Measurements before adding two SCells in fragmented carrier configuration

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to measurements prior to addition of two SCells in fragmented carrier configuration. An apparatus configured to perform measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and intra-gap interference in parallel during a measurement occasion, wherein at least one component carrier of the first cell is non-contiguous with at least one component carrier of the second cell; and transmit a report to a base station providing a primary serving cell of the apparatus based at least in part on the measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the intra-gap interference.

Description

Cross-reference to related applications

[0001] This application claims priority and benefit to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63 / 736909, filed December 20, 2024, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. Technical Field

[0002] The example and non-limiting embodiments generally relate to fragmented carriers, and more specifically, to the measurement of carriers in a fragmented configuration. Background Technology

[0003] In carrier aggregation configurations, it is known to use a single receiver chain. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The following overview is intended to be illustrative only. The summary is not intended to limit the scope of the claims.

[0005] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed using the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: perform measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-cell interference in parallel during a measurement opportunity, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, and the at least one component carrier is discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmit a report to a base station of the primary serving cell providing the apparatus, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-cell interference.

[0006] According to one aspect, a method includes: performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel using a user equipment during a measurement timing period, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmitting a report to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the inter-gap interference.

[0007] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes components for: performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing period, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmitting a report to a base station of the primary serving cell providing the apparatus, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0008] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference to be measured in parallel using a user equipment during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing a report to be transmitted to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, the report being at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0009] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed using the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: transmit to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement opportunity, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, and the at least one component carrier is discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receive from the at least one user equipment a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0010] According to one aspect, a method includes: using a base station to transmit to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receiving from the at least one user equipment a report based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0011] According to one aspect, an apparatus includes components for: transmitting to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receiving from the at least one user equipment a report at least partially based on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0012] According to one aspect, a computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing a base station to transmit a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing the at least one user equipment to receive a report from the at least one user equipment based at least in part on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0013] The subject matter of the independent claims is provided for in some respects. Other aspects are defined in the dependent claims. Attached Figure Description

[0014] The foregoing aspects and other features are explained in the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein: Figure 1 This is a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example system in which exemplary embodiments can be practiced; Figure 2A and Figure 2B This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 3 This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 4 This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 5 This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 6A and Figure 6B This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 7 This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 8 This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 9 This is a diagram illustrating the features described in this article; Figure 10 This is a flowchart illustrating the steps described herein; and Figure 11 This is a flowchart illustrating the steps described in this article. Detailed Implementation

[0015] The following abbreviations, which can be found in the instruction manual and / or accompanying drawings, are defined as follows: 3GPP Third Generation Partnership Project 5G fifth generation Core Network BW bandwidth CA carrier aggregation CC component carrier CSI Channel Status Information DL downlink eNB (or eNodeB) evolved NodeB (e.g., LTE base station) The en-gNB or en-gNB provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE and acts as a secondary node in E-UTRA-NR dual connectivity. E-UTRA evolved universal terrestrial radio access, i.e., LTE radio access technology FR frequency range gNB (or g NodeB) is a base station used for 5G / NR, that is, a node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE and connects to the 5GC via the NG interface. HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request LTE Long Term Evolution MAC Media Access Control NC discontinuous NCCA discontinuous carrier aggregation NC IB CA Non-continuous In-Band Carrier Aggregation Dual connection ng or NG next generation ng-eNB or NG-eNB next-generation eNB NR New Radio N / W or NW network PCell main cell PDCP Packet Data Convergence Protocol PHY physical layer RAN Radio Access Network RF radio frequency RLC Radio Link Control RRC Radio Resource Control RS reference signal RSRP reference signal received power SCell Auxiliary Community SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol SI Research Project SINR signal versus interference plus noise ratio SP-CSI-RS Semi-Persistent Channel State Information Reference Signal SSB Synchronization Signal Block TCI transmission configuration indication UE (User Equipment) (e.g., wireless, typically mobile devices) UL uplink.

[0016] Turning Figure 1 This figure illustrates a block diagram of one possible and non-limiting example of an example in which practices can be carried out. It depicts a user equipment (UE) 110, a radio access network (RAN) node 170, and (multiple) network elements 190. Figure 1 In the example, User Equipment (UE) 110 wirelessly communicates with Wireless Network 100. The UE is a wireless device that can access Wireless Network 100. UE 110 includes one or more processors 120, one or more memories 125, and one or more transceivers 130 interconnected via one or more buses 127. Each of the one or more transceivers 130 includes a receiver Rx 132 and a transmitter Tx 133. The one or more buses 127 may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optic cables, or other optical communication devices. "Circuit" may include dedicated hardware or hardware associated with executable software thereon. The one or more transceivers 130 are connected to one or more antennas 128. The one or more memories 125 include computer-readable code 123. UE 110 includes a module 140 that includes one or both of portions 140-1 and / or 140-2, which may be implemented in various ways. Module 140 may be implemented in hardware as module 140-1, such as as part of one or more processors 120. Module 140-1 may also be implemented as an integrated circuit or through other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, module 140 may be implemented as module 140-2, which is implemented as computer-readable code 123 and executed by one or more processors 120. For example, one or more memories 125 and computer-readable code 123 may be configured to enable user equipment 110 to perform one or more operations as described herein using one or more processors 120. UE 110 communicates with RAN node 170 via radio link 111.

