Measurement verification

Abstract

The invention relates to measurement verification. An apparatus comprising means for determining dual connectivity (DC) / carrier aggregation (CA) measurement validity information, where the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises condition information and associated validity time information, for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid for use; determining that information indicating the at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node of a radio access network RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; and transmitting information indicating the at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node based, at least in part, on determining whether the at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Examples of the present disclosure relate to measurement verification. Some relate to measurement verification associated with dual connectivity and / or carrier aggregation. Background Art

[0002] The wireless network includes a plurality of network nodes, wherein the network nodes include terminal nodes and access nodes. The communication between the terminal nodes and the access nodes is wireless.

[0003] In some cases, it may be desirable to improve or enhance measurement validation at a terminal node. Summary of the invention

[0004] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: determining dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information includes condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node of a radio access network RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is transmitted to the access node.

[0005] In some examples, determining the DC / CA measurement validity information includes receiving the DC / CA measurement validity information from an access node of the RAN.

[0006] In some examples, at least a portion of the at least one previous DC / CA measurement is at least one DC / CA measurement taken while the device was in an idle or inactive mode.

[0007] In some examples, determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted includes determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted when the apparatus is in an idle or inactive mode.

[0008] In some examples, determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted includes at least one of: receiving a request from an access node of the RAN; and It is determined that the device has uplink (UL) traffic to transmit.

[0009] In some examples, the condition information of the DC / CA measurement validity information includes a set of device conditions and associated validity time periods.

[0010] In some examples, the device condition is based at least in part on at least one of: device mobility status; The device location in the measured DC / CA cell; The carrier frequency for DC / CA measurements; and Receive signal quality.

[0011] In some examples, determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid includes determining device condition information of the device and comparing the determined device condition information with condition information of the DC / CA measurement validity information to determine an appropriate validity period.

[0012] In some examples, determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used includes determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement was performed within a validity time period associated with one or more current and / or past conditions of the device.

[0013] In some examples, transmitting information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node includes determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements are valid to be used.

[0014] In some examples, transmitting information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node includes determining that enough previous DC / CA measurements are valid to be used, and transmitting information indicative of at least one of the valid previous DC / CA measurements to the access node.

[0015] In some examples, transmitting information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node includes determining that insufficient previous DC / CA measurements are valid for use, and performing at least one DC / CA measurement to enable transmission of information indicative of the at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node.

[0016] In some examples, the components are configured to: Independent of the determined validity of at least one previous DC / CA measurement, at least one new DC / CA measurement is performed before transmitting information indicative of the at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node.

[0017] In some examples, the component is configured to receive configuration information to configure the device to: ignore the device mobility state when determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; and A determination is made based at least in part on the received configuration information whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used.

[0018] In some examples, the components are configured to delete at least one previous DC / CA measurement based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information.

[0019] In some examples, the components include: at least one processor; and At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform.

[0020] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a method comprising: determining dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information includes condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the device to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node of a radio access network RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is transmitted to the access node.

[0021] In some examples, determining the DC / CA measurement validity information includes receiving the DC / CA measurement validity information from an access node of the RAN.

[0022] In some examples, at least a portion of the at least one previous DC / CA measurement is at least one DC / CA measurement taken while the device was in an idle or inactive mode.

[0023] In some examples, determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted includes determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted when the apparatus is in an idle or inactive mode.

[0024] In some examples, the condition information of the DC / CA measurement validity information includes a set of device conditions and associated validity time periods.

[0025] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to: determining dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information includes condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the device to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node of a radio access network RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is transmitted to the access node.

[0026] In some examples, determining the DC / CA measurement validity information includes receiving the DC / CA measurement validity information from an access node of the RAN.

[0027] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided an apparatus comprising means for: transmitting dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information to a terminal node of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the terminal node to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; and receiving, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information, information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement from a terminal node; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement, DC / CA is configured at the terminal node.

[0028] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a method comprising: transmitting dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information to a terminal node of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the terminal node to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; receiving, from a terminal node, information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement, DC / CA is configured at the terminal node.

[0029] According to various but not necessarily all embodiments, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to: transmitting dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information to a terminal node of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the terminal node to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; receiving, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information, information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement from a terminal node; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement, DC / CA is configured at the terminal node.

[0030] According to various but not necessarily all examples, examples are provided as claimed in the following claims.

[0031] According to various but not necessarily all examples, there is provided an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least perform at least a portion of one or more methods disclosed herein.

[0032] According to various, but not necessarily all, embodiments, an apparatus is provided that includes means for performing at least a portion of one or more of the methods disclosed herein.

[0033] The functions and / or acts described herein may be performed in any suitable way using any suitable method.

[0034] Although the above examples and optional features of the present disclosure are described separately, it should be understood that their provision in all possible combinations and arrangements is included in the present disclosure. It should be understood that various examples of the present disclosure may include any or all features described with respect to other examples of the present disclosure, and vice versa. In addition, it should be understood that any one or more or all features in any combination may be implemented / included therein by devices, methods and / or computer program instructions as needed and appropriately. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0035] Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0036] Figure 1 An example of the subject matter described herein is shown;

[0037] Figure 2 Another example of the subject matter described herein is shown;

[0038] Figure 3 Another example of the subject matter described herein is shown;

[0039] Figure 4 Another example of the subject matter described herein is shown;

[0040] Figure 5 Another example of the subject matter described herein is shown;

[0041] Figure 6 Another example of the subject matter described herein is shown;

[0042] Fig. 7A Another example of the subject matter described herein is shown; and

[0043] Figure 7B Another example of the subject matter described herein is shown.

[0044] The drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale. For the sake of clarity and brevity, certain features and views of the drawings may be schematically shown or enlarged to scale. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the drawings may be enlarged relative to other elements to facilitate explanation. Similar reference numerals are used in the drawings to represent similar features. For the sake of clarity, not all reference numerals may be shown in all figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] Figure 1 An example of a network 100 is shown that includes a plurality of network nodes, including a terminal node 110, an access node 120, and one or more core nodes 129. The terminal node 110 and the access node 120 communicate with each other. The one or more core nodes 129 communicate with the access node 120.

[0046] In this example, the network 100 is a wireless telecommunications network in which at least some of the terminal nodes 110 and access nodes 120 communicate with each other using transmission / reception of radio waves / signals.

[0047] In some examples, one or more core nodes 129 can communicate with each other. In some examples, one or more access nodes 120 can communicate with each other.

