Method executed by user equipment and user equipment

Abstract

The invention provides a method executed by user equipment and the user equipment. The method comprises the following steps: receiving an RRC message, wherein the RRC message comprises configuration information about an on-demand SSB; an on-demand SSB is configured, and the initial state of the on-demand SSB is set to be activated or deactivated according to the indication of the initial state of the on-demand SSB; for each service cell, determining whether to execute a beam failure detection (BFD) process, the determining whether to execute the BFD process comprising: determining whether a first condition is satisfied, the first condition comprising that the service cell is configured with an on-demand SSB and the on-demand SSB type information included in the RRC message for configuring the on-demand SSB indicates that no always transmitted SSB exists after the on-demand SSB is deactivated; when the first condition is satisfied, determining whether a second condition is satisfied, the second condition comprising whether an on-demand SSB of the serving cell is in an activated state, and at least one of the RRC message indicating execution of a BFD process after the on-demand SSB is deactivated; and under the condition that the second condition is met, executing the BFD process for the serving cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to a method performed by a user equipment and a corresponding user equipment. Background Technology

[0002] Network energy conservation helps reduce environmental impact and save operator costs. Networks typically need to periodically transmit Service Buffers (SSBs) to enable UEs to synchronize with cells and measure beam quality and cell quality. Periodic SSB transmission consumes power, especially under low system load, resulting in wasted network power. For these reasons, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) approved the NES enhancement work item for Release 19 at the RAN plenary meeting, the details of which can be found in non-patent literature: RP-234065WID: Enhancements of network energy savings for NR. This work item includes allowing the network to not periodically transmit SSBs to SCells under low system load, or to lengthen the SSB transmission period. It also allows for dynamic triggering of SSB transmission based on system load changes and UE service activity, or the use of shorter SSB transmission periods, thereby achieving network energy conservation. Summary of the Invention

[0003] One of the objectives of this invention is to provide a method and user equipment for appropriately executing BFD processes when applying on-demand SSB.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method performed by a user equipment is provided, comprising: receiving an RRC message, the RRC message including configuration information about an on-demand SSB, the configuration information about the on-demand SSB including an on-demand SSB initial state indication indicating an initial state of the on-demand SSB and on-demand SSB type information indicating whether there is an SSB that is continuously transmitting when the on-demand SSB is deactivated; configuring the on-demand SSB, and setting the initial state of the on-demand SSB to active or deactivated according to the on-demand SSB initial state indication; and determining, for each serving cell, whether to perform a beam failure detection (BFD) procedure. The process of determining whether to execute the BFD procedure includes: determining whether a first condition is met, wherein the first condition includes the serving cell being configured with an on-demand SSB and the on-demand SSB type information included in the RRC message configuring the on-demand SSB indicating that there is no continuously transmitting SSB after the on-demand SSB is deactivated; if the first condition is met, determining whether a second condition is met, wherein the second condition includes at least one of the following: whether the on-demand SSB of the serving cell is in an active state and the RRC message indicating that the BFD procedure is executed after the on-demand SSB is deactivated; and if the second condition is met, executing the BFD procedure for the serving cell.

[0005] Optionally, the method further includes: when the first timer is in a running state, determining whether the on-demand SSB is in an active state, wherein the first timer is started or restarted when the initial state indicated by the on-demand SSB initial state indication is active, and when an activation indication for the on-demand SSB is received after the on-demand SSB is configured, and stopped when the initial state indicated by the on-demand SSB initial state indication is deactivated, and when a deactivation indication for the on-demand SSB is received after the on-demand SSB is configured.

[0006] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving an RRC release message; if the RRC release message includes a suspension configuration indicating the suspension of the RRC connection, then storing the configuration information about the on-demand SSB in the access layer AS context.

[0007] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving an RRC recovery message for restoring a suspended RRC connection; and restoring the on-demand SSB based on the configuration information about the on-demand SSB stored in the AS layer context.

[0008] Optionally, the restored state of the on-demand SSB can be set in one of the following ways: by default setting the state of the on-demand SSB to an active or deactivated state; setting the state of the on-demand SSB to the state indicated by the initial state indicator of the on-demand SSB; or setting the state of the on-demand SSB to the on-demand SSB state indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message when the last RRC reconfiguration message was received.

[0009] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving an RRC release message; and if the RRC release message includes a suspension configuration indicating that the RRC connection is suspended, then releasing the configuration information regarding the on-demand SSB.

[0010] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving a first RRC reconfiguration message for modifying an RRC connection, the first RRC reconfiguration message including a secondary cell modification list for indicating secondary cells that need to be modified; for at least one secondary cell not included in the secondary cell modification list, setting the state of the on-demand SSB of the secondary cell in one of the following ways: setting the state of the on-demand SSB to an active or deactivated state by default; setting the state of the on-demand SSB to the state indicated by the initial state indicator of the on-demand SSB; setting the state of the on-demand SSB to the on-demand SSB state indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message when the last RRC reconfiguration message was received.

