Method for mobility measurements with multiple reception capabilities

Abstract

An apparatus may be configured to: receive from an access node a measurement configuration for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; determine whether at least one of the plurality of cells can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the apparatus; and if it is determined that at least one cell can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction, perform the measurement on the determined at least one cell without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction; and send a measurement report to the access node of a reference signal associated with a mobility process of the determined at least one cell.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Various example embodiments generally relate to the field of wireless communications. Some example embodiments relate to mobility measurements performed with multiple receiving capabilities based on measurement and scheduling constraints of the serving cell. Background Technology

[0002] In wireless communications, a User Equipment (UE) can be configured to perform measurements on neighboring or serving cells for mobility purposes. The configured measurements can be, for example, L3 (Layer 3) measurements, enabling the network to make decisions regarding L3 handover; or L1 (Layer 1) measurements, enabling the network to make decisions regarding L1 / L2 (Layer 1 / Layer 2) triggered mobility (LTM). LTM is also known as lower-layer triggered mobility. The UE reports measurements to the network based on a measurement reporting configuration, which can be, for example, periodic or event-triggered. The network makes a handover or cell handover decision based on the reported measurements and commands the UE to perform a handover / cell handover to a selected target cell. Summary of the Invention

[0003] This summary is provided to introduce a series of concepts in a simplified form, which will be further described in the detailed embodiments below. This summary is not intended to identify key or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

[0004] The exemplary embodiments of this disclosure enable the performance of configuration measurements for neighboring cells while avoiding or minimizing interruptions to serving cell data reception, data transmission, or measurements. This and other benefits can be realized through the features of the independent claims. Further exemplary embodiments are provided in the dependent claims, the specification, and the drawings.

[0005] According to a first aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive from an access node a measurement configuration for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; determine whether at least one of the plurality of cells can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the apparatus; if it is determined that at least one cell can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction, perform a measurement on the determined at least one cell without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction; and send to the access node a measurement report of reference signals associated with a mobility process for the determined at least one cell.

[0006] According to a second aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may include: receiving, by a user equipment, a measurement configuration from an access node for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; determining whether at least one of the plurality of cells can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction on the user equipment's serving cell; if it is determined that at least one cell can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction, performing a measurement on the determined at least one cell without at least one of the measurement restriction or scheduling restriction; and sending a measurement report to the access node relating to a mobility process for the determined at least one cell.

[0007] According to a third aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: send a measurement configuration to a user equipment for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; and receive from the user equipment a measurement report associated with a mobility process of at least one of the plurality of cells, measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment.

[0008] According to the fourth aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may include: sending a measurement configuration to a user equipment for performing measurements from a plurality of cells; and receiving from the user equipment a measurement report associated with a mobility process of at least one of the plurality of cells, measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment.

[0009] According to the fifth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive from an access node a measurement configuration for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; determine from the plurality of cells at least one cell that can be measured or cannot be measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the apparatus; send to the access node information indicating the at least one cell determined from the plurality of cells; if at least one cell among the plurality of cells cannot be measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, determine at least one candidate cell that can be measured in the presence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions based on a pre-configuration criterion or at least one of an indication received by the apparatus from the access node in response to the sent information; perform measurements on at least one of the following: the at least one cell determined that can be measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, or the at least one candidate cell determined that can be measured in the presence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions; and, based on the performed measurements, send to the access node a measurement report of reference signals associated with a mobility process.

[0010] According to a sixth aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may include: receiving, by a user equipment, a measurement configuration from an access node for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; determining, from the plurality of cells, at least one cell that can be measured or cannot be measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the user equipment's serving cell; sending to the access node information indicating the at least one determined cell among the plurality of cells; if at least one cell among the plurality of cells cannot be measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, determining at least one candidate cell that can be measured in the presence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions based on a pre-configuration criterion or at least one of an indication received by the user equipment from the access node in response to the sent information; performing measurements on at least one of the following: the at least one cell determined that can be measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, or the at least one candidate cell determined that can be measured in the presence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions; and sending to the access node a measurement report of reference signals associated with a mobility process based on the performed measurements.

[0011] According to a seventh aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: send a measurement configuration to a user equipment for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; receive from the user equipment information indicating at least one of the plurality of cells, wherein the at least one cell is a cell that can be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the user equipment's serving cell, or a cell that cannot be measured; and receive from the user equipment a measurement report of reference signals associated with a mobility process for at least one of the plurality of cells, wherein the at least one cell includes at least one of: a cell measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, or a cell measured with at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions.

[0012] According to the eighth aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may include: sending a measurement configuration to a user equipment for performing measurements on a plurality of cells; receiving from the user equipment information indicating at least one of the plurality of cells, wherein the at least one cell is a cell that can be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the user equipment's serving cell, or a cell that cannot be measured; and receiving from the user equipment a measurement report of reference signals associated with a mobility process for at least one of the plurality of cells, wherein the at least one cell includes at least one of: a cell measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, or a cell measured with at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions.

[0013] According to a ninth aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions, which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to at least: receive from an access node a measurement configuration for performing measurements from a plurality of cells using a first antenna panel; determine that the plurality of cells include at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the apparatus; based on the determined at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction, determine at least one candidate cell that can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction by using a second antenna panel different from the first antenna panel; determine that the signal level of the at least one candidate cell to be measured using the second antenna panel satisfies at least one condition; perform measurements on the at least one candidate cell without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction on the serving cell by using a second antenna panel determined to satisfy at least one condition for the signal level; and transmit to the access node a measurement report of a reference signal associated with a mobility process for the at least one candidate cell.

[0014] According to a tenth aspect, a method is disclosed. The method may include: receiving, by a user equipment using a first antenna panel of the user equipment, a measurement configuration from an access node for performing measurements from a plurality of cells; determining that the plurality of cells include at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the user equipment; based on the determined at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction, determining, by using a second antenna panel different from the first antenna panel, at least one candidate cell that can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction; determining that the signal level of the at least one candidate cell to be measured using the second antenna panel satisfies at least one condition; performing measurements on the at least one candidate cell without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction on the serving cell using a second antenna panel determined to satisfy at least one condition for the signal level; and transmitting to the access node a measurement report of a reference signal associated with a mobility process for the at least one candidate cell.

[0015] According to the eleventh aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may include components for performing the methods according to the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, or tenth aspects or any / more example embodiments thereof, as described in the specification and / or claims.

[0016] According to the twelfth aspect, a computer program, a computer program product, or a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium is disclosed. The computer program, computer program product, or (non-transitory) computer-readable medium may include instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the method according to the second, fourth, sixth, eighth, or tenth aspect or any / more example embodiments thereof, as described in the specification and / or claims.

[0017] Therefore, exemplary embodiments of this disclosure may provide apparatus, methods, computer programs, computer program products, or computer-readable media for improving various aspects of mobility measurement. Any exemplary embodiment may be combined with one or more other exemplary embodiments. These and other aspects of this disclosure will become apparent from the exemplary embodiments(s) described below. The subject matter of the independent claims is provided according to some aspects. Additional aspects are defined in the dependent claims. Attached Figure Description

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the exemplary embodiments and form part of this specification, illustrate exemplary embodiments and, together with the specification, help to explain the exemplary embodiments. In the drawings:

[0019] Figure 1 The illustration shows an example of a communication network that includes user nodes and one or more access nodes;

[0020] Figure 2 The illustration shows an example of a device configured to practice one or more example embodiments;

[0021] Figure 3 The illustration shows an example of signaling and operations used to perform mobility measurements based on an assessment of measurement and scheduling constraints of the serving cell;

[0022] Figure 4 The illustration shows another example of signaling and operations used to perform mobility measurements based on an assessment of measurement and scheduling constraints of the serving cell;

[0023] Figure 5 The illustration shows an example of a scenario where the UE performs an alternative antenna selection;

[0024] Figure 6 The illustration shows an example of signaling and operations used to perform mobility measurements based on an assessment of measurement and scheduling constraints of the serving cell and antenna panel selection; and

[0025] Figures 7 to 11 An example of a method for measuring mobility is illustrated.

