may be used for cell change indication (e.g., to an additional cell). If a measurement report needs to be sent, the MAC may: 1) initiate contention-free random access (CFRA) if a suitable beam for the additional cell has been allocated dedicated RACH resources—successful completion of the RACH procedure indicates successful mobility to the additional cell; or 2) use contention-based random access (CBRA), where the MAC initiates transmission of a measurement report MAC CE containing the additional cell ID and the corresponding suitable and / or best beam. A Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) message received on the same Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) process used to send the MAC CE may be used by the serving gNB to indicate a cell change confirmation. The MAC CE may contain an indication of the best beam (e.g., TCI state) and an index of the corresponding additional cell.

[0116] In some embodiments, RRC may be used for reporting. If the other cell belongs to another CU, it is configured to require RRC-based mobility (e.g., a Boolean flag such as an "RRC-based" indication). RRC performs measurement reporting based on various possible procedures. When an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node performs a HO from a first serving cell of a first parent IAB node to a second serving cell of a second parent IAB node, a similar procedure may be applied to the IAB system, where the first parent IAB node and the second parent IAB node are configured by different IAB donor CUs.

[0117] In some embodiments, the network response may include: 1) information corresponding to L1 mobility via a PDCCH received on the same HARQ process used to send a MAC CE for mobility—the measurement report may infer L1 mobility; 2) information indicating L2 reconfiguration from the network—the gNB may add a new SCell or change the SpCell (e.g., with synchronized reconfiguration) with or without HO upon receiving one or more L1 measurement reports—a MAC CE may be used—the gNB sends a MAC CE to add and / or replace a new cell list (e.g., converting an additional cell to an SCell and / or SpCell); and / or 3) information indicating L3 reconfiguration from the network. If the gNB sends an L3 HO CMD (e.g., with synchronized reconfiguration), a security change may be performed. The physical cell ID and frequency of the additional cell (e.g., PCell) to which mobility is being performed are used to derive new security keys.

[0118] The second embodiment may build upon the features found in the first embodiment. In such an embodiment, the gNB configures the UE using elements of the first embodiment. Figure 8As shown, the UE RRC configures the lower layers accordingly. The UE's Phy layer initiates internal Phy layer measurements (e.g., beam-specific samples) and performs L1 filtering (e.g., internal L1 filtering on the input). In certain embodiments, beam-specific measurements are combined to derive cell quality, or the measurement events described herein are evaluated directly based on beam measurements (e.g., after L1 filtering). The triggered event initiates notification to the gNB using a physical channel (e.g., PUCCH), and the UE selects an appropriate beam for the corresponding additional cell and reports the cell index on the associated PUCCH cell (e.g., SpCell or PUCCH cell of a cell group). In some embodiments, an SRS spatial relation indication MAC CE based on the additional cell set may be used. The uplink spatial relation may include uplink spatial relation information parameters or a TCI state including a QCL relation. Furthermore, in various embodiments, if a security change is not required, the gNB confirms the cell change by adding cell X as an SCell or replacing the current SpCell with cell X. If a security change is required, the gNB may initiate the HO procedure by sending a ReconfigurationWithSync message (e.g., HO CMD) to the UE.

[0119] Figure 8 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 800 for using L1-based mobility. The system 800 includes a UE RRC 802, a UE MAC 804, a UE L1 806, and a gNB 808. Each communication shown may include one or more messages.

[0120] In a first communication 810, a new RRC configuration is sent. The new RRC configuration may include additional cells X and Y. The UE RRC 802 configures 812 L1 and L2. The UE L1 806 monitors 814 for measurement events.

[0121] In a second communication 816, a PUCCH message is sent in response to the measurement event. The PUCCH message may include information indicating an additional cell X (eg, the cell that caused the measurement event).

[0122] In a third communication 818, an L1 HO message is sent. The L1 HO message may include information indicating an additional cell X (eg, a cell to be used for HO).

[0123] In a fourth communication 820, a mobility message is transmitted. The mobility message may indicate that cell X is added as an SCell or a PCell.

[0124] In a fifth communication 822, an L1 mobility complete message may be transmitted.