[0011] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving a first RRC reconfiguration message for modifying the RRC connection, the first RRC reconfiguration message including a secondary cell group (SCG) status indication and an SCG on-demand SSB status indication, the SCG on-demand SSB status indication indicating the status of the on-demand SSBs of each secondary cell in the SCG when the SCG is deactivated; if the SCG status indication indicates that the SCG will be deactivated, then the SCG will be deactivated, and based on the SCG on-demand SSB status indication, the status of the on-demand SSBs of each secondary cell will be set to either an activated state or a deactivated state.

[0012] Optionally, the method further includes: receiving a first RRC reconfiguration message for modifying an RRC connection, the first RRC reconfiguration message including a secondary cell group (SCG) status indication; if the SCG status indication indicates that the SCG should be deactivated, then deactivating all secondary cells in the SCG, and setting the on-demand SSB status of each secondary cell in the SCG in one of the following ways: setting the on-demand SSB status to an active or deactivated state by default; setting the on-demand SSB status to the state indicated by the on-demand SSB initial state indication; setting the on-demand SSB status to the on-demand SSB status indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message when the RRC reconfiguration message was last received.

[0013] According to another aspect of the present invention, a user equipment is also provided, comprising: a processor; and

[0014] A memory that stores instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the method as described above.

[0015] According to the present invention, the BFD process can be appropriately executed when applying on-demand SSB. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Figure 3 This is a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 4 This is a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 5 This is a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 6 This is a flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment according to another embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 7 This is a simplified structural block diagram of the user equipment (UE) involved in the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0023] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the present invention should not be limited to the specific embodiments described below. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity, detailed descriptions of well-known technologies not directly related to the present invention have been omitted to prevent confusion in understanding the present invention.

[0024] The following describes some of the terms involved in this invention. For the specific meanings of these terms, please refer to the latest 3GPP standard specifications.

[0025] UE: User Equipment

[0026] NR: New Radio, next-generation wireless technology

[0027] AS: Access Stratum

[0028] MAC: Medium Access Control

[0029] MAC CE: MAC control element

[0030] RRC: Radio Resource Control

[0031] RRC_CONNECTED: RRC connection state

[0032] RRC_INACTIVE: RRC inactive state

[0033] RRC_IDLE: RRC idle state

[0034] RAN: Radio Access Network, Wireless Access Layer

[0035] PDCCH: Physical downlink control channel

[0036] PUCCH: Physical Uplink Control Channel

[0037] PUSCH: Physical Uplink Shared Channel

[0038] PRACH: Physical Random Access Channel

[0039] PBCH: Physical broadcast channel

[0040] SFN: System Frame Number

[0041] PDU: Protocol Data Unit

[0042] SSB: SS / PBCH block, Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel Block

[0043] CSI-RS: Channel Status Information-Reference Signal

[0044] DCI: Downlink Control Information

[0045] RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier

[0046] C-RNTI: Cell RNTI, Cell RNTI

[0047] P-RNTI: Paging RNTI, Pager RNTI

[0048] RA-RNTI: Random Access RNTI

[0049] SI-RNTI: System Information RNTI, System Message RNTI

[0050] RSRP: Reference Signal Received Power

[0051] RSRQ: Reference Signal Received Quality

[0052] SpCell: Special Cell, including PCCell and PSCell.

[0053] SCell: Secondary Cell

[0054] CA: Carrier Aggregation

[0055] DC: Dual Connectivity

[0056] MCG: Master Cell Group

[0057] SCG: Secondary Cell Group

[0058] PCell: Primary Cell

[0059] PSCell: Primary SCG Cell (SCG Main Cell)

[0060] MIB: Master Information Block

[0061] DRX: Discontinuous Reception

[0062] SIB: System Information Block

[0063] gNB: the next generation Node B, next-generation base station

[0064] RLF: Radio Link Failure.

[0065] SN: Sequence Number

[0066] CN: Core Network

[0067] UL-SCH: Uplink Shared Channel

[0068] NES: Network Energy Saving

[0069] OSI: Other System Information

[0070] SI: System Information, System Message

[0071] L3: Layer 3

[0072] BFD: Beam Failure Detection

[0073] BFR: Beam Failure Recovery

[0074] In this invention, the network (or NW), base station (or gNB or eNB), and RAN can be used interchangeably. The network can be a Long Term Evolution (LTE) network, a New Radio Access Technology (NR) network, an enhanced Long Term Evolution (eLTE) network, or other networks defined in subsequent 3GPP evolution versions.

[0075] In this invention, User Equipment (UE) can refer to a device that supports network power saving, a device that supports enhanced network power saving, a device with (enhanced) network power saving capabilities, a device that supports on-demand SSB, a device with on-demand SSB capabilities, a device with on-demand SSB measurement capabilities, or other types of NR or LTE devices.

[0076] In this invention, the terms "feedback", "submit", "report", "send", "transmit or transport", "inform", "indicate", and "provide" can be used interchangeably.

