Information reporting method and user equipment

Abstract

The present disclosure provides an information reporting method and a user equipment. The information reporting method comprises the following steps: UE successfully completes a PSCell change or addition procedure; UE performs an SPR determination procedure, saves information of successful PSCell change or addition in an SPR variable, and performs the following operation: for one neighbor cell included in a measurement result, if a given condition is met, the UE sets a choCandidate information element corresponding to the neighbor cell to true, wherein the choCandidate information element is used to indicate whether the associated cell is a candidate target cell of a conditional PSCell change or addition, and the given condition at least includes the following condition: the cell is a candidate target cell in a CHO configuration configured by a PCell, and it is not associated with a condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more specifically, to a self-optimizing network information reporting method and corresponding user equipment in the case of cell changes in wireless communication. Background Technology

[0002] In wireless networks, network optimization can improve network performance. This typically involves data collection and analysis of existing deployed and operational networks to identify factors affecting network quality, and then improving performance by modifying configured network parameters, adjusting network structure, and deploying equipment. Self-configuration and Self-Optimization Network (SON) refers to the process of automatically adjusting the network based on user equipment and / or base station measurements / performance measurements. The network side can configure the UE to perform measurements for SON. SON functions include many aspects, such as Automatic Neighbor Relation Function (ANR) to reduce the operator's neighbor cell management burden, Mobility Load Balancing (MLB) to balance the workload between different cells, Mobility Robustness Optimization (MRO) to optimize mobility performance, Random Access Channel Optimization (RAR) to optimize random access channel parameters, and Radio Link Failure Reporting (RFL) to optimize coverage and MRO.

[0003] In addition, Minimization of Drive Tests (MDT) is also an important means for operators to optimize networks. By obtaining drive test data from UEs, relevant parameters for network optimization are acquired, and based on the analysis of this data, the status of network deployment and operation is obtained, thereby deciding how to improve the network's operational status. The main application scenarios of MDT include coverage optimization, capacity optimization, mobility management optimization, QoS parameter optimization, and common channel parameter configuration optimization.

[0004] In NR systems version 18 and earlier, the Successful Handover Report (SHR) records relevant information from the UE side during a successful handover, which is used by the network side to diagnose and optimize issues or parameters related to network coverage, mobility robustness parameters, and random access procedure configuration. Similarly, the Successful PSCell (Primary Secondary cell group Cell) change or addition Report (SPR) records relevant information from the UE side when a PSCell change or addition procedure is successfully executed, which is used by the network side to diagnose and optimize mobility performance-related parameters of the PSCell change.

[0005] Version 18 of the NR system introduces a conditional handover mechanism that accompanies the change or addition of a conditional PSCell. Its main purpose is to enable the UE to select a better PSCell cell after performing a conditional handover by triggering the conditional PSCell change process and the conditional handover simultaneously, thereby maintaining dual connectivity during mobility and reducing the latency, overhead, and service interruption time caused by dual connectivity reconfiguration.

[0006] This disclosure aims to address information issues in NR networks, and more specifically, to address information setting issues in networks used to implement information reporting SPR or SHR in conjunction with condition switching that accompanies changes or additions to condition PSCells. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide a solution to the problem of information reporting in an NR system when conditional handover occurs simultaneously with the addition or modification of conditional PSCells. More specifically, this disclosure provides a solution for setting information in the SPR or SHR of a handover event configured to include the addition or modification of conditional PSCells. This disclosure provides a method for information reporting performed in a user equipment and a corresponding user equipment.

[0008] According to a first aspect of this disclosure, an information reporting method is proposed, which is performed by a user equipment (UE) and includes the following steps:

[0009] The UE successfully completed the process of changing or adding PSCells in the primary and secondary cells;

[0010] The UE executes the SPR determination procedure for a successful primary / secondary cell change / addition report, stores the information of the successful PSCell change or addition in the SPR variable, and performs the following operations: For a neighboring cell included in the measurement results, if a given condition is met, the UE sets the choCandidate information element corresponding to that neighboring cell to true.

[0011] The choCandidate information element indicates whether the associated cell is a candidate target cell for conditional PSCell change or addition.

[0012] The given conditions include at least the following: the cell is a candidate target cell in the conditional handover CHO configuration configured by the primary cell PCell, and it is not associated with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition.

[0013] In the above-mentioned information reporting methods, preferably,

[0014] The given condition also includes at least one of the following conditions:

[0015] The cell is a candidate target cell included in the CHO configuration configured in PCell, and its associated execution condition condExecutionCond is associated with condEventA4;

[0016] This cell is a candidate target cell whose CHO configuration, configured by PCell, contains synchronization reconfiguration information elements for the secondary cell group SCG.

[0017] This cell is not a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell;

[0018] PCell is not an NTN cell;

[0019] The source PSCell is not an NTN cell;

[0020] The cell is a candidate target cell in the CHO configuration configured by PCell, and the measurement event associated with the measurement identifier measIds in the execution conditions associated with it is not configured in network power saving mode, i.e., NES mode.

[0021] The cell is a candidate target cell in the CHO configuration configured by PSCell, and it is not associated with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition;

[0022] This cell is a candidate target cell in the conditional reconfiguration configured by the source PSCell.

[0023] In the above-mentioned information reporting methods, preferably,

[0024] The element containing the synchronization reconfiguration information for SCG is the secondary cell group information element in the CHO configuration, which contains the reconfigurationWithSync information element.

[0025] In the above-mentioned information reporting methods, preferably,

[0026] The choCandidate information element is included in the measurement results.

[0027] In the above-mentioned information reporting methods, preferably,

[0028] The CHO configuration is a conditional reconfiguration.

[0029] In the above-mentioned information reporting methods, preferably,

[0030] The CHO configuration configured in the PCell is a conditional PSCell configuration that adds or changes the CPAC configuration.

