Intra-cell handover optimization

Abstract

The invention relates to intra-cell handover optimization. There is provided a wireless device comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor coupled to the at least one radio; wherein the processor is configured to: obtain gap configuration information; stopping communication between the wireless device and a network side in a time slot indicated by the slot configuration information; and resuming the communication between the wireless device and the network side after the time slot.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates generally to wireless communications, including handovers in wireless communications. Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technologies use various standards and protocols to send data between base stations and wireless communication devices. Wireless communication system standards and protocols may include, for example, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G), 3GPP New Radio (NR) (e.g., 5G), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLANs) (commonly referred to within industry organizations as WLANs). ).

[0003] As envisioned by 3GPP, different wireless communication system standards and protocols may use various radio access networks (RANs) to communicate between base stations of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to as RAN nodes, network nodes, or simply nodes) and wireless communication devices referred to as user equipment (UE). 3GPP RANs may include, for example, Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN), Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), and / or Next Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN).

[0004] Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communications between base stations and UEs. For example, GERAN implements GSM and / or EDGE RAT, UTRAN implements Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes referred to as LTE), and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or NR in this document). In some deployments, E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In some deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT.

[0005] The base stations used by the RAN may correspond to the RAN. An example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also often denoted as an evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB). An example of an NG-RAN base station is a Next Generation Node B (also sometimes referred to as a gNodeB or gNB).

[0006] The RAN provides its communication services with external entities through its connection to the Core Network (CN). For example, E-UTRAN may utilize the Evolved Packet Core (EPC), while NG-RAN may utilize the 5G Core Network (5GC).

[0007] The frequency bands of 5G NR may be divided into two or more different frequency ranges. For example, frequency range 1 (FR1) may include frequency bands operating at frequencies below 6 GHz, some of which may be used by previous standards and may potentially be expanded to cover new spectrum products from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. Frequency range 2 (FR2) may include frequency bands from 24.25 GHz to 52.6 GHz. The frequency bands in the millimeter wave (mmWave) range of FR2 may have a smaller range but potentially higher available bandwidth than the frequency bands in FR1. The skilled person will recognize that these frequency ranges, provided by way of example, may vary over time or from region to region. Summary of the invention

[0008] Embodiments relate to improved handover in a wireless communication system, and more particularly to reducing signaling overhead associated with handover in a wireless communication system.

[0009] According to the technology described herein, for a possible handover of a wireless device in a wireless communication system, at least one of the wireless devices may stop or suspend its operation (such as communication with a network side) for a specific time period originally intended for handover, for example, without performing handover-related signaling, and after such time period, such at least one wireless device may resume its communication with the network side. Therefore, the signaling overhead associated with handover may be reduced to a certain extent, thereby improving system performance.

[0010] The techniques described herein may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including, but not limited to, any of cellular telephones, tablet computers, wearable computing devices, portable media players, and a variety of other computing devices.

[0011] This summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the topics described in this document. Therefore, it should be understood that the above features are only examples and should not be construed as narrowing the scope or essence of the topics described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the topics described herein will become apparent through the following detailed description, drawings, and claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0012] To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or action, the most significant digit(s) in a reference number refers to the drawing number that first introduces the element.

[0013] Figure 1 An example architecture of a wireless communication system according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0014] Figure 2 A system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device according to embodiments disclosed herein is illustrated.

[0015] Figure 3A An exemplary non-terrestrial network is illustrated.

[0016] Figure 3B The difference in RSRP variation at the cell center and cell edge between the TN network and the NTN network is illustrated.

[0017] Figure 3C The transition of the UE when the cell moves completely out of the original coverage area is illustrated.

[0018] Figure 4A is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary intra-cell HO process according to some embodiments of the present disclosure, and Figure 4B Exemplary signaling in an intra-cell HO procedure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated.

[0019] Figure 5 is a flow chart illustrating an example method on the wireless device side according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating an example method on the network device side according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0021] Fig. 7A and Figure 7B Exemplary gap configurations according to some embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated.

[0022] FIG. 8A to FIG. 8C Exemplary access control according to some embodiments of the present disclosure is illustrated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0023] the term

[0024] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE Device") —Any of various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smart phones (e.g., iPhone TM , based on Android TM phones), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS TM , PlayStation Portable TM 、Gameboy AdvanceTM , iPhone TM ), laptop computers, wearable devices (e.g., smart watches, smart glasses), PDAs, portable Internet devices, music players, data storage devices or other handheld devices, etc. In general, the term "UE" or "UE device" can be broadly defined to cover any electronic device, computing device and / or telecommunication device (or combination of devices) that is convenient for a user to carry and capable of wireless communication.

[0025] Wireless Devices —Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communications. A wireless device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a certain location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0026] Communications equipment —Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, where the communications may be wired or wireless. A communications device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A wireless device is an example of a communications device. A UE is another example of a communications device.

[0027] Base Station —The term “base station” has the full scope of its ordinary meaning and includes at least a wireless communication station installed at a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or a radio system. As an example, a base station may be, for example, an eNB in ​​the 4G communication standard, a gNB in ​​the 5G communication standard, a remote radio head, a wireless access point, a drone control tower, or a communication device performing a similar function.

[0028] Network equipment —Any of various types of computer systems or devices that perform communications, particularly wireless communications with wireless devices, such as downlink communications to wireless devices in connection with downlink transmissions. A network device may be portable (or mobile), or may be stationary or fixed at a location. A base station is an example of a network device.

[0029] Processing element (or processor) – refers to various elements or combinations of elements capable of performing functions in a device, such as user equipment or cellular network equipment. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, portions or circuits of individual processor cores, entire processor cores, separate processors, processor arrays, circuits such as ASICs (application specific integrated circuits), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), and any of the above combinations.

[0030] Figure 1An example architecture of a wireless communication system 100 is illustrated in accordance with an embodiment disclosed herein. The description provided below is for an example wireless communication system 100 operating in conjunction with the LTE system standard and / or the 5G or NR system standard provided in the 3GPP technical specifications.

[0031] like Figure 1 As shown, wireless communication system 100 includes UE 102 and UE 104 (although any number of UEs may be used). In this example, UE 102 and UE 104 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touch screen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

[0032] UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to be communicatively coupled to RAN 106. In an embodiment, RAN 106 may be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. UE 102 and UE 104 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 108 and connection 110, respectively) with RAN 106, where each connection (or channel) includes a physical communication interface. RAN 106 may include one or more base stations, such as base station 112 and base station 114, to implement connection 108 and connection 110.