[0017] In this example, RAN node 170 is a base station that provides access from wireless devices (such as UE 110) to wireless network 100. RAN node 170 can be, for example, a base station for 5G, also known as New Radio (NR). In 5G, RAN node 170 can be an NG-RAN node, which is defined as a gNB or ng-eNB. A gNB is a node that provides NR user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE and is connected to the 5GC (such as, for example, multiple network elements 190) via an NG interface. An ng-eNB is a node that provides E-UTRA user plane and control plane protocol termination to the UE and is connected to the 5GC via an NG interface. An NG-RAN node can include multiple gNBs, and can also include a central unit (CU) (gNB-CU) 196 and multiple distributed units (DUs) (gNB-DUs), where DU 195 is shown. Note that a DU can include or be coupled to and control a radio unit (RU). The gNB-CU is a logical node that hosts the RRC, SDAP, and PDCP protocols of the gNB or the en-gNB. The gNB-CU controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU terminates at the F1 interface connected to the gNB-DU. The F1 interface is shown as reference numeral 198, although reference numeral 198 also illustrates the link between remote elements of RAN node 170 and centralized elements of RAN node 170 (such as between gNB-CU 196 and gNB-DU 195). The gNB-DU is a logical node that hosts the RLC, MAC, and PHY layers of the gNB or en-gNB, and the operation of the gNB-DU is partially controlled by the gNB-CU. One gNB-CU supports one or more cells. A cell is supported by only one gNB-DU. The gNB-DU terminates at F1 interface 198 connected to the gNB-CU. Note that DU 195 is considered to include transceiver 160, for example, as part of an RU, but some examples may have transceiver 160 as part of a separate RU, for example, under the control of DU 195 and connected to DU 195. RAN node 170 may also be an eNB (evolved NodeB) base station for LTE (Long Term Evolution), or any other suitable base station, access point, access node, or node.

[0018] RAN node 170 includes one or more processors 152, one or more memories 155, one or more network interfaces (N / WI / F) 161, and one or more transceivers 160 interconnected via one or more buses 157. Each of the one or more transceivers 160 includes a receiver Rx 162 and a transmitter Tx 163. The one or more transceivers 160 are connected to one or more antennas 158. The one or more memories 155 include computer-readable code 153. CU 196 may include processor(s) 152, memories 155, and network interfaces 161. Note that DU 195 may also include its own memories / multiple memories and processor(s) and / or other hardware, but these are not shown.

[0019] RAN node 170 includes module 150, which includes one or both of portions 150-1 and / or 150-2, which can be implemented in various ways. Module 150 can be implemented in hardware as module 150-1, such as being implemented as part of one or more processors 152. Module 150-1 can also be implemented as an integrated circuit or by other hardware such as a programmable gate array. In another example, module 150 can be implemented as module 150-2, which is implemented as computer-readable code 153 and executed by one or more processors 152. For example, one or more memories 155 and computer-readable code 153 are configured to enable RAN node 170 to perform one or more operations as described herein using one or more processors 152. Note that the functionality of module 150 can be distributed, such as distributed between DU 195 and CU 196, or implemented only in DU 195.

[0020] One or more network interfaces 161 communicate over a network (such as via links 176 and 131). Two or more gNBs 170 may communicate using, for example, link 176. Link 176 may be wired or wireless, or both, and may implement, for example, an Xn interface for 5G, an X2 interface for LTE, or other suitable interfaces for other standards.

[0021] One or more buses 157 may be address, data, or control buses and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, fiber optic or other optical communication devices, wireless channels, etc. For example, one or more transceivers 160 may be implemented as a Remote Radio Header (RRH) 195 for LTE or a Distributed Unit (DU) 195 for a gNB implementation for 5G, wherein other elements of the RAN node 170 may be physically located in a different location from the RRH / DU, and one or more buses 157 may be partially implemented, for example, as fiber optic cables or other suitable network connections to connect other elements of the RAN node 170 (e.g., Central Unit (CU), gNB-CU) to the RRH / DU 195. Reference numeral 198 also indicates those suitable network links(s).

[0022] Note that the description in this document indicates that a "cell" performs a function, but it should be clear that the equipment forming the cell will perform the function. A cell is part of a base station. That is, each base station can have multiple cells. For example, for a single carrier frequency and associated bandwidth, there can be three cells, each covering one-third of a 360-degree area, such that the coverage area of ​​a single base station is approximately elliptical or circular. Furthermore, each cell can correspond to a single carrier, and a base station can use multiple carriers. Therefore, if there are three 120-degree cells for each carrier and two carriers, the base station has a total of six cells.

[0023] Wireless network 100 may include one or more network elements 190, which may include core network functions and provide connectivity to other networks (such as telephone networks and / or data communication networks (e.g., the Internet)) via one or more links 181. Such core network functions for 5G may include (multiple) Access and Mobility Management Functions (AMF) and / or (multiple) User Plane Functions (UPF) and / or (multiple) Session Management Functions (SMF). Such core network functions for LTE may include MME (Mobility Management Entity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) functions. These are merely exemplary functions that may be supported by (multiple) network elements 190, and it should be noted that both 5G and LTE functions may be supported. RAN node 170 is coupled to network element 190 via link 131. Link 131 may be implemented as, for example, an NG interface for 5G, or an S1 interface for LTE, or other suitable interfaces for other standards. Network element 190 includes one or more processors 175, one or more memories 171, and one or more network interfaces (N / WI / F) 180 interconnected via one or more buses 185. One or more memories 171 include computer-readable code 173. The one or more memories 171 and computer-readable code 173 are configured to cause the network element 190 to perform one or more operations using one or more processors 175.

[0024] Wireless network 100 can implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functions into a single software-based management entity (virtual network). Network virtualization involves platform virtualization, often combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as external, combining many networks or parts of networks into virtual units or internal, thereby providing network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. For example, a network can be deployed in a remote cloud, where virtualized network functions (VNFs) run on, for example, data center servers. For example, network core functions and / or (multiple) radio access networks (e.g., cloud RAN, O-RAN, edge cloud) can be virtualized. Note that the virtualized entity resulting from network virtualization is still implemented to some extent using hardware such as processors 152 or 175 and memories 155 and 171, and such virtualized entities also create technical effects.

[0025] It should also be noted that the operation of the example embodiments of this disclosure may be performed by multiple cooperating devices (e.g., cRAN).

