Systems and methods for synchronization signal block (SSB) enhancements

Abstract

Systems and methods for synchronization signal block (SSB) enhancement are presented. A wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) may receive a supplemental synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) (e.g., SMTC5) from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS). The wireless communication device may perform a measurement of at least one of the plurality of SSBs according to the supplemental SMTC. The wireless communication device may send at least one report of the measurements to the wireless communication node.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for synchronization signal block (SSB) enhancement. Background Art

[0002] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a standards organization, is currently specifying a new radio interface called 5G New Radio (5G NR) and the Next Generation Packet Core Network (NG-CN or NGC). 5G NR will have three main components: the 5G Access Network (5G-AN), the 5G Core Network (5GC), and the User Equipment (UE). To facilitate the implementation of different data services and requirements, the elements of the 5GC (also known as network functions) have been simplified, with some being software-based and some being hardware-based, allowing them to be adapted as needed. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The example embodiments disclosed herein are intended to solve problems related to one or more problems raised in the prior art, as well as to provide additional features that will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. According to various embodiments, example systems, methods, devices, and computer program products are disclosed herein. However, it should be understood that these embodiments are presented by way of example and not limitation, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art reading this disclosure that various modifications may be made to the disclosed embodiments while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

[0004] At least one aspect relates to the following systems, methods, apparatus, or computer-readable media. A wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) may receive a supplemental synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) (e.g., SMTC5) from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS). The wireless communication device may perform measurements on at least one of a plurality of SSBs (e.g., transmitted by a communication node) based on the supplemental SMTC. The wireless communication device may send at least one report of the measurements to the wireless communication node. Enabling multiple measurements for a single SSB (from different communication nodes) may reuse the SSB index and may have less impact on the mapping of the SSB to other associated common channels.

[0005] In some embodiments, an SSB may be transmitted by a communication node (e.g., located between a wireless communication node or base station and at least one wireless communication device or user equipment) configured to perform at least one of the following: receive, amplify, transmit, or forward at least one SSB from the wireless communication node. The SSBs and at least one SSB from the wireless communication node may have transmission timings interleaved in the time domain (e.g., over multiple periodic cycles). In some embodiments, the SSBs may be forwarded by an NCR and may be time division multiplexed (TDMed) with non-forwarded SSBs. TDMED SSBs may allow separate measurements of SSBs with the same SSB index.

[0006] In some embodiments, the supplemental SMTC may further include at least one of the following: an offset list; an identification of one or more of the SSBs; or an association between an offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured. To enable measurement of a single SSB from different beams, the SMTC5 may include at least one of the following: an offset list; an identification of one or more of the SSBs; or an association between an offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured. In some embodiments, the supplemental SMTC may indicate or configure that an offset list may be applied to one or more of the SSBs; or that a corresponding offset list may be applied to each of the one or more of the SSBs.

[0007] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may receive a first SMTC (e.g., SMTC1) from the wireless communication node. The first SMTC may include an indication of at least one of: at least one offset of a SSB from (e.g., transmitted / sent by) the wireless communication node; or a periodicity of the SSBs from the wireless communication node. The periodicity may be the same as a periodicity of the plurality of SSBs, which may be from the network node; or the supplemental SMTC may exclude an indication of the periodicity of the plurality of SSBs.

[0008] In some embodiments, the report may include a list (e.g., MeasQuantityResultsList->MeasQuantityResultsList->MeasQuantityResults) that includes one or more measurement results for each of the SSBs identified in the supplemental SMTC used for the measurement. Each of the one or more measurement results for one of the SSBs (e.g., the first SSB) may be associated with an offset of one of the SSBs (e.g., the first SSB) in a sequential manner. The maximum number of offsets applicable to a single SSB may be configured via a defined parameter (e.g., maxNrofOffsets). The list may include one or more measurement results, each of which meets a defined threshold for measurement reporting. The report may include an indication of one or more offsets corresponding to each one or more measurement results that meets (e.g., meets, exceeds) the defined threshold. The list may include a maximum number of measurement results that is at most equal to the total number of offsets of the SSBs provided by the first SMTC (e.g., SMTC1) and the supplemental SMTC (e.g., SMTC5).

[0009] In some embodiments, each of the SSBs may contain / include / be a corresponding common signal. The common signal may include at least one of the following: a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block, a control resource set (CORESET), a system information block (SIB), a random access channel signal, or a paging signal. The number of measurement results in the report may correspond to the minimum number between the number of unique offsets of the SSB and the number of measurement results of the SSB that exceed a defined threshold for measurement reporting.

[0010] In some embodiments, a communication node (e.g., NCR-MT) may be configured with a periodicity for the communication node's SSB that is different from the periodicity of the SSB of the wireless communication node (e.g., 20ms or 10ms). The communication node may determine an offset of the communication node's SSB based on the periodicity of the communication node's SSB. The communication node may perform measurements of the communication node's SSB using the determined offset and the configured periodicity. The communication node may receive a configuration comprising: a configured periodicity (e.g., ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell), and an identifier (e.g., ssb-ToMeasure) of one or more of the SSBs measured by the communication node applying the configured periodicity. In some embodiments, the identifier may comprise a bitmap, wherein each bit indicates whether the corresponding SSB is to be measured. The bit width (e.g., the number of bits) of the bitmap may be the total number of SSBs of the wireless communication node. The bitmap may include bits that correspond, in sequence, to the indexes of one or more SSBs.

[0011] In some embodiments, the identifier may include an index of one or more SSBs to be measured. The maximum number of indices of the one or more SSBs to be measured is the same as the number of SSBs sent by the wireless communication node. The communication node may receive one or more parameters of the configuration from the wireless communication node via at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, downlink control information (DCI) signaling, or operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) signaling. The configuration may include an indication of the number of valid SSBs, the indication identifying the first or last valid SSB in the order of their indexes. In some embodiments, the communication node may determine the offset using a modulo function (e.g., mod (offset provided in periodicityAndOffset, ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell)) applied to the following: the offset provided in the periodicityAndOffset parameter, and the configured periodicity.

[0012] In some embodiments, a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS) may send a supplemental synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) (e.g., SMTC5) to a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE). The wireless communication node may receive from the wireless communication device at least one report of measurements performed by the wireless communication device on at least one of a plurality of SSBs according to the supplemental SMTC. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] Various example embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following figures and accompanying drawings. The figures are provided for illustrative purposes only and depict only example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader's understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the figures should not be considered to limit the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, the figures are not necessarily drawn to scale.