[0048] The network 100 may be a cellular network comprising a plurality of cells 122 each served by an access node 120. The interface between the terminal node 110 and the access nodes 120 defining the cells 122 is a wireless interface 124 in this example.

[0049] The access node 120 is a cellular radio transceiver. The terminal node 110 is a cellular radio transceiver.

[0050] In the example shown, the cellular network 100 is a 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network, where the terminal nodes 110 are user equipments (UEs) and the access nodes 120 are base stations.

[0051] In the example, the network 100 is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN). The E-UTRAN consists of E-UTRAN NodeBs (eNBs) providing E-UTRA user plane and control plane (Radio Resource Control, RRC) protocol terminations to the UE. The eNBs are interconnected to each other via an X2 interface 126. The eNBs are also connected to a Mobility Management Entity (MME) 129 via an S1 interface 128.

[0052] In other examples, the network 100 is a next generation (or new radio NR) radio access network (NG-RAN). The NG-RAN is composed of gNodeBs (gNBs) 120, providing user plane and control plane (RRC) protocol terminations to the UE. The gNBs are interconnected to each other via an Xn interface 126. The gNBs are also connected to an access and mobility management function (AMF) via an N2 interface 128.

[0053] In an example, the network 100 may include a combination of E-UTRAN and NG-RAN.

[0054] User equipment (UE) may include mobile devices. Where reference is made to user equipment, references include and encompass references to mobile devices wherever possible.

[0055] The terminal node 110 (eg, UE) may perform measurements to evaluate an operating radio environment of the terminal node 110. For example, the terminal node 110 may perform measurements for configuring dual connectivity (DC) and / or carrier aggregation (CA) at the terminal node 110.

[0056] In an example, for example, when DC and / or CA are configured at the terminal node 110, measurements are taken by the terminal node 110, causing significant delays at the terminal node 110. For example, taking measurements may cause significant delays for the terminal node 110 to establish DC and / or CA after exiting an idle or inactive mode.

[0057] In an example, the terminal node 110 may be configured to make efficient and intelligent use of previous measurements based at least in part on the current conditions of the terminal node 110 .

[0058] Examples of the present disclosure relate to apparatus, methods and / or computer programs for verifying and / or using previous measurement(s) in a DC and / or CA configuration.

[0059] Additionally or alternatively, examples of the present disclosure relate to apparatus, methods and / or computer programs for and / or relating to controlling a UE to efficiently use (multiple) previous measurements for configuring DC and / or CA.

[0060] Additionally or alternatively, examples of the present disclosure relate to apparatus, methods and / or computer programs for / involving controlling whether a UE is able to use (multiple) previous measurements to configure DC and / or CA based at least in part on a current condition of the UE.

[0061] As an example, Figure 2 Signaling between entities is shown. Figure 2 An example of method 200 is also shown.

[0062] In the example, Figure 2 It can be considered to illustrate a variety of methods. For example, Figure 2 One or more actions at multiple actors / entities are shown, and in examples, Figure 2 It may be considered to illustrate multiple methods performed by individual actors / entities.

[0063] about Figure 2 One or more of the features discussed may be found in one or more other figures.

[0064] exist Figure 2 In the example, multiple devices send and / or receive one or more signals and / or one or more messages across and / or via and / or using a network. In the example, any suitable form of communication in any suitable network may be used. For example, Figure 1 at least a portion of network 100.

[0065] So, in the example, Figure 2 The plurality of devices in form at least a portion of the network 100, as described with respect to Figure 1 as described.

[0066] In the illustrated example, terminal node 110 and access node 120 send and / or receive one or more signals and / or one or more messages. For example, access node 120 may include a gNodeB (gNB) (212), and terminal node 110 may include a UE (202).

[0067] In the example, Figure 2 Communications and / or transmissions between the entities shown in FIG. 1 may occur via any number of intervening entities, including no intervening entities.

[0068] In the example shown, UE 214 is communicating with the serving primary cell (Pcell) of gNB 212.

[0069] Despite Figure 2 One terminal node 110 is shown in the example of FIG. 1 , but any suitable number of terminal nodes 110 may be included in the example, such as UE 214. Similarly, any suitable number of access nodes 120 may be included in the example.

[0070] As described herein, descriptions of functions and / or actions should also be considered to publicly enable and / or cause and / or control the functions and / or actions. For example, descriptions of transmission information should also be considered to publicly enable and / or cause and / or control the transmission / transmission of information.

[0071] The above about Figure 2 The paragraph can be similar to Figure 6 application.

[0072] In an example, method 200 and / or at least a portion of method 200 may be considered a method of implementing conditional use of previous measurement(s) associated with DC and / or CA and / or involving C and / or CA.

[0073] In an example, the method 200 and / or at least a portion of the method 200 may be considered as a method of efficiently utilizing DC and / or CA to configure the terminal node 110. As used herein, DC / CA should be considered to mean DC and / or CA.

[0074] In the illustrated example, the location of the blocks indicates an entity that performs a function and / or action. For example, block 202 is performed by a terminal node 110 (such as UE 214).

[0075] For further discussion Figure 2 , the terminal node 110 will be considered to be a UE 214. In an example, a terminal node 110, for example in the form of a UE 214, may be considered to be a device.

[0076] At box 202, the method 200 includes determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used and / or invalid and cannot be used.

[0077] In some examples, determining the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes receiving the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 from an access node 120 of a radio access network (RAN). Figure 1 .

[0078] exist Figure 2 In the example of , this is illustrated by the dashed arrow from access node 120 toward box 202 .

[0079] like Figure 2 One or more actions / features of receiving are shown, Figure 2 Corresponding sending / enabling and / or causing sending actions / features are also shown. For example, from the perspective of the access node 120, at block 202, the method 200 includes sending DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to the terminal node 110 of the RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0080] In an example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be received via any suitable signal and / or message, etc. For example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be received using any suitable configuration information sent via any suitable configuration message.

[0081] For example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be received as part of the DC / CA measurement and validity information before the UE 214 switches to an idle or inactive mode via, for example, a radio resource control (RRC) release message.

[0082] For example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be received via system information block (SIB) information (eg, from the SIB of a serving primary cell (Pcell) or the SIB of a cell(s) that have been measured for DC / CA purposes).

[0083] For example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be provided to the UE 214 during an RRC establishment or RRC recovery procedure and / or an RRC connected mode.

[0084] Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 is pre-configured in the UE 214, such as during manufacturing of the UE 214. In such examples, block 202 may include retrieving the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 from at least one memory.

