Fast serving cell change for ue

Abstract

A user equipment (UE) receives an incremental configuration related to a target cell from a radio access network (RAN) in a serving cell for use in accessing the target cell after an activation command; receiving an activation command related to the delta configuration from the RAN; and initiating communication on the target cell using the delta configuration and at least a portion of the previous configuration in response to an activation command from the RAN.

Description

[0001] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0002] This application claims priority to and the benefit of the filing dates of Provisional U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 409,700, entitled “FAST SERVING CELL CHANGE FOR A UE,” filed on September 23, 2022, and U.S. Patent Application No. 63 / 377,049, entitled “FAST SERVING CELL CHANGE FOR A UE,” filed on September 25, 2022. The entire contents of the provisional applications are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly to enabling fast serving cell changes for user equipment (UE). Background Art

[0004] This background description is provided for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the present disclosure. The work of the presently named inventors (to the extent that it is described in this background section) and aspects of this description that may not be identified as prior art at the time of filing are neither explicitly nor implicitly admitted to be prior art to the present disclosure.

[0005] In a telecommunications system, the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) sublayer of the radio protocol stack provides services such as user plane data delivery, encryption, integrity protection, etc. For example, the PDCP layer defined for the Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (EUTRA) radio interface (see 3GPP specification TS 36.323) and New Radio (NR) (see 3GPP specification TS 38.323) provides sequencing of protocol data units (PDUs) in the uplink direction (from a user device (also referred to as user equipment (UE)) to a base station) and in the downlink direction (from a base station to a UE). Further, the PDCP sublayer provides signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and data radio bearers (DRBs) to the radio resource control (RRC) sublayer. Generally speaking, in some scenarios, the UE and the base station use SRBs to exchange RRC messages and non-access stratum (NAS) messages. In further scenarios, the UE and the base station use DRBs to transmit data on the user plane.

[0006] The UE uses several types of SRBs and DRBs depending on the scenario. When operating under dual connectivity (DC), the cell associated with the base station operating as a master node (MN) defines a master cell group (MCG), and the cell associated with the base station operating as a secondary node (SN) defines a secondary cell group (SCG). SRB1 resources carry RRC messages including NAS messages on a dedicated control channel (DCCH) in some cases, and SRB2 resources support RRC messages including logged measurement information or NAS messages also on the DCCH but with a lower priority than SRB1 resources. More generally, SRB1 and SRB2 resources allow the UE and MN to exchange RRC messages related to the MN and embed RRC messages related to the SN, and may be referred to as MCG SRBs. SRB3 allows the UE and SN to exchange RRC messages related to the SN, and may be referred to as SCG SRBs. Separate SRBs allow the UE to exchange RRC messages directly with the MN via the lower layer resources of the MN and SN. Further, a DRB using only the lower layer resources of the MN may be referred to as an MCG DRB, a DRB using only the lower layer resources of the SN may be referred to as an SCG DRB, and a DRB using the lower layer resources of both the MCG and the SCG may be referred to as a split DRB.

[0007] In some scenarios, the UE concurrently utilizes the resources of multiple radio access network (RAN) nodes (e.g., components of a base station or a distributed base station) interconnected by backhaul. When such network nodes support different radio access technologies (RATs), this type of connection is called multi-radio dual connection (MR-DC). When the UE operates under MR-DC, one base station operates as a master node (MN) covering a primary cell (PCell), and another base station operates as a secondary node (SN) covering a primary secondary cell (PSCell). The UE communicates with the MN (via the PCell) and the SN (via the PSCell). In other scenarios, the UE utilizes the resources of one base station at a time. A base station and / or the UE determines when the UE should establish a radio connection with another base station. For example, a base station determines to hand over the UE to a second base station and initiates a handover process.

[0008] When a UE moves from the coverage area of ​​one cell in the RAN to another cell, a serving cell change will be performed for the UE at some point in time. In order to perform the serving cell change, the RAN configures the UE to send layer 3 (L3) measurement results. Based on the L3 measurement results received from the UE, the RAN sends an RRC reconfiguration message configured with synchronized reconfiguration (e.g., the RRC reconfiguration message includes a ReconfigurationWithSync IE) to change the serving cell (e.g., PCell or PSCell). In a case where the UE operates in carrier aggregation (CA) of at least one secondary cell (SCell) with a PCell or PSCell, the RAN must release at least one SCell due to the change of the PCell or PSCell. The serving cell change involves a complete L2 (and L1) reset, resulting in longer latency, greater overhead, and longer interruption time. Therefore, it is expected to develop new mobility technologies to reduce the latency and overhead of serving cell changes. However, it is not clear how to reduce the latency and overhead of serving cell changes. Summary of the invention

[0009] An example implementation of the technology of the present disclosure is a method in a user equipment (UE). The method includes: receiving an incremental configuration related to a target cell from a radio access network (RAN) in a serving cell for use when accessing the target cell after an activation command; receiving an activation command related to the incremental configuration from the RAN; and in response to the activation command from the RAN, starting communication on the target cell using the incremental configuration and at least a portion of a previous configuration.

[0010] Another example implementation of the techniques is a user equipment (UE) comprising: a transceiver; and processing hardware configured to implement the method of any of the preceding claims.

[0011] Another example implementation of the technology is a method in a radio access network (RAN), the method comprising: sending an incremental configuration related to a target cell to a user equipment (UE) in a serving cell for use when accessing the target cell after an activation command; sending an activation command related to the incremental configuration to the UE; and communicating with the UE in the target cell based on the incremental configuration and at least a portion of the previous configuration.

[0012] Yet another example implementation of these techniques is a radio access network (RAN) comprising: a transceiver; and processing hardware configured to implement the method of claim 13 or 14. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Figure 1Ais a block diagram of an example system in which a radio access network (RAN) and a user device may implement the disclosed techniques for managing conditional procedures associated with a secondary node (SN);

[0014] Figure 1B is included in Figure 1A A block diagram of an example base station of a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) operating in a system of FIG.

[0015] Figure 2 yes Figure 1A A block diagram of an example protocol stack according to which a UE communicates with a base station;

[0016] Figure 3 is a message passing diagram for an example scenario in which a base station configures a UE to perform lower layer procedures for a cell change operation;

[0017] Figure 4A is a message passing diagram of an example scenario in which a MN operates with a SN under a DC to perform lower layer procedures for a cell change operation;

[0018] Figure 4B is with Figure 4A A message passing diagram for an example scenario similar to that of , but in which the MN directly configures the UE;

[0019] Figure 5A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node sends a configuration and a configuration activation command to a UE before sending a second configuration activation command to the UE;

[0020] Figure 5B It is depicted with Figure 5A A flowchart of an example method similar to an example method of, but wherein the RAN node releases the remaining configuration;

[0021] Fig. 6A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node determines whether to include a configuration in a container based on whether application of the configuration is to be triggered by a configuration activation command;

[0022] Figure 6B It is depicted with Fig. 6A A flowchart of an example method similar to the example method of , but wherein the RAN node sends a configuration to the UE instead of sending a message including the configuration;

[0023] Figure 7 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node sends a configuration and a list of IDs to a UE;

[0024] Figure 8is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node sends a first or second ID and a configuration to a UE via a MN or a SN;

[0025] Fig. 9 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node sends a configuration and an ID to a UE via a first cell and sends a configuration activation command before communicating with the UE on a second cell;

[0026] Fig.10 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node determines to send an ID having a value within a first range or a second range and a configuration to a UE based on whether the RAN node is operating as a MN for the UE;

[0027] Fig.11A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE, wherein the UE receives a configuration and a configuration activation command from a RAN via a first or second cell;

[0028] Fig. 11B It is depicted with Fig.11A A flowchart of an example method similar to the example method of , but wherein the UE releases the remaining configuration after receiving the activation command;

[0029] Fig.12 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE, wherein the UE determines whether to identify or discard a configuration based on whether a first ID is included in an ID received from a RAN;

[0030] Fig.13 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE, wherein the UE determines whether to immediately apply a configuration or store the configuration based on whether the UE receives the configuration in a particular IE;

[0031] Fig.14 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE, wherein the UE receives first and third lists of configurations from a RAN and releases the configurations on the third list;

[0032] Fig.15 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE, wherein the UE receives a first or second ID and a configuration from a MN or a SN;

[0033] Fig.16A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE, wherein the UE identifies a configuration from a first or second configuration based on whether the UE receives a configuration activation command from a MN or a SN;

[0034] Fig. 16B It is depicted with Fig.16AA flowchart of an example method similar to the example method of , but wherein the UE further determines whether the first ID is included in the first group ID or the second group ID;

[0035] Fig.17 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node sends a configuration to a UE as a full configuration or an incremental configuration;

[0036] Fig.18A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node generates a configuration as a full configuration and sends the configuration and a full configuration indication to a UE in a container;

[0037] Fig.18B It is depicted with Fig.18A A flowchart of an example method similar to an example method of , but wherein the RAN node generates a configuration including a full configuration indication;

[0038] Fig.19A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node generates a container excluding an indication of incremental configuration;

[0039] Fig.19B It is depicted with Fig.19A a flowchart of an example method similar to an example method of , but wherein the RAN node excludes the indication in the second configuration;

[0040] Fig. 20 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node determines to generate a second configuration as a full configuration or an incremental configuration based on whether the second configuration is to replace a first configuration;

[0041] Fig.21 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node communicates with a UE using a second configuration or a second configuration and a portion of a first configuration based on whether the RAN node sends an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration;

[0042] Fig. 22 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node sends a message and an indication that a first IE is or includes a full configuration;

[0043] Fig.23 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node releases a portion or all of a plurality of configuration parameters based on whether a message includes a first indication or a second indication;

[0044] Fig.24is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a RAN node, wherein the RAN node communicates with a UE using a portion of a first configuration in addition to a second configuration based on whether the second configuration is for later activation;

[0045] Fig.25A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE node, wherein the UE receives a full configuration or an incremental configuration from a RAN node;

[0046] Fig.25B It is depicted with Fig.25A a flowchart of an example method similar to the example method of , but wherein the UE determines whether to communicate with the RAN node using a portion of the first configuration in addition to the second configuration based on which configuration is activated by the configuration activation command;

[0047] Fig.26A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE node, wherein the UE receives a message from a RAN including a container IE including a configuration and an indication that the configuration is a full configuration;

[0048] Fig.26B It is depicted with Fig.26A An example method similar to a flowchart of an example method, but wherein the second configuration includes the indication;

[0049] Fig.27A is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE node, wherein the UE receives a container including a configuration and excluding an indication that the configuration is an incremental configuration;

[0050] Fig.27B It is depicted with Fig.27A An example method similar to a flowchart of an example method, but wherein the second configuration excludes the indication;

[0051] Fig.28 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE node, wherein the UE determines whether to communicate with the RAN using a portion of a first configuration in addition to the second configuration based on whether the UE receives an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration; and

[0052] Fig.29 is a flow chart depicting an example method implemented in a UE node, wherein the UE determines whether to release all or a portion of a plurality of configuration parameters based on whether a message includes a first indication or a second indication. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0053] Figure 1AAn example wireless communication system 100 is depicted in which a communication device may implement these techniques. The wireless communication system 100 includes a UE 102, a base station (BS) 104, a base station 106, and a core network (CN) 110. The UE 102 initially connects to the base station 104. In some scenarios, the base station 104 may perform an SN add to configure the UE 102 to operate in dual connectivity (DC) with the base station 104 and the base station 106. The base stations 104 and 106 operate as a MN and a SN, respectively, for the UE 102.

[0054] In various configurations of the wireless communication system 100, the base station 104 may be implemented as a master eNB (MeNB) or a master gNB (MgNB), and the base station 106 may be implemented as a secondary gNB (SgNB). The UE 102 may communicate with the base station 104 and the base station 106 via the same RAT such as EUTRA or NR or via different RATs. When the base station 104 is a MeNB and the base station 106 is an SgNB, the UE 102 may be in EUTRA-NR DC (EN-DC) with the MeNB and the SgNB.

[0055] In some cases, the MeNB or SeNB is implemented as an ng-eNB instead of an eNB. When the base station 104 is a master ng-eNB (Mng-eNB) and the base station 106 is an SgNB, the UE 102 can be in the next generation (NG) EUTRA-NR DC (NGEN-DC) with the Mng-eNB and the SgNB. When the base station 104 is a MgNB and the base station 106 is an SgNB, the UE 102 can be in NR-NRDC (NR-DC) with the MgNB and the SgNB. When the base station 104 is a MgNB and the base station 106 is a secondary ng-eNB (Sng-eNB), the UE 102 can be in NR-EUTRA DC (NE-DC) with the MgNB and the Sng-eNB.

[0056] In a scenario where UE 102 is handed over from base station 104 to base station 106, base stations 104 and 106 operate as a source base station (S-BS) and a target base station (T-BS), respectively. For example, before the handover, UE 102 may communicate with base station 104 and an additional base station ( Figure 1A After the handover is completed, UE 102 may continue to operate with base station 106 and the additional base station under DC or operate with base station 106 under single connection (SC). In this case, base stations 104 and 106 operate as a source MN (S-MN) and a target MN (T-MN), respectively.

[0057] The core network (CN) 110 may be an evolved packet core (EPC) 111 or a fifth generation core (5GC) 160, both of which are Figure 1A. The base station 104 may be an eNB supporting an S1 interface for communicating with the EPC 111, an ng-eNB supporting an NG interface for communicating with the 5GC 160, or a gNB supporting an NR radio interface and an NG interface for communicating with the 5GC 160. In order to exchange messages directly with each other during the scenarios discussed below, the base stations 104 and 106 may support an X2 or Xn interface. Among other components, the EPC 111 may include a serving gateway (SGW) 112, a mobility management entity (MME) 114, and a packet data network gateway (PGW) 116. The SGW 112 is typically configured to deliver user plane packets associated with audio calls, video calls, Internet traffic, etc., and the MME 114 is configured to manage authentication, registration, paging, and other related functions. The PGW 116 provides connectivity from the UE to one or more external packet data networks (e.g., an Internet network and / or an Internet Protocol (IP) Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) network). 5GC 160 includes a user plane function (UPF) 162 and an access and mobility management (AMF) 164, and / or a session management function (SMF) 166. UPF 162 is typically configured to deliver user plane packets associated with audio calls, video calls, Internet traffic, etc., AMF 164 is configured to manage authentication, registration, paging, and other related functions, and SMF 166 is configured to manage PDU sessions.

[0058] like Figure 1A As illustrated, base station 104 supports cell 124A, and base station 106 supports cell 126. Cells 124A and 126 may partially overlap, such that UE 102 may communicate with base station 104 and base station 106 under DC, where one of base stations 104 and 106 is a MN and the other is a SN. Base station 104 may support additional cells such as cells 124B and 124C, and base station 106 may support additional cells ( Figure 1A 124B and 124C may partially overlap so that the UE 102 may communicate with the base station 104 in carrier aggregation (CA). The base station 104 may operate the cells 124A, 124B and 124C via one or more transmission and reception points (TRPs). More specifically, when the UE 102 is in DC with the base station 104 and the base station 106, one of the base stations 104 and 106 operates as a MeNB, Mng-eNB or MgNB and the other operates as a SgNB or Sng-eNB.

[0059] In general, the wireless communication network 100 may include any suitable number of base stations supporting NR cells and / or EUTRA cells. More specifically, the EPC 111 or the 5GC 160 may be connected to any suitable number of base stations supporting NR cells and / or EUTRA cells. Although the examples below specifically relate to specific CN types (EPC, 5GC) and RAT types (5G NR and EUTRA), in general, the techniques of the present disclosure may also be applicable to other suitable radio access and / or core network technologies, such as sixth generation (6G) radio access and / or 6G core network or 5G NR-6G DC.