[0014] Figure 1 According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an example cellular communication network is shown in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented;

[0015] Figure 2 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, a block diagram of an example base station and user equipment device is shown;

[0016] Figure 3 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, example implementations of a Network Controlled Repeater (NCR) are shown;

[0017] Figure 4 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, example initial access of multiple user equipments (UEs) is shown;

[0018] Figure 5 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an example extended synchronization signal block (SSB) periodicity from the perspective of a user equipment (UE) is shown;

[0019] Figure 6 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an example structure for synchronization signal block (SSB) enhancement is shown;

[0020] Figure 7 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an example Network Controlled Repeater (NCR) specific Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) pattern is shown;

[0021] Figure 8 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an example Network Controlled Repeater (NCR) specific Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) pattern is shown;

[0022] Figure 9 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an example Network Controlled Repeater (NCR) specific Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) pattern is shown;

[0023] Figure 10 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an example Network Controlled Repeater (NCR) specific Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) pattern is shown; and

[0024] Figure 11 According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a flow chart for synchronization signal block (SSB) enhancement is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0025] 1. Mobile Communication Technology and Environment

[0026] Figure 1 According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, an example wireless communication network and / or system 100 is shown in which the techniques disclosed herein may be implemented. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) network, and is referred to herein as "network 100." Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 102"; also referred to as a wireless communication node) and a user equipment device 104 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 104"; also referred to as a wireless communication device), which may communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel), and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 covering a geographic area 101. In Figure 1 1 , BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within the respective geographic boundaries of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138, and 140 may contain at least one base station operating within its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate radio coverage to its intended users.

[0027] For example, BS 102 can operate at the allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide sufficient coverage to UE 104. BS 102 and UE 104 can communicate via downlink radio frames 118 and uplink radio frames 124, respectively. Each radio frame 118 / 124 can be further divided into subframes 120 / 127, which can contain data symbols 122 / 128. In the present disclosure, BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of "communication nodes" that can generally practice the methods disclosed herein. According to various embodiments of the present solution, such communication nodes can be capable of wireless and / or wired communication.

[0028] Figure 2 According to some embodiments of the present solution, a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM / OFDMA signals) is shown. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, as described above, the system 200 may be used in applications such as Figure 1 Data symbols are communicated (eg, transmitted and received) in the wireless communication environment 100 of the wireless communication environment.

[0029] System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter referred to as "BS 202") and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter referred to as "UE 204"). BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 220 as needed. UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each of which is coupled to and interconnected with each other via a data communication bus 240 as needed. BS 202 communicates with UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for data transmission as described herein.

[0030] As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the system 200 may also include Figure 2 . It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein can be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any actual combination thereof. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are generally described according to their functions. Whether such functions are implemented as hardware, firmware, or software can depend on the specific applications and design constraints imposed on the entire system. Those familiar with the concepts described herein can implement such functions in a suitable manner for each specific application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of this disclosure.

[0031] According to some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230, which may be referred to herein as an "uplink" transceiver 230, includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to an antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in a time-division duplex manner. Similarly, according to some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210, which may be referred to herein as a "downlink" transceiver 210, includes an RF transmitter and an RF receiver, each of which includes circuitry coupled to an antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in a time-division duplex manner. The operation of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver circuit is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for receiving transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 while the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Instead, the operations of the two transceivers 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for receiving transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time as the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is close time synchronization with minimal guard times between changes in duplex direction.

[0032] The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via a wireless data communication link 250 and to cooperate with an appropriately configured RF antenna arrangement 212 / 232 capable of supporting a specific wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards. However, it should be understood that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited to specific standards and related protocols in its application. Instead, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 can be configured to support alternative or additional wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

[0033] According to various embodiments, for example, BS 202 may be an evolved node B (eNB), a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station. In some embodiments, UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user equipment, such as a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet, a laptop, a wearable computing device, or the like. Processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented or implemented using a general-purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, the processor may be implemented as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

[0034] Furthermore, the steps of the methods or algorithms described in conjunction with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, firmware, or software modules executed by processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or any practical combination thereof. Memory modules 216 and 234 may be implemented as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that processor modules 210 and 230 can read information from and write information to memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during the execution of instructions executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each contain non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

[0035] The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic and / or other components of the base station 202 that enable bidirectional communication between the base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, the network communication module 218 can be configured to support Internet or WiMAX services. In a typical deployment, but not limited to, the network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface so that the base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a traditional Ethernet-based computer network. In this manner, the network communication module 218 can include a physical interface for connecting to a computer network (e.g., a mobile switching center (MSC)). As used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, the terms "configured for," "configured to," and variations thereof refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc. that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted, and / or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

[0036] The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model (referred to herein as the "OSI model") defines the concepts and logical layout of network communications used by systems (e.g., wireless communication devices, wireless communication nodes) that are open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is broken down into seven subcomponents or layers, each representing a conceptual set of services provided to the layers above and below it. The OSI model also defines a logical network and effectively describes computer data packet transmission using different layer protocols. The OSI model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI model or seven-layer model. In some embodiments, layer 1 may be the physical layer. In some embodiments, layer 2 may be the medium access control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 3 may be the radio link control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 4 may be the packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, layer 5 may be the radio resource control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, layer 6 may be the non-access stratum (NAS) layer or the Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and layer 7 may be another layer.

[0037] Various example embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present solution. It will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that, after reading this disclosure, various changes or modifications may be made to the examples described herein without departing from the scope of the present solution. Therefore, the present solution is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. In addition, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely example methods. Based on design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes may be rearranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Therefore, one of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or actions in a sample order, and unless expressly stated otherwise, the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented.

[0038] 2. System and method for synchronization signal block (SSB) enhancement

[0039] As new radio (NR) systems move to higher frequencies (e.g., deployed around 4 GHz for frequency range 1 (FR1) and above 24 GHz for frequency range 2 (FR2)), the coverage challenges are exacerbated by deteriorating propagation conditions compared to lower frequencies. Therefore, further densification of cells may be necessary. While deployment of conventional full-stack cells is preferred, this deployment may not always be possible (e.g., no availability of backhaul) and / or an economically viable option. In order to provide comprehensive coverage in cellular network deployments at a relatively low cost, radio frequency (RF) repeaters with full-duplex amplification and forwarding operation can be used in 2G, 3G, and 4G systems. However, RF repeaters without beam management capabilities may not be efficient for 5G NR systems, which may even lead to unnecessary interference. To address / process / manage the above issues, a network controlled repeater (NCR) or a reconfigurable intelligent surface (RIS) can be considered, which can utilize side control information (SCI) from the BS to implement intelligent amplification and forwarding or reflection operations.

[0040] From a functional perspective, Figure 3The general structure of NCR is provided in (e.g., as a replacement / improvement of RF repeater). The NCR controller can maintain a control link (C-link) between the BS and the NCR to enable information exchange (e.g., carrying side control information (SCI)). NCR forwarding can use forwarding links (F-links) (which can refer to F-links for backhaul (e.g., F-Link 1&2 or backhaul links) and F-links for access (e.g., F-Link 3&4 or access links)) to forward data between the BS and one or more UEs. The behavior of one or more F-links can be controlled according to the SCI received from the BS.

