Method, apparatus and computer program

Abstract

There is provided a user equipment comprising means for performing one or more measurements on at least one resource; determining at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one of the one or more measurements that meet the one or more validation criteria; and transmitting, to the network, a message comprising information indicating the at least one verification measurement based on the determination.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to methods, apparatus, systems and computer programs and particularly, but not exclusively, to reporting validation measurements. Background Art

[0002] A communication system can be considered as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more entities (such as user terminals, base stations, and / or other nodes) by providing a carrier wave between the various entities involved in the communication path. A communication system can be provided, for example, by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. A communication session may include, for example, data communications for carrying communications such as voice, video, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia, and / or content data. Non-limiting examples of services provided include two-way or multi-way calls, data communications or multimedia services, and access to data network systems (such as the Internet).

[0003] In a wireless communication system, at least part of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless systems include: Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), satellite-based communication systems, and various wireless local area networks, such as Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Some wireless systems can be divided into cells and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] A user can access a communication system by means of a suitable communication device or terminal. A user's communication device may be referred to as a user equipment (UE) or user device. The user equipment is provided with suitable signal receiving and transmitting means for enabling communication, for example, enabling access to a communication network or direct communication with other users. The communication device may access a carrier provided by a base station (e.g., a base station of a cell) and transmit and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0005] Communication systems and associated devices typically operate according to a given standard or specification that lists what the various entities associated with the system are allowed to do and how it should be achieved. The communication protocols and / or parameters that should be used for the connection are also typically defined. One example of a communication system is UTRAN (3G radio). Other examples of communication systems are the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology and the so-called 5G or New Radio (NR) networks. NR is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). Summary of the Invention

[0006] According to one aspect, a user equipment is provided that includes means for performing one or more measurements on at least one resource; determining at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more validation criteria; and based on the determination, sending a message to a network including information indicating the at least one validation measurement.

[0007] The component may also be configured to receive information associated with at least one resource from a network.

[0008] The component is further configured to store, at the user equipment, the received information associated with the at least one resource.

[0009] The information associated with the at least one resource may be received from a network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0010] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0011] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0012] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0013] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following items: identification information of one or more cells having verification measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells having verification measurements; identification information of the cell having the highest verification measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0014] The component may be further configured to: determine that a trigger condition is satisfied; and send a message in response to determining that the trigger condition is satisfied.

[0015] Determining that the triggering condition is met may include determining that a mobile originated call or a mobile terminated call associated with the user equipment is initiated.

[0016] The component may be further configured to: receive an indication from the network to perform additional measurement verification; and perform additional measurement verification in response to the indication.

[0017] According to one aspect, a network is provided comprising means for receiving from a user equipment a message comprising information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource satisfying one or more validation criteria.

[0018] The component may also be configured to send information associated with the at least one resource to the user equipment.

[0019] The information associated with the at least one resource may be sent by the network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0020] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or cell carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0021] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0022] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0023] The component may also be configured to: determine, based on the received message, that at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration has verification measurement; and based on the determination, activate, for the user equipment, at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration.

[0024] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following: identification information of one or more cells with valid measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells with valid measurements; identification information of the cell with the highest valid measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0025] The component may also be configured to: send an instruction to the user equipment to perform additional measurement verification.

[0026] According to one aspect, a user equipment is provided, comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the user equipment to at least: perform one or more measurements on at least one resource; determine at least one verification measurement, the at least one verification measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more verification criteria; and, based on the determination, send a message including information indicating the at least one verification measurement to a network.

[0027] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the user equipment to: receive information associated with the at least one resource from the network.

[0028] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the user equipment to store the received information associated with the at least one resource at the user equipment.

[0029] The information associated with the at least one resource may be received from a network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0030] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0031] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0032] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0033] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following items: identification information of one or more cells having verification measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells having verification measurements; identification information of the cell having the highest verification measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0034] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the user equipment to: determine that a triggering condition is satisfied; and send a message in response to determining that the triggering condition is satisfied.

[0035] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the user equipment to determine that a mobile originated call or a mobile terminated call associated with the user equipment is initiated.