[0060] Continue to refer Figure 1A , the base station 104 is equipped with processing hardware 130, which may include one or more general-purpose processors (e.g., CPUs) and non-transitory computer-readable memory storing instructions executed by the one or more general-purpose processors. Additionally or alternatively, the processing hardware 130 may include a dedicated processing unit. The processing hardware 130 may include a PHY controller 132, which is configured to send data and control signals on a physical downlink (DL) channel and DL reference signals with one or more user devices (e.g., UE 102) via one or more cells (e.g., cells 124A, 124B, and / or 124C) and / or one or more TRPs. The PHY controller 132 is also configured to receive data and control signals on a physical uplink (UL) channel and / or UL reference signals with one or more user devices via one or more cells (e.g., cells 124A, 124B, and / or 124C) and / or one or more TRPs. The processing hardware 130 in the example implementation includes a MAC controller 134, which is configured to perform MAC functions with one or more user devices. MAC functions include random access (RA) procedures, managing UL timing advance of one or more user devices, and / or communicating UL / DL MAC PDUs with one or more user devices. Processing hardware 130 may further include an RRC controller 136 for implementing procedures and message delivery at the RRC sublayer of the protocol communication stack. For example, RRC controller 132 may be configured to support RRC message delivery associated with a handover process, and / or support necessary operations when base station 104 operates as a MN relative to a SN or as a SN relative to a MN. Base station 106 may include processing hardware 140 similar to processing hardware 130. In particular, components 142, 144, and 146 may be similar to components 132, 134, and 136, respectively.

[0061] UE 102 is equipped with processing hardware 150, which may include one or more general-purpose processors (such as CPUs) and non-transitory computer-readable memory storing machine-readable instructions that can be executed on one or more general-purpose processors, and / or dedicated processing units. PHY controller 152 is also configured to receive data and control signals on physical DL channels and / or DL ​​reference signals with base station 104 or 106 via one or more cells (e.g., cells 124A, 124B, 124C, and / or 126) and / or one or more TRPs. PHY controller 152 is also configured to send data and control signals on physical UL channels and / or UL reference signals with base station 104 or 106 via one or more cells (e.g., cells 124A, 124B, 124C, and / or 126) and / or one or more TRPs. The processing hardware 150 in the example implementation includes a MAC controller 154, which is configured to perform MAC functions with base station 104 or 106. For example, MAC functions include random access procedures, managing UL timing advance for one or more user devices, and communicating UL / DL MAC PDUs with base station 104 or 106. Processing hardware 150 may further include RRC controller 156 for implementing procedures and messaging at the RRC sublayer of the protocol communication stack.

[0062] In operation, UE 102 in DC may use radio bearers (e.g., DRBs or SRBs) that terminate at different times at MN 104 or SN 106. UE 102 may apply one or more security keys when communicating on the radio bearers in uplink (UL) (from UE 102 to base station) and / or downlink (from base station to UE 102) directions.

[0063] Figure 1BAn example distributed implementation of a base station, such as base station 104 or 106, is depicted. In this implementation, the base station may include a centralized unit (CU) 172 and one or more distributed units (DUs) 174. CU 172 is equipped with processing hardware, which may include one or more general-purpose processors (such as CPUs) and non-transitory computer-readable memory storing machine-readable instructions that can be executed on one or more general-purpose processors, and / or dedicated processing units. In one example, CU 172 is equipped with processing hardware 130. In another example, CU 172 is equipped with processing hardware 140. In an example implementation, processing hardware 140 includes an SN RRC controller 142, which is configured to manage or control one or more RRC configurations and / or RRC processes when base station 106 operates as an SN. DU 174 is also equipped with processing hardware, which may include one or more general-purpose processors (such as CPUs) and non-transitory computer-readable memory storing machine-readable instructions that can be executed on one or more general-purpose processors, and / or dedicated processing units. In some examples, in an example implementation, the processing hardware includes: a medium access control (MAC) controller configured to manage or control one or more MAC operations or procedures (e.g., a random access procedure); and a radio link control (RLC) controller configured to manage or control one or more RLC operations or procedures when the base station 106 operates as a MN or a SN. The processing hardware may further include a physical layer controller configured to manage or control one or more physical layer operations or procedures.

[0064] Next, Figure 2 The radio protocol stack is illustrated in a simplified manner, according to which the UE 102 can communicate with the eNB / ng-eNB or gNB. Each of the base stations 104 or 106 can be an eNB / ng-eNB or a gNB.

[0065] The physical layer (PHY) 202A of EUTRA provides transport channels to the EUTRA medium access control (MAC) sublayer 204A, which in turn provides logical channels to the EUTRA radio link control (RLC) sublayer 206A, and the EUTRA RLC sublayer in turn provides RLC channels to the EUTRA PDCP sublayer 208, and in some cases the NR PDCP sublayer 210. Similarly, the PHY 202B of NR provides transport channels to the NR MAC sublayer 204B, which in turn provides logical channels to the NR RLC sublayer 206B, and the NR RLC sublayer 206B in turn provides RLC channels to the NR PDCP sublayer 210. In some implementations, the UE 102 supports both EUTRA and NR stacks to support handover between EUTRA and NR base stations and / or DC over the EUTRA and NR interfaces. Further, as Figure 2 As illustrated in Figure A, the UE 102 can support the layering of NR PDCP 210 on top of EUTRA RLC 206A.

[0066] The EUTRA PDCP sublayer 208 and the NR PDCP sublayer 210 receive packets, which may be referred to as service data units (SDUs) (e.g., from an Internet Protocol (IP) layer layered directly or indirectly on the PDCP layer 208 or 210) and output packets, which may be referred to as protocol data units (PDUs) (e.g., to the RLC layer 206A or 206B). For simplicity, this disclosure refers to both SDUs and PDUs as "packets," except where the distinction between SDUs and PDUs is relevant.

[0067] On the control plane, the EUTRA PDCP sublayer 208 and the NR PDCP sublayer 210 provide SRBs to exchange, for example, radio resource control (RRC) messages. On the user plane, the EUTRA PDCP sublayer 208 and the NR PDCP sublayer 210 provide DRBs to support data exchange.

[0068] When the UE 102 operates under EUTRA / NR DC (EN-DC) with the base station 104 operating as a MeNB and the base station 106 operating as an SgNB, the network may provide the UE 102 with a bearer terminated at the MN using EUTRA PDCP 208, or a bearer terminated at the MN using NRPDCP 210. In various scenarios, the network may also provide the UE 102 with a bearer terminated at the SN using only NRPDCP 210. The bearer terminated at the MN may be an MCG bearer or a separated bearer. The bearer terminated at the SN may be an SCG bearer or a separated bearer. The bearer terminated at the MN may be an SRB (e.g., SRB1 or SRB2) or a DRB. The bearer terminated at the SN may be an SRB (e.g., SRB) or a DRB.

[0069] Next, several example scenarios, including Figure 1A A base station operating in the system sends a configuration to UE 102 and later activates the configuration for communication between UE 102 and the base station. Figure 3 , Figure 4A and Figure 4B Similar events in the same manner are marked with similar reference numerals (e.g., event 316 is the same as event 317). Figure 4A and Figure 4B 416 of ), differences will be discussed below where appropriate. In addition to the differences shown in the figures and discussed below, any of the alternative implementations discussed with respect to a particular event (e.g., for message delivery and processing) may apply to events labeled with similar reference numerals in other figures.

[0070] First reference Figure 3 , in scenario 300, UE 102 initially communicates 302 with base station 104 on cell 124A. In some implementations, UE 102 in carrier aggregation (CA) communicates with base station 104 on cell 124A and other cells using a first configuration. In other implementations, UE 102 communicates with base station 104 only on cell 124A. In some implementations, UE 102 communicates with base station 104 on cell 124A and / or other cells via one or more TRPs. In some implementations, cell 124A is a PCell. In such cases, the other cells include SCells and / or additional cells associated with a PCell or SCell. In other implementations, cell 124A is an SCell, and one of the other cells is a PCell. In such cases, the remaining cells include SCells and / or additional cells associated with a PCell or SCell.

[0071] In some implementations, in event 302, UE 102 sends UL PDU and / or UL control signal to base station 104 via one or more TRPs on cell 124A and / or other cells. In some implementations, UE 102 communicates UL PDU and / or DL ​​PDU with base station 104 via a radio bearer, which may include SRB and / or DRB. In a further implementation, base station 104 configures a radio bearer for UE 102. In some implementations, the UL control signal includes UL control information, channel state information, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) acknowledgment (ACK), HARQ negative ACK, scheduling request and / or sounding reference signal. Similarly, in a further implementation, UE 102 receives DL PDU and / or DL ​​control signal from base station 104 on cell 124A and / or other cells via one or more TRPs. In some implementations, the DL control signal includes downlink control information (DCI) and reference signals (e.g., synchronization signal blocks, channel state information reference signals (CSI-RS) and / or tracking reference signals). In further implementations, the base station 104 sends the DCI on a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitored by the UE 102 on the cell 124A and / or other cells via one or more TRPs.

[0072] In some implementations, the first configuration includes physical layer configuration parameters, MAC configuration parameters, RLC configuration parameters, PDCP configuration parameters, measurement configuration parameters, and / or radio bearer configuration parameters. In some implementations, the first configuration includes CellGroupConfig IE (e.g., as defined in 3GPP specification 38.331) or configuration parameters in CellGroupConfig IE. In some implementations, the first configuration includes CSI-MeasConfig IE, MeasConfig IE, and / or RadioBearerConfig IE (e.g., as defined in 3GPP specification 38.331) or configuration parameters in CSI-MeasConfig IE, MeasConfig IE, and / or RadioBearerConfig IE. In some implementations, UE 102 receives the configuration parameters from base station 104. In other implementations, UE 102 receives a portion of the configuration parameters from a base station other than base station 104, and receives the remaining portion of the configuration parameters from base station 104.

[0073] While communicating with base station 104, UE 102 sends 304 at least one measurement report to base station 104. In some implementations, the at least one measurement report includes a layer 1 (L1) measurement report and / or a layer 3 (L3) measurement report for at least one serving cell and / or at least one non-serving cell of UE 102. The at least one serving cell includes cell 124A and / or other cells (e.g., Figure 1A 124D (not shown in the figure), and at least one non-serving cell includes cell 124B and / or cell 124C. In some implementations, the first configuration includes at least one measurement configuration that configures UE 102 to perform measurements and report measurement results. In some implementations, UE 102 receives one or more RRC messages (e.g., RRCReconfiguration messages) including at least one measurement configuration from base station 104 in event 302, as described above. According to at least one measurement configuration, UE 102 performs measurement and sends 304 at least one measurement report to base station 104. In some implementations, at least one measurement configuration includes an L3 measurement configuration (e.g., MeasConfig IE) and / or an L1 measurement configuration. For example, the L1 measurement configuration (e.g., CSI-MeasConfig IE) includes a CSI resource configuration (e.g., CSI-ResourceConfig IE) and / or a CSI report configuration (e.g., CSI-ReportConfig IE). UE 102 sends an L3 measurement report to base station 104 according to the L3 measurement configuration. UE 102 sends an L1 measurement report to base station 104 according to the L1 measurement configuration. In some implementations, at least one measurement configuration includes a new measurement configuration for fast serving cell change (e.g., a new RRC IE (e.g., defined in 3GPP specification 38.331v18.0.0 and / or later versions)). For example, the new measurement configuration includes a CSI resource configuration (e.g., CSI-ResourceConfig IE) and / or a new report configuration. In such implementations, at least one measurement report includes a new measurement report associated with the new measurement configuration. UE 102 sends a new measurement report to base station 104 according to the new measurement configuration. In some implementations, each new report configuration in the new report configuration includes a trigger event configuration that configures a trigger event for triggering UE 102 to send a new measurement report. If UE 102 detects a trigger event, UE 102 sends a new measurement report to base station 104. In the present disclosure, "new" may refer to a specific definition of a message, information element, data structure, etc. for the specific purpose of supporting fast cell change functionality.

[0074] In some implementations, the L1 measurement report includes at least one L1 measurement result. In some implementations, the at least one L1 measurement result includes at least one L1 reference signal received power (L1-RSRP) value and / or at least one L1 signal to interference and noise ratio (L1-SINR) value. In some implementations, for each L1 measurement report in the L1 measurement report, the UE 102 sends a PUCCH transmission including the L1 measurement report to the base station 104. That is, the UE 102 sends each L1 measurement report in the L1 measurement report to the base station 104 on the PUCCH. In other implementations, for each L1 measurement report in the L1 measurement report, the UE 102 sends a PUSCH transmission including the L1 measurement report to the base station 104. That is, the UE 102 sends each L1 measurement report in the L1 measurement report to the base station 104 on the PUSCH. In yet other implementations, the UE 102 sends a portion of the L1 measurement report to the base station 104 on the PUCCH, and sends the rest of the L1 measurement report to the base station on a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH). That is, for each of the portions of the L1 measurement report, the UE 102 sends a PUCCH transmission including the L1 measurement report to the base station 104, and for each of the rest of the L1 measurement report, the UE 102 sends a PUSCH transmission including the L1 measurement report to the base station 104. In some implementations, each L1 measurement report in the L1 measurement report is a portion of channel state information (CSI) (i.e., a CSI component) or CSI. In some implementations, the UE 102 includes other CSI components in the above-mentioned PUCCH transmission and / or PUSCH transmission. In some implementations, other CSI components include, for example, a channel quality indicator (CQI), a precoding matrix indicator (PMI), a CSI-RS resource indicator (CRI), a synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) resource block indicator (SSBRI), a layer indicator (LI) and / or a rank indicator (RI).

[0075] In some implementations, each L3 measurement report in the L3 measurement report may include at least one L3 measurement result. In some implementations, the at least one L3 measurement result includes at least one RSRP (value) and / or at least one SINR (value). In some implementations, the UE 102 sends each L3 measurement report in the L3 measurement report to the base station 104 on the PUSCH. In some implementations, each L3 measurement report in the L3 measurement report is an RRC message (e.g., a MeasurementReport message). In some implementations, each L3 measurement configuration in the L3 measurement configuration includes a specific measurement identifier (e.g., measId), and each L3 measurement report in the L3 measurement report includes a specific measurement identifier in a specific L3 measurement configuration. In a further implementation, when the base station 104 receives an nL3 measurement report including a measurement identifier and an L3 measurement result from the UE 102, the base station 104 determines that the L3 measurement report is associated with the L3 measurement configuration identified by the measurement identifier.

[0076] In some alternative implementations, for each measurement report of at least one measurement report (e.g., an L1 measurement report, an L3 measurement report, and / or a new type measurement report), the UE 102 sends a MAC control element (CE) including the measurement report to the base station 104 at event 304. To send the MAC CE, the UE 102 generates one or more MAC PDUs for the base station 104 at event 304, each MAC PDU including one or more MAC CEs in the MAC CE.

[0077] In some implementations, the UE 102 performs measurements on one or more reference signals according to at least one measurement configuration. Depending on the implementation, the one or more reference signals include one or more synchronization signals (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) resource blocks (SSBs) and / or one or more CSI-RS. The UE 102 obtains at least one L1 measurement result and / or at least one L3 measurement result from the measurement. The base station 104 transmits one or more reference signals on cells 124A and 124B and in further implementations on cell 124C and / or other cells.

[0078] After (e.g., in response to) receiving one or some of the at least one measurement report in event 304, base station 104 determines to prepare cell 124B for UE 102. In some implementations, base station 104 determines to prepare cell 124B for UE 102 because at least one measurement report indicates that cell 124B can be used by base station 104 to communicate with UE 102. For example, if at least one measurement report indicates that the signal strength and / or quality of cell 124B is above a first predetermined threshold and / or better than (e.g., higher than) cell 124A, base station 104 determines to prepare cell 124B for UE 102. Alternatively, base station 104 determines to prepare cell 124B for UE 102 regardless of whether a measurement report is received from UE 102.

[0079] In response to the determination to prepare cell 124B, base station 104 generates a second configuration (referred to herein as configuration 1) to configure cell 124B, generates an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration message) including configuration 1, and sends 306 the RRC reconfiguration message to UE 102. In response, UE 102 sends 308 an RRC reconfiguration completion message (e.g., an RRCReconfigurationComplete message) to base station 104. In some implementations, base station 104 performs security protection (e.g., integrity protection and / or encryption) on the RRC reconfiguration message. For example, base station 104 generates an integrity message authentication code (MAC-I) for the RRC reconfiguration message, encrypts the RRC reconfiguration message and the MAC-I to obtain an encrypted RRC reconfiguration message and an encrypted MAC-I, and sends a PDCP PDU including the encrypted RRC reconfiguration message and the encrypted MAC-I to UE 102 in event 306. When UE 102 receives the PDCP PDU from base station 104 in event 306, UE 102 decrypts the encrypted RRC reconfiguration and the encrypted MAC-I to obtain the RRC reconfiguration message and the MAC-I, and verifies whether the MAC-I is valid. If UE 102 verifies that the MAC-I is invalid, UE 102 discards or ignores the RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, UE 102 performs an RRC connection reestablishment procedure in response to an invalid MAC-I. Otherwise, in some implementations, if UE 102 verifies that the MAC-I is valid, UE 102 processes the RRC reconfiguration. UE 102 avoids applying (i.e., executing) configuration 1 until a configuration activation command (e.g., event 312) is received to activate configuration 1.