[0041] Since the NCR or RIS transparently forwards a signal received from the BS, the following problems may exist from the perspectives of the BS and the UE.

[0042] Question 1: From the BS's perspective, the question may be how to determine whether the UE is served by the BS or the NCR. Figure 4 As shown in Figure 1, during the cell search process, the UE can obtain DL synchronization by receiving SSB. The DL beam used by the UE can be determined by random access channel (RACH) and synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements. Figure 4 , UE1 and UE2 may report the same index of the SSB (e.g., SSB2) as the optimal DL beam. Therefore, the BS cannot determine whether the UE is served by the BS directly (e.g., UE 1) or by the NCR (e.g., UE 2). Therefore, (1) the BS may instruct the NCR to perform unnecessary forwarding for UE1 and introduce additional interference in the coverage area, or (2) the BS may not correctly instruct the NCR to forward the signal for UE2, and this may result in poor connectivity for UE2. In addition, a UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state may move and cause beam switching between the BS and the NCR. In order to support UE mobility, it may be necessary to consider the corresponding beam measurement of the NCR.

[0043] Question 2: From the UE's perspective, signals with common periodicity may have extended periodicity. Since NCRs typically have multiple beams, signals with common periodicity may face the problem of extended periodicity. Taking SSB forwarding as an example, the BS may transmit SSBs with a period of 20ms. The BS may instruct the NCR to forward SSB0, such as Figure 5As shown. The NCR may have two beams and may utilize them to forward SSB0 instead. Since the UE is served by one of the NCR's beams, from the UE's perspective, the periodicity of the received SSB0 may be 40ms, while the SSB periodicity indicated in SIB1 is 20ms. In this case, the L1 SSB measurement may be inaccurate.

[0044] In order to solve the above problems, the present disclosure provides a method for SSB enhancement in a wireless network with NCR / RIS.

[0045] exist Figure 6 RF repeaters can be used in 2G, 3G and 4G deployments to supplement the coverage provided by conventional full-stack cells with various transmit power characteristics. RF repeaters may constitute the simplest and most cost-effective way to improve network coverage. The main advantages of RF repeaters may be low cost, ease of deployment and the fact that RF repeaters may not increase latency. The main disadvantage may be that RF repeaters can amplify signals and noise. Therefore, RF repeaters may contribute to increasing interference in the system (e.g., signal pollution). Within RF repeaters, different categories may exist depending on the power characteristics and the amount of spectrum that the RF repeater can be configured to amplify (e.g., single band or multi-band). RF repeaters may be non-regenerative type relay nodes and may simply amplify and forward signals in an omnidirectional manner.

[0046] Figure 3 According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, an example implementation of a network controlled repeater (NCR) is shown. Figure 3 The transmission links between the BS to NCR and the NCR to UE shown may be defined / described / provided as follows:

[0047] C-link 1: Control link from BS to NCR CU;

[0048] C-link 2: Control link from NCR CU to BS;

[0049] F-link 1: forwarding link from BS to NCR FU;

[0050] F-link 2: forwarding link from NCR FU to BS;

[0051] F-link 3: forwarding link from NCR FU to UE; and

[0052] F-link 4: Forwarding link from UE to NCR FU.

[0053] Forwarding operations on F-links 1 and 2 (backhaul links) can reuse C-link resource information and indication mechanisms. Forwarding operations on F-links 3 and 4 (access links) can use dedicated resource information and indication mechanisms.

[0054] Reconfigurable intelligent surfaces (RIS) are programmable structures that can be used to control the propagation of electromagnetic waves by changing the electrical and magnetic properties of the surface. By placing these surfaces in an environment, the properties of the radio channel can be controlled. Similar to a network controlled repeater (NCR), a RIS controller can be used to control information from the base station receiving side to appropriately manipulate signal reflections.

[0055] To solve the above problems, the following implementation examples / cases can be described with corresponding methods.

[0056] Example 1: Determining whether a UE is served by a BS or an NCR

[0057] Problem 1 can be addressed from two perspectives. One is the UE's connection confirmation during the initial access phase. The other is beam measurement to support UE mobility between the BS and NCR. This can be achieved by using an NCR-specific SSB pattern, which can be interleaved with the BS's normal SSB pattern in the time domain. Figure 7 An example is provided in . Figure 7 An example network controlled repeater (NCR) specific synchronization signal block (SSB) pattern interleaved with a BS's normal SSB pattern is shown in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] In the normal SSB mode of the BS, SSBs 0 to 3 can be transmitted without NCR forwarding, which can use a periodicity of 20ms. From the perspective of UE1 in the service area of ​​the BS, the periodicity of SSB0 can be 20ms. UE1 can be provided with a 20ms ssb-periodicityServingCell to receive SSBs. The ssb-periodicityServingCell can be provided in system information (e.g., SIB1) or UE-specific configuration.

[0059] To support coverage enhancement in the service area of ​​the NCR, an additional NCR-specific SSB pattern may be interleaved with the normal SSB pattern of the BS. The NCR-specific SSB pattern may include SSB0 forwarded by the NCR in sequence using its 2 beams. From the perspective of UE2 in the service area of ​​the NCR, the periodicity of SSB0 may be 20ms. UE2 may be provided / configured by a 20ms ssb-periodicityServingCell to receive SSB. The ssb-periodicityServingCell may be provided in system information (e.g., SIB1) or in a UE-specific configuration.

[0060] Problem 1 can be solved as follows by interleaving the normal SSB mode and the NCR-specific SSB mode.

[0061] 1. The RACH resources (or RACH opportunities (RO)) associated with each SSB can be used to determine the connection of the UE during the initial access phase. Figure 7 In Figure 1, it is observed that SSB0 occurs three times in a 20ms periodicity with offsets of {0, 5, 15}ms. Similar to the normal time division multiplexed (TDMed) SSB sent by the BS, the corresponding time-frequency resources for cell-common signals (e.g., CORESET#0, SIB1, CORESET#0A, SIBx, RO, and / or paging) can also be time division multiplexed (TDMed).

[0062] (1) If the UE's PRACH preamble is received on the RO associated with SSBO using offset 0 ms (which is not forwarded by the NCR), the BS can determine that the UE is directly served by itself.

[0063] (2) If the UE's PRACH preamble is received on the RO associated with SSB0, which uses an offset of 5ms or 15ms (forwarded by beam0 or beam1 of the NCR, respectively), the BS can first determine that the UE is served by beam0 or beam1 of the NCR. The BS can instruct the NCR to forward the following Msg2 and Msg4 with its beam 0 or beam 1 to help the UE access the network. Since the UE can receive SSB0 directly from the BS, it may be necessary to determine the UE's connection after the UE initially accesses. This will be described in the mobility support section below.