[0036] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the user equipment to: receive an indication from the network to perform additional measurement verification; and perform the additional measurement verification in response to the indication.

[0037] According to one aspect, a network is provided, comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the network to at least: receive, from a user equipment, a message comprising information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more validation criteria.

[0038] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the network to send information associated with the at least one resource to the user equipment.

[0039] The information associated with the at least one resource may be sent by the network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0040] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or cell carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0041] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0042] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0043] The at least one processor may also be configured to cause the network to: determine, based on the received message, that at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration has verification measurement; and based on the determination, activate, for the user equipment, at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration.

[0044] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following: identification information of one or more cells with valid measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells with valid measurements; identification information of the cell with the highest valid measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0045] The at least one processor may be further configured to cause the network to: send an indication to the user equipment to perform additional measurement verification.

[0046] According to one aspect, a method is provided, the method comprising: performing one or more measurements on at least one resource; determining at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more validation criteria; and based on the determination, sending a message including information indicating the at least one validation measurement to a network.

[0047] The method may include receiving information associated with at least one resource from a network.

[0048] The method may include storing, at the user equipment, the received information associated with the at least one resource.

[0049] The information associated with the at least one resource may be received from a network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0050] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0051] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0052] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0053] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following items: identification information of one or more cells having verification measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells having verification measurements; identification information of the cell having the highest verification measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0054] The method may include determining that a trigger condition is satisfied; and sending a message in response to determining that the trigger condition is satisfied.

[0055] Determining that the triggering condition is met may include determining that a mobile originated call or a mobile terminated call associated with the user equipment is initiated.

[0056] The method may include receiving an indication from a network to perform additional measurement verification; and performing the additional measurement verification in response to the indication.

[0057] According to one aspect, a method is provided, comprising receiving a message from a user equipment comprising information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that meets one or more validation criteria.

[0058] The method may include sending information associated with at least one resource to a user equipment.

[0059] The information associated with the at least one resource may be sent by the network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0060] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or cell carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0061] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0062] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0063] The method may include: determining, based on the received message, that at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration has verification measurement; and activating, for the user equipment, at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration based on the determination.

[0064] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following: identification information of one or more cells with valid measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells with valid measurements; identification information of the cell with the highest valid measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0065] The method may include sending an indication to the user equipment to perform additional measurement verification.

[0066] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, the computer-readable medium including instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: perform one or more measurements on at least one resource; determine at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more validation criteria; and, based on the determination, send a message to a network including information indicating the at least one validation measurement.

[0067] When the instructions are executed by the device, they may cause the device to further perform: receiving information associated with at least one resource from a network.

[0068] When executed by the apparatus, the instructions may cause the apparatus to further perform: storing, at the user equipment, the received information associated with the at least one resource.

[0069] The information associated with the at least one resource may be received from a network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0070] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0071] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0072] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0073] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following items: identification information of one or more cells having verification measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells having verification measurements; identification information of the cell having the highest verification measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0074] When the instruction is executed by the device, it may cause the device to further execute: determining whether a trigger condition is satisfied; and sending a message in response to determining that the trigger condition is satisfied.

[0075] Determining that the triggering condition is met may include determining that a mobile originated call or a mobile terminated call associated with the user equipment is initiated.

[0076] When executed by the apparatus, the instructions may cause the apparatus to further perform: receiving an instruction to perform additional measurement verification from the network; and performing additional measurement verification in response to the instruction.

[0077] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided, comprising instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to at least perform the following: receive, from a user equipment, a message comprising information indicating at least one verification measurement, the at least one verification measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more verification criteria.

[0078] When the instruction is executed by the device, it may cause the device to further execute sending information associated with at least one resource to the user equipment.

[0079] The information associated with the at least one resource may be sent by the network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and the information associated with the at least one resource may include information associated with a secondary cell different from the primary cell.

[0080] The information associated with the at least one resource may include: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or cell carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of the one or more cells in the network.

[0081] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information indicating at least one cell having the verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information.