[0031] In the above-mentioned information reporting methods, preferably,

[0032] The PCell is either the source PCell or the target PCell.

[0033] In the above-mentioned information reporting methods, preferably,

[0034] During the SPR determination process, at least one of the following operations is also performed:

[0035] If the PSCell change or condition being performed is a conditional reconfiguration, then the SPR contains the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to that conditional reconfiguration.

[0036] For a cell, if it is a candidate target PSCell in the conditional reconfiguration of a UE, then the SPR includes the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to the candidate target PSCell.

[0037] If the PSCell change or addition being performed is part of a CHO process with candidate SCGs and is configured with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition, then the SPR includes an indication message to indicate that the PSCell change or addition being performed is an SCG synchronization reconfiguration in a CHO process with candidate SCGs.

[0038] When the UE determines that the PSCell change or addition is not performed in the NTN cell, it stores the SPR information in the SPR variable.

[0039] For a neighboring cell, if it is an NTN cell, the UE adds indication information in the SPR to indicate that it is an NTN cell.

[0040] Preferably, the above information reporting method further includes the following steps:

[0041] The UE sends a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message to the network side containing the successPSCell-InfoAvailable information element, which is used to indicate that there is available SPR information in the SPR variables on the UE.

[0042] The UE receives an RRC message from the network side containing a successPSCell-ReportReq information element, which is used to request the UE to report the stored SPR information.

[0043] In the response RRC message, the UE sets the saved SPR information in the successPSCell-Report information element and reports it to the network side.

[0044] According to a second aspect of this disclosure, a user equipment (UE) is provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions; wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform an information reporting method according to a context.

[0045] According to this disclosure, it is possible to address the information reporting issue when condition-based switching occurs simultaneously with the addition or modification of condition-based PSCells. Attached Figure Description

[0046] To gain a more complete understanding of this disclosure and its advantages, reference will now be made to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0047] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram illustrating the CHO configuration that includes candidate SCGs in this disclosure.

[0048] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram illustrating multiple CHO configurations when a CHO candidate cell is associated with multiple candidate SCGs in this disclosure.

[0049] Figure 3 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an information reporting method in one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0050] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating an information reporting method in another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0051] Figure 5 This is a block diagram representing the user equipment (UE) involved in this disclosure.

[0052] In the accompanying drawings, identical or similar structures are identified by the same or similar reference numerals. Detailed Implementation

[0053] Other aspects, advantages, and key features of this disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of exemplary embodiments of the disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0054] In this disclosure, the terms “comprising” and “containing” and their derivatives are used to mean including rather than limiting; the term “or” is inclusive and means and / or. “If,” “if,” “in the case of,” and “when” are interchangeable.

[0055] In this specification, the various embodiments described below to illustrate the principles of this disclosure are merely illustrative and should not be construed as limiting the scope of this disclosure in any way. The following description, with reference to the accompanying drawings, is intended to aid in a comprehensive understanding of exemplary embodiments of this disclosure as defined by the claims and their equivalents. The following description includes various specific details to aid understanding, but these details should be considered merely exemplary. Therefore, those skilled in the art will recognize that various changes and modifications can be made to the embodiments described herein without departing from the scope and spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, for clarity and brevity, descriptions of well-known functions and structures have been omitted. Additionally, throughout the drawings, the same reference numerals are used for similar functions and operations.

[0056] The following describes several implementations of this disclosure using NR mobile communication systems and their subsequent evolutions as example application environments. However, this disclosure is applicable to many other wireless communication systems. Unless otherwise specified, the concepts of cell and base station are interchangeable; a cell can also be a cell under any of the above-mentioned types of base stations, and unless otherwise specified, cell, beam, and transmission point (TRP) are interchangeable. A handover command and a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message containing a handover command are equivalent, referring to an RRC message that triggers the UE to perform a handover or the configuration within an RRC message. Cancel, release, delete, clear, and clear are interchangeable. Execute, use, and apply are interchangeable. Configure and reconfigure are interchangeable. Monitor and detect are interchangeable. Initiate and trigger are interchangeable. Information elements or fields are interchangeable. Handover and synchronous reconfiguration of the MCG are equivalent. The names of the information elements are case-insensitive.

[0057] The following describes processes or concepts in the prior art to which this disclosure relates.

[0058] Dual Connectivity (DC):

[0059] To improve UE data transmission efficiency, the UE establishes links with two base stations simultaneously. One base station is called the Master Node (MN) or MgNB / MeNB, and the serving cell group under the Master Node is called the Master Cell Group (MCG). The other base station is called the Secondary Node (SN) or SgNB / SeNB, and the serving cell group under the Secondary Node is called the Secondary Cell Group (SCG). The MCG contains at least one Primary Cell (PCell) and optionally one or more Secondary Cells (SCells). The PCell operates on the primary frequency, and the UE performs the initial connection establishment or connection re-establishment process through the primary frequency. The SCG contains at least one PSCell and optionally one or more SCells. The PSCell refers to the SCG cell where the UE performs random access during the synchronization reconfiguration process or the SCG addition process. PCells and PSCells are also collectively referred to as Special Cells (SpCells).

[0060] The handover process in the NR system:

[0061] Mobility of primary cell users in connected state is mainly achieved through a handover process, which refers to the process by which a UE in RRC connected state changes its serving cell (primary cell). A typical handover process includes the following stages: Stage 1: Measurement Stage. The UE measures the radio links corresponding to the serving cell or neighboring cells based on the configured measurement configuration. When the configured measurement reporting conditions are met, the UE sends a measurement report to the base station. Stage 2: Handover Preparation Stage. The base station, based on the received measurement report and other factors such as base station load, determines whether to trigger a handover for the UE. The source base station and the target base station obtain the handover command configured by the target base station through the handover preparation process. Stage 3: Handover Execution Stage. The source base station issues the handover command to the UE. Upon receiving the handover command, the UE immediately applies the configuration of the handover command to execute the handover. The UE uses a timer T304 to detect the handover process. When the handover process is initiated, the UE starts the T304 timer; when the handover process is completed, the UE stops the T304 timer; when T304 times out, the UE considers the handover to have failed. The above handover process also applies to the PSCell change process.