[0026] In the accompanying drawings, the same reference numerals are used to denote the same parts. Detailed Implementation

[0027] Reference will now be made in detail to exemplary embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The detailed description provided below, in conjunction with the drawings, is intended as a description of this example and is not intended to represent the only form in which this example can be constructed or used. This description illustrates the functionality of the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the example. However, the same or equivalent functionality and sequence can be implemented through different examples.

[0028] Figure 1 An example of a communication network 100 including user nodes and one or more access nodes is illustrated. The user node may be UE 102. UE 102 may be configured to support multiple receive operations. UE 102 may include multiple antennas, such as antenna panels 110, 112, and 114. Access nodes 104, 106, and 108 may be part of a radio access network (RAN) configured to enable devices (represented throughout this specification by UE 102) to access communication services provided by the core network. In relation to communication network 100, access nodes 104, 106, and 108 and the core network may be collectively referred to as the 'network'. UE 102 may include user equipment, mobile devices, etc. UE 102 may be configured to communicate with access nodes 104, 106, and 108 via a radio interface (also called an air interface). Access nodes 104, 106, and 108 may also be referred to as network devices or transmit / receive points (TRPs).

[0029] The wireless interface can be configured, for example, based on the 5G NR (New Radio) standard defined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) or any future standard or technology (e.g., 6G). Access nodes 104, 106, and 108 may include, for example, fifth-generation access nodes (gNBs). Transmissions from the access nodes to UE 102 may be referred to as downlink (DL) transmissions. Transmissions from UE 102 to the access nodes may be referred to as uplink (UL) transmissions. Therefore, UE 102 can be configured as a transmitter for uplink transmissions and a receiver for downlink transmissions. Multiple access nodes 104, 106, and 108 can be configured as receivers for uplink transmissions and transmitters for downlink transmissions. The communication network 100 may include a wireless communication network or a mobile communication network, such as, for example, a cellular communication network.

[0030] Access nodes 104, 106, and 108 can be configured to communicate with the UE via one or more cells. A cell can be configured to serve a UE in a specific geographic area with a specific radio frequency or a radio frequency range around the cell center frequency. The UE can receive signals from one or more cells, such as from a serving cell and one or more neighboring cells. A serving cell is a specific cell or base station with which the mobile device is currently communicating or has an active connection. The serving cell can be responsible for managing communications, handling data transmission, and coordinating various aspects of the connection with the mobile device. For example, access node 104 can serve UE 102 at a serving cell. Access nodes 106 and 108 can be located in neighboring cells. A neighboring cell is any other cell in the communication network that is not the serving cell but is within range and can be connected to by the mobile device. The mobile device can continuously monitor signals from neighboring cells to understand alternative connections. Information about neighboring cells can be used for various purposes, including optimized handover, i.e., the process of switching the connection of a mobile device from one cell to another when the mobile device moves within the network.

[0031] The communication network 100 can operate based on a protocol stack comprising multiple protocol layers. The protocol stack can be arranged based on the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model or a layer model of a specific standard (such as 3GPP 5G NR). As an example, the protocol stack may include a Serving Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, which can receive data from the application layer for transmission. The SDAP layer can be configured to exchange data with a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. The PDCP layer can be responsible for, for example, generating data bursts comprising one or more data packets based on data obtained from the SDAP layer. The PDCP layer can provide data to one or more instances of the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. For example, PDCP data can be transmitted on one or more RLC transmission tributaries. Each RLC instance can be associated with a corresponding Media Access Control (MAC) instance of the MAC layer. The MAC layer can provide mapping between upper-layer logical channels and physical layer transport channels, handling the multiplexing and demultiplexing of MAC Serving Data Units (SDUs). Furthermore, the MAC layer can provide error correction functionality based on packet retransmissions, such as according to the Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request (HARQ) procedure. Physically independent transport branches can be provided by the physical (PHY) layer (also known as Layer 1 (L1)). The UE can be configured to perform mobility measurements based on lower layers of the protocol stack (e.g., RLC, MAC, and L1). The Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer of the protocol stack can be configured to manage the configuration, connection, and release of radio resources. The RRC layer can also be referred to as Layer 3. In one example, Layer 3 could refer to network layer routing, addressing, and packet forwarding across different networks. L1 and L3 measurements can include parameters related to radio channel conditions, such as signal strength, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and channel quality indicator (CQI).

[0032] For example, UE 102 can be configured to perform and report received signal reference power (RSRP) measurements at Layer 1 (physical layer) and / or Layer 3 (RRC layer). For example, the measurement can be based on a synchronization signal block (SSB). Alternatively, the measurement can be configured in a Channel State Information (CSI) measurement configuration, and the measurement can be based on a CSI reference signal (RS). For example, Layer 3 measurements can include cell-level or beam-level measurements. Beam-level measurements can be generated from Layer 1 measurements by applying Layer 3 filtering. L3 filtering can be performed to eliminate the effects of fast fading and help reduce short-term variations in measurement results. Cell-level measurements can be derived from L1 measurements using certain rules. L3 RSRP measurements can be reported in the information element of the measurement results in the RRC measurement report. L1 measurements can include beam-level measurements. L1 RSRP measurements can be reported by UE 102 in Channel State Information (CSI) based on CSI reporting configuration.

[0033] The communication network 100 may also include, in addition to Figure 1 Other devices, network devices (multiples), or protocols (multiples) besides those shown, or as... Figure 1 Alternatives to those shown. Although some embodiments are described in the context of 5G, it should be understood that the embodiments of this disclosure are not limited to this example network. Therefore, the example embodiments can be applied to any current or future communication network. Devices such as UE 102 or access node 104 may include or be configured to implement one or more protocol layers described herein, for example by means of software.

[0034] LTM is a cell handover process in which the UE's serving cell (e.g., PCell or PSCell) is handed over by the network by sending an LTM cell handover command. In the baseline technical scheme, the LTM cell handover decision is based on L1 measurement, which is performed and reported by the UE based on the LTM candidate cell configuration provided by the network for one or more LTM candidate cells. These candidate cells can be neighboring cells and / or the UE's current serving cell (e.g., SCell, PCell, and / or PSCell). PCell refers to the UE's primary serving cell, which provides the initial connection and handles most of the communication with the UE. PSCell refers to the secondary serving cell, which is configured to work in conjunction with PCell in dual-connectivity mode to improve data throughput and network performance by providing additional capacity and bandwidth to the UE. SCell refers to another secondary serving cell, which can be aggregated with PCell and PSCell to improve the overall data throughput and capacity for the UE.

[0035] Prior to cell handover, the network may optionally activate one or more candidate cell TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) states, and the UE will track the timing of the activation of the TCI states before the cell handover. The UE may also perform early timing advance (TA) acquisition based on the RACH (Random Access Channel) command initiated by the network via PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) or as a UE-initiated TA acquisition.