[0082] The information associated with the at least one resource may include cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement may include information identifying at least one carrier having the verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0083] The method may include: determining, based on the received message, that at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration has verification measurement; and activating, for the user equipment, at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration based on the determination.

[0084] The information indicating at least one verification measurement may include one or more of the following: identification information of one or more cells with valid measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells with valid measurements; identification information of the cell with the highest valid measurement; and / or carrier identification information.

[0085] When the instruction is executed by the device, it may cause the device to further execute: sending an instruction to perform additional measurement verification to the user equipment.

[0086] According to one aspect, a non-transitory computer-readable medium is provided, the non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions, which, when executed by an apparatus, causes the apparatus to at least perform the method according to any one of the preceding aspects.

[0087] In the above, many different embodiments have been described. It should be understood that further embodiments can be provided by combining any two or more of the embodiments described above. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0088] Embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0089] Figure 1 shows a representation of a network system according to some example embodiments;

[0090] Figure 2 shows a representation of a control device according to some example embodiments;

[0091] Figure 3 shows a representation of an apparatus according to some example embodiments;

[0092] Figure 4 Methods according to some examples are shown; and

[0093] Figure 5 A signaling exchange according to some examples is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0094] A non-exhaustive list of abbreviations used herein is provided below for reference:

[0095] Carrier Aggregation (CA)

[0096] CSI Channel State Information

[0097] CSI-RS CSI reference symbol

[0098] CQI Channel Quality Information

[0099] DC Dual Connectivity

[0100] DCI Downlink Control Information

[0101] DL Downlink

[0102] eNB Evolved Node B

[0103] gNB 5G Node B

[0104] FR1 Frequency Range 1

[0105] FR2 Frequency Range 2

[0106] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0107] MAC Media Access Control

[0108] MCG Master Cell Group

[0109] MO Mobile Origin

[0110] MT Mobile Termination

[0111] NR New Radio

[0112] PCell Primary Cell

[0113] PSCell primary and secondary cells

[0114] RAN Radio Access Network

[0115] RRC Radio Resource Control

[0116] RS reference signal

[0117] RSRP Reference Signal Received Power

[0118] RSRQ Reference Signal Received Quality

[0119] SCell Secondary Cell

[0120] SCG Secondary Cell Group

[0121] SIB System Information Block

[0122] SSB synchronization signal and PBCH block

[0123] UE User Equipment

[0124] UL Uplink

[0125] WI Work Item

[0126] Certain embodiments are described below with reference to mobile communication devices capable of communicating via a wireless cellular system and a mobile communication system serving such mobile communication devices. Figure 1 、 2 3 briefly explain some general principles of wireless communication systems, their access systems, and mobile communication devices to assist in understanding the underlying technologies of the described examples.

[0127] Figure 1 A schematic representation of a 5G system (5GS) is shown. The 5GS may include a terminal or user equipment (UE), a 5G radio access network (5GRAN) or a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN), a 5G core network (5GC), one or more application functions (AFs), and one or more data networks (DNs). Although the 5GS is Figure 5 It will be appreciated that the examples of the present disclosure are not limited to use in 5GS but may be applied in other systems such as, but not limited to, LTE and 6G.

[0128] 5G-RAN may include: one or more gNodeBs (GNBs) or one or more gNodeB (GNB) distributed unit functions connected to one or more gNodeB (GNB) centralized unit functions.

[0129] The 5GC may include the following entities: Network Slice Selection Function (NSSF); Network Exposure Function; Network Repository Function (NRF); Policy Control Function (PCF); Unified Data Management (UDM); Application Function (AF); Authentication Server Function (AUSF); Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) and Session Management Function (SMF). Figure 1 Also shown are various interfaces (N1, N2, etc.) that may be implemented between the various elements of the system.

[0130] Figure 2 shows the control for Figure 1An example of a control device 200 for a 5GRAN or 5GC function is shown. The control device may include at least one random access memory (RAM) 211a, at least one read-only memory (ROM) 211b, at least one processor 212, 213, and an input / output interface 214. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be coupled to the RAM 211a and the ROM 211b. The at least one processor 212, 213 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 215. The software code 215 may, for example, enable execution of one or more steps to implement one or more of the aspects of the present invention. The software code 215 may be stored in the ROM 211b. The control device 200 may be interconnected with another control device 200 that controls another function of the 5GRAN or 5GC. In some embodiments, each function of the 5GRAN or 5GC includes a control device 200. In alternative embodiments, two or more functions of the 5GRAN or 5GC may share a control device.

