Measurement gaps in multi-radio dual connectivity

Abstract

Wireless communications may be improved to coordinate communications for measurement gaps when there are a primary node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Specifically, for dual connectivity (MR-DC) in multiple radios, the MN and the SN may communicate to improve the use of measurement gaps. The communication may include gap combination assistance information, a gap configuration based on the gap combination assistance information, and a gap association. Embodiments include communication examples that utilize communication between the MN and the SN to handle a measurement gap.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application is mainly directed to wireless communication. More specifically, in a mobile device communication system, communication can be improved for measurement gaps (gaps). Background Art

[0002] Wireless communication technology is driving the world towards an increasingly interconnected and networked society. Wireless communication relies on effective network resource management and allocation between user mobile stations and radio access network nodes (including but not limited to radio base stations). The new generation of networks is expected to provide high-speed, low-latency, and ultra-reliable communication capabilities and meet the needs of different industries and users. User mobile stations or user equipment (UEs) are becoming increasingly complex, and the amount of data transmitted continues to increase. In order to improve communication and meet the reliability requirements of vertical industries and support new generation network services, communication improvements should be made. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This application relates to methods, systems, and devices for wireless communication, in which there are a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN), which can be modified to coordinate communication for measurement gaps. Specifically, for dual connectivity in multi-radio (MR-DC), the MN and the SN can communicate to improve the use of measurement gaps. This communication can include gap or gap combination auxiliary information, gap configuration based on the gap or gap combination auxiliary information, and gap association. Embodiments include communication examples of using the communication between the MN and the SN to handle measurement gaps.

[0004] In one embodiment, a method for wireless communication includes: receiving gap assistance information; generating gap-related configuration based on the received gap assistance information; and transmitting the gap-related configuration. The receiving, generating, and transmitting are from a secondary node (SN). The receiving at the SN is from a master node (MN), and the transmitting from the SN is to the MN. The receiving, generating, and transmitting are from the master node (MN). The receiving at the MN is from the secondary node (SN), and the transmitting from the MN is to the SN. The gap-related configuration includes at least one of a gap pattern configuration, a gap identifier (ID) information, or a gap association information. The gap from the gap assistance information is a period during which a user equipment (UE) performs measurements or operates for a dedicated use case. The gap assistance information includes at least one of a requested or permitted gap type, a requested or permitted gap purpose, a requested or permitted gap pattern, a number of requested or permitted gap patterns, requested or permitted gap combination information, a gap identifier (ID), a gap ID range, or a gap priority information. The gap type includes at least one of the following: a concurrent gap, a preconfigured gap, or a network controlled small gap (NCSG). The gap purpose or the gap pattern includes at least one of the following: a per frequency range (FR) 1 gap, a per FR2 gap, or a per UE gap. The requested or permitted gap combination information includes at least one of the following: a bit string or a bitmap, each position in the bit string or the bitmap indicating whether a corresponding gap combination is requested, or at least one gap combination index. The gap association information includes at least one of the following: a list of one or more measurement gaps associated with a measurement object or a measurement frequency, or a list of one or more measurement gaps associated with a dedicated use case. The gap assistance information includes an indication configured to indicate whether a preconfigured gap is requested or permitted, or which type of preconfigured gap mechanism to use.

[0005] In another embodiment, a method for wireless communication includes receiving gap association information; and updating a measurement configuration based on the received gap association information. The gap association information is used for at least one of the following: a measurement gap associated with a measurement object or a measurement frequency, or a measurement gap associated with a dedicated use case. The gap association information is used for a use case including at least one of the following: positioning reference signaling (PRS) measurement, multi-universal subscriber identity module (MUSIM) operation, non-terrestrial network (NTN) measurement, synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement, channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurement, or E-UTRAN measurement. The gap association information includes a gap ID or a list of gap IDs, where each gap ID is associated with a list of SSB or CSI-RS frequencies to be associated with the measurement gap, or each gap ID is associated with a dedicated use case. The receiving and updating are from a secondary node (SN). The receiving at the SN is from a master node (MN). The gap association information is for frequencies configured by the SN, and the updating includes the SN updating the measurement object configuration to associate the measurement object with the measurement gap. The receiving and updating are from the master node (MN). The receiving at the MN is from the secondary node (SN). The gap association information is for frequencies configured by the MN, and the updating includes the MN updating the measurement object configuration to associate the measurement object with the measurement gap.

[0006] In one embodiment, a wireless communication device includes a processor and a memory, and the processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement any of the above embodiments.

[0007] In one embodiment, a computer program product includes computer-readable program medium code stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement any of the above embodiments.

[0008] In some embodiments, there is a wireless communication device including a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement any method described in any of the embodiments. In some embodiments, a computer program product includes computer-readable program medium code stored thereon, which, when executed by a processor, causes the processor to implement any method described in any of the embodiments. The above and other aspects and their implementations are described in more detail in the drawings, the specification, and the claims. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0009] Figure 1 An example base station is shown.

[0010] Figure 2 An example random access (RA) messaging environment is shown.

[0011] Figure 3 Shows the network architecture of a base station central unit (CU) and a base station distributed unit (DU).

[0012] Figure 4 Shows the network architecture with a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN).

[0013] Figure 5 Shows an example of a process with a concurrent gap embodiment.

[0014] Figure 6 Shows an embodiment of the communication between a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN).

[0015] Figure 7 Shows another embodiment of the communication between a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN). Detailed Description

[0016] The present disclosure will now be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of the present disclosure and illustrate specific examples of embodiments by way of illustration. However, note that the present disclosure can be embodied in various different forms, and thus, the subject matter covered or claimed is intended to be construed as not limited to any of the embodiments set forth below.

[0017] Throughout the specification and claims, terms may have nuanced meanings that are suggested or implied in the context in addition to the explicitly stated meanings. Similarly, the phrases "in one embodiment" or "in some embodiments" used herein do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the phrases "in another embodiment" or "in other embodiments" used herein do not necessarily refer to different embodiments. The phrase "in one embodiment" or "in certain embodiments" used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, and the sentences "in another embodiment" or "in other embodiments" used herein do not necessarily refer to different embodiments. For example, the claimed subject matter is intended to include, in whole or in part, combinations of exemplary embodiments or embodiments.

[0018] Generally, terms can be understood, at least in part, from their use in context. For example, terms such as "and," "or," or "and / or" as used herein may include a variety of meanings that may depend, at least in part, on the context in which such terms are used. Typically, "or" if used to relate a list, such as A, B, or C, is intended to mean A, B, and C in the inclusive sense herein and A, B, or C in the exclusive sense herein. In addition, the term "one or more" or "at least one" as used herein may, at least in part, depend on the context, be used to describe any feature, structure, or characteristic in the singular sense, or may be used to describe a combination of features, structures, and characteristics in the plural sense. Similarly, terms such as "a," "an," or "the" may also be understood to convey a singular usage or a plural usage, at least in part, depending on the context. In addition, the terms "based on" or "determined by" may be understood to not necessarily convey a set of exclusive factors, but may allow for the presence of additional factors that are not necessarily explicitly described, again, at least in part, depending on the context.