[0064] 2. Enhanced beam measurement can be used to support UE mobility between the BS and NCR, which uses SSBO from the BS and NCR. It is observed that SSBO appears three times in a 20ms periodicity with offsets of {0, 5, 15} ms (or subframes). If the UE accesses the network using an RO associated with SSBO that uses an offset of 5ms or 15ms (which is forwarded by the beam of the NCR), the BS can determine whether the UE is directly served by itself or by the NCR. To achieve this goal, the UE can measure the quality of SSBO with different offsets.

[0065] (1) An additional / supplementary synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) (e.g., referred to as smtc5) may be provided to the UE in a measurement object. Similar to smtc1, smtc5 may contain a periodicity, an offset list, and an applicable SSB index. However, considering the signaling cost, the supplementary SMTC (e.g., smtc5) may also include at least one of the following: an offset list, an identifier of one or more of the SSBs; or an association between an offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured. In some embodiments, the supplementary SMTC (e.g., smtc5) may also include an offset list. The periodicity of the SSBs used for measurement may be determined by the RRC parameter MeasConfig->MeasObjectToAddModList->MeasObjectNR->SSB-MTC->

[0066] periodicityAndOffset. From the perspective of the UE, the periodicity of SSB0 can be 20ms. The offsets corresponding to the beam of the BS and the beam of the NCR can be {0, 5, 15} ms, respectively. Since one of the offsets (e.g., 0ms) can be provided in smtc1, the other offsets (e.g., {5, 15} ms) can be included in smtc5 to save signaling costs. The periodicity in smtc1 can be omitted in smtc5. In some embodiments, the supplementary SMTC (e.g., smtc5) may also include the identification of one or more of the SSBs (e.g., the SSBs to be measured). Since the SSBs to be forwarded by the NCR are known to the BS, the corresponding SSB index (e.g., called ssb-ToMeasure) can be provided in the list. Using this information, the UE can determine that it can utilize SSBs with multiple offsets and multiple measurement results. In some embodiments, the supplementary SMTC (e.g., smtc5) may also include an association between the offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured. The association between the offset list and the SSB index can be determined as follows.

[0067] (i) The same offset list can be applied to all (or each) SSBs listed in ssb-ToMeasure. In this case, the parameter format of smtc5 can be {list-Offsets, ssb-ToMeasure}. For example, NCR can have 4 beams to forward SSB0 and SSB1 in sequence. Figure 8 As shown, the NCR-specific SSB pattern may contain SSB0 and SSB1 with a common offset of {5, 15} ms. Therefore, smtc5 may contain {{5, 15} ms, {SSB0, SSB1}}.

[0068] (ii) For each SSB in ssb-ToMeasure, a dedicated list of offsets may be applied. In this case, the parameter format of smtc5 may be {SSB(0), list-Offsets(0), SSB(1), list-Offsets(1), ... SSB(NSSB, max-1), list-Offsets(NSSB, max-1)}, where NSSB, max ≤ NSSB, where NSSB is the number of SSBs sent by the BS. Continued Figure 8 For example, an alternative format for smtc5 could be {SSB0, {5, 15}ms, SSB1, {5, 15}ms}.

[0069] (2) The measurement process using SMTC5 can be performed as follows. Figure 7 The examples shown in are for illustration. For UEs served by a BS, if the mobility of the UE between the BS and the NCR is to be supported, it can also be provided by the BS to smtc5. In the SSB measurement configuration smtc1, a selection of a periodicity with a value of 0 (which is the offset of the beam corresponding to the BS) and an offset (which is a periodicity of 20 subframes) can be provided to the UE. In smtc5, an offset list of values ​​{5,15} (which is the offset of the beam corresponding to the NCR) can be provided to the UE. In addition, in smtc5, an SSB index 0 can be provided to the UE to indicate the SSB to be measured using the offset list. For measurement result reporting based on smtc5, the following method can be used.

[0070] (i) A result list can be added to the measurement report, which can contain multiple measurement results for a given reference signal (e.g., SSB). In the present disclosure, measurement results based on a given SSB can be provided in MeasurementReport->MeasResults->MeasResultServMOList->MeasResultServMO->MeasResultNR->ResultsPerSSB-IndexList->ResultsPerSSB-Index->MeasQuantityResultResults. To support multiple measurement results for each SSB for each of the SSBs listed in smtc5, MeasQuantityResultsList->MeasQuantityResults can be replaced with MeasQuantityResults.

[0071] a. The number of MeasQuantityResultsLists in a MeasQuantityResultsList may be determined by the total number of offsets provided by smtc1 and smtc5. Each MeasQuantityResults may be associated with an offset provided in smtc1 and smtc5 in a sequential manner. The structure of a measurement result may be: ResultsPerSSB-Index::=SEQUENCE{

[0072] ssb-Index SSB-Index,

[0073] ssb-ResultsList MeasQuantityResultsList

[0074] }

[0075] MeasQuantityResultsList::=SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNrofOffsets))OFMeasQuantityResults The parameter maxNrofOffsets may be a configuration value that may indicate the maximum number of offsets applicable to a single SSB. Figure 7In the example of FIG, three MeasQuantityResultsLists may be included in the MeasQuantityResultsLists corresponding to the three SSB0 offsets {0, 5, 15} ms. The UE may obtain a first MeasQuantityResults using the information in smtc1 to measure SSB0 on ​​the beam of the BS with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 0 ms. The UE may obtain a second MeasQuantityResults using the information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 to measure SSB0 on ​​beam 0 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 5 ms. The UE may obtain a third MeasQuantityResults using the information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 to measure SSB0 on ​​beam 1 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 15 ms. Then, if at least one of the MeasQuantityResultsLists exceeds the threshold for measurement reporting, the UE may use the MeasQuantityResultsList to report the three SSB0 measurement results.

[0076] b.The number of MeasQuantityResultsList in MeasQuantityResultsList can be determined by the number of MeasQuantityResults that exceed the measurement report threshold, which may not exceed the total number of offsets provided by smtc1 and smtc5. In this case, one or more corresponding offsets may be included. The structure of the measurement result can be:

[0077] ResultsPerSSB-Index::=SEQUENCE{

[0078] ssb-Index SSB-Index,

[0079] ssb-Offset SSB-Offset,

[0080] ssb-ResultsList MeasQuantityResultsList

[0081] }

[0082] MeasQuantityResultsList::=SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNrofOffsets))OFMeasQuantityResults The value range of the parameter ssb-Offset may be determined by the offsets provided for the corresponding SSB index in smtc1 and smtc5. The parameter maxNrofOffsets may be a configuration value that may indicate the maximum number of offsets applicable to a single SSB. Figure 7 In the example of , up to three MeasQuantityResultsLists may be included in the MeasQuantityResultsList of SSB0. The UE may obtain a first MeasQuantityResults using the information in smtc1 to measure SSB0 on ​​the beam of the BS with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 0 ms. The UE may obtain a second MeasQuantityResults using the information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 to measure SSB0 on ​​beam 0 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 5 ms. The UE may obtain a third MeasQuantityResults using the information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 to measure SSB0 on ​​beam 1 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 15 ms. The UE may then use the MeasQuantityResultsList to report SSB0 measurement results that exceed the threshold for measurement reporting and may fill in the corresponding offset.