[0033] In this example, connections 108 and 110 are air interfaces that enable such communicative coupling and may conform to the RAT used by the RAN 106 , such as, for example, LTE and / or NR.

[0034] In some embodiments, UE 102 and UE 104 may also directly exchange communication data via side link interface 116. UE 104 is shown as being configured to access an access point (shown as AP 118) via connection 120. By way of example, connection 120 may include a local wireless connection, such as a connection conforming to any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein AP 118 may include In this example, AP 118 may be connected to another network (eg, the Internet) without going through CN 124.

[0035] In an embodiment, UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to communicate with each other or with base station 112 and / or base station 114 over a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals according to various communication techniques, such as but not limited to orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for downlink communication) or single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication techniques (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), although the scope of the embodiment is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signal may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0036] In some embodiments, all or part of base station 112 or base station 114 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on a server computer as part of a virtual network. In addition, or in other embodiments, base station 112 or base station 114 may be configured to communicate with each other via interface 122. In an embodiment where wireless communication system 100 is an LTE system (e.g., when CN124 is EPC), interface 122 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs, etc.) connected to EPC and / or between two eNBs connected to EPC. In an embodiment where wireless communication system 100 is an NR system (e.g., when CN 124 is 5GC), interface 122 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs, etc.) connected to 5GC, between base station 112 (e.g., gNB) and eNB connected to 5GC, and / or between two eNBs connected to 5GC (e.g., CN 124).

[0037] The RAN 106 is shown as being communicatively coupled to the CN 124. The CN 124 may include one or more network elements 126 configured to provide various data and telecommunication services to customers / subscribers (e.g., UE 102 and users of UE 104) connected to the CN 124 via the RAN 106. The components of the CN 124 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices including components for reading and executing instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium).

[0038] In an embodiment, CN 124 may be an EPC, and RAN 106 may be connected to CN 124 via an S1 interface 128. In an embodiment, S1 interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface that carries traffic data between base station 112 or base station 114 and a serving gateway (S-GW); and an S1-MME interface that is a signaling interface between base station 112 or base station 114 and a mobility management entity (MME).

[0039] In an embodiment, CN 124 may be a 5GC, and RAN 106 may be connected to CN 124 via an NG interface 128. In an embodiment, NG interface 128 may be divided into two parts: an NG user plane (NG-U) interface that carries service data between base station 112 or base station 114 and a user plane function (UPF); and an S1 control plane (NG-C) interface that is a signaling interface between base station 112 or base station 114 and an access and mobility management function (AMF).

[0040] Generally speaking, application server 130 may be an element that provides applications (e.g., packet-switched data services) that use Internet Protocol (IP) bearer resources with CN 124. Application server 130 may also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc.) for UE 102 and UE 104 via CN 124. Application server 130 may communicate with CN 124 via IP communication interface 132.

[0041] Figure 2 A system 200 for performing signaling 234 between a wireless device 202 and a network device 218 according to embodiments disclosed herein is shown. The system 200 may be part of a wireless communication system as described herein. The wireless device 202 may be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 218 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of a wireless communication system.

[0042] The wireless device 202 may include one or more processors 204. The processor 204 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the wireless device 202, as described herein. The processor 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0043] The wireless device 202 may include a memory 206. The memory 206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 208 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 204). The instructions 208 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 206 may also store data used by the processor 204 and results calculated by the processor.

[0044] The wireless device 202 may include one or more transceivers 210 that may use radio frequency (RF) transmitter and / or receiver circuitry that uses an antenna 212 of the wireless device 202 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the wireless device 202 with other devices (e.g., network device 218) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0045] The wireless device 202 may include one or more antennas 212 (e.g., one, two, four, or more). For embodiments with multiple antennas 212, the wireless device 202 may utilize the spatial diversity of such multiple antennas 212 to transmit and / or receive multiple different data streams on the same time-frequency resource. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) behavior (referring to the multiple antennas used at each of the transmitting device and the receiving device to implement this aspect). MIMO transmission by the wireless device 202 may be implemented based on precoding (or digital beamforming) applied at the wireless device 202, which multiplexes the data streams across the antennas 212 based on known or assumed channel characteristics, so that each data stream is received at an appropriate signal strength relative to the other streams and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of the receiver associated with the data stream). Certain embodiments may use a single-user MIMO (SU-MIMO) approach (where the data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and / or a multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO) approach (where separate data streams may be directed to separate (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain).

[0046] In certain embodiments with multiple antennas, the wireless device 202 may implement analog beamforming techniques whereby the phases of signals transmitted by the antennas 212 are relatively adjusted so that the (joint) transmissions of the antennas 212 can be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering).

[0047] The wireless device 202 may include one or more interfaces 214. The interfaces 214 may be used to provide input to the wireless device 202 or output from the wireless device. For example, a wireless device 202 that is a UE may include an interface 214, such as a microphone, a speaker, a touch screen, buttons, etc., to allow a user of the UE to input and / or output to the UE. Other interfaces of such a UE may be composed of transmitters, receivers, and other circuits that allow communication between the UE and other devices (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 210 / antenna 212 described above), and may be based on known protocols (e.g., etc.) to perform the operation.

[0048] The wireless device 202 can be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, in particular, configuring an appropriate delay time for a switching operation and / or performing a switching operation when the delay time expires. Such operations / functions can be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, such operations / functions can be performed by specific components incorporated in the wireless device (e.g., a processor, circuit that can be integrated in the processor 204 and / or the transceiver 210), and / or can be performed by software (such as instructions 208 stored in the memory 206 and executed by the processor 204). Specifically, such operations / functions can be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuits) within the processor 204 or the transceiver 210. Some embodiments of such operations / functions will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0049] The network device 218 may include one or more processors 220. The processor 220 may execute instructions to perform various operations of the network device 218, as described herein. The processor 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

[0050] The network device 218 may include a memory 222. The memory 222 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 224 (which may include, for example, instructions executed by the processor 220). The instructions 224 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 222 may also store data used by the processor 220 and results calculated by the processor.