[0085] In an example, the DC / CA measurement validity information may be part of 3GPP TS 38.133; "5G NR requirements to support radio resource management".

[0086] In an example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 is preconfigured at the UE 214 and may be changed by the access node 120. For example, the preconfigured DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be modified and / or updated and / or changed by the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 received from the access node 120.

[0087] The DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be any suitable information for enabling a terminal node 110 , such as a UE 214 , to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0088] For example, DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may include any suitable information for enabling a terminal node 110 , such as UE 214 , to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid for configuring and / or enabling DC / CA at the terminal node 110 .

[0089] For example, DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may include any suitable information for enabling a terminal node 110, such as UE 214, to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be transmitted and / or reported to the network.

[0090] From the perspective of the access node 120, the network is aware that previous DC / CA measurements performed at the terminal node 110 may, for example, be used to set up / configure the terminal node 110 with DC / CA.

[0091] In an example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be DC / CA measurement confirmation information, and / or DC / CA measurement verification information, and / or DC / CA verification authorization information, and the like.

[0092] In an example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 may be considered as DC / CA measurement invalidation information.

[0093] As described above, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 .

[0094] Condition information 218 may include any suitable information indicative of at least one condition (such as at least one operating condition) of terminal node 110 (such as UE 214).

[0095] For example, the condition information 218 may include information indicating and / or representing and / or describing and / or specifying at least one condition associated and / or related to the terminal node 110, such as the UE 214. For example, the condition information 218 may include information related to mobility conditions and / or location, and / or carrier frequency, and / or received signal quality, etc.

[0096] Validity time information 220 may include any suitable information that enables terminal node 110 (such as UE 214) to determine a time period such that, for example, DC / CA measurements made during the time period may be considered valid or invalid to be used. Such a time period may be considered a validity time period.

[0097] Therefore, the validity time information 220 may define at least one validity period.

[0098] For example, validity time information 220 may include at least one value having any suitable time unit, such as X seconds, which may be used by terminal node 110 to determine a past validity period. The validity period may run from any suitable point in time. For example, the validity period may run from any suitable point before and / or during DC / CA configuration at terminal node 110 (such as UE 214). For example, the validity period may be a moving time window that moves with the current time at terminal node 110.

[0099] In some examples, condition information 218 of DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes a set of device conditions and associated validity time periods. Device conditions may be considered terminal node conditions and / or UE conditions.

[0100] For example, condition information 218 may include a set of at least one device condition / validity time period pair.

[0101] The validity period may be considered to be associated with the at least one device condition because the validity period will be used when the at least one device condition is applicable to the terminal node 110. For example, the validity period may be considered to be associated with the at least one device condition because the validity period will be used when the at least one device condition matches the current condition of the terminal node 110.

[0102] The device condition may be any condition that indicates at least one operating condition of the terminal node 110 , such as at least one radio operating condition.

[0103] In some examples, the device condition is based at least in part on at least one of: device mobility status; The device location in the measured DC / CA cell; The carrier frequency for DC / CA measurements; and Receive signal quality.

[0104] In an example, the device mobility state relates to the speed at which the terminal node 110 is moving.

[0105] In an example, the measured device location in the DC / CA cell relates to the location in the DC / CA cell of the terminal node 110. For example, the measured device location in the DC / CA cell may relate to the proximity of the terminal node 110 to the cell border or the cell center, etc.

[0106] In an example, the carrier frequency for DC / CA measurements relates to the frequency of a carrier on which the DC / CA measurements are made.

[0107] In an example, the received signal quality relates to the quality of a signal received at the terminal node 110. For example, the received signal quality may relate to the quality of a reference signal received from at least one potential DC / CA cell.

[0108] For example, the received signal quality may relate to and / or include a reference signal received power (RSRP) and / or a signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) for at least one DC / CA carrier and / or cell, and the like.

[0109] In some examples, the received signal quality relates to and / or includes the received signal quality of at least one DC / CA carrier and / or cell relative to at least one other DC / CA measurement cell and / or DC / CA measurement carrier. For example, the received signal quality may relate to and / or include the RSRP of a first DC / CA carrier relative to a different second DC / CA carrier.

[0110] In some examples, received signal quality relates to and / or includes a change in DC / CA measurement signal quality.

[0111] In some examples, the received signal quality relates to and / or includes changes in measured signal quality of a camped-cell. "Camped-cell" may be a term used for a serving cell when a terminal node is in RRC idle / inactive mode.

[0112] The DC / CA measurement validity information 216 is configured to enable the terminal node 110 to determine whether the previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used. For example, the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 can be configured to enable the UE 214 to determine whether the previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used to configure and / or enable DC / CA at the UE 214.

[0113] DC / CA measurements may include any measurements used for and / or related to configuring and / or enabling DC / CA at a terminal node 110 , such as UE 214 .

[0114] For example, DC / CA measurements 222 may include any measurements used for and / or related to determining which cell(s) to configure in a DC / CA configuration of terminal node 110 .

[0115] In an example, the DC / CA measurements 222 include measurements of at least one carrier and / or at least one cell for which DC / CA may be configured at the terminal node 110. For example, when the terminal node 110 is in RRC connected mode, the inter-frequency measurements may be measurements of at least one carrier frequency (or a cell in a carrier frequency) that is different from the frequency of the serving cell. For example, when the UE is in RRC idle / inactive mode, the measurements of the carrier frequency (or a cell in a carrier frequency) are different from the frequency of the camped cell.

[0116] In an example, previous DC / CA measurements 222 are DC / CA measurements performed in the past. Access node 120 may provide configuration information to terminal node 110 to enable terminal node 110 to perform DC / CA measurements.

[0117] In some examples, at least a portion of at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is at least one DC / CA measurement 222 taken when terminal node 110 (which may be considered a device) is in an idle or inactive mode. For example, at least a portion of previous DC / CA measurement 222 may be a DC / CA measurement 222 taken before the T331 timer expires.

[0118] In an example, DC / CA measurement 222 valid means that DC / CA measurement 222 is close enough to be used for DC / CA configuration at terminal node 110. For example, DC / CA measurement 222 valid may mean that DC / CA measurement 222 is close enough to still represent the operating radio environment of terminal node 110.

[0119] For example, a DC / CA measurement 222 being valid may mean that the DC / CA measurement 222 is recent enough to still be indicated and / or reported to the network.

[0120] Examples of the present disclosure enable the period for which the DC / CA measurements 222 remain valid to be determined based at least in part on conditions at the terminal node 110 , which, for example, affect the speed at which the operating radio environment of the terminal node 110 changes.