[0080] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes a field or IE (e.g., as defined in 3GPP specification 38.331 v18.0.0 and / or later versions, 3GPP 6G specifications, etc.) in the RRC reconfiguration message of event 306 to indicate to the UE 102 that configuration 1 is not applied immediately. In some implementations, the field or IE is an indicator. If the RRC reconfiguration message of event 306 includes the indicator, the UE 102 avoids applying configuration 1 immediately. Otherwise, if the RRC reconfiguration message of event 306 does not include the indicator, the UE 102 applies configuration 1 immediately. In other implementations, the field or IE is a container (e.g., the first container and / or the second container described below). For example, the UE 102 receives an RRC reconfiguration message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message of event 306) that includes a configuration (e.g., configuration 1). If the configuration is included in the container, the UE 102 avoids applying the configuration immediately. Otherwise, if the configuration is not included in the container, the UE 102 applies the configuration immediately.

[0081] In some implementations, base station 104 generates a first container including configuration 1, includes the first container in an RRC reconfiguration message, and sends the RRC reconfiguration message to UE 102 in event 306. In some implementations, the first container is a first addition or modification list (e.g., ConfigToAddModList IE, CellConfigToAddModList IE, MobilityToAddModList IE, MobilityConfigToAddModList IE, or CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE). Base station 104 includes configuration 1 in a first element (referred to herein as element 1) of the first addition or modification list. For example, element 1 can be an addition or modification IE (e.g., ConfigToAddMod IE, CellConfigToAddMod IE, MobilityToAddMod IE, MobilityConfigToAddMod IE, or CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE). In some implementations, when the UE 102 receives the first addition or modification list, the UE 102 stores the first addition or modification list (eg, in a variable in random access memory (RAM)).

[0082] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes a first ID (hereinafter referred to as ID 1) for identifying configuration 1 in the RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, the base station 104 includes ID 1 in a first container or element 1. In some implementations, the base station 104 assigns ID 1 for configuration 1.

[0083] In some implementations, configuration 1 includes multiple configurations for UE 102 to communicate with base station 104 on cell 124B. In some implementations, the multiple configurations include physical layer configuration parameters (e.g., PhysicalCellGroupConfig IE), MAC layer configuration parameters (e.g., MAC-CellGroupConfig IE), and / or RLC configuration parameters (e.g., RLC-BearerConfig IE). In some further implementations, the multiple configurations include special cell configurations (e.g., SpCellConfig IE) and / or one or more SCell configurations (e.g., SCellConfig IE).

[0084] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes the random access configuration in configuration 1. In other implementations, the base station 104 does not include the random access configuration in configuration 1. In some implementations, if the cell 124A and the cell 124B are not synchronized, the base station 104 determines to include the random access configuration in configuration 1. Otherwise, if the cell 124A and the cell 124B are synchronized, the base station 104 determines not to include the random access configuration in configuration 1. In other implementations, if the base station 104 determines that the UE 102 has not yet synchronized with the cell 124B in the UL, the base station 104 determines to include the random access configuration in configuration 1. Otherwise, if the base station 104 determines that the UE 102 has synchronized with the cell 124B in the UL, the base station 104 determines not to include the random access configuration in configuration 1. If configuration 1 includes the random access configuration, the UE 102 performs the random access procedure in event 316 according to the random access configuration, as described below. Otherwise, if configuration 1 excludes random access configuration, then UE 102 skips the random access procedure of event 316 in response to configuration 1 excluding random access configuration.

[0085] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes the random access configuration in configuration 1 regardless of whether the cells 124A and 124B are synchronized. In some implementations, if the cells 124A and 124B are synchronized, the base station 104 determines to include a first indication in configuration 1, which configures the UE 102 not to perform a random access procedure on the cell 124B. Otherwise, if the cells 124A and 124B are not synchronized, the base station 104 determines not to include the first indication in configuration 1. In other implementations, if the base station 104 determines that the UE 102 is synchronized with the cell 124B in the UL, the base station 104 determines to include the first indication in configuration 1. Otherwise, if the base station 104 determines that the UE 102 is not yet synchronized with the cell 124B in the UL, the base station 104 determines not to include the first indication in configuration 1. If configuration 1 includes the first indication, the UE 102 skips the random access procedure of event 316 according to or in response to the first indication. Otherwise, if configuration 1 excludes the first indication, UE 102 performs the random access procedure in event 316 according to the random access configuration in response to configuration 1 excluding the first indication, as described below.

[0086] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes a reconfiguration configuration with synchronization (e.g., ReconfigurationWithSync IE) in configuration 1 or a special cell configuration. In other implementations, the base station 104 does not include a reconfiguration configuration with synchronization (e.g., ReconfigurationWithSync IE) in configuration 1 or a special cell configuration. In some implementations, if the cell 124A and the cell 124B are not synchronized, the base station 104 determines to include the reconfiguration configuration with synchronization in configuration 1. Otherwise, if the cell 124A and the cell 124B are synchronized, the base station 104 determines not to include the reconfiguration configuration with synchronization in configuration 1. In other implementations, if the base station 104 determines that the UE 102 has not yet synchronized with the cell 124B in the UL, the base station 104 determines to include the reconfiguration configuration with synchronization in configuration 1. Otherwise, if the base station 104 determines that the UE 102 has synchronized with the cell 124B in the UL, the base station 104 determines not to include the reconfiguration configuration with synchronization in configuration 1. In some implementations, if configuration 1 includes a reconfiguration configuration with synchronization, UE 102 performs a random access procedure in event 316 as described below in response to or according to the reconfiguration configuration with synchronization. Otherwise, if configuration 1 does not include a reconfiguration configuration with synchronization, UE 102 skips the random access procedure of event 316. In some implementations, base station 104 includes a cell identification (ID) (i.e., cell ID 1) of cell 1 (i.e., cell 124B) in configuration 1. In some implementations, cell ID 1 is a physical cell ID (PCI). In some further implementations, configuration 1 includes a cell index (e.g., a serving cell index) indexed for cell ID 1 or cell 124B.

[0087] In some implementations, after receiving one or some of the at least one measurement report of event 304 (e.g., in response thereto), base station 104 determines to prepare other cells of base station 104 for UE 102. In some implementations, base station 104 determines to prepare other cells because at least one measurement report indicates that other cells can be used by base station 104 to communicate with UE 102. In further implementations, other cells include cell 124C and / or cells other than cells 124A, 124B, and 124C. In some implementations, if the L3 measurement report indicates that the signal strength and / or quality of a specific cell among the other cells is higher than a corresponding predetermined threshold and / or better than (e.g., higher than) cell 124A, base station 104 determines to prepare the specific cell for UE 102. In other implementations, if the L1 measurement report or the new measurement report indicates that the signal strength and / or quality of a specific cell in the other cells is higher than the first predetermined threshold and / or better than (e.g., higher than) the cell 124A, the base station 104 determines to prepare the specific cell for the UE 102. In some implementations, the corresponding predetermined threshold of the other cells is different from the first predetermined threshold. In further implementations, the corresponding predetermined threshold of the other cells is the same as the first predetermined threshold. In some implementations, the corresponding predetermined threshold of the other cells is the same as the first predetermined threshold. Alternatively, the base station 104 determines to prepare the other cells for the UE 102 regardless of whether the measurement report is received from the UE 102.

[0088] In response to the determination of preparing other cells, the base station 104 generates configurations 2, ..., N, each configuration configures a specific cell of the base station 104, and includes configurations 2, ..., N in the first container. "N" is an integer and is greater than one. For example, "N" is 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, or 16. The example and implementation of configuration 1 are applicable to configurations 2, ..., N. In some implementations, the base station 104 assigns IDs 2, ..., N that identify configurations 2, ..., N, respectively, and includes IDs 2, ..., N in the first container. For example, the base station 104 includes IDs 2, ..., N and configurations 2, ..., N in elements 2, ..., N in the first addition or modification list. In some alternative implementations, the base station 104 generates a second container including configurations 2, ..., N or elements 2, ..., N instead of using the first container. Then, the base station 104 sends an additional RRC reconfiguration message to the UE 102. In response, UE 102 sends an additional RRC reconfiguration complete message to base station 104.

[0089] In some implementations, the second container is a second addition or modification list (e.g., ConfigToAddModList IE, CellConfigToAddModList IE, MobilityToAddModList IE, MobilityConfigToAddModList IE, or CellGroupConfigToAdd ModList IE), and each element in elements 2, ..., N is an addition or modification IE (e.g., ConfigToAddMod IE, ReconfigToAddMod IE, CellConfigToAdd Mod IE, MobilityToAddMod IE, MobilityConfigToAddMod IE, or CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE). In further implementations, when UE 102 receives the second addition or modification list, UE 102 stores the second addition or modification list with the first addition or modification list (e.g., in a variable in RAM). In some implementations, base station 104 includes cell IDs 2, ..., N in configurations 2, ..., N, respectively. Cell IDs 2, ..., N identify cells 2, ..., N, respectively. In some implementations, each of the cell IDs is a PCI. In some further implementations, configurations 2, ..., N include cell indices 2, ..., N (eg, serving cell indices) indexing cell IDs 2, ..., N or cells 2, ..., N, respectively.

[0090] In some implementations, each of Configuration 1, ..., N and / or Configuration 2, ..., N is a CellGroupConfig IE. In such implementations, the following is an example structure of a first or second add or modify list (e.g., CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE), and the CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE is an element of the first or second add or modify list.

[0091] In some implementations, the base station 104 sends a release list to the UE 102 to release one or more configurations in configuration 1, ..., N. For example, the base station 104 sends an RRC reconfiguration message including the release list to the UE 102. In response, the UE 102 sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the base station 104. In some implementations, the base station 104 includes the ID of one or more configurations in the release list to indicate the one or more configurations to be released. The UE 102 identifies the one or more configurations according to the ID, and releases the one or more configurations in response to the release list. In other implementations, the base station 104 sends an empty or third addition or modification list that does not include a configuration to the UE 102 to release all configurations in configuration 1, ..., N. In some implementations, the base station 104 sends an RRC reconfiguration message including the third addition or modification list to the UE 102. In response, the UE 102 sends an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the base station 104. The UE 102 releases all configurations in configuration 1, ..., N in response to the third addition or modification list.

[0092] Example Implementation 1

[0093]

[0094] For example, the first addition or modification list is the first CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE, and the second addition or modification list is the second CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE. Element 1 is CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE 1, and elements 2, ..., N are CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE2, ..., N, respectively. ID 1 and configuration 1 are ConfigId and CellGroupConfig IE in CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE 1, respectively. ID 2, ..., N and configuration 2, ..., N are ConfigId and CellGroupConfig IE in CellGroupConfigTo AddMod IE 2, ..., N, respectively. In some implementations, the first CellGroupConfigToAddModListIE includes CellGroup ConfigToAddMod IE 1, and the second CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE includes CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE 2, ..., N. In a further implementation, the first CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE includes CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs 1, ...,N.

[0095] In some implementations, the release list is a CellGroupConfigToReleaseList IE. In further implementations, the base station 104 includes one or more ConfigID IEs in the CellGroupConfigToReleaseListIE to release one or more CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs in CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs 1, ..., N. The one or more CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs are identified by one or more ConfigID IEs.

[0096] Example Implementation 2

[0097] Example implementation 2 is similar to example implementation 1, except that CellGroupConfigToAddModIE does not include ConfigId.

[0098]

[0099] In some implementations, ID 1, ..., N is implicitly indicated by the order of CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE 1, ..., N in the first or second CellGroupConfigToAddModList. For example, CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE 1 is the first IE in the first CellGro upConfigToAddModList IE, which implicitly indicates that ID 1 has a value of X. X can be zero or one. If the first CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE includes CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE 1, ..., N in order, then ID 1, ..., N has values ​​of X, X+1, ..., X+(N-1). In some implementations, if the base station 104 sends the second CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE to the UE 102, the UE 102 and the base station 104 replace the first CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE with the second CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE. The second CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE includes CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs 2, ..., N in order, then IDs 2, ..., N are values ​​X, X+1, ..., X+N-2. The second CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE includes CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs 1, ..., N in order, then IDs 1, ..., N are values ​​X, X+1, ..., X+N-1. In some alternative implementations, IDs 1, ..., N are cell IDs 1, ..., N.

[0100] In some implementations, the base station 104 sends a CellGroupConfigToAddModList IE including zero CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs to release all IEs in the CellGroupConfigToAddMod IEs 1, ...,N.

[0101] In example implementations 1 and 2, "CellGroupConfigToAddModList", "CellGroupConfigToAddMod", "configId", "ConfigId", "cellGroupConfig", "CellGroupConfigToReleaseList" and "maxNrofConfigCells" are merely exemplary and should not be construed as limiting the scope and application of the present invention.

[0102] In other implementations, each of configurations 1, ..., N and / or configurations 2, ..., N is an RRCReconfiguration message. In such implementations, the following (ie, example implementations 3 to 6) are example structures of the first or second addition or modification list.

[0103] Example Implementation 3

[0104] In example implementation 3, the first or second addition or modification list is a CondReconfigToAddModList-r16 IE (eg, as defined in 3GPP specification 38.331 from Release 16), and the CondReconfigToAddMod IE is an element of the list.

[0105]

[0106] For example, the first addition or modification list is the first CondReconfigToAddModList-r16 IE and the second CondReconfigToAddModList-r16 IE. Element 1 is CondRec onfigToAddMod-r16 IE 1, and elements 2, ..., N are CondReconfig ToAddMod-r16 IE 2, ..., N, respectively. ID 1 and configuration 1 are CondReconfigId and RRCReconfiguration message in CondReconfigTo AddMod IE 1, respectively. ID 2, ..., N and configuration 2, ..., N are CondReconfigId and RRCReconfiguration message in CondReconfigToAddMod IE 2, ..., N, respectively. In some implementations, the first CondReconfigToAddModList-r16 IE includes CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE 1, and the second CondReconfigToAddModList-r16 IE includes CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE 2, ..., N. In further implementations, the first CondReconfigToAddModList-r16 IE includes CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE 1, ..., N.

[0107] In this example implementation, the base station 104 includes the conditional configuration (i.e., condExecution Cond-r16) in at least one of the CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IEs. In some implementations, if the UE 102 supports a conditional procedure (e.g., conditional handover (CHO), conditional PSCell addition (CPA), or conditional PSCell change (CPC)), the UE 102 evaluates one or more conditions configured in the condExecutionCond-r16 field for the conditional procedure. If the UE 102 detects that at least one or all of the one or more conditions in the condExecutionCond-r16 field in a particular CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE are met, the UE 102 immediately applies the configuration in the RRCReconfiguration message in the CondReconfigTo AddMod-r16 IE (e.g., as described in 3GPP specification 38.331). In some implementations, the base station 104 does not include the conditional configuration (i.e., condExecutionCond-r16) in any one or some of the CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IEs. Therefore, for the CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE that does not include the conditional configuration (i.e., condExecutionCond-r16), the UE 102 is not configured to perform or does not perform any evaluation (i.e., detection or determination) of the conditions for the conditional procedure (e.g., conditional handover).

[0108] In some implementations, the release list is a CondReconfigToRemoveList-r16 IE. In further implementations, the base station 104 includes one or more CondReconfigID IEs in the CondReconfigToRemoveList-r16 IE to release one or more CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IEs in CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IEs 1, ..., N. The one or more CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IEs are identified by one or more CondReconfigID IEs.