[0051] The network device 218 may include one or more transceivers 226, which may include RF transmitter and / or receiver circuits that use an antenna 228 of the network device 218 to facilitate signaling (e.g., signaling 234) to and / or from the network device 218 with other devices (e.g., wireless device 202) according to a corresponding RAT.

[0052] The network device 218 may include one or more antennas 228 (eg, one, two, four, or more). In embodiments with multiple antennas 228, the network device 218 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beamsteering, etc. as described.

[0053] The network device 218 may include one or more interfaces 230. The interface 230 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 218. For example, the network device 218 as a base station may include an interface 230 composed of a transmitter, a receiver, and other circuits (e.g., in addition to the transceiver 226 / antenna 228 described above), which enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in the core network and / or enables the base station to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, etc., in order to achieve the purpose of performing operations, management, and maintenance of the base station or other equipment operably connected to the base station.

[0054] The network device 218 may be used in various aspects of the present disclosure, in particular, configuring an appropriate delay time for a switching operation and / or providing a configured delay time to a wireless device so that the wireless device can perform a switching operation when the delay time expires. Such operations / functions may be implemented via hardware, software, or a combination thereof. For example, such operations / functions may be performed by specific components incorporated into the wireless device (e.g., a processor, circuit that may be integrated into the processor 220 and / or the transceiver 226), and / or may be performed by software (such as instructions 224 stored in the memory 222 and executed by the processor 220). Specifically, such operations / functions may be implemented by a combination of software components (e.g., executed by a DSP or a general-purpose processor) and hardware components (e.g., logic gates and circuits) within the processor 220 or the transceiver 226. Some embodiments of such operations / functions will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0055] Wireless communication technologies are constantly evolving to increase coverage, better serve a variety of needs and use cases, and for a variety of other reasons.

[0056] In wireless communications, there are usually a variety of network architectures, especially non-terrestrial networks (NTNs), which can include ground parts and air / space parts. Here, the ground part usually refers to a network or network segment that can use any ground equipment for communication, and the air / space part usually refers to a network or network segment that can use air or space vehicles for communication transmission, and can be a so-called space-based network, where the space vehicle can be a variety of suitable types of spacecraft or aircraft operating in space according to the laws of celestial mechanics, such as any suitable type of satellite, including but not limited to low earth orbit (LEO), medium earth orbit (MEO), geosynchronous orbit (GEO), high earth orbit (HEO) satellites, etc. Air vehicles can include a variety of suitable vehicles at appropriate space altitudes, such as high altitude platforms (HAPS), etc. Figure 3A An exemplary NTN network architecture is illustrated that includes two parts: a ground part including a gNB and / or GW part for processing data in the RAN side, and a satellite or other air and space part that transparently forwards data between the UE and the gNB (such as through a service link and a feeder link) or is carried in the air / space.

[0057] For non-terrestrial networks, there may be many usage scenarios where non-terrestrial networks can address mobile broadband needs and public safety needs in unserved / underserved areas, and such usage scenarios may include but are not limited to maritime, aircraft connectivity, rail, and the like.

[0058] For non-terrestrial networks, there may generally be many assumptions. More specifically, it is generally assumed that NR NTNs, especially LEO and GEO, have implicit compatibility to support HAPS and air-to-ground (ATG) scenarios. Specifically, NTNs may focus on frequency division duplex (FDD), while time division duplex (TDD) may be applied to related scenarios, such as HAPS, ATG, and NTNs may cover or have an earth fixed tracking area. In NTNs, wireless devices such as UEs may have GNSS capabilities with transparent payloads. In addition, NTNs may support or cover any appropriate devices, such as handheld devices in FR1 (e.g., power class 3), "VSAT" devices with external antennas in at least FR2 (RAN1-3 specifications), and the like.

[0059] In wireless communication via NTN, an NTN cell will cover a wider radio cell, where an NTN cell may mean a cell covered or served by a spacecraft or aircraft such as a satellite. More specifically, in NTN, the coverage of a cell or a beam of the cell is usually much larger than that of a cell in a terrestrial network, and the coverage of one NTN cell may even span multiple countries.

[0060] Handover (also known as HO) is an operation that occurs frequently in wireless communication. When the cell where the user terminal is located or the network device serving the user terminal is intended to change, the user terminal will disconnect from the previous network device (called the source network device) and then connect to the new network device (called the target network device). Such a handover operation can be performed in a variety of ways. In one example, the user terminal moves from a cell (called the source cell) to a new cell (called the target cell), and in order to continue to perform wireless communication, the user terminal needs to disconnect from the source cell or the relevant network device, and then switch to the target cell to connect with the target network device. In another example, the network device may have a coverage area including a large number of wireless devices (such as in NTN), and the network device (such as a satellite) can be moved, so that even if the user terminal does not move, the network device serving the user terminal can also change, which also means that the cell serving the user terminal changes. Therefore, when the new network device moves to cover the wireless device, the wireless device will perform a handover operation to disconnect from the previous network device and then connect to the new wireless device.

[0061] In the wireless communication system, the handover may be implemented by any appropriate handover frame (such as an appropriate conventional handover mechanism), under which the user terminal performs the handover upon receiving a handover public from the network device. Such conventional handover mechanisms will be supported, but there will be some restrictions. For example, the UE is not required to be connected to both NTN and TN cells at the same time during the handover, and / or the dual active protocol stack (DAPS) is not supported.

[0062] In addition, the handover can be implemented in a conditional handover (also called CHO) mechanism, in which the user terminal can perform the handover when the user terminal determines that the handover condition is met based on the measurement results. Specifically, due to the NTN radio characteristics, the conditions for conditional handover are introduced for NTN-specific CHO. More specifically, the NTN-specific characteristics may include: the change in signal strength / quality between the cell center and the cell edge is not obvious, such as Figure 3B As shown in . NTN specific CHO conditions may include any appropriate conditions, such as condEventA4, condEventT1, condEventD1, etc., as shown in Table 1 below. Among them, EventD1 can be configured as a normal measurement event for measurement reporting. It should be noted that condEventT1 and condEventD1 are always configured with one of the measurement-based trigger conditions (CHO events A3 / A4 / A5).

[0063] Table 1

[0064]

[0065] CHO recovery can be performed in a variety of ways. More specifically, for a candidate cell with condEventT1, if timer T2 has not expired, CHO recovery cannot be performed, and for a candidate cell with condEventD1, CHO recovery can be excluded without checking condEventD1.