[0026] Computer-readable storage devices 125, 155, and 171 can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic storage devices and systems, optical storage devices and systems, fixed storage, and removable storage. Computer-readable storage devices 125, 155, and 171 can be components for performing storage functions. As a non-limiting example, processors 120, 152, and 175 can be of any type suitable for the local technical environment and can include one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. Processors 120, 152, and 175 can be components for performing functions such as controlling UE 110, RAN node 170, and other functions described herein.

[0027] Generally speaking, various exemplary embodiments of user equipment 110 may include, but are not limited to, cellular phones such as smartphones, tablets, personal digital assistants (PDAs) with wireless communication capabilities, portable computers with wireless communication capabilities, image capture devices such as digital cameras with wireless communication capabilities, gaming devices with wireless communication capabilities, music storage and recycle bins with wireless communication capabilities, internet-connected appliances that allow wireless internet access and browsing, tablets with wireless communication capabilities, and portable units or terminals combining such functions. Furthermore, various embodiments of user equipment 110 may include, but are not limited to, capability reduction (RedCap) devices, devices integrated into vehicles, infrastructure associated with vehicle operation, wearable devices used by pedestrians or other non-vehicle users of the road, user equipment unrelated to traffic users, and user equipment configured to participate in lateral movement scenarios, such as public safety user equipment and / or other commercial user equipment.

[0028] A suitable, but non-limiting, technical context for practicing exemplary embodiments of this disclosure has thus been introduced, and the exemplary embodiments will now be described in more detail.

[0029] The features described herein can typically involve fragmented carriers. Fragmented carriers are non-contiguous component carriers (e.g., component carriers separated by gaps) used together to provide carrier aggregation (CA).

[0030] In carrier aggregation, in addition to the primary cell (PCell), the UE can be configured with one or more secondary / serving cells (SCells). Both PCells and SCells can be considered serving cells. SCells can be downlink-only cells and may not be used to carry PUCCH signaling.

[0031] At the 102nd 3GPP RAN meeting, a group of operators submitted a new research project (SI) proposal in RP-233374 to evaluate the feasibility of using a single receiver (Rx) chain on fragmented in-band blocks in downlink (DL) CA, while investigating near-far issues and undesirable emissions impacts. This proposal was part of the Rel-19 RAN4 work item package discussion, as documented in RP-240019. This SI was submitted in RP-241360 for approval at the 104th RAN meeting and is now referred to as FS_NR_FR1_Frag_Carrier. The scope of the proposed research project at the 104th RAN meeting regarding R19 fragmented carriers is as follows: The objectives of this study are as follows: - For inter-operator co-location scenarios, identify methods for reducing the number of UE Rx chains required (e.g., 1 or 2) for a single DL band with a frequency span of ≤100 MHz (which contains two non-contiguous CCs within a CA combination), taking into account: -Which RF requirements can be adjusted for co-located BS scenarios between operators, such as existing UE RF requirements, like ACS[RAN4]; - The ability to semi-statically switch hardware resources (i.e., Rx chains) between frequency bands [RAN4, RAN2 - see note 2]; - Up to 6 dB of DL power spectral density imbalance between two discontinuous CCs [RAN4]; -Impact on DL performance[RAN4]; - This refers to the component that informs the network of the new CA configuration that the UE can support under the adjusted RF requirements [RAN4, RAN2 - see note 2].

[0032] Note 1: No RAN1 impact is expected; Note 2: If necessary, RAN2 operation will be triggered by RAN4 LS; Note 3: When the study is completed, consider using the identified solutions to define the standardization work for the core requirements.

[0033] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may or may not involve a UE with a hardware configuration that enables the reception of multiple fragmented in-band blocks using a single RX chain.

[0034] Now for reference Figure 2A and Figure 2B This illustrates an example of fragmented carriers. Figure 2AExamples illustrating n25, n66, and n7 in Canada are provided, where different colors indicate different operator spectrum ownership. In the example of n25 (210), two different operator-accessible spectrum blocks (e.g., 5 MHz wide) are illustrated. In the example of n7 (220), three different operator-accessible spectrum blocks are illustrated. In the example of n66 (230), four different operator-accessible spectrum blocks are illustrated. Figure 2B This illustrates an example of n26 / n5 in Australia, where different colors indicate different operator spectrum ownership. In the urban (240) and regional (250) areas, both n26 and n5 are divided into operator frequency blocks belonging to different operators, as well as unallocated blocks.

[0035] As in Figure 2A and Figure 2B As illustrated in the examples, interference sources within a gap can be several channels and even originate from more than one other operator. When operators use channels allocated adjacent to another operator, they can be considered sources of interference in gaps between channels licensed by that other operator. More than one block in a gap between operator blocks can potentially cause interference to the operator, and those blocks within the gap can correspond to multiple other operators. Some information about channel usage can be provided through inter-operator communication / coordination. However, this information is provided at a general level and does not provide any explicit information about instantaneous usage and power levels.

[0036] In this disclosure, in-gap interference provided by an in-gap interference source may include interference or noise caused by one or more blocks operated by one or more operators located in the gap between in-band discontinuous carriers that operate in or will operate in a fragmented carrier configuration.

[0037] The features described herein can typically involve secondary cell (SCell) activation, such as in FR1. Before an SCell is activated, the NW (e.g., PCell) can configure the UE to perform measurements about a candidate SCell. In example embodiments, the PCell can also configure the UE to measure inter-gap interference sources or inter-gap interference. The duration of performing these measurements can contribute to the delay used to activate the SCell.

[0038] In FR1, the delay used to activate the SCell can be determined in a different way than in the case of a known SCell when the SCell is unknown. Given that the fragmented carrier case uses a non-contiguous in-band delay to activate the SCell, the fragmented carrier usage case has the same type.