[0125] A third embodiment may build upon the features found in the first embodiment. In such an embodiment, the gNB configures the UE using elements of the first embodiment. Figure 9 As shown, the UE RRC configures the lower layers accordingly. The UE's Phy layer begins measurements internal to the Phy layer (e.g., beam-specific samples) and then performs L1 filtering (e.g., internal L1 filtering on the input). The beam-specific measurements are combined to derive cell quality, and L1 recognizes that the triggering beam is marked as "report to RRC," after which L1 reports the beam measurements to RRC. In various embodiments, RRC can directly configure L1 on the beams belonging to each cell for which L1 should perform measurements and configure which cells are configured as "report to RRC." If the triggering cell is not among the cells configured with "report to RRC," the second embodiment solution is used. The RRC performs beam combining, cell quality assessment, L3 filtering, and reporting criteria evaluation before reporting the measurements (e.g., events) to the gNB via transmission; alternatively, it reports the additional Cell X measurements corresponding to the best reporting beam directly from L1 to the gNB without any further evaluation.

[0126] Figure 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 900 for supporting mobility using L1 with security key change. The system 900 includes a UE RRC 902, a UE MAC 904, a UE L1 906, and a gNB 908. Each communication shown may include one or more messages.

[0127] In a first communication 910, a new RRC configuration is sent. The new RRC configuration may include additional cells X (e.g., based on RRC) and Y (e.g., L1 and / or MAC). UE RRC 902 configures 912 L1 and L2. UE L1 906 monitors 914 for measurement events (e.g., cell X triggering events, in one example).

[0128] In a second communication 916, the cell X event is reported by L1 to L3 after L1 filtering.

[0129] In a third communication 918, a measurement report (eg, indicating cell X) is sent.

[0130] In a fourth communication 920, a HO CMD is sent. The HO CMD may indicate a reconfiguration with synchronization (eg, indicating cell X).

[0131] In a fifth communication 922, a reconfiguration complete (eg, HO complete) message may be transmitted.

[0132] The fourth embodiment may build upon the features found in the first embodiment. In such an embodiment, the gNB configures the UE using elements of the first embodiment. Figure 10 As shown, the UE RRC configures the lower layers accordingly. The UE's Phy layer starts measurements internal to the Phy layer (e.g., by obtaining beam-specific samples from the signal received on the reference signal resources) and then performs L1 filtering (e.g., internal L1 filtering on the input). The filtered L1 measurements are reported to the MAC, which performs beam combining and measurement report evaluation. When a measurement report needs to be sent, the MAC initiates either: 1) If dedicated RACH resources have been allocated for the appropriate beam of the additional cell, a CFRA is initiated - successful completion of the RACH procedure indicates successful mobility to the new additional cell; or 2) the MAC initiates the transmission of a Measurement Report MAC CE containing the additional cell ID and the corresponding appropriate and / or best beam. The MAC CE may contain a Measurement Report MAC CE.

[0133] In some embodiments, the measurement report MAC CE is identified by a MAC subheader with a new enhanced logical channel identifier (LCID) (eLCID). It can have variable sizes of the following fields: 1) Activation and / or Deactivation (A / D): This field indicates whether the indicated beam is added, activated, deleted and / or disabled - this field can be set to 1 to indicate activation, otherwise it can indicate deactivation; 2) TCI Status Serving Cell ID i : This field indicates the identity of the serving cell where the TCI state for SRS resource i is located - the length of this field can be 5 bits; 3) TCI State ID i : This field contains the identifier of the TCI state for SRS resource I - TCI state ID0 represents the first SRS resource in the resource set, TCI state ID2 represents the second resource, and so on - If joint and / or downlink TCI states are used, the TCI state ID can be 7 bits long - If separate downlink and uplink TCI states are used, the most significant bit of the TCI state ID is considered a reserved bit, and the remaining 6 bits indicate the UL TCI state ID (UL-TCIState-Id) - The length of this field can be 7 bits - This field only exists when the MACCE is used to activate a semi-persistent (SP) SRS resource set (for example, the A / D field is set to 1, or for an AP SRS resource set); 4) R: reserved bit, set to 0.

[0134] In some embodiments, the gNB responds with a bitmap indicating which serving and additional cells are considered to be added and / or activated, and which are to be deleted and / or deactivated; or the indices of the additional cell(s) being added and / or activated. The gNB may also initiate an RRC procedure to effect a change of serving cell.

[0135] Figure 101 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 1000 for utilizing L2-based mobility. The system 1000 includes a UE RRC 1002, a UE MAC 1004, a UE L1 1006, and a gNB 1008. Each communication shown may include one or more messages.

