Method, apparatus and system for preventing radio link fault during blocking

Abstract

Among other things, a method is disclosed, the method comprising: receiving a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between a base station of a mobile communication network and a user equipment, where at least a portion of the communication report indicates an angle of arrival of the respective radio link and an angle of departure of the respective radio link; determining blocking information based at least in part on the communication report, and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment, wherein the blocking information indicates a respective radio link and a time at which a blocking of the respective radio link occurs; and providing the blocking information if the blocking information is determined. A corresponding apparatus, computer program and system are also disclosed.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The following disclosure relates to the field of mobile communication networks, or more particularly to preventing radio link failures due to congestion in the radio link. Background Art

[0002] The next generation (6G) of mobile communications is envisioned to extend the current 5G networks into a federated physical-biological network, in which mobile networks are able to sense the state and behavior of passive objects in their environment, whereas current 5G networks can only locate active devices, i.e., sending / receiving devices.

[0003] 5G has introduced the so-called Frequency Range 2 (FR2), which has higher carrier frequencies, with the 28 GHz mmWave band being one of its first FR2 bands. 6G is expected to extend further to higher frequencies in the THz range (>300 GHz). While higher frequency bands enable greater communication bandwidths and, thus, higher throughput, they are increasingly prone to blocking as diffraction (the "bending" of radio signals around the corners of objects) decreases and attenuation caused by objects increases. Therefore, the transmission reception points (TRPs) provided, for example, by the respective base stations and mobile stations (e.g., UEs) direct the signal energy by beamforming, thereby forming a so-called beam-based air interface.

[0004] Narrow transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) beams, typically of only a few degrees half-power beamwidth (HPBW), require permanent beam adaptation / refinement to maintain a working communication link between a UE and its serving TRP (e.g., base station), since the signal strength may quickly decrease outside the beam main lobe. More critically, rotation of the object / machine to which the UE is attached (or the person holding it) may cause this object (person) to block the communication path between the respective UE and its serving cell / TRP, resulting in additional strong attenuation of the signal. Likewise, the communication link may be blocked when other (passive) objects move into the communication path, or if the UE itself moves behind these (possibly static) objects, or vice versa.

[0005] Currently, beam pairs are switched, e.g., Tx beam and Rx beam pairs at the respective base station and the respective UE (downlink, uplink and vice versa), if periodic channel measurements have identified that another beam pair would be (e.g., sufficiently) better than the current beam pair. Such reactive beam management may work well as long as the link is degraded primarily due to misalignment of the beams (pointing in slightly off directions), e.g., but may fail if the signal quality degrades rapidly due to (multiple) blockages, resulting in a radio link failure (RLF) before the beams can be switched.

[0006] Therefore, one envisioned use case for sensing in 6G is to locate passive objects and infer their motion in the near future to predict whether they will block any ongoing communication links and proactively switch beams before link failure.

[0007] When targeting Ultra-Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) in wireless networks (e.g. mobile communication networks), for example in the FR2 band, communication interruptions due to sudden obstructions by (large) objects can be mitigated. One solution could be to use dual / multiple connections and fall back on a fully maintained secondary link during primary link obstruction / failure until the beam search / refinement / update process reestablishes the primary link. The second link could be a lower frequency carrier in FR1 from the same TRP or another FR2 carrier from a second TRP. Another topic could be to proactively switch beams or handover to another TRP before obstruction / blocking occurs or is likely to occur. Summary of the invention

[0008] However, in this case of actively switching beams, and in future 6G mobile networks with sensing capabilities, it is assumed that a central entity (hereinafter referred to as the Sensing Management Function (SMF)) can collect all sensing information and derive from it a digital twin of the environment that the mobile network is in. However, what sensing cannot provide is the communication path between the TRP and the UE in the mobile communication network.

[0009] According to a first exemplary aspect, a method is disclosed, the method comprising:

[0010] - receiving a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between a base station of the mobile communication network and a user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates an angle of arrival of the respective radio link and an angle of departure of the respective radio link;

[0011] - determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and the time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; and

[0012] -Provide blocking information if it is determined.

[0013] For example, the method may be performed and / or controlled by a device, such as a central entity, or a server hosting a function of a mobile communication network (e.g., a central entity). Such a function may be an SMF. Alternatively, the method may be performed and / or controlled by more than one device, such as a server cloud comprising at least two servers. For example, the method may be performed and / or controlled by using at least one processor of a central entity or a server.

[0014] According to a second exemplary aspect, a method is disclosed, the method comprising:

[0015] - sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between the apparatus and the user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the corresponding radio link or an angle of departure of the corresponding radio link;

[0016] - receiving congestion information indicating the corresponding radio link and the time when congestion of the corresponding radio link occurred; or

[0017] In the case where the blocking message is not received,

[0018] - determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and the time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; and

[0019] - determining at least one measure to alleviate congestion of the respective radio link based at least in part on the received congestion information or based on the determined congestion information; and

[0020] - applying the determined at least one measure.

[0021] For example, the method may be performed and / or controlled by an apparatus, such as a base station, such as a gNB or an eNB of a mobile communication network, or a base station providing or hosting at least one TRP. For example, the method may be performed and / or controlled using at least one processor of a base station.

[0022] According to a third exemplary aspect, a method is disclosed, the method comprising:

[0023] - sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between the device and a base station of the mobile communication network, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the corresponding radio link or an angle of departure of the corresponding radio link; and

[0024] - applying at least one measure to alleviate the congestion of the respective radio link.

[0025] For example, the method may be executed and / or controlled by an apparatus, such as a user equipment or user device of a mobile communication network. For example, the method may be executed and / or controlled by using at least one processor of the user equipment or user device.

[0026] According to another exemplary aspect, a computer program is disclosed which, when executed by a processor, causes an apparatus (eg, a server) to perform and / or control actions of the method according to the first, second, and / or third exemplary aspects.

[0027] The computer program may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium, in particular on a tangible and / or non-transitory medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, a disk or a memory or the like. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium in the form of instructions encoding the computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be used to participate in the operation of a device, such as an internal or external memory, such as a read-only memory (ROM) or a hard disk of a computer, or for the distribution of the program, such as an optical disk.

[0028] According to another exemplary aspect, a device is disclosed, which is configured to execute and / or control the method according to the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect and / or the third exemplary aspect, or includes corresponding components for executing and / or controlling the method.

[0029] The components of the device can be implemented with hardware and / or software. They may include, for example, at least one processor for executing a computer program code to perform the desired function, at least one memory for storing program code, or both. Alternatively, they may include, for example, a circuit system designed to implement the desired function, such as a circuit system implemented in a chipset or chip, such as an integrated circuit. Typically, the component may include, for example, one or more processing components or processors.

[0030] According to another exemplary aspect, a device is disclosed, which includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor, enable the device (e.g., the above-mentioned device) to at least execute and / or control the method according to the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect and / or the third exemplary aspect.

[0031] The above disclosed apparatus according to any aspect may be a module or component for a device, such as a chip. Alternatively, the apparatus disclosed according to any aspect may be a device, such as a server or a server cloud. The apparatus disclosed according to any aspect may include only the disclosed components, such as a part, a processor, a memory, or may also include one or more additional components.

[0032] According to another exemplary aspect, a system is disclosed, the system comprising:

[0033] - a first device according to the above first exemplary aspect and a second device according to the above second exemplary aspect; and

[0034] - At least one device according to the third exemplary aspect above.

[0035] According to another exemplary aspect, a system is disclosed, the system comprising:

[0036] - a second device according to the above second exemplary aspect; and

[0037] - At least one device according to the third exemplary aspect above.

[0038] Any disclosure herein related to any exemplary aspect should be understood to equally disclose any subject matter according to the corresponding exemplary aspect, such as devices, methods, computer programs, and computer-readable media. Thus, for example, the disclosure of method steps should also be considered as the disclosure of components for performing and / or configured to perform the corresponding method steps. Similarly, the disclosure of components for performing and / or configured to perform method steps should also be considered as the disclosure of the method steps themselves. The same applies to any paragraph describing the following: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; at least one memory and computer program code are configured to, together with at least one processor, cause the device to perform at least steps.