[0036] LTM measurement can refer to L1 measurement, which is configured for the UE in the LTM candidate cell configuration. The UE can be configured to measure up to 8 candidate cells, which can be neighboring cells and / or the currently serving cell (e.g., SCell). The actual number of cells that the UE can be configured to and should be able to measure may depend on the UE's capabilities.

[0037] It can be assumed that LTM candidate cells are configured based on separately configured L3 measurements. L3 measurements can also be assumed to run together with LTM measurements for LTM candidate cells, and L3 measurements can also run together with some other neighboring cells.

[0038] In cases where LTM measurement resources overlap with another measurement or data scheduling, measurement and scheduling constraints may be required.

[0039] For example, a UE can be configured to measure two reference signals (RS) in overlapping or adjacent OFDM (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing) symbols, such as LTM candidate cell measurement and some type of serving cell measurement. In this case, the UE can be restricted to measuring only one of the RSs. Therefore, a long measurement period is expected, which in practice means there is no minimum requirement for the measurement period.

[0040] In addition to measurement constraints, scheduling constraints may also be required in some cases. For example, on symbols configured for SSB (Synchronization Block) measurements for LTM candidate cells, UEs may not be expected to transmit Physical Uplink Control Channel / Physical Uplink Shared Channel / Probe Reference Signals (PUCCH / PUSCH / SRS) or receive Physical Downlink Control Channel / Physical Downlink Shared Channel / Channel State Information Reference Signals (PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS) / CSI-RS for CQI (Channel Quality Information) in symbols before and after the SSB symbol. If the network schedules these channels for the UE in these symbols, a longer measurement period is expected; that is, there is no minimum requirement for the measurement period. Both scheduling and measurement constraints can depend on the frequency range in which the UE is measuring and / or being scheduled, as well as UE capabilities such as simultaneousRxDataSSB-DiffNumerology. SimultaneousRxDataSSB-DiffNumerolog refers to a parameter that indicates whether the UE concurrently supports the following operations: performing co-frequency measurements on the serving cell or neighboring cells, and receiving PDCCH or PDSCH from the serving cell using different parameter sets.

[0041] A UE capable of multiple Rx (multiple receive) operations can receive data and / or measurements from two directions (or two QCL Type-D sources) simultaneously using at least two receive antenna panels. QCL stands for Quasi-co-located. Two antenna ports are said to be quasi-co-located if the properties of the channel transmitting symbols on one antenna port can be inferred from the channel transmitting symbols on the other antenna port. For QCL Type-D, common channel properties include spatial receiver parameters. A UE with multiple Rx capability can simultaneously receive data, simultaneously measure, and simultaneously receive data and measure from two QCL Type-D sources (i.e., two TRPs belonging to the same cell). Therefore, RRM (Radio Resource Management) requirements may be required to support intra-cell multiple TRP operations where the UE is scheduled from two TRPs.

[0042] Multiple Rx operations can be extended for inter-cell mobility purposes. For example, a UE can perform neighbor cell measurements using one antenna panel while simultaneously receiving / transmitting data on the serving cell using another antenna panel. The advantage of using the UE's multiple Rx capabilities for mobility is that it enables faster measurements and reduces interruptions to serving cell data transmission / reception (e.g., scheduling constraints) and / or measurements (e.g., measurement constraints) due to LTM candidate cell measurements.

[0043] Scheduling restrictions may be necessary to enable the UE to perform measurements. For example, in the case of L3 measurements, it can be assumed that the UE needs to perform beam scanning. Therefore, if the UE can only receive data from one direction, it may not be able to receive data while scanning to measure neighboring cells. In the case of L1 measurements, SSB measurements may require scheduling restrictions due to the beam scanning assumption. Furthermore, CSI-RS measurements may require scheduling restrictions when the target RS is not QCL-Type D with the indicated TCI state. In other words, the measured CSI-RS can use the same beam as the indicated TCI state. Otherwise, it is assumed that a different DL transmission beam is used, and the UE cannot simultaneously receive data and measure the CSI-RS. For L1 measurements with multiple Rxes, if the CSI-RS of one TRP has a QCL-Type D relationship with one of the indicated TCI states, intra-cell measurements can be relaxed and scheduling restrictions reduced.

[0044] When a UE with multi-Rx capability is configured to perform measurements (such as co-frequency measurements) on LTM candidate cells, the UE may not always be able to use different antenna panels to perform candidate cell measurements without interrupting data transmission / reception on the serving cell. This situation can depend on the location of adjacent TRP / gNBs and the UE's antenna panels. Sometimes, the UE may need to use the same antenna panel as the one used for data reception / transmission on the serving cell to measure candidate cells. However, using the same antenna panel may lead to scheduling and measurement limitations on the serving cell. This scenario is... Figure 1 As illustrated in the diagram, UE 102 can use an antenna panel 110, different from the antenna panel 112 used by UE 102 for data reception and measurement of the serving cell (access node 104), to measure access node 108 (neighboring cell 2). Furthermore, UE 102 will need to use the same antenna panel 112 used for the serving cell to measure access node 106 (neighboring cell 1).

[0045] The issue lies in whether the UE can use the same or different antenna panels for candidate (neighboring) cell measurements. In other words, the network may not be able to see whether measurement / scheduling restrictions are needed. Furthermore, the situation may change when the UE moves, rotates, or when there are obstacles between the UE and the gNB / TRP to be measured. Defining measurement requirements for candidate cells or measurement / scheduling restrictions for the serving cell, assuming the UE uses a different antenna panel for candidate cell measurements, is not straightforward, as it may be unclear when the UE can perform measurements without scheduling / measurement restrictions and without interrupting data scheduling or measurement on the serving cell.

[0046] According to an example embodiment, an apparatus is configured to perform LTM measurements on one or more candidate cells. The apparatus may be, for example, a UE. The apparatus may also be configured with multi-Rx capabilities. In one example embodiment, the apparatus is not permitted to impose any scheduling / measurement restrictions on the serving cell due to LTM candidate cell measurements. The apparatus may be allowed to measure and report results for reference signals (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) associated with the LTM candidate cells, enabling the apparatus to perform measurements without scheduling / measurement restrictions on the serving cell.

[0047] In an example embodiment, the device may be configured to report to the network an indication that, without scheduling / measurement constraints on the serving cell, the device may not be able to measure which LTM candidate cells or reference signals associated with configured candidate cells. Based on this indication, the device may be enabled or disabled to measure all or a subset of the indicated candidate cells, subject to scheduling and / or measurement constraints, based on the device's pre-configuration or received network indication.

[0048] In an example embodiment, if the signal quality of the candidate cell in question on the alternative antenna panel is sufficient to measure the candidate cell without measurement / scheduling restrictions on the serving cell, the device can be configured to select an antenna panel different from the antenna panel used for the serving cell to measure the LTM candidate cell.

[0049] Figure 2 The illustration depicts an example of a device configured to practice one or more exemplary embodiments. Device 200 may include a UE (such as UE 102), or an access node (such as access node 104, 106, or 108), an access point, a base station, a wireless network node, a TRP, or a network device, or any device generally configured to implement the functions described herein. Device 200 may include at least one processor 202. At least one processor 202 may include one or more of various processing devices, such as, for example, a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing circuitry system with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including integrated circuits, such as, for example, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), microcontroller units (MCUs), hardware accelerators, dedicated computer chips, etc.