[0109] Example Implementation 4

[0110] Example implementation 4 is similar to example implementation 3, except that in some implementations, a new indicator (e.g., fastServingCellChange-r18 field) is optionally included in the CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE. In some implementations, the new indicator indicates that the CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE (i.e., the condRRCReconfig-r16 in the RRCReconfiguration message or IE) is configured for fast serving cell change (i.e., see the description for event 312). If the base station 104 does not include the new indicator in the CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE, the CondReconfigToAddMod-r16 IE is not configured for fast serving cell change.

[0111]

[0112] Example Implementation 5

[0113] Some of the example implementations 3 and 4 may involve the UE 102 supporting conditional procedures (e.g., conditional handover (CHO), conditional PSCell addition (CPA), and / or conditional PSCell change (CPC)). If the UE 102 does not support the conditional procedures, the base station 104 does not configure or enable fast serving cell change for the UE 102. Therefore, example implementation 5 is decoupled from the conditional procedures.

[0114]

[0115] In some implementations, the first addition or modification list is a first ReconfigToAddModList IE, and the second addition or modification list is a second ReconfigToAddModList IE. Element 1 is ReconfigToAddMod IE 1, and elements 2, ..., N are ReconfigToAddMod IE 2, ..., N, respectively. ID 1 and configuration 1 are ConfigId and RRCReconfiguration IE in ReconfigToAddMod IE 1, respectively. ID 2, ..., N and configuration 2, ..., N are ConfigId and RRCReconfiguration IE in ReconfigToAddMod IE 2, ..., N, respectively. In some implementations, the first ReconfigToAddModList IE includes ReconfigToAddMod IE 1, and the second ReconfigToAddModList IE includes ReconfigToAddMod IE 2, ..., N. In further implementations, the first ReconfigToAddModList IE includes ReconfigToAddMod IE 1, ..., N.

[0116] In some implementations, the release list is a ReconfigToReleaseList IE. In further implementations, the base station 104 includes one or more ConfigID IEs in the ReconfigToReleaseList IE to release one or more ReconfigToAddMod IEs in ReconfigToAddMod IEs 1, ..., N. The one or more ReconfigToAddMod IEs are identified by one or more ConfigID IEs.

[0117] Example Implementation 6

[0118]

[0119] Example implementation 6 is similar to example implementation 5, except that the ReconfigToAddMod IE does not include ConfigId. In some implementations, ID 1, ..., N is implicitly indicated by the order of ReconfigToAddMod IE 1, ..., N in the first or second ReconfigToAddModList. For example, ReconfigToAddMod IE 1 is the first IE in the first ReconfigToAddModList IE, which implicitly indicates that ID 1 has a value of X. X can be zero or one. If the first ReconfigToAddModList IE includes ReconfigToAddMod IE 1, ..., N in order, then ID 1, ..., N has values ​​of X, X+1, ..., X+(N-1). In some implementations, if the base station 104 sends the second ReconfigToAddModList IE to the UE 102, the UE 102 and the base station 104 replace the first ReconfigToAddModList IE with the second ReconfigToAddModList IE. If the second ReconfigToAddModList IE includes ReconfigToAddMod IEs 2, ..., N in order, then IDs 2, ..., N have values ​​X, X+1, ..., X+N-2. If the second ReconfigToAddModList IE includes ReconfigToAddMod IEs 1, ..., N in order, then IDs 1, ..., N have values ​​X, X+1, ..., X+N-1. In some alternative implementations, IDs 1, ..., N are cell IDs 1, ..., N.

[0120] In some implementations, the base station 104 sends a ReconfigToAddModList IE including zero ReconfigToAddMod IEs to release all IEs in ReconfigToAddMod IEs 1, ...,N.

[0121] In example implementations 5 and 6, “ReconfigToAddModList,” “ReconfigToAddMod,” “configId,” “ConfigId,” “cellGroupConfig,” “ReconfigToReleaseList,” and “maxNrofConfigCells” are exemplary and should not limit the scope and application of the present invention.

[0122] Example Implementation 7

[0123] Example implementation 7 is a combination of example implementations 1 and 5, as shown below. Depending on the implementation, any of configurations 1, ..., N is a CellGroupConfig IE or an RRCReconfiguration message. The examples and implementations described for example implementations 1 and 5 are applicable to example implementation 7.

[0124]

[0125] After receiving the RRC reconfiguration message in event 306 or sending the RRC reconfiguration complete message in event 308, UE 102 sends 310 at least one measurement report to base station 104, similar to event 304. In some implementations, the at least one measurement report of event 310 includes an L1 measurement report, an L3 measurement report, and / or a new type measurement report, as described for event 304. In some implementations, UE 102 sends 310 at least one measurement report to base station 104 on a PUCCH and / or a PUSCH, similar to event 304. In other implementations, UE 102 sends 310 at least one MAC CE including at least one measurement report to base station 104, similar to event 304. In some implementations, each measurement report in the at least one measurement report of event 310 is not an RRC message.

[0126] In some implementations, UE 102 sends 310 at least one measurement report to base station 104 according to at least one measurement configuration. Base station 104 sends at least one measurement configuration to UE 102 to configure UE 102 to perform measurements and report measurement results. For example, base station 104 sends one or more RRC messages (e.g., RRCReconfiguration messages) including at least one measurement configuration to UE 102 after event 304 or event 306. Depending on the implementation, the one or more RRC messages include or do not include the RRC reconfiguration message of event 306. According to the at least one measurement configuration, UE 102 performs measurements on one or more reference signals. In some implementations, the one or more reference signals include one or more SSBs and / or one or more CSI-RSs. UE 102 obtains at least one L1 measurement result and / or at least one L3 measurement result from the measurement, and includes the at least one L1 measurement result and / or at least one L3 measurement result in at least one measurement report of event 310. Base station 104 transmits one or more reference signals on cells 124A and 124B and in further implementations on cell 124C and / or other cells. In some implementations, at least one measurement configuration includes an L3 measurement configuration (e.g., MeasConfig IE), an L1 measurement configuration (e.g., CSI-MeasConfig IE), and / or a new measurement configuration, as described for event 304.

[0127] In some implementations, the new measurement configuration as described for events 304 and 310 is similar to an L3 measurement configuration. For example, the new measurement configuration includes a portion of the configuration parameters defined in the MeasConfig IE. In other implementations, the new measurement configuration as described for events 304 and 310 is similar to an L1 measurement configuration. For example, the new measurement configuration includes a portion of the configuration parameters defined in the CSI-MeasConfig IE (e.g., CSI-ResourceConfig IE and / or CSI-ReportConfig).

[0128] After receiving at least one measurement report in event 310 (e.g., in response thereto), base station 104 sends 312 a first configuration activation command to UE 102 to activate configuration 1. For example, base station 104 sends the first configuration activation command on cell 124A. In another example, base station 104 sends the first configuration activation command on cell 124D. In some implementations, base station 104 includes ID 1 in the first configuration activation command. UE 102 determines and activates configuration 1 based on the first configuration activation command and ID 1. In other implementations, base station 104 includes cell index 1 (e.g., serving cell index) or cell ID 1 included in configuration 1 in the first configuration activation command. UE 102 determines and activates configuration 1 based on the first configuration activation command and cell index 1 or cell ID 1.

[0129] In yet other implementations, the base station 104 includes a bitmap in the first configuration activation command to activate configuration 1, instead of ID 1, cell ID 1, or cell index 1. The number of bits in the bitmap is greater than or equal to "N". In some implementations, bits 1, ..., N correspond to configurations 1, ..., N, respectively, and the base station 104 sets the corresponding bit in the bitmap (e.g., bit 1) to a first value to indicate ID 1 or configuration 1. In further implementations, bits 0, ..., N-1 correspond to configurations 1, ..., N, respectively, and the base station 104 sets the corresponding bit in the bitmap (e.g., bit 0) to a first value to indicate ID 1 or configuration 1. Therefore, in some such implementations, the UE 102 determines a specific ID or a specific configuration based on bit 1 or bit 0 set to the first value in the bitmap. In such implementations, the base station 104 sets the remaining bits in the bitmap to a second value to indicate that the reset of configurations 1, ..., N is not activated. In some implementations, the first value is one and the second value is zero. In other implementations, the first value is zero and the second value is one. In some implementations, if the base station 104 determines to activate another configuration (e.g., configuration K) in addition to configuration 1, the base station 104 sets the corresponding bit in the bitmap (e.g., bit K or bit K-1) to a first value, where 1<=K<=N.

[0130] In some implementations, at least one measurement report (e.g., L1 measurement report and / or L3 measurement report) of event 310 includes at least one measurement result for cell 124B. Base station 104 determines to activate configuration 1 because at least one measurement result indicates that the signal strength or quality of cell 124B is higher than a second predetermined threshold. The second predetermined threshold is different from the first predetermined threshold. In some implementations, the second predetermined threshold is greater than the first predetermined threshold. In such implementations, at least one measurement report of event 310 indicates that the signal strength or quality of cell 124B is suitable for communication with UE 102. In further implementations, the second predetermined threshold is equal to the first predetermined threshold. In such implementations, at least one measurement report of event 310 indicates that the signal strength or quality of cell 124B has been continuously higher than the second predetermined threshold or the first predetermined threshold. This also indicates that cell 124B is suitable for communication with UE 102. Therefore, in response to the signal strength or quality of cell 124B being higher than the second predetermined threshold, base station 104 determines to activate configuration 1 (i.e., a fast serving cell change to cell 124B).

[0131] In some implementations, the first configuration activation command is a MAC CE included in a MAC PDU received by UE 102 from base station 104 in event 312. In some implementations, the MAC CE is a new MAC CE (e.g., as defined in 3GPP specification 38.321 v18.0.0 and / or later versions). In some implementations, base station 104 includes a subheader that identifies the MAC CE in the MAC PDU, and UE 102 identifies the MAC CE in the MAC PDU based on the subheader. In a further implementation, the subheader includes a logical channel ID or an extended logical channel ID (e.g., as defined in a 3GPP specification) to identify the MAC CE. For example, the logical channel ID or the extended logical channel ID is newly defined (e.g., in 3GPP specification 38.321 v18.0.0 and / or later versions). In other implementations, the first configuration activation command is a DCI received by UE 102 on a PDCCH in event 312. Base station 104 generates a CRC for the DCI, scrambles the CRC using the first C-RNTI of UE 102, and sends the DCI and the scrambled CRC on the PDCCH at event 312. In some implementations, the format of the DCI is an existing DCI format (e.g., as defined in a 3GPP specification (e.g., 38.212)). In further implementations, the format of the DCI is a new DCI format (e.g., as defined in a 3GPP specification (e.g., 38.212 v18.0.0 or later)).

[0132] In some implementations, the base station 104 does not perform security protection (e.g., integrity protection and / or encryption) on the first configuration activation command. This speeds up the processing of the first configuration activation command in the UE 102 because the UE 102 does not spend time performing security checks (e.g., decryption and / or integrity checks) on the first configuration activation command.

[0133] In some implementations, after receiving the first configuration activation command, UE 102 sends 313 confirmation to base station 104 on cell 124A or cell 124D to indicate that UE 102 received the first configuration activation command. In some implementations, the confirmation is a HARQ ACK. In other implementations, the confirmation is a MAC CE. For example, the MAC CE is an existing MAC CE (e.g., defined in 3GPP specification 38.321v17.1.0). In another example, the MAC CE is a new MAC CE (e.g., defined in 3GPP specification 38.321v18.0.0 and / or later versions). In yet other implementations, the confirmation is a PUCCH transmission.

[0134] In some implementations, the base station 104 sends 306 an RRC reconfiguration message to the UE 102 in response to the L3 measurement report for the cell 124B received by the base station 104 in event 304. In some implementations, the base station 104 sends an RRC reconfiguration message including a MeasConfig IE to the UE 102 to configure the UE 102 to send the L3 measurement report. In some implementations, the base station 104 sends 312 a first configuration activation command in response to the L1 measurement report for the cell 124B received by the base station 104 in event 310. In further implementations, the base station 104 sends a second RRC reconfiguration message including a CSI-MeasConfig IE to the UE 102 to configure the UE 102 to send the L1 measurement report. In some implementations, the first and second RRC reconfiguration messages are the same message (i.e., the same instance). In other implementations, the first and second RRC reconfiguration messages are different messages. In some implementations, the second RRC reconfiguration message is the RRC reconfiguration message of event 306. In other implementations, the second RRC reconfiguration message is different from the RRC reconfiguration message of event 306.

[0135] After receiving the first configuration activation command (e.g., in response thereto), the UE 102 identifies a specific configuration (e.g., configuration 1) according to a specific ID (e.g., ID1) and immediately applies configuration 1. In some implementations, the UE 102 performs 316 a random access procedure with the base station 104 on the cell 124B in response to applying configuration 1. In some implementations, after receiving 312 the first configuration activation command or sending 313 an acknowledgement (e.g., in response thereto), the UE 102 disconnects 314 from the cell 124A. In other words, after receiving 312 the first configuration activation command or sending 313 an acknowledgement (e.g., in response thereto), the UE 102 stops communicating on the cell 124A. In such a case, the UE 102 performs 316 a random access procedure after disconnecting 314 from the cell 124A. In some implementations, the UE 102 determines whether to perform a random access procedure according to configuration 1. In some implementations, if configuration 1 configures UE 102 to perform a random access procedure, UE 102 performs a random access procedure in event 316. For example, configuration 1 includes a reconfiguration configuration with synchronization (e.g., ReconfigurationWithSync IE) to configure UE 102 to perform a random access procedure. Otherwise, if configuration 1 does not configure UE 102 to perform a random access procedure or configures UE 102 to skip a random access procedure, UE 102 avoids performing a random access procedure with base station 104 upon receiving a first configuration activation command. In such a case, UE 102 skips event 316. For example, if configuration 1 excludes a reconfiguration configuration with synchronization, configuration 1 configures UE 102 not to perform a random access procedure. In some implementations, the random access procedure is a four-step random access procedure. In other implementations, the random access procedure is a two-step random access procedure. In some implementations, the random access procedure is a contention-free random access procedure. In other implementations, the random access procedure is a contention-based random access procedure.

[0136] In the case where the UE 102 performs 316 a random access procedure, the UE 102 communicates 318 with the base station 104 on the cell 124B according to configuration 1 after successfully completing the random access procedure. For example, the UE 102 communicates UL PDUs, DL PDUs, and / or physical layer signals (e.g., PUCCH transmissions and PDCCH transmissions) with the base station 104 in event 318. In such a case, when the UE 102 receives a contention resolution from the base station 104, the UE 102 successfully completes the random access procedure. In the case where the random access procedure is a four-step random access procedure, the UE 102 sends a message 3 including a UE identity to the base station 104 via the cell 124B during the random access procedure. In the case where the random access procedure is a two-step random access procedure, the UE 102 sends a message A including a UE identity to the base station 104 via the cell 124B during the random access procedure. In some implementations, if configuration 1 includes a second C-RNTI, the UE identity is the second C-RNTI of the UE 102. Otherwise, if configuration 1 does not include a C-RNTI, the UE identity is the first C-RNTI. In the case where the random access procedure is a contention-free random access procedure, the UE 102 sends a dedicated random access preamble to the base station 104 via the cell 124B. In such a case, configuration 1 includes a dedicated random access preamble.

[0137] The base station 104 identifies or determines that the UE 102 is connected to the cell 124B when receiving the UE identification or the dedicated preamble from the UE 102 during the random access procedure.

[0138] In some implementations, UE 102 sends an RRC message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration complete message) to base station 104 via cell 124B to indicate that UE 102 applies configuration 1. In some implementations, UE 102 includes the RRC message in message 3. In further implementations, UE 102 includes the RRC message in message A. In yet further implementations, UE 102 sends the RRC message after completing the random access procedure. In other implementations, if UE 102 maintains communication with base station 104 on cell 124A (i.e., UE 102 is not disconnected from cell 124A), UE 102 sends the RRC message to base station 104 via cell 124A. In yet other implementations, UE 102 avoids sending an RRC message to base station 104 in response to applying configuration 1 or receiving a first configuration activation command.