[0077] In this invention, terms such as "use", "be available", "apply", "implement", "enable", "activate", "perform", and "do" can be used interchangeably.

[0078] In this invention, the terms "associate", "correspond", and "map" can be used interchangeably.

[0079] In this invention, receiving, detecting, monitoring, acquiring, and deriving are interchangeable.

[0080] In this invention, "deactivate (non-active or deactive)," "stop," "stop," "exit," and "de-enable" can be used interchangeably.

[0081] In this invention, "activate", "start", "enable", "use", "enter", and "wake up" can be used interchangeably.

[0082] In this invention, "time" can be time, duration, period, time period, etc.

[0083] In this invention, "effective" and "available" can be used interchangeably.

[0084] In this invention, "on-demand SSB" is just an example name. Other names for SSB that indicate transmission is not continuous but triggered on demand can replace the name "on-demand SSB".

[0085] In this invention, "physical layer" and "layer one (L1)" can be used interchangeably.

[0086] In this invention, "handover" and "reconfiguration with sync" can be used interchangeably.

[0087] In this invention, "deactivate on-demand SSB" and "consider the state of on-demand SSB to be deactivated" can be used interchangeably, as can "activate on-demand SSB" and "consider the state of on-demand SSB to be activated".

[0088] It should be noted that in this specification, the two terms connected by "and", "or", or "and / or" may represent different ways of expressing the same meaning in different application scenarios. There may be a relationship of inclusion between the two terms, and they do not necessarily refer to completely different content.

[0089] The related technologies of the present invention are described below.

[0090] BFD

[0091] Beam Failure Detection (BFD) is a procedure where the UE detects beam failures based on reference signals configured by the network. The BFD procedure can be performed on each Serving Cell, including SpCell and SCell. If an SCell is deactivated, the UE does not need to perform BFD on that SCell. The reference signals configured for the BFD procedure can be SSB and / or CSI-RS. The UE performs the BFD procedure on the active downlink BWP.

[0092] Switch

[0093] Handover refers to a change of the primary cell initiated by the network side. This includes changes between primary cells as well as changes within a single cell, meaning the UE's primary cell changes from the source cell to the target cell. The source cell and the target cell can be the same cell or different cells. During this process, the key or security algorithm used for access layer security can also be updated. The source cell is also called the source base station, and can also be the source beam, source transmission point (TRP), or source master cell group (MCG). The target cell can also be called the target base station, target beam, target transmission point, or target MCG. The source cell refers to the cell that serves the UE before the handover process is initiated, i.e., the cell where the UE receives the RRC message containing the handover command. The target cell refers to the cell that serves the UE after the handover process is successfully completed, or the cell indicated by the target cell identifier contained in the handover command, the cell that the UE accesses when the handover is initiated. The handover command is used to trigger the UE to perform the handover, and in the NR system, it is an RRC reconfiguration message containing a reconfigurationwithsync information cell. Furthermore, for the handover of the primary cell, it is an RRC reconfiguration message containing a reconfiguration-withsync information element for the Master Cell Group (MCG). In this case, the handover can also be referred to as the synchronous reconfiguration of the MCG. The synchronous reconfiguration information element contains the configuration information of the target cell, such as the target cell identifier, target cell frequency, common configurations of the target cell (e.g., system information), random access configuration used by the UE to access the target cell, security parameter configuration of the UE in the target cell, and radio bearer configuration of the UE in the target cell.

[0094] Suspending and resuming RRC connections

[0095] After receiving an RRC release message with suspendConfig from the network, the UE retains some AS configurations in the UE Inactive AS context while releasing others, suspending the RRC connection and entering the RRC_INACTIVE state. When the UE needs to transmit uplink data, it can initiate RRC connection recovery by sending an RRC recovery request message to the network. When the UE receives the RRC recovery message from the network, it can recover / restore the previous configuration from the retained UE Inactive AS context. Therefore, the network does not need to carry excessive configuration information in the RRC recovery message, reducing signaling overhead.

[0096] With CA configured, a UE's serving cell consists of one PCell and one or more SCells. Adding, modifying, and deleting SCells is configured via RRC messages. When adding an SCell, its initial state (activated or deactivated) can be configured simultaneously. After SCell configuration, the network dynamically activates / deactivates the SCell via MAC CE based on the UE's service requirements and network load. When an SCell is activated or deactivated, beam and / or cell quality measurements are required.

[0097] With DC configured, the UE is configured with MCG and SCG. For MCG, if CA is configured, the primary cell in the MCG is also called PCell, and the secondary cell is still called SCell. For SCG, if CA is configured, the primary cell is called PSCell, and the secondary cell is still called SCell. The network can configure the deactivation state of SCG via RRC messages. When SCG is deactivated, all SCell(s) of SCG must also be deactivated.