[0019] Radio Resource Control ("RRC") is a protocol layer between the UE and the base station at the IP layer (network layer). There may be various Radio Resource Control (RRC) states such as RRC connected (RRC_connected), RRC inactive (RRC_inactive), and RRC idle (RRC_idle) states. RRC messages are transmitted through the Packet Data Convergence Protocol ("PDCP"). As described above, the UE can transmit data through the Random Access Channel ("RACH") protocol scheme or the Configured Grant ("CG") scheme. CG can be used to reduce the waste of periodically allocated resources by enabling multiple devices to share periodic resources. The base station or node can allocate CG resources to eliminate packet transmission delays and improve the utilization of the allocated periodic radio resources. The CG scheme is merely one example of a protocol scheme for communication, and other examples including but not limited to RACH are possible. The wireless communication described herein can be through wireless access.

[0020] There may be a master node (“MN”) and one or more secondary nodes (“SN”). The MN may include a master cell group (“MCG”), while each SN may include a secondary cell group (“SCG”). The MCG is a set of cells provided by the master node (“MN”), and the SCG is a set of cells provided by the secondary node (“SN”). The MCG may include a primary cell (“PCell”) and one or more secondary cells (“SCell”). The SCG may include a primary secondary cell (“PSCell”) and one or more secondary cells (“SCell”). Each primary cell may be connected to multiple secondary cells. The primary cells (PCell, PSCell) are the primary cells of their respective groups (MCG and SCG respectively) and may initiate initial access. The primary cells may be used for signaling and may be referred to as special cells (“spCell”), where spCell = PCell + PSCell. The mobility between the cells described in these embodiments may be based on the PCell, PSCell, and / or SCell. However, as described above, they may be referred to as source cells and target cells. A user equipment (“UE”) terminal may move between nodes or cells, in which case, when the UE moves from a source cell to a target cell, handover or change / add operations may occur to improve the network reliability of the UE.

[0021] A UE in a wireless network may operate in dual connectivity (DC) (including DC within E-UTRA or multi-radio DC (MR-DC)). In an example of DC within E-UTRA, both the MN and the SN provide E-UTRA access. In an example of MR-DC, one node provides New Radio (NR) access while the other node provides E-UTRA or NR access. When operating in DC, a radio bearer (RB) may be configured to utilize MCG resources (MCG bearer) or SCG resources (SCG bearer), or both (split bearer).

[0022] In an MR-DC environment, the master node (MN) may coordinate measurement gap information with the secondary node (SN). The measurement gap information allows the SN to configure and use measurement gaps. This may include establishing a gap association between the measurement gap and the measurement objects configured by the SN. Some coordination processes for the measurement gap information may be required between the MN and the SN, such as the Xn / X2 interface.

[0023] As described below with respect to Figure 1-4 As described, a network provider may include multiple network nodes (i.e., base stations) for providing network access to user equipment (“UE”) terminals. In some embodiments, the network nodes are referred to as base stations. Figure 5 A communication process is shown Figure 6-7 An example of MR-DC communication for gap measurement is shown.

[0024] Figure 1 illustrates an example base station 102. A base station may also be referred to as a radio network node and may be a Figure 3 network node as shown in A-7B (e.g., a master node (“MN”), a secondary node (“SN”), and a source / destination node). In a mobile telecommunications environment, the base station 102 may also be identified as a nodeB (NB, e.g., an eNB or a gNB). The example base station may include radio Tx / Rx circuitry 113 for receiving and transmitting with a user equipment (UE) 104. The base station may also include a network interface circuitry 116 (e.g., optical or wired interconnection, Ethernet, and / or other data transmission media / protocols) to couple the base station to a core network 110.

[0025] The base station may also include a system circuitry 122. The system circuitry 122 may include a processor 124 and / or a memory 126. The memory 126 may include operations 128 and control parameters 130. The operations 128 may include instructions for execution on one or more processors 124 to support the operation of the base station. For example, these operations may process random access transmission requests from multiple UEs. The control parameters 130 may include parameters or support the execution of the operations 128. For example, the control parameters may include network protocol settings, random access message format rules, bandwidth parameters, radio frequency mapping assignments, and / or other parameters.

[0026] Figure 2 illustrates an example random access messaging environment 200. In this random access messaging environment, the UE 104 may communicate with the base station 102 via a random access channel 252. In this example, the UE 104 supports one or more user identity modules (SIMs) such as SIM1 202. The electrical and physical interface 206 connects the SIM1 202 to the rest of the user equipment hardware via, for example, a system bus 210.

[0027] The mobile device 200 includes a communication interface 212, system logic 214, and a user interface 218. The system logic 214 can include any combination of hardware, software, firmware, or other logic. The system logic 214 can be implemented using, for example, one or more system-on-chips (SoCs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), discrete analog and digital circuits, and other circuitry. The system logic 214 is part of the implementation of any desired functionality in the UE 104. In this regard, the system logic 214 can include logic for facilitating, for example, decoding and playing music and videos (such as MP3, MP4, MPEG, AVI, FLAC, AC3, or WAV decoding and playing); running applications; accepting user input; saving and retrieving application data; establishing, maintaining, and terminating cellular phone calls or data connections, as an example, for Internet connectivity; establishing, maintaining, and terminating wireless network connections, Bluetooth connections, or other connections; and displaying relevant information on the user interface 218. The user interface 218 and input 228 can include a graphical user interface, a touch-sensitive display, haptic feedback or other haptic output, voice or facial recognition input, buttons, switches, speakers, and other user interface elements. Other examples of the input 228 include a microphone, video and still image cameras, temperature sensors, vibration sensors, rotation and orientation sensors, headphone and microphone input / output jacks, universal serial bus (USB) connectors, memory card slots, radiation sensors (such as IR sensors), and other types of input.

[0028] The system logic 214 can include one or more processors 216 and a memory 220. The memory 220 stores, for example, control instructions 222, and the processor 216 executes the control instructions 222 to perform the desired functionality of the UE 104. Control parameters 224 provide and specify configuration and operation options for the control instructions 222. The memory 220 can also store any BT, WiFi, 3G, 4G, 5G, or other data 226 that the UE 104 will send or has received via the communication interface 212. In various embodiments, the system power can be provided by a power storage device such as a cell 282.

[0029] In the communication interface 212, radio frequency (RF) transmit (Tx) and receive (Rx) circuits 230 process the transmission and reception of signals via one or more antennas 232. The communication interface 212 can include one or more transceivers. The transceiver can be a wireless transceiver that includes modulation / demodulation circuitry, digital-to-analog converters (DACs), shaping tables, analog-to-digital converters (ADCs), filters, waveform shapers, filters, preamplifiers, power amplifiers, and / or other logic for transmitting and receiving via one or more antennas or (for some devices) via a physical (such as wired) medium.

[0030] The signals transmitted and received can follow any one of various formats, protocols, modulations (such as QPSK, 16-QAM, 64-QAM, or 256-QAM), frequency channels, bit rates, and codings. As a specific example, the communication interface 212 can include a transceiver that supports transmission and reception under 2G, 3G, BT, WiFi, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA)+, and 4G / Long-Term Evolution (LTE) standards. However, the techniques described below are applicable to other wireless communication technologies, whether from the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), GSM Association, 3GPP2, IEEE, or other partners or standards bodies.