[0139] In some cases where the UE 102 skips the random access procedure, the UE 102 communicates 318 directly with the base station 104 on the cell 124B according to configuration 1 after (e.g., in response to) receiving the first configuration activation command. For example, the UE 102 communicates UL PDUs, DL PDUs, and / or physical layer signals (e.g., PUCCH transmissions and PDCCH transmissions) with the base station 104 in event 318. In some such cases, the UE 102 sends at least one PUCCH transmission to the base station 104 on the cell 124B according to configuration 1 after (e.g., in response to) receiving the first configuration activation command. In some implementations, the base station 104 sends at least one DCI on the PDCCH on the cell 124B to the UE 102 to command the UE 102 to send at least one PUCCH or PUSCH transmission after sending the first configuration activation command. The base station 104 identifies or determines that the UE 102 is connected to the cell 124B upon receiving the PUCCH or PUSCH transmission. In other implementations, regardless of whether DCI is received on the PDCCH on cell 124B, UE 102 sends at least one PUCCH transmission. Base station 104 identifies or determines that UE 102 is connected to cell 124B upon receiving the PUCCH transmission. In some implementations, UE 102 sends an RRC message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration complete message) to base station 104 via cell 124B in event 318 to indicate that UE 102 applies configuration 1. Base station 104 identifies or determines that UE 102 is connected to cell 124B upon receiving the RRC message. In other implementations, if UE 102 maintains communication with base station 104 on cell 124A (i.e., UE 102 is not disconnected from cell 124A), UE 102 sends an RRC message to base station 104 via cell 124A. In yet other implementations, UE 102 avoids sending an RRC message to base station 104 in response to applying configuration 1 or receiving a first configuration activation command.

[0140] In some implementations, upon determining that UE 102 is connected to cell 124B, sending 312 a first configuration activation command, or receiving 313 an acknowledgement, base station 104 stops communicating with UE 102 on cell 124A. In some implementations, upon determining that UE 102 is connected to cell 124B, sending 312 a first configuration activation command, or receiving 313 an acknowledgement, base station 104 releases resources of cell 124A configured for UE 102.

[0141] Events 304, 306, 308, 310, 312, 314, 316, and 318 are Figure 3 It is collectively referred to as the fast service cell configuration process 390.

[0142] In some implementations, the base station 104 generates configuration 1 and / or configuration 2, ..., N as a full configuration, thereby replacing the first configuration or a specific configuration in the first configuration. If configuration 1 is a full configuration, the UE 102 and the base station 104 replace the first configuration or a specific configuration in the first configuration with configuration 1. Therefore, the UE 102 and the base station 104 communicate 318 with each other based on configuration 1 instead of the first configuration or the specific configuration. In some implementations, the RRC reconfiguration message of event 306 includes an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration. In other implementations, configuration 1 includes an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration. In yet other implementations, the first container includes an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration. In yet other implementations, element 1 (e.g., ConfigToAddModIE, CellGroupConfigToAddMod, MobilityToAddModIE, MobilityConfigToAddMod IE, or CellGroupConfigToAddMod IE) includes an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration. UE 102 determines that configuration 1 is a full configuration based on the indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration. In some implementations, configuration 1 is an indication different from the fullConfig field (e.g., as defined in current 3GPP specifications). In other implementations, configuration 1 is an indication of the fullConfig field (e.g., as defined in current 3GPP specifications) in the RRCReconfiguration message.

[0143] In other implementations, the base station 104 generates configuration 1 and / or configuration 2, ..., N as an incremental configuration that expands at least a portion of the first configuration. In other words, the base station 104 generates configuration 1, ..., N on top of the first configuration. For example, if configuration 1 is an incremental configuration, the UE 102 and the base station 104 utilize configuration 1 to expand at least a portion of the first configuration. Therefore, the UE 102 and the base station 104 communicate 318 with each other based on configuration 1 and the unexpanded portion of the first configuration. In some implementations, configuration 1 includes an indication that configuration 1 is an incremental configuration. In other implementations, the first container includes an indication that configuration 1 is an incremental configuration. In yet other implementations, element 1 includes an indication that configuration 1 is an incremental configuration. UE 102 may determine that configuration 1 is a full configuration based on the indication that configuration 1 is an incremental configuration. In some alternative implementations, configuration 1, the first container, or element 1 excludes the indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration to indicate that configuration 1 is an incremental configuration. In a further implementation, the UE 102 determines that configuration 1 is an incremental configuration based on a determination that the indication is excluded from configuration 1, the first container, or element 1.

[0144] In some implementations, if configuration 1 is a full configuration, after receiving 312 a first configuration activation command, sending 313 an acknowledgement, successfully performing 316 a random access procedure, or receiving a first DCI on a PDCCH addressed to a UE identity of UE 102 on cell 124B (e.g., in response thereto), UE 102 releases the first configuration or a specific configuration in the first configuration. In some implementations, if configuration 1 is a full configuration, after sending 312 a first configuration activation command, receiving 313 an acknowledgement, successfully performing 316 a random access procedure, or receiving a specific transmission from UE 102 on cell 124B (e.g., in response thereto), base station 104 releases the first configuration or a specific configuration in the first configuration. In some implementations, the specific transmission is a PUCCH transmission. In further implementations, the transmission is a PUSCH transmission. In a further implementation, after sending the first configuration activation command, the base station 104 generates a DCI and a CRC for the DCI, scrambles the CRC using the UE identity of the UE 102, and sends the DCI and the scrambled CRC on the PDCCH on the cell 124B. When the UE 102 receives the DCI and the scrambled CRC and verifies that the scrambled CRC is valid using the UE identity, the UE 102 sends a PUSCH transmission to the base station 104 on the cell 124B.

[0145] In some implementations, the first configuration or the specific configuration is a first CellGroupConfig IE (ie, the first configuration includes configuration parameters defined in the first CellGroupConfig IE), and Configuration 1 is a second CellGroupConfig IE.

[0146] In some implementations, the UE 102 uses a UE MAC entity (e.g., MAC 204B) to communicate with the base station 104 (e.g., events 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and / or 312). In some implementations, the base station 104 configures whether the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity upon receiving 312 the first configuration activation command. In some implementations, the base station 104 includes a MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1 to configure the UE 102 to reset the UE MAC entity, and excludes the MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1 to configure the UE 102 not to reset the UE MAC entity. If configuration 1 or element 1 includes a MAC reset indication, upon receiving 312 the first configuration activation command, the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity in response to the MAC reset indication.

[0147] Otherwise, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC reset indication, the UE 102 avoids resetting the UE MAC entity upon or when the first configuration activation command is received. In some implementations, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC reset indication and includes an indication that the configuration is a full configuration, the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity upon or when the first configuration activation command is received. Otherwise, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC reset indication and an indication that the configuration is a full configuration, the UE 102 avoids resetting the UE MAC entity upon or when the first configuration activation command is received.

[0148] In some implementations, the base station 104 uses a base station MAC entity (e.g., NR MAC 204B) to communicate with the UE 102 (e.g., events 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and / or 312). If the base station 104 includes a MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1, then after sending a first configuration activation command in event 312, receiving an acknowledgement in event 313, or determining in event 316 or 318 that the UE 102 is connected to the cell 124B, the base station 104 resets the base station MAC entity in response to the MAC reset indication.

[0149] Otherwise, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC reset indication, base station 104 avoids resetting the base station MAC entity after (e.g., in response to) sending 312 the first configuration activation command. Therefore, after sending the first configuration activation command in event 312, receiving an acknowledgement in event 313, or determining that UE 102 is connected to cell 124B in event 316 or 318, base station 104 continues to use the retained (i.e., non-reset) base station MAC entity to communicate with UE 102. In the case where base station 104 is a decomposed base station, base station 104 may determine whether to include a MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1 based on whether cells 124A and 124B belong to the same DU. If cells 124A and 124B belong to the same DU, base station 104 determines not to include a MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1 or does not include a MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1. Otherwise, if cells 124A and 124B belong to different DUs, base station 104 determines to include the MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1, or includes the MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1.

[0150] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC reset indication in a MAC-CellGroupConfig IE (e.g., CellGroupConfig IE) in Configuration 1. In other implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC reset indication in the CellGroupConfig IE and outside the MAC-CellGroupConfig IE. In still other implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC reset indication in Element 1 and outside Configuration 1.

[0151] In some implementations, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC reset indication and includes an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration, then after sending the first configuration activation command in event 312, receiving an acknowledgement in event 313, or determining that UE 102 is connected to cell 124B in event 316 or 318, base station 104 resets the base station MAC entity. Alternatively, base station 104 releases the base station MAC entity and establishes a new base station MAC entity for communicating with UE 102 via cell 124B, rather than resetting the base station MAC entity. Otherwise, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC reset indication and an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration, base station 104 avoids resetting the base station MAC entity after (e.g., in response to) sending the first configuration activation command in event 312.

[0152] In some alternative implementations, the base station 104 includes a MAC retention indication in a configuration or element (e.g., configuration 1 or element 1) to configure the UE 102 not to reset the UE MAC entity, and excludes the MAC retention indication in the configuration or element to configure the UE 102 to reset the UE MAC entity. If the configuration or element includes the MAC retention indication, upon receiving a configuration activation command (e.g., a first configuration activation command), the UE 102 avoids resetting the UE MAC entity in response to the MAC retention indication. Otherwise, if the configuration or element does not include the MAC retention indication, the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity at or when the configuration activation command is received.

[0153] The base station 104 uses a base station MAC entity (e.g., NR MAC 204B) to communicate with the UE 102 (e.g., events 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and / or 312). If the base station 104 includes a MAC retention indication in a configuration or element (e.g., configuration 1 or element 1), then after sending a configuration activation command (e.g., a first configuration activation command) to the UE 102, the base station 104 avoids resetting the base station MAC entity in response to the MAC retention indication. Therefore, after sending 312 the first configuration activation command, receiving 313 an acknowledgment, or determining in events 316 or 318 that the UE 102 is connected to the cell 124B, the base station 104 continues to use the retained (i.e., not reset) base station MAC entity to communicate with the UE 102.

[0154] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC reservation indication in a MAC-CellGroupConfig IE (e.g., CellGroupConfig IE) in configuration 1. In other implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC reservation indication in the CellGroupConfig IE and outside the MAC-CellGroupConfig IE. In still other implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC reservation indication in element 1 and outside configuration 1.

[0155] Otherwise, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC retention indication, the base station 104 resets the base station MAC entity after (e.g., in response to) sending 312 the first configuration activation command. In some cases where the base station 104 is a decomposed base station, the base station 104 determines whether to include a MAC reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1 based on whether the cells 124A and 124B belong to the same DU. If the cells 124A and 124B belong to the same DU, the base station 104 determines to include the MAC retention indication in configuration 1 or element 1. Otherwise, if the cells 124A and 124B belong to different DUs, the base station 104 determines not to include the MAC retention indication in configuration 1 or element 1.

[0156] In some implementations, the base station 104 may or may not include an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration. If the base station 104 includes an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration in configuration 1 or element 1, the base station 104 avoids including the MAC reservation indication in configuration 1 or element 1. Otherwise, in further implementations, if the base station 104 does not include an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration in configuration 1 or element 1, the base station 104 includes the MAC reservation indication in configuration 1 or element 1.

[0157] In a further alternative implementation, the base station 104 includes a MAC partial reset indication in a configuration or element (e.g., configuration 1 or element 1) to configure the UE 102 to partially reset the UE MAC entity, and excludes the MAC partial reset indication in the configuration or element to configure the UE 102 to completely reset the UE MAC entity. If the configuration or element includes the MAC partial reset indication, the UE 102 partially resets the UE MAC entity upon receiving a configuration activation command (e.g., a first configuration activation command). Otherwise, if the configuration or element does not include the MAC partial reset indication, the UE 102 completely resets the UE MAC entity after receiving the configuration activation command (e.g., in response thereto). In some implementations, when the UE partially resets the UE MAC entity, the UE 102 retains (e.g., maintains or keeps) the operating state of the UE MAC entity, or omits one or more actions that the UE 102 can perform when the UE 102 completely resets the UE MAC entity.

[0158] If the base station 104 includes a MAC partial reset indication in a configuration or element (e.g., configuration 1 or element 1), then after sending a configuration activation command (e.g., a first configuration activation command) to the UE 102, the base station 104 partially resets the base station MAC entity in response to the MAC partial reset indication.

[0159] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC partial reset indication in a MAC-CellGroupConfig IE (e.g., CellGroupConfig IE) in configuration 1. In other implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC partial reset indication in the CellGroupConfig IE and outside the MAC-CellGroupConfig IE. In still other implementations, the base station 104 includes the MAC partial reset indication in element 1 and outside configuration 1.

[0160] Otherwise, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include a MAC partial reset indication, the base station 104 completely resets the base station MAC entity after (eg, in response to) sending 312 the first configuration activation command.

[0161] In some implementations, the base station 104 includes or does not include an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration. In some implementations, if the base station 104 includes an indication in configuration 1 or element 1 that configuration 1 is a full configuration, the base station 104 avoids including a MAC partial reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1. Otherwise, in further implementations, if the base station 104 does not include an indication in configuration 1 or element 1 that configuration 1 is a full configuration, the base station 104 includes a MAC partial reset indication in configuration 1 or element 1. In some alternative implementations, in the case where the base station 104 includes an indication in configuration 1 or element 1 that configuration 1 is a full configuration, the base station 104 includes a MAC partial reset indication.

[0162] In some implementations, the base station 104 does not include an indication related to resetting the UE MAC entity in a configuration or element (e.g., configuration 1 or element 1) or an RRC message (e.g., event 306) that includes the configuration or element. In such a case, the UE 102 partially resets the UE MAC entity after (e.g., in response to) receiving the first configuration activation command. In such a case, the base station 104 partially resets the base station MAC entity after sending the first configuration activation command, receiving 331 an acknowledgment, performing 336 a random access procedure with the UE 102, or determining that the UE 102 is connected to the cell 124B.

[0163] In some implementations, when the UE 102 determines to reset the UE MAC entity or resets the UE MAC entity as described above, the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity before performing 316 a random access procedure or communicating 318 with the base station 104 via the cell 124B. In some implementations, when the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity, the UE 102 performs at least one of the following actions for the UE MAC entity (i.e., a UE MAC reset or a complete UE MAC reset): (i) initialize Bj of the configured logical channel to zero; (ii) stop one or more timers; (iii) if the UE 102 is configured to perform a random access procedure (e.g., event 316) in a configuration (e.g., configuration 1), then timeAlignmentTimer is considered expired; (iv) a new data indicator (NDI) for the UL HARQ process is set to a value of 0; (v) the NDI for the HARQ process ID is set to a value of 0 for monitoring the PDCCH in sidelink resource allocation mode 1; (vi) the Msg3 buffer is flushed; (vii) the MSGA buffer is flushed; (viii) the triggered scheduling request procedure is canceled (if any); (ix) the triggered buffer status report procedure is canceled (if any); (x) the triggered power headroom report procedure is canceled (if any); (xi) the triggered consistent L BT failure; (xii) cancel (if any) the triggered BFR; (xiii) cancel (if any) the triggered sidelink buffer status report process; (xiv) cancel (if any) the triggered preemption buffer status report process; (xv) cancel (if any) the triggered timing advance reporting process; (xvi) cancel (if any) the triggered recommended bit rate query process; (xvii) cancel (if any) the triggered configured uplink grant confirmation; (xviii) cancel (if any) the triggered configured sidelink grant confirmation; (xix) cancel (if any) the triggered expected protection symbol query; (xx) cancel (if any) the triggered positioning measurement gap activation / deactivation request process; (xxi) refresh the DL soft buffer for the HARQ process; (xxii) for each DL HARQ process in the DL HARQ process, treat the next received transmission of the TB as the first transmission; (xxiii) release (if any) the temporary C-RNTI; (xiv) reset one or more counters (e.g., BFI_COUNTER and / or LBT_COUNTER); (xxv) and so on.