[0039] For convenience, a list of the abbreviations used below has been given here:

[0040] 5G: Fifth Generation

[0041] 5GS: 5G System

[0042] 6G: Sixth Generation

[0043] AMF: Access and Mobility Management Function

[0044] AoA: Angle of Arrival

[0045] AoD: Angle of Departure

[0046] BSAI: Beam Selection Assistance Information

[0047] eNB: eNodeB (base station)

[0048] FR1: Frequency Range 1 (cmWave, <7.125GHz)

[0049] FR2: Frequency Range 2 (millimeter wave, >24GHz)

[0050] gNB: gNodeB (base station)

[0051] HPBW: Half Power Beam Width

[0052] LMF: Location Management Function

[0053] LoS: Line of sight

[0054] MAC: Media Access Control

[0055] NAS: Non-Access Stratum

[0056] NCGI: NR Cell Global Identity

[0057] NG-RAN: Next Generation RAN

[0058] nLoS: Non Line of Sight

[0059] NR: New Radio

[0060] NRPPa: NR Positioning Protocol a

[0061] PHY: Physical layer

[0062] RAN: Radio Access Network

[0063] RLF: Radio Link Failure

[0064] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0065] Rx: Receiver / Receive

[0066] SAP: Sensor Access Point

[0067] SMF: Sense Management Function

[0068] SRB: Signalling Radio Bearer

[0069] TDOA: Time Difference of Arrival

[0070] TRP: Transmission (and) Reception Point

[0071] Tx: Transmitter / Transmission

[0072] UE: User Equipment (mobile device, also called user equipment)

[0073] In the following, exemplary features and exemplary embodiments of all aspects will be described in more detail.

[0074] In the following, the UE or user equipment according to the third exemplary aspect as described above will also be referred to as an apparatus according to the third exemplary aspect. It can be a user equipment of a mobile communication network (also referred to as a cellular network), such as a 3G, LTE / 4G, 5G NR, 5G or 6G network. In addition, it can also be a mobile or transportable device, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a tablet computer, a laptop or any other mobile device. In various embodiments, it can be a vehicle for traveling in the air, on water or on land, such as an airplane or a drone, a ship or a car or a truck. It can also be a robot, a sensor device, a wearable device, an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a machine type communication (TC) device, etc.

[0075] As used herein, a corresponding radio link may be understood as a component for (e.g., wireless) communication between a first entity and a second entity (e.g., an apparatus of the first exemplary aspect and / or the second exemplary aspect, and an apparatus of the third exemplary aspect). Communication may be one-way or two-way communication. Communication may be established via a mobile communication network, or directly between corresponding entities, i.e., so-called ad hoc communication. A radio link may be established via one or more antenna elements or antenna arrays composed of or connectable to corresponding entities. A corresponding radio link may be a specific beam transmittable (e.g., and therefore receivable) via one or more antenna elements or antenna panels. A corresponding radio link may be represented by at least one beam pair, e.g., one beam representing the Tx side of communication between entities, and one beam representing the Rx side of communication between entities. A corresponding radio link may be identified by a corresponding identifier ID.

[0076] Such a corresponding radio link may be blocked. As used herein, such blocking may be caused by a physical barrier, such as an object (e.g., a wall, a building, a car, a tree, etc.) between the radio links, causing the corresponding radio waves of the radio link to be unable to pass directly, because the object attenuates or shields the radio waves, so that the radio waves cannot, at least partially, pass through the object. Such an object may be a machine to which the corresponding user device is attached, or a user (person) holding the user device.

[0077] The communication report indicates information related to at least one radio link between a base station (e.g., the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect) and a user equipment (e.g., the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect) of a mobile communication network. The communication report is received by the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect. The apparatus of the first exemplary aspect may be a function of a mobile communication network (e.g., an SMF). Such an SMF may be a function of a core network in a mobile communication network, which may optionally be hosted by a central entity. One or more user equipment (e.g., the (multiple) apparatuses of the third exemplary aspect) and one or more base stations (e.g., the (multiple) apparatuses of the second exemplary aspect) may communicate with each other and / or with such an SMF, for example for transmitting, for example, sensing measurements or sensing measurement reports. Such an SMF may not be a session management function of the entire 5GS architecture (e.g., as disclosed in 3GPPTS23.501), but an additional function that may communicate with the corresponding AMF and / or LMF of the mobile communication network (e.g., according to the 5GS communication standard). Whether the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., SMF) can be a separate entity, e.g., having its own (multiple) interfaces to the corresponding LMF and / or AMF, or whether the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., SMF) can be integrated at the LMF, can remain open. Both implementation variants are considered to be equally valid, for example, because the application layer protocols used (e.g., only) for sending (e.g., carrying) the relevant messages can be different. Such a corresponding SMF can include or can be used to learn about communication links within the mobile communication network, and / or include or can be used to notify the corresponding mobile communication network about (e.g., possible) blocking of one of the corresponding communication radio links. The communication report can be or consist of a corresponding signaling message.

[0078] At least a portion of the communication report indicates an angle of arrival (AoA) of the corresponding radio link and an angle of departure (AoD) of the corresponding radio link. For example, as a signaling framework, uplink control information (UCI) in the case of PHY and / or MAC control elements (CE) in the case of MAC layer signaling can be used for communication. In addition, corresponding radio resource control (RRC) information elements that can be transmitted via RRC signaling can be defined so that the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect (e.g., a base station, such as a gNB) can configure the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect (e.g., a user equipment) to provide (e.g., report) AoA and / or AoD (e.g., in the form of a corresponding communication report).

[0079] The blocking information is determined based at least in part on the communication report, the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment. The corresponding location of the base station (e.g., the device of the second exemplary aspect) and / or the corresponding location of the user equipment (e.g., the device of the third exemplary aspect) can be determined or collected (e.g., obtained via a lookup query at the LMF). The blocking information indicates the corresponding radio link. For example, in the case where the corresponding radio link is blocked or may be blocked, the blocking information may indicate the corresponding radio link. To this end, the blocking information may represent a certain possibility that can be predicted in conjunction with the determination of the blocking information.

[0080] Furthermore, the blocking information indicates the time at which the blocking of the corresponding radio link occurs. Likewise, the time may represent, for example, a time predicted by the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect. The time may be determined (e.g., predicted) in conjunction with the determination of the blocking information. Both the corresponding radio link and the time included in the blocking information may represent current blocking, or may represent a possible (occurring) blocking of the corresponding radio link in the future. The latter may be determined or evaluated based on a predetermined threshold, to give a non-limiting example, to determine whether blocking is considered to be possible.

[0081] After the blocking information has been determined, the blocking information can be provided (e.g., sent) to, for example, a base station (e.g., an apparatus of the second exemplary aspect) and / or a user equipment (e.g., an apparatus of the third exemplary aspect). For example, the corresponding base station (e.g., an apparatus of the second exemplary aspect) can then determine (e.g., decide) whether and / or how to alleviate the potential blocking that is occurring or may occur on the corresponding radio link, for example by determining corresponding measures. More details will be disclosed below. Additionally or alternatively, (multiple) self-organizing communication reporting processes can be defined. Such self-organizing communication processes can be performed and / or controlled by providing (and therefore receiving) communication reports directly, for example from the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect (e.g., a base station) and / or directly from the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect (e.g., a user equipment). Therefore, not via a mobile communication network. In addition, signaling from the corresponding base station (e.g., a gNB) and the corresponding user equipment (e.g., via the base station) to the corresponding SMF (e.g., an apparatus of the first exemplary aspect) can be enabled. In addition, (multiple) self-organizing notification messages from such a corresponding SMF to such a corresponding base station (e.g., a gNB) can be defined or enabled.

[0082] The blocking information may also include, for example, a value indicating how strong the corresponding blocking will be or is expected to be. The value may be an integer value between 0 and 1, where 0 may be no blocking and 1 may be a blocking that is blocking the entire radio link. For example, a value of 1 may indicate that the corresponding radio link is subjected to full attenuation, e.g., the received signal power is 0 after the blocking. Additionally or alternatively, the value may be given as an estimated additional attenuation, e.g., the attenuation caused by the blocker / blocker (e.g., in dB, e.g., a signal weakened by a factor of 1000 is 30 dB, to name just one non-limiting example).