[0098] Generally, the network periodically transmits SSBs, which can be called always-on SSBs. For deactivated cells, the network also periodically transmits SSBs. The UE can use SSBs for cell time-frequency synchronization, beam quality measurement, and cell quality measurement. To save network energy, the network may lengthen the SSB transmission period or stop transmitting SSBs altogether, but this may affect the UE's time-frequency synchronization and measurement. To address this issue, on-demand SSBs are introduced. Based on system load changes and UE service conditions, the network activates on-demand SSBs as needed. This means the network switches from not transmitting SSBs to transmitting on-demand SSBs, or from transmitting SSBs with longer periods to transmitting on-demand SSBs (usually with shorter transmission periods), or from transmitting SSBs with longer periods to simultaneously transmitting both longer-period SSBs and on-demand SSBs (usually with shorter transmission periods).

[0099] A cell that employs (enhanced) network energy saving, or a cell that is configured with on-demand SSB, or a cell that supports on-demand SSB, can be called an on-demand SSB cell. If the cell is an SCell, then it can be called an on-demand SSB SCell.

[0100] This invention discusses how the UE determines the activation / deactivation of the on-demand SSB, and the impact of on-demand SSB activation / deactivation on the BFD process, so that the UE can correctly determine the state of the on-demand SSB in different processes and correctly perform beam detection while saving network energy, thus avoiding the impact on UE service performance.

[0101] Example

[0102] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating method one executed by the UE according to one or more embodiments. The UE can execute... Figure 1 One or more steps. Figure 1 This includes steps S101 to S103.

[0103] Optionally, in step S101, the UE receives an RRC message sent by the network, such as an RRCReconfiguration message or an RRCResume message.

[0104] Optionally, the RRC message may include an on-demand SSB configuration.

[0105] Optionally, the on-demand SSB configuration includes at least one of the following:

[0106] -on-demand SSB initial state indication;

[0107] The on-demand SSB cycle when -on-demand SSB is activated;

[0108] -on-demand SSB type information;

[0109] -on-demand SSB (one or more) candidate cycles.

[0110] Alternatively, the on-demand SSB initial state indication may be included in the RRC message but not in the on-demand SSB configuration.

[0111] Optionally, the on-demand SSB initial state indicator is used to indicate the initial state (active or deactivated) of the on-demand SSB, or the initial state (active or deactivated) of the on-demand SSB corresponding to the SSB frequency point / or SSB index / or SCell (e.g., represented by ServCellIndex).

[0112] Alternatively, the initial state of the on-demand SSB can mean at least one of the following:

[0113] - The status of on-demand SSB (active or deactivated) when on-demand SSB is configured (or when on-demand SSB is configured as setup);

[0114] - When the on-demand SSB is configured (or when the on-demand SSB configuration is set to setup), should the on-demand SSB be considered active or deactivated?

[0115] - Upon receiving the RRC message, the status of the on-demand SSB (activated or deactivated);

[0116] - When configuring on-demand SSB (or when the on-demand SSB configuration is set to setup), the status (active or deactivated) of the on-demand SSB corresponding to the SSB frequency point / or SSB index / or SCell (e.g., represented by ServCellIndex);

[0117] - When configuring on-demand SSB (or when the on-demand SSB configuration is set to setup), should the on-demand SSB corresponding to the SSB frequency point / or SSB index / or SCell (e.g., represented by ServCellIndex) be considered active or deactivated?

[0118] - Upon receiving the RRC message, the status (active or deactivated) of the on-demand SSB corresponding to the SSB frequency point / or SSB index / or SCell (e.g., represented by ServCellIndex).

[0119] Optionally, if the on-demand SSB initial state indication is included in the RRC message, or the on-demand SSB initial state indication is set to activated, then the on-demand SSB is in an active state, and the UE considers the on-demand SSB to be active; if the on-demand SSB initial state indication is not included in the RRC message, or the on-demand SSB initial state indication is set to deactivated, then the on-demand SSB is in a deactivated state, and the UE considers the on-demand SSB to be deactivated.

[0120] Optionally, if the initial on-demand SSB state corresponding to the SSB frequency point / or SSB index is active, then the initial on-demand SSB state of all SCell(s) corresponding to the SSB frequency point / or SSB index is active; if the initial on-demand SSB state of the SSB frequency point / or SSB index is deactivated, then the initial on-demand SSB state of all SCell(s) corresponding to the SSB frequency point / or SSB index is deactivated.

[0121] Optionally, the on-demand SSB type information is used to indicate whether there is an always-on SSB, i.e., whether there are other SSBs continuously transmitting when the on-demand SSB is deactivated, or whether there is a (normal) SSB when the on-demand SSB is deactivated.

[0122] Optionally, when the on-demand SSB initial state indication indicates that the on-demand SSB is active, the UE (or RRC layer) starts (or restarts) the first timer. Optionally, when the on-demand SSB initial state indication indicates that the on-demand SSB is deactivated, the UE (or RRC layer) stops the first timer. If the first timer times out, the on-demand SSB is considered deactivated.