[0164] In some implementations, when the base station 104 resets the base station MAC entity, the base station 104 performs at least one of the following actions for the base station MAC entity (i.e., a base station MAC reset or a full base station MAC reset): (i) stop one or more timers; (ii) if the UE 102 is configured in the configuration (e.g., configuration 1) to perform a random access process (e.g., event 332), the timeAlignmentTimer started and / or maintained by the base station 104 for the UE 102 is considered expired; (iii) the NDI for the DL HARQ process is set to a value of 0; (iv) the soft buffer for the UL HARQ process is refreshed; (v) for each UL HARQ process in the UL HARQ process, the next received transmission of the TB is considered the first transmission; (vi) one or more counters (e.g., BFI_COUNTER / or LBT_COUNTER) are reset; (vii) and the like.

[0165] Depending on the implementation, the UE 102 determines to partially or completely reset the UE MAC entity. In some implementations, when the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity as described above, the UE 102 completely resets the UE MAC entity (i.e., a complete UE MAC reset). In a complete UE MAC reset, the UE 102 performs some or all of the above actions. In other implementations, when the UE 102 resets the UE MAC entity as described above, the UE 102 partially resets the UE MAC entity (i.e., a partial UE MAC reset). In a partial UE MAC reset, the UE 102 performs a subset or portion of some or all of the actions in the complete UE MAC reset.

[0166] In some implementations, the partial UE MAC reset includes at least one of the following actions: (i) if UE 102 is configured in a configuration (e.g., configuration 1) to perform a random access procedure (e.g., event 332), then the timeAlignmentTimer of UE 102 is considered expired; (ii) flushing the Msg3 buffer; (iii) flushing the MSGA buffer; (iv) releasing (if any) the temporary C-RNTI; and / or (v) resetting one or more counters (e.g., BFI_COUNTER and / or LBT_COUNTER).

[0167] In some implementations, the partial UE MAC reset further includes at least one of the following actions: (i) cancelling (if any) the triggered scheduling request process; (ii) cancelling (if any) the triggered buffer status reporting process; (iii) cancelling (if any) the triggered power headroom reporting process; (iv) cancelling (if any) the triggered consistent LBT failure; (v) cancelling (if any) the triggered BFR; (vi) cancelling (if any) the triggered sidelink buffer status reporting process; (vii) cancelling (if any) the triggered preemption buffer status reporting process; (viii) cancelling (if any) the triggered timing advance reporting process; (ix) cancelling (if any) the triggered recommended bit rate query process; (x) cancelling (if any) the triggered configured uplink grant confirmation; (xi) cancelling (if any) the triggered configured sidelink grant confirmation; (xii) cancelling (if any) the triggered expected protection symbol query; and / or (xiii) cancelling (if any) the triggered positioning measurement gap activation / deactivation request process.

[0168] In some implementations, the partial UE MAC reset further includes at least one of the following actions: (i) stopping a first portion of one or more timers and retaining the remainder of one or more timers; (ii) setting a new data indicator (NDI) for the UL HARQ process to a value of 0; (iii) setting the NDI for the HARQ process ID to a value of 0 for monitoring the PDCCH in sidelink resource allocation mode 1; (iv) flushing a soft buffer for the DL HARQ process; and / or (v) for each DL HARQ process in the DL HARQ process, treating the next received transmission of the TB as the first transmission.

[0169] Depending on the implementation, the base station 104 determines to partially or completely reset the base station MAC entity. In some implementations, when the base station 104 resets the base station MAC entity as described above, the base station 104 completely resets the base station MAC entity (i.e., a complete base station MAC reset). In a complete base station MAC reset, the base station 104 performs some or all of the above actions. In other implementations, when the base station 104 resets the base station MAC entity as described above, the base station 104 partially resets the base station MAC entity (i.e., a partial base station MAC reset). In a partial base station MAC reset, the base station 104 performs a subset or portion of some or all of the actions in the complete base station MAC reset.

[0170] In some implementations, the partial base station MAC reset includes at least one of the following actions in the partial MAC reset: (i) if UE 102 is configured in a configuration (e.g., configuration 1) to perform a random access procedure (e.g., event 332), then the timeAlignmentTimer started and / or maintained by the base station 104 for UE 102 is considered expired; and / or (ii) resetting one or more counters (e.g., BFI_COUNTER and / or LBT_COUNTER).

[0171] In some implementations, when a partial base station MAC reset includes at least one of the following actions for the MAC entity (i.e., a base station MAC reset): (i) stopping a first portion of one or more timers and retaining the remainder of one or more timers; (ii) setting the NDI for the DL HARQ process to a value of 0; (iii) flushing the soft buffer for the UL HARQ process; (iv) for each UL HARQ process in the UL HARQ process, treating the next received transmission of the TB as the first transmission; and / or (v) resetting one or more counters (e.g., BFI_COUNTER and / or LBT_COUNTER).

[0172] In some implementations, configuration 1 includes or does not include one or more RLC reestablishment indications (e.g., reestablishRLC fields) that configure UE 102 to reestablish one or more RLC entities (e.g., RLC 206B) that UE 102 uses to communicate with base station 104 (e.g., events 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and / or 312). If configuration 1 includes an RLC reestablishment indication that configures UE 102 to reestablish an RLC entity (e.g., RLC 206B) that UE 102 uses to communicate RLC PDUs (e.g., events 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and / or 312) with base station 104, UE 102 reestablishes the RLC entity in response to the RLC reestablishment indication. In some implementations, UE 102 reestablishes the RLC entity before performing 316 a random access procedure or communicating 318 with base station 104 via cell 124B. In other implementations, the UE 102 reestablishes the RLC entity when or after performing the random access procedure 316. In some implementations, when the UE 102 reestablishes the RLC entity, the UE 102 performs at least one of the following actions for the RLC entity: (i) discarding the RLC SDU, RLC SDU segment, and RLC PDU (if any); (ii) stopping and resetting the timer (if running); (iii) resetting the state variable to an initial value; (iv), etc. In some implementations, the state variables and timers are currently defined (e.g., in 3GPP specification 38.322).

[0173] Otherwise, if configuration 1 does not include an RLC re-establishment indication for the RLC entity, the UE 102 avoids re-establishing the RLC entity upon or when the first configuration activation command is received. In other words, the UE 102 avoids performing actions for re-establishing the RLC entity of the UE 102 upon or when the first configuration activation command is received. In some implementations, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include an RLC re-establishment indication and includes an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration, the UE 102 re-establishes the RLC entity of the UE 102 upon or when the first configuration activation command is received. Otherwise, if configuration 1 or element 1 does not include an RLC re-establishment indication and an indication that configuration 1 is a full configuration, the UE 102 avoids re-establishing the RLC entity upon or when the first configuration activation command is received.

[0174] Similarly, the base station 104 reestablishes the RLC entity (e.g., NR RLC 206B) used by the base station 104 to communicate with the RLC entity of the UE 102 (e.g., events 302, 304, 306, 308, 310, and / or 312) in response to the RLC reestablishment indication. In some implementations, the base station 104 reestablishes the RLC entity after sending the first configuration activation command, receiving an acknowledgment for the first configuration activation command from the UE 102, or determining that the UE 102 is connected to the cell 124B. In some implementations, the acknowledgment is a HARQ ACK. In other implementations, the acknowledgment is a MAC CE. In yet other implementations, the acknowledgment is a PUCCH transmission. In some implementations, when the base station 104 reestablishes the RLC entity, the base station 104 performs at least one of the following actions for the RLC entity: (i) discarding the RLC SDU, RLC SDU segment, and RLC PDU (if any); (ii) stopping and resetting the timer (if running); (iii) resetting the state variable to an initial value; (iv), etc. In some implementations, the state variables and timers are currently defined (e.g., in 3GPP specification 38.322).

[0175] In some implementations, the above description for configuration 1 also applies to configurations 2, ..., N.

[0176] Next reference Figure 4A, in scenario 400A, base station 106 operates as a MN and base station 104 operates as a SN. Initially, UE 102 in DC communicates with MN 106 and SN 104. In event 402, UE 102 communicates with SN 104 on cell 124A according to a first configuration, similar to event 302. In some implementations, UE 102 in DC communicates 402 UL PDUs and / or DL ​​PDUs with MN 106 and / or SN 104 via a radio bearer, which may include SRBs and / or DRBs. In further implementations, MN 106 and / or SN 104 configures a radio bearer for UE 102. UE 102 in DC communicates 402 UL PDUs and / or DL ​​PDUs with SN 104 on an SCG that SN 104 configures for communicating with UE 102. UE 102 in DC communicates UL PDUs and / or DL ​​PDUs with MN 106 on MCG according to MN configuration (i.e., MCG configuration). In some implementations, the first configuration is SN configuration (i.e., SCG configuration). In the MN configuration, MN 106 configures MCG, which includes at least one service cell operated by MN 106 (e.g., cell 126 and / or other cells). In the first configuration, SN106A configures SCG, which includes at least one service cell operated by SN 104 (e.g., cell 124A and / or other cells). In some implementations, the MN configuration includes multiple configuration parameters, and UE 102 receives the configuration parameters in one or more RRC messages from MN 106. In other implementations, the first configuration includes multiple configuration parameters, and UE 102 (e.g., via MN 106) receives the configuration parameters in one or more RRC messages from SN 104 or on an SRB (e.g., SRB3) configured by MN 106 or SN 104 for exchanging RRC messages between UE 102 and SN 104.

[0177] In some implementations, when UE 102 communicates with MN 106 and SN 104 under DC, MN 106 performs 490 a fast serving cell change procedure with UE 102. In further implementations, when communicating with MN 106 and SN 104 under DC, UE 102 sends 401 at least one measurement report to MN 106 via cell 126, similar to event 304. MN 106 then sends 403 at least one measurement report to SN 104. In some implementations, MN 106 generates at least one interface message including at least one measurement report, and sends at least one interface message to SN 104 in event 403. In some implementations, the at least one interface message includes an RRC transfer message and / or an SN modification request message. Alternatively, UE 102 sends 404 at least one measurement report to SN 104 via cell 124A, similar to event 304.

[0178] After receiving at least one measurement report (e.g., in response thereto) or while the base station 104 is communicating with the UE 102, the base station 104 determines to prepare the cell 124B, such as for Figure 3 Events 406, 408, 410, 412, 413, 414, 416, and 418 are similar to events 306, 308, 310, 312, 313, 314, 316, and 318, respectively. After receiving the first configuration activation command, sending an acknowledgment, or determining that UE 102 is connected to cell 124B, UE 102 operating with MN 106 and SN 104 under DC communicates 418 with SN 104 on cell 124B according to configuration 1, similar to event 318.

[0179] Next reference Figure 4B , scenario 400B is generally similar to scenario 400A, except that SN 104 sends 405, 407 an RRC reconfiguration message to UE 102 via MN 106 and receives 409, 411 an RRC reconfiguration complete message from UE 102 via MN 106. In some implementations, SN 104 generates a first interface message (e.g., an SN modification required message, an SN modification required message, or an RRC transfer message) including the RRC reconfiguration message, and sends the first interface message to MN 106 at event 405. In some implementations, MN 106 generates a second interface message (e.g., an SN reconfiguration complete message or an RRC transfer message) including the RRC reconfiguration complete message, and sends the second interface message to SN 104 at event 411.

[0180] Next, refer to FIG. 5A to FIG. 10Several example methods implemented in one or more RAN nodes such as a base station, DU or CU or in the RAN to support configuring a configuration and later activating the configuration are discussed. Figures 3 to 4B The examples and implementations described may be applicable to FIG. 5A to FIG. 10 .

[0181] Figure 5A A method 500A is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0182] Method 500A begins at block 502, where a RAN node communicates with a UE (e.g., via at least one cell) (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 504, the RAN node sends at least one ID and at least one configuration to the UE (e.g., via a first cell of the at least one cell), where each ID of the at least one ID identifies a specific configuration of the at least one configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 506, the RAN node sends a first configuration activation command indicating a first ID of the at least one ID to the UE to activate the first configuration identified by the first ID (e.g., events 310, 410, 390, 490). At block 508, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the first configuration (e.g., via a second cell) after sending the first configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490). In some implementations, at block 510, the RAN node retains the remainder of the at least one configuration after sending the first configuration activation command. In further implementations, at block 512, the RAN node sends a second configuration activation command including a second ID in the at least one ID to the UE to activate the second configuration identified by the second ID (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). In still further implementations, at block 514, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the second configuration (e.g., via a third cell) in response to the second configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0183] Figure 5Bis a flow chart of an example method 500B that is similar to method 500A, except that method 500B includes box 511 instead of boxes 510, 512, and 514. At box 511, the RAN node releases the remainder of at least one configuration in response to sending the first configuration activation command. In some implementations, the RAN node sends an RRC message including the second configuration and the third configuration to the UE (e.g., events 316, 318, 416, 418). In other implementations, the RAN node sends a first RRC message including the second configuration to the UE (e.g., events 316, 318, 416, 418), and sends a second RRC message including the third configuration to the UE. In some implementations, the first and second RRC messages are RRC reconfiguration messages. In some implementations, one of the second configuration and the third configuration is configuration 1, and the other is for Figure 3 One of the configurations 2, ..., N described.

[0184] Fig. 6A A method 600A is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for sending a serving cell configuration to a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0185] Method 600A begins at block 602, where the RAN node determines to send a configuration to the UE. At block 604, the RAN node determines whether to trigger the configured application by a configuration activation command. If the configured application is to be triggered by a configuration activation command, the flow proceeds to block 606. At block 606, the RAN node includes the configuration in a container. At block 608, the RAN node sends an RRC message (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490) including the container to the UE. Otherwise, if the configured application is not to be triggered by a configuration activation command, the flow proceeds to block 610. At block 610, the RAN node avoids including the configuration in the container. At block 612, the RAN node sends an RRC message including the configuration to the UE. In some implementations, the RRC message is an RRC reconfiguration message. In some implementations, the configuration at block 612 is a cell group configuration (e.g., CellGroupConfigIE).

[0186] Figure 6B6 is a flow chart of an example method 600B similar to method 600A, except that method 600B includes block 613 instead of block 612. At block 613, the RAN node sends the configuration to the UE. In some implementations, the configuration is an RRC reconfiguration message. In such cases, the RAN node sends the configuration to the UE without using an RRC message to send the configuration. In further implementations, the RAN node generates a PDCP PDU including the configuration and sends the PDCP PDU to the UE.

[0187] Figure 7 A method 700A is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for adding, modifying, and / or releasing a serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0188] Method 700 begins at block 702, where a RAN node communicates with a UE (e.g., via at least one cell) (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 704, the RAN node sends a first list including configurations 1, ..., N and IDs 1, ..., N to the UE, where N is an integer and greater than zero, and the IDs 1, ..., N identify configurations 1, ..., N, respectively (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 706, the RAN node sends a second list including at least one first configuration and at least one first ID in IDs 1, ..., N to the UE to replace at least one second configuration in configurations 1, ..., N, where each first ID in the at least one first ID identifies a specific first configuration in the at least one first configuration. At block 708, the RAN node replaces the at least one second configuration with at least one first target configuration. At block 710, the RAN node sends a third list including at least one second ID among IDs 1, ..., N to the UE to release at least one of configurations 1, ..., N. At block 712, the RAN node releases at least one configuration identified by the at least one second ID.

[0189] Figure 8 A method 800 is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN (eg, the RAN 105) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, the UE 102).

[0190] Method 800 starts at block 802, where the RAN communicates with the UE using the MN and SN of the RAN under DC (e.g., event 402). The process can proceed to block 804 and / or block 810. At block 804, the RAN sends at least one first ID and at least one first configuration to the UE through the MN, wherein each of the at least one first ID identifies a specific configuration in the at least one first configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 490). At block 806, the RAN sends a first configuration activation command indicating a first ID in the at least one first ID to the UE through the MN to activate the first configuration identified by the first ID (e.g., events 310, 390, 490). At block 808, the RAN communicates with the UE via the MN using the first configuration after sending the first configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 490).

[0191] At block 810, the RAN sends at least one second ID and at least one second configuration to the UE through the SN, wherein each of the at least one second ID identifies a specific configuration in the at least one second configuration (e.g., events 406, 405, 407). At block 812, the RAN sends a second configuration activation command indicating a second ID in the at least one second ID to the UE through the SN to activate the second configuration identified by the second ID (e.g., event 410). At block 814, the RAN communicates with the UE through the SN using the second configuration after sending the second configuration activation command (e.g., events 416, 418).