[0031] Multiple RAN nodes (such as eNB, gNB) of the same or different radio access technologies (“RAT”) can be deployed in the same or different frequency carriers in certain geographical areas, and they can cooperate with each other through dual-connectivity operation to provide joint communication services for the same target UE. The multi-RAT dual-connectivity (“MR-DC”) architecture can have a non-quasi-co-located master node (“MN”) and secondary node (“SN”). The Access and Mobility Management Function (“AMF”) and Session Management Function (“SMF”) can be control plane entities, while the User Plane Function (“UPF”) is a user plane entity in New Radio (“NR”) or 5GC. The signaling connection between the AMF / SMF and the master node (“MN”) can be the Next Generation Control Plane (“NG-C”) / MN interface. The signaling connection between the MN and the SN can be the Xn-Control Plane (“Xn-C”) interface. The signaling connection between the MN and the UE is the Uu Control Plane (“Uu-C”) RRC interface. All these connections manage the configuration and operation of the MR-DC. The user plane connection between the User Plane Function (“UPF”) and the MN can be an NG-U (MN) interface instance.

[0032] Figure 3 A network architecture of a base station central unit (CU) and a base station distributed unit (DU) is shown. Figure 3 A base station (labeled “gNB”) communicating with the entire network (labeled (“5GC”) is shown. The base stations can communicate with each other through the control plane interface (“Xn-C”). One base station is shown to have one CU that is connected to two DUs through the F1 interface. This is just an example of the base station arrangement. As described below, the base station can be a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN).

[0033] In Figure 3In this case, the base station can be divided into two physical entities, namely the Centralized Unit (“CU”) and the Distributed Unit (“DU”). Generally, the CU can support the higher layers of the protocol stack (such as SDAP, PDCP, and RRC), while the DU supports the lower layers of the protocol stack (such as RLC, MAC, and the physical layer). The CU can include operations for user data transmission, mobility control, radio access network sharing, session management, etc. (except for functions specifically allocated to the DU). One or more DUs are one or more logical nodes with a subset of the base station functions and can be controlled by the CU. The CU can be a logical node that hosts the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP protocols of the base station, or hosts the RRC and PDCP protocols of the base station that control the operations of one or more DUs. The DU can be a logical node that hosts the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers of the base station, and its operations can be at least partially controlled by the CU. A single DU can support one or more cells. However, each cell is supported by only a single DU. Each base station may support many cells.

[0034] Figure 4 A network architecture with a Master Node (MN) and a Secondary Node (SN) is shown. The Master Node (MN) can perform control, while the Secondary Node (SN) provides supplementary data capacity. The connection to the UE is shown, with a connection between the MN and the SN. The MR-DC configuration may include EN-DC (E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity), NR-DC (New Radio Dual Connectivity), NGEN-DC (NG-RAN-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity), and NE-DC (NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity). The E-UTRAN can support MR-DC through the E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC). The UE is connected to a base station acting as the MN (such as an eNB) and a base station acting as the SN (such as an en-gNB). In one embodiment, the eNB is connected to the EPC through the S1 interface and to the en-gNB through the X2 interface. In some embodiments, the en-gNB can be connected to the EPC through the S1-U interface and to other en-gNBs through the X2-U interface. The NG-RAN supports the NG-RAN E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (NGEN-DC). The UE is connected to a base station acting as the MN (such as an ng-eNB) and a base station acting as the SN (such as a gNB). In some embodiments, the ng-eNB is connected to the network, and the gNB is connected to the ng-eNB through the Xn interface.

[0035] As further described, the measurement gap can be modified based on the communication between the MN, SN, and the user equipment (UE). The measurement gap is the period during which the UE performs measurements at different frequencies. During the gap, there may be no communication, and the UE may turn off the radio. The UE can measure adjacent cell signals and / or other carrier components. The measurements can be performed using the same module as the one used for communication, so there may be measurement gaps. The UE can measure the neighboring cell signals transmitted at the same frequency while sending and receiving data from the serving cell. For measuring cells operating at different frequencies (e.g., inter-frequency neighboring cells) and other RATs (LTE is an other RAT of 5G NR), the UE may suspend communication (Tx / Rx) with the serving cell, and the communication module needs to be tuned to the configured frequency (e.g., the configured measurement object), and resume the connection with the serving cell after the gap. The gap is the duration during which the UE suspends communication with the serving cell to measure inter-frequency neighboring cells or neighboring cells of other RATs.

[0036] Depending on the UE's ability to support independent FR (frequency range) measurements and network preferences, there may be two types of measurement gaps. One is per-UE, and the other is per-FR. In the per-FR gap, two independent gap patterns (i.e., FR1 gap and FR2 gap) are defined for FR1 and FR2 respectively. The per-UE gap applies to both FR1 (E-UTRA and NR) and FR2 (NR) frequencies. The frequency range (FR) FR1 is the frequency band gap during which the network stops communicating with FR1 cells but still maintains communication with other cells (e.g., FR2). FR2 is the frequency band gap during which the network stops communicating with FR2 cells but still maintains communication with other cells (e.g., FR1). Specifically, the measurement gap can be the period that the UE can use to perform measurements.

[0037] In the New Radio (NR) or 5G, there may be at least three different configurations (Meas Gap). The first configuration is gapFR1, which is a gap configuration applied to FR1. The second configuration is gapFR2, which is a configuration applied to FR2. Similar to gapFR1, gapFR2 cannot be configured together with gapUE. The third configuration is gapUE. If gapUE is configured, then gapFR1 or gapFR2 cannot be configured. With this Meas Gap configuration, the UE can measure FR1, FR2, and non-NR RATs.

[0038] In the MN / SN example, MN and SN can coordinate and interact regarding measurements and measurement gap configurations. If per-UE gaps are used, MN can decide on the gap pattern and gap sharing configuration. If per-FR gaps are used in EN-DC and NGEN-DC, MN can decide on the FR1 gap pattern and gap sharing configuration, while SN decides on the FR2 gap pattern and the associated gap sharing configuration. In NE-DC and NR-DC, MN can decide on the FR1 and FR2 gap patterns and gap sharing configurations. In EN-DC and NGEN-DC, the measurement gap configuration from MN to UE can indicate whether the configuration from MN is a per-UE gap configuration or an FR1 gap configuration. MN can indicate to SN the configured per-UE or FR1 measurement gap pattern and the gap purpose (per-UE or per-FR1). Measurement gap configuration assistance information can be exchanged between MN and SN. In the example of per-UE gaps, SN indicates to MN a list of frequencies configured by SN in FR1 and FR2 measured by the UE. For the example of per-FR gaps, SN indicates to MN a list of frequencies configured by SN in FR1 measured by the UE, and MN indicates to SN a list of frequencies configured by MN in FR2 measured by the UE. In NE-DC, MN can indicate to SN the configured per-UE or FR1 measurement gap pattern. SN can provide a gap request to MN without indicating a list of any frequencies. In NR-DC, MN can indicate to SN the configured per-UE, FR1, or FR2 measurement gap pattern and gap purpose. SN can indicate to MN a list of frequencies configured by SN in FR1 and FR2 measured by the UE. The MN / SN coordination in MR-DC is further shown in Table 1 below.