[0050] The apparatus 200 may also include at least one memory 204. Memory 204 may be configured to store, for example, computer program code, such as operating system software and application software. Memory 204 may include one or more volatile memory devices, one or more non-volatile memory devices, and / or combinations thereof. For example, the memory may be embodied as a magnetic storage device (such as a hard disk drive, magnetic tape, etc.), an optical-magnetic storage device, or a semiconductor memory (such as a mask ROM, PROM (programmable ROM), EPROM (erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory), etc.). Memory 204 is provided as an example of a (non-transitory) computer-readable medium. As used herein, the term "non-transitory" is a limitation on the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not tactile), rather than a limitation on the persistence of data storage (e.g., RAM and ROM).

[0051] The device 200 may also include a communication interface 208 configured to enable the device 200 to transmit and / or receive information. The communication interface 208 may include an external communication interface, such as a wireless interface between the UE 102 and access nodes(s) 104, 106, 108. The communication interface 208 may include one or more wireless transmitters or receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas of the device 200, or configured to be coupled to one or more antennas external to the device 200.

[0052] The device 200 may also include other components and / or functions, such as a user interface (not shown), which includes at least one input device and / or at least one output device. The input device may take various forms, such as a keyboard, a touchscreen, or one or more embedded control buttons. The output device may include, for example, a display, a speaker, etc.

[0053] When device 200 is configured to perform a certain function, one or more components of device 200 (such as, for example, at least one processor 202 and / or at least one memory 204) may be configured to perform that function. Furthermore, when at least one processor 202 is configured to perform a certain function, that function may be implemented using, for example, program code 206 included in at least one memory 204.

[0054] The functions described herein can be performed at least in part by one or more computer program product components, such as software components. According to an example embodiment, device 200 includes a processor or processor circuitry, such as, for example, a microcontroller, configured by program code 206 (when executed) to perform embodiments of the operations and functions described herein. Program code 206 is provided as an example of instructions that, when executed by at least one processor 202, affect the performance of device 200.

[0055] Alternatively or additionally, the functions described herein may be performed at least in part by one or more hardware logic components. For example, but not limited to, illustrative types of hardware logic components that may be used include field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), application-specific standard products (ASSPs), system-on-a-chip (SoCs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), graphics processing units (GPUs), and the like.

[0056] Apparatus 200 may be configured to perform or cause to perform the methods(s) described herein, or may include components for performing the methods(s) described herein. In one example, the components include at least one processor 202 and at least one memory 204 including instructions (e.g., program code 206) configured to cause apparatus 200 to perform the methods(s) when executed by at least one processor 202. Typically, computer program instructions can be executed on components that provide general processing functionality. Such components can be embedded, for example, in personal computers, smartphones, network devices, etc. Thus, the methods(s) can be implemented by a computer, for example, by algorithms(s) executable by general processing functionality, an example of which is at least one processor 202. The components may include transmitting or receiving components, such as one or more wireless transmitters or receivers (which may be coupled or configured to be coupled to one or more antennas). Apparatus 200 may include, for example, network devices, such as access nodes, access points, base stations, or their central / distributed units. Although apparatus 200 is illustrated as a single device, it should be understood that, where applicable, the functionality of apparatus 200 may be distributed to multiple devices.

[0057] Figure 3 The illustration shows an example of signaling and operations used to perform mobility measurements based on an assessment of measurement and scheduling constraints of the serving cell. Signaling can be performed between a mobile device (such as UE 102) and one or more TRPs (such as access nodes 104, 106, or 108). The one or more TRPs may include a source TRP 326. The source TRP may include the serving cell of UE 102. The one or more TRPs may also include one or more candidate TRPs, referred to as a first candidate TRP (c-TRP1 328) and a second candidate TRP (c-TRP2 330). Candidate TRPs may include neighboring cells for UE 102. Neighboring cells may be referred to as candidate cells.

[0058] At operation 300, UE 102 can send an L3 measurement report to source TRP 326.

[0059] At operation 302, source TRP 326 can decide to configure LTM and prepare candidate cell configuration.

[0060] At operation 304, source TRP 326 may send an RRC reconfiguration message to UE 102, which includes candidate cell configurations for one or more candidate cells, such as c-TRP1 328 and c-TRP2 330.

[0061] At operation 306, UE 102 can respond to an RRC reconfiguration message using an RRC reconfiguration complete message. The RRC reconfiguration complete message can be sent after UE 102 stores the candidate cell configuration.

[0062] At operation 308, UE 102 can be configured to evaluate which candidate cells in the receive configuration it can measure without interrupting the serving cell's data reception, transmission, and / or measurement. In other words, UE 102 can determine which candidate cells it can measure without scheduling and / or measurement restrictions on the serving cell. For example, UE 102 can evaluate which candidate cells it can measure by using a panel different from the panel used by the serving cell. The implementation of the evaluation can depend on the UE implementation and beam scanning strategy. For example, the evaluation can be based on ongoing L3 measurements. Based on the L3 measurements, the UE can select the antenna panel it will use for refined LTM L1 measurements for each configured candidate cell. Based on this evaluation, UE 102 can conclude that some LTM candidate cells can be measured without interruption to the serving cell (without scheduling and / or measurement restrictions), and that scheduling and / or measurement restrictions will exist for some candidate cells. For example, UE102 can determine that UE102 is able to measure c-TRP1 328 without measurement and / or scheduling constraints, and is able to measure c-TRP2 330 with measurement and / or scheduling constraints.

[0063] In one example embodiment, UE 102 may not be permitted to schedule and / or measure the serving cell due to LTM candidate cell measurements (e.g., LTM L1 measurements configured in the LTM candidate cell configuration). UE 102 may only need to measure and report LTM candidate cells or reference signals associated with candidate cells that it can measure without scheduling and / or measurement restrictions on the serving cell. In other words, if UE 102 is scheduled from the serving cell and UE 102 receives a reference signal from a candidate cell, UE 102 may not perform any processing on the reference signal if the reference signal causes an interruption of data transmission / reception on the serving cell.

[0064] For example, for a UE that supports simultaneous candidate cell measurement capabilities (e.g., multi-Rx operation), cell scheduling may not be restricted due to L1-RSRP measurements on LTM candidate cells. If scheduled, the UE can transmit PUCCH / PUSCH / SRS for the serving cell and receive PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS for tracking / CSI-RS for CQI on symbols corresponding to the SSB index configured for LTM L1-RSRP measurements on LTM candidate cells. If the UE can perform measurements without scheduling restrictions on the serving cell, the UE can perform LTM L1-RSRP measurements on these symbols.

[0065] For example, for a UE that supports simultaneous candidate cell measurement capability, when the SSB used for LTM L1-RSRP measurement on a candidate cell and the SSB transmitted from (multiple) serving cells for RLM, BFD, or CBD measurement are located in the same or adjacent OFDM symbols, there are no measurement restrictions, and the UE can measure both SSBs. Similarly, when the SSB used for LTM L1-RSRP measurement on a candidate cell and the CSI-RS transmitted from (multiple) serving cells for RLM, BFD, or CBD measurement are located in the same or adjacent OFDM symbols, there are no measurement restrictions, and the UE can measure both CSI-RS.

[0066] At operation 310, UE 102 can be configured to perform measurements on c-TRP1328 without measurement and scheduling restrictions. Since UE 102 is not allowed to measure c-TRP2 330 with scheduling and / or measurement restrictions, UE 102 decides not to perform measurements on c-TRP2 330, even though it is included in the LTM candidate cell configuration.