[0066] NTN specific scenarios can include multiple scenarios. Specifically, in the LEO scenario, the cell moves with the satellite, and all UEs in the geographical area must perform handover due to the satellite change. When the feeder link is switched, the cell served by the satellite will change, and since the cell information changes, all UEs served by the satellite must perform handover even if the service link has not changed. For example, Figure 3C An exemplary transition of a UE when a cell moves completely out of the original coverage area is illustrated.

[0067] However, NTN specific handovers may be problematic. More specifically, given the size of the large cells of non-terrestrial networks, a large number of devices may be served within a single cell. Depending on the constellation assumptions (e.g., propagation delay and satellite speed) and the UE density, there may be a very large number of UEs that need to perform HO at a given time, resulting in potentially large signaling overhead and service continuity challenges. In particular, signaling overhead due to UE handovers, especially group UE handovers, should be avoided.

[0068] Therefore, it is still desirable to improve handover operation, in particular to reduce handover signaling overhead.

[0069] In view of this, the present disclosure proposes a novel solution: at least one UE in the source cell may stop or suspend the communication between the at least one UE and the network side within a specific time period, for example, originally intended for handover, instead of performing handover signaling as usual, and then resume the communication between the UE and the network side after such specific time period. It should be noted that such a solution may be particularly applicable to scenarios in which network equipment may change but the communication configuration for the wireless device may not change or there may be no handover change, and in such scenarios, the wireless device may operate as if it is always located in the source cell, regardless of the change of the network equipment. Therefore, the process according to the present disclosure may be referred to as or equivalent to an intra-cell HO process. Such a scenario may be particularly relevant to NTN scenarios in which the serving satellite changes but there is no configuration or HO change.

[0070] Compared to the case in which multiple UEs need to routinely perform HO at a given time in the prior art, in the present disclosure, at least one UE may stop or suspend its communication with the network side during a period of time in which the network device is intended to be changed, instead of performing HO signaling, and after such period of time, that is, when the network device change is almost completed, the at least one UE will resume communication. Therefore, the HO operation (such as HO signaling) to be performed by at least one UE can be omitted to some extent, and the signaling overhead can be reduced.

[0071] Various embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the UE. However, reference to the UE is provided for illustrative purposes only. The example embodiments may be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection with a network and is configured with hardware, software and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component of a wireless device, or a wireless device. In addition, various embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described with reference to the gNB. However, reference to the gNB is provided for illustrative purposes only. The example embodiments may be used with any electronic component that can establish a connection with a wireless device and is configured with hardware, software and / or firmware for exchanging information and data with a wireless device. Therefore, the gNB as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component of a network device, or a network device.

[0072] Figure 4A and Figure 4B A conceptual diagram illustrating a so-called intra-cell procedure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0073] Specifically, the wireless device may obtain gap configuration information, which may indicate a time gap in which the communication between the wireless device and the network side is intended to be stopped or suspended. Specifically, such time gap may be related to a regular switching time period during which network equipment changes (such as satellite changes in NTN). And, subsequently during such time gap, the communication between the wireless device and the network side, for example, data communication including data transmission and / or reception, may be stopped / suspended. It should be noted that the communication between the wireless device and the network side may mean the communication between the wireless device and the source network device (i.e., the old or current network device serving the wireless device in the source cell).

[0074] Subsequently, after the time gap, the communication between the wireless device and the network side can be restored. Considering that during such a time gap, the network device may change, such as changing from a source network device to a target network device, the restored communication between the wireless device and the network side may mean the communication between the wireless device and the target network device.

[0075] In one specific implementation, such communication may be resumed by the wireless device directly after the time gap, such as according to a previous configuration that may not be changed during such a change of the network device. In another specific implementation, the wireless device may perform any appropriate access operation to access the target network device, and then resume communication between the wireless device and the target network device. Such access operation may be implemented in a variety of ways, such as a random access channel (RACH), contention-based random access (CBRA), contention-free random access (CFRA), etc. In addition, the access operation may be performed according to a command or indication from a network device (particularly a source network device), and the command or indication may be provided together with the gap configuration information or separately from the gap configuration information at this time. Alternatively, the wireless device may determine by itself whether the access operation should be performed, which will be described below.

[0076] It should be noted that the above-mentioned so-called intra-cell HO process according to the present disclosure is only exemplary and can be implemented in any other appropriate manner. Specifically, such access operation is optional and may not be performed.

[0077] In the following, the solution of the present disclosure is described by taking the NTN HO scenario as an example. It should be noted that the solution of the present disclosure can be applied to any appropriate HO scenario, including but not limited to NTN to NTN HO scenario, NTN to TN HO scenario, TN to NTN HO scenario, TN to TN HO scenario, etc., especially such scenarios where the service device is changed but there is no configuration and / or HO change, and similar improvements can be achieved.

[0078] Figure 5 A flowchart illustrating an example method on the wireless device side according to at least some embodiments is illustrated. Figure 5 Aspects of the method may be implemented by a wireless device (such as UE 106 illustrated in the various figures herein), and / or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. shown in the above figures as needed. For example, the processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the illustrated method may be executed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be executed as needed.

[0079] As shown in the figure, Figure 5 The method can be operated as follows.

[0080] In step 502, the wireless device obtains gap configuration information, which may, for example, indicate a time gap during which communication may be stopped / paused, and which may correspond to or relate to a time period during which a network equipment change may be almost completed and a handover may initially be performed in a conventional manner in the prior art.

[0081] In step 504, the wireless device stops or suspends communication in the time gap. Specifically, when the wireless device obtains the gap configuration information, the wireless device stops or suspends communication in the time gap indicated by the gap configuration information. It should be noted that such communication between the wireless device and the network side may mean or include communication between the wireless device and the source network device, such as any data communication including data transmission and / or reception.

[0082] In step 506, the wireless device resumes the communication between the wireless device and the network side after the time gap. It should be noted that such communication between the wireless device and the network side may mean or include communication between the wireless device and the target network device.

[0083] Thus, according to at least some embodiments, a wireless device may use Figure 5 Method to perform improved switching.