[0121] Thus, examples of the present disclosure enable the terminal node 110 to determine the validity or invalidity of at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 based on at least one condition at the terminal node 110 .

[0122] At block 204 , the method 200 includes determining that information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted to the access node 120 of the RAN.

[0123] In an example, block 204 may be performed at any suitable time and / or when terminal node 110 is in any suitable communication state. For example, block 204 may be performed when terminal node 110 is in an active or inactive or idle state (e.g., RRC connected) or when terminal node 110 is in an RRC recovery or RRC establishment process, etc.

[0124] In an example, determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted includes determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted when the terminal node 110 is in an idle or inactive mode.

[0125] In some examples, determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted includes determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted when the terminal node 110 is in an idle or inactive mode.

[0126] Block 204 may include determining that there is information to be transmitted and / or received by the terminal node 110. For example, block 204 may include determining that there is an uplink (UL) and / or downlink (DL) for the terminal node 110.

[0127] Block 204 may include determining that DC / CA is to be configured at the terminal node 110 .

[0128] In some examples, determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted includes at least one of: receiving a request from an access node 120 of the RAN; or determining that a terminal node 110, which may be considered a device, has UL traffic to transmit.

[0129] The request from an access node 120 (such as a gNB 212) for information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to be transmitted may have any suitable form and may be transmitted to the terminal node 110 for any suitable reason.

[0130] For example, a request may be transmitted to the terminal node 110, causing the terminal node 110 to transmit information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to enable configuration of DC / CA for UL and / or DL ​​information at the terminal node 110. In an example, an idle / inactive mode measurement request may be used.

[0131] As used herein, a request may be considered a command and / or an instruction, and / or an order, etc.

[0132] At block 206 , the method 200 includes determining, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0133] For example, block 206 may include determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used to configure and / or enable DC / CA at the terminal node 110 .

[0134] For example, block 206 may include determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be indicated and / or reported to the network.

[0135] In an example, block 206 may include determining which and how many previous DC / CA measurements 222 may be considered valid based at least in part on at least one condition at the terminal node 110 , such as at least one operating condition.

[0136] In an example, determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used includes determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 .

[0137] Determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 may include determining applicable validity time information 220 for the terminal node 110 based at least in part on at least one current condition of the terminal node 110 (e.g., at least one operating condition of the terminal node 110).

[0138] In some examples, determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid includes determining device condition information of a terminal node 110 that can be considered a device, and comparing the determined device condition information with condition information 218 of DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to determine an appropriate validity time period.

[0139] The device condition information may include any suitable information indicative of at least one device condition.

[0140] In some examples, determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used includes determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 was performed within a validity time period associated with one or more present / current and / or past conditions of the terminal node 110 that can be considered a device.

[0141] For example, when taking a measurement, one or more conditions of the terminal node 110 are associated.

[0142] For example, at block 206, the terminal node 110 may determine its mobility state, such as the speed at which the terminal node 110 is moving. The mobility state, such as the moving speed of the terminal node 110, may be considered device condition information.

[0143] In an example, the moving speed of the terminal node 110 may be determined based at least in part on at least one of: terminal node location, measurement variation, number of camped cell changes when the terminal node 110 is in RRC idle / inactive.

[0144] The terminal node 110 may then determine a validity time period for the terminal node 110 having the determined moving speed from the condition information 218 and the associated validity time information 220 and may determine whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 was performed in the determined validity time period.

[0145] For example, terminal node 110 may use a lookup table of condition information 218 and validity time information 220 to determine an appropriate validity period.

[0146] In an example, a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used if it has been completed within the last X seconds, where the value of X is the determined validity period.

[0147] The validity period may be appropriate because it is a validity period for one or more current condition indications of the terminal node 110 in the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 .

[0148] At block 208 , the method 200 includes transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to the access node 120 based at least in part on determining whether the at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0149] therefore, Figure 2 A method 200 is shown, comprising: determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node 120 of the RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used, transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to the access node

[0150] In an example, block 208 may include reporting at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node 120 based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0151] Block 208 may include using at least one DC / CA measurement determined to be valid for use.

[0152] The information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 may include any suitable information for indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to access node 120. For example, the information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 may include any suitable information that enables access node 120 to determine at least one DC / CA measurement 224.

[0153] In some examples, the information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 includes at least one DC / CA measurement.

[0154] Block 208 may include transmitting any suitable signal(s) and / or message(s). For example, block 208 may include transmitting a measurement report to access node 120. In an example, at least one idle / inactive measurement report may be used.

[0155] In some examples, transmitting information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to the access node 120 includes determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid to be used.

[0156] Determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid to be used may include determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid to configure and / or enable DC / CA at the terminal node 110 .

[0157] Additionally or alternatively, determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid to be used may include determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid to enable transmission of the measurement report to the access node 120 .

[0158] Additionally or alternatively, determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid to be used may include determining whether enough previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid to satisfy a threshold amount. The threshold may be configured by the network, such as by the access node 120 .

[0159] In some examples, it is determined at block 208 that sufficient previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid, and therefore no additional DC / CA measurements are required. This enables efficient configuration of DC / CA at the terminal node 110, for example, because the reuse of valid measurements avoids delays introduced by the terminal node 110 to make new DC / CA measurements.

[0160] Furthermore, the validity of the previous DC / CA measurement 222 is appropriately determined based at least in part on the conditions at the terminal node 110 , thereby ensuring that the validity of the previous DC / CA measurement 222 is appropriate for the situation of the terminal node 110 .

[0161] Thus, in an example, transmitting information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to the access node 120 includes determining that enough previous DC / CA measurements are valid to be used and transmitting information indicative of at least one of the valid previous DC / CA measurements to the access node.

[0162] In some examples, it is determined at block 208 that insufficient previous DC / CA measurements are valid to be used, in which example, block 208 includes performing at least one DC / CA measurement.

[0163] However, this may still be advantageous because, for example, the terminal node 110 may reuse any previous DC / CA measurements 222 determined to be valid, so in examples the terminal node 110 does not have to perform as many new DC / CA measurements as it would otherwise have to perform.

[0164] For example, the terminal node 110 may have to make one new DC / CA measurement to have sufficient DC / CA measurements, rather than having to make multiple new DC / CA measurements.

[0165] Again, the validity of previous DC / CA measurements 222 is appropriately determined based at least in part on the conditions at the terminal node 110 , thereby ensuring that the validity of any previous DC / CA measurements 222 to be used is appropriate for the circumstances of the terminal node 110 .