[0067] As part of operation 310, at operation 312, UE 102 can receive scheduled PDSCH and / or PDCCH from source TRP 326. UE 102 can simultaneously perform measurements on c-TRP1 328. Source TRP 326 can continue scheduling, and UE 102 can continue to receive / transmit data on the serving cell during symbols configured with c-TRP1 328 measurement reference signals (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS).

[0068] At operation 314, UE 102 can report to source TRP 326 the measurements performed on c-TRP1 328, such as L1 measurements.

[0069] Before the measurement report arrives, the source TRP 326 may not be able to see which cells UE 102 is capable of measuring. If UE 102 cannot measure any candidate cells without scheduling and measurement constraints, the source TRP 326 can conclude from the missing measurement report that there are no suitable LTM candidate cells for the UE to measure. If necessary, the source TRP 326 can reconfigure the LTM candidate cells differently, or configure L3 handover to UE 102 based on L3 measurements that can be assumed to run alongside LTM measurements.

[0070] The network (e.g., source TRP 326) can optionally be configured with at least one of early DL synchronization or early TA acquisition prior to cell handover.

[0071] At operation 316, UE 102 can be configured to perform DL synchronization with one or more candidate cells before receiving a command for cell handover. DL synchronization may include TCI state activation for one or more candidate cells based on a command received from the network. This command may include a TCI state activation MAC-CE. UE 102 can be configured to perform refined time and / or frequency tracking for the activated TCI state based on the MAC-CE. For example, source TRP 326 may instruct UE 102 to perform DL synchronization with c-TRP1 328.

[0072] At operation 318, UE 102 can be configured to perform early TA acquisition for one or more candidate cells requested by the network before receiving a command for cell handover. Early TA acquisition can be performed via CFRA (Contentless Random Access) triggered by a PDCCH command from the source TRP. Based on this request, UE 102 sends a preamble to the indicated candidate cell (such as c-TRP1 328). Another option is UE-based TA acquisition, where UE 102 estimates the TA based on measurements.

[0073] At operation 320, source TRP 326 can decide to perform an LTM cell handover to c-TRP1 328.

[0074] At operation 322, source TRP 326 may send an LTM cell handover command MAC-CE to UE 102. This command may include a candidate configuration index of the target cell (c-TRP1) for the cell handover.

[0075] At 324, UE 102 switches to the target cell and applies the configuration indicated by the candidate configuration index. If the TA is not given in the cell handover command (the TA is not acquired at operation 318) and the UE is not configured to perform UE-based TA estimation for the target cell, the cell handover can be RACH-based. If the UE is configured to perform UE-based TA estimation for the target cell in the LTM candidate cell configuration, or if the TA is given in the cell handover command, the cell handover can be RACH-free, where the TA given in the cell handover command can be acquired based on an earlier TA at operation 318, or the TA can be equal to the serving cell TA or zero.

[0076] UE 102 can complete the LTM cell handover process, for example, by sending an RRC reconfiguration complete message to c-TRP1 328. If UE 102 does not perform a random access procedure at operation 318, the UE can consider the LTM execution to have been successfully completed when the random access procedure at 324 is successfully completed. For LTM without RACH at 324 where no random access is performed during LTM execution (cell handover), UE 102 can consider the LTM execution to have been successfully completed when it determines that the network has successfully received the first UL data from UE 102. UE 102 can determine the successful reception of the first UL data by receiving the PDCCH of UE 102's C-RNTI (Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier) ​​in the target cell, which schedules new transmissions after the first UL data.

[0077] Figure 4 The illustration shows another example of signaling and operations used to perform mobility measurements based on an assessment of measurement and scheduling constraints of the serving cell. Signaling can be performed between a mobile device (such as UE 102) and one or more TRPs (such as access nodes 104, 106, or 108). One or more TRPs may include a source TRP 326. The source TRP may include the serving cell for UE 102. One or more TRPs may also include one or more candidate TRPs, referred to as a first candidate TRP (c-TRP1 328) and a second candidate TRP (c-TRP2 330). Candidate TRPs may include neighboring cells for UE 102. Neighboring cells may be referred to as candidate cells.

[0078] UE 102 and source TRP 326 can be configured to perform as follows Figure 3 Operations 300, 302, 304, 306, and 308 have already been described and therefore will not be repeated here.

[0079] In one example, UE 102 can be configured to indicate to the network which LTM candidate cells or reference signals associated with LTM candidate cells cannot be measured by the UE without scheduling and / or measurement restrictions on the serving cell. It is anticipated that the UE will be able to measure other cells (if any) without measurement or scheduling restrictions.

[0080] For example, a UE that supports simultaneous candidate cell measurement capabilities may not be expected to transmit PUCCH / PUSCH / SRS on the symbol corresponding to the SSB index configured for L1-RSRP measurement of LTM candidate cells, or receive PDCCH / PDSCH / CSI-RS / CSI-RS for tracking / CQI for CSI-RS, under one or more of the following conditions:

[0081] The UE has sent an indication of scheduling constraints for LTM candidate cell measurements for a candidate cell associated with an SSB index configured for LTM L1-RSRP measurements.

[0082] The network has enabled scheduling restrictions for the measured candidate cells and indicated that scheduling restrictions should be enabled for LTM candidate cells.

[0083] Otherwise, there may be no scheduling constraints on cells due to the measurement of L1-RSRP of LTM candidate cells associated with the SSB index configured for L1-RSRP measurement.

[0084] For example, when an SSB used for LTM L1-RSRP measurement on a candidate cell is located in the same or adjacent OFDM symbols as an SSB transmitted from serving cells(s) for RLM, BFD, or CBD measurement, the UE may measure one of the SSBs under one or more of the following conditions, but cannot measure two SSBs simultaneously:

[0085] The UE has sent an indication of measurement limitations for LTM candidate cell measurements of candidate cells associated with the SSB index configured for LTM L1-RSRP measurements.

[0086] The network has enabled measurement restrictions on candidate cells through an indication that enables measurement restrictions on LTM candidate cells. It is expected that SSB-based RLM, BFD, or CBD measurements will have longer measurement periods with no restrictions on the measurement period.

[0087] Otherwise, there are no measurement restrictions, and the UE can measure two SSBs. When the SSB used for LTML1-RSRP measurement on a candidate cell is located on the same or adjacent OFDM symbol as the CSI-RS transmitted from (multiple) serving cells for RLM, BFD, or CBD measurement, the UE can measure either the SSB used for L1-RSRP measurement or the CSI-RS, but cannot measure both simultaneously, under one or more of the following conditions:

[0088] The UE has sent an indication of measurement limitations for LTM candidate cell measurements of candidate cells associated with the SSB index configured for LTM L1-RSRP measurements.

[0089] The network has enabled and indicated measurement restrictions on the candidate cells being measured by means of an indication of measurement restrictions for LTM candidate cells. It is expected that the measurement period for SSB-based L1-RSRP measurements will be relatively long, with no restriction on the measurement period.

[0090] Otherwise, there may be no measurement restrictions, and the UE may measure both the SSB used for LTM L1-RSRP measurements and the CSI-RS from (multiple) serving cells.

[0091] At operation 400, UE 102 can be configured to send a message to source TRP 326 indicating that UE 102 cannot measure c-TRP2 330 without interruption. This indication can be sent, for example, as UE auxiliary information (RRC) in an L1 or L3 measurement report or via other configuration signaling. The indication can be sent periodically or triggered. The trigger can be related to, for example, radio conditions experienced by the UE and changes in the ability to measure candidate cells with or without measurement and / or scheduling constraints.