[0136] In a first communication 1010, a new RRC configuration is sent. The new RRC configuration may include additional cells X and Y. The UE RRC 1002 configures 1012 L1 and L2.

[0137] In the second communication 1014, the third communication 1016, and the fourth communication 1018, measurement reports may be sent.

[0138] The UE MAC 1004 performs 1020 beam combining. Additionally, the UE MAC 1004 monitors 1022 for a measurement event (eg, a cell X triggering event in one example).

[0139] In a fifth communication 1024, CFRA is performed on the appropriate beam of cell X.

[0140] In a sixth communication 1026, a measurement report MAC CE is sent.

[0141] In a seventh communication 1028, a cell configuration MAC CE is sent.

[0142] In an eighth communication 1030, an RRC reconfiguration message is sent.

[0143] The UE RRC 1002 configures 1032 L1 and L2.

[0144] In a ninth communication 1034, an RRC reconfiguration complete message may be transmitted.

[0145] Figure 11 1 is a flow chart illustrating one embodiment of a method 1100 for configuring beam measurements for a cell group. In some embodiments, the method 1100 is performed by a device such as the remote unit 102. In certain embodiments, the method 1100 may be performed by a processor that executes program code, such as a microcontroller, microprocessor, CPU, GPU, auxiliary processing unit, FPGA, etc.

[0146] In various embodiments, method 1100 includes receiving 1102 configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from a current serving cell. In some embodiments, method 1100 includes performing 1104 beam measurements at the physical layer. The beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. In certain embodiments, method 1100 includes determining 1106 a physical layer triggering event based on the beam measurements. The triggering event corresponds to a triggering cell. In various embodiments, method 1100 includes determining 1108 a report type based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

[0147] In some embodiments, method 1100 further includes sending a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined report type. In some embodiments, method 1100 further includes receiving a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to sending the report corresponding to the beam measurement. In various embodiments, the configuration of the triggering cell includes an RRC report or a low-layer report.

[0148] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes at least one triggering event.In some embodiments, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells using RRC reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

[0149] Figure 12 1 is a flow chart illustrating another embodiment of a method 1200 for configuring beam measurements for a cell group. In some embodiments, the method 1200 is performed by a device such as the remote unit 102. In some embodiments, the method 1200 may be performed by a processor that executes program code, such as a microcontroller, microprocessor, CPU, GPU, auxiliary processing unit, FPGA, etc.

[0150] In various embodiments, method 1200 includes sending 1202 configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell separate from a current serving cell. In some embodiments, method 1200 includes receiving 1204 a report from a UE. The report corresponds to a beam measurement via a report type corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0151] In certain embodiments, the method 1200 further comprises sending a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to receiving the report corresponding to the beam measurement.In some embodiments, the type of report corresponding to the triggering cell comprises an RRC report or a low layer report.

[0152] In various embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one triggering event.In one embodiment, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells using RRC reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

[0153] In certain embodiments, the network device determines the configuration information based on a high mobility indication of the UE, a carrier frequency of at least one cell, a deployment scenario of the network device, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the determination is configured by an OAM entity. In various embodiments, the high mobility indication of the UE may indicate that the UE is in a high-speed train, a high-speed vehicle, or a non-ground vehicle.

[0154] In one embodiment, the determination is based on determining that the carrier frequency is in the FR2 band or the millimeter wave band.In certain embodiments, the determination is based on determining that the deployment scenario is indicated as 'urban', 'macro-urban', or 'micro-urban'.

[0155] In one embodiment, an apparatus includes: a receiver for receiving configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell; and a processor for performing beam measurement at a physical layer, wherein the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determining a triggering event at a physical layer based on the beam measurement, wherein the triggering event corresponds to a triggering cell; and determining a type of report based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

[0156] In certain embodiments, an apparatus further includes a transmitter for transmitting a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

[0157] In some embodiments, the receiver is further configured to receive a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to the transmitter sending the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0158] In various embodiments, the configuration of the triggering cell includes RRC reporting or low layer reporting.

[0159] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes at least one triggering event.

[0160] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells using RRC reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

[0161] In one embodiment, a method at a UE includes: receiving configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell; performing beam measurement at a physical layer, wherein the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determining a triggering event at a physical layer based on the beam measurement, wherein the triggering event corresponds to a triggering cell; and determining a type of report based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

[0162] In certain embodiments, the method further includes sending a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

[0163] In some embodiments, the method further comprises receiving a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to sending the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0164] In various embodiments, the configuration of the triggering cell includes RRC reporting or low layer reporting.