[0166] Thus, in some examples, transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to the access node 120 includes determining that insufficient previous DC / CA measurements 222 are valid for use, and performing at least one DC / CA measurement to enable transmission of information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node 120.

[0167] In some examples, method 200 includes, at terminal node 110, independently of determining validity of at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222, performing at least one new DC / CA measurement before transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to access node 120. Terminal node 110 may be configured with this behavior by the network.

[0168] For example, the terminal node 110 may be configured by the network to perform at least one new DC / CA measurement regardless of whether it is determined that there are sufficient valid previous DC / CA measurements 222 .

[0169] For example, when a threshold is met for a sufficient number of previous DC / CA measurements 222 determined to be valid, terminal node 110 may be configured to perform at least one new DC / CA measurement before transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to access node 120 .

[0170] This may allow, for example, the terminal node 110 to check whether any previous DC / CA measurements 222 determined to be valid are in fact still valid.

[0171] If at least one new DC / CA measurement is consistent with a previous DC / CA measurement determined to be valid, for example within a threshold amount of an average of the previous DC / CA measurements determined to be valid, the terminal node 110 may continue to transmit based at least in part on the previous DC / CA measurement 222 determined to be valid.

[0172] However, if at least one new DC / CA measurement is inconsistent with a previous DC / CA measurement determined to be valid, the terminal node 110 may appropriately perform new DC / CA measurements. For example, the terminal node 110 may perform all new DC / CA measurements for use in a DC / CA configuration to avoid using DC / CA measurements that no longer correctly reflect the operating environment of the terminal node 110 due to, for example, a generally variable operating environment.

[0173] In some examples, block 208 includes transmitting the device condition information to the access node 120. Thus, in an example, the terminal node 120 transmits its determined / evaluated condition(s), such as operating condition(s), to the access node 120.

[0174] In some examples, method 200 includes: at a terminal node 110, receiving configuration information to configure the terminal node 110 (which can be considered a device) to ignore the device mobility state when determining whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; and determining whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on the received configuration information.

[0175] The configuration information may be in any suitable form. For example, the configuration information may be in any suitable form to configure the terminal node to ignore the device mobility state when determining whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0176] The configuration information may be transmitted to the terminal node via any suitable message. In some examples, the configuration information is transmitted by access node 120 towards terminal node 110.

[0177] In some examples, method 200 includes, at terminal node 110 , deleting at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 based at least in part on DC / CA measurement validity information 216 .

[0178] For example, terminal node 110 may delete previous DC / CA measurements 222 because they become invalid, as determined by an appropriate validity period for terminal node 110 .

[0179] For example, the terminal node 110 may evaluate its condition and determine that it is a high mobility terminal node 110 and has an appropriate validity period of, for example, two seconds. The terminal node 110 may consider deleting the previous DC / CA measurements 222 after two seconds because they are then invalid. For example, this may save storage resources at the terminal node 110.

[0180] From the perspective of the access node 120 , block 208 includes receiving information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 from the terminal node 110 based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 .

[0181] At block 210 , the method 200 includes configuring DC / CA at the terminal node 110 based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 .

[0182] therefore, Figure 2 A method is shown, comprising: transmitting DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to a terminal node of the radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 comprises condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; and Based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216, receiving information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement from the terminal node 110; and Based at least in part on the received information 214 indicating at least one DC / CA measurement, DC / CA is configured at the terminal node 110 .

[0183] For example, the access node 120 may select at least one cell and / or at least one carrier for DC / CA based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 214 .

[0184] In some examples, block 208 may be considered part of block 210 .

[0185] Examples of the present disclosure are advantageous and / or provide technical benefits.

[0186] For example, examples of the present disclosure enable a terminal node, such as a UE, to efficiently establish DC and / or CA.

[0187] For example, examples of the present disclosure enable a terminal node to make appropriate use of previous DC / CA measurements based on operating conditions of the terminal node during configuration of DC / CA at the terminal node.

[0188] For example, examples of the present disclosure provide an appropriate validity period for a previous DC / CA measurement based at least in part on an operating condition of a terminal node.

[0189] For example, examples of the present disclosure enable definition of configurable time values ​​with specific behaviors, which allows a network to utilize a verification process in, for example, different frequencies (such as FR1 and FR2).

[0190] Figure 3 An example of a scenario is shown.

[0191] exist Figure 3 In the example of FIG. 1 , the behavior of a terminal node 110 in the form of a UE 214 in the example shown is shown as a function of time. Figure 3 In the example above, time increases from left to right.

[0192] During a first time period 300, the UE 214 is in RRC connected mode. During this period, the UE 214 may, for example, receive an RRCReconfiguration message 302 including DC / CA validity information 216 having a validity period of "X" seconds.

[0193] In the next time period 302, the UE enters an idle or inactive mode. In this period, the UE 214 may, for example, receive at least one SIB message 304 including DC / CA validity information 216 having a validity period of "X" seconds.

[0194] During period 302, the T331 timer expires, as shown at 306, and the UE 214 remains in an idle or inactive mode.

[0195] At the time indicated by 308, RRCSetup or RRCRResume is initiated and the UE 214 determines that the validity period 'X' applies. Figure 3 The determined validity period 310 is indicated in the example of .

[0196] As can be seen in the illustrated example, the determined validity period 310 may be considered to create a rolling validity window after the current time for determining whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0197] exist Figure 3 In the example of FIG. 3 , the determined validity period 310 does not reach the expiration time of the T331 timer, so in Figure 3 In the example of , all previous DC / CA measurements 222 will be invalid unless the UE 214 performs at least one measurement after the T331 timer expires and within the determined validity period.

[0198] In the event that no previous DC / CA measurements are valid, UE 214 makes new DC / CA measurements to enable configuration of DC / CA at UE 214 .

[0199] exist Figure 3 In the example of , the determined validity period is indicated as a network configurable duration.

[0200] In the next time period 312 , UE 214 is in the RRC setup / recovery process, and at the time indicated by 314 , RRCSetup or RRCRResume is completed and the UE returns to RRC connected mode in time period 316 .

[0201] Figure 4 An example of method 400 is shown.

[0202] The method 400 may be performed by any suitable apparatus including any suitable components for performing the method 400, such as Fig. 7A and / or Figure 7B Describe the device.

[0203] In an example, the method 400 may be performed by a terminal node 110 (such as a UE 214 (see, e.g., Figure 2 )) or by a control device configured to control its functions when installed therein.