[0131] Figure 3 An example of a terminal 300 is shown, such as Figure 1 The terminal 300 can be provided by any device capable of sending and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include: user equipment, mobile stations (MS) or mobile devices (such as mobile phones or so-called "smartphones"), computers provided with wireless interface cards or other wireless interface facilities (such as USB dongles), personal digital assistants (PDAs) or tablets provided with wireless communication capabilities, machine type communication (MTC) devices, Internet of Things (IoT) type communication devices, or any combination of these devices. The terminal 300 can provide, for example, data communication for carrying communications. The communication can be one or more of the following: voice, email (mail), text message, multimedia, data, machine data, etc.

[0132] The terminal 300 may receive signals over the air or radio interface 307 via suitable means for receiving and may transmit signals via suitable means for transmitting radio signals. Figure 3 In FIG, a transceiver arrangement is schematically represented by block 306. The transceiver arrangement 306 may be provided, for example, by means of a radio part and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be arranged internally or externally to the mobile device.

[0133] Terminal 300 may be provided with at least one processor 301, at least one memory (ROM) 302a, at least one RAM 302b, and other possible components 303 for software and hardware-assisted execution of tasks designed to be performed, including controlling access to and communications with access systems and other communication devices. The at least one processor 301 is coupled to the RAM 302b and ROM 302a. The at least one processor 301 may be configured to execute appropriate software code 308. The software code 308 may, for example, enable execution of one or more of the aspects of the present invention. The software code 308 may be stored in the ROM 302a.

[0134] The processor, memory and other related control devices can be provided in a suitable circuit board and / or chipset. This feature is represented by reference numeral 304. The device may optionally have a user interface, such as a keyboard 305, a touch-sensitive screen or touchpad, a combination thereof, etc. Depending on the type of device, one or more of the following items may optionally be provided: a display screen, a speaker and a microphone.

[0135] 3GPP has been working on improving CA / DC setup latency in LTE and NR for multiple releases, and work has continued in Rel-18. To this end, in some examples, the UE can perform verification of available measurements during RRC setup / recovery, which can continue in connected mode. The UE can initiate verification of measurements when MO or MT RRC setup / recovery is initiated. The measurements can include any measurement type, such as UE EMR measurements and any other available idle / inactive mode measurements for non-EMR and / or EMR UEs. After verification, the UE can report the verified measurements to the network.

[0136] Therefore, the UE can perform some verification / confirmation of available measurements (on the UE side) during RRC establishment / recovery. For example, verification / confirmation measurements may include confirming that a specific cell is detectable, that a specific index is unchanged, or that a specific measurement value (e.g., SS-RSRP) is within a specific range. This measurement may also continue for a period of time after the UE enters connected mode (thus, during connected mode).

[0137] During idle mode, there may be different UE implementations and capabilities involved in measurements. Some example capabilities are shown below in Table 1:

[0138]

[0139]

[0140]

[0141] Table 1 - Example UE Capabilities

[0142] In some cases (e.g., when operating in FR2, which can be defined as the frequency range of 24.25 GHz to 71.0 GHz), there may be additional delays during CA / DC establishment due to the assumed need for beamforming on both the UE side and the network side (to ensure link quality and link budget). The use of beamforming on the network side and the assumed multiple panels and beams on the UE side (resulting in different spatial settings) may cause certain procedures to be prolonged due to the need for the UE to scan different panels / DL Rx spatial settings (i.e., different Rx beams). These procedures may include, for example, cell detection, measurements, and SSB index reading, although it should be understood that other procedures may also be included.

[0143] This may mean that the assumed time required for the UE to perform some procedures (eg detect and measure eg the first new cell) may be quite long, which means that establishing CA / DC when entering connected mode from idle mode is not efficient.