[0062] Unlike the typical handover process where the UE immediately executes the handover upon receiving the handover command in Phase 3, the NR system also supports conditional handover (CHO), also known as conditional reconfiguration. In conditional handover, a relatively conservative measurement reporting threshold is set, allowing the base station to obtain measurement results in advance and perform handover preparation based on these results and the selected target base station. This allows the base station to send a handover command containing candidate cells and handover execution conditions to the UE before the actual handover conditions (relative to the conservative measurement reporting threshold) are met. Upon receiving the conditional handover command, the UE does not immediately execute the handover. Instead, it saves the received handover command configuration and begins monitoring the link quality of the source or target cell based on the handover execution conditions carried in the handover command message to assess whether the handover execution conditions are met. Only when the configured handover execution conditions are met does the UE execute the saved handover command and access the target cell. A UE can be configured with multiple candidate cells for conditional handover simultaneously. If multiple candidate cells simultaneously meet the handover execution conditions, the UE selects one of them as the final target cell for conditional handover and performs the handover to that cell. In summary, conditional handover refers to a handover process that is executed only when one or more configured handover execution conditions are met. Because the handover command is contained in the RRC reconfiguration message, conditional handover is also called conditional reconfiguration, or more specifically, conditional reconfiguration for the MCG, or conditional reconfiguration containing synchronous reconfiguration information elements for the MCG.

[0063] PSCell Change Process in NR System

[0064] In the NR system, the PSCell change process is triggered by the UE through an RRC reconfiguration message containing synchronization reconfiguration information elements for the SCG. The PSCell change process can be initiated by either the MN or the SN. When Signaling Radio Bearer (SRB) 3 is configured, the SN can initiate the PSCell change process independently without the MN's involvement. In this case, the SN sends the PSCell change command for the SCG to the UE on SRB3. Generally, PSCell changes initiated independently by the SN via SRB3 are Intra-SN changes, meaning PSCell changes occur within the same secondary base station. When SRB3 is not configured, both SN and MN-initiated PSCell change processes send the PSCell change command to the UE on SRB1, including Intra-SN or Intra-SN PSCell changes. The RRC reconfiguration message for the PSCell change command used by the SN is contained in the nr-SecondaryCellGroupConfig information element (when E-UTRAN is MN) or mrdc-SecondaryCellGroup information element (when NR is MN) of its outer RRC message. The outer message is generally an RRC (connectivity) reconfiguration message or a DLInformationTransferMRDC message. Upon receiving the PSCell change command, the UE executes the PSCell change process, starts a timer T304 for monitoring the process in the SCG, begins downlink synchronization to the target PSCell, applies the configuration containing the RRC reconfiguration message for SCG synchronization reconfiguration, and sends an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the network side. Depending on the outer message of the received PSCell change command, the RRC reconfiguration completion message may also be embedded in an outer RRC message, such as an RRC (connectivity) reconfiguration completion message or a DLInformationTransferMRDC message.

[0065] After introducing conditional reconfiguration in the NR system, it supports the addition or modification of PSCells. Similar to Conditional Handover (CHO), the UE is configured with conditional reconfiguration for SCG, which means that a conditional reconfiguration containing PSCell candidate cells and execution conditions is sent to the UE. Upon receiving the conditional reconfiguration, the UE does not immediately execute the addition or modification of the included PSCell candidate cells. Instead, it saves the received conditional reconfiguration and, based on the execution conditions carried therein, begins monitoring the link quality of the source cell or the target candidate cell to assess whether the execution conditions are met. Only when the configured execution conditions are detected as met does the UE begin executing the SCG configuration in the saved conditional reconfiguration and access the selected PSCell candidate cell. Like CHO, the UE can be configured with multiple PSCell candidate cells simultaneously. If multiple candidate cells simultaneously meet the execution conditions, the UE selects one of them as the final target PSCell cell and synchronizes to that cell. Conditional reconfiguration for SCG can be referred to as Conditional PSCell Addition Change (CPAC), where Conditional PSCell Addition is also known as Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA), and Conditional PSCell Change is also known as Conditional PSCell Change (CPC). For ease of description, this disclosure refers to CPAC, which is equivalent to CPC or CPA. PSCell Change also includes both PSCell Change and PSCell Addition.

[0066] Conditional reconfiguration

[0067] As mentioned earlier, conditional reconfiguration can be applied to either the MCG or SCG. Conditional reconfiguration of the MCG / PCell is called Conditional Handover (CHO); conditional reconfiguration of the SCG / PSCell is called Conditional PSCell Add / Change (CPAC). In NR systems, conditional reconfiguration is configured to the UE via the ConditionalReconfiguration information element in the RRC message. The ConditionalReconfiguration information element contains a list of candidate cells for conditional reconfiguration (the condReconfigToAddModList information element for adding or modifying candidate cells, or the condReconfigToRemoveList information element for removing candidate cells). The UE stores the configuration corresponding to one or more of these candidate cells in the UE variable VarConditionalReconfig. In NR systems version 17 and later, the UE maintains two VarConditionalReconfig variables, one for storing conditional reconfiguration of the MCG configuration and the other for storing conditional reconfiguration of the SCG configuration. Each variable stores one or more conditional configuration items, each identified by a conditional reconfiguration identifier (condReconfigId), containing the execution condition (condExecutionCond or condExecutionCondSCG) and the candidate cell's RRC configuration (condRRCReconfig). The candidate cell's RRC configuration contains a nested RRC reconfiguration message, where the cell identifier in the serving cell common configuration (servingCellConfigCommon information element) within the synchronization reconfiguration (reconfigurationWithSync information element) corresponds to a conditional reconfiguration candidate cell. The UE performs conditional reconfiguration evaluation on each conditional reconfiguration candidate cell based on the execution condition. The execution condition may contain one or two measurement identifiers (measID). Only when all the measurement events corresponding to the measurement identifiers contained in the execution condition (such as condEventA3 or CondEventA5 contained in the CondTriggerConfig information element) are satisfied, the UE considers the corresponding candidate cell to be the triggering cell and initiates the conditional reconfiguration execution process.During conditional reconfiguration, the UE applies the saved RRC configuration (condRRCReconfig) for the selected triggering cell and performs cell change operations, such as starting timer T304, downlink synchronization to the selected cell, initiating a random access procedure to the selected cell for uplink synchronization, and sending an RRC reconfiguration completion message to the selected cell (see section 5.3.5.3 of 3GPP protocol specification document TS38.331 for details, which will not be elaborated here). In this disclosure, unless otherwise specified, CHO and CHO configurations can be replaced, and CPAC and CPAC configurations can be replaced.