[0083] (ii) The ResultsPerSSB-IndexList in the measurement report can be reused / reused to report multiple measurement results of a given reference signal (e.g., SSB) with a given index (e.g., SSB0), where the new association with the offset can be utilized. In the present disclosure, the measurement results based on a given SSB can be provided in MeasurementReport->MeasResults->MeasResultServMOList->MeasResultServMO->MeasResultNR->ResultsPerSSB-IndexList->ResultsPerSSB-Index->MeasQuantityResultResults. The ResultsPerSSB-IndexList can be a sequence of multiple ResultsPerSSB-Index. Each ResultsPerSSB-Index can contain an SSB index and a corresponding measurement result.

[0084] ResultsPerSSB-IndexList::=SEQUENCE(SIZE(1..maxNrofIndexesToReport2))OF ResultsPerSSB-IndexResultsPerSSB-Index::=SEQUENCE{

[0085] ssb-Index SSB-Index,

[0086] ssb-Results MeasQuantityResults

[0087] }

[0088] a. Among multiple ResultsPerSSB-Index, if the SSB is included in smtc5, the SSB index can be the same. MeasQuantityResults can be used to report measurement results of the same SSB but from different beams. For a given SSB included in smtc5, if at least one of the MeasQuantityResults exceeds the threshold for measurement reporting, the number of ResultsPerSSB-Index can be determined by the total number of offsets provided by smtc1 and smtc5. In this case, multiple ResultsPerSSB-Index of an SSB can be associated with the offsets provided in smtc1 and smtc5 in a sequential manner. Figure 7 In the example shown in FIG5 , three ResultsPerSSB-Index values ​​in ResultsPerSSB-IndexList may be used for SSB0. The UE may use the information in smtc1 to obtain a first MeasQuantityResults to measure SSB0 on ​​the beam of the BS with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 0 ms. The UE may use the information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 to obtain a second MeasQuantityResults to measure SSB0 on ​​beam 0 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 5 ms. The UE may use the information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 to obtain a third MeasQuantityResults to measure SSB0 on ​​beam 1 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 15 ms. The UE may then use ResultsPerSSB-IndexList to report the three SSB0 measurement results if any one of the measurement results exceeds the threshold for measurement reporting.

[0089] b. In multiple ResultsPerSSB-Index, if the SSB is included in smtc5, the SSB index can be the same. MeasQuantityResults can be used to report measurement results for the same SSB but from different beams. For a given SSB included in smtc5, the number of ResultsPerSSB-Index can be determined by the number of MeasQuantityResults that exceed the measurement reporting threshold, which may not be greater than the total number of offsets provided by smtc1 and smtc5. In this case, one or more corresponding offsets may be included. The structure of the measurement result can be:

[0090] ResultsPerSSB-Index::=SEQUENCE{

[0091] ssb-Index SSB-Index,

[0092] ssb-Offset SSB-Offset,

[0093] ssb-ResultsList MeasQuantityResults

[0094] }

[0095] exist Figure 7 In the example of , up to three ResultsPerSSB-Index fields may be included in the ResultsPerSSB-IndexList of SSB0. The UE may obtain a first ResultsPerSSB-Index using information in smtc1 to measure SSBO on the beam of the BS with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 0 ms. The UE may obtain a second ResultsPerSSB-Index using information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 (e.g., from the BS) to measure SSBO on beam 0 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 5 ms. The UE may obtain a third ResultsPerSSB-Index using information provided in smtc1 and smtc5 to measure SSBO on beam 1 of the NCR with a periodicity of 20 ms and an offset of 15 ms. The UE may then use multiple ResultsPerSSB-Index fields to report SSBO measurement results that exceed the threshold for measurement reporting (e.g., directly or through the communication node / NCR) and may fill in the corresponding offsets.

[0096] (3) From the BS's perspective, three (or less than three depending on the number of one or more offsets) SSBO measurements can be used to determine whether the UE is served by the BS itself or by the NCR. If the UE is served by the NCR, the beam used by the NCR can also be determined by the SSBO measurements.

[0097] Example 2

[0098] To solve problem 2, the public signaling forwarded by NCR can use different periodicities. Figure 9 As shown, the BS can use a 10ms periodicity to transmit SSB0 (which is forwarded by the NCR), while the BS can use a 20ms periodicity to transmit all other SSBs (which are not forwarded by any NCR). SSB0 can then be forwarded by the NCR in turn using its two beams. From the UE's perspective, the periodicity of SSB0 can be 20ms. The UE can be provided with a 20ms ssb-periodicity ServingCell to receive the SSB.

[0099] From the perspective of the NCR-MT, some enhancements may be performed on the SSB measurements. In the present disclosure, the periodicity of the SSBs used for measurement may be provided by the RRC parameter MeasConfig->MeasObjectToAddModList->MeasObjectNR->SSB-MTC->periodicityAndOffset. However, the periodicity provided in the SSB-MTC may be applied to all SSBs within the indicated measurement duration. As shown in the above example, SSB0 may have a periodicity of 10ms, while all other SSBs may have a periodicity of 20ms. In this case, the NCR-MT may use a 10ms periodicity for the SSB0 measurement and a 20ms periodicity for all other SSB measurements. To achieve this goal, an NCR-specific SSB periodicity may be provided to the NCR-MT for one or more SSBs with different (non-10ms) periodicity. The NCR-MT may use this NCR-specific SSB periodicity to calculate the corresponding offsets for one or more SSBs with different periodicities. The NCR-MT may then use the SSB periodicity of the NCR-specific SSB and the calculated offset in the SSB measurement for the corresponding one or more SSBs. The format of the parameter can be at least one of the following.