[0092] This information can indicate that UE 102 cannot measure some LTM candidate cells among the LTM candidate cells without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions, or any cell in the LTM candidate cells without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. Alternatively, this information can indicate which candidate cells UE 102 can measure without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions, thus also indicating candidate cells that cannot be measured. This information can include both explicit and / or implicit indications of two alternatives: candidate cells with measurement and / or scheduling restrictions and candidate cells without measurement and scheduling restrictions.

[0093] Based on the indications included in this information, UE 102 can be enabled or disabled to measure all or a subset of the indicated candidate cell / reference signals, subject to scheduling and / or measurement constraints. Measurements can be enabled or disabled based on pre-configured criteria or via separate network indications.

[0094] For example, the network (e.g., source TRP 326) can decide to completely disable scheduling and / or measurement restrictions, or enable all or a subset of candidate cell / reference signals indicated by the UE. The network can indicate to the UE which cells the UE can measure when scheduling and / or measurement restrictions are in place.

[0095] For example, at operation 402, source TRP 326 may send c-TRP2 330 to UE 102 an indication that scheduling restrictions and / or measurement restrictions during measurement can be enabled.

[0096] Alternatively, UE 102 can be configured to determine, based on pre-configured criteria, whether scheduling and / or measurement restrictions are permitted for candidate cells identified by UE 102. The pre-configured criteria may include at least one of the following instructions: - Allows scheduling / measurement restrictions for all defined cells - Scheduling / measurement restrictions are allowed for all identified cells, provided the number of indicated cells does not exceed the first threshold. - Scheduling / measurement restrictions are not allowed for specific cells. If the number of cells is determined to be greater than the second threshold, scheduling / measurement restrictions on the indicated cell are not allowed. - Allow scheduling / measurement restrictions based on the reference signal type (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS), such that restrictions are allowed for SSB-based measurements but not for CSI-RS-based measurements.

[0097] At operation 404, UE 102 can perform measurements on c-TRP1328 without interruption based on instructions received from the network, and on c-TRP2 330 if there are scheduling and / or measurement constraints. Measurements on c-TRP2 may result in longer measurement periods if the network schedules data on or near the symbol of the RS configured for c-TRP2 measurement, or if the timing of measurements for the serving cell and candidate cells overlaps in time.

[0098] At operation 406, UE 102 can be configured to receive PDSCH and / or PDCCH from source TRP 326 during c-TRP1 328 measurement without scheduling constraints and during c-TRP2 330 measurement with scheduling constraints. UE 102 can be configured to perform simultaneous measurements for c-TRP1 328 and c-TRP2 330.

[0099] At operation 408, UE 102 can send measurement reports for c-TRP1 328 and c-TRP2 330 to source TRP 326.

[0100] UE 102 and source TRP 326 can then be configured to perform as follows Figure 3 Operations 316, 318, 320, 322, and 324 are described herein, and therefore their descriptions will not be repeated here.

[0101] Although LTM is illustrated as an example use case, Figure 3 and Figure 4 The signaling and operations shown also apply to other neighboring cell and / or mobility measurement use cases, such as L3 measurement or 6G-based mobility measurement.

[0102] As mentioned above, the measurement period can also be affected when the UE indicates which candidate cells / reference signals cannot be measured without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. Measurement delay can depend on the number of LTM candidate cells being measured. When the UE may not be allowed to perform LTM candidate cell measurements on some candidate cells due to scheduling / measurement restrictions caused by measurements of the serving cell, these candidate cells may not be considered as measurement candidate cells in the measurement delay requirement.

[0103] For UEs with multi-Rx capability, the measurement delay requirement of candidate cells can be defined by specifying a scaling factor (e.g., P). L1_sharing The scaling factor is defined to take into account candidate cells that the UE cannot measure. Measurement delay can be defined as follows:

[0104] Nbr_panels: The number of antenna panels that a UE can use simultaneously (≥2). This can be a static or dynamic UE capability and can depend on some additional UE signaling. How the number of antenna panels is defined is beyond the scope of this disclosure. For example, the default number of antenna panels for a UE supporting multiple Rxes can be considered to be 2.

[0105] Nbr_measured_candidate cells, which are defined as:

[0106] Nbr_measured_candidate cells = Nbr_candidate_cells-Nbr_candidate_cells_interrupt, Where Nbr_candidate_cells: the number of candidate cells that the UE is configured to or is able to measure (e.g., depending on the UE's capabilities), and Nbr_candidate_cells_interrupt: the number of candidate cells that the UE cannot measure without interruption.

[0107] In one example, from the network's perspective, if the UE does not indicate that it cannot measure some LTM candidate cells in the LTM candidate cells without interruption (i.e., if the indication is not defined), the network can assume that Nbr_candidate_cells_interrupt = 0 (i.e., there is no effect on measurement delay due to this option).

[0108] In one example, Nbr_candidate_cells_interrupt is the number of candidate cells that the UE indicates it cannot measure without scheduling / measurement restrictions, and is also not allowed to measure with scheduling / measurement restrictions according to pre-configured criteria or network indications. If scheduling and / or measurement restrictions are allowed for the indicated cells, then Nbr_candidate_cells_interrupt = 0 (i.e., no impact on measurement latency).

[0109] The scaling factor can be defined by considering the following parameters:

[0110] When one panel is used for a serving cell, the scaling factor Z = Nbr_measured_candidate_cells / (Nbr_panels-1).

[0111] In one example, these parameters could be: Nbr_panels = 2 Nbr_candidate_cells = 3 Nbr_candidate_cells_interrupt = 1 Nbr_measured_candidate_cells = 3-1 = 2 Z = 2 / (2-1) = 2.

[0112] The scaling factor Z can be affected by other additional conditions, such as TCI state activation. When Z is implemented in the definition of PL1_sharing, Z will correspond to the parameter NNeighbor_Cell (or even NNeighbor_Cell_in_list).

[0113] Here, P L1_sharing It can be defined as follows:

[0114] When the number of neighboring cells to be measured is 1, if any symbols of the SSB from the serving cell and neighboring cells overlap or are adjacent (in the time domain), then P L1_sharing = 2. Otherwise, P L1_sharing = 1.

[0115] When the number of neighboring cells to be measured is greater than 1 and the TCI status of the neighboring cells is not in the active TCI status list, P L1_sharing = 3 N Neighbor_Cell , where N Neighbor_Cell It is the number of neighboring cells that are not deactivated for measurement, scheduling / measurement limiting on the same frequency and gapless different frequencies.

[0116] Otherwise (i.e., if the TCI state for the candidate cell has already been activated), P L1_sharing = 3 N Neighbor_Cell_in_list , where N Neighbor_Cell_in_list It is the number of neighboring cells (including co-frequency neighboring cells and inter-frequency gapless neighboring cells) whose (multiple) TCI states are in the active TCI state list and whose scheduling / measurement constraints are not deactivated.

[0117] Figure 5 The illustration shows an example of a scenario where the UE performs alternative antenna selection. The UE 102 may include multiple antennas, such as antenna panels 110, 112, and 114. Antenna panels 110, 112, and 114 may be located at different positions on the UE 102. Furthermore, there is an access node 104 with a serving cell for the UE 102, and an access node 106 with neighboring cells for the UE 102.

[0118] In some scenarios, UE 102 may be able to perform LTM candidate cell measurements using the same or different antenna panels as those used for serving cell data reception and measurement. Using the same antenna panel for LTM candidate cell measurements may result in serving cell interruption (scheduling and / or measurement constraints), while using a different antenna panel will not cause serving cell interruption. For example, UE 102 may use antenna panel 112 for cell data reception and measurement of access node 104. If neighboring cells of access node 106 use the same antenna panel 112 for measurement, the measurement may need to be performed under serving cell scheduling and / or measurement constraints.