[0204] At block 402 , the method 400 includes determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling a device to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0205] At block 404 , the method 400 includes determining that information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted to an access node 120 of the RAN.

[0206] At block 406 , the method 400 includes determining, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0207] At block 408 , the method 400 includes transmitting information indicative of the at least one DC / CA measurement 224 to the access node 120 based at least in part on determining whether the at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be transmitted.

[0208] therefore, Figure 4 A method 400 is shown, comprising: determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted to an access node 120 of the RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is transmitted to the access node 120 .

[0209] Figure 5 An example of method 500 is shown.

[0210] The method 500 may be performed by any suitable apparatus including any suitable components for performing the method 500, such as Fig. 7A and / or Figure 7B Describe the device.

[0211] In an example, method 500 may be performed by an access node 120, such as a gNB 212, or by a control device configured to control its functionality when installed therein.

[0212] At box 502, the method 500 includes transmitting DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to a terminal node 110 of the radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used.

[0213] At block 504 , the method 500 includes receiving information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 from the terminal node 110 based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 .

[0214] At block 506 , the method 500 includes configuring DC / CA at the terminal node 110 based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 214 .

[0215] therefore, Figure 5 A method 500 is shown, comprising: transmitting DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to a terminal node 110 of the radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 comprises condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; and receiving, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 from the terminal node 110 ; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 214 , DC / CA is configured at the terminal node 110 .

[0216] Figure 6 An example of method 600 is shown.

[0217] Figure 6 Similar to Figure 2 example, however, in Figure 6 In the example of FIG. 6 , UE 214 and serving PCell 602 are indicated. Candidate nodes for CA / DC 604 and access and mobility management function (AMF) 606 are also indicated.

[0218] Box 1: The network (serving Pcell) 602 provides the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to the UE 214, for example, through an RRC release message, in the form of an inter-frequency measurement configuration and a time-based validity / enhanced measurement configuration.

[0219] In an example, the serving Pcell 602 may evaluate potential target Pcells and / or candidate nodes for CA / DC setup (based on UE mobility patterns) and coordinate with them around UE availability configuration.

[0220] In an example, such time values ​​and corresponding conditions may be provided to the UE 214 as follows: • A portion of DC / CA (inter-frequency) measurements and validity configuration before the UE switches to idle / inactive mode (e.g., RRC Release message). Broadcast by the cell (e.g., SIB information of UE 214 entering rel18 eEMR cell). When provided to the UE during the RRC establishment / recovery procedure. As defined values / value sets in 38.331.

[0221] As a further definition using the network configurable validity duration / validity period 310, it may be implied which part of the measurement result is valid. For example: A measurement result is considered valid if it has been completed within the last X seconds. A measurement result is considered valid if all required samples for a measurement report have been collected within the last X seconds. Only measurement samples performed within the last X seconds are considered valid. The UE 214 can then combine these samples with newly performed measurement samples for measurement reporting. This reduces the required time for new measurements, since the UE 214 already has some measurement samples available.

[0222] The time-based validity condition may depend on one or a combination of many factors, such as UE mobility state, DC / CA band (or carrier), measured cell RSRP / RSRQ, or the difference of measured cell RSRP / RSRQ / SINR relative to neighboring cells (or other measured carriers).

[0223] The following table provides examples of network configurability based on time validity configuration and conditions (for ease of presentation, only one / or two conditions are considered in each table. However, functions of different conditions can generally be considered.) Table 1: Validity time of measurements based on UE mobility profile for FR1 carriers

[0224] In an example, the mobility state of the UE may be as defined in TS 38.304. Table 2: Validity time of measurements based on UE mobility profile for FR2 carriers Table 3: Validity time of measurements based on UE inter-frequency measurement RSRP values ​​for FR2 carriers Table 4: FR2 The validity period of the measurement based on the (inter-frequency) difference RSRP value measured by the UE compared to other measured neighboring cells / carriers

[0225] In some examples, UE 214 is instructed to make at least one new measurement on the carrier after RRC establishment / recovery.

[0226] In some examples, UE 214 may also be configured with a flag, such as "Ignore Mobility State = 1 / 0".

[0227] Box 2: During inactive / idle mode, UE 214 performs conventional DC / CA (inter-frequency) measurements until T331 expires. Based on the validity condition configuration, the UE monitors / evaluates the conditions (eg, mobility state) and stores the inter-frequency measurement results.

[0228] Box 3-5: When there is UL traffic, UE 214 initiates RRC setup / recovery procedure. Based on the provided configuration and conditions, UE 214 starts to verify inter-frequency measurement results or perform enhanced measurements. If there is a DL packet, the network triggers UE 214 with a paging message, and UE 214 can initiate validation after receiving the DL paging.

[0229] Block 6-9: Pcell 602 and UE 214 continue RRC-connection establishment, and UE 214 provides the network with an inter-frequency measurement validity indication and measurement results.

[0230] Box 10: Based on the detailed validity report, the current network selects a Pcell / sCell to initiate the CA / DC setup process.

[0231] Fig. 7A An example of a controller 130 suitable for use in an apparatus such as a terminal node 110 or an access node 120 is shown. The controller 130 may be implemented as a controller circuit. The controller 130 may be implemented solely in hardware, have certain aspects solely in software including firmware, or may be a combination of hardware and software (including firmware).

[0232] like Fig. 7AAs shown, the controller 130 may be implemented using instructions that implement the hardware functionality, for example, by using executable instructions of a computer program 136 in a general or special purpose processor 132 , which may be stored on a computer readable storage medium (disk, memory, etc.) to be executed by such processor 132 .

[0233] The processor 132 is configured to read from and write to the memory 134. The processor 132 may also include an output interface via which the processor 132 outputs data and / or commands, and an input interface via which data and / or commands are input to the processor 132.

[0234] The memory 134 stores a computer program 136 including computer program instructions (computer program code) that controls the operation of the device 130 when loaded into the processor 132. The computer program instructions of the computer program 136 provide logic and routines that enable the device to perform the methods shown in the drawings. The processor 132 can load and execute the computer program 136 by reading the memory 134.

[0235] In an example, the apparatus 130 comprises: at least one processor 132; and at least one memory 134 including computer program code; The at least one memory 134 and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor 132, cause the apparatus 130 to at least perform: determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted to an access node 120 of the RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is transmitted to the access node 120 .