[0144] In some cases (particularly in CA), the network may need to have information about which DL will be used to schedule the UE. In this case, this information may need to be relayed from the UE to the network before the network can schedule the UE in a cell (e.g., Cell, PSCell, or other cell type). In addition to basic measurements, relaying this information to the network may add additional latency to the overall CA / DC setup.

[0145] In some examples, when a UE enters connected mode (e.g., from idle or inactive mode), if there is a long delay before a cell (e.g., an SCell) can be put into use due to the inherited delays described above, data transmission required between the UE and the network may have an opportunity to complete before the CA / DC establishment is complete. As a result, the network may not be able to use CA / DC in actual deployments.

[0146] Therefore, it may be beneficial to have a method that enables faster establishment of an RRC connection for a UE, which may be particularly helpful for CA and / or DC.

[0147] refer to Figure 4 , which illustrates a method according to some examples. Steps 400-404 illustrate method steps that may be performed by a user equipment. Step 406 illustrates method steps that may be performed by a network. In some examples, the steps described below with respect to the network may be performed by or at one or more network nodes, such as, but not limited to, access nodes / base stations (e.g., gNBs).

[0148] At 400, the method includes performing one or more measurements on at least one resource.

[0149] At 402 , the method includes determining at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement of one or more measurements that satisfies one or more validation criteria.

[0150] At 404, the method includes, based on the determination, sending a message to a network including information indicating at least one validation measurement.

[0151] At 406 , the method includes receiving a message from a user equipment including information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more validation criteria.

[0152] In some examples, the UE sends information to the network indicating that the UE has verified that measurements are available on specific resources (e.g., specific cells, specific carriers, SSB indexes, etc.). This information can be sent during the connection establishment / recovery phase. In some examples, the UE can send this information in an RRC message (such as RRCSetupComplete or RRCResumeComplete).

[0153] The verification measurement may include verification measurements for any cell, which in some examples can be used to store the cell (e.g., SCell or PSCell) configuration. In some examples, only one carrier may be configured. In other examples, more than one carrier may be configured.

[0154] Measurements can be validated according to specified and / or network-configured validation conditions.

[0155] The information indicating that the UE has verified the measurement may include information about one or more cells, such as one or more of the following:

[0156] Identification information of the cell that the UE has verified and measured (e.g., SCell index, PCI+frequency, SSB index);

[0157] a bitmap indicating which storage cells have validation measurements;

[0158] Information on the identity of the cell having the best (eg the measurement with the highest signal strength) validation measurement; and / or

[0159] Carrier identification information.

[0160] In some examples, the network may configure the UE with information for performing idle / inactive mode measurements. In some examples, the network may send information associated with at least one resource to the UE. This information may include cell configuration and / or carrier measurement configuration. In some examples, the UE may store information associated with at least one resource when it is in or enters inactive (or idle) mode. In other examples, the UE may use information associated with the resource (e.g., cell index, SSB index, SSB frequency, PCI, etc.) from connected mode and store this information during idle mode.

[0161] When the UE includes information indicating at least one valid measurement in the RRC message, the network may be aware that the UE has verified the measurement for the stored cell and / or carrier. Additionally, the network may assume that one or more reporting indexes may be used by the UE in the DL in a cell (e.g., PCell or PSCell).

[0162] The network may use this information for further operations as needed, such as adding or activating cells / carriers as needed.

[0163] refer to Figure 5 , which illustrates methods according to some examples.

[0164] At 500, the UE is in connected mode and may be operating in CA and / or DC, for example.

[0165] At 502, the network may send information associated with at least one resource to the UE. The information associated with the at least one resource may include information for performing one or more measurements in idle and / or inactive mode. In some examples, the information associated with the at least one resource may include a cell configuration or a cell carrier measurement configuration. The network may send the information to the UE via an access node (e.g., a gNB). The access node may be an access node that provides a PCell connection for the UE. The network may send the information to the UE via other signaling, such as, but not limited to, a SIB.

[0166] The cell configuration may be an SCell configuration or a PSCell configuration. The cell carrier configuration may identify the carrier of a specific cell (eg, SCell or PSCell), or the UE may select a carrier based on, for example, an SIB configuration.