[0039] Unknown SCell activation delay uses the following format: If the semi-persistent Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) is used for Channel State Information (CSI) reporting, the format is: -6ms + T FirstSSB_MAX + T SMTC_MAX + T rs + T L1-RSRP, measure + T L1-RSRP,report + T HARQ + max(T) uncertainty_MAC + T FineTiming + 2ms, T uncertainty_SP ); If periodic CSI-RS is used for CSI reporting, the format is: -3ms + T FirstSSB_MAX + T SMTC_MAX + T rs + T L1-RSRP, measure + T L1-RSRP,report + max(T) HARQ + T uncertainty_MAC +5ms +T FineTiming , T uncertainty_RRC + T RRC_delay ).

[0040] Now for reference Figure 3 This illustrates an example of SCell activation for an unknown SCell. Before the SCell activation command, the UE can perform SCell measurements. At 305, the PCell can receive the SCell activation command regarding the SCell. At T... HARQ After time (310), PCell can transmit Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) acknowledgments (ACKs). This can be done at time T. FirstSSB_MAX +T SMTC_MCAX +T rs Cell detection (325) is performed during (320). Then, it can be performed at time T. L1_RSRP、measure (335) During this period, the reference signal received power (RSRP) measurement is performed. At time T... L1_RSRP,report (340) After that, PCell can transmit the L1_RSRP report (345) about SCell. At time T uncertainty_MAC During (360), the PCell can receive a Transmission Configuration Indicator (TCI) (350) and a Semi-Persistent Channel State Information Reference Signal (SP-CSI-RS) activation (355). The SP-CSI-RS can be used to provide information for network understanding of the channel conditions between the base station (gNB) and the user equipment (UE). Unlike periodic scheduling, which transmits signals at fixed intervals, semi-persistent scheduling allows transmissions to be turned on and off based on network needs. During time T... CSI,reportingDuring (365), the CSI of SCell can be measured and reported by PCell (370).

[0041] If the SCell is known, time / frequency tracking may be required. In cases of longer measurement durations, one or more samples may be needed for automatic gain control (AGC). If the SCell is known and belongs to FR1, the SCell activation delay T... activation_time as follows: If the measurement duration of the activated SCell is equal to or less than 2400ms, then the SCell activation delay T activation_time It is T FirstSSB + 5ms.

[0042] If the measurement duration of the activated SCell is greater than 2400ms, then the SCell activation delay T activation_time It is T FirstSSB_MAX + T rs + 5ms.

[0043] Now for reference Figure 4 This illustrates examples of known SCell activation where the measurement duration is greater than 2400ms (405) and where the measurement duration is less than 2400ms (410). The UE can perform SCell measurements before the SCell activation command.

[0044] When the measurement period is greater than 2400ms (405), the PCell can receive the SCell activation command (415), and at time T HARQ After (420), PCell can transmit HARQ ACK (425). At time T... FirstSSB_MAX +T rs During (430), time / frequency tracking and AGC (435) can be performed. Then, the PCell can transmit the L1_RSRP report (450). The PCell can then transmit the report at time T. uncertainty_MAC (465) During this period, receive the TCI instruction (455) and SP-CSI-RS activation (46). At time T... CSI,reporting During this period, RS (470) can be measured, and then CSI report (475) can be executed.

[0045] When the measurement period is less than 2400ms (410), the PCell can receive the SCell activation command (415), and at time T HARQ After (420), PCell can transmit HARQ ACK (425). At time T... FirstSSBDuring (440), time / frequency tracking (445) can be performed. Then, the PCell can transmit the L1_RSRP report (450). The PCell can then transmit the report at time T. uncertainty_MAC (465) During this period, receive the TCI instruction (455) and SP-CSI-RS activation (46). At time T... CSI,reporting During this period, RS (470) can be measured, and then CSI report (475) can be executed.

[0046] Without components for attenuating interference between fragmented carriers, in-gap interference can cause problems receiving fragmented carriers. In other words, in-gap interference sources may prevent the UE from distinguishing the power received from the fragmented carrier from the power of the in-gap interference source. For example, the power of the in-gap interference may exceed that of the candidate SCell, making SCell measurements inaccurate or even undetectable. During the setup / activation of (multiple) carriers, there are two strategies to avoid such problems: directly moving to the fragmented carrier setup (see, for example...) Figure 5 ), or assess whether interference within the gap will cause reception problems for the carrier (see, for example) Figure 7-8 ).

[0047] Now for reference Figure 5 This illustrates an example of configuring end-channel filters for established fragmented carrier pairs. Figure 5 In the example, the channel filter (540) and local oscillator (LO) settings (550) have been selected based on centering the downlink operation and based on the power of CC1 (510), the interfering sources within the gap (520), and CC2 (530). The LO centers the downconversion frequency of the channel filter from the RF frequency to a low or zero intermediate frequency (IF) frequency, which also allows the channel filter to be presented at the RF frequency. Figure 5 In the example, both CC1 (510) and CC2 (530) can be PCell.

[0048] If in-gap interference is not assessed before establishing fragmented carrier aggregation with the two SCells, the setup of the two SCells in the fragmented carrier configuration may fail. For example, if the received power of the in-gap interference is too high (e.g., above a threshold), the SCell may not be activated due to the interference.

[0049] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may relate to the parallel activation of two SCells to be operated in a fragmented carrier aggregation configuration. A technical advantage of the exemplary embodiments of this disclosure is that the SCell activation is performed without affecting the activation time compared to a single SCell activation (i.e., without increasing the amount of time required to perform measurements before the SCell activation command).

[0050] In an example embodiment, measurements can be performed before activating two SCells in fragmented carrier aggregation. The technical advantage of measuring two SCells according to the example embodiment of this disclosure is that it does not increase the setup / activation process time compared to single-carrier SCell setup.

[0051] If the PCell is not within a fragmented carrier, a wider analog channel filter can be used for measurement, which can include both the carrier (i.e., the SCell carrier) and the in-gap interference source. In this scenario, with high in-gap interference (affecting the decoding of the Synchronization Signal Block (SSB)), there may be a performance penalty when decoding the SSB on the SCell. An example of high in-gap interference could be operation in areas or regions where no co-located inter-operator deployment is implemented. This situation can lead to even higher in-gap interference because the interference is not transmitted at the same "tower". With moderate levels of in-gap interference, the SCell can be detected and activated without adding additional delay for SCell activation. This may require the UE to be able to decode two SSBs in parallel, resulting in two search activities from the UE to decode the SSB for both SCells. An example of moderate levels of in-gap interference could be an inter-operator co-located network deployment.