[0123] Optionally, the on-demand SSB period when the on-demand SSB is activated is used to indicate the transmission period of the on-demand SSB when the initial state of the on-demand SSB is activated, or to indicate the transmission period of the on-demand SSB when the on-demand SSB state is activated. Optionally, if the RRC message does not contain the on-demand SSB period when the on-demand SSB is activated, then the period used for on-demand SSB activation is the period with the largest value (or the period with the smallest value) among the candidate on-demand SSB periods.

[0124] Optionally, the RRC message may further include a BFD reference signal set for the serving cell and / or BFD first indication information. Optionally, the BFD first indication information is used to indicate whether a BFD procedure should be executed during on-demand SSB deactivation. For example, setting the BFD first indication information to TRUE indicates that a BFD procedure needs to be executed during on-demand SSB deactivation; setting the BFD first indication information to FALSE indicates that a BFD procedure does not need to be executed during on-demand SSB deactivation.

[0125] Optionally, the BFD reference signal set includes one or more reference signal configurations (hereinafter referred to as "BFD reference signals") for BFD process or beam link monitoring. Optionally, the BFD reference signal configuration includes at least one of the following information:

[0126] - The SSB index corresponding to the reference signal, or the CSI-RS index, or the on-demand SSB index;

[0127] - Reference signal type: SSB, or CSI-RS, or on-demand SSB;

[0128] - Reference signal on-demand SSB indicator, used to indicate whether the reference signal is on-demand SSB.

[0129] Optionally, in step S102, the UE receives an on-demand SSB activation / deactivation indication sent by the network. Compared to the on-demand SSB initial state indication in step S101, the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation indication dynamically activates / deactivates the on-demand SSB after it has been configured. Optionally, the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation indication is included in an RRC message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration), and / or a MAC CE, and / or a physical layer DCI.

[0130] Optionally, when the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation indication activates the on-demand SSB, the UE (or RRC layer) starts (or restarts) the first timer. Optionally, when the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation indication deactivates the on-demand SSB, the UE (or RRC layer) stops the first timer. If the first timer times out, the on-demand SSB is considered to be deactivated. The meaning of the first timer is the same as in step S101.

[0131] Optionally, if the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction is included in the MAC CE or physical layer DCI, when the MAC layer or physical layer receives the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction, it transmits the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction to the upper layers, i.e., the RRC layer. Alternatively, when the MAC layer or physical layer receives the on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction, if the on-demand SSB is deactivated and the received on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction is to activate the on-demand SSB, then the upper layer, i.e., the RRC layer, is instructed to activate the on-demand SSB; if the on-demand SSB is activated and the received on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction is to deactivate the on-demand SSB, then the upper layer, i.e., the RRC layer, is instructed to deactivate the on-demand SSB.

[0132] Optionally, in step S102, the UE also receives on-demand SSB period information sent by the network when on-demand SSB is activated. Optionally, the on-demand SSB period information when on-demand SSB is activated is included in the RRC message (e.g., RRCReconfiguration), and / or MAC CE, and / or physical layer DCI. Compared to the on-demand SSB period when on-demand SSB is activated in step S101, the "on-demand SSB period information when on-demand SSB is activated" mentioned in this step is the on-demand SSB period that is dynamically configured after on-demand SSB is configured. If the RRC message or MAC CE / or physical layer DCI does not contain the on-demand SSB period when on-demand SSB is activated, then the period used for on-demand SSB activation is the period with the largest value (or the smallest value) among the candidate on-demand SSB periods in step S101.

[0133] Optionally, in step S103, the UE determines whether the BFD procedure needs to be executed.

[0134] Optionally, for each serving cell, the UE determines at least one of the following first conditions:

[0135] -The serving cell is SCell;

[0136] - A set of BFD reference signals has been configured;

[0137] - It is configured with an on-demand SSB, or the configured SSB is an on-demand SSB;

[0138] - The BFD reference signal (of the serving cell) is (or contains, or is all, or is only) on-demand SSB;

[0139] - The BFD reference signal type is set to ssb, or the BFD reference signal is an SSB index;

[0140] The -on-demand SSB type information indicates that there is no SSB (or no continuously transmitted SSB) when the on-demand SSB is deactivated.

[0141] Optionally, if at least one of the first conditions is met, the UE determines at least one of the following conditions:

[0142] - The on-demand SSB of the serving cell is active (or valid);

[0143] - The initial state of the serving cell (corresponding to) on-demand SSB indicates that the on-demand SSB is active;

[0144] - Received on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction, indicating that on-demand SSB is activated;

[0145] - The first timer is running;

[0146] - The on-demand SSB of the serving cell is deactivated, and the BFD first indication information indicates that the BFD procedure needs to be executed when the on-demand SSB is deactivated.

[0147] Optionally, if at least one of the above conditions is met, the UE considers that (the serving cell) needs to perform a BFD procedure, and / or performs a (the serving cell) BFD procedure, and / or instructs lower layers to perform a (the serving cell) BFD procedure.