[0167] At 504, the network releases the connection for the UE. In response, the UE stores the information received at 502.

[0168] At 506, when the connection is released, the UE enters an idle / inactive mode and remains in the idle / inactive mode.

[0169] At 508, the UE performs one or more measurements. The one or more measurements may be based on stored information, i.e., cell configuration information or cell carrier measurement configuration information. For example, the UE may perform one or more measurements on a cell corresponding to a stored cell configuration, or perform one or more measurements on a specific carrier according to the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

[0170] When the UE is in idle / inactive mode (i.e., after connection release), one or more measurements may be performed at step 508, such as Figure 5 In other examples, one or more measurements may be performed while the UE is in active mode (ie, before the connection is released).

[0171] At 510, the UE determines that a trigger condition is met. For example, the trigger condition may be that an MO call is initiated or an MT call is received. In response to determining that the trigger condition is met, the UE sends a connection establishment request (e.g., an RRC connection establishment request) to the network at 512. In response to the request, the network sends a response message (e.g., an RRC response message, such as an RRC resume message) at 514.

[0172] The message sent by the network to the UE at step 514 may also optionally include an indication instructing the UE to initiate additional measurement verification and / or reporting. This indication may be implicitly or explicitly signaled. Additional measurement reporting may be performed using Msg5. This indication may indicate which information is to be reported or request that verification continue even after the Msg5 transmission.

[0173] At 516, the UE determines at least one verification measurement—for example, the UE determines whether the one or more measurements performed at 508 are verified, i.e., whether the measurements meet one or more verification criteria or conditions. The one or more verification criteria or conditions may be sent along with the information associated with the at least one resource in step 502. The verification criteria may, for example, include: a cell index is known, a reference signal received power (RSRP) is greater than a threshold, etc. It should be understood that in some examples, different verification criteria may be used. It should also be understood that step 516 may be performed in conjunction with Figure 5 508 and before step 518. In some examples, step 516 may be performed in response to determining a trigger condition at step 510. That is, when the UE performs the evaluation at 516 may be implementation specific.

[0174] At 518, the UE sends a message (e.g., an RRC reconfiguration complete message) to the network. If the evaluation at 516 is successful, the message may include information indicating one or more verification measurements (i.e., one or more measurements that meet the verification criteria). If the evaluation at 516 is unsuccessful, the UE may not include this information when sending the message at 518.

[0175] The information indicating one or more validation measurements may include: an identification of at least one cell having validation measurements (the cell being associated with a stored cell configuration) and / or an identification of at least one carrier having validation measurements (the carrier being associated with a stored cell carrier measurement configuration).

[0176] At 520 , based on the information included in the message sent by the UE at 518 , the network determines whether the cell corresponding to the stored cell configuration and / or the carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration can be assumed to have valid measurements and verified.

[0177] For example, when the information included in the message sent at 518 includes information identifying the first cell (e.g., SCell), the network may assume that the measurement for the first cell is verified. As another example, when the information included in the message sent at 518 includes information identifying the first carrier, the network may assume that the measurement for the first carrier is verified.

[0178] Based on the information included in the received message, the network can take appropriate actions. For example, the network can activate a cell corresponding to a stored cell configuration based on the information received from the UE, or can configure and possibly activate a cell on a carrier corresponding to a cell carrier measurement configuration for the UE based on the information received from the UE.

[0179] In some examples, based on the fact that the network knows the cell / carrier and the configuration and information about verification measurements and cell / carrier identification (e.g., SSB index) stored in the UE, the network can schedule the UE directly on the cell / carrier after the cell / carrier is activated.

[0180] Some examples may use stored cell configuration information and / or stored cell carrier measurement configuration information. In some examples, each cell may have multiple carriers. Multiple carriers may be indicated to the UE in dedicated signaling or in broadcast information.

[0181] Some examples may allow the UE and the network to establish a valid cell / carrier measurement association without the UE having to send any measurements. This approach may result in a reduction in cell setup time compared to some approaches (such as the current EMR framework based on REL-16) where the network needs to request measurements from the UE after security is established.