[0052] If the UE does not have at least three searches to use for a frequency range, one searcher can be reserved for PCell measurements, and one searcher can be used to measure fragmented carriers (i.e., two SCells). This may require the UE to be able to serialize the use of the searcher, meaning that the searcher algorithm can run independently on each SSB of the two carriers (i.e., SCells) for fragmented carrier aggregation.

[0053] If the UE has three searches and they are all available in the same frequency range, the UE can perform the searcher algorithm on two carriers in parallel.

[0054] Now for reference Figures 6A-6B This describes the hardware configuration that can be used when measuring CC1 (610) and CC2 (620) before the activation of CC1 (610) and CC2 (620) (which can both be SCell). Figure 6A and Figure 6B This indicates the effect of simulating a low-channel filter at the RF level.

[0055] Figure 6A The description specifies a channel filter configuration (640) configured only for CC1 (610), whose downconversion operation is determined by an LO setting (650), which represents the UE downconversion frequency placed at the center of the downconversion bandwidth determined by the analog low-frequency channel filter. Figure 6BA channel filter configuration (660) configured for CC2 (630) and the in-gap interference source (620) is described, having an LO setting (670) representing the UE down-conversion frequency placed at the center of the down-conversion bandwidth determined by the analog low-frequency channel filter. In the example embodiment, in Figure 6A and Figure 6B The channel filter configuration or searcher algorithm described herein can be executed in parallel by the UE.

[0056] By performing measurements in parallel, activating two SCells in parallel may not require the introduction of relaxations (e.g., time extensions) compared to activating a single cell, and may not require separate measurement settings / timings for in-gap interference compared to the measurement settings used to measure SCells. The duration is stored not only for SCell measurements, SCell plus in-gap measurements, or in-gap measurements. Furthermore, the duration between measurement timings is added to the combined duration. To simplify storage during activation, the duration of each measurement timing can be added at least to the duration between two measurement timings.

[0057] Now for reference Figure 7 An example of measuring fragmented carrier SCells and in-gap interference in the measurement gap of a PCell is shown. Only fragmented carriers are shown in the RF example at the bottom of the figure. Note that additional SCells may be configured (e.g., already activated and / or located in other frequency bands). A channel filter (760) can be configured to measure SCell CC1 (720), SCell CC2 (740), and in-gap interference (730). CC1 (720), CC2 (740), and in-gap interference (730) can be measured during measurement timing (750), during which PCell (710) may not be measured, indicated by a solid line extending from the channel filter (760). The channel filter configuration (760) can be centered at a downconversion frequency having LO settings determined for CC1 (720), CC2 (740), and the in-gap interference source (720).

[0058] In the 3GPP 5G NR Release 18 standard, a UE may require measurement gaps or interruptions to identify and measure co-frequency and / or inter-frequency and / or inter-RAT E-UTRAN cells (i.e., for handover or CA purposes). A gap can be defined as a time window in which neither the UE is expected to receive active data from the network nor transmit active data to the network, including PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, and SRS. Gap or interruptions can be configured by RRC. The configuration of a gap or interruption includes the measurement repetition duration, gap length, and gap offset. The measurement gap length can be as short as 1.5ms or as long as 20ms, and the gap repetition duration can be as short as 20ms or as long as 160ms. An interruption is 0.5ms for FR2 and 0.7ms for FR1. The UE receives the measurement gap configuration from the network via RRC signaling. During these measurements, the UE stops transmitting and receiving (i.e., communicating) with the serving cell and measures neighboring cells. In other words, during the measurement gap, the UE tunes its RF module to a specified frequency (as configured) and then restores its connection to the serving cell after the measurement gap.

[0059] Now for reference Figure 8 An example of measurements of fragmented carrier SCells and in-gap interference using a gapless measurement setup is shown. Only fragmented carriers are shown in the RF example at the bottom of the figure. Note that additional SCells may be configured. A channel filter (860) can be configured to measure SCell CC1 (820), SCell CC2 (840), and in-gap interference (830). PCell (810), CC1 (820), CC2 (840), and in-gap interference (830) can be measured during the same measurement timing (850) indicated by the solid line extending from the channel filter (860). The channel filter configuration (860) can be centered at a downconversion frequency with LO settings determined for CC1 (820), CC2 (840), and the in-gap interference source (820).

[0060] Figure 7 and 8 The difference lies in whether or not a measurement gap is used, or whether a gapless measurement is used on the PCell.

[0061] Devices that do not support in-continuous-band CA can include capability-reduced (RedCap) devices. RedCap UEs can have reduced capabilities, such as: a bandwidth (BW) of 20 MHz for frequency range 1 (FR1), a BW of 50 MHz or 100 MHz for frequency range 2 (FR2), a reduced number of antennas (e.g., 1Tx antenna, 1 or 2Rx antennas depending on FR and band), a limited peak data rate, and a limited modulation level (e.g., 64 quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) in the downlink (DL) and 16QAM in the uplink (UL)) and / or optional half-duplex frequency division duplex (FDD)). RedCap devices can include devices with relatively low complexity, cost, and / or size. Use cases for RedCap UEs and example embodiments of this disclosure can include, but are not limited to, industrial Internet of Things (IoT) sensors, wireless sensors, video surveillance equipment, IoT devices, wearable devices, and / or devices for transportation, tracking, infrastructure, agriculture, smart cities, etc. Wearable devices may include sensors that come into contact with or are close to the skin, smart fabrics, heart rate monitors, temperature monitors, etc. RedCap UE may deploy only a minimal number of RF chains (i.e., a single RF chain).