[0192] Fig. 9 A method 900 is illustrated that may be implemented by a SN (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0193] Method 900 starts at box 902, where the SN communicates with the UE using the MN and the SN under DC (e.g., event 402). At box 904, the SN sends at least one ID and at least one configuration to the UE via a first cell, wherein each ID in the at least one ID identifies a specific configuration in the at least one configuration (e.g., events 406, 405, 407). At box 906, the SN sends a configuration activation command indicating an ID in the at least one ID to the UE to activate the configuration identified by the ID (e.g., event 410). At box 908, the SN communicates with the UE via a second cell according to the configuration after sending the configuration activation command (e.g., events 416, 418). In some implementations, at box 910, the SN sends the cell ID of the second cell and / or the carrier frequency of the second cell to the MN.

[0194] In some implementations, the SN sends the configuration to the MN. In some implementations, after sending a configuration activation command, receiving a confirmation from the UE for the configuration activation command (e.g., event 411), or determining that the UE is connected to the second cell (e.g., events 416, 418), the SN sends the cell ID, carrier frequency and / or configuration of the second cell to the MN. In some implementations, the SN sends an SN message (e.g., an SN modification request message) including the cell ID, carrier frequency and / or configuration of the second cell to the MN. Therefore, the MN can coordinate, reconfigure and / or determine the radio resource allocation or configuration for the UE based on the cell ID, carrier frequency and / or configuration. In other implementations, if the configuration, cell ID and / or carrier frequency do not affect the radio resource allocation or configuration configured by the MN for the UE, the SN skips box 910.

[0195] Fig.10 A method 1000 is illustrated that may be implemented by a base station (eg, base station 104) for configuring a serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0196] Method 1000 begins at block 1002, where a base station communicates with a UE via a first cell (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 1004, the base station determines whether the base station is operating as a MN for the UE. If the base station is operating as a MN for the UE, the flow proceeds to block 1006. At block 1006, the base station sends at least one ID and at least one configuration to the UE, wherein each ID in the at least one ID identifies a specific configuration in the at least one configuration and has a specific value in a first range (e.g., events 306, 390). Otherwise, if the base station is not operating as a MN for the UE (i.e., the base station operates as a SN for the UE), the flow proceeds to block 1008. At block 1008, the base station sends at least one ID and at least one configuration to the UE, wherein each ID in the at least one ID identifies a specific configuration in the at least one configuration and has a specific value in a second range (e.g., events 406, 405, 407). The flow proceeds from block 1008 and from block 1006 to block 1010. At block 1010, the base station sends a configuration activation command indicating an ID in at least one ID to the UE to activate the configuration identified by the ID (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 1012, the base station communicates with the UE via the second cell according to the configuration after sending the configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0197] In some implementations, the first range and the second range do not overlap. Therefore, the MN and the SN do not use the same ID for configuring and activating the serving cell configuration. In further implementations, when the UE receives a configuration activation command, the UE uses the ID in the configuration activation command to identify the specific configuration. This simplifies the UE implementation because the UE does not need to determine which node (i.e., MN or SN) sent the configuration activation command.

[0198] Next, refer to FIG. 11A to FIG. 16B Several example methods implemented in a UE to support configuring a configuration and later activating the configuration are discussed. Figures 3 to 4B The examples and implementations described may be applicable to FIG. 11A to FIG. 16B .

[0199] Fig.11A A method 1100A is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0200] Method 1100A starts at block 1102, where the UE communicates with the RAN via at least one cell (e.g., events 302, 402). At block 1104, the UE receives at least one ID and at least one configuration from the RAN via a first cell of the at least one cell, where each ID of the at least one ID identifies a specific configuration of the at least one configuration (e.g., events 306, 406, 405, 407). At block 1106, the UE receives a first configuration activation command including a first ID of the at least one ID from the RAN via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell to activate a first configuration identified by the first ID (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 1108, the UE communicates with the RAN via a third cell using the first configuration in response to the first configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 416, 418). In some implementations, at block 1110, the UE retains the remaining portion of the at least one configuration after receiving the first configuration activation command. In a further implementation, at block 1112, the UE receives (e.g., via a third cell) from the RAN a second configuration activation command including a second ID in the at least one ID to activate a second configuration identified by the second ID (e.g., events 310, 410, 490). At block 1114, the UE communicates with the RAN using the second configuration (e.g., via a third cell) in response to the second configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 416, 418).

[0201] Fig. 11Bis a flow chart of an example method 1100B that is similar to method 1100A, except that method 1100B includes block 1111 instead of blocks 1110, 1112, and 1114. At block 1111, the UE releases a remainder of at least one configuration in response to the first configuration activation command.

[0202] Fig.12 A method 1200 is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0203] Method 1200 starts at block 1202, where the UE communicates with the RAN via at least one cell (e.g., events 302, 402). At block 1204, the UE receives at least one ID and at least one configuration from the RAN via a first cell of the at least one cell, wherein each of the at least one ID identifies a specific configuration of the at least one configuration (e.g., events 306, 406, 405, 407). At block 1206, the UE receives a first configuration activation command including a first ID from the RAN via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 1208, the UE determines whether the first ID is included in the at least one ID. If the first ID is included in the at least one ID, the process proceeds to block 1210. At block 1210, the UE identifies the first configuration from the at least one configuration according to the first ID. At block 1212, the UE communicates with the RAN via a third cell using the first configuration. Otherwise, if the first ID is not included in the at least one ID, the process proceeds to block 1214. At block 1214, the UE ignores or discards the configuration activation command. It is an error condition when the first ID is not included in the at least one ID. However, when the first ID is not included in the at least one ID, the UE avoids performing the RRC connection reestablishment procedure. Therefore, in this case, the UE continues to communicate with the RAN via at least one cell.

[0204] In some implementations, at least one configuration includes Figure 3 , Figure 4A or Figure 4B The configurations 1, ..., N described, and Figure 3 , Figure 4A or Figure 4B The first configuration 1 is described.

[0205] Fig.13 A method 1300 is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0206] Method 1300 begins at block 1302, where the UE receives a configuration from the RAN (e.g., events 302, 306, 402, 404, 406, 405, 407). At block 1304, the UE determines whether the UE receives the configuration in a specific IE. If the UE does not receive the configuration in a specific IE, the flow proceeds to block 1306. At block 1306, the UE immediately applies the configuration to communicate with the RAN (e.g., events 302, 402). Otherwise, if the UE receives the configuration in a specific IE, the flow proceeds to block 1308. At block 1308, the UE stores the configuration (e.g., events 306, 406, 405, 407). At block 1310, the UE refrains from applying the configuration until a configuration activation command is received from the RAN to activate the configuration.

[0207] Fig.14 A method 1400 is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0208] Method 1400 begins at block 1402, where the UE communicates with the RAN (e.g., events 302, 402). At block 1404, the UE receives a first list including configurations 1, ..., N and IDs 1, ..., N from the RAN, where N is an integer and greater than zero, and the IDs 1, ..., N identify configurations 1, ..., N, respectively (e.g., events 306, 406, 405, 407). At block 1406, the UE stores the configurations 1, ..., N and the IDs 1, ..., N. At block 1408, the UE receives a second list including at least one first configuration and at least one first ID in IDs 1, ..., N from the RAN, where each first ID in the at least one first ID identifies a specific first configuration in the at least one first configuration. At block 1410, the UE identifies at least one second configuration identified by the at least one first ID in the stored configurations 1, ..., N. At block 1412, the UE replaces the at least one second configuration with the at least one first configuration. At block 1414, the UE receives a third list including at least one second ID among IDs 1, ..., N from the RAN to release at least one third configuration among configurations 1, ..., N. At block 1416, the UE releases at least one third configuration identified by the at least one second ID.

[0209] Fig.15 A method 1500 is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0210] Method 1500 starts at block 1502, where the UE communicates with a MN and a SN of a RAN under DC (e.g., events 302, 402). The process may proceed to block 1504 and / or block 1510. At block 1504, the UE receives at least one first ID and at least one first configuration from the MN (e.g., events 306, 390, 490), wherein each of the at least one first ID identifies a specific configuration in the at least one first configuration. At block 1506, the UE receives a first configuration activation command including a first ID in the at least one first ID from the MN to activate the first configuration identified by the first ID (e.g., events 310, 390, 490). At block 1508, the UE communicates with the MN using the first configuration in response to the first configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 490). At block 1510, the UE receives at least one second ID and at least one second configuration from the SN, wherein each of the at least one second ID identifies a specific configuration in the at least one second configuration (e.g., events 406, 405, 407). At block 1512, the UE receives from the SN a second configuration activation command including a second ID in the at least one second ID to activate the second configuration identified by the second ID (e.g., event 410). At block 1514, the UE communicates with the SN using the second configuration in response to the second configuration activation command (e.g., events 416, 418).

[0211] Fig.16A A method 1600A is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0212] Method 1600 starts at block 1602, where the UE starts at blocks 1502, 1504, 1506, 1510, and 1512. At block 1604, the UE receives a configuration activation command including a first ID from the RAN (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 1606, the UE determines whether the UE receives the configuration activation command from the MN or the SN. If the UE receives the configuration activation command from the MN, the process proceeds to block 1608. At block 1608, the UE identifies a configuration from at least one first configuration according to the first ID. At block 1610, the UE communicates with the MN using the identified configuration in response to receiving the configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318). Otherwise, if the UE receives the configuration activation command from the SN at block 1606, the process proceeds to block 1612. At block 1612, the UE identifies a configuration from at least one second configuration according to the first ID. At block 1614, the UE communicates with the SN using the identified configuration in response to receiving the configuration activation command (eg, events 416, 418).

[0213] Fig. 16B is a flow chart of an example method 1600B that is similar to method 1600A, except that method 1600B includes blocks 1607 , 1611 , and 1616 .

[0214] If the UE receives a configuration activation command from the MN at block 1606, the flow proceeds to block 1607. At block 1607, the UE determines whether the first ID is included in the at least one first ID. If the first ID is included in the at least one first ID, the flow proceeds to block 1608. Otherwise, if the first ID is not included in the at least one first ID, the flow proceeds to block 1618. At block 1618, the UE ignores or discards the configuration activation command.

[0215] If the UE receives a configuration activation command from the SN at block 1606, the flow proceeds to block 1611. At block 1611, the UE determines whether the first ID is included in at least one second ID. If the first ID is included in at least one second ID, the flow proceeds to block 1612. Otherwise, if the first ID is not included in at least one second ID, the flow proceeds to block 1618.

[0216] Next, refer to Figures 17 to 24 Several example methods implemented in one or more RAN nodes such as a base station, DU or CU or in the RAN to support configuring a configuration and later activating the configuration are discussed. Figures 3 to 4B The examples and implementations described may be applicable to Figures 17 to 24 .

[0217] Fig.17 A method 1700 is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for configuring and activating fast serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0218] Method 1700 begins at block 1702, where the RAN node communicates with the UE via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). Flow may proceed to blocks 1704 and / or 1706. At block 1704, the RAN node sends a second configuration as a full configuration to the UE via a first cell of the at least one cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 1706, the RAN node sends a first configuration activation command to the UE via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 1708, the RAN node communicates with the UE via a third cell using the second configuration instead of the first configuration after sending the first configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0219] At block 1710, the RAN node sends the third configuration as a delta configuration to the UE via the first cell or the second cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 1712, the RAN node sends a second configuration activation command to the UE via the first cell or the second cell to activate the third configuration (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 1714, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the third configuration and at least a portion of the first configuration after sending the second configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0220] In some implementations, the RAN node sends an RRC message including the second configuration and the third configuration to the UE (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). In other implementations, the RAN node sends a first RRC message including the second configuration to the UE (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490), and sends a second RRC message including the third configuration to the UE. In some implementations, the first and second RRC messages are RRC reconfiguration messages. In some implementations, one of the second configuration and the third configuration is configuration 1, and the other is for Figure 3 , Figure 4A or Figure 4B One of the configurations 2, ..., N described.

[0221] Fig.18A A method 1800A is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for configuring and activating fast serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0222] Method 1800A begins at block 1802, where a RAN node communicates with a UE via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 1804, the RAN node generates a second configuration as a full configuration for the UE for later activation. At block 1806, the RAN node generates a container IE including the second configuration and an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration. At block 1808, the RAN node sends a DL message including the container IE to the UE via a first cell or a second cell of the at least one cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 1810, the RAN node sends a configuration activation command to the UE via the first cell or the second cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 1812, the RAN node communicates with the UE via the third cell using the second configuration instead of the first configuration after sending the configuration activation command (eg, events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0223] In some implementations, the second configuration is a CellGroupConfig IE, and the indication is a newly defined field or IE (e.g., in 3GPP specification 38.331 v18.0.0 or later). This field or IE is different from the fullConfig field (e.g., defined in the existing 3GPP specification 38.331 (e.g., v15.7.0)).

[0224] Fig.18B is a flow chart of an example method 1800B that is similar to method 1800A, except that method 1800B includes blocks 1805 and 1809 instead of blocks 1804, 1806, and 1808. At block 1805, the RAN node generates a second configuration as a full configuration for the UE for later activation, and includes an indication in the second configuration that the second configuration is the full configuration. At block 1809, the RAN node sends a DL message including the second configuration to the UE via a first cell or a second cell in at least one cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490).

[0225] In some implementations, the second configuration is the RRCReconfiguration-IEs IE, and the excluded indication is the fullConfig field.

[0226] Fig.19A A method 1900A is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for configuring and activating fast serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0227] Method 1900A begins at block 1902, where a RAN node communicates with a UE via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 1904, the RAN node generates a second configuration as a full configuration for the UE for later activation. At block 1906, the RAN node generates a container IE that includes the second configuration and excludes an indication in the container IE that the second configuration is an incremental configuration. At block 1908, the RAN node sends a DL message including the container IE to the UE via a first cell or a second cell in at least one cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 1910, the RAN node sends a configuration activation command to the UE via the first cell or the second cell in at least one cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 1912, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the second configuration and at least a portion of the first configuration after sending the configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0228] Fig.19B is a flow chart of an example method 1900B that is similar to method 1900A, except that method 1900B includes blocks 1907 and 1909 instead of blocks 1906 and 1908. At block 1907, the RAN node excludes, in the second configuration, an indication indicating that the second configuration is an incremental configuration. At block 1909, the RAN node sends a DL message including the second configuration to the UE via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490).

[0229] against Fig.18A and Fig.18B The described implementations can be applied to Fig.19A and Fig.19B .

[0230] Fig. 20 A method 2000 is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for configuring and activating fast serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0231] Method 2000 begins at block 2002, where a RAN node communicates with a UE via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 2004, the RAN node determines to generate a second configuration for the UE for later activation. At block 2006, the RAN node determines whether the second configuration is to replace the first configuration. If the second configuration is to replace the first configuration, the flow proceeds to block 2008. At block 2008, the RAN node generates the second configuration as a full configuration to replace the first configuration. Otherwise, if the second configuration is not to replace the first configuration, the flow proceeds to block 2010. At block 2010, the RAN node generates the second configuration as an incremental configuration to augment the first configuration. At block 2012, the RAN node sends the second configuration to the UE via a first cell in the at least one cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). The flow proceeds from block 2010 and from block 2008 to block 2012. At block 2014, the RAN node sends a configuration activation command to the UE via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell to activate the second configuration (eg, events 310, 390, 410, 490).

[0232] Fig.21 A method 2100 is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172) for configuring and activating fast serving cell configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102).

[0233] Method 2100 begins at block 2102, where a RAN node communicates with a UE via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 2104, the RAN node sends a second configuration to the UE via a first cell of the at least one cell for later activation (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2106, the RAN node sends a configuration activation command to the UE via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 2108, the RAN node determines whether the RAN node sends an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration. If the RAN node sends an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration, the flow proceeds to block 2110. At block 2110, the RAN node communicates with the UE via the third cell using the second configuration instead of the first configuration after sending the configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490). Otherwise, if the RAN node does not send an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration (i.e., the second configuration is an incremental configuration), the flow proceeds to block 2112. At block 2112, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the second configuration and at least a portion of the first configuration after sending the configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0234] Fig. 22 A method 2200 for configuring a full configuration for a UE (eg, UE 102) is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (eg, base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172).