[0084] Figure 6 A flow chart illustrating an example method on the network device side according to at least some embodiments is illustrated. Figure 6 Aspects of the method may be implemented by a network-side device such as a base station (such as BS102 illustrated in the various figures herein), and / or more generally, may be implemented in combination with any of the computer circuits, systems, devices, elements or components, etc. shown in the above figures as needed. For example, a processor (and / or other hardware) of such a device may be configured to cause the device to perform any combination of the illustrated method elements and / or other method elements. In various embodiments, some of the elements of the illustrated method may be executed simultaneously in an order different from the order shown, may be replaced by other method elements, or may be omitted. Additional elements may also be executed as needed.

[0085] As shown in the figure, Figure 6 The method can be operated as follows.

[0086] In step 602, the network device obtains gap configuration information, which may, for example, indicate a time gap during which communication may be stopped / paused, and which may correspond to or relate to a time period during which the network device change may be almost completed and the handover was originally intended to be performed in a conventional manner according to the prior art.

[0087] In step 604, the network side device may provide the wireless device with gap configuration information, so that the wireless device may stop or suspend the communication between the wireless device and the network side in the time gap indicated by the gap configuration information.

[0088] Thus, at least according to some embodiments, Figure 6 The method can be used by a network side device (such as a base station) to schedule an improved handover operation.

[0089] 7A to 8C This example shows that if necessary, you can combine Figure 5 and Figure 6 However, it should be noted that 7A to 8C As exemplified in and for 7A to 8C The exemplary details described are not intended to limit the present disclosure as a whole, and many variations and alternatives to the details provided below are possible and should be considered within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0090] According to some embodiments, the time gap indicated or included in the gap configuration information may be determined in a variety of ways.

[0091] In one embodiment, the time gap may be determined or configured based on the network device change situation. For example, in the NTN scenario, the time gap may be determined based on the satellite change situation (particularly the change from the old or source satellite to the new or target satellite), such as the duration of such change. For example, the time gap may be determined or configured so as to correspond to a time period during which such change is almost completed, particularly a time period during which the source network device is changed to the target network device in the network side.

[0092] In some embodiments, the gap configuration information may be represented in a variety of ways. In one example, the gap configuration information may include a start time and an end time of the time gap. In another example, the gap configuration information may include a start time and a duration of the time gap, or an end time and a duration of the time gap. In yet another example, the gap configuration information may include an index indicating the time gap, such as an index indicating a start time and / or an end time and / or a duration of the time gap.

[0093] In some embodiments, the start time and / or end time of the time gap is represented by an absolute time or a relative time. For example, the absolute time may be a UTC time, and in another example, the relative time may mean a time relative to a reference time, such as a time when a network device change starts, a time when a condition for a network device change is satisfied, etc. Furthermore, the relative time may correspond to a time difference, and may be indicated or presented in units of frames, subframes, SFNs, symbols, time slots, etc.

[0094] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the gap configuration information may be determined or configured by any suitable device and provided to the wireless device. In one embodiment, the gap configuration information may be determined by a network device, such as a source network device, a target network device, or any other suitable device in a wireless communication system. In one example, the gap configuration information may be determined by a target network device, then provided to a source network device and then provided to the wireless device.

[0095] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, gap configuration information may be provided to wireless devices in the system in a variety of ways. In one embodiment, the gap configuration information may be provided to the wireless device via common signaling, for example, the gap configuration information may be provided to at least one wireless device in the source cell, such as at least one group of wireless devices, all wireless devices, etc., via broadcast, system information block (also referred to as SIB), paging, common or group L1, L2 or L3 signaling, etc. In another embodiment, the gap configuration information may be provided to each wireless device via wireless device-specific signaling. That is, the gap configuration information may be determined or configured for a specific or desired wireless device and provided to the wireless device via wireless device-specific signaling. For example, the gap configuration information may be provided via L1, L2 or L3 signaling dedicated to the wireless device.

[0096] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, at least one wireless device or at least one group of wireless devices, or the number of wireless devices or the number of wireless device groups for which a time gap is configured may be appropriately determined. In one example, the number of at least one wireless device may be randomly determined. For example, a network device may select a UE in a cell that may be randomly configured with gap configuration information, such as via a random function (e.g., a random number of UEs, a random group of UEs, or even all UEs), and may then provide the gap configuration information to the selected UE, such as via dedicated signaling or public signaling. In some embodiments of the present disclosure, the time gap indicated in the gap configuration information may be configured or determined equally for the wireless devices. That is, the same time gap may be applied to at least one wireless device.

[0097] According to some embodiments, the wireless device may feedback confirmation information to the network side in response to receiving the gap configuration information. For example, Fig. 7A Such feedback of confirmation information is illustrated, wherein the confirmation is in response to receiving the feedback of the gap configuration information, and the wireless device will stop or suspend communication in the time gap.

[0098] It should be noted that the above feedback is optional, and whether to provide such feedback can be configured in any appropriate manner. In one example, which such feedback is provided can be pre-configured (such as when the system is initialized), or it can be configured to provide or not provide such feedback by default. In another example, when providing gap configuration information, which such feedback is provided can be configured by the network device and notified to the wireless device. For example, indication information indicating whether feedback is required can be provided together with the gap configuration information, and the wireless device will feedback or not feedback according to the indication information.

[0099] In some embodiments, when feedback is required, the gap configuration information may be provided to the wireless device separately, for example, in two steps or stages. Conversely, when feedback is not required, the gap configuration information may be provided as a whole.

[0100] In some embodiments, providing the gap configuration information separately can be performed in a variety of ways. In one example, information indicating that the communication between the wireless device and the network side should be stopped / paused in the time gap can be provided to the UE, and when feedback is successfully received from the UE, the gap configuration information, in particular the time gap, will be provided to the UE. In another example, the gap duration can be provided to the UE first, and when feedback is successfully received from the UE, other details related to the time gap, in particular the start time and / or end time, will be provided to the UE.

[0101] In some embodiments, the previous step or stage of providing the gap configuration information may be performed via a signaling different from the signaling in the subsequent step or stage. For example, the previous step may be performed in public signaling, and the subsequent step may be performed in dedicated signaling, especially for UEs that successfully provide feedback. Moreover, such operations may also be considered as a selection or configuration of the UE, which may be configured with the gap configuration information so that its communication will stop or pause in the time gap.