[0083] Example embodiments of all example aspects may allow the corresponding apparatus (eg, the corresponding SMF) of the first example aspect to support beam recovery and be able to prevent one or more radio link failures (RLFs), for example by providing corresponding blocking information.

[0084] For example, beam recovery may be performed by the base station. Example embodiments of all example aspects may target 5GNR TRP in FR2 with high antenna element counts (e.g., antenna panels with 64 or more antenna elements) and correspondingly tight communication beams (e.g., (multiple) beam patterns), with large carrier bandwidths typical of FR2 required for one or more example embodiments. Furthermore, these tight communication beams used in (e.g., only) FR2 may be prone to severe blocking issues and may be followed by RLF first. For these situations, the example embodiments may be utilized and may represent an example of an applicable scenario.

[0085] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect, the determining of the blocking information further comprises:

[0086] - Determine whether the corresponding radio link is blocked.

[0087] Determining whether the respective radio link is blocked may be performed and / or controlled based at least in part on determining whether the respective radio link is a LoS or nLoS radio link. In the latter case, determining whether the respective radio link is blocked may require additionally determining how many reflections occurred during the communication path, thereby determining how many times the radio signal was reflected on the communication path from the transmitter to the receiver.

[0088] Such (multiple) communication paths may be LoS or nLos. In the latter case, the radio signal may be reflected via a single (e.g., a set of) reflectors with corresponding (multiple) reflections. From the perspective of the TRP and / or the corresponding user equipment, such reflections may be characterized by the corresponding positions of the corresponding device (e.g., user equipment) of the third exemplary aspect and the corresponding TRP (e.g., enabled or provided by the corresponding device of the second exemplary aspect), as well as the radio link and its corresponding AoA and AoD. A LoS communication path may also have (multiple) reflections of the radio signal, however, at least a portion of the radio signal is receivable without any reflection, in contrast to (multiple) nLoS communication paths. For example, such a (multiple) nLoS communication path with two or more reflections may also require determining the corresponding positions of two (e.g., a set of) reflectors. The corresponding positions may be determined, for example, by a sensing process. For example, such a sensing process may include the SMF determining a plurality of SAPs to enable scanning of an area; requesting a first SAP to receive a probe signal sent by a second SAP, the second SAP being configured by the SMF to send the probe signal; the first SAP, after receiving the probe signal, sending a scanning measurement back to the SMF to provide information about the area; and the SMF aggregating the scanning measurement with other scanning measurements from other SAPs to create a digital twin of the sensing area. Such a (multiple) communication path with three or more reflections may typically be too weak to contribute a significant amount of energy and may therefore be ignored. However, it will be appreciated that the number of reflections may no longer be of concern as long as sufficient energy can be present on the receiver side of the corresponding radio link.

[0089] An apparatus of the third exemplary aspect (e.g., a user equipment) and / or an apparatus of the second exemplary aspect (e.g., a corresponding base station, such as a gNB providing a corresponding TRP) provides (e.g., reports) AoA and AoD to the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect via the proposed communication report.

[0090] The AoA and AoD may be indicated in the respective communication reports relative to a global coordinate system (e.g., known to all entities) or in a relative manner, e.g., with respect to the respective one or more antenna elements or antenna panels of the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect and / or the third exemplary aspect, respectively. For the relative manner, the respective antenna direction may need to be known, e.g., by the respective SMF. For example, if the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., SMF) knows the one or more antenna elements or antenna panel directions and possibly the beam codebook, the AoA and AoD of the respective radio link may be indicated as a beam index. If the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect does not know such a beam codebook, the respective beam codebook may be learned from the apparatus (multiple) of the third exemplary aspect (e.g., (multiple) user equipment) and / or the apparatus (multiple) of the second exemplary aspect (e.g., (multiple) gNB or (multiple) TRP, e.g., via (multiple) TRP information request / response messages acting as (multiple) SAPs), to name a few non-limiting examples. The respective communication report (e.g., in the form of (multiple) messages or consisting of such (multiple) messages) may optionally include or entirely include one or more positions of the respective (multiple) apparatuses determined by positioning. Typically, the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., SMF) may know such a location, for example, from the corresponding LMF of the mobile communication network, or because the two may be integrated together in a single entity. The corresponding identities of the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect (e.g., the corresponding user equipment) and / or the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect (e.g., the corresponding TRP / base station) may be provided by a transport layer or application layer protocol for the interface N1 / N2 / NL1. At least one of such corresponding interfaces may be used to provide (e.g., deliver / send) a corresponding communication report, so that the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., SMF) may infer the source of the communication report (e.g., message). This may also allow determining (e.g., deriving) which TRP and user equipment the AoA and / or AoD involves, and optionally the location / orientation to which the corresponding entities (e.g., TRP and user equipment) involve.

[0091] If there can be multiple (e.g., at least two) communication paths between the corresponding user equipment and the base station (e.g., gNB), additional disambiguation means can be used, such as selected by the corresponding base station and unique within the corresponding base station, or, if there is at most one communication path per cell (as is the case with current communication standards), disambiguation is done by the NG Cell Global Identity (NCGI) (e.g., 3GPP TS23.003).

[0092] According to an exemplary embodiment of all exemplary aspects, the communication report further comprises at least one of a radio link identifier of the respective radio link or a cell identifier of a cell handling the respective radio link.

[0093] In order to characterize the (e.g., future) blocking of the corresponding radio link and to be able to execute and / or control at least one measure to optimally prevent RLF, the corresponding apparatus of the second exemplary aspect processing communications to and from the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect (e.g., user equipment) may benefit from knowing the corresponding identifier of the radio link, or at least the corresponding cell identifier of the cell processing the corresponding radio link, so that the corresponding radio link can be determined (e.g., derived) at least in part based on the cell identifier and the knowledge of the entity of the corresponding radio link. In addition, in order to proactively mitigate the blocking, it may be beneficial if, in addition to the corresponding radio link identifier that is blocked or may (e.g., have a certain probability) be blocked, the corresponding blocking information also includes the (e.g., predicted) time (start time) when the corresponding blocking occurs or will begin to occur. The corresponding apparatus of the second exemplary aspect (e.g., base station) may infer the communication path from a specific signaling connection of the user equipment (e.g., apparatus of the third exemplary aspect), for example, through which the blocking information has been received (e.g., included or indicated by a blocking notification message), or, if the corresponding base station has previously included the radio link identifier in its communication report (e.g., message), via the link identifier that can be included in the communication report.

[0094] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect, a communication report is received from a base station, or the communication report is divided into a first communication report received from the base station and a second communication report received from a user equipment.

[0095] In this case, the communication report may be divided into a first communication report received from a base station (e.g., the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect) and a second communication report received from a user equipment (e.g., the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect). As just one non-limiting example, the communication report received from the base station may include information related to the corresponding radio link (e.g., the AoA of the corresponding radio link) from the perspective of the base station (e.g., only). As just one non-limiting example, the communication report received from the user equipment may include information related to the corresponding radio link (e.g., the AoD of the corresponding radio link) from the perspective of the user equipment (e.g., only).

[0096] In addition, as part of a (e.g., continuous) sensing operation that can be performed and / or controlled (e.g., performed and controlled by a device providing communication reports so that the device of the first exemplary aspect can receive communication reports), for example, within the coverage area of ​​a mobile communication network, the sensing-enabled (multiple) base stations and / or (multiple) user equipment can report the sensed objects to the device of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., the corresponding SMF) according to their corresponding sensing configurations (e.g., which can be managed by the corresponding device of the first exemplary aspect, such as the SMF). Therefore, as disclosed above, whenever, for example, the corresponding base station has switched the service beam pair for the corresponding user equipment, the corresponding SMF can be updated with the new AoA and AoD via (multiple) corresponding communication report messages.

[0097] According to exemplary embodiments of all exemplary aspects, after the AoA / AoD is changed, a communication report is sent by the corresponding UE and / or the corresponding base station (e.g., gNB).

[0098] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first exemplary aspect, the blocking information is determined based on one or more further communication reports relating to one or more radio links of other respective user equipments present in the cell of the respective radio link.