[0100] 1.{ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell, ssb-ToMeasure}, where ssb-ToMeasure is a bitmap indicating the SSBs with the period of ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell. Each parameter can be provided by the BS using radio resource control (RRC) / medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) / downlink control information (DCI), or determined by operations, administration and maintenance (OAM). The bit width of ssb-ToMeasure may depend on the total number of SSBs used by the BS. For example, in the present disclosure, 4, 8, or 64 SSBs may be supported in different frequency ranges, which may correspond to the parameter ssb-ToMeasure with a bitmap of 4, 8, or 64. In the bitmap, the first / leftmost bit may correspond to SSB0, the second bit may correspond to SSB1, and so on. A value of 1 in the bitmap may indicate that the corresponding SSB will be measured using the provided ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell. A value of 0 in the bitmap may indicate that the corresponding SSB will be measured using the periodicity provided by the legacy parameter periodicityAndOffset. Figure 9 In the example in , the parameters may be {10ms, '1000'}, where '1000' is a bitmap. Alternatively, a variation (in an embodiment) may be: a value of 0 in the bitmap ssb-ToMeasure may indicate that the corresponding SSB will be measured using the provided ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell. A value of 1 in the bitmap may indicate that the corresponding SSB will be measured using the periodicity provided by the legacy parameter periodicityAndOffset. Figure 9 For example, the parameter can be {10ms, '0111'}, where '0111' is the bitmap.

[0101] 2.{ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell, SSB(0), SSB(1), ... SSB(NSSB, max-1)}, where NSSB, max ≤ NSSB, where NSSB is the number of SSBs sent by the BS. SSB(x), where x = 0 ... NSSB, max-1, can be an SSB with a period of ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell. Each parameter can be provided by the BS using RRC / MACCE / DCI signaling or determined by OAM signaling. If the valid SSBs listed are less than NSSBs, any one of the valid SSB(x) can be used to fill the following SSB indices. For Figure 9 In the example, NSSB=4 can be determined by the SSB situation blindly detected by the NCR-MT. After the initial access of the NCR-MT, the value NSSB,max≤4 can be configured to the NCR-MT, which can be the maximum number of SSBs forwarded by the NCR. If NSSB,max is not configured for the NCR-MT, the default value of NSSB can be used. If NSSB,max=2 is configured, the parameter can be {10ms, (0,0)}, where (0,0) is a list of SSBs with only one valid value corresponding to SSB0. If the default NSSB,max=NSSB=4 is used, the parameter can be {10ms, (0,0,0,0)}, where (0,0,0,0) is a list of SSBs with only one valid value corresponding to SSB0. Alternatively, a variant can be: SSB(x), where x=0...NSSB,max-1, can be an SSB with the parameter periodicityAndOffset. Other transmitted SSBs not included in SSB(x) may use the periodicity of ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell. Additionally, a configurable parameter in the same signaling (e.g., a flag with a value of 0 or 1) may be used to indicate that {SSB(0), SSB(1), ... SSB(NSSB, max-1)} use ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell or periodicityAndOffset.

[0102] 3.{ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell, SSB(0), SSB(1), ... SSB(NSSB, max-1), NSSB, valid}. In this combination, N SSB,valid Can be used to indicate the number of valid SSBs in the list. Thus, NCR can know the first (or last) N SSB,validSSB(x) values ​​are valid and the following / other invalid values ​​can be ignored. Each parameter can be provided by the BS using RRC / MAC CE / DCI signaling or determined by OAM signaling. Figure 9 In the example, N SSB =4 can be determined by the SSB situation of NCR-MT blind detection. After the initial access of NCR-MT, the value N SSB,max ≤ 4 are configured to NCR-MT, which can be the maximum number of SSBs forwarded by NCR. SSB,max Not configured as NCR-MT, the default value is N SSB,max =NSSB can be used. If N SSB,max =2, the parameter can be {10ms, (0, x), 1}, where (0, x) is the SSB list corresponding to SSB0 with only one valid value (indicated by the following value 1). If the default value N SSB,max =N SSB =4, the parameter can be {10ms, (0, x, x, x), 1}, where (0, x, x, x) is a list of SSBs with only one valid value (indicated by the following value 1) corresponding to SSB0. Alternatively, {SSB(0), SSB(1), ... SSB(NSSB, max-1)} and NSSB, valid can be used to indicate SSBs using the traditional parameter periodicityAndOffset. Other transmitted SSBs not included in SSB(x) can use the periodicity of ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell. In addition, a configurable parameter in the same signaling (e.g., a flag with a value of 0 or 1) can be used to indicate that {SSB(0), SSB(1), ... SSB(NSSB, max-1)} uses ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell or periodicityAndOffset.

[0103] The offset calculation can follow the formula: mod(offset provided in periodicityAndOffset,ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell). Figure 9In the example shown, the parameter ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell=10ms and a valid SSB index of SSB0 can be provided to the NCR-MT. In the SSB measurement configuration, the periodicity and offset with a value of 0 (which is the offset) can be provided to the NCR-MT, where sf20 (which is the periodicity) is selected. The NCR can know that the periodicity used for SSB measurement is 20 subframes (i.e., 20ms) and the offset is zero subframe. The NCR can calculate the offset of the SSB0 measurement by mod(0,10ms) to obtain a valid offset value of 0 (in subframes or ms). The NCR can perform SSB measurement of SSB0 using the periodicity of 10ms and the calculated offset of 0ms provided by ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell.

[0104] From the UE's perspective, SSB measurements can utilize enhancements to support more than one measurement for SSB0. In this disclosure, for all SSB-based measurements, there can be at most one measurement object with the same SSB frequency. Figure 9 As shown, in order to support beam management for possible UE mobility between different beams of BS and NCR, the UE can measure several SSBO quantities. To achieve this goal, the following method can be used.

[0105] 1. An additional SMTC (e.g., called smtc5) may be added to the measurement object. Similar to smtc1, smtc5 may contain periodicity, an offset list, and / or an applicable SSB index. However, considering the signaling cost, at least one of the following information may be provided in smtc5. In some embodiments, the supplementary SMTC (e.g., smtc5) may also include an offset list. The periodicity of the SSB used for measurement may be provided by the RRC parameter MeasConfig->MeasObjectToAddModList->MeasObjectNR->SSB-MTC->periodicityAndOffset. Figure 9As shown in the example in, from the perspective of the UE, the period of SSB0 can be 20ms. However, the offsets corresponding to the beams of the 2 NCRs can be {0, 10} ms (or subframes) respectively. Since an offset can be provided in smtc1, other offsets can be included in smtc5 to save signaling costs. In some embodiments, the supplementary SMTC (e.g., smtc5) may also include the identification of one or more of the SSBs (e.g., the SSBs to be measured). Since the SSBs to be forwarded by the NCR can be known by the BS, the corresponding SSB index (e.g., called ssb-ToMeasure) can be provided in the list. With this information, additional measurement work on the UE side can be limited to the SSBs forwarded by the NCR. In some embodiments, the supplementary SMTC (e.g., smtc5) may also include an association between the offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured. The association between the offset list and the SSB index can be determined as follows.

[0106] (i) The same offset list can be applied to all SSBs listed in ssb-ToMeasure. In this case, the parameter format of smtc5 can be {list-Offsets, ssb-ToMeasure}. For example, NCR can have 4 beams to forward SSB0 and SSB1 in sequence. Figure 10 As shown, the NCR-specific SSB pattern may contain SSB0 and SSB1 with a common offset of {0, 10} ms. Therefore, smtc5 may contain {{0, 10} ms, {SSB0, SSB1}}.