[0236] In an example, the apparatus 130 comprises: at least one processor 132; and at least one memory 134 including computer program code; The at least one memory 134 and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor 132, cause the apparatus 130 to at least perform: transmitting DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to a terminal node 110 of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 comprises condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; receiving, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 from the terminal node 110 ; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 214 , DC / CA is configured at the terminal node 110 .

[0237] In an example, the apparatus 130 comprises: at least one processor 132; and at least one memory 134 including computer program code; The at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 132, cause the apparatus to at least: determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted to an access node 120 of the RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is transmitted to the access node 120 .

[0238] In an example, the apparatus 130 comprises: at least one processor 132; and at least one memory 134 including computer program code; The at least one memory 134 stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor 132, cause the apparatus to at least: transmitting DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to a terminal node 110 of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 comprises condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; receiving, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 from the terminal node 110 ; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 214 , DC / CA is configured at the terminal node 110 .

[0239] like Fig. 7A As shown, the computer program 136 may arrive at the apparatus 130 via any suitable delivery mechanism 162. The delivery mechanism 162 may be, for example, a machine-readable medium, a computer-readable medium, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, a memory device, a recording medium such as a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or a digital versatile disk (DVD) or a solid-state memory, an article of manufacture including or tangibly embodying the computer program 136. The delivery mechanism may be a signal configured to reliably transfer the computer program 136. The apparatus 130 may propagate or transmit the computer program 136 as a computer data signal.

[0240] A computer program instruction for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following: determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted to an access node 120 of the RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is transmitted to the access node 120 .

[0241] A computer program instruction for causing an apparatus to at least perform the following: transmitting DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to a terminal node 110 of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 comprises condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; receiving, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 from the terminal node 110 ; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 214 , DC / CA is configured at the terminal node 110 .

[0242] The computer program instructions may be included in a computer program, a non-transitory computer readable medium, a computer program product, a machine readable medium. In some but not necessarily all examples, the computer program instructions may be distributed over more than one computer program.

[0243] Although memory 134 is shown as a single component / circuit, it may be implemented as one or more separate components / circuit, some or all of which may be integrated / removable and / or may provide persistent / semi-persistent / dynamic / cached storage.

[0244] In an example, the memory 134 includes a random access memory 158 and a read-only memory 160. In an example, the computer program 136 may be stored in the read-only memory 158. See, e.g. Figure 7B .

[0245] Although processor 132 is shown as a single component / circuit, it may be implemented as one or more separate components / circuit, some or all of which may be integrated / removable.Processor 132 may be a single-core or multi-core processor.

[0246] References to "computer-readable storage medium," "computer program product," "tangibly embodied computer program," etc. or "controller," "computer," "processor," etc. should be understood to cover not only computers with different architectures, such as single / multi-processor architectures and sequential (von Neumann) / parallel architectures, but also special-purpose circuits, such as field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific circuits (ASICs), signal processing devices, and other processing circuits. References to computer programs, instructions, code, etc. should be understood to cover software for a programmable processor or firmware, such as the programmable contents of a hardware device, instructions for a processor, or configuration settings for a fixed-function device, gate array, or programmable logic device, etc.

[0247] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) only hardware circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuits), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of a hardware processor (including a digital signal processor), software and memory with software that work together to enable a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions; and (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor that requires software (eg, firmware) for operation, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, but the software may not be present when not required for operation.

[0248] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of hardware-only circuits, or a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example, a baseband integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0249] The blocks shown in the accompanying drawings may represent steps in a method and / or portion of code in a computer program [REF3]. The illustration of a particular order of blocks does not necessarily imply that there is a required or preferred order for the blocks, and the order and arrangement of the blocks may vary. In addition, some blocks may be omitted.

[0250] Where a structural feature has been described, it may be replaced by a component that performs one or more functions of the structural feature, whether that function or functions are described explicitly or implicitly.

[0251] In an example, the apparatus may include means for: determining DC / CA measurement validity information 216, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 includes condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is to be transmitted to an access node 120 of the RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216; and Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement 224 is transmitted to the access node 120 .

[0252] In an example, the apparatus includes components for: transmitting DC / CA measurement validity information 216 to a terminal node 110 of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 comprises condition information 218 and associated validity time information 220 for enabling the terminal node 110 to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement 222 is valid to be used; receiving, based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information 216 , information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 224 from the terminal node 110 ; and Based at least in part on the received information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement 214 , DC / CA is configured at the terminal node 110 .

[0253] In an example, an apparatus may include means for performing one or more methods, or at least a portion of one or more methods, as disclosed herein.

[0254] In an example, an apparatus may be configured to perform one or more methods or at least a portion of one or more methods as disclosed herein.

[0255] The above examples find application as enabling components of: automotive systems; telecommunication systems; electronic systems including consumer electronics; distributed computing systems; media systems for generating or rendering media content including audio, visual and audio-visual content and mixed, mediated, virtual and / or augmented reality; personal systems including personal health systems or personal fitness systems; navigation systems; user interfaces, also known as human-machine interfaces; networks including cellular, non-cellular and optical networks; ad hoc networks; the Internet; the Internet of Things; virtualized networks; and related software and services.

[0256] According to examples of the present disclosure, the device may be provided in an electronic device, such as a mobile terminal. However, it should be understood that the mobile terminal is merely an illustration of an electronic device that will benefit from the implementation of the present disclosure, and therefore should not be considered to limit the scope of the present disclosure to this. Although in some implementation examples, the device may be provided in a mobile terminal, other types of electronic devices may easily adopt examples of the present disclosure, such as but not limited to: mobile communication devices, handheld portable electronic devices, wearable computing devices, portable digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, mobile computers, desktop computers, televisions, gaming devices, laptop computers, cameras, video recorders, GPS devices, and other types of electronic systems. In addition, the device may easily adopt examples of the present disclosure, regardless of its intention to provide mobility.

[0257] The term "comprising" as used in this document has an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning. That is, any reference to X including Y indicates that X may include only one Y or may include more than one Y. If the exclusive meaning of "comprising" is intended, it will be clear in the context by reference to "including only one..." or by use of "consisting of..."

[0258] In this specification, the terms "connected," "coupled," and "in communication" and their derivatives mean operatively connected / coupled / in communication. It should be understood that there may be any number or combination of intervening components (including no intervening components), i.e., so as to provide a direct or indirect connection / coupling / in communication. Any such intervening components may include hardware and / or software components.