[0102] According to some embodiments, the process of stopping or pausing communication can be performed in a variety of ways. In one example, the process can be performed automatically, particularly in a time gap. In another example, the process can be triggered. More specifically, the wireless device can obtain trigger information, and then start to stop or pause communication in the time gap once the trigger information is received.

[0103] The trigger information may be any suitable information. In one example, the trigger information may be any suitable bit, symbol, and when such information is received, a process of stopping or pausing communication is triggered, which may start immediately or be executed as indicated by the time gap.

[0104] It should be noted that such triggering can be combined with feedback operation. According to some embodiments, after successfully feeding back confirmation information to the network side, the network side provides triggering information. For example, Figure 7B As shown in the figure, the duration of the time gap (such as RRC configuration) is first provided to the UE, and when feedback is successfully received from the UE, trigger information can be provided to the UE (such as via an L1 or L2 command), and once the trigger information is received, the UE will start to stop or suspend communication, for example, stop or suspend communication immediately, or stop or suspend communication in the time gap.

[0105] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, after the time gap, the wireless device can resume communication, in particular data transmission / reception, and considering the network device change, the communication, in particular data transmission / reception can actually mean data transmission / reception to the target network device, and the information related to the target network device can be provided by the source network device or any other appropriate device in the system. More specifically, considering that even if the network device changes, there may not be a configuration change or HO change of the wireless device, therefore, from the perspective of the wireless device, the network device change is unknown to the wireless device, and the wireless device can thereby resume communication according to the configuration, just as if there is no cell change and the communication is always performed within the source cell. Therefore, such an operation can be referred to as intra-cell handover.

[0106] According to some embodiments, resuming communications may be performed in a variety of ways.

[0107] In one embodiment, communication can be resumed immediately after the gap. Specifically, according to the unchanged configuration, each wireless device will resume its communication with the network side, especially with the target network device.

[0108] In another embodiment, after the gap, an access operation may be performed first, and then the communication may be resumed. Specifically, considering that after the communication between the wireless device and the network side is stopped or suspended, the communication state (especially the synchronization state) of the wireless device and the network side may change and may even have a negative impact on the resumption of communication, it may be necessary to perform an access operation, especially to allow the wireless device to access the network side (i.e., the target network device), and such an access operation may also be referred to as a re-access operation. The execution of such access can further ensure that the wireless device is connected to the network side, thereby improving the reliability of communication resumption to some extent.

[0109] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the processor is further configured to: obtain access indication information about the access network side, and when the access indication information indicates that such access is required, perform the access network side after the time gap. Specifically, the access indication information may indicate whether the access network side needs to be performed first.

[0110] In some embodiments, such access operations may include any type of appropriate access operations, such as a random access channel (RACH), contention-based random access (CBRA), contention-free random access (CFRA), and the like.

[0111] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the access indication information may be configured or set in a variety of ways (such as implicitly or explicitly).

[0112] In some embodiments, such access indication information may be in any suitable format. For example, the information may be a binary value, where "1" may indicate that an access operation should be performed, such that after the time gap, the access operation will be performed first, and then the resumption of communication will be performed, while "0" may indicate that an access operation is not required, such that the resumption of communication is performed immediately after the time gap. It should be noted that the information may be in any other suitable format, such as a value, a number, a symbol, etc., as long as different values ​​can be used to indicate whether an access operation is allowed.

[0113] In some embodiments, access indication information may be configured or set by default for all UEs, such as during initialization. For example, it may be configured that all UEs will perform access operations after the time gap. In another example, when such access indication information is not present, this may mean that all UEs will perform access operations after the time gap.

[0114] In some embodiments, such access indication information may be provided to the wireless device and received by the wireless device. For example, such access indication information may be received from the network side, that is, such access indication information may be configured or set by the network side and then provided to the wireless device. It should be noted that the access indication information may be generated by the source network device and then provided to the wireless device, or may be generated by the target network device and then presented to the source network device for provision to the wireless device, or may be generated by any other appropriate device in the system and then provided to the wireless device.

[0115] According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, access indication information may be provided to the wireless device in a variety of ways.

[0116] In some embodiments, the access indication information may be provided to the wireless device via common signaling (such as broadcast, paging, common L1, L2, L3 signaling, etc.). For example, when such access indication information is configured for all UEs, such access indication information will be provided to the UE via common signaling. In another example, when such access indication information is configured for a specific UE group, such access indication information will be provided to the UE via common signaling for each UE group.

[0117] In some embodiments, the access indication information may be provided to the wireless device via dedicated signaling (such as UE-specific L1, L2, L3 signaling). For example, when the access indication information is configured or set for each UE, such access indication information may be provided to each UE via UE-specific signaling.

[0118] According to some embodiments, the access indication information may be provided to the wireless device at any appropriate time. In some embodiments, the access indication information may be provided to the wireless device before the time gap, such as may be provided to the wireless device together with the gap configuration information, such as Fig. 8A as shown in .

[0119] In some embodiments, the access indication information may be provided to the wireless device after the time gap. For example, after the time gap, the network device may provide access indication information to at least one UE in the cell, such as Figure 8B as shown in .

[0120] According to some implementation schemes, the access indication information may be configured or determined based on the communication state of the UE (particularly the synchronization state of the UE or the communication state change condition). That is, the access indication information may be configured or determined for each UE based on the communication state of each UE, particularly the synchronization state of the UE or the communication state change condition.

[0121] In some embodiments, the communication state of the UE may include, but is not limited to, at least one of a UL synchronization or timing state, a DL timing change condition, or a DL synchronization state.

[0122] In some embodiments, the UL timing status may be related to UL synchronization. When the UL timing status indicates that the UE is out of UL synchronization, the access indication information will be configured so that the UE should perform an access operation. For example, the UL timing status may be monitored, such as by a timer (e.g., a TA timer), and when the TA timer expires (i.e., the UE is out of UL synchronization), the UE will perform an access operation.

[0123] In some embodiments, the DL timing change condition may be related to the impact on receiving data from the network device or DL ​​synchronization, and when the DL timing change condition is so large that receiving data from the network device or DL ​​synchronization may be negatively affected, the access indication information will be configured so that the UE should perform an access operation. For example, when the DL timing change condition is greater than or equal to a threshold, the UE will perform an access operation.