[0062] One of the conditions for enabling gapless measurements by a UE is that it has available receivers that are not used for other activities. This can occur when the UE is able to receive more component carriers than configured by the gNB. In this case, unoccupied / idle (multiple) Rx chains can be used to perform measurements without affecting operation on the active component carriers. Even if the impact of using unoccupied Rx chains on the active component carriers is minimized, some interruptions due to radio frequency (RF) retuning (RRT) may still exist. For this reason, some interruptions can be expected in certain UE architectures when performing gapless measurements.

[0063] The availability of additional RF chains from the UE side can depend on its capabilities (i.e., the total number of available chains) and the configuration used by the network. In some UE architectures, the UE may include several RF chains to support a given number of component carriers in carrier aggregation. Therefore, depending on the number of configured component carriers, the UE may have an amount of additional RF chains available. And for this reason, the ability to perform measurements without gaps may depend on the UE configuration.

[0064] If not implemented Figure 7-8 In the example embodiment described herein, the duration prior to activating the SCell can be as follows: Figure 9As illustrated, the UE can measure CC1 (920), CC2 (940) and inter-gap interference (930) during a separate measurement opportunity (950), during which PCell (910) is not configured to be measured.

[0065] Figure 10 Possible steps of example method 1000 are illustrated. Example method 1000 may include: performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, and the at least one component carrier is discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell 1010; and transmitting a report 1020 to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the apparatus, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference. Example method 1000 may be performed, for example, using a UE.

[0066] Figure 11 Possible steps of example method 1100 are illustrated. Example method 1100 may include: transmitting to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, and the at least one component carrier is discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receiving from the at least one user equipment a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference; example method 1100 may be performed, for example, using a base station, gNB, network node, network entity, etc.

[0067] According to one example embodiment, an apparatus may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: perform measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmit a report to a base station of a primary serving cell providing the apparatus, at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The example apparatus may also be configured to: receive from the primary serving cell a configuration for performing measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and in-gap interference during a measurement timing, wherein the configuration may include instructions for at least one of: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for in-gap interference. The report may be at least partially based on the received configuration. This configuration may include configurations associated with enabling fragmented carrier configurations for the first cell, the second cell, and the primary serving cell. The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report. In-gap interference may be associated with one or more operators that may be different from the operators of the primary serving cell, the first cell, and the second cell. The measurement timing may include a measurement gap relative to the primary serving cell. The example apparatus may be further configured to perform measurements of the primary serving cell at a first down-conversion frequency with a first local oscillator setting during the measurement timing, utilizing a first channel filter configuration, wherein measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference may be performed using a second channel filter configuration at a second down-conversion frequency with a second local oscillator setting. The example apparatus may include at least: a first receiver chain for performing measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference, and a second receiver chain for performing measurements of the primary serving cell.

[0068] According to an example embodiment, an example method may be provided, comprising: performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing using a user equipment, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmitting a report to a base station providing the user equipment's primary serving cell, the report being at least partially based on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The example method may further comprise: receiving from the primary serving cell a configuration for performing measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference during the measurement timing, wherein the configuration may include an indication of at least one of: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for the in-gap interference. The report may be at least partially based on the received configuration. The configuration may include configurations associated with enabling fragmented carrier configurations for the first cell, the second cell, and the primary serving cell. The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report. In-gap interference may be associated with one or more operators that may be different from the operators of the primary serving cell, the first cell, and the second cell. Measurement timing may include a measurement gap relative to the primary serving cell. The example method may further include: performing measurements of the primary serving cell at a first down-conversion frequency with a first local oscillator setting during the measurement timing, utilizing a first channel filter configuration, wherein measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and in-gap interference may be performed using a second channel filter configuration at a second down-conversion frequency with a second local oscillator setting. The user equipment may include at least a first receiver chain for performing measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and in-gap interference, and a second receiver chain for performing measurements of the primary serving cell.

[0069] According to one example embodiment, an apparatus may include: circuitry configured to perform: measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period using a user equipment, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and circuitry configured to perform: a report transmitted to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0070] According to one example embodiment, an apparatus may include: processing circuitry; and memory circuitry including computer-readable code, the memory circuitry and the computer-readable code being configured to utilize the processing circuitry to enable the apparatus to: perform measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-cell interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmit a report to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the apparatus, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-cell interference.

[0071] As used herein, the terms “circuit” or “component” may refer to one or more of the following: (a) a hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation in analog, digital, and / or quantum circuits) and (b) a combination of (multiple) hardware circuits and software, such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of (multiple) analog, digital, and / or quantum hardware circuits with software / firmware; and (ii) any or all portions of (multiple) hardware processors (including (multiple) digital and / or quantum processors) and (multiple) memories having software that work together to enable a device (such as a mobile device, computing device, or server) to perform various functions; and (c) any or all portions of (multiple) hardware circuits (such as (multiple) microprocessors, (multiple) processors, and / or (multiple) quantum processors) that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when operation does not require it. This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term herein, including in any claim. As a further example, as used in this application, the term "circuit" also encompasses only hardware circuitry or a processor (or multiple processors), or portions of hardware circuitry or a server, and their accompanying software and / or firmware. For example, where applicable to certain claim elements, the term "circuit" also encompasses baseband integrated circuits or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices.

[0072] According to one example embodiment, an apparatus may include components for performing: performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier is discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmitting a report to a base station of a primary serving cell providing the apparatus, at least partially based on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The components may also be configured to: receive from the primary serving cell a configuration for performing measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference during the measurement timing, wherein the configuration may include indications of at least one of: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for the in-gap interference. The report may be at least partially based on the received configuration.

[0073] This configuration may include configurations associated with enabling fragmented carrier configurations for the first cell, the second cell, and the primary serving cell.

[0074] The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report.

[0075] Interference within the gap can be associated with one or more operators, which may be different from the operators of the primary serving cell, the first cell, and the second cell.