[0148] Optionally, if at least one of the first conditions is met, the UE determines at least one of the following conditions:

[0149] - The on-demand SSB of the serving cell is deactivated (or invalid);

[0150] - The initial state of the serving cell (corresponding to) on-demand SSB indicates that the on-demand SSB is deactivated;

[0151] - Received on-demand SSB activation / deactivation instruction, indicating that the on-demand SSB is deactivated;

[0152] - First timer timed out;

[0153] - The first BFD instruction indicates that the BFD process does not need to be executed when the on-demand SSB is deactivated.

[0154] Optionally, if at least one of the above conditions is met, the UE performs at least one of the following operations:

[0155] - It is assumed that (the serving cell) does not need to perform the BFD procedure;

[0156] - Stop the BFD process (of the serving cell);

[0157] - Instruct the lower layers to stop the BFD process (of the serving cell);

[0158] - Set the beam failure indicator counter (BFI_COUNTER) (for the serving cell) to 0;

[0159] - It is believed that the beam failure recovery process was successfully completed;

[0160] - Cancel the beam failure recovery (BFR) that has been triggered for the serving cell.

[0161] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating method two executed by the UE according to one or more embodiments. The UE can execute... Figure 2 One or more steps. Figure 2 This includes steps S201 to S203.

[0162] Optionally, in step S201, the UE receives an RRC release (RRCRelease) message sent by the network. The RRC release message is used to release the RRC connection or suspend the RRC connection. Optionally, the RRC release message includes a suspension configuration.

[0163] Optionally, if the RRC release message includes a suspend configuration, the UE stores the on-demand SSB configuration in the UE Inactive AS Context, and / or the UE stores the MCG configuration and / or SCG configuration in the UE Inactive AS Context (i.e., the SCell(s) in the MCG configuration and / or SCG configuration, as well as the on-demand SSB configuration corresponding to the SCell(s), are also stored in the UE Inactive AS Context). The on-demand SSB configuration is the on-demand SSB configuration described in step S101.

[0164] Optionally, in step S202, the UE initiates an RRC recovery procedure and sends an RRCResumeRequest message to the network. The RRC recovery procedure is used to restore a suspended RRC connection, and the RRCResumeRequest message is used to request the restoration of a suspended RRC connection.

[0165] Optionally, in step S203, the UE receives an RRCResume message sent by the network. The RRCResume message is used to resume a suspended RRC connection.

[0166] Optionally, the UE restores the on-demand SSB configuration from the UE Inactive AS context and determines an initial or default state for the restored on-demand SSB configuration. Optionally, if the RRC Resume does not contain fullConfig information cells, the UE (RRC layer) performs at least one of the following operations:

[0167] - Re-save the MCG configuration and / or SCG configuration from the UE Inactive AS context. The re-saved MCG configuration and / or SCG configuration includes the SCell(s) of the MCG and / or the SCell(s) of the SCG.

[0168] - (If the on-demand SSB of the re-saved MCG SCell(s) and / or the SCell(s) of the SCG is configured) assumes that the state of the on-demand SSB of the re-saved MCG SCell(s) and / or the SCell(s) of the SCG is active (or deactivated).

[0169] - (If the on-demand SSB of the re-saved MCG SCell(s) and / or the SCell(s) of the SCG is configured) assume that the state of the on-demand SSB of the re-saved MCG SCell(s) and / or the SCell(s) of the SCG is the state when the on-demand SSB is configured (or when the on-demand SSB configuration is set to setup);

[0170] - (If the on-demand SSB of the re-saved MCG SCell(s) and / or the SCell(s) of the SCG SCell(s) is configured) assume that the state of the on-demand SSB of the re-saved MCG SCell(s) and / or the SCell(s) of the SCG SCell(s) is the same as the state of the on-demand SSB indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message when the last RRC reconfiguration message was received.

[0171] - Pass the status indication / configuration of the on-demand SSB to the lower layers.

[0172] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram illustrating method three executed by the UE according to one or more embodiments. The UE can execute... Figure 3 One or more steps. Figure 3 This includes steps S301 to S303.

[0173] Optionally, in step S301, the UE receives an RRC release (RRCRelease) message sent by the network. The RRC release message is used to release the RRC connection or suspend the RRC connection.

[0174] Optionally, in step S302, it is determined whether the RRC release message contains a suspend configuration.

[0175] Optionally, in step S303, if the RRC release message contains a suspend configuration, the UE releases the on-demand SSB configuration, or does not save the on-demand SSB configuration in the UE Inactive AS Context. The on-demand SSB configuration is the on-demand SSB configuration described in step S101.

[0176] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram illustrating method four executed by the UE according to one or more embodiments. The UE can execute... Figure 4 One or more steps. Figure 4 This includes steps S401 to S402.

[0177] Optionally, in step S401, the UE receives an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the network. The RRC reconfiguration message is used to modify the RRC connection. Optionally, the RRC reconfiguration message includes a synchronization reconfiguration (reconfigurationWithSync) and / or an SCell add / delete list (SCellToAddModList).