[0099] For example, the potential (and, for example, identified) congestion that occurs on the corresponding radio link can be used to check whether the corresponding radio link of at least one other user equipment (which can also be the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect) or other radio links may also be congested. Therefore, the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect can aggregate such information based on multiple (for example, at least two) communication reports that the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect can have received from different entities.

[0100] According to exemplary embodiments of all exemplary aspects, the blocking information includes one or more of the following information:

[0101] - location of the obstruction;

[0102] - size of the blockage;

[0103] - the speed of the blockage, e.g. including direction, e.g. represented by a vector;

[0104] - blocking relative to the angle of arrival seen, for example, by the respective base station and / or the respective user equipment

[0105] and / or the angular range of the departure angle;

[0106] - the duration of the blockage; and

[0107] -Signal attenuation due to obstruction.

[0108] One or more of the above information that the blocking information may include may (eg, each) include a determined uncertainty of the estimate / prediction, such as at least as an integer value between 0 and 1, to name just one non-limiting example.

[0109] Optionally, the corresponding blocking information (e.g., a blocking notification message) may include in whole or in part information also referred to below as beam selection assistance information (BSAI) to further assist in determining at least one measure (e.g., determined by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect), such as a new radio link, or, for example, selecting a radio link that is likely not to be blocked soon, to name a few non-limiting examples.

[0110] As described above, corresponding to the method that can be performed and / or controlled by the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect, the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect can send a corresponding communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect and the user equipment (e.g., the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect). In response to the sent communication report, for example, if the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect determines that a corresponding radio link handled by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect is blocked or may be blocked, the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect can receive blocking information. Therefore, in an alternative solution, in the case where the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect does not receive such blocking information, the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect can determine the blocking information by itself. In this case, the blocking information can be determined based at least in part on the communication report that the second exemplary apparatus has sent (e.g., because the communication report can include, for example, the AoA / AoD of the corresponding radio link) and the location of the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect and the location of the user equipment (e.g., the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect). As disclosed above with respect to the first exemplary aspect, the determined blocking information indicates the corresponding radio link and the time when the blocking of the corresponding radio link occurs, or the time when the blocking is determined to occur with a certain probability.

[0111] The apparatus of the second exemplary aspect further determines at least one measure. For example, such a corresponding at least one measure may be a possible beam switching used by the radio link so that the radio link is transmitted and received at different AoA / AoD. In addition, the at least one measure may be a possible handover to be performed, for example, to alleviate the congestion of the corresponding radio link indicated by the received or determined congestion information. Then, the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect applies the determined at least one measure.

[0112] According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect, the method further comprises:

[0113] - receiving from a user equipment at least one of an angle of arrival or an angle of departure associated with a respective radio link (eg via PHY or MAC signalling); and

[0114] - Aggregating at least one of the received angles of arrival or angles of departure related to the respective radio link into a communication report, wherein the communication report is aggregated such that the communication report also includes at least one of the angles of arrival and angles of departure used by the device and an identifier of the respective radio link.

[0115] In a first variant, for example, the AoA may be received by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect from the corresponding user equipment (e.g., the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect), for example as part of PHY or MAC signaling. This may be enabled, for example, due to a previous RRC configuration, for example, performed and / or controlled by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect. The apparatus of the second exemplary aspect may also aggregate, for example, the received AoA and its AoD and radio link identifier (ID) into a single communication report (e.g., consisting of a corresponding message), and send the corresponding communication report to the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., the corresponding SMF).

[0116] According to an exemplary embodiment of all exemplary aspects, the communication report includes multiple sets (eg, at least two sets) of information related to multiple radio links.

[0117] The corresponding communication report may fully or partially include multiple sets (e.g., at least two sets) of AoA, AoD (e.g., as beam pairs) and corresponding radio link IDs. Thus, one of such sets may be associated with a (e.g., switched) beam pair processed by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect. The actual information included in or within the communication report may be different, for example, information that may not have changed may be omitted, and / or the AoA / AoD may be differentially encoded so that (multiple) AoA / AoD values ​​represent the difference with the value of the corresponding previous communication report sent by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect, or if there is (e.g., only) a single communication path between the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect and the corresponding user equipment, the corresponding radio link ID may be omitted, which is only one of several variations that the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect can perform and / or control when sending a communication report, whether it is the first transmission of the communication report or a repeated transmission, the repeated transmission is intended to, for example, perform and / or control the status update of one or more corresponding radio links processed by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect.

[0118] In a second variant, the user equipment may send (e.g., transmit) a communication report directly, for example as a NAS message (e.g., via the N1 interface). This may be the first communication report of a communication report that may be split as described above. The apparatus of the second exemplary aspect may then include its own AoD in its communication report (e.g., via the N2 interface). In the case where there may be multiple active / serving communication paths between the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect and the user equipment, such corresponding (e.g., two) communication reports may partially or fully include the NCGI of the cell for which beam switching may have occurred to disambiguate (e.g., thereby including the TRP).

[0119] It should be understood that the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect may (e.g., only) receive the corresponding blocking information if and / or when the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect has determined the corresponding blocking information and provided the blocking information to the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect. Therefore, if the corresponding blocking information is not received, the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect may not perform the corresponding steps of determining at least one measure and applying at least one measure. In an alternative, if the corresponding blocking information is received and the received blocking information does not indicate the corresponding blocking that may occur with respect to the corresponding radio link, the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect may also not perform the corresponding steps of determining at least one measure and applying at least one measure.

[0120] The apparatus of the second exemplary aspect may be a base station with sensing capabilities. Such a base station with sensing capabilities (e.g., a gNB) may rely on its own sensing, for example, to detect possible one or more obstructions. For example, in combination with the corresponding position / orientation of the user equipment (e.g., provided via an existing standardized positioning, such as LMF via a mobile communication network) and the AoA seen from the user equipment, as described above, the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect may send (e.g., provide) via PHY or MAC signaling.

[0121] According to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect, in the absence of receiving at least one of the angle of arrival or angle of departure (e.g., value) associated with the corresponding radio link from the user equipment (e.g., before sending the communication report), the communication report also includes a cell identifier of the cell that handles the corresponding radio link. Such a corresponding communication report can be sent directly to the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., SMF).

[0122] The apparatus of the third exemplary aspect (e.g., the corresponding user equipment) sends (e.g., to the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect (e.g., the corresponding SMF) and / or to the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect (e.g., the corresponding base station)) a corresponding communication report which can then be received by the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect and / or the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect. At least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the corresponding radio link or an angle of departure of the corresponding radio link.

[0123] Based on the communication report sent (e.g., provided), the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect can be triggered to perform and / or control at least one measure. The at least one measure can be at least one measure provided by the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect. Thus, if necessary, the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect can apply at least one measure to alleviate the blocking of the corresponding radio link. The apparatus of the third exemplary aspect can apply at least one measure, to name just a few non-limiting examples, for example, to perform and / or control beam switching of the corresponding radio link, or to participate in handing over the corresponding radio link to a different cell or to a different cell.

[0124] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third exemplary aspect, in the case where at least one of the angle of arrival or the angle of departure associated with the corresponding radio link is not sent to the base station, the communication report includes a cell identifier of the cell that handles the corresponding radio link. In this case, the corresponding communication report can be sent directly to the device of the first exemplary aspect.

[0125] It should be understood that the presentation in this section is by way of example only and not limitation.

[0126] The features and exemplary embodiments described above apply equally to the different aspects.

[0127] Other features will become apparent from the following detailed description considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, it should be understood that the drawings are for illustrative purposes only and not as a definition of limitation, the scope of which should be referenced to the appended claims. It should be further understood that the drawings are not drawn to scale and that they are merely intended to conceptually illustrate the structures and procedures described herein. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0128] As shown in the figure:

[0129] Figure 1 is a schematic block diagram of a system according to an exemplary aspect;

[0130] Figure 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method according to a first exemplary aspect;

[0131] Figure 3 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method according to a second exemplary aspect;

[0132] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating an example embodiment of a method according to a third exemplary aspect;

[0133] Figure 5 is a schematic block diagram of a system according to an exemplary aspect;

[0134] Figure 6 is a signaling flow diagram of an example embodiment according to all exemplary aspects;

[0135] Figure 7 is another signaling flow diagram according to an exemplary embodiment of the second exemplary aspect and the third exemplary aspect; and

[0136] Figure 8 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus configured to perform the method according to the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect, or the third exemplary aspect. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0137] The following description is intended to enhance understanding and should be understood to supplement and be read together with the description provided in the above Summary section of this specification.