[0107] (ii) For each SSB in ssb-ToMeasure, a dedicated list of offsets may be applied. In this case, the parameter format of smtc5 may be {SSB(0), list-Offsets(0), SSB(1), list-Offsets(1), ... SSB(NSSB, max-1), list-Offsets(NSSB, max-1)}, where NSSB, max ≤ NSSB, where NSSB is the number of SSBs sent by the BS. Continued Figure 10 For example, an alternative format for smtc5 could be {SSB0, {0, 10}ms, SSB1, {0, 10}ms}.

[0108] 2. The measurement process using smtc5 can be carried out as follows. Figure 9 The examples shown in are for illustration purposes only.

[0109] (1) In the SSB measurement configuration, the periodicity and offset of the value 0 (which is the offset of the beam corresponding to the BS) with the selection of sf20 (which is the periodicity) may be provided to the UE. In smtc5, an offset list of values ​​{0, 10} (which is the offset of the beam corresponding to the NCR) may be provided to the UE. In smtc5, the SSB index 0 may be provided to the UE to indicate the SSB to be measured using the offset list.

[0110] (2) For the measurement result report based on SMTC5, the same method as in Example 1 can be used. The only difference is that the offsets provided in SMTC and SMTC5 may have repeated values. For example, SMTC1 may provide 20ms periodicity and 0ms offset, and SMTC5 may provide {0,10}ms offset. The offset of 0ms may be a repeated value in SMTC1 and SMTC5. In this case, the number of corresponding measurement results can be determined by min(number of unique offsets, number of measurement results exceeding the threshold). In the example mentioned above, the number of unique offsets can be equal to 2 (for example, only 2 unique values ​​of {0,10}). If a measurement result exceeding the threshold is reported, the corresponding offset can be reported together with the measurement result in the measurement process of Example 1.

[0111] It should be understood that one or more features from the above embodiments are not exclusive to a particular embodiment and / or example, but may be combined in any manner (eg, in any priority and / or order, simultaneously or otherwise).

[0112] Figure 11 A flow chart of a method 1100 for synchronization signal block (SSB) enhancement is shown. The method 1100 may be used in conjunction with Figure 1-2 In some embodiments, the method 1100 may be performed by a wireless communication device. Depending on the embodiment, additional, fewer, or different operations may be performed in the method 1100. At least one aspect of the operations may involve a system, method, apparatus, or computer-readable medium.

[0113] A wireless communication device (e.g., a UE) may receive a supplemental synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) (e.g., SMTC5) from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS). The wireless communication device may perform measurements on at least one of a plurality of SSBs based on the supplemental SMTC. The wireless communication device may send at least one report of the measurements to the wireless communication node. Enabling multiple measurements for a single SSB (from different communication nodes) may reuse the SSB index and may have less impact on the mapping of the SSB to other associated common channels.

[0114] In some embodiments, an SSB may be transmitted by a communication node configured to perform at least one of the following: receive, amplify, transmit, or forward at least one SSB from a wireless communication node. The SSB (e.g., from the communication node) and at least one SSB from a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS) may have transmission opportunities interleaved in the time domain and / or across multiple periodic periods. In some embodiments, the SSB may be forwarded by an NCR and may be time division multiplexed (TDMed) with non-forwarded SSBs. TDMed SSBs may allow separate measurements of the same SSB index.

[0115] In some embodiments, the supplemental SMTC may further include at least one of the following: a list of offsets (e.g., transmission timings / resources of SSBs relative to a reference); an identifier of one or more of the SSBs; or an association between an offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured. To enable measurement of a single SSB from different beams, the SMTC5 may include at least one of the following: a list of offsets; an identifier of one or more of the SSBs; or an association between an offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured. In some embodiments, the supplemental SMTC may indicate or configure that: a list of offsets may be applied to one or more of the SSBs; or a corresponding list of offsets may be applied to each of one or more of the SSBs.

[0116] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device may receive a first SMTC (e.g., SMTC1) from the wireless communication node. The first SMTC may include an indication of at least one of: at least one offset of an SSB from the wireless communication node; or a periodicity of SSBs from the wireless communication node. The periodicity may be the same as a periodicity of the plurality of SSBs, which may be from the network node; or the supplemental SMTC may exclude an indication of the periodicity of the plurality of SSBs.

[0117] In some embodiments, the report may include a list (e.g., MeasQuantityResultsList->MeasQuantityResultsList->MeasQuantityResults) containing one or more measurement results for each of the SSBs identified in the supplemental SMTC for measurement. Each of the one or more measurement results for one of the SSBs may be associated with an offset for one of the SSBs in a sequential manner. The maximum number of offsets applicable to a single SSB may be configured via a defined parameter (e.g., maxNrofOffsets). The list may include one or more measurement results, each of which meets a defined threshold for measurement reporting. The report may include an indication of one or more offsets corresponding to each of the one or more measurement results that meet the defined threshold. The list may include a maximum number of measurement results equal to at most the total number of offsets for the SSBs provided by the first SMTC (e.g., SMTC1) and the supplemental SMTC (e.g., SMTC5).

[0118] In some embodiments, each of the SSBs may contain a common signal. The common signal may include at least one of the following: a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block, a control resource set (CORESET), a system information block (SIB), a random access channel signal, or a paging signal. The number of measurement results in the report may correspond to the minimum number between the number of unique offsets of the SSB and the number of measurement results for the SSB that exceed a defined threshold for measurement reporting.

[0119] In some embodiments, a communication node (e.g., NCR-MT) may be configured with a periodicity for an SSB of the communication node that is different from (e.g., 20ms or 10ms) the periodicity of the SSB of the wireless communication node. The communication node may determine an offset of the SSB of the communication node based on the periodicity of the SSB of the communication node. The communication node may perform measurements of the SSB of the communication node using the determined offset and the configured periodicity. The communication node may receive a configuration comprising: a configured periodicity (e.g., ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell), and an identifier of one or more of the SSBs measured by the communication node (e.g., ssb-ToMeasure), to which the configured periodicity is applied. In some embodiments, the identifier may include a bitmap, wherein each bit indicates whether the corresponding SSB is to be measured. The bit width of the bitmap may be the total number of SSBs of the wireless communication node. The bitmap may include bits that correspond, in sequence, to the indexes of one or more SSBs.