[0119] However, UE 102 can detect that it can also use an alternative panel (e.g., antenna panel 110) instead of antenna panel 112 to measure neighboring cells. This detection can be based on antenna panel scanning or beam scanning techniques used to adjust the radiation pattern of the (multiple) antennas. In antenna panel scanning, the UE can be configured to dynamically adjust the radiation pattern generated by the antenna panel based on a beamforming algorithm configured to analyze channel conditions, user location, etc., to determine the optimal antenna configuration. In beam scanning, the UE can be configured to dynamically adjust the transmission or reception direction of the radio frequency beam. For example, the UE can transmit an SSB beam sequence where the transmission direction is changed, and measure the beam to determine the optimal antenna configuration.

[0120] If at least one preset condition is met, UE 102 can be configured to select an antenna panel different from the antenna panel used for serving cell data scheduling to perform LTM candidate cell measurements.

[0121] The first condition may include: on the antenna panel to be selected for measurement, the measurement signal quality (e.g., L1-RSRP or L3-RSRP) for the configured candidate cell / RS is higher than a first threshold. The first threshold may be determined based on L1 or L3 measurements, and it may be assumed that L3 measurements are performed together with LTM L1 measurements. The first threshold may depend on the UE implementation and beam scanning strategy.

[0122] The second condition may include: on the antenna panel to be selected for measurement, the measurement signal quality (e.g., L1-RSRP or L3-RSRP) for the configured candidate cell / RS is no more than a second threshold lower than the measurement signal quality for the same candidate cell / RS on the antenna panel used for the serving cell. The second threshold may be determined based on L1 or L3 measurements, and it may be assumed that L3 measurements are performed together with LTM L1 measurements. The second threshold may depend on the UE implementation and beam scanning strategy.

[0123] If one or both conditions are met, UE 102 can determine to use a different antenna panel to measure the neighboring cell without scheduling / measurement restrictions on the serving cell. After UE 102 has selected which antenna panel to use for the neighboring cell, UE 102 can continue with beamfinding measurements using one antenna panel.

[0124] If none of these conditions are met, UE 102 may not measure neighboring cells, or may use the same antenna panel as the one used for the serving cell to measure neighboring cells if scheduling and / or measurement constraints apply. The decision regarding whether to measure neighboring cells under measurement and / or scheduling constraints may depend on the configuration of UE 102.

[0125] In one example, UE 102 can be configured to measure candidate cells without any measurement and scheduling restrictions on the serving cell. Therefore, by selecting to use an alternative antenna panel, UE 102 is able to increase the number of candidate cells that UE 102 can measure without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions.

[0126] In one example, UE 102 can be configured to send an indication to the serving cell that one or more candidate cells cannot be measured without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. UE 102 can also be configured to determine whether measurement is enabled in the presence of scheduling and / or measurement restrictions on one or more indicated candidate cells, based on pre-configured criteria or instructions or based on the indication received from the serving cell. Therefore, even if UE 102 has determined that it cannot use alternative antenna panels to measure candidate cells under measurement and / or scheduling restrictions, UE 102 can still be configured to perform measurements on the candidate cell according to pre-configured criteria or the indication received from the serving cell.

[0127] For example, pre-configuration criteria may include instructions to enable measurements under measurement and / or scheduling constraints based on limitations on the quantity of the indicated candidate cells. Alternatively, pre-configuration criteria may include instructions to enable measurements under measurement and / or scheduling constraints based on the type of reference signal for the measurement to be performed. Alternatively, for example, pre-configuration criteria may include instructions to disallow measurements under measurement and / or scheduling constraints on any indicated candidate cell, or to allow measurements under measurement and / or scheduling constraints on all indicated candidate cells.

[0128] The indication received from the serving cell can specify which candidate cells are allowed to be measured, provided there are measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. For example, the serving cell can decide not to allow measurement of any, all, or a subset of the candidate cells indicated by UE 102.

[0129] In some implementations, the antenna panels of UE 102 can be grouped together based on physical resource associations (e.g., receive chain associations, FFT (Fast Fourier Transform) allocation). In this scenario, even if the conditions for individual antenna panels within a group are met, UE 102 can be configured not to associate antenna panels with neighboring cell measurements when allocating groups for the serving cell. In this case, the serving cell can use two antenna panels, while the measurement uses only one antenna panel.

[0130] Figure 6 The illustration shows an example of signaling and operations used to perform mobility measurements based on an assessment of measurement and scheduling constraints of the serving cell and antenna panel selection.

[0131] Signaling can be performed between a device (such as UE 102) and one or more TRPs (such as access nodes 104, 106, and 108). One or more TRPs may include a source TRP 326. The source TRP may include the serving cell of UE 102. One or more TRPs may also include one or more candidate TRPs, referred to as a first candidate TRP (c-TRP1 328) and a second candidate TRP (c-TRP2 330). Candidate TRPs may include neighboring cells of UE 102. Neighboring cells may be referred to as candidate cells.

[0132] UE 102 and source TRP 326 can be configured to perform as follows Figure 3 Operations 300, 302, 304, 306 and 308 have already been described and therefore will not be repeated here.

[0133] After assessing at operation 308 that c-TRP2 330 cannot be measured without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell, UE 102 can detect at operation 600 that c-TRP2 330 can also be measured with an antenna panel different from the one used by the serving cell to avoid interruptions on the serving cell. This detection can be based on antenna panel scanning and / or beam scanning performed by UE 102.

[0134] Based on this detection, UE 102 can determine whether the measurement signal quality of c-TRP2 330 is sufficient to perform the measurement. For example, UE 102 can determine whether the signal quality meets at least one condition. At least one condition may include one or more thresholds determined for a reference signal measurement performed on c-TRP2 330 on the detected alternative antenna panel. For example, the reference signal measurement may include L1-RSRP measurement or L3-RSRP measurement. One or more thresholds may be determined based on at least one of the L1 or L3 measurements performed by UE 102.

[0135] For example, UE 102 may determine that the reference signal measurement of c-TRP2 330 performed on the alternative antenna panel is higher than a first threshold. Alternatively, UE 102 may determine that the reference signal measurement for c-TRP2 330 is no lower than the measurement signal quality of c-TRP2 330 on the antenna panel used for the serving cell, but not exceeding a second threshold. Based on the determination that the signal quality meets at least one condition, UE 102 may determine that the signal quality is sufficient and perform the c-TRP2 330 measurement using the alternative antenna panel. Because a different antenna panel than the serving cell is now used to measure c-TRP2 330, at operation 602, measurements of both c-TRP2 330 and c-TRP1 328 can be performed without interruption in the scheduling transmission between UE 102 and the source TRP 326. Therefore, at operation 310, the source TRP 326 is able to transmit UE 102's PDSCH and / or PDCCH without scheduling restrictions.

[0136] At operation 604, UE 102 can be configured to send L1 measurement reports for c-TRP1 328 and c-TRP2 330 based on the measurements performed.

[0137] The source TRP 326 can then determine whether to initiate a cell handover based on the L1 measurement report. For example, UE 102, the source TRP, and c-TRP1 can be configured to perform actions such as... Figure 3 The signaling and operations 316, 318, 320, 322 and 324 described herein will not be repeated here.