[0039] Table 1: MN / SN Coordination in MR-DC

[0040]

[0041] Measurement Gap Enhancement (MGE)

[0042] Measurement Gap Enhancement (MGE) can be utilized. The MGE mechanism can include concurrent gaps, preconfigured gaps, Network Controlled Small Gaps (NCSGs), etc. In MR-DC, there may be two options: 1) only NR nodes support MGE; or 2) both NR and LTE nodes support MGE. In alternative one, LTE nodes only support traditional measurement gaps. In the examples of (NG) EN-DC and NE-DC, only NR nodes can configure MGE (e.g., concurrent gaps, preconfigured gaps), while LTE nodes can only configure or use traditional gaps. For NR-DC, both the MN and SN can support MGE. For (NG) EN-DC, the SN can decide whether FR2 gaps are needed, whether to configure concurrent gaps, and / or how many FR2 gaps to configure. For NE-DC, the MN can decide whether to configure concurrent gaps. When a per-UE or FR1 gap is configured, if the gap is for a frequency requested by an LTE node, it can include a traditional per-UE gap or a traditional FR1 gap. In alternative two, both NR and LTE nodes support MGE.

[0043] Gap Type / Purpose

[0044] A gap is a period during which a User Equipment (UE) performs measurements or operates for a dedicated use case. The use case can include at least one of the following: Positioning Reference Signaling (PRS) measurement, Multi-Universal Subscriber Identity Module (MUSIM), Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) measurement, Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) measurement, Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) measurement, or E-UTRAN measurement. The allowed gap type or gap purpose or gap mode can be signaled. In some examples, the gap type / purpose / mode can include perUE, perFR1, perFR2, concurrent gap, preconfigured gap, Network Controlled Small Gap (NCSG), PRS gap, MUSIM gap, NTN gap, etc. The requested gap type / purpose / mode can be a combination of one or more gap types / purposes / modes. For example, there may be a concurrent gap in combination with perUE. In another example, a preconfigured gap can be combined with perUE. In another example, NCSG can be combined with perUE. In the MN / SN embodiment, the measurement gap type and / or the measurement gap purpose / mode can be combined and / or signaled for more efficient signaling regarding the measurement gap.

[0045] The requested gap type / purpose / pattern can be indicated by one or more indications. For example, there can be an indication of the gap type / purpose / pattern (e.g., per UE, per FR1, per FR2). In another example, there can be another indication of the gap type / purpose / pattern (e.g., concurrent gap, pre-configured gap, NCSG, etc.). This indication can be passed from the MN to the SN. In another example, this indication can be passed from the SN to the MN. This indication (e.g., GapType) can be included as an information element (IE) in the Xn or X2 message (e.g., SN addition request message, SN modification request message, or need SN modification message). This indication can be included in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., CG-ConfigInfo or CG-Config message). The RRC message is included as an information element in the Xn / X2 message (e.g., SN addition request message, SN modification request message, or need SN modification message).

[0046] Concurrent Gap

[0047] A concurrent gap is a type of gap and is further described below. There can be multiple concurrent and independent gap patterns. Multiple gap configurations can correspond to UE capabilities. By indicating the gap ID in the measurement target or measurement gap (MG) configuration (e.g., for PRS), there can be a mandatory association between the gap and dedicated use cases (e.g., PRS, SSB, CSI-RS, EUTRA). The measurement behavior of the UE can be clearly defined because the UE can be required to perform measurements associated with the gap during the gap occasion. For UEs that do not support / support per-FR gaps, there can be a maximum supported concurrent gap pattern. For UEs that do not support per-FR gaps, at most two concurrent gap patterns can be configured. For UEs that support per-FR gaps, at most three concurrent gap patterns can be configured (e.g., at most two gaps in one FR).

[0048] Table 2: Example of gap combinations

[0049]

[0050] There can be neighboring conditions for conflicting gap occasions. When a conflict occurs, the UE discards the gap with a lower priority configured by the network. At the occasion of discarding the gap, data scheduling can be resumed. The corresponding UE requirements regarding gap interruption, measurement latency, and L1 measurement impact can be updated.

[0051] As a first issue, communication related to gap configuration / generation may need to know which node (MN or SN) decides to configure / use concurrent gaps. As another issue, there is a decision regarding determining / generating gap association. Determine which node (MN or SN) decides the information of the requested or permitted gap or gap combination, which may include the number of gap patterns or gap combinations, whether concurrent gaps are required, whether traditional gaps (e.g., as indicated by the GagConfig IE) and / or R17 gaps (e.g., as indicated by the GagConfig-r17 IE) are required, the type / purpose / pattern of the requested or permitted gap, gap priority, etc. Gap association can associate a measurement object with a measurement gap used for SSB or CSI-RS measurement identified by the associated measurement object. Gap association can associate a dedicated use case with a measurement gap. The use case may include at least one of the following: positioning / PRS gap, multi-universal subscriber identity module (MUSIM) gap, non-terrestrial network (NTN) gap, gap for SSB measurement, gap for CSI-RS measurement, gap for E-UTRAN measurement, etc.

[0052] Figure 5 An example of a process with a concurrent gap embodiment is shown. In block 502, the MN or SN decides to configure concurrent gaps. In one embodiment, it can be the MN in all MR-DC embodiments. Specifically, the MN implicitly (e.g., by sending multiple per-UE or FR1 gaps to the SN) or explicitly (e.g., by sending an indication to indicate the requested / permitted concurrent gaps) notifies the SN of the request / permission for concurrent gaps. In another example, the SN can request to configure concurrent FR2 gaps and send a request indication to the MN (e.g., the SN may want to configure 2 FR2 gaps in (NG) EN-DC), and then the SN can send a concurrent gap request indication to the MN. The MN can decide to accept or reject the request from the SN. In another embodiment, the configuration of concurrent gaps can be decided by the SN, such as in the (NG) EN-DC example. The SN decides whether to configure concurrent FR2 gaps and sends an indication to the MN to indicate whether concurrent gaps are configured. The indication may include: 1) an indication of the request / permission for concurrent gaps; 2) the requested / permitted gap combination; or 3) the number of the requested / permitted gaps.

[0053] In block 504, the MN or SN determines the gap combination information. In one embodiment, for example, in the case of NR-DC and NE-DC, it may be the MN that determines. In another embodiment, for example, in (NG)EN-DC, there may be multiple embodiments for the MN or SN. When the MN determines, there may be at least three options: 1) The MN determines the gap or gap combination to be used and sends the gap or gap combination information (e.g., gap combination, number of requested FR2 gaps) to the SN; 2) The MN determines the allowed gap or gap combination and sends the allowed / suggested gap or gap combination (e.g., list of allowed gap combinations, maximum number of FR2 gaps) to the SN, and the SN can choose one of them to configure the FR2 gaps; or 3) The MN sends one or more allowed gap or gap combination information to the SN, and if the SN wants other information, the SN can send the requested gap or gap combination (e.g., number of requested FR2 gaps, requested gap combination) to the MN. Similarly, when the SN determines, there may be at least three options: 1) The SN determines the gap or gap combination to be used and sends the gap or gap combination information (e.g., gap combination, number of requested / allowed per-UE gaps and / or number of FR1 gaps) to the MN; 2) The SN determines the allowed gap or gap combination and sends the allowed / suggested gap or gap combination information (e.g., list of allowed gap combinations, maximum number of per-UE gaps and / or FR1 gaps) to the MN, and the MN can choose one of them to configure the per-UE gaps or FR1 gaps; or 3) The SN sends one or more allowed gap or gap combination information to the MN, and if the MN wants other information, the MN can send the requested gap or gap combination information (e.g., number of requested per-UE gaps and / or FR1 gaps, requested gap combination) to the SN.