[0138] Figure 1 is a schematic high-level block diagram illustrating a system 100 according to an exemplary aspect.

[0139] The system 100 includes a user equipment 130 (e.g., the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect) and a base station 120 (e.g., the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect) that provides a TRP. The user equipment 130 and the base station 120 can communicate with each other via a mobile communication network (not shown). A part of such a mobile communication network can be an SMF (e.g., Figure 1 The first exemplary aspect of the device is not shown in Figure 5 ,exist Figure 5 ). Figure 1As shown, there are two potential blockages 140-1 and 140-2 blocking the LoS radio link between the user equipment 130 and the base station 120. The blockage 140-1 is currently located between the radio links established between the user equipment 130 and the base station 120, blocking the LoS, so that the radio link established between the user equipment 130 and the base station 120 is nLoS. The blockage 140-2 is not between the radio links indicated by the dashed arrows and the solid arrows pointing to the user equipment 130 and the base station 120. As shown by the arrows at the blockages 140-1 and 140-2, the corresponding blockages can be moved or rotated in a specific direction or a combination thereof. For example, the blockage 140-1 moves in the direction of the radio link indicated by the solid line representing the current radio link. The blockage 140-2 can move between the radio links in the solid line, and therefore, at least one measure can be performed to alleviate the occurrence of the blocking of the radio link. Such at least one measure can be the switching of the beam pattern, so that the radio link can be represented by the double arrows representing the dashed line between the user equipment 130 and the base station 120. This measure is shown by a circular dashed arrow pointing from a solid double arrow of the radio link to a dashed double arrow, wherein the circular dashed arrow is illustrated at the radio link at both the user equipment 130 and the base station 120. In addition, the blockage 140-2 may also move between the radio links between the user equipment 130 and the base station 120. Reflections (e.g., walls or objects) 110-1 and 110-2 may reflect the radio links, so that communication via the radio links of the user equipment 130 and the base station 120 is established as nLoS communication.

[0140] For example, in order to enable the above-mentioned switching to occur, the exemplary embodiments according to all exemplary aspects enable, for example, the SMF of the mobile communication network to receive a communication report from the user equipment 130 and / or the base station 120, wherein the communication report indicates information related to at least one radio link between the base station 120 of the mobile communication network and the user equipment 130, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates the arrival angle of the corresponding radio link and the departure angle of the corresponding radio link, as shown by the double arrows pointing from and to a specific angle and to the user equipment 130 and the base station 120. Based on the received (multiple) communication reports, blocking information is determined. The communication report is also determined based on the location of the base station 120 and the location of the user equipment 130, wherein the blocking information indicates the corresponding radio link and the time when the blocking of the corresponding radio link occurs. Then, in order to alleviate the potential blocking, the determined blocking information is provided to the base station 120, for example. The base station 120 determines at least one measure, here a switching of the beam pattern for the corresponding radio link.

[0141] For example, when targeting ultra-reliable low latency communications (URLLC) in a wireless network in the FR2 frequency band, communication disruptions must be mitigated. Such disruptions may be due to sudden obstruction by one or more (e.g., large) objects, such as blocking 140-1 and 140-2. One solution may be to use dual / multiple connections and rely on a fully maintained secondary link fallback during primary link obstruction / failure until the beam search / refinement / update process reestablishes the primary link. The second link may be a lower frequency carrier in FR1 from the same TRP, or another FR2 carrier from a second TRP. This obviously has disadvantages, such as increased power consumption and blocking of available resources on a portion of the mobile communication network. As at least one measure, example embodiments of all exemplary aspects may actively switch beams or hand over to another TRP before an obstruction occurs.

[0142] A mobile communication network (e.g., 6G) with sensing capabilities, in particular a central entity (e.g., an apparatus of the first exemplary aspect, such as a sensing management function (SMF)), can collect (e.g., all) sensing information and can derive a digital twin of the mobile communication network environment in which it is located. However, what sensing cannot provide is the communication path between the TRP (e.g., hosted by the corresponding base station 120) and / or the base station (e.g., base station 120) and the user equipment (e.g., user equipment 130) of the mobile communication network. In addition, when such an SMF determines that a communication path within the digital twin may soon be blocked, the SMF may be equipped with the ability to influence (multiple) communication paths to alleviate the predicted blocking. Determining the position and movement of an object via sensing can be straightforward, however, determining the effective attenuation that an object may cause to a signal when it intersects a communication path is relatively challenging. However, effective attenuation is not required in exemplary embodiments of all exemplary aspects.

[0143] In addition, for example, in a 5G mobile communication network, a corresponding location management function (LMF) maintains the location of such TRPs and user equipment, for example, through an active positioning scheme (such as TDOA). SMF maintains the location of passive (non-communicating) objects through sensing. LMF and SMF can be integrated or separate entities. If LMF and SMF are separate, the means by which SMF obtains the locations of (e.g., all) TRPs and user equipment can be beneficial for determining (e.g., all) communication paths. This can be provided by the LMF to the SMF, for example, by defining corresponding interfaces and protocols between the LMF and the SMF, or by the base station to the SMF, for example, by extending the communication report message (e.g., the communication report of all exemplary aspects) using one or more locations of the TRP and the user equipment.

[0144] Such an example embodiment may have the advantage of minimal impact on standardization, since (e.g., only) PHY or MAC signaling for communicating the AoA of a user equipment needs to be standardized, but may not have the benefit of obstruction prediction, since (e.g., only) passive objects that the gNB itself can use are considered, as well as (e.g., only) objects with free LoS paths between obstructions / objects and (multiple) TRPs of (one of) the base stations.

[0145] Figure 2 is a flowchart 200 illustrating an exemplary embodiment of the method according to the first exemplary aspect. The flowchart 200 may be performed, for example, by a SMF of a mobile communication network.

[0146] In a first step 201, a communication report is received. The communication report indicates a communication with a base station of a mobile communication network (e.g. Figure 1 120) and a user equipment (eg, Figure 1 The communication report may include information related to at least one radio link between a base station and a user equipment 130) and a user equipment 130, wherein at least a portion of the communication report indicates an angle of arrival of the corresponding radio link and an angle of departure of the corresponding radio link. The communication report may be obtained (e.g., received) from a base station and / or a user equipment.

[0147] In a second step 202, congestion information is determined. The congestion information is determined at least partly based on the communication report and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates a respective radio link and a time when congestion of the respective radio link occurs.

[0148] In a third step, the determined blocking information is provided, for example by sending the determined blocking information to a base station.

[0149] Figure 3 300 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the second exemplary aspect. The flowchart 300 may be, for example, executed by a base station of a mobile communication network (eg, Figure 1 The base station 120) is executed.

[0150] In a first step 301, a communication report is sent, for example, to an SMF (eg, the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect). Additionally or alternatively, a communication report may be sent from a user equipment (eg, Figure 1 The user equipment 130 of the embodiment of the present invention receives such a communication report, for example, via MAC / PHY signaling. The communication report indicates that the apparatus and the user equipment (for example, Figure 1 The communication report may further include information related to at least one radio link between a user equipment 130 and a user equipment 130, wherein at least a portion of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the corresponding radio link or an angle of departure of the corresponding radio link.

[0151] In a second step 302a, blocking information is received. The blocking information may be received from a corresponding SMF. In addition to or alternatively to step 302a, for example, in the case where the blocking information is not received (e.g., from an SMF), in step 302b, the apparatus for executing and / or controlling flowchart 300 may determine the corresponding blocking information. To this end, a corresponding communication report may optionally be received from a user equipment.

[0152] The blocking information is determined based at least in part on the communication report also sent in step 301, and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment.

[0153] In a third step 303, at least one measure is determined to alleviate the blocking of the corresponding radio link. The at least one measure is determined at least in part based on the received blocking information (see step 302a), or is determined at least in part based on the determined blocking information (see step 302b). Additionally or alternatively, blocking information may be received, but the base station may determine (e.g., decide) not to alleviate the predicted blocking, for example, to name a few non-limiting examples, because there is no more data to send to the user equipment and / or the user equipment may (or has just) be in the RRC_INACTIVE state, and / or alternative solutions are not available, and / or the blocking risk is accepted when the blocking information indicates a high degree of uncertainty (e.g., and the quality of service requirements of the user equipment may allow a certain probability of failure).