[0124] In some embodiments, the wireless device performs the acquisition of access indication information based on the communication status of the UE. Specifically, the wireless device may acquire the communication status after the time gap, and then determine whether an access operation is required based on the communication status (e.g., at least one of cond#1: TAT expiration and cond#2: DL timing change> threshold). When it is determined that an access operation is required, the wireless device will perform an access operation (such as RACH) after the time gap, such as Figure 8C As shown in . It should be noted that the above two conditions are only exemplary, and more conditions are possible. In one example, as long as any one of the conditions is met, the access operation is performed. In addition, information about the communication state (such as the value of the TA timer, the DL timing change condition), and the value used for judgment (such as a threshold) can be provided by the network device or other appropriate devices in the system via appropriate signaling.

[0125] In some other embodiments, whether an access operation is required can be determined by a network device or any other appropriate device in the system, and the determination result can then be provided to each UE as access indication information in a variety of ways (such as before or after the gap, via dedicated signaling, etc.), as described above, which will not be repeated here.

[0126] According to some embodiments, the configuration of the access indication information configured by the network device or configured by default can be combined with the judgment based on the communication state of the UE. Specifically, the access indication information can be configured or set so that the access operation is enabled for all UEs, but it should be further judged based on the communication state of the UE whether such access operation needs to be actually performed.

[0127] For example, the access indication information may include enabling information indicating whether the access operation of each wireless device is enabled, such as "1" may indicate enabling, "0" may indicate disabling, and of course, other types of values, symbols, and characters may also be used as enabling information. Furthermore, when the enabling information indicates that the access operation is enabled, the communication state of the wireless device after the time gap may be obtained and used to determine whether the access part needs to be executed, as described above. It should be noted that such enabling information may also be omitted, and at this time, the access operation may be enabled for all wireless devices in the system by default.

[0128] It should be noted that such access indication information and / or the determination of whether to perform an access operation is optional. In one example, whether to perform an access operation can be preconfigured in advance or by default, so that such access operation can be performed or not performed according to the setting. For example, such access operation will be automatically performed for each UE after the time gap without any further determination. As another example, such access operation will not be performed for each UE after the time gap without any further determination.

[0129] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus including means for performing one or more elements of a method for intra-cell handover on a wireless device side. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as a wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0130] The embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media, which include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of the method on the wireless device side according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The non-transitory computer-readable medium can be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as the memory 206 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0131] The embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus including logic, modules or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method on the wireless device side according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as a wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0132] The embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of a method on the wireless device side according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as a wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0133] Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or related to one or more elements of a method on the wireless device side according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0134] The embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein the execution of the program by a processor causes the processor to perform one or more elements of the method on the wireless device side according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor may be a processor of a UE (such as the processor 204 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor and / or on a memory of the UE (such as the memory 206 of the wireless device 202 as a UE, as described herein).

[0135] The embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus including means for performing one or more elements of the method of a network device according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as the network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0136] The embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media that include instructions that, when executed by one or more processors of an electronic device, cause the electronic device to perform one or more elements of a method of a network device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The non-transitory computer-readable medium may be, for example, a memory of a base station (such as the memory 222 of the network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0137] The embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus including logic, modules or circuits for performing one or more elements of the method of the network device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as the network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0138] Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media, the computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of a method of a network device according to embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as the network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0139] Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or related to one or more elements of a method on a network device side according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0140] The embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product including instructions, wherein the execution of the program by a processing element causes the processing element to perform one or more elements of the method of the network device according to the embodiments of the present disclosure. The processor may be a processor of a base station (such as the processor 220 of the network device 218 as a base station, as described herein). These instructions may be located, for example, in a processor and / or on a memory of a UE (such as the memory 222 of the network device 218 as a base station, as described herein).

[0141] In the following, further exemplary embodiments are provided.

[0142] A set of embodiments may include a wireless device comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, the at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor, the processor coupled to the at least one radio component; wherein the processor is configured to: obtain gap configuration information; stop or pause communication between the wireless device and a network side in a time gap indicated by the gap configuration information; and resume the communication between the wireless device and the network side after the time gap.

[0143] According to some embodiments, the gap configuration information includes a start time and an end time of the time gap, or a start time and a duration of the time gap.

[0144] According to some embodiments, the start time and / or end time of the time gap is represented by an absolute time or a relative time.

[0145] According to some embodiments, the time gap indicated in the gap configuration information depends on the network equipment change situation.

[0146] According to some embodiments, the time gap indicated in the gap configuration information corresponds to a time period in which a source network device changes to a target network device in the network side.

[0147] According to some embodiments, the gap configuration information is received from the network side via common signaling or wireless device-specific signaling.

[0148] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: feed back confirmation information to the network side in response to receiving the gap configuration information.

[0149] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to: obtain trigger information, and upon receiving the trigger information, begin stopping or pausing communication in the time gap.

[0150] According to some implementation schemes, after confirmation information is successfully fed back from the wireless device to the network side, the network side provides trigger information.

[0151] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to obtain access indication information about accessing the network side, and when the access indication information indicates that such access is required, perform an access operation on the network side after a time gap.

[0152] According to some embodiments, the access indication information is received from the network side before or after the time gap.

[0153] According to some implementation schemes, the access indication information is provided by the network side together with the gap configuration information.

[0154] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to determine whether access to the network side is required based on information about a communication status between the wireless device and the network side after the gap.

[0155] According to some embodiments, the information about the communication status includes at least one of a downlink timing change condition or an uplink synchronization status.

[0156] According to some embodiments, when the uplink synchronization status indicates that the wireless device is out of uplink synchronization, access to the network side is required, and / or when the downlink timing change is greater than or equal to a threshold, access to the network side is required.

[0157] Another set of embodiments may include a network device comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component, the at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor, the at least one radio component coupled to the at least one radio component; wherein the processor is configured to: obtain gap configuration information, the gap configuration information indicating a time gap in which communication between a wireless device and the network device is allowed to stop or pause; and provide the gap configuration information to the wireless device.

[0158] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to obtain the gap configuration information by determining a time gap based on a change situation of the network device.

[0159] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to obtain confirmation information from the wireless device in response to the gap configuration information, and provide trigger information to the wireless device so that the wireless device begins to stop or suspend communication upon receiving such trigger information.