[0076] Measurement timing may include measurement intervals relative to the primary serving cell.

[0077] The component can also be configured to: perform measurements of the primary serving cell at a first downconversion frequency with a first local oscillator setting during a measurement opportunity, using a first channel filter configuration, wherein measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and inter-cell interference can be performed using a second channel filter configuration at a second downconversion frequency with a second local oscillator setting.

[0078] The example apparatus may include at least: a first receiver chain for performing measurements of interference in a first cell, a second cell, and a gap, and a second receiver chain for performing measurements of the primary serving cell.

[0079] Processors, memory, and / or example algorithms (which may be encoded as instructions, programs, or code) may be provided as example means for providing or causing the execution of operations.

[0080] According to one example embodiment, a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon that, when executed using at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: measure at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel using a user equipment during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and cause to transmit a report to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, based at least in part on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0081] According to one example embodiment, a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing to measure at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel using a user equipment during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing to transmit a report to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, based at least in part on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The example computer-readable medium may also include program instructions stored thereon for performing the following: causing to receive from the primary serving cell during a measurement timing a configuration for performing measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference, wherein the configuration may include instructions for at least one of: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for the in-gap interference. The report may be at least partially based on the received configuration. This configuration may include configurations associated with enabling fragmented carrier configurations for the first cell, the second cell, and the primary serving cell. The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report. In-gap interference may be associated with one or more operators that may be different from the operators of the primary serving cell, the first cell, and the second cell. The measurement timing may include a measurement gap relative to the primary serving cell. An example computer-readable medium may also include a program stored thereon for performing the following operations: during the measurement timing, utilizing a first channel filter configuration at a first down-conversion frequency having a first local oscillator setting to perform measurements of the primary serving cell, wherein measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference may be performed utilizing a second channel filter configuration at a second down-conversion frequency having a second local oscillator setting. The user equipment may include at least a first receiver chain for performing measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference, and a second receiver chain for performing measurements of the primary serving cell.

[0082] According to one example embodiment, a machine-readable (non-transitory) program storage device may be provided, tangibly embodying machine-executable instructions for performing operations including: causing, during a measurement timing, to use a user equipment to measure at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing to transmit a report to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, based at least in part on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0083] According to one example embodiment, a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: causing to measure, during a measurement opportunity, at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference using a user equipment, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing to transmit to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0084] According to one example embodiment, a computer-implemented system includes: at least one processor and at least one (non-transitory) memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to at least: measure in parallel at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference using a user equipment during a measurement opportunity, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and transmit a report to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the inter-gap interference.

[0085] According to one example embodiment, a computer-implemented system includes: means for causing a user equipment to measure at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and means for causing a report to be transmitted to a base station providing the primary serving cell of the user equipment, based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0086] According to one example embodiment, an apparatus may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: transmit to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receive from the at least one user equipment a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The configuration may include indications of at least one of: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for in-gap interference. The example apparatus may also be configured to: determine, at least partially based on the received reports, whether to activate the first cell and the second cell in a fragmented carrier configuration together with a primary serving cell provided by the example apparatus. The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report. The in-gap interference may be associated with one or more operators, which may be different from the operators of the first cell and the second cell. The measurement timing may include a measurement gap regarding the primary serving cell provided by the example apparatus. The configuration may include at least: instructions for performing measurements of the primary serving cell provided by the apparatus during the measurement timing using a first receiver chain and a first channel filter configuration, and instructions for performing measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference using a second receiver chain and a second channel filter configuration.

[0087] According to an example embodiment, an example method may be provided, comprising: transmitting, via a base station, a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receiving, from the at least one user equipment, a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The configuration may include an indication of at least one of the following: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for in-gap interference. The example method may further include: determining, at least partially based on the received report, whether to activate the first cell and the second cell in a fragmented carrier configuration together with a primary serving cell provided by the base station. The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report. Interference within the gap may be associated with one or more operators, which are different from the operators of the first cell and the second cell. Measurement timing may include a measurement gap relative to the primary serving cell provided by the base station. The configuration may include at least: an instruction to perform measurements of the primary serving cell provided by the base station during the measurement timing using a first receiver chain and a first channel filter configuration, and an instruction to perform measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the interference within the gap using a second receiver chain and a second channel filter configuration.

[0088] According to one example embodiment, an apparatus may include: circuitry configured to perform the following: transmitting via a base station to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and circuitry configured to perform the following: receiving from the at least one user equipment a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0089] According to one example embodiment, an apparatus may include: processing circuitry; and memory circuitry including computer-readable code, the memory circuitry and the computer-readable code being configured to utilize the processing circuitry to enable the apparatus to: transmit to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, the at least one component carrier being discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receive from the at least one user equipment a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0090] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus may include components for performing: transmitting to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel during a measurement timing, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and receiving from the at least one user equipment a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The configuration may include indications of at least one of the following: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for the in-gap interference. The components may also be configured to determine, at least partially based on the received report, whether to activate the first cell and the second cell in a fragmented carrier configuration together with the primary serving cell provided by the example apparatus. The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report. Interference within the gap may be associated with one or more operators, which may be different from the operators of the first cell and the second cell. Measurement timing may include a measurement gap relating to the primary serving cell provided by the example apparatus. The configuration may include at least: instructions for performing measurements of the primary serving cell provided by the apparatus during the measurement timing using a first receiver chain and a first channel filter configuration, and instructions for performing measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the interference within the gap using a second receiver chain and a second channel filter configuration.