[0235] Method 2200 begins at block 2202, where a RAN node sends a first RRC message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message) to a first UE including a first IE (e.g., an RRCReconfiguration-IEs IE) and a first indication that the first IE is a full configuration (e.g., a fullConfig field) (e.g., events 306, 406, 405, 407). In some implementations, at block 2204, the RAN node sends a second RRC message (e.g., an RRC recovery message) to the first UE including a second IE (e.g., an RRCesume-IEs IE) and a second indication that the first IE is a full configuration. At block 2206, the RAN node sends a third RRC message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration message) to a third UE including a third IE and a third indication that the third IE (e.g., a CellGroupConfig IE) is a full configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490).

[0236] Fig.23 A method 2300 for different full configurations for a UE (e.g., UE 102) is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (e.g., base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172).

[0237] Method 2300 begins at block 2302, where a RAN node communicates with a UE using a first plurality of configuration parameters. At block 2304, the RAN node sends an RRC message including a second plurality of configuration parameters (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2306, the RAN node determines whether the RRC message includes a first indication or a second indication. If the RRC message includes the first indication, the flow proceeds to block 2308. At block 2308, the RAN node releases the first plurality of configuration parameters. At block 2310, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the second plurality of configuration parameters. Otherwise, if the RRC message includes the second indication, the flow proceeds to block 2312. At block 2312, the RAN node releases a portion of the first plurality of configuration parameters. At block 2314, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the second plurality of configuration parameters and the remaining portion of the first plurality of configuration parameters (e.g., events 318, 390, 418, 490).

[0238] In some implementations, the first indication is a fullConfig field (e.g., defined in 3GPP specification 38.331 v15.9.0 and later versions), and the second indication is a new field or IE (e.g., defined in 3GPP specification 38.331 v18.0.0 and / or later versions). In some implementations, the second indication is a lower layer full configuration indication. In some implementations, the first plurality of configuration parameters includes a radio bearer configuration (e.g., RadioBearerConfig), a measurement configuration (e.g., MeasConfig IE) and / or a cell group configuration (e.g., CellGroupConfig), or includes configuration parameters in a radio bearer configuration, a measurement configuration, a cell group configuration and / or other configurations. In some implementations, the second plurality of configuration parameters includes radio bearer configuration (e.g., RadioBearerConfig IE), measurement configuration (e.g., MeasConfig IE), cell group configuration (e.g., CellGroupConfig IE) and / or other configuration (e.g., OtherConfig IE), or includes configuration parameters in radio bearer configuration, measurement configuration, cell group configuration and / or other configuration. In other implementations, the second plurality of configuration parameters does not include radio bearer configuration (e.g., RadioBearerConfig), measurement configuration (e.g., MeasConfig IE) and / or other configuration (e.g., OtherConfig IE).

[0239] Fig.24 A method 2400 for configuring and activating fast serving cell configuration for a UE (e.g., UE 102) is illustrated that may be implemented by a RAN node (e.g., base station 104 or 106, DU 174, or CU 172).

[0240] Method 2400 begins at block 2402, where the RAN node communicates with the UE using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 402). At block 2404, the RAN node generates a second configuration as a full configuration for the UE. At block 2406, the RAN node sends an RRC message including the second configuration to the UE (e.g., events 306, 406, 405, 407). At block 2408, the RAN node determines whether the second configuration is for later activation. If the second configuration is for later activation, the flow proceeds to block 2410. At block 2410, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the second configuration and a portion of the first configuration (e.g., events 318, 418). Otherwise, if the second configuration is not for later activation, the flow proceeds to block 2412. At block 2412, the RAN node communicates with the UE using the second configuration instead of the first configuration (e.g., events 318, 418).

[0241] Next, refer to FIG. 25A to FIG. 29 Several examples implemented in a UE to support configuring a configuration and later activating the configuration are discussed. Figures 3 to 4B The examples and implementations described may be applicable to FIG. 25A to FIG. 29 .

[0242] Fig.25A A method 2500A is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0243] Method 2500A starts at block 2502, where the UE communicates with the RAN via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). Flow may proceed to block 2504 and / or block 2510. At block 2504, the UE receives a second configuration as a full configuration from the RAN via a first cell of the at least one cell (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2506, the UE receives a first configuration activation command from the RAN via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., events 312, 390, 410, 490). At block 2508, the UE communicates with the RAN using the second configuration instead of the first configuration after sending the first configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490). In some implementations, the second configuration configures the third cell, and the UE communicates with the RAN on the third cell at box 2508. In some implementations, the UE disconnects from the first cell in response to or according to the second configuration and / or the first configuration activation command. In some implementations, the first cell and the third cell are a PCell and a new or target PCell, respectively. In other implementations, the first cell and the third cell are a PSCell and a new or target PSCell, respectively. In further implementations, the first cell and the third cell are a SCell and a new or target SCell, respectively.

[0244] At block 2510, the UE receives a third configuration as an incremental configuration from the RAN via a first cell of at least one cell (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 2512, the UE receives a second configuration activation command from the RAN via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell to activate the third configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2514, the UE communicates with the RAN using the third configuration and at least a portion of the first configuration after sending the third configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490). In some implementations, the third configuration configures the fourth cell, and the UE communicates with the RAN on the fourth cell at block 2514. In some implementations, the UE disconnects from the first cell in response to or according to the third configuration and / or the second configuration activation command. In some implementations, the first cell and the fourth cell are a PCell and a new or target PCell, respectively. In other implementations, the first cell and the fourth cell are a PSCell and a new or target PSCell, respectively. In yet further implementations, the first cell and the fourth cell are a SCell and a new or target SCell, respectively.

[0245] In some implementations, the UE receives an RRC message from the RAN that includes the second configuration and the third configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). In other implementations, the UE receives a first RRC message from the RAN that includes the second configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490), and receives a second RRC message from the RAN that includes the third configuration. In some implementations, the first and second RRC messages are RRC reconfiguration messages. In some implementations, one of the second configuration and the third configuration is configuration 1, and the other is for Figure 3 , Figure 4A or Figure 4B One of the configurations 2, ..., N described.

[0246] Fig.25B2500B, except that method 2500B includes blocks 2507 and 2509 instead of blocks 2506 and 2512. At block 2507, the UE receives a configuration activation command from the RAN via a first cell or a second cell in at least one cell (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 2509, the UE determines whether the configuration activation command activates the second configuration or the third configuration. If the UE determines at block 2509 that the configuration activation command activates the second configuration, the flow proceeds to block 2512. Otherwise, if the UE determines at block 2509 that the configuration activation command activates the third configuration, the flow proceeds to block 2514.

[0247] Fig.26A A method 2600A is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0248] Method 2600A begins at block 2602, where the UE communicates with the RAN via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 2604, the UE receives a DL message including a container IE from the RAN via a first cell of the at least one cell, where the container IE includes a second configuration and an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2606, the UE receives a configuration activation command from the RAN via the first cell or the second cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 2608, the UE communicates with the RAN via a third cell using the second configuration instead of the first configuration after receiving the configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0249] In some implementations, the second configuration is a CellGroupConfig IE, and the indication is a new field or IE (e.g., newly defined in 3GPP specification 38.331 v18.0.0 or later). This field or IE is different from the fullConfig field (e.g., defined in the existing 3GPP specification 38.331 (e.g., v15.7.0)).

[0250] Fig.26Bis a flow chart of an example method 2600B that is similar to method 2600A, except that method 2600B includes block 2605 instead of block 2604. At block 2605, the UE receives a DL message including a second configuration from the RAN via a first cell of at least one cell, wherein the second configuration includes an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490).

[0251] In some implementations, the second configuration is an RRCReconfiguration-IEs IE, and the indication is a fullConfig field.

[0252] Fig.27A A method 2700A is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0253] Method 2700A starts at block 2702, where the UE communicates with the RAN via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 2704, the UE receives a DL message including a container IE from the RAN via a first cell of the at least one cell, where the container IE includes a second configuration and excludes an indication that the second configuration is an incremental configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2706, the UE receives a configuration activation command from the RAN via the first cell or the second cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., events 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 2708, the UE communicates with the RAN using the second configuration and at least a portion of the first configuration after receiving the configuration activation command (e.g., events 316, 318, 390, 416, 418, 490).

[0254] Fig.27B is a flow chart of an example method 2700B that is similar to method 2700A, except that method 2700B includes block 2705 instead of block 2704. At block 2705, the UE receives a DL message including a second configuration from the RAN via a first cell of at least one cell, wherein the second configuration includes the second configuration and excludes an indication that the second configuration is a delta configuration (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490).

[0255] against Fig.26A and Fig.26B The described implementations can be applied to Fig.27A and Fig.27B .

[0256] Fig.28 A method 2800 is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating a serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0257] Method 2800 begins at block 2802, where the UE communicates with the RAN via at least one cell using a first configuration (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 2804, the UE receives a second configuration from the RAN via a first cell of the at least one cell for later activation (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2806, the UE receives a configuration activation command from the RAN via the first cell or the second cell of the at least one cell to activate the second configuration (e.g., 310, 390, 410, 490). At block 2808, the UE determines whether the UE receives an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration. If the UE receives an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration, the flow proceeds to block 2810. At block 2810, the UE communicates with the RAN via a third cell using the second configuration instead of the first configuration after receiving the configuration activation command (e.g., events 318, 390, 418, 490). Otherwise, if the UE does not receive an indication that the second configuration is a full configuration (i.e., the second configuration is an incremental configuration), flow proceeds to block 2812. At block 2812, the UE communicates with the RAN using the second configuration and at least a portion of the first configuration after receiving the configuration activation command (e.g., events 318, 390, 418, 490).

[0258] against FIG. 26A to FIG. 27B The described implementation is applicable to Fig.28 .

[0259] Fig.29 A method 2900 is illustrated that may be implemented by a UE (eg, UE 102) for configuring and activating fast serving cell configuration with a RAN (eg, base station 104 / 106 or DU 174).

[0260] Method 2900 begins at block 2902, where the UE communicates with the RAN via at least one cell using a first plurality of configuration parameters (e.g., events 302, 390, 402, 490). At block 2904, the UE receives an RRC message including a second plurality of configuration parameters (e.g., events 306, 390, 406, 405, 407, 490). At block 2906, the UE determines whether the RRC message includes a first indication or a second indication. If the RRC message includes the first indication, the flow proceeds to block 2908. At block 2908, the UE releases the first plurality of configuration parameters. At block 2910, the UE communicates with the RAN using the second plurality of configuration parameters. Otherwise, if the RRC message includes the second indication, the flow proceeds to block 2912. At block 2912, the UE releases a portion of the first plurality of configuration parameters. At block 2914, the UE communicates with the RAN using the second plurality of configuration parameters and the remaining portion of the first plurality of configuration parameters.

[0261] In some implementations, the first indication is a fullConfig field, and the second indication is a newly defined field or IE (e.g., in 3GPP specification 38.331 v18.0.0 or later). The field or IE is different from the fullConfig field (e.g., defined in the existing 3GPP specification 38.331 (e.g., v15.7.0)). In one implementation, the RRC message is an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message.

[0262] The following description is applicable to the above description.

[0263] In general, the description of one of the figures in the above drawings may apply to another figure in the above drawings. If there is no conflict, the above examples, implementations and methods may be combined. The events or boxes described above may be optional or omitted. For example, the events or boxes with dashed lines in the figures may be optional. In some implementations, "message" is used and "information element (IE)" can be replaced with "message", and vice versa. In some implementations, "IE" is used and "field" can be replaced with "IE", and vice versa. In some implementations, "configuration" or "configuration parameter" can be replaced with "configuration", and vice versa. In some implementations, "service cell change command", "layer 1 / layer 2 handover command", "lower layer handover command" or "lower layer service cell change command" can be replaced with "configuration activation command". "Fast service cell configuration process" can be replaced with "fast service cell change process".

[0264] The user device (e.g., UE 102) in which the technology of the present disclosure can be implemented can be any suitable device capable of wireless communication, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a laptop computer, a mobile game console, a point of sale (POS) terminal, a health monitoring device, a drone, a camera, a media streaming dongle or another personal media device, a wearable device such as a smart watch, a wireless hotspot, a femtocell or a broadband router. Further, in some cases, the user device may be embedded in an electronic system such as a head unit of a vehicle or an advanced driver assistance system (ADAS). Further, the user device may operate as an Internet of Things (IoT) device or a mobile Internet device (MID). Depending on the type, the user device may include one or more general-purpose processors, a computer-readable memory, a user interface, one or more network interfaces, one or more sensors, etc.

[0265] Certain embodiments are described in the present disclosure as including logic or multiple components or modules. A module may be a software module (e.g., a code or machine-readable instruction stored on a non-transitory machine-readable medium) or a hardware module. A hardware module is a tangible unit that is capable of performing certain operations and may be configured or arranged in some manner. A hardware module may include a dedicated circuit system or logic that is permanently configured to perform certain operations (e.g., as a dedicated processor, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a digital signal processor (DSP), etc.). A hardware module may also include a programmable logic or circuit system (e.g., as contained in a general-purpose processor or other programmable processor) that is temporarily configured by software to perform certain operations. The decision to implement a hardware module in a dedicated and permanently configured circuit system or in a temporarily configured circuit system (e.g., configured by software) may be driven by cost and time considerations.

[0266] When implemented in software, the techniques may be provided as part of an operating system, a library used by multiple applications, a specific software application, etc. The software may be executed by one or more general-purpose processors or one or more special-purpose processors.

[0267] After reading this disclosure, those skilled in the art will understand additional and alternative structural and functional designs for handling mobility between base stations through the principles disclosed herein. Therefore, although specific embodiments and applications have been shown and described, it should be understood that the disclosed embodiments are not limited to the precise construction and components disclosed herein. Various modifications, changes and variations that will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art may be made to the arrangement, operation and details of the methods and apparatus disclosed herein without departing from the spirit and scope defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method in a user equipment UE, the method comprising: receiving, in a serving cell, from a radio access network RAN, an incremental configuration related to a target cell for use when accessing the target cell after an activation command; receiving an activation command related to the incremental configuration from the RAN; as well as In response to the activation command from the RAN, communications are initiated on the target cell using the incremental configuration and at least a portion of a previous configuration.

2. The method of claim 2, wherein the receiving of the incremental configuration comprises: An indication is received that the incremental configuration is for later activation at the UE, wherein the UE does not immediately apply the incremental configuration.

3. The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the receiving of the incremental configuration comprises: An indication is received that the incremental configuration is an incremental configuration.

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: Prior to the receiving of the incremental configuration, a full configuration is received for use as the previous configuration when accessing the target cell after the activation command.

5. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising: receiving, in the serving cell, a full configuration from the RAN before the receiving of the activation command, for use when accessing the RAN after the activation command; The activation command indicates that the UE is to use the incremental configuration instead of the full configuration.

6. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein: The UE communicates with the RAN in the serving cell using the previous configuration.

7. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: Resetting the Media Access Control (MAC) entity is avoided in response to an activation command.

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the configuration comprises a random access configuration according to which the UE accesses the target cell.

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the incremental configuration comprises a channel state information (CSI) resource configuration.

10. The method of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the incremental configuration comprises one or more of: (i) Physical layer configuration parameters, (ii) Medium Access Control (MAC) layer configuration parameters, or (iii) Radio Link Control RLC configuration parameters.

11. The method of any one of the preceding claims, further comprising: after receiving the incremental configuration but before receiving the activation command, sending a layer 1 L1 measurement report to the RAN; The activation command is received in response to the L1 measurement report.

12. A user equipment UE, comprising: Transceiver; as well as Processing hardware configured to implement a method as claimed in any one of the preceding claims.

13. A method in a radio access network RAN, the method comprising: Sending, in a serving cell, an incremental configuration related to a target cell to a user equipment UE for use when accessing the target cell after an activation command; Sending an activation command related to the incremental configuration to the UE; as well as Communicating with the UE in the target cell is performed based on the incremental configuration and at least a portion of a previous configuration.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the sending of the incremental configuration comprises: An indication that the incremental configuration is for later activation at the UE is sent, wherein the UE does not immediately apply the incremental configuration.

15. A radio access network RAN, comprising: Transceiver; as well as Processing hardware configured to implement the method of claim 13 or 14.

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