[0259] As used herein, the term "determine / determining" (and grammatical variations thereof) may include, but not limited to: calculating, computing, processing, deriving, measuring, investigating, identifying, looking up (e.g., looking up a table, a database, or another data structure), ascertaining, etc. In addition, "determining" may include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), obtaining, etc. In addition, "determine / determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0260] In this specification, reference has been made to various examples. The description of features or functions of an example indicates that those features or functions are present in the example. The use of the term "example" or "for example" or "can" or "may" in the text indicates whether such features or functions are present in at least the described example, whether or not explicitly stated, and whether or not described as an example, and they may but not necessarily be present in some or all other examples. Therefore, "example", "for example", "can" or "may" refers to a specific instance in a class of examples. The attribute of an instance may be an attribute of only the instance or an attribute of the class or an attribute of a subclass of the class, which includes some but not all instances in the class. Therefore, it is implicitly disclosed that a feature described with reference to one example rather than with reference to another example can be used as part of a working combination in the other example, but does not necessarily have to be used in the other example.

[0261] Although the examples have been described in the preceding paragraphs with reference to various examples, it should be appreciated that modifications to the examples given can be made without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0262] Features described in the preceding description may be used in combinations other than those described above.

[0263] Although functions have been described with reference to certain features, those functions may be performable by other features whether described or not.

[0264] Although features have been described with reference to certain examples, those features may also be present in other examples whether described or not.

[0265] The terms "a," "an," or "the" are used in this document to have an inclusive, rather than an exclusive, meaning. That is, any reference to X that includes a / an / the Y indicates that X may include only one Y, or may include more than one Y, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. If the use of "a," "an," or "the" is intended to have an exclusive meaning, it will become clear from the context. In some cases, the use of "at least one" or "one or more" may be used to emphasize an inclusive meaning, but the absence of these terms should not be used to infer any exclusive meaning.

[0266] The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to that feature or (combination of features) itself and also to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). Equivalent features include, for example, features that are variants and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. Equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way to achieve substantially the same result.

[0267] In this specification, reference has been made to various examples using adjectives or adjective phrases to describe characteristics of examples. Such descriptions of characteristics of examples indicate that the characteristics exist in some examples exactly as described above, and in other examples substantially as described.

[0268] The above description discusses some examples of the present disclosure, however, those of ordinary skill in the art will be aware of possible alternative structures and method features that provide equivalent functionality to the specific examples of such structures and features described above, and for the sake of brevity and clarity, these structures and features have been omitted from the above description. Nevertheless, the above description should be understood to implicitly include references to such alternative structures and method features that provide equivalent functionality, unless such alternative structures or method features are explicitly excluded in the above description of examples of the present disclosure.

[0269] While in the foregoing description efforts have been made to draw attention to those features regarded as important, it should be understood that the applicant may seek protection by way of claims relative to any patented feature or combination of features mentioned hereinbefore and / or shown in the accompanying drawings, whether or not emphasis has been placed.

Claims

1. An apparatus for communication, comprising means for: determining dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information includes condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node of a radio access network RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; as well as Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is transmitted to the access node. 2 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein determining the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises receiving the DC / CA measurement validity information from an access node of the RAN.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein at least a portion of the at least one previous DC / CA measurement is at least one DC / CA measurement performed while the apparatus was in an idle or inactive mode.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted comprises: When the apparatus is in an idle or inactive mode, it is determined that information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted.

5. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted comprises at least one of: receiving a request from an access node of the RAN; and It is determined that the device has uplink (UL) traffic to transmit. 6 . The apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the condition information of the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises a set of apparatus conditions and associated validity time periods.

7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the apparatus condition is based at least in part on at least one of: device mobility status; The device location in the measured DC / CA cell; The carrier frequency of the DC / CA measurement; and Receive signal quality.

8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid comprises: Device condition information of the device is determined, and the determined device condition information is compared with the condition information of the DC / CA measurement validity information to determine an appropriate validity period.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used comprises: A determination is made as to whether the at least one previous DC / CA measurement was performed within a validity period associated with one or more current and / or past conditions of the apparatus.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node comprises: A determination is made as to whether enough previous DC / CA measurements are valid to be used.

11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node comprises: It is determined that sufficient previous DC / CA measurements are valid to be used, and information indicative of at least one of the previous DC / CA measurements that is valid is transmitted to the access node.

12. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein transmitting information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node comprises: Insufficient previous DC / CA measurements are determined to be valid for use, and at least one DC / CA measurement is performed to enable transmission of information indicative of the at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node.

13. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the component is configured to: Independently of the determined validity of the at least one previous DC / CA measurement, at least one new DC / CA measurement is performed before transmitting information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement to the access node.

14. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the component is configured to receive configuration information to configure the apparatus to: ignore the apparatus mobility state when determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; and A determination is made based at least in part on the received configuration information whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used.

15. The apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein the component is configured to delete at least one previous DC / CA measurement based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information.

16. A method for communication, comprising: determining dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information includes condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the device to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node of a radio access network RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; as well as Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is transmitted to the access node.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein determining the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises receiving the DC / CA measurement validity information from an access node of the RAN.

18. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein at least a portion of the at least one previous DC / CA measurement is at least one DC / CA measurement made while the apparatus was in an idle or inactive mode.

19. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted comprises: When the apparatus is in an idle or inactive mode, it is determined that information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted.

20. The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein the condition information of the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises a set of device conditions and associated validity time periods.

21. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to: determining dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information includes condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the apparatus to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; determining that information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement is to be transmitted to an access node of a radio access network RAN; determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; as well as Based at least in part on determining whether at least one previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used, information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement is transmitted to the access node.

22. The computer program of claim 21, wherein determining DC / CA measurement validity information comprises receiving the DC / CA measurement validity information from an access node of the RAN.

23. An apparatus for communication, comprising means for: transmitting dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information to a terminal node of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the terminal node to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; as well as receiving, from the terminal node, information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; as well as Based at least in part on the received information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement, DC / CA is configured at the terminal node.

24. A method for communication, comprising: transmitting dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information to a terminal node of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the terminal node to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; receiving, from the terminal node, information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; as well as Based at least in part on the received information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement, DC / CA is configured at the terminal node.

25. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to: transmitting dual connectivity DC / carrier aggregation CA measurement validity information to a terminal node of a radio access network RAN, wherein the DC / CA measurement validity information comprises condition information and associated validity time information for enabling the terminal node to determine whether a previous DC / CA measurement is valid to be used; receiving, from the terminal node, information indicating at least one DC / CA measurement based at least in part on the DC / CA measurement validity information; as well as Based at least in part on the received information indicative of at least one DC / CA measurement, DC / CA is configured at the terminal node.

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