[0054] In different embodiments, the gap information or gap combination information may vary. The gap combination information may include the number of requested / allowed gap patterns. The gap pattern may be indicated by the total or maximum number of gap patterns allowed to be configured by the SN or MN, or for each gap type, by the requested or maximum number of gap patterns allowed to be configured by the SN or MN. The gap combination information may include the requested / allowed gap combinations, which may be indicated by a bit string / bitmap, where each position in the bitmap indicates whether the corresponding gap combination in the RAN4 definition table (see Table 2) is requested (e.g., value 1 indicates that the corresponding gap combination is requested / allowed), or indicates one or a list of gap combination indices allowed to be used / configured by the SN or MN (e.g., value 1 indicates the first gap combination in the RAN4-defined table such as Table 2), and value 2 indicates the second gap combination in the RAN4-defined table (i.e., Table 2). The gap combination information may include an indication of whether a legacy gap (i.e., GagConfig, without a gap ID) and / or a new gap (i.e., GapConfig-r17, with a gap ID) is requested / allowed to be configured. The gap combination information may include the gap ID or range of gap IDs used for the gaps configured / generated by the SN (e.g., for FR2 gaps in (NG)EN-DC to avoid gap ID conflicts). The gap combination information may include the gap ID or range of gap IDs used for the gaps configured / generated by the MN (e.g., for perUE gaps or FR1 gaps in (NG)EN-DC to avoid gap ID conflicts). The gap combination information may include gap priority information used for the gaps configured / generated by the SN or MN. The gap priority information may include one or a list of gap priorities or a single gap priority for different features / use cases (e.g., positioning / PRS gaps, MUSIM gaps, NTN gaps, gaps for SSB measurements, gaps for CSI-RS measurements, gaps for E-UTRAN measurements, etc.). In some embodiments, a list of gap features / use cases (each associated with a gap priority value), where the priority value of each gap is indicated as an integer (e.g., value 1 indicates the highest priority, value 2 indicates the second highest priority, etc.). The gap with the highest priority may be used, or the gap priority may be associated with the gap feature / use case. A gap priority indicator or indicator may be used to indicate which gap has a high priority. The gap priority may also include one or a list of gap priorities for the gaps associated with the frequency or MeasObject (measurement object) measurements. For example, a list of SSB / CSI-RS frequencies may be associated with gap priority values. The priority value of each gap may be indicated as an integer (e.g., value 1 indicates the highest priority, value 2 indicates the second highest priority, etc.).Another example includes that the measured frequency priority information can be indicated as a list of frequencies or MeasObjects sorted from high priority to low priority. The receiving node can use this information to generate gap priorities that are used to measure gaps for the corresponding frequencies or MeasObjects. This may be similar to the gap priorities for frequencies, where there are priorities for different frequency values.

[0055] In block 506, the MN or SN generates gap associations based on gap combination information. In some embodiments, such as in NE-DC and NR-DC, the MN can generate per-UE / FR1 / FR2 gaps. The MN can decide which gap combination to use and the gap associations between the gaps and dedicated use cases (e.g., PRS, SSB, CSI-RS, EUTRA). In one embodiment, the MN decides the gap associations for all configured measurement objects (MOs). In another embodiment, the MN decides the gap associations for the MOs configured by the MN, while the SN determines the gap associations for the MOs configured by the SN.

[0056] In an embodiment where the MN decides the gaps for all configured measurement objects (MOs), the MN can send the gap associations for the frequencies or measurement objects configured by the SN to the SN, and then the SN updates the measurement object configurations generated / configured by the SN. More specifically, the SN sends a list of the frequencies configured by the SN in FR1 and FR2 (e.g., for NR-DC) and / or a gap request (e.g., for NE-DC) to the MN. The MN sends the gap configurations or a list of gap configurations generated by the MN (e.g., including the configured per-UE, FR1 or FR2 measurement gap patterns, gap purposes), and / or the gap associations for the frequencies configured by the SN (e.g., a list of gap IDs, each gap ID associated with a list of SSB / CSI-RS frequencies to be associated with the indicated gap) to the SN. The SN can reconfigure the measurement objects configured by the SN (e.g., include the associated gap ID in the MeasObject based on the received gap associations). The SN can send the updated measurement object configurations to the UE through the MN or through SRB3.

[0057] In another example of an embodiment, the MN decides the gap associations for all configured measurement objects (MOs), the SN sends the measurement object configurations to the MN, and the MN updates the SN measurement object configurations. The SN sends the measurement objects configured by the SN to the MN. The MN reconfigures the measurement objects configured by the SN (e.g., include the associated gap ID in the MeasObject). The MN can send the updated SN measurement object configurations to the SN and / or the UE.

[0058] In an embodiment where the MO for the MN configuration of MN determines the gap association and the MO for the SN configuration of SN determines the gap association. The SN sends a list of the frequencies configured for SN in FR1 and FR2 (e.g., for NR-DC) and / or a gap request (e.g., for NE-DC) to the MN. From the MN to the SN, a gap configuration or a list of gap configurations generated by the MN is provided (e.g., including the configured per-UE, FR1 or FR2 measurement gap pattern, gap purpose). The SN determines the gap association of the measurement objects configured for SN (according to the received measurement gap pattern) and reconfigures the measurement objects (e.g., including the associated gap ID in the MeasObject). The SN may send the updated measurement object configuration to the UE via the MN or via SRB3.

[0059] In some embodiments, e.g., in (NG) EN-DC, the MN may generate per-UE gaps and FR1 gaps, while the SN generates per-FR2 gaps. Both the MN and the SN may generate or determine the gap association, as shown in block 506. In one embodiment, for per-UE gaps or FR1 gaps, the MN determines the gap association for all configured MOs or FR1 MOs, but for FR2 gaps, the SN determines the gap association for all configured FR2 MOs. This embodiment may include the MN sending the gap association for the frequencies configured for SN to the SN, and then the SN updating the measurement object configuration. The message from the SN to the MN may include a list of the frequencies configured for SN in FR1 and FR2 (for per-UE gaps) or the frequencies in FR1 (for FR1 gaps). The message from the MN to the SN may include the gap configuration or a list of gap configurations generated by the MN (e.g., including the configured per-UE or FR1 measurement gap pattern, gap purpose), and / or the gap association for the frequencies configured for SN (e.g., a list of gap IDs, each gap ID associated with a list of SSB / CSI-RS frequencies to be associated with the indicated gap). The SN reconfigures the measurement objects configured for SN (e.g., including the associated gap ID in the MeasObject based on the received gap association). The SN may send the updated measurement object configuration to the UE via the MN or via SRB3.