[0154] In a fourth step 304, the determined at least one measure is applied, such as switching the respective beam or handing over the respective radio link to another cell, to name a few non-limiting examples.

[0155] Figure 4 400 is a flowchart illustrating an exemplary embodiment of a method according to the third exemplary aspect. The flowchart 400 may be, for example, performed by a user equipment (eg, Figure 1 The user device 130) is executed.

[0156] In a first step 401, a communication report is sent. The communication report may be sent to a base station (eg, Figure 1 Base station 120) and / or SMF of the mobile communication network ( Figure 1 (not shown). At least a portion of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival or an angle of departure of a corresponding radio link between the apparatus for executing and / or controlling flowchart 400 and a base station, and a cell identifier of a cell that handles the corresponding radio link. The communication report may be sent via PHY and / or MAC signaling.

[0157] In a second step 402, at least one measure is applied. At least one measure is applied to relieve congestion of the corresponding radio link. To this end, the apparatus executing and / or controlling the flowchart 400 may receive an instruction (e.g., via PHY or MAC or RRC signaling), which may trigger the application of the at least one measure.

[0158] Figure 5 One or more parts of the current 3GPP 5G System (5GS) architecture are depicted, which is modified by sensing-related entities of a sensing access point (SAP) and corresponding SMF (not the session management function of the entire 5G architecture, such as composed of 3GPPTS23.501, but such as the device of the first exemplary aspect), which can be used by example embodiments of all exemplary aspects.

[0159] Figure 5 The system 500 can implement exemplary embodiments of all exemplary aspects. The system 500 includes a user equipment 530 (e.g., an apparatus of the third exemplary aspect), a radio access network (RAN) 550, an AMF 560 having a connection to an SMF 561 (e.g., an apparatus of the first exemplary aspect), and an LMF 562. The RAN 550 is an NG (next generation) RAN, which includes exemplary two base stations (e.g., (multiple) apparatuses of the second exemplary aspect): gNB 520-1 and gNB 520-2. The gNB 520-1 hosts two TRPs as SAPs. Figure 5 The lines shown connecting different entities / components have corresponding interface reference symbols on the corresponding shown lines, highlighting in an exemplary manner which corresponding interface can be used for communication of the entities connected via the corresponding lines. For example, gNB 520-1 and gNB 520-2 can communicate via an Xn interface. Each of gNB 520-1 and gNB 520-2 can communicate with AMF 560 via an N2 / NG-C interface. UE 530 can communicate with gNB 520-1 hosting the corresponding cell where UE 530 is located, for example, via a uU interface, and can also communicate with AMF 560 via an N1 interface. AMF 560 can communicate with LMF 562 via an NL1 interface, where LMF 562 can also access NL7 interface. The same applies to SMF 561, especially if LMF 562 and SMF 561 are integrated into a single entity. Furthermore, if SMF and LMF are not integrated, it is assumed that corresponding equivalents of interfaces NL1 and NL7 are defined for AMF-SMF and SMF-SMF communications respectively.

[0160] User equipment ('UE', e.g., apparatus (s) of the third exemplary aspect) and base stations ('gNB', e.g., apparatus (s) of the second exemplary aspect) with sensing capabilities act as SAPs, e.g., they communicate with the SMF to report their sensing measurements according to previous configuration and sensing requests of the SMF. Whether the SMF is a separate entity with its own interface to the LMF and access and mobility management function (AMF), or is integrated with the LMF, does not make a difference for example embodiments of all exemplary aspects, (e.g., only) the interface or application layer protocol carrying such (s) messages may be slightly different.

[0161] Figure 6 A signaling flow diagram of an example embodiment according to all exemplary aspects is illustrated. Figure 6 The interaction of three entities consisting of a system 600 of all exemplary aspects is shown. The system 600 includes an SMF 660 (e.g., an apparatus of the first exemplary aspect), a gNB 620 (e.g., an apparatus of the second exemplary aspect), and a UE 630 (e.g., an apparatus of the third exemplary aspect).

[0162] Both UE 630 and gNB 620 provide sensing measurement reports to SMG 660. As part of the (e.g., continuous) sensing operation within the coverage area of ​​the RAN, sensing-enabled gNBs and UEs report sensed objects to the SMF according to their respective sensing configurations (e.g., managed by the SMF). Whenever the gNB switches the serving beam pair for the UE, the SMF is updated with the new AoA and AoD via communication report messages.

[0163] Thus, for example, if the sensing beam pair for the respective radio link between the gNB 620 and the UE 630 is modified, in variant a), the respective communication report is sent from the gNB 620 to the SMF 660. In order to be able to send the communication report to the SMF 660, the gNB 630 may receive another communication report indicating the AoA of the respective radio link from the UE 630. The communication report may be provided by the UE 630 to the gNB 620 via PHY or MAC signaling. In advance, the gNB 620 may have configured the UE 630 to do so, e.g., to give a non-limiting example, via RRC signaling. The communication report sent by gNB 620 to SMF 660 may be the result of aggregation performed and / or controlled by gNB 630, wherein gNB 630 aggregates the AoA received from UE 630 with the AoD and corresponding radio link ID of its known corresponding radio link and includes it in the communication report subsequently sent from gNB 630 to SMF 660.

[0164] Thus, the AoA from the UE 630 may be reported to the gNB 620 as part of PHY or MAC signaling, e.g., based on a prior RRC configuration (not shown) performed by the gNB 620. The gNB 620 may then aggregate the AoA with its AoD and link ID into a single communication report message to the SMF 660. The communication report may include multiple groups of (link id, AoD, AoA), one group for each switched beam pair. The actual information in the communication report may be different, e.g., unchanged information may be omitted, and / or the angle may be differentially encoded as a difference from the last communication report, or the link ID may be omitted if there is only one communication path between the gNB 620 and the UE 630.

[0165] In variant b) that may be performed and / or controlled by the system 600, in addition to or as an alternative to variant a), the gNB 630 may not aggregate the AoA, AoD, and corresponding radio link ID into a communication report, but the communication report received by the SMF 660 is split into a first communication report and a second communication report, the first communication report being sent from the UE 630 to the SMF 660, and the second communication report being sent from the gNB 630 to the SMF 660. The communication report of the UE 630 includes a cell identifier (here NCGI) and the AoA of the corresponding radio link, and accordingly, the communication report provided by the gNB 620 also includes a cell identifier (here NCGI) and the AoD of the corresponding radio link, so that the SMF 660 can merge the two communication reports.

[0166] Therefore, in variant b), the UE 630 directly sends the corresponding communication report message, e.g. as a NAS message (e.g. via the N1 interface), and the gNB 630 includes (e.g. only) its own AoD in its communication report (e.g. via the N2 interface). In the case where there are multiple active / serving communication paths between the gNB 620 and the UE 630, both corresponding communication reports include the NCGI of their corresponding cell (and thus the TRP) in which the beam switching occurs to eliminate ambiguity.

[0167] Based on the received communication report, the SMF 660 determines corresponding blocking information ('predicted blocking') and provides the determined blocking information (e.g., as a corresponding blocking notification) to the gNB 620, the blocking information including, for example, a radio link identifier, a cell identifier NCGI, a corresponding start time of the blocking, one or more parameters as corresponding beam selection assistance information (BSAI), or a combination thereof.

[0168] Optionally, the corresponding blocker notification message may include information called BSAI to further help the corresponding select an appropriate new communication link, such as selecting a link that will not be blocked soon.

[0169] An example of such an optional BSAI could be:

[0170] - the location of the occluder and its dimensions (e.g. as a bounding box / cuboid, or more generally as a polyhedron),

[0171] - the velocity of the occluder (including direction, e.g. vector),

[0172] - the angular range of the blocked AoA and / or AoD (as seen from the gNB and / or UE),

[0173] - duration of the blockage,

[0174] - signal attenuation,

[0175] (e.g., each) may have estimated / predicted uncertainty.