[0120] In some embodiments, the identifier may include an index of one or more SSBs to be measured. The maximum number of indices of the one or more SSBs to be measured is the same as the number of SSBs sent by the wireless communication node. The communication node may receive one or more parameters of the configuration from the wireless communication node via at least one of the following: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control control element (MAC CE) signaling, downlink control information (DCI) signaling, or operation, administration, and maintenance (OAM) signaling. The configuration may include an indication of the number of valid SSBs, which identifies the first or last valid SSB in the order of their indexes. In some embodiments, the communication node may determine the offset using a modulo function (e.g., mod(offset provided in periodicityAndOffset, ncr-ssb-periodicityServingCell)) applied to the following: the offset provided in the periodicityAndOffset parameter, and the configured periodicity.

[0121] In some embodiments, a wireless communication node (e.g., a BS) may send a supplemental synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) (e.g., SMTC5) to a wireless communication device (e.g., a UE). The wireless communication node may receive from the wireless communication device at least one report of measurements performed by the wireless communication device on at least one of a plurality of SSBs according to the supplemental SMTC.

[0122] Although various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they are presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Similarly, various figures may depict example architectures or configurations, which are provided to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to understand the example features and functionality of the present solution. However, such persons will understand that the present solution is not limited to the example architectures or configurations shown, but may be implemented using various alternative architectures and configurations. In addition, as one of ordinary skill in the art will understand, one or more features of one embodiment may be combined with one or more features of another embodiment described herein. Therefore, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described illustrative embodiments.

[0123] It should also be understood that any reference to an element herein using designations such as "first," "second," etc., does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations may be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, reference to a first and a second element does not mean that only two elements may be used, or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

[0124] In addition, those skilled in the art will understand that any of a variety of different technologies and techniques may be used to represent information and signals. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, and symbols referenced in the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

[0125] Those of ordinary skill in the art will further understand that any of the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, processors, devices, circuits, methods, and functions described in conjunction with the aspects disclosed herein may be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., digital implementation, analog implementation, or a combination of the two), firmware, various forms of programs or design code containing instructions (which, for convenience, may be referred to herein as "software" or "software modules"), or any combination of these technologies. In order to clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software, or a combination of these technologies, depends on the specific application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those skilled in the art may implement the described functionality in various ways for each specific application, but such implementation decisions will not result in a departure from the scope of this disclosure.

[0126] In addition, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the various illustrative logic blocks, modules, devices, components, and circuits described herein may be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (IC), which may include a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logic blocks, modules, and circuits may also include antennas and / or transceivers to communicate with various components within a network or within a device. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in an alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. The processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, such as a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, a combination of one or more microprocessors and a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration for performing the functions described herein.

[0127] If implemented in software, the functions may be stored as one or more instructions or codes on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of the methods or algorithms disclosed herein may be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media include both computer storage media and communication media, including any medium that can enable a computer program or code to be transferred from one place to another. A storage medium may be any available medium that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example and not limitation, such a computer-readable medium may include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage device, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

[0128] As used herein, the term "module" refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for the purposes of discussion, various modules are described as separate modules; however, it is apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art that two or more modules can be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according to embodiments of the present solution.

[0129] In addition, memory or other storage devices and communication components may be used in embodiments of the present solution. It will be appreciated that, for clarity, the above description has described embodiments of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements, or domains may be used without detracting from the present solution. For example, functions illustrated as being performed by separate processing logic elements or controllers may be performed by the same processing logic element or controller. Therefore, references to specific functional units are merely references to suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicating a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

[0130] Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Therefore, the present disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as set forth in the claims.

Claims

1. A method comprising: Receiving, by the wireless communication device, a supplemental synchronization signal block (SSB) measurement timing configuration (SMTC) from the wireless communication node; performing, by the wireless communication device, measurements on at least one of a plurality of SSBs based on the supplemental SMTC; as well as At least one report of the measurement is sent by the wireless communication device to the wireless communication node.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The plurality of SSBs are transmitted by a communication node configured to at least one of: receive, amplify, transmit, or forward at least one SSB from the wireless communication node.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein The SSB and at least one SSB from the wireless communication node have transmission opportunities interleaved in the time domain.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The supplementary SMTC further comprises at least one of the following: offset list; an identification of one or more of the SSBs; or An association between the offset and one or more of the SSBs to be measured.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein The supplementary SMTC indicates or configures: applying the offset list to one or more of the SSBs; or A corresponding offset list is applied to each of one or more of the SSBs.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein Meet at least one of the following: The report includes a list including one or more measurement results for each of the SSBs identified for measurement in the supplemental SMTC; Each of the one or more measurements of one of the SSBs is associated in a sequential manner with an offset of one of the SSBs; The maximum number of offsets applicable to a single SSB is configured via defined parameters; The list includes one or more measurement results, each measurement result meeting a defined threshold for measurement reporting; or The report includes an indication of one or more excursions corresponding to each of the one or more measurements that meet a defined threshold.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein Meet at least one of the following: Each of the SSBs contains a common signal; or The common signal includes at least one of the following: a synchronization signal / physical broadcast channel block, a control resource set (CORESET), a system information block (SIB), a random access channel signal or a paging signal.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein: The number of measurement results in the report corresponds to the minimum number between: the number of unique offsets of an SSB and the number of measurement results of the SSB that exceed a defined threshold for measurement reporting.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein Meet at least one of the following: The communication node is configured with a periodicity for the SSB of the communication node that is different from a periodicity of the SSB of the wireless communication node; determining, by the communication node, an offset of the SSB for the communication node based on the periodicity of the SSB for the communication node; or The communication node performs measurements of the SSB of the communication node using the determined offset and the configured periodicity.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The communication node receives a configuration comprising: The configured periodicity, and The identification of one or more of the SSBs measured by the communication node using the configured periodicity.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Meet at least one of the following: The identification includes a bitmap, wherein each bit indicates whether the corresponding SSB is to be measured; The bit width of the bitmap is the total number of SSBs of the wireless communication node; or The bitmap includes bits that sequentially correspond to indices of one or more SSBs.

12. The method according to claim 10, wherein: Meet at least one of the following: The identification includes an index of one or more SSBs to be measured; The maximum number of indices of the one or more SSBs to be measured is the same as the number of SSBs transmitted by the wireless communication node; The communications node receives the one or more parameters of the configuration from the wireless communications node via at least one of: radio resource control (RRC) signaling, medium access control element (MAC CE) signaling, downlink control information (DCI) signaling, or operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) signaling; or The configuration contains an indication of the number of valid SSBs, the indication identifying the first or last valid SSB in the order of its index.

13. The method according to claim 10, wherein: The communication node determines the offset using a modulo function applied to: the offset provided in the periodicityAndOffset parameter, and the configured periodicity.

14. A method comprising: Sending, by the wireless communication node, a Supplemental Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) to the wireless communication device; and At least one report of measurements performed by the wireless communication device on at least one of a plurality of SSBs according to the supplemental SMTC is received by the wireless communication node from the wireless communication device.

15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14.

16. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor configured to perform the method according to any one of claims 1-14.

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