[0060] In another example, the SN sends the measurement object configuration to the MN, and the MN updates the SN measurement object configuration. The message from the SN to the MN may include the measurement objects configured for SN. The MN may reconfigure the measurement objects configured for SN (e.g., including the associated gap ID in the MeasObject). The MN may send the updated SN measurement object to the SN and / or the UE.

[0061] In another embodiment of the FR2 gap, the SN sends the gap association of the frequencies configured by the MN to the MN, and then the MN updates the measurement object configuration. The message from the MN to the SN may include a list of the frequencies configured by the MN in FR2. The message from the SN to the MN may include the gap configuration or a list of gap configurations generated by the SN (e.g., including the configured FR2 measurement gap pattern), and / or the gap association of the frequencies configured by the MN (e.g., a list of gap IDs, each gap ID associated with a list of SSB / CSI-RS frequencies to be associated with the indicated gap). The MN may reconfigure the FR2 measurement object configured by the MN based on the received gap association (e.g., including the associated gap ID in the MeasObject). The MN may send the updated measurement object configuration to the UE.

[0062] In another example, the SN sends the measurement object configuration to the SN, and the SN updates the MN measurement object configuration. The message from the MN to the SN may include the measurement object configured by the MN. The SN may reconfigure the measurement object configured by the MN (e.g., including the associated gap ID in the MeasObject). The SN may send the updated MN measurement object to the MN.

[0063] In another embodiment, for each gap type, the MN determines the gap association of the MOs configured by the MN, and the SN determines the gap association of the MOs configured by the SN. This may include examples for per-UE gaps or FR1 gaps. The message from the SN to the MN may include a list of the frequencies configured by the SN in FR1 and FR2 or the frequencies in FR1. The message from the MN to the SN may include the gap configuration or a list of gap configurations generated by the MN (e.g., including the configured per-UE or FR1 measurement gap pattern, gap purpose). The SN may determine the gap association for the measurement object configured by the SN (e.g., according to the received measurement gap pattern), and reconfigure the measurement object (e.g., including the associated gap ID in the MeasObject). The SN may send the updated measurement object configuration to the UE via the MN or via SRB3.

[0064] In another example for the FR2 gap, the message from the MN to the SN may include a list of the frequencies configured by the MN in FR2. The message from the SN to the MN may include the gap configuration or a list of gap configurations generated by the SN (e.g., including the configured FR2 measurement gap pattern). The MN may determine the gap association for the FR2 measurement object configured by the MN (according to the received measurement gap pattern), and reconfigure the measurement object (e.g., including the associated gap ID in the MeasObject). The MN may send the updated measurement object configuration to the UE and / or the SN.

[0065] Gap Association

[0066] The gap association can be indicated as: 1) a list of gap IDs, each gap ID associated with a MeasObjec ID or a list of MeasObjec IDs to be associated with the corresponding gap; 2) a list of gap IDs, each gap ID associated with an SSB / CSI-RS frequency or a list of SSB / CSI-RS frequencies to be associated with the corresponding gap; or 3) a list of MeasObjectIDs, each ID associated with one or more gap IDs to be associated with the corresponding MeasObject. For example, for an E-UTRAN MeasObject, one MeasObject is associated with one gap ID; for an NR MeasObject, one MeasObject is associated with one or more gap IDs (e.g., one gap ID is associated with SSB measurement and another gap ID is associated with CSI-RS measurement). A fourth example can include a list of SSB / CSI-RS frequencies, where each frequency is associated with one or more gap IDs to be associated with the corresponding frequency. A fifth example can include a list of gap IDs, each gap ID associated with one or more use cases to be associated with the corresponding gap. A sixth example can include a list of use cases, each use case associated with a gap ID or a list of gap IDs.

[0067] An example of the signaling structure of a gap or a combination of gaps is shown in the following table:

[0068] Table 3: Example of the signaling structure of a gap or a combination of gaps

[0069]

[0070] An example of the signaling structure of the gap association information is shown in the following table:

[0071] Table 4: Example of the signaling structure of the gap association information

[0072]

[0073] Other examples of the signaling structure of the gap association information are shown in the following table:

[0074] Table 5: Other examples of the signaling structure of the gap association information

[0075] Range Limit Explanation maxnoofGaps The maximum number of gaps allowed for a UE, with a maximum value of 8. maxnoofMeasObjects The maximum number of measurement objects allowed for a UE, with a maximum value of 64.

[0076] Other examples of the signaling structure of the gap association information are shown in the following table:

[0077] Table 6: Other examples of the signaling structure of the gap association information

[0078]

[0079] Other examples of the signaling structure of the gap association information are shown in the following table:

[0080] Table 7: Other examples of the signaling structure of the gap association information

[0081] Range Limit Explanation maxnoofGaps The maximum number of gaps allowed for a UE, with a maximum value of 8. maxnoofMeasObjects The maximum number of measurement objects allowed for a UE, with a maximum value of 64.

[0082] Pre-configured Gap

[0083] In another type of gap, the measurement gap can be pre-configured by the network. There may be a pre-configured MG mode. In one embodiment, it can be network-controlled, or in another implementation, it may be a user equipment (UE) autonomous mechanism. It can include multiple activation / deactivation mechanisms and corresponding UE capabilities to support these mechanisms. For the network-controlled mechanism, the UE follows the per-bandwidth part (BWP) indication in the active serving cell and the per-cell indication in the deactivated serving cell to determine the ON / OFF state of the pre-configured MG.

[0084] For the UE autonomous mechanism, the UE can follow the defined rules (e.g., the rules in TS38.133) to determine the ON / OFF state of the pre-configured MG. If not all measurements require MG, the pre-configured gap may be deactivated (OFF). Otherwise, the pre-configured gap may be activated (ON). Events that may trigger the UE to re-check the ON / OFF state include:

[0085] · DCI / timer-based BWP switching;

[0086] · Activation / deactivation of SCell;

[0087] · Addition / removal of any measurement object;

[0088] · Addition / release / change of Scell under CA;

[0089] · RRC performs BWP switching; or

[0090] · Initiation of LocationMeasurementIndication.

[0091] For the activation / deactivation of the pre-configured MG, there may be an additional delay, which may increase by five milliseconds (ms) on the basis of the delay of the traditional procedure that triggers the change of the pre-configured MG state. There may be updates to the corresponding UE requirements regarding gap interruption, measurement delay, and / or L1 measurement impact.

[0092] For a preconfigured gap, there may be a first problem of determining which node decides to configure / use the preconfigured gap. In one embodiment, the MN decides whether to use the preconfigured gap and / or which type of preconfigured gap mechanism to use. In this embodiment, the MN may send one or more indications (e.g., a preconfigured gap indicator) to the SN to indicate whether the preconfigured gap is requested / allowed and / or which type of preconfigured gap mechanism to use (e.g., a network control mechanism, a UE autonomous mechanism). In this embodiment, the SN may configure / use the measurement gap according to the indication from the MN. In this example, if a NW-controlled preconfigured gap is used, the SN decides and includes the preconfigured gap status for each BWP configured by the SN and / or each deactivated SCell. In this embodiment, the MN may decide whether the preconfigured gap is requested / allowed (e.g., for all configured gap mode types) and send an indication to the SN. In this example, if the preconfigured gap is requested / allowed, the SN decides which type of mechanism will be used for the gaps configured by the SN (e.g., for FR2 gaps in (NG) EN-DC) and / or the BWP / SCell configured by the SN.