[0068] There are CHOs with candidate SCGs for use in CPAC:

[0069] In the NR system version 18, a CHO configuration can simultaneously contain CHO execution conditions for primary cell changes and execution conditions for PSCell changes. In this disclosure, the CHO configuration in this mechanism is referred to as a CHO configuration associated with or containing CPAC configuration, or a CHO configuration containing candidate SCGs. However, it is important to note that this disclosure is not limited to the above naming conventions. Hereafter, this disclosure will refer to it as a CHO (configuration) with candidate SCGs.

[0070] In a CHO configuration with candidate SCGs, the CHO configuration (a CondReconfigToAddMod configuration item) includes an RRC reconfiguration message (containing MCG and SCG configurations), CHO execution conditions (e.g., identified by condExecutionCond), and candidate SCG execution conditions (e.g., identified by condExecutionCondPSCell), all identified by a CHO identifier CondReconfigId, see [link to relevant documentation]. Figure 1 As shown. If a CHO candidate cell is associated with multiple candidate SCG configurations, then for this CHO candidate cell, the network side will configure multiple CHO configurations for the UE. Each CHO configuration contains one MCG configuration and one SCG configuration. That is, the CHO candidate cell identifiers in multiple conditional reconfigurations (identified by `condReconfigId`) can be the same, but can correspond to different CPAC candidate cell identifiers. For example... Figure 2 As shown, multiple CHO configurations are configured for PCell 1. Each CHO configuration corresponds to a different PSCell or no PSCell is configured. These multiple CHO configurations are identified by different CondReconfigId.

[0071] In the above scenario, when the UE receives an RRC message containing a CHO and associated candidate SCG configurations, the UE saves the received CHO configuration and simultaneously begins the corresponding conditional reconfiguration evaluation. Only when the CHO execution conditions are met and the associated CPAC execution conditions are also met will the UE trigger and execute the CHO process accompanying the CPAC, simultaneously triggering and completing the handover and PSCell addition or modification. In this disclosure, conventional CHO configuration refers to a CHO configuration that does not contain candidate SCGs (i.e., the CHO configuration does not contain CPAC execution conditions).

[0072] Successfully switched to SHR report:

[0073] Version 17 of the NR system introduces a Successful Handover Information Report (SHR) to provide the network with mobility information related to a successful handover process. This allows the network to further optimize mobility parameter configurations based on the information reported by the UE, improving handover performance, such as reducing handover latency. The SHR may include one or more of the following: UE Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), source cell identifier, target cell identifier, measurement results of the source or target cell, neighbor cell measurement results, the reason for triggering the successful handover information report (i.e., which triggering condition was met), random access procedure information, and location information. A successful handover includes the successful transmission of an RRC reconfiguration completion message in response to the handover command RRC reconfiguration message at the target base station, or the successful completion of the random access procedure to the target base station by the MAC layer. The network side configures information for triggering SHR (such as threshold values ​​corresponding to T310, T312, and T304, referred to as SHR configuration (e.g., the successHO-config information element). The UE will only activate the corresponding UE change function in the SHR when one or more trigger conditions according to the configured trigger information are met (e.g., when a handover command is received or during handover, the percentage of the operating value of the source cell's T310 (or T312) to its configured value exceeds the configured threshold value; when handover is successfully completed, the percentage of the operating value of T304 to its configured value exceeds the configured threshold value; or during the dual-activation protocol stack (DAPS) handover execution (when timer T304 is running) the source cell experiences an RLF). The successful handover information is recorded in a data set (such as VarSuccessHO-Report). The UE can inform the network side via an RRC message that it has an available successful handover report (such as indicated by the successHO-InfoAvailable information element). Upon receiving the indication, the network side can request the UE to report its saved successful handover information report via an RRC message (such as the successHO-ReportReq indication in the UEInformationRequest message). The UE will then report the saved successful handover report (successHO-Report in the UEInformationResponse message) to the network side in its RRC response message.

[0074] Successful PSCell change or addition of report SPR:

[0075] Similar to SHR, NR system version 18 introduces Information Reporting (SPR) for successful PSCell addition or modification, enabling the UE to report relevant information about a successful PSCell addition or modification to the network side. Based on the information obtained, the network side can further optimize the mobility of PSCells, reduce the failure rate of PSCell addition or modification, and reduce the latency of PSCell addition or modification.