[0178] Optionally, in step S402, the UE determines the initial state or default state for the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) that has not been modified by RRC reconfiguration.

[0179] Optionally, if the RRC reconfiguration message includes a synchronization reconfiguration, the UE performs at least one of the following operations:

[0180] If the configured SCell(s) is not included in SCellToAddModList, then the SCell(s) is considered to be in a deactivated state;

[0181] - (If the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is configured) It is assumed that the state of the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is deactivated (or activated).

[0182] - (If the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is configured) assume that the state of the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is the state when the on-demand SSB is configured (or when the on-demand SSB configuration is set to setup);

[0183] - (If the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is configured) assume that the state of the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is the same as the state of the on-demand SSB indicated in the RRC reconfiguration message when the last RRC reconfiguration message was received;

[0184] - Pass the status indication or configuration of the on-demand SSB to the lower layers.

[0185] The on-demand SSB configuration is the same as the on-demand SSB configuration described in step S101.

[0186] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram illustrating method five executed by the UE according to one or more embodiments. The UE can execute... Figure 5 One or more steps. Figure 5This includes steps S501 to S502.

[0187] Optionally, in step S501, the UE receives an RRC reconfiguration message sent by the network. The RRC reconfiguration message is used to modify the RRC connection. Optionally, the RRC reconfiguration message includes the SCG state (scg-state) and / or an SCG deactivation on-demand SSB state indication.

[0188] Optionally, the SCG deactivation on-demand SSB status indicator is used to indicate the status of the on-demand SSB when the SCG is deactivated (of the SCG's SCell(s)). Optionally, if the SCG deactivation on-demand SSB status indicator is included in the RRC message, or the SCG deactivation on-demand SSB status indicator is set to activated, it indicates that the on-demand SSB is active when the SCG is deactivated, and the UE considers the on-demand SSB to be active; if the SCG deactivation on-demand SSB status indicator is not included in the RRC message, or the SCG deactivation on-demand SSB status indicator is set to deactivated, it indicates that the on-demand SSB is deactivated when the SCG is deactivated, and the UE considers the on-demand SSB to be deactivated.

[0189] Optionally, if scg-State is included in the RRC reconfiguration message, the SCG deactivation procedure is executed.

[0190] Optionally, in step S502, the UE determines the initial state or default state of the on-demand SSB of SCell(s) in the deactivated SCG.

[0191] Optionally, if the SCG is deactivated, the UE performs at least one of the following operations:

[0192] - Deactivate all SCell(s) of the SCG;

[0193] - (If the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is configured) It is assumed that the state of the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is deactivated (or activated).

[0194] - (If the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is configured) assume that the state of the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is the state when the on-demand SSB is configured (or when the on-demand SSB configuration is set to setup);

[0195] - (If the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is configured) assume that the state of the on-demand SSB of the SCell(s) is SCG deactivation of the state indicated by the on-demand SSB state indicator;

[0196] - Indicate the status of the on-demand SSB or configure the lower layers.

[0197] The on-demand SSB configuration is the same as the on-demand SSB configuration described in step S101.

[0198] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram illustrating method six executed by the UE according to one or more embodiments. The UE can execute... Figure 6 One or more steps. Figure 6 This includes steps S601 to S602.

[0199] Optionally, in step S601, the UE receives a SCell activation / deactivation indication MAC CE sent by the network. If the SCell activation / deactivation indication MAC CE indicates SCell activation, the UE performs SCell activation.

[0200] Optionally, in step S602, after the UE physical layer completes time-frequency synchronization with the SCell, it sends a CSI report to the network, indicating that the SCell activation is complete, and the physical layer indicates that the UE's MAC layer and / or RRC layer SCell activation is complete.

[0201] Unless otherwise specified, the order of judgments and operations in this embodiment is irrelevant; that is, the order of judgments and operations can be interchanged.

[0202] Figure 7 This is a simplified structural block diagram of the user equipment (UE) involved in this invention. Figure 7As shown, the user equipment UE700 includes a processor 701 and a memory 702. The processor 701 may include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 702 may include, for example, volatile memory (such as random access memory, RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory. Program instructions are stored on the memory 702. When executed by the processor 701, these instructions can perform the methods described in detail herein, executed by the user equipment.

[0203] The program running on the device according to the invention can be a program that enables the computer to perform the functions of embodiments of the invention by controlling the central processing unit (CPU). The program or the information processed by the program can be temporarily stored in volatile memory (such as random access memory RAM), hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory systems.

[0204] Programs used to implement the functions of the various embodiments of the present invention can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The corresponding functions can be implemented by causing a computer system to read and execute the programs recorded on the recording medium. The term "computer system" here can refer to a computer system embedded in the device, and may include an operating system or hardware (such as peripheral devices). "Computer-readable recording medium" can be a semiconductor recording medium, an optical recording medium, a magnetic recording medium, a short-time dynamic storage program recording medium, or any other computer-readable recording medium.