[0160] According to some embodiments, the processor is further configured to provide access indication information to the wireless device, the access indication information indicating whether the wireless device should perform an access operation to a new network device after the gap.

[0161] According to some embodiments, access indication information is provided together with the gap configuration information before the gap or after the gap.

[0162] Another group of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a wireless device to: obtain gap configuration information; stop or suspend communication between the wireless device and a network side in a time gap indicated by the gap configuration information; and resume the communication between the wireless device and the network side after the time gap.

[0163] Yet another set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising: a processor configured to cause a network device to obtain gap configuration information indicating time gaps in which communications between a wireless device and the network device are allowed to stop or pause; and provide the gap configuration information to the wireless device.

[0164] Another set of embodiments may include a method for a wireless device, the method comprising: obtaining gap configuration information; stopping or pausing communication between the wireless device and a network side in a time gap indicated by the gap configuration information; and resuming communication between the wireless device and the network side after the time gap.

[0165] Yet another set of embodiments may include a method for a network device, the method comprising: obtaining gap configuration information indicating time gaps in which communications between a wireless device and the network device are allowed to stop or pause; and providing the gap configuration information to the wireless device.

[0166] Yet another set of embodiments may include an apparatus comprising: a processor and a computer-readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon, the program instructions, when executed, causing the processor to implement any or all portions of any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0167] Yet another set of embodiments may include a computer-readable storage medium having stored thereon program instructions that, when executed, cause a processor to perform any or all portions of any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0168] Yet another set of embodiments may include a computer program product comprising program instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform any or all portions of any of the foregoing method embodiments.

[0169] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, circuits associated with a UE, a base station, a network element, etc. as described above in conjunction with one or more of the foregoing figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples set forth herein.

[0170] Unless otherwise expressly stated, any of the above embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments). The foregoing description of one or more specific implementations provides illustration and description, but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of the embodiments to the precise form disclosed. In view of the above teachings, modifications and variations are possible, or modifications and variations can be obtained from the practice of various embodiments.

[0171] Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations that may be embodied in machine executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general or special purpose computers (or other electronic devices). A computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic components for performing operations; or may include a combination of hardware, software, and / or firmware.

[0172] It should be appreciated that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, separated into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment may be used in one embodiment. For clarity, these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are described only in one or more embodiments, and it should be appreciated that these parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment unless expressly stated herein.

[0173] It is understood that the use of personally identifiable information should be subject to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized to meet or exceed industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. Specifically, personally identifiable information data should be managed and processed to minimize the risk of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of the authorized use should be clearly stated to users.

[0174] Although the foregoing has been described in considerable detail for the sake of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles of the invention. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways to implement both the processes and the apparatus described herein. Therefore, the embodiments of the present invention should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive, and the specification is not limited to the details given herein, but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A wireless device, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor coupled to the at least one radio; The processor is configured to: Get gap configuration information; Stopping the communication between the wireless device and the network side in the time gap indicated by the gap configuration information; as well as The communication between the wireless device and the network side is resumed after the time gap. 2 . The wireless device according to claim 1 , wherein the gap configuration information comprises a start time and an end time of the time gap, or the start time and duration of the time gap.

3. The wireless device of claim 1, wherein the time gap indicated in the gap configuration information depends on a network device change situation. 4 . The wireless device according to claim 1 , wherein the gap configuration information is received from the network side via common signaling or wireless device-specific signaling.

5. The wireless device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: In response to receiving the gap configuration information, confirmation information is fed back to the network side.

6. The wireless device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: Obtaining trigger information; and Once the trigger information is received, the communication starts to be stopped during the time interval.

7. The wireless device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: Acquiring access indication information about accessing the network side; and When the access indication information indicates that such access is required, an access operation to the network side is performed after the time gap. 8 . The wireless device according to claim 7 , wherein the access indication information is received from the network side before or after the time gap.

9. The wireless device of claim 1 , wherein the processor is further configured to: Based on the information about the communication status between the wireless device and the network side after the gap, it is determined whether access to the network side is required. 10 . The wireless device according to claim 9 , wherein the information about the communication status includes at least one of a downlink timing change condition or an uplink synchronization status.

11. The wireless device according to claim 1, wherein when the uplink synchronization state indicates that the wireless device is out of uplink synchronization, it is necessary to access the network side; and / or When the downlink timing change is greater than or equal to a threshold, it is necessary to access the network side.

12. A network device, comprising: at least one antenna; at least one radio component coupled to the at least one antenna; and a processor coupled to the at least one radio; The processor is configured to: acquiring gap configuration information indicating a time gap in which communication between the wireless device and the network device is allowed to stop; and The gap configuration information is provided to the wireless device.

13. The network device according to claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: The time gap is determined based on a change condition of the network device.

14. The network device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: Trigger information is provided to the wireless device so that the wireless device begins to stop the communication upon receipt of such trigger information.

15. The network device of claim 12, wherein the processor is further configured to: Access indication information is provided to the wireless device, where the access indication information indicates whether the wireless device should perform an access operation to a new network device after the gap.

16. A device, comprising: A processor configured to cause the wireless device to: Get gap configuration information; Stopping the communication between the wireless device and the network side in the time gap indicated by the gap configuration information; as well as The communication between the wireless device and the network side is resumed after the time gap.

17. A device, comprising: A processor configured to enable the network device to: acquiring gap configuration information indicating a time gap in which communication between the wireless device and the network device is allowed to stop; and The gap configuration information is provided to the wireless device.

18. A method for a wireless device, the method comprising: Get gap configuration information; Stopping the communication between the wireless device and the network side in the time gap indicated by the gap configuration information; as well as The communication between the wireless device and the network side is resumed after the time gap.

19. A method for a network device, the method comprising: acquiring gap configuration information, the gap configuration information indicating a time gap in which communication between the wireless device and the network device is allowed to stop; as well as The gap configuration information is provided to the wireless device.

20. A device, comprising: processor, and A computer-readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon, wherein the program instructions, when executed, cause the processor to perform the method according to claim 18 or 19.

21. A computer-readable storage medium having program instructions stored thereon, wherein when the program instructions are executed, the processor is caused to perform the method according to claim 18 or 19.

22. A computer program product comprising program instructions which, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method according to claim 18 or 19.

Images