[0076] The network side needs to configure SPR triggering condition parameters for the UE (such as SPR configuration including percentage threshold values ​​corresponding to T310, T312, and T304, represented by the successPSCell-Config information element). The UE will only record the relevant information for the successful addition or change of a PSCell when one or more of the configured triggering conditions are met. The UE can simultaneously contain two sets of SPR configurations: one configured by the MN and one by the SN. When the UE successfully completes a PSCell change process, the UE executes the SPR determination process, that is, it determines whether to save the SPR information for that PSCell change process in the corresponding UE variable (VarSuccessPSCell-Report) based on the saved SPR configuration. When the UE determines that the SPR triggering condition has been met, and saves the PSCell change information of the PSCell change event in the SPR variable, the UE sets one or more related contents in the PSCell change information, including one or more of the following: the source PSCell cell identifier of the PSCell change; the target PSCell cell identifier of the added or changed PSCell; the measurement results of the source PSCell or target PSCell; the measurement results of neighboring cells; the SPR triggering reason, etc. The UE can inform the network side that it has an available SPR by including an indication message in the RRC message. After receiving the indication, the network side can request the UE to report its saved SPR through an RRC message (such as the UEInformationRequest message). The UE will report the saved SPR to the network side in the UEInformationResponse message in response to the RRC message.

[0077] In the NR system version 18, the UE needs to perform the following operation when determining / setting information in the SPR: When the most recent RRC reconfiguration message containing the synchronization reconfiguration information element for SCG is applied, for a neighboring cell included in the measurement results, if the cell is a candidate target cell configured by the source PCell and included in the condRRCReconfig information element within the conditionalReconfiguration information element, and the execution conditional configuration condExecutionCond information element included in the conditional reconfiguration of the cell is associated with condEventA4, or if the cell is a candidate target cell configured by the source PSCell and included in the condRRCReconfig information element within the conditionalReconfiguration information element, then the UE sets the corresponding indication information choCandidate information element of the cell to true. This choCandidate information element is used to indicate whether the associated cell is a candidate target cell that has been changed or added by the conditional PSCell. The above process of setting the choCandidate information element is based on the NR system version 17. In the NR system version 17, the execution condition condEventA4 only applies to Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) cells or CPAC configurations configured by the PCell. Execution conditions for CHO configurations corresponding to terrestrial cells cannot be associated with condEventA4. Furthermore, the SON mechanism in version 18 does not consider NTN, so the process of setting the choCandidate information element described above is correct because the candidate target cells in the conditional reconfiguration of condEventA4 associated with the execution conditions configured by the PCell can only be candidate target cells of the CPAC. However, the current SON mechanism in version 19 considers both NTN cells and other CHO configurations that can be associated with condEventA4 by the execution conditions configured by the PCell, as well as the aforementioned CHO configurations with candidate SCGs. Therefore, setting the choCandidate information element during the SPR determination process in the current system will lead to errors.For example, if the UE has the following configurations: (1) CHO configuration for NTN cells; (2) CHO configuration where the execution condition is configured with Network Energy Saving (NES); (3) CHO configuration with candidate SCGs, if the candidate target cells corresponding to these CHO configurations are associated with condEventA4, then according to the existing SPR determination method, these candidate target cells will be considered as CPAC candidate target cells, thus incorrectly determining their corresponding choCandidate information elements. These incorrect information leads to corresponding misunderstandings on the network side, resulting in inappropriate network parameter adjustments and optimizations. Therefore, considering how to correctly set the choCandidate information element in SPR under the above-mentioned CHO configurations becomes part of the problem to be solved in this disclosure, and the same problem exists for setting the choCandidate information element in SHR. In addition, how to enhance SPR based on NTN cells and CHO configurations with candidate SCGs also becomes a problem of concern in this disclosure. Furthermore, when the UE sets the SHR information, if the last RRC reconfiguration message applied by the UE, which includes synchronization reconfiguration information elements, is included in a conditional reconfiguration, the UE sets a time-related field `timeSinceCHO-Reconfig` as the time difference between receiving the last conditional reconfiguration of the target PCell in the source PCell and initiating the execution of the conditional reconfiguration of the target PCell. However, when the UE is configured with a Cho with candidate SCGs, there may be multiple conditional reconfigurations for the same target PCell on the UE. In this case, if the existing `timeSinceCHO-Reconfig` setting method in the SHR is followed, errors may occur. Therefore, how to set the aforementioned time information in the SHR when the UE is configured with a Cho with candidate SCGs is one of the problems addressed in this disclosure.

[0078] To address at least some of the problems raised above, the following provides a detailed description of specific examples and embodiments related to the present invention. Furthermore, as mentioned above, the examples and embodiments described in this disclosure are illustrative examples provided for ease of understanding of the present invention and are not intended to limit the invention. In the following embodiments, the order of the steps is merely illustrative and not strictly limited; the implementation steps can also be combined and implemented without limitation.

[0079] Figure 3 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating some implementation methods or steps of the information reporting described in this disclosure, including the following steps:

[0080] Step 301: The UE successfully completes the process of changing or adding PSCell.

[0081] Optionally, the PSCell change or addition process can be a CPAC process, a non-CPAC process, or a Layer 1 / layer 2 Triggered Mobility (LTM) process for SCG.

[0082] Optionally, the successful completion of the PSCell change or addition process refers to the MAC layer successfully completing the random access process triggered by the PSCell change or addition.

[0083] Step 302: The UE performs the SPR determination procedure, saving information on successful PSCell changes or additions in the SPR variable (such as VarSuccessPSCell-Report), including the content determined as follows:

[0084] Operation 1: For each neighboring cell included in the measurement results (e.g., measResultNeighCells), the UE sets the choCandidate information element corresponding to that neighboring cell to true if any one or more of the following conditions are met.

[0085] Condition 1: The cell is a candidate target cell included in the CHO configuration configured in PCell, and its associated execution condition condExecutionCond is associated with condEventA4;

[0086] Condition 2: The cell is a candidate target cell whose CHO configuration configured by the PCell includes a synchronization reconfiguration information element for SCG; optionally, including a synchronization reconfiguration information element for SCG means that the secondaryCellGroup information element in the CHO configuration includes a reconfigurationWithSync information element. Alternatively, the condition can also be stated as the cell being a candidate target PSCell in the CHO configuration configured by the PCell.