[0205] Various features or functional modules of the devices used in the above embodiments can be implemented or executed by circuits (e.g., monolithic or multi-chip integrated circuits). Circuits designed to perform the functions described in this specification may include general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above devices. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any existing processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The above circuits may be digital circuits or analog circuits. In cases where advancements in semiconductor technology have led to new integrated circuit technologies that replace existing integrated circuits, one or more embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0206] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. Fixed or non-mobile electronic devices installed indoors or outdoors can be used as terminal devices or communication devices, such as AV equipment, kitchen equipment, cleaning equipment, air conditioners, office equipment, vending machines, and other household appliances.

[0207] As described above, embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to the above embodiments, and the present invention also includes any design modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various modifications can be made to the present invention within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, components with the same effects described in the above embodiments can be substituted for each other.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user equipment, comprising: receiving an RRC message including configuration information about an on-demand SSB, the configuration information about the on-demand SSB including an on-demand SSB initial state indication indicating an initial state of the on-demand SSB and on-demand SSB type information indicating whether there is always transmitted SSB when the on-demand SSB is deactivated; configuring the on-demand SSB and setting an initial state of the on-demand SSB as activated or deactivated according to the on-demand SSB initial state indication; determining, for each serving cell, whether to perform a beam failure detection (BFD) procedure, wherein the determining whether to perform the BFD procedure comprises: determining whether a first condition is met, the first condition including that the serving cell is configured with the on-demand SSB and that the on-demand SSB type information included in the RRC message configuring the on-demand SSB indicates that there is no always transmitted SSB after the on-demand SSB is deactivated; in a case that the first condition is met, determining whether a second condition is met, the second condition including at least one of that the on-demand SSB of the serving cell is in an activated state and that the RRC message indicates to perform the BFD procedure after the on-demand SSB is deactivated; and in a case that the second condition is met, performing the BFD procedure for the serving cell.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein, the method further comprising: determining whether the on-demand SSB is in the activated state when a first timer is running, the first timer being started or restarted when the initial state indicated by the on-demand SSB initial state indication is activated and when an activation indication for the on-demand SSB is received after the on-demand SSB is configured, and being stopped when the initial state indicated by the on-demand SSB initial state indication is deactivated and when a deactivation indication for the on-demand SSB is received after the on-demand SSB is configured.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein, the method further comprising: receiving an RRC release message; if the RRC release message includes a suspend configuration indicating to suspend an RRC connection, saving the configuration information about the on-demand SSB in an access stratum (AS) context.

4. The method of claim 3, wherein, the method further comprising: receiving an RRC resume message for resuming the suspended RRC connection; and resuming the on-demand SSB based on the configuration information about the on-demand SSB saved in the AS context.

5. The method of claim 3, wherein, a state of the resumed on-demand SSB is set in one of: defaulting the state of the on-demand SSB to an activated state or a deactivated state; setting the state of the on-demand SSB to a state indicated by the on-demand SSB initial state indication; setting the state of the on-demand SSB to an on-demand SSB state indicated in a last received RRC reconfiguration message.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein, the method further comprising: receiving an RRC release message; if the RRC release message includes a suspend configuration indicating to suspend an RRC connection, releasing the configuration information about the on-demand SSB.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein, the method further comprising: receiving a first RRC reconfiguration message for modifying an RRC connection, the first RRC reconfiguration message comprising a secondary cell modification list indicating secondary cells that need to be modified; setting a status of on-demand SSBs of at least one secondary cell not included in the secondary cell modification list by one of the following ways: defaulting the status of the on-demand SSBs to an activated status or a deactivated status; setting the status of the on-demand SSBs to a status indicated by the on-demand SSB initial status indication; setting the status of the on-demand SSBs to a status of on-demand SSBs indicated in a last received RRC reconfiguration message.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving a first RRC reconfiguration message for modifying an RRC connection, the first RRC reconfiguration message comprising a secondary cell group, SCG, status indication and a SCG on-demand SSB status indication indicating a status of on-demand SSBs of each secondary cell in the SCG when the SCG is deactivated; if the SCG status indication indicates to deactivate the SCG, deactivating the SCG and setting the status of on-demand SSBs of the each secondary cell to an activated status or a deactivated status based on the SCG on-demand SSB status indication.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein, The method further comprises: receiving a first RRC reconfiguration message for modifying an RRC connection, the first RRC reconfiguration message comprising a secondary cell group, SCG, status indication; if the SCG status indication indicates to deactivate the SCG, deactivating all secondary cells in the SCG and setting a status of on-demand SSBs of each secondary cell in the SCG by one of the following ways: defaulting the status of the on-demand SSBs to an activated status or a deactivated status; setting the status of the on-demand SSBs to a status indicated by the on-demand SSB initial status indication; setting the status of the on-demand SSBs to a status of on-demand SSBs indicated in a last received RRC reconfiguration message.

10. A user equipment comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 9. ​

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