[0165] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes at least one triggering event.

[0166] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells using RRC reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

[0167] In one embodiment, an apparatus includes: a transmitter for sending configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell; and a receiver for receiving a report from a UE, wherein the report corresponds to a beam measurement via a type of report corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0168] In certain embodiments, the transmitter is further configured to transmit a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to the receiver receiving a report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0169] In some embodiments, the type of report corresponding to the triggering cell includes an RRC report or a low layer report.

[0170] In various embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one triggering event.

[0171] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells using RRC reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

[0172] In one embodiment, a method at a network device includes: sending configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separate from a current serving cell; and receiving a report from a UE, wherein the report corresponds to a beam measurement via a type of report corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0173] In certain embodiments, a method further includes sending a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to receiving the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0174] In some embodiments, the type of report corresponding to the triggering cell includes an RRC report or a low layer report.

[0175] In various embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one triggering event.

[0176] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells using RRC reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

[0177] In certain embodiments, the network device determines the configuration information based on a high mobility indication of the UE, a carrier frequency of at least one cell, a deployment scenario of the network device, or a combination thereof.

[0178] In some embodiments, this determination is configured by an OAM entity.

[0179] In various embodiments, the high mobility indication of the UE may indicate that the UE is in a high-speed train, a high-speed vehicle, or a non-ground vehicle.

[0180] In one embodiment, the determination is based on determining that the carrier frequency is in the FR2 band or the millimeter wave band.

[0181] In certain embodiments, the determination is based on determining that the deployment scenario is indicated as 'city', 'macrocity', or 'microcity'.

[0182] The embodiments may be practiced in other specific forms. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects as illustrative only and not restrictive. Therefore, the scope of the present invention is indicated by the appended claims rather than by the above description. All changes within the meaning and scope of the equivalents of the claims are to be included within their scope.

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), comprising: at least one memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the UE to: receiving configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell; performing beam measurements at a physical layer, wherein the beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; Determine a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurement, wherein the trigger event corresponds to a triggering cell; as well as The type of report is determined based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

2. The UE of claim 1, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to send a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

3. The UE of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to receive a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to sending the report corresponding to the beam measurement. 4 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the configuration of the triggering cell comprises a radio resource control (RRC) report or a low layer report. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the configuration information includes at least one triggering event. 6 . The UE of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information comprises configuration of a first set of cells using radio resource control (RRC) reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

7. A method performed by a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: receiving configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell; performing beam measurements at a physical layer, wherein the beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; Determine a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurement, wherein the trigger event corresponds to a triggering cell; as well as The type of report is determined based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

8. The method of claim 7, further comprising sending a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

9. The method according to claim 8, further comprising: A mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE is received in response to sending the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the configuration of the triggering cell comprises a radio resource control (RRC) report or a low layer report. The method of claim 7 , wherein the configuration information includes at least one triggering event.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the configuration information comprises configuration of a first set of cells using radio resource control (RRC) reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

13. A processor for wireless communication, comprising: at least one controller coupled to at least one memory and configured to cause the processor to: receiving configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell; performing beam measurements at a physical layer, wherein the beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; Determine a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurement, wherein the trigger event corresponds to a triggering cell; as well as The type of report is determined based on the configuration of the triggering cell.

14. The processor of claim 13, wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to send a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

15. The processor of claim 14, wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to receive a mobility message confirming mobility of a user equipment (UE) in response to sending the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

16. A base station, comprising: at least one memory; as well as at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory and configured to cause the base station to: Sending configuration information for a cell group, wherein the cell group includes at least one cell separated from a current serving cell; as well as A report is received from a user equipment (UE), wherein the report corresponds to a beam measurement via a type of report corresponding to a triggering cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the base station to send a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to receiving the report corresponding to the beam measurement. 18 . The base station of claim 16 , wherein the type of the report corresponding to the triggering cell comprises a radio resource control (RRC) report or a low layer report. The base station according to claim 16 , wherein the configuration information comprises at least one triggering event.

20. The base station of claim 16, wherein the configuration information comprises configuration of a first set of cells using radio resource control (RRC) reporting and a second set of cells using low layer reporting.

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