[0093] In another embodiment of the preconfigured gap for determining which node decides to configure / use the preconfigured gap, the MN may decide whether to use the preconfigured gap and / or which type of preconfigured gap mechanism will be used for the gaps configured by the MN and / or the BWP / SCell configured by the MN. Additionally, the SN may decide whether to use the preconfigured gap and / or which type of mechanism will be used for the gaps configured by the SN (e.g., FR2 gaps in (NG) EN-DC) and / or the BWP / SCell configured by the SN.

[0094] The preconfigured gap status may be indicated as a bit string, so the MN / SN may need to know all the configured gap IDs. When the network control mechanism is applied to the preconfigured gap, considering that the BWP / SCell configuration is transparent to the peer node, each node may decide the preconfigured gap status for each BWP and / or each deactivated SCell configured by itself.

[0095] In one embodiment, the MN sends the configured measurement gap mode and / or gap ID to the SN. The SN decides and includes the preconfigured gap status for each BWP configured by the SN and / or each deactivated SCell. In another embodiment, for example, for FR2 gaps in (NG) EN-DC, the SN sends the configured measurement gap mode and / or gap ID to the MN. The MN decides and includes the preconfigured gap status for each BWP configured by the MN and / or each deactivated SCell.

[0096] Network Controlled Small Gap (NCSG)

[0097] The NCSG and / or NeedforGap mechanism is based on the UE capability report in the RRC completion message, such as the RRCReconfigurationComplete and RRCResumeComplete messages. The UE can indicate to the NW the UE's measurement gap requirement information for the NR / E-UTRA target frequency band. For example, the UE can report whether it supports "gap", "no gap", "ncsg", or "nogap-noncsg" for each target frequency band to be measured.

[0098] When the SN generates / decides on a measurement gap (e.g., the FR2 gap in (NG)EN-DC), the MN can transfer the NeedForGap and / or NCSG information to the SN via the Xn / X2 message to assist the SN in deciding on the measurement gap. The NeedForGap and / or NCSG information is used to indicate whether the UE needs a measurement gap or NCSG to perform measurements on the target frequency band. The UE sends the information to the MN via the RRC reconfiguration / resume complete message.

[0099] Before and after the measurement length (ML), there can be 24 NCSG patterns with visible interruptions (VIL1 and VIL2, 1 ms for FR1 and 0.75 ms for FR2). It is expected that the UE continues to receive downloads (DL) or perform uploads (UL) transmissions with the serving cell during the measurement length. When the UE reports different capabilities regarding "no gap without interruption", "ncsg", or "gap", but the network configuration (ncsg or traditional MG) may be different from the capabilities reported by the UE, the UE may exhibit certain behaviors. When the UE cannot transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) simultaneously or perform independent beamforming (specific to FR2), there may be a synchronization indication between the target NR frequency band to be measured and the UE's reference serving cell to reduce the OFDM symbols affected by data scheduling limitations. There may be corresponding UE requirements regarding gap interruptions, scheduling limitations, and measurement delays, as well as updates to the impact on L1 measurements.

[0100] The following table shows an example of the signaling structure for the NeedForGap and / or NCSG information:

[0101] Table 8: Example Signaling Structure for NeedForGap and / or NCSG Information

[0102]

[0103] Gap Information Transfer

[0104] As described above, the gap information (which may also be referred to as gap-related information) may include gap combination information, gap association information, gap configuration / mode / purpose, pre-configured gap indication, and / or NCSG / Need for Gap information. The gap information may be transferred between the MN and the SN through at least one of the following options: 1) the gap information is directly included as an information element in the Xn / X2 message (e.g., SN addition request message, SN addition request confirmation message, SN modification request message, SN modification request confirmation message, SN modification requirement message, or SN modification confirmation message); or 2) the gap information is included in the inter-node RRC message (e.g., CG-ConfigInfo or CG-Config message). The RRC message is included as an information element in the Xn / X2 message (e.g., SN addition request message, SN addition request confirmation message, SN modification request message, SN modification request confirmation message, SN modification requirement message, or SN modification confirmation message).

[0105] The measurement gap configuration / mode (e.g., including legacy measurement gap, concurrent gap, pre-configured gap, etc.) may be transferred between the MN and the SN. The inter-node RRC message from the MN to the SN (e.g., CG-ConfigInfo message) may only include the legacy measurement gap configuration (e.g., measGapConfig, measGapConfigFR2, which refers to GapConfig (legacy IE)). To transfer the MGE configuration to the SN, a separate gap indication (e.g., measGapConfig-xy, measGapConfigFR2-xy IE, which may refer to GapConfig-r17 IE) or a separate gap list (e.g., measGapConfigList-xy IE, which may refer to gapToAddModList-r17 IE) may be used. This indication may be used to transfer the new gap configuration from the MN to the SN. In the inter-node RRC message from the SN to the MN (e.g., CG-Config message), a gap indication (e.g., measGapConfigFR2-xy IE, which may refer to GapConfig-r17 IE) or a gap list (e.g., measGapConfigList-xy IE, which may refer to gapToAddModList-r17 IE) may be used to transfer the gap configuration from the SN to the MN. An example of the ASN.1 signaling structure is shown below:

[0106] CG-ConfigInf message

[0107]

[0108] Or

[0109]

[0110] or

[0111]

[0112] CG-ConfigInf message

[0113]

[0114] or

[0115]

[0116] or

[0117]

[0118] Figure 6 An embodiment of communication between a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN) is shown. In block 602, gap or gap combination assistance information is generated by the MN and sent to the SN. In block 604, the SN generates gap-related configuration based on the gap or gap combination assistance information. The gap-related configuration may include gap pattern configuration, gap association information, and / or gap ID information, etc. In block 606, the generated gap-related configuration is sent by the SN to the MN. In block 608, the gap-related configuration received by the MN is used to generate gap association and / or update / reconfigure the measurement configuration generated by the MN. In some embodiments, not all blocks in the figure are executed. In one example, blocks 602, 604, and 606 are executed. In another example, blocks 606 and 608 are executed.

[0119] Figure 7 Another embodiment of communication between a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN) is shown. In block 702, gap or gap combination assistance information is generated by the SN and sent to the MN. In block 704, the MN generates gap-related configuration based on the gap combination assistance information. The gap-related configuration may include gap pattern configuration, gap association information, and / or gap ID information, etc. In block 706, the generated gap-related configuration is sent by the MN to the SN. In block 708, the gap-related configuration received by the SN is used to generate gap association and / or update / reconfigure the measurement configuration generated by the MN. In some embodiments, not all blocks in the figure are executed. In one example, blocks 702, 704, and 706 are executed. In another example, blocks 706 and 708 are executed.

[0120] Figure 5-7The example shown applies to gap types with concurrent gaps, preconfigured gaps, and / or NCSG. As described above, the gap or gap combination auxiliary information may refer to gap information or gap combination information.