[0091] According to one example embodiment, a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium includes instructions stored thereon that, when executed using at least one processor, cause the at least one processor to: transmit via a base station a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and cause the at least one user equipment to receive a report from the at least one user equipment based at least in part on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0092] According to one example embodiment, a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium includes program instructions stored thereon for performing at least the following: causing a base station to transmit a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and in-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing the at least one user equipment to receive a report from the at least one user equipment based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the in-gap interference. The at least one component carrier constituting the first cell may be in-band discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell. The configuration may include indications of at least one of the following: the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell, the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, at least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator including an in-gap interference source, one or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or one or more measurements to be performed for the in-gap interference. The example computer-readable medium may also include program instructions stored thereon for performing at least in part on the received report to determine whether to activate the first cell and the second cell together with the primary serving cell provided by the base station in a fragmented carrier configuration. The report may include at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report. The interference within the gap may be associated with one or more operators, which may be different from the operators of the first cell and the second cell. The measurement timing may include a measurement gap relative to the primary serving cell provided by the base station. The configuration may include at least: an instruction for performing measurements of the primary serving cell provided by the base station during the measurement timing using a first receiver chain and a first channel filter configuration, and an instruction for performing measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the interference within the gap using a second receiver chain and a second channel filter configuration.

[0093] According to one example embodiment, a machine-readable (non-transitory) program storage device may be provided, tangibly embodying machine-executable instructions for performing operations including: causing a base station to transmit to at least one user equipment a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing the at least one user equipment to receive a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0094] According to one example embodiment, a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium includes instructions that, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: causing a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement opportunity to be transmitted to at least one user equipment via a base station, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and causing a report to be received from the at least one user equipment based at least in part on the measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0095] According to one example embodiment, a computer-implemented system includes: at least one processor and at least one (non-transitory) memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the system to at least: transmit via a base station a configuration for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and cause the at least one user equipment to receive a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0096] According to one example embodiment, a computer-implemented system includes: components for enabling the transmission of a configuration via a base station to at least one user equipment for performing measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-gap interference in parallel during a measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier may constitute the first cell, and the at least one component carrier may be discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; and components for enabling the receiving from the at least one user equipment of a report at least partially based on measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and inter-gap interference.

[0097] As used herein, the term “non-transitory” refers to the limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not signaling), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM compared to ROM).

[0098] As used herein, the terms “at least one” and “one or more” mean “any one of at least one” and “any one of one or more”, respectively.

[0099] It should be understood that the foregoing description is illustrative only. Those skilled in the art can devise various alternatives and modifications. For example, features recited in the various dependent claims can be combined with each other in any suitable combination(s). Furthermore, features from the different embodiments described above can be selectively combined to form new embodiments. Therefore, this specification is intended to cover all such alternatives, modifications, and variations falling within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A device for communication, comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory, the at least one memory storing instructions, the instructions, when executed using the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: Measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-cell interference are performed in parallel during the measurement period, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, and the at least one component carrier is discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; as well as A report is transmitted to the base station of the primary serving cell providing the device, based at least in part on measurements of interference within at least the first cell, the second cell, and the gap.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell and the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell are in-band discontinuous.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed using the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: Receive from the primary serving cell a configuration for performing measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the inter-gap interference during the measurement timing, wherein the configuration includes an indication of at least one of the following: The at least one component carrier that makes up the first cell The at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, At least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator, including interference sources within the gap. One or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or One or more measurements to be performed in response to interference within the gap.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the report is at least in part based on the received configuration.

5. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the configuration includes a configuration associated with enabling fragmented carrier configuration for the first cell, the second cell, and the primary serving cell.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the report comprises at least one of the following: a measurement report or an interference measurement report.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the inter-gap interference is associated with one or more operators that are different from the operators of the primary serving cell, the first cell, and the second cell.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the measurement timing includes a measurement interval relative to the primary serving cell.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one memory stores instructions that, when executed using the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to: During the measurement period, the measurement of the primary serving cell is performed using a first channel filter configuration at a first downconversion frequency with a first local oscillator setting, wherein the measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the inter-gap interference are performed using a second channel filter configuration at a second downconversion frequency with a second local oscillator setting.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the apparatus comprises at least: A first receiver chain for performing measurements of interference in the first cell, the second cell, and the gap, and a second receiver chain for performing measurements of the primary serving cell.

11. A method for communication, comprising: During the measurement period, measurements of at least a first cell, a second cell, and inter-cell interference are performed in parallel using user equipment, wherein at least one component carrier constitutes the first cell, and the at least one component carrier is discontinuous with at least one component carrier constituting the second cell; as well as A report is transmitted to the base station of the primary serving cell providing the user equipment, based at least in part on measurements of interference within at least the first cell, the second cell, and the gap.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the at least one component carrier constituting the first cell and the at least one component carrier constituting the second cell are in-band discontinuous.

13. The method of claim 11, further comprising: Receive from the primary serving cell a configuration for performing measurements of at least the first cell, the second cell, and the inter-gap interference during the measurement timing, wherein the configuration includes an indication of at least one of the following: The at least one component carrier that makes up the first cell The at least one component carrier constituting the second cell, At least one channel bandwidth from at least one operator, including interference sources within the gap. One or more measurements to be performed for the first cell and the second cell, or One or more measurements to be performed in response to interference within the gap.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the report is at least in part based on the received configuration.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the configuration includes a configuration associated with enabling fragmented carrier configuration for the first cell, the second cell, and the primary serving cell.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein the report comprises at least one of the following: a measurement report, or an interference measurement report.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein the inter-gap interference is associated with one or more operators that are different from the operators of the primary serving cell, the first cell, and the second cell.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein the measurement timing includes a measurement interval relative to the primary serving cell.

19. The method of claim 11, further comprising: During the measurement period, the measurement of the primary serving cell is performed using a first channel filter configuration at a first downconversion frequency with a first local oscillator setting, wherein the measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the inter-gap interference are performed using a second channel filter configuration at a second downconversion frequency with a second local oscillator setting.

20. The method of claim 19, wherein the measurements of the first cell, the second cell, and the interference within the gap are performed by a first receiver chain, and the measurements of the primary serving cell are performed by a second receiver chain.

21. A computer-readable medium having program instructions stored thereon for performing the method as claimed in any one of claims 11 to 20.

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