[0176] The gNB 620 determines at least one measure based at least in part on the received blocking information, for example by deciding whether and / or how to alleviate the corresponding blocking indicated in the blocking information. Then, finally, Figure 6 In the present invention, at least one measure may be applied by the gNB 620 and the UE 630 (see 'Possible beam switching / handover').

[0177] Figure 7 Another signaling flow diagram of an example embodiment according to all exemplary aspects is shown.

[0178] Figure 7 The interaction of two entities consisting of a system 700 of all exemplary aspects is shown. The system 700 includes a gNB 720 (e.g., the apparatus of the second exemplary aspect) and a UE 730 (e.g., the apparatus of the third exemplary aspect). In this exemplary embodiment, the gNB 720 is enabled to perform and / or control one or more functions that may also be performed and / or controlled by a corresponding SMF of a corresponding mobile communication network (e.g., the apparatus of the first exemplary aspect).

[0179] In system 700, a gNB 720 with sensing capabilities may rely (e.g., only) on its own sensing to detect possible blockers / blockers, e.g., in combination with the location / orientation of UE 730. The location of UE 730 may be determined via standardized positioning (e.g., via corresponding LMF, see Figure 5 LMF 562) and the AoA of UE 730 that UE 730 may provide (e.g., via Figure 6 The PHY or MAC signaling) is provided.

[0180] and Figure 6Compared to system 600, the impact of system 700 on standardization can be reduced or minimized because (e.g., only) the PHY or MAC signaling used to convey the AoA of UE 730 will be standardized. Figure 6 Compared to system 600, the blocking information may be worse because (e.g., only) those passive blockages / objects that the gNB 720 itself can sense are taken into account, i.e., (e.g., only) objects that have a free LoS path between the blockage / object and (multiple) TRPs (e.g., one of them) of the gNB 720.

[0181] Figure 8 800 is a schematic block diagram of an apparatus 800 according to the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect, or the third exemplary aspect. For example, to name a few non-limiting examples, the apparatus 800 may represent a corresponding central entity, such as an SMF (see Figure 6 SMF 660), corresponding user equipment (see Figure 6 UE 630) or a corresponding base station (see Figure 6 gNB620). Combined with e.g. Figures 1 to 7 Disclosed equivalent entities may also be represented by the apparatus 800 .

[0182] The apparatus 800 includes a processor 801, a program memory 802, a main memory 803, (multiple) communication interfaces 804 and a user interface 805. In various embodiments, the apparatus 800 includes additional units, components or structural and / or functional elements. In various embodiments, the apparatus 800 is a user equipment, for example, for a cellular network such as 5G NR.

[0183] The apparatus 800 may be configured to execute and / or control the method according to the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect, or the third exemplary aspect, or include corresponding components (at least one of 801 to 805) for executing and / or controlling and / or configured to execute the method. The apparatus 800 may also constitute an apparatus including at least one processor 801 and at least one memory 802 including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory 802 and the computer program code are configured to, together with the at least one processor 801, enable the apparatus (e.g., apparatus 800) to at least execute and / or control the method according to the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect, or the third exemplary aspect.

[0184] The processor 801 may also control the memories 802 to 803 and / or the communication interface(s) 904 , for example.

[0185] The processor 801 can, for example, execute computer program code stored in a program memory 802, which can, for example, represent a computer-readable storage medium including program code, which, when executed by the processor 801, causes the processor 801 to perform a method according to the first exemplary aspect, the second exemplary aspect, or the third exemplary aspect.

[0186] Processor 801 (and any other processors mentioned in this specification) can be any suitable type of processor. Processor 801 may include, but is not limited to, one or more microprocessors, one or more processors with one or more digital signal processors, one or more processors without (multiple) digital signal processors, one or more special-purpose computer chips, one or more field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), one or more controllers, one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), or one or more computers. The relevant structure / hardware has been programmed to perform the above functions. Processor 801 can be, for example, an application processor running an operating system.

[0187] A program memory 802 may also be included in the processor 801. The memory may, for example, be fixedly connected to the processor 801, or at least partly removable from the processor 801, for example in the form of a memory card or a memory stick. The program memory 802 may, for example, be a non-volatile memory. For example, it may be any one of a flash memory (or a portion thereof), a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM and an EEPROM memory (or a portion thereof), or a hard disk (or a portion thereof), to name just a few examples. The program memory 802 may also include an operating system for the processor 801. The program memory 802 may also include firmware for the device 800.

[0188] The apparatus 800 may include a working memory or main memory 803, for example in the form of a volatile memory. For example, it may be a random access memory (RAM) or a dynamic RAM (DRAM), to name a few non-limiting examples. For example, it may be used by the processor 801 when executing an operating system and / or a computer program.

[0189] The data storage (not shown) may be, for example, a non-volatile memory. For example, it may be any one of a flash memory (or a portion thereof), a ROM, a PROM, an EPROM, and an EEPROM memory (or a portion thereof), or a hard disk (or a portion thereof), to name a few examples.

[0190] Communication interface(s) 804 enable the apparatus 800 to communicate with other entities, such as Figure 1 One or more of the devices 120 and / or 130, and / or Figure 5One or more of the devices 530, 550, 560, and / or Figure 6 One or more of the devices 620, 630, 660, and / or Figure 7 The communication interface(s) 804 may include, for example, a wireless interface (e.g., a cellular radio communication interface and / or a WLAN interface), and / or a wired interface (e.g., an IP-based interface), for example, to name a few non-limiting examples, for communicating with an entity via the Internet or a network backbone (e.g., a 5G NR or 6G backbone).

[0191] The sensor(s) (not shown) are optional and may include, for example, a gyroscope, a global positioning system sensor, or a received signal strength sensor.

[0192] The user interface 805 is optional and may include a display for displaying information to a user and / or an input device (eg, a keyboard, keypad, touch pad, mouse, etc.) for receiving information from a user.

[0193] For example, some or all components of the device 800 may be connected via a bus. For example, some or all components of the device 800 may be combined into one or more modules.

[0194] In addition, at least the following embodiments should be considered to be specifically disclosed:

[0195] Embodiment 1:

[0196] A method comprising:

[0197] - receiving a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between a base station of a mobile communication network and a user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates an angle of arrival of the respective radio link and an angle of departure of the respective radio link;

[0198] - determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and the time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; and

[0199] - providing blocking information if it is determined.

[0200] Embodiment 2:

[0201] The method of embodiment 1, wherein the determining of the blocking information further comprises:

[0202] - determining whether the respective radio link is blocked.

[0203] Embodiment 3:

[0204] According to the method of embodiment 1 or embodiment 2, the communication report also includes at least one of the following: a radio link identifier of the corresponding radio link, or a cell identifier of a cell that handles the corresponding radio link.

[0205] Embodiment 4:

[0206] The method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 3, wherein the communication report is received from the base station, or wherein the communication report is divided into a first communication report received from the base station and a second communication report received from the user equipment.

[0207] Embodiment 5:

[0208] The method according to any preceding embodiment, wherein the congestion information is determined based on one or more further communication reports related to one or more radio links of other respective user equipments present in the cell of the respective radio link.

[0209] Embodiment 6:

[0210] A method comprising:

[0211] - sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between a base station and a user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the corresponding radio link or an angle of departure of the corresponding radio link;

[0212] - receiving congestion information indicating the respective radio link and the time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; and / or

[0213] In the event that blocking information is not received,

[0214] - determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and the time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; and

[0215] - determining at least one measure to alleviate said blocking of said respective radio link based at least in part on said received blocking information or based on said determined blocking information; and

[0216] - applying the at least one determined measure.

[0217] Embodiment 7:

[0218] The method according to embodiment 7 further includes:

[0219] - receiving (e.g. from the user equipment) at least one of the angle of arrival or the angle of departure relating to the respective radio link; and

[0220] - Aggregating at least one of the received arrival angles or the departure angles associated with the corresponding radio link into the communication report, wherein the communication report is aggregated so that the communication report also includes at least one of the arrival angles or the departure angles used (for example, by the base station or device to execute and / or control the method) and an identifier of the corresponding radio link.

[0221] Embodiment 8:

[0222] A method according to embodiment 6 or embodiment 7, wherein, when at least one of the angle of arrival or the angle of departure associated with the corresponding radio link is not received (for example, from the user equipment), the communication report also includes a cell identifier of the cell processing the corresponding radio link.