[0087] Condition 3: The cell is a candidate target cell in the CHO configuration configured by the PCell, and it is not associated with / configured with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition, that is, the cell is not a candidate PSCell in the CHO configuration with candidate SCGs.

[0088] Condition 4: This cell is not an NTN cell;

[0089] Condition 5: PCell is not an NTN cell;

[0090] Condition 6: The source PSCell is not an NTN cell.

[0091] Condition 7: The cell is a candidate target cell in the CHO configuration configured by PCell, and the measurement events associated with the execution conditions such as the measurement identifier measIds in condExecutionCond or condTriggerConfig are not configured in NES mode, that is, the measurement events associated with the execution conditions are not configured with the nesEvent information element.

[0092] Condition 8: The cell is a candidate target cell in the CHO configuration configured by the PSCell, and it is not associated with / configured with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition, that is, the cell is not a candidate PSCell in the CHO configuration with candidate SCG; optionally, PSCell refers to the source PSCell or the target PSCell.

[0093] Condition 9: This cell is a candidate target cell in the conditional reconfiguration configured by the source PSCell.

[0094] Optionally, the choCandidate information element is included in the measurement result, i.e., measResultNR. This information element is used to indicate that the associated cell is a candidate target cell for a CPAC.

[0095] Optionally, in the above conditions, the CHO configuration refers to conditional reconfiguration, and more specifically, to the condRRCReconfig information element in conditional reconfiguration. Optionally, the CHO configuration is not limited to the CHO configuration used for PCell switching; it can also refer to the conditional reconfiguration used for CPAC. Optionally, in condition 2 or condition 3, the CHO configuration configured for the PCell is also referred to as the CPAC configuration configured for the PCell.

[0096] Optionally, in the above conditions, PCell refers to the source PCell or the target PCell. Generally, when a handover process occurs simultaneously with a PSCell change or addition, PCell refers to the source PCell of the handover process. Optionally, a handover process occurring simultaneously with a PSCell change or addition means that the RRC reconfiguration message executed by the UE simultaneously contains synchronization reconfiguration information elements for both the MCG and SCG.

[0097] Operation 2: If the PSCell change or condition being performed is a conditional reconfiguration such as CPAC, the SPR will include the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to that conditional reconfiguration.

[0098] Operation 3: For a cell, if it is a candidate target PSCell in a UE's conditional reconfiguration, include the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to the candidate target PSCell in the SPR. Optionally, when performing a PSCell change or addition, or when a PSCell change or addition is successfully performed, if there is a saved conditional reconfiguration on the UE, Operation 3 is executed. Optionally, the cell mentioned in Operation 3 is the cell included in the measurement results (such as the measResultNeighCells information element).

[0099] Operation 4: If the PSCell change or addition is part of the CHO process for candidate SCGs, that is, the RRC reconfiguration message for SCGs last applied by the UE during the PSCell change or addition process is included in the CHO configuration and is configured / associated with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition; then the SPR includes an indication message to indicate that the PSCell change or addition is an SCG synchronization reconfiguration during the CHO process for candidate SCGs.

[0100] Operation 5: The UE will only save the SPR information in the SPR variable when it determines that the PSCell change or addition is not performed in an NTN cell (i.e., the source PSCell or the target PSCell is not an NTN cell).

[0101] Operation 6: For a neighboring cell, if it is an NTN cell, the UE adds indication information in the SPR to indicate that it is an NTN cell. Optionally, this indication information is included in the measurement results (such as the measResultNeighCells information element).

[0102] Optionally, as described above, step 302, where the UE performs the SPR determination operation, further includes the UE determining that the SPR triggering condition is met, such as the ratio between the running value and the configured value of timer T310 / T312 associated with the source PSCell exceeding the corresponding threshold value in the SPR configuration, or the ratio between the running value and the configured value of timer T304 associated with the SCG exceeding the corresponding threshold value in the SPR configuration. When the SPR triggering condition is met, the UE performs the operation of saving the SPR information in the SPR variable.

[0103] Step 303: The UE sends an RRC message containing the successPSCell-InfoAvailable information element to the network side. This successPSCell-InfoAvailable information element is used to indicate that there is available SPR information in the SPR variable on the UE.

[0104] Step 304: The UE receives an RRC message from the network side containing a successPSCell-ReportReq information element. The successPSCell-ReportReq information element is used to request the UE to report its stored SPR information. Optionally, the RRC message is a UEInformationRequest message.

[0105] Step 305: The UE, in its response RRC message, sets the saved SPR information in the successPSCell-Report information element and reports it to the network side. Optionally, the RRC message is a UEInformationResponse message. The SPR information includes the SPR information described in step 302.

[0106] Steps 303 to 305 above are optional.

[0107] Figure 4 This is a schematic flowchart illustrating some implementation methods or steps of the information reporting described in this disclosure, including the following steps:

[0108] Step 401: The UE successfully completed a PCell handover.

[0109] Optionally, successfully completing a handover means that the UE's MAC layer successfully completes the random access procedure triggered by the handover.

[0110] Step 402: The UE performs the SHR determination procedure, saving successful handover information in the SHR variable (such as VarSuccessHO-Report), including the content determined as follows:

[0111] Operation 1: For each neighboring cell included in the measurement results (such as the measResultNeighCells information element), if any one or more of the following conditions are met, the UE sets the choCandidate information element corresponding to that neighboring cell to true.

[0112] Condition 1: The cell is a candidate target cell that includes a synchronization reconfiguration information element for MCG in the conditional reconfiguration configured by the source PCell. Optionally, including a synchronization reconfiguration information element for MCG means that the masterCellGroup information element in the conditional reconfiguration includes a reconfigurationWithSync information element. The cell identifier is included in the synchronization reconfiguration information element for MCG. Optionally, this condition can also be expressed as the cell being a candidate target PCell in the conditional reconfiguration configured by the source PCell. Optionally, this condition can also be expressed as the cell being a candidate target cell for conditional handover CHO in the conditional reconfiguration configured by the source PCell.