[0121] The systems and processes described above may be encoded in a signal-bearing medium, a computer-readable medium such as a memory, programmed within a device such as one or more integrated circuits, one or more processors, or processed by a controller or a computer. The data may be analyzed in a computer system and used to generate a spectrum. If the method is executed by software, the software may reside in a memory that resides in or is connected to a storage device, a synchronizer, a communication interface, or in a non-volatile or volatile memory that communicates with a transmitter. A circuit or electronic device is designed to send data to another location. The memory may include an ordered list of executable instructions for implementing logical functions. The described logical functions or any system element may be implemented by an optical circuit, a digital circuit, source code, an analog circuit, an analog source such as an analog electrical, audio, or video signal, or a combination thereof. The software may be embodied in any computer-readable or signal-bearing medium for use by or in conjunction with an instruction-executable system, apparatus, or device. Such a system may include a computer-based system, a system that includes a processor, or another system that can selectively obtain instructions from an instruction-executable system, apparatus, or device that can also execute instructions.

[0122] "Computer-readable medium", "machine-readable medium", "propagated signal" medium, and / or "signal-bearing medium" may include any device that includes storage, communication, propagation, or transmission of software for use by or in conjunction with an instruction-executable system, apparatus, or device. Machine-readable media may optionally be but are not limited to electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, apparatus, devices, or propagation media. A non-exhaustive list of examples of machine-readable media will include: an electrical connection "electronic" with one or more wires, a portable disk or optical disk, a volatile memory such as random access memory "RAM", a read-only memory "ROM", an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), or an optical fiber. Machine-readable media may also include a tangible medium on which software is printed, as the software may be electronically stored as an image or in another format (e.g., by optical scanning) and then compiled, and / or interpreted or otherwise processed. The processed medium may then be stored in a computer and / or machine memory.

[0123] The illustrations of the embodiments described herein are intended to provide a general understanding of the structures of the various embodiments. These illustrations are not intended as a complete description of all elements and features of the devices and systems that utilize the structures or methods described herein. Many other embodiments may be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure. Other embodiments may be utilized and obtained from this disclosure, such that structural and logical substitutions and changes may be made without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Additionally, these illustrations are merely representative and may not be drawn to scale. Some of the scales in the illustrations may be enlarged, while others may be reduced. Accordingly, this disclosure and the figures should be regarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

[0124] One or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be referred to herein individually and / or collectively as an "invention" merely for convenience and are not intended to voluntarily limit the scope of this application to any particular invention or inventive concept. Additionally, although specific embodiments have been shown and described herein, it should be understood that any subsequent arrangement designed to achieve the same or similar purpose may replace the specific embodiments shown. The present disclosure is intended to cover any and all subsequent modifications or variations of the various embodiments. Combinations of the above-described embodiments, as well as other embodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading the specification.

[0125] The phrase "coupled" is defined as being directly connected to or indirectly connected through one or more intermediate components. Such intermediate components may include both hardware and software-based components. Variations in the arrangement and type of components may be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the claims described herein. Additionally, different or fewer components may be provided.

[0126] The subject matter disclosed above should be considered illustrative, not restrictive, and the appended claims are intended to cover all such modifications, enhancements, and other embodiments that fall within the true spirit and scope of this disclosure. Accordingly, to the extent permitted by law, the scope of this disclosure will be determined by the broadest permissible interpretation of the appended claims and their equivalents and should not be limited or restricted by the foregoing detailed description. Although various embodiments of this disclosure have been described, it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art that many more embodiments and implementations are possible within the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, this disclosure is not limited except as defined by the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A method for wireless communication, comprising: Receiving gap assistance information; Generating gap-related configuration based on the received gap assistance information; And Transmitting the generated gap-related configuration.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The receiving, generating, and transmitting are from a secondary node SN.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein, The receiving at the SN is from a master node MN, and the transmitting from the SN is to the MN.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The receiving, generating, and transmitting are from a master node MN.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The receiving at the MN is from a secondary node SN, and the transmitting from the MN is to the SN.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein The gap-related configuration includes at least one of a gap pattern configuration, gap identification ID information, or gap association information.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein The gap from the gap assistance information is a period during which a user equipment UE performs measurements or operates for a dedicated use case.

8. The method according to claim 1, wherein The gap assistance information includes at least one of a requested or permitted gap type, a requested or permitted gap purpose, a requested or permitted gap pattern, a number of requested or permitted gap patterns, requested or permitted gap combination information, a gap identification ID, a gap ID range, or gap priority information.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The gap type includes at least one of the following: a concurrent gap, a pre-configured gap, or a network-controlled small gap NCSG.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The gap purpose or gap pattern includes at least one of the following: a per frequency range FR1 gap, a per FR2 gap, or a per UE gap.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein, The requested or permitted gap combination information includes at least one of the following: a bit string or a bitmap, each position in the bit string or bitmap indicating whether the corresponding gap combination is requested, or at least one gap combination index.

12. The method according to claim 6, wherein The gap association information includes at least one of the following: a measurement gap or a list of measurement gaps associated with a measurement object or a measurement frequency, or a measurement gap or a list of measurement gaps associated with a dedicated use case.

13. The method according to claim 1, wherein, The gap assistance information includes an indication configured to indicate whether a pre-configured gap is requested or permitted, or which type of pre-configured gap mechanism to use.

14. A method for wireless communication, comprising: Receiving gap association information; And Updating a measurement configuration based on the received gap association information.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein The gap association information is used for at least one of the following: a measurement gap associated with a measurement object or a measurement frequency, or a measurement gap associated with a dedicated use case.

16. The method according to claim 15, wherein, The gap association information is used for use cases including at least one of the following: positioning reference signaling PRS measurement, multi-universal subscriber identity module MUSIM operation, non-terrestrial network NTN measurement, synchronization signal block SSB measurement, channel state information reference signal CSI-RS measurement, or E-UTRAN measurement.

17. The method according to claim 14, wherein The gap association information includes a gap ID or a list of gap IDs, each gap ID associated with a list of SSB or CSI-RS frequencies to be associated with the measurement gap, or each gap ID associated with a dedicated use case.

18. The method according to claim 14, wherein The receiving and updating are from a secondary node SN.

19. The method according to claim 18, wherein, The receiving at the SN is from a master node MN.

20. The method according to claim 19, wherein The gap association information is for the frequency configured by the SN, and the update includes the SN updating the measurement object configuration to associate the measurement object with a measurement gap.

21. The method according to claim 14, wherein The receiving and updating are from the master node MN.

22. The method according to claim 21, wherein, The receiving at the MN is from the secondary node SN.

23. The method according to claim 22, wherein The gap association information is for the frequency configured by the MN, and the update includes the MN updating the measurement object configuration to associate the measurement object with a measurement gap.

24. A wireless communication device, the wireless communication device includes a processor and a memory, wherein, The processor is configured to read the code from the memory and implement the method recited in any one of claims 1 to 23.

25. A computer program product comprising computer-readable program media code stored thereon, which when executed by a processor causes the processor to implement the method recited in any one of claims 1 to 23.

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