[0223] Embodiment 9:

[0224] A method comprising:

[0225] - sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between a user equipment and a base station of a mobile communication network, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the respective radio link or an angle of departure of the respective radio link; and

[0226] - applying at least one measure to alleviate congestion of said respective radio link.

[0227] Embodiment 10:

[0228] A method according to embodiment 9, wherein the communication report includes a cell identifier of a cell handling the corresponding radio link when at least one of the arrival angle or the departure angle related to the corresponding radio link is not sent (e.g., to a base station).

[0229] Embodiment 11:

[0230] A first device comprises corresponding components for executing the method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 5.

[0231] Embodiment 12:

[0232] A first device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least executes and / or controls the method according to any one of embodiments 1 to 5.

[0233] Embodiment 13:

[0234] A second device comprises corresponding components for executing the method according to any one of embodiments 6 to 8.

[0235] Embodiment 14:

[0236] A second device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least executes and / or controls the method according to any one of embodiments 6 to 8.

[0237] Embodiment 15:

[0238] A third device comprises corresponding components for executing the method according to any one of embodiments 9 to 10.

[0239] Example 16

[0240] A third device comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein when the instructions are executed by the at least one processor, the device at least executes and / or controls the method described in any one of Embodiments 9 to 10.

[0241] Embodiment 17:

[0242] A computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes a device (e.g., a device according to any one of Embodiments 11 to 16) to perform and / or control the actions and / or steps of a method according to any one of Embodiments 1 to 10.

[0243] Embodiment 18:

[0244] A computer program product comprises the computer program according to embodiment 17.

[0245] Embodiment 20:

[0246] A system comprising:

[0247] - at least a first device according to any one of embodiments 11 or 12 and at least a second device according to any one of embodiments 13 or 14; and

[0248] - at least a third device according to any of embodiments 15 or 16.

[0249] Embodiment 21:

[0250] A system comprising:

[0251] - at least a second device according to any of embodiments 13 or 14; and

[0252] - at least a third device according to any of embodiments 15 or 16.

[0253] In this specification, any connection presented in the described embodiments should be understood in a manner that the components involved are operationally coupled. Therefore, the connection may be direct or indirect, there may be any number or combination of intermediate elements, and there may be only a functional relationship between the components.

[0254] In addition, any methods, processes, and actions described or illustrated herein may be implemented using executable instructions in a general or special purpose processor and stored on a computer readable storage medium (e.g., disk, memory, etc.) for execution by such a processor. References to 'computer readable storage medium' should be understood to cover special purpose circuits such as FPGAs, ASICs, signal processing devices, and other devices.

[0255] The expression "A and / or B" is considered to include any of the following three situations: (i) A, (ii) B, (iii) A and B. The expression "at least one of A or B" may be used herein, which has the same meaning as the expression "A" and / or "B". In addition, the article "a" should not be understood as "one", that is, the use of the expression "an element" does not exclude the presence of other elements. The term "comprising" should be understood in an open sense, that is, an object "comprising element A" may also include other elements in addition to element A.

[0256] It should be understood that all presented embodiments are exemplary only, and any feature presented for a particular example embodiment may be used alone with any aspect, or in combination with any feature presented for the same or another particular example embodiment, and / or in combination with any other feature not mentioned. In particular, the example embodiments presented in this specification should also be understood to be disclosed in all possible combinations with each other, as long as it is technically reasonable and the example embodiments are not alternatives to each other. It will also be understood that any feature presented for an example embodiment in a particular category (method / apparatus / computer program / system) may also be used in a corresponding manner in an example implementation of any other category. It should also be understood that the presence of a feature in the presented example embodiment does not necessarily mean that the feature forms an essential feature and cannot be omitted or replaced.

[0257] The statement of a feature including at least one of the subsequently enumerated features is not mandatory, since the feature includes all subsequently enumerated features, or includes one or more of a plurality of subsequently enumerated features. Furthermore, it is possible to select the enumerated features in any combination, or to select only one of the enumerated features. Specific combinations of all subsequently enumerated features are also conceivable. Furthermore, a plurality of only one of the enumerated features may be possible.

[0258] The order of all the above method steps is not mandatory, and other orders are also possible. However, the specific sequence of the method steps exemplarily shown in the figures should be regarded as a possible sequence of method steps of the corresponding embodiment described by the corresponding figure.

[0259] The subject matter has been described above by way of example embodiments. It should be noted that there are alternatives and modifications that are apparent to those skilled in the art and that may be implemented without departing from the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for a mobile communication network, comprising: - means for receiving a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between a base station of the mobile communication network and a user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates an angle of arrival of the respective radio link and an angle of departure of the respective radio link; - means for determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report and the location of the base station and the location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and the time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; as well as - means for providing blocking information if said blocking information is determined.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the means for determining the blocking information further comprises: - means for determining whether said respective radio link is blocked.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the communication report further comprises at least one of the following: a radio link identifier of the corresponding radio link, or a cell identifier of a cell processing the corresponding radio link.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the communication report is received from the base station, or wherein the communication report is divided into a first communication report received from the base station and a second communication report received from the user equipment.

5. An apparatus according to any of the preceding claims, wherein the blocking information is determined based on one or more further communication reports relating to one or more radio links of other respective user equipments present in the cell of the respective radio link.

6. A device for a mobile communication network, comprising: - means for sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between the apparatus and a user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the respective radio link or an angle of departure of the respective radio link; - means for receiving congestion information indicative of said respective radio link and a time at which congestion of said respective radio link occurred; or In the event that blocking information is not received, - means for determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report and the location of the apparatus and the location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and the time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; - means for determining at least one measure to alleviate said blocking of said respective radio link based at least in part on said received blocking information or based on said determined blocking information; as well as - means for applying the at least one determined measure.

7. The apparatus according to claim 7, further comprising: - means for receiving, from said user equipment, at least one of said angle of arrival or said angle of departure relating to said respective radio link; as well as - A component for aggregating at least one of the received arrival angles or the departure angles related to the corresponding radio link into the communication report, wherein the communication report is aggregated so that the communication report also includes at least one of the arrival angles or the departure angles used by the device and an identifier of the corresponding radio link.

8. An apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein in the case where at least one of the angle of arrival or the angle of departure associated with the corresponding radio link is not received from the user equipment, the communication report also includes a cell identifier of the cell processing the corresponding radio link.

9. A device for a mobile communication network, comprising: - means for sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between the apparatus and a base station of the mobile communication network, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the respective radio link or an angle of departure of the respective radio link; as well as - means for applying at least one measure to alleviate the blocking of said respective radio link.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the communication report comprises a cell identifier of a cell handling the corresponding radio link if at least one of the angle of arrival or the angle of departure associated with the corresponding radio link is not sent to a base station.

11. A method comprising: - receiving a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between a base station of a mobile communication network and a user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates an angle of arrival of the respective radio link and an angle of departure of the respective radio link; - determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report, and a location of the base station and a location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and a time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; as well as - If blocking information is determined, providing said blocking information.

12. A method comprising: - sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between the apparatus and the user equipment, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the corresponding radio link or an angle of departure of the corresponding radio link; - receiving congestion information indicating the respective radio link and a time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; or In the event that blocking information is not received, - determining congestion information based at least in part on the communication report, and a location of the base station and a location of the user equipment, wherein the congestion information indicates the respective radio link and a time at which congestion of the respective radio link occurred; as well as - determining at least one measure to alleviate said blocking of said respective radio link based at least in part on said received blocking information or based on said determined blocking information; as well as - applying the at least one determined measure.

13. A method comprising: - sending a communication report indicating information related to at least one radio link between the device and a base station of a mobile communication network, wherein at least a part of the communication report indicates at least one of an angle of arrival of the respective radio link or an angle of departure of the respective radio link; as well as - applying at least one measure to alleviate congestion of said respective radio link.

14. A computer program which, when executed by a processor, causes an apparatus to perform and / or control the actions and / or steps of the method according to any one of claims 11 to 13.

15. A system comprising: - at least one of the following: a first device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, or a second device according to any one of claims 6 to 9; and - At least one third device according to claim 9.

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