[0113] Condition 2: The cell is a candidate target cell included in the conditional reconfiguration configured by the source PCell, and the execution condition conExecutionCond in the conditional reconfiguration associated with the cell is not associated with / configured as condEventA4.

[0114] Condition 3: This cell is not an NTN cell;

[0115] Condition 4: The source or target cell of the handover performed in step 401 is not an NTN cell;

[0116] Condition 5: The cell is a candidate target cell in the conditional reconfiguration configured by PCell, and the measurement events associated with the measurement identifier measIds in the execution conditions such as condExecutionCond or condTriggerConfig are not configured in NES mode, that is, the measurement events associated with the execution conditions are not configured with the nesEvent information element.

[0117] Optionally, the choCandidate information element is included in the measurement result, i.e., measResultNR. This information element is used to indicate that the associated cell is a candidate target cell for conditional handover.

[0118] Optionally, in the above conditions, the conditional reconfiguration refers to the conditionalReconfiguration configured by PCell, and more specifically, to the condRRCReconfig information element in the conditionalReconfiguration.

[0119] Operation 2: If the switch performed in step 401 is a conditional switch, the SHR contains the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to the conditional reconfiguration.

[0120] Operation 3: For a cell, if it is a candidate target PCell in a UE's conditional reconfiguration, the SHR includes the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to the candidate target PCell. Optionally, when a handover is triggered or successfully executed, if the UE has a saved conditional reconfiguration, Operation 3 is executed. Optionally, the cell mentioned in Operation 3 is the cell included in the measurement results (such as the measResultNeighCells information element).

[0121] Operation 4: If the handover process performed in step 401 is a CHO process with a candidate SCG, that is, the RRC reconfiguration message (for MCG) last applied by the UE during the handover process is configured / associated with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition; then the SHR contains an indication message to indicate that the handover performed is a CHO process with a candidate SCG.

[0122] Operation 5: The UE will only save the SHR information in the SHR variable if it determines that the handover process performed in step 401 was not performed in an NTN cell (i.e., the source PCell or the target PCell is not an NTN cell).

[0123] Operation 6: For a neighboring cell, if it is an NTN cell, the UE adds indication information to the SHR to indicate that it is an NTN cell. Optionally, this indication information is included in the measurement results (such as the measResultNeighCells information element).

[0124] Operation 7: If the source cell is an NTN cell, the UE adds indication information in the SHR to indicate that it is an NTN cell.

[0125] Operation 8: If the target cell is an NTN cell, the UE adds indication information in the SHR to indicate that it is an NTN cell.

[0126] Operation 9: If the source cell or the target cell is an NTN cell, the UE adds indication information to the SHR to indicate that the handover being performed is an NTN-related handover, such as a handover from an NTN cell or a handover to an NTN cell. Optionally, if both the source cell and the target cell are NTN cells, the UE adds indication information to the SHR to indicate that the handover being performed is an NTN handover, i.e., a handover from one NTN cell to another.

[0127] Operation 10: For the target cell of the handover performed in step 401, if the last applied RRC reconfiguration message containing synchronization reconfiguration is included in the saved conditional reconfiguration `condRRCReconfig`, set the value of the `timeSinceCHO-Reconfig` information element to the time elapsed between receiving the last conditional reconfiguration `condRRCReconfig` containing the target PCell in the source PCell and initiating the execution of the conditional reconfiguration for that target PCell. The conditional reconfiguration `condRRCReconfig` for the target PCell refers to the RRC reconfiguration message containing synchronization reconfiguration applied or executed in step 401. The last conditional reconfiguration `condRRCReconfig` containing the target PCell refers to the conditional reconfiguration `condRRCReconfig` for the target PCell that contained the last executed / applied RRC reconfiguration message in step 401.

[0128] Operation 11: For the target PCell of the handover performed in step 401, if the last applied RRC reconfiguration message containing synchronization reconfiguration is included in the saved conditional reconfiguration condRRCReconfig, then the UE determines whether the conditional reconfiguration (or conditional reconfiguration identifier condReconfigId) associated with the last applied RRC reconfiguration message containing synchronization reconfiguration has been configured / associated with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition. Optionally, if not, the UE sets the timeSinceCHO-Reconfig information element to the time elapsed from receiving the last conditional reconfiguration containing condRRCReconfig and not containing or associated with the conExecutionCondPSCell execution condition for the target PCell in the source PCell to initiating the execution of the conditional reconfiguration for the target PCell. Optionally, if so, the UE sets the timeSinceCHO-Reconfig information element to the time elapsed from receiving the last conditional reconfiguration containing condRRCReconfig and associated with the execution conditions of conExecutionCondPSCell for the target PCell in the source PCell, to initiating the execution of the conditional reconfiguration for the target PCell. The target PSCell refers to the PSCell associated in the executed conditional reconfiguration, and the target PSCell corresponding to the CHO configuration when the UE executes a CHO procedure with candidate SCGs.

[0129] Optionally, as described above, step 402, in which the UE performs the SHR determination operation, further includes the UE determining that the SHR triggering condition is met, such as the ratio between the running value and the configured value of timer T310 / T312 associated with the source PCell exceeding the corresponding threshold value in the SHR configuration, or the ratio between the running value and the configured value of timer T304 associated with the MCG exceeding the corresponding threshold value in the SHR configuration. When the SHR triggering condition is met, the UE performs the operation of saving the SHR information in the SHR variable.

[0130] Obviously, step 401 also includes the UE performing a handover to the target PCell based on a handover command or LTM change command from the base station or based on its stored conditional reconfiguration or conditional LTM configuration.