[0182] Some examples may also apply to cases where the UE does not support rel-16 idle mode measurements. However, UEs that support rel-16 idle mode measurements may find aspects of the present disclosure more beneficial because they can maintain associations longer than UEs that do not support the rel-16 EMR framework.

[0183] In some examples, a user device is provided that includes components for: performing one or more measurements on at least one resource; determining at least one verification measurement, the at least one verification measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more verification criteria; and based on the determination, sending a message to a network including information indicating the at least one verification measurement.

[0184] In some examples, the user equipment may include: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the user equipment to at least: perform one or more measurements on at least one resource; determine at least one verification measurement, the at least one verification measurement being at least one measurement of one or more measurements that meets one or more verification criteria; and based on the determination, send a message to the network including information indicating the at least one verification measurement.

[0185] In some examples, a network is provided that includes means for receiving a message from a user equipment including information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more validation criteria.

[0186] In some examples, the network may include: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user equipment to at least: receive a message from the user equipment including information indicating at least one verification measurement, the at least one verification measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more verification criteria.

[0187] It should be understood that the apparatus may include or be coupled to other units or modules, such as a radio part or radio head used for or for transmission and / or reception. Although the apparatus is described as one entity, the different modules and memories may be implemented in one or more physical or logical entities.

[0188] It should be noted that although some embodiments are described in relation to 5G networks, similar principles can be applied to other networks and communication systems. Thus, although certain embodiments are described above with reference to certain example architectures for wireless networks, technologies, and standards, the embodiments may be applied to any other suitable form of communication system beyond the communication system illustrated and described herein.

[0189] It is also noted that while the above describes exemplifying embodiments, there are numerous variations and modifications which may be made to the disclosed solution without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0190] As used herein, “at least one of: ” and “at least one of ” and similar expressions (where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) refer to at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all of the elements.

[0191] In general, various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the present disclosure is not limited thereto. When various aspects of the present disclosure may be illustrated or described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be understood that, as non-limiting examples, these blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or a controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0192] The term "circuitry" as used in this application refers to one or more or all of the following:

[0193] (a) hardware circuit implementation only (such as implementation in analog and / or digital circuitry only) and

[0194] (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software such as (if applicable):

[0195] (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuits and software / firmware, and

[0196] (ii) any portion of hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)) with software, software and memory(s) that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or server) to perform various functions); and

[0197] (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but in which case the software may not be present when the software is not required for operation.

[0198] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, the term "circuitry" also covers a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, cellular network device, or other computing or networking device, if applicable to the particular claim element.

[0199] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by computer software (such as in a processor entity) executable by a data processor of a mobile device, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or programs (also referred to as program products) including software routines, applets and / or macros may be stored in a data storage medium readable by any device, and the program product includes program instructions for performing specific tasks. A computer program product may include one or more computer executable components that are configured to execute an embodiment when the program is running. One or more computer executable components may be at least one software code or part thereof.

[0200] In addition, in this regard, it should be noted that any box of the logical flow as shown in the figure can represent program steps, or interconnected logical circuits, boxes and functions, or a combination of program steps and logical circuits, boxes and functions. The software can be stored on physical media (such as memory chips or memory blocks implemented in the processor), magnetic media (such as hard disks or floppy disks), and optical media (such as, for example, DVDs and their data variants CDs). Physical media are non-transient media.

[0201] As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a restriction on the medium itself (ie, tangible, not a signal), not on the persistence of data storage (eg, RAM versus ROM).

[0202] The memory may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The data processor may be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of the following: a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), an FPGA, a gate-level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

[0203] Embodiments of the present disclosure can be practiced in various components, such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is primarily a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available to convert a logic-level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

[0204] The independent claims define the scope of protection sought by various embodiments of the present disclosure. Embodiments and features described in this specification that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims (if any) are to be construed as examples that assist in understanding various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0205] The foregoing description has provided a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure by way of non-limiting examples. However, various modifications and adaptations will become apparent to those skilled in the relevant art in view of the foregoing description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of the present disclosure will still fall within the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims. Indeed, there are further embodiments including combinations of one or more of any of the previously discussed embodiments.