[0131] Step 403: The UE sends an RRC message containing the successHO-InfoAvailable information element to the network side. This successHO-InfoAvailable information element is used to indicate that there is available SHR information in the SHR variables on the UE.

[0132] Step 404: The UE receives an RRC message from the network side containing a successHO-ReportReq information element. The successHO-ReportReq information element is used to request the UE to report its stored SHR information. Optionally, the RRC message is a UEInformationRequest message.

[0133] Step 405: The UE, in its response RRC message, sets the saved SHR information in the successHO-Report information element and reports it to the network side. Optionally, the RRC message is a UEInformationResponse message. The SHR information includes the SHR information described in step 402.

[0134] Steps 403 to 405 above are optional.

[0135] The user equipment (UE) of this disclosure will now be described. Figure 5 This is a block diagram representing the user equipment (UE) involved in this disclosure. For example... Figure 5 As shown, the user equipment UE10 includes a processor 101 and a memory 102. The processor 101 may include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 102 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 102. When executed by the processor 101, these instructions can perform the information reporting method described in detail herein.

[0136] The methods and related devices of this disclosure have been described above in conjunction with preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that the methods shown above are merely exemplary. The methods of this disclosure are not limited to the steps and sequence shown above. The base station and user equipment shown above may include more modules, such as modules that can be developed or will be developed in the future for use in base stations, MMEs, or UEs, etc. The various identifiers shown above are exemplary and not limiting, and this disclosure is not limited to the specific information elements exemplified by these identifiers. Those skilled in the art can make many variations and modifications based on the teachings of the illustrated embodiments.

[0137] A program running on a device according to this disclosure may be a program that enables a computer to perform the functions of embodiments of this disclosure by controlling a central processing unit (CPU). The program or the information processed by the program may 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.

[0138] Programs used to implement the functions of the embodiments of this disclosure 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.

[0139] 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 circuits described above 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 this disclosure may also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0140] Furthermore, this disclosure is not limited to the embodiments described above. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, this disclosure 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.

[0141] As described above, embodiments of this disclosure have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to the above embodiments, and this disclosure also includes any design modifications that do not depart from the spirit of this disclosure. Furthermore, various modifications can be made to this disclosure 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 this disclosure. In addition, components with the same effects described in the above embodiments can be substituted for each other.

Claims

1. An information reporting method, executed by a user equipment (UE), comprising the following steps: The UE successfully completed the process of changing or adding PSCells in the primary and secondary cells; The UE executes the SPR determination procedure for a successful primary / secondary cell change / addition report, stores the information of the successful PSCell change or addition in the SPR variable, and performs the following operations: For a neighboring cell included in the measurement results, if a given condition is met, the UE sets the choCandidate information element corresponding to that neighboring cell to true. in, The choCandidate information element is used to indicate whether the associated cell is a candidate target cell for conditional PSCell change or addition. The given conditions include at least the following: the cell is a candidate target cell in the conditional handover CHO configuration configured by the primary cell PCell, and it is not associated with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition.

2. The information reporting method according to claim 1, wherein, The given condition also includes at least one of the following conditions: The cell is a candidate target cell included in the CHO configuration configured in PCell, and its associated execution condition condExecutionCond is associated with condEventA4; This cell is a candidate target cell whose CHO configuration, configured by PCell, contains synchronization reconfiguration information elements for the secondary cell group SCG. This cell is not a non-terrestrial network (NTN) cell; PCell is not an NTN cell; The source PSCell is not an NTN cell; The cell is a candidate target cell in the CHO configuration configured by PCell, and the measurement event associated with the measurement identifier measIds in the execution conditions associated with it is not configured in network power saving mode, i.e., NES mode. The cell is a candidate target cell in the CHO configuration configured by PSCell, and it is not associated with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition; This cell is a candidate target cell in the conditional reconfiguration configured by the source PSCell.

3. The information reporting method according to claim 2, wherein, The element containing the synchronization reconfiguration information for SCG is the secondary cell group information element in the CHO configuration, which contains the reconfigurationWithSync information element.

4. The information reporting method according to claim 2, wherein, The choCandidate information element is included in the measurement results.

5. The information reporting method according to claim 2, wherein, The CHO configuration is a conditional reconfiguration.

6. The information reporting method according to claim 2, wherein, The CHO configuration configured in the PCell is a conditional PSCell configuration that adds or changes the CPAC configuration.

7. The information reporting method according to claim 2, wherein, The PCell is either the source PCell or the target PCell.

8. The information reporting method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein, During the SPR determination process, at least one of the following operations is also performed: If the PSCell change or condition being performed is a conditional reconfiguration, then the SPR contains the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to that conditional reconfiguration. For a cell, if it is a candidate target PSCell in the conditional reconfiguration of a UE, then the SPR includes the conditional reconfiguration identifier CondReconfigId corresponding to the candidate target PSCell. If the PSCell change or addition being performed is part of a CHO process with candidate SCGs and is configured with the condExecutionCondPSCell execution condition, then the SPR includes an indication message to indicate that the PSCell change or addition being performed is an SCG synchronization reconfiguration within a CHO process with candidate SCGs. When the UE determines that the PSCell change or addition is not performed in the NTN cell, it stores the SPR information in the SPR variable. For a neighboring cell, if it is an NTN cell, the UE adds indication information in the SPR to indicate that it is an NTN cell.

9. The information reporting method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising the following steps: The UE sends a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message to the network side containing the successPSCell-InfoAvailable information element, which is used to indicate that there is available SPR information in the SPR variables on the UE. The UE receives an RRC message from the network side containing a successPSCell-ReportReq information element, which is used to request the UE to report the stored SPR information. In the response RRC message, the UE sets the saved SPR information in the successPSCell-Report information element and reports it to the network side.

10. A user equipment, comprising: processor; as well as The memory, on which instructions are stored, When the instruction is executed by the processor, it causes the user equipment to perform the information reporting method according to any one of claims 1 to 9.

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