Claims

1. A user equipment comprising components for: performing one or more measurements on at least one resource; determining at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more validation criteria; as well as Based on the determination, a message including information indicative of the at least one verification measurement is sent to a network.

2. The user equipment according to claim 1, wherein the component is further configured to: Information associated with the at least one resource is received from the network.

3. The user equipment according to claim 2, wherein the component is further configured to: At the user equipment, the received information associated with the at least one resource is stored.

4. The user equipment according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the information associated with the at least one resource is received from the network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and wherein the information associated with the at least one resource comprises: Information associated with a secondary cell that is different from the primary cell.

5. The user equipment according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the information associated with the at least one resource comprises: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or Carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of one or more cells in the network.

6. The user equipment according to claim 5, wherein: The information associated with the at least one resource includes: the cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement includes: information indicating at least one cell having a verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information; and / or The information associated with the at least one resource includes: the cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement includes: information identifying at least one carrier having verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

7. The user equipment according to any preceding claim, wherein the information indicative of the at least one verification measurement comprises one or more of: having identification information of one or more cells for verification measurement; a bitmap indicating one or more cells having validation measurements; identification information of the cell with the highest verification measurement; and / or Carrier identification information.

8. The user equipment according to any preceding claim, wherein the component is further configured to: determining that a trigger condition is satisfied; and In response to determining that the trigger condition is satisfied, the message is sent.

9. The user equipment according to claim 8, wherein determining that the trigger condition is satisfied comprises: It is determined that a mobile originated call or a mobile terminated call associated with the user equipment is initiated.

10. The user equipment according to any preceding claim, wherein the component is further configured to: receiving an indication from the network to perform additional measurement verification; and In response to the indication, the additional measurement verification is performed.

11. A network comprising means for: A message is received from a user equipment including information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more validation criteria.

12. The network of claim 11, wherein the component is further configured to: Information associated with the at least one resource is sent to the user equipment.

13. The network according to claim 11 or 12, wherein the information associated with the at least one resource is sent by the network via an access node providing a primary cell connection for the user equipment, and wherein the information associated with the at least one resource comprises: Information associated with a secondary cell that is different from the primary cell.

14. The network of claim 12 or 13, wherein the information associated with the at least one resource comprises: cell configuration information for one or more cells in the network; and / or Cell carrier measurement configuration information for one or more carriers of one or more cells in the network.

15. The network of claim 14, wherein: The information associated with the at least one resource includes: the cell configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement includes: information indicating at least one cell having a verification measurement, the at least one cell being associated with the cell configuration information; and / or The information associated with the at least one resource includes: the cell carrier measurement configuration information, and the information indicating the at least one verification measurement includes: information identifying at least one carrier having verification measurement, the at least one carrier being associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration information.

16. The network according to any one of claims 14 to 15, wherein the component is further configured to: Based on the received message, determining that at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration has verification measurement; and Based on the determination, the at least one cell associated with the cell configuration information and / or the at least one carrier associated with the cell carrier measurement configuration is activated for the user equipment.

17. The network according to any one of claims 11 to 16, wherein the information indicative of at least one verification measurement comprises one or more of: identification information of one or more cells with valid measurements; a bitmap indicating one or more cells with valid measurements; The identification information of the cell with the highest valid measurement; and / or Carrier identification information.

18. The network according to any one of claims 11 to 17, wherein the component is further configured to: An instruction to perform additional measurement verification is sent to the user equipment.

19. A user equipment comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, causing the user equipment to at least: performing one or more measurements on at least one resource; determining at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more validation criteria; as well as Based on the determination, a message including information indicative of the at least one verification measurement is sent to a network.

20. A network comprising: at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network to at least: A message is received from a user equipment including information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more validation criteria.

21. A method comprising: performing one or more measurements on at least one resource; determining at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that satisfies one or more validation criteria; as well as Based on the determination, a message including information indicative of the at least one verification measurement is sent to a network.

22. A method comprising: A message is received from a user equipment including information indicating at least one validation measurement, the at least one validation measurement being at least one measurement on at least one resource that satisfies one or more validation criteria.

Images