[0138] In one example, UE 102 can be configured to indicate to source TRP 326 which candidate cells UE 102 cannot measure without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. For example, the measurement configuration received at operation 304 may also include the candidate cell configuration of c-TRP3 (not shown). At operation 308, UE 102 can assess whether it can measure c-TRP2 330 and c-TRP3 with measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. At operation 600, UE 102 can detect that it can measure c-TRP2 with an alternative panel, but c-TRP3 cannot be measured with an alternative panel. UE 102 can be configured to send information to source TRP 326 indicating that c-TRP3 can be measured with measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. In response to the sent information, source TRP 326 can be configured to return an indication to UE 102 indicating whether UE 102 can perform a measurement of c-TRP3 with measurement and / or scheduling restrictions. If so, UE 102 measures c-TRP1 328 and c-TRP2 (using an alternative panel) without measurement and / or scheduling restrictions, and measures c-TRP3 with measurement and / or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell. The measurement period for c-TRP3 can be longer if the source TRP 326 schedules data on a symbol of the RS configured for c-TRP3 measurement or in a symbol adjacent to the RS, or if the measurement timings of the serving cell and candidate cells overlap in time. UE 102 can be configured to send measurement results to the source TRP 326 in the same or separate measurement report. In one example, UE 102 can be configured to determine whether it is possible to measure one or more candidate cells (e.g., c-TRP3) indicated to the network with measurement and / or scheduling restrictions, based on pre-configured criteria rather than indications received from the network. That is, the alternative antenna panel selection performed by the UE can be applied. Figure 3 and Figure 4 The operation shown.

[0139] Figure 7 An example of a method 700 for mobility measurement according to an exemplary embodiment 1 of method 700 is illustrated. Method 700 can be performed by a device such as UE 102.

[0140] At operation 702, the method may include: receiving a measurement configuration from an access node for performing measurements on multiple cells. For example, the access node may be a base station such as a gNB.

[0141] At operation 704, the method may include: determining whether there exists at least one cell among a plurality of cells that can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the device.

[0142] At operation 706, the method may include: if it is determined that at least one cell can be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, then performing a measurement on the determined at least one cell without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions.

[0143] At operation 708, the method may include: sending to the access node a measurement report of a reference signal associated with a mobility process for at least one determined cell.

[0144] For example, method 700 can be performed according to any of the following example embodiments:

[0145] Example 2: Method 700 according to Example 1, wherein the device supports multiple receive operations.

[0146] Example 3: Method 700 according to any one of Example 1 or 2, wherein the measurement is performed using an antenna panel different from the antenna panel used for the serving cell.

[0147] Example 4: Method 700 according to any one of Example 1 to 3, wherein the measurement includes at least one of low-level measurement or layer 3 measurement.

[0148] Example 5: Method 700 according to any one of Example Examples 1 to 4, wherein the measurement without at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell includes: measurement without interruption of at least one of the following: data transmission from the device to the serving cell, data reception from the serving cell by the device, or measurement performed by the device on the serving cell.

[0149] Example 6: Method 700 according to any one of Example 1 to 5, wherein a measurement report is reported in at least one of the following ways: periodically, non-periodically, semi-persistently, or event-triggered based on wireless conditions.

[0150] Figure 8 An example of a method 800 for mobility measurement according to an exemplary embodiment 1 of method 800 is illustrated. Method 800 can be performed by a device such as access node 104.

[0151] At operation 802, the method may include sending a measurement configuration to the user equipment for performing measurements on multiple cells.

[0152] At operation 804, the method may include: receiving from the user equipment a measurement report associated with a mobility process of at least one of a plurality of cells, measured in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment.

[0153] For example, method 800 can be performed according to any of the following example embodiments:

[0154] Example 2: According to the method 800 of Example 1, the measurement without at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell includes: measurement without interruption of at least one of the following: data transmission from the user equipment to the serving cell, data reception from the user equipment to the serving cell, or measurement performed by the user equipment on the serving cell.

[0155] Example 3: Method 800 according to Example 1 or 2, wherein a measurement report is received in at least one of the following ways: periodically, non-periodically, semi-persistently, or event-triggered based on wireless conditions.

[0156] Example 4: Method 800 according to any one of Example 1 to 3, wherein the measurement includes at least one of layer 3 measurement or measurement on a layer below layer 3. Measurement on a layer below layer 3 may be referred to as lower layer measurement.

[0157] Example 5: Method 800 according to any one of Example Examples 1 to 4, wherein the method further includes: receiving from the user equipment information indicating at least one cell among a plurality of cells, wherein the at least one cell is a cell that can be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the user equipment, or a cell that cannot be measured; and wherein a measurement report is received for at least one of the plurality of cells measured with at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction, or for at least one of the plurality of cells measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction.

[0158] Example 6: Method 800 according to Example 5, wherein the method includes: determining, based on received information, at least one cell that is permitted to be measured under at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions; sending an indication of the determined at least one cell to a user equipment; and wherein the measurement report includes: a measurement performed on the determined at least one cell.

[0159] Example 7: Method 800 according to Example 5 or 6, wherein information indicating at least one of a plurality of cells is received periodically or triggered by an event based on radio conditions from a user equipment, and wherein the information is received via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a Layer 1 measurement report, or a Layer 3 measurement report.

[0160] Example 8: The method according to any one of Example 1 to 7, wherein the method may further include: detecting that a measurement report has not been received from the user equipment within a specific time interval; determining, based on the detection, that the user equipment cannot perform measurements for multiple cells in the absence of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions; and sending an instruction to the user equipment to perform measurements for one or more cells different from the multiple cells.

[0161] Figure 9 An example of a method 900 for mobility measurement according to an exemplary embodiment 1 of method 900 is illustrated. Method 900 can be performed by a device such as UE 102.

[0162] At operation 902, the method includes receiving a measurement configuration from an access node for performing measurements on multiple cells. For example, the access node may be a base station such as a gNB.

[0163] At operation 904, the method includes: determining from a plurality of cells at least one of cells that can be measured or cannot be measured in the absence of at least one of measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the device.

[0164] At operation 906, the method includes: sending information to the access node indicating at least one determined cell among a plurality of cells.

[0165] At operation 908, the method includes: if at least one of a plurality of cells cannot be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, determining at least one candidate cell that can be measured with at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions based on at least one of a pre-configuration criterion or an indication received by the device from an access node in response to transmitted information.

[0166] At operation 910, the method includes performing a measurement on at least one of the following: at least one cell identified as measurable without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, or at least one candidate cell identified as measurable with at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions.

[0167] At operation 912, the method includes: sending a measurement report of reference signals associated with the mobility process to the access node based on the measurements performed.

[0168] For example, method 900 can be performed according to any of the following example embodiments:

[0169] Example 2: Method 900 according to Example 1, wherein the device supports multiple receive operations.

[0170] Example 3: Method 900 according to Example 2, wherein multiple receive operation uses multiple antenna panels.

[0171] Example 4: Method 900 according to any one of Example 1 to 3, wherein the measurement includes at least one of low-level measurement or layer 3 measurement.

[0172] Example 5: Method 900 according to any one of Example Examples 1 to 4, wherein the measurement without at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell includes: measurement without interruption of at least one of the following: data transmission from the device to the serving cell, data reception from the serving cell by the device, or measurement performed by the device on the serving cell.

[0173] Example 6: Method 900 according to any one of Example 1 to 5, wherein a measurement report is reported in at least one of the following ways: periodically, non-periodically, semi-persistently, or event-triggered based on wireless conditions.

[0174] Example 7: Method 900 according to any one of Example 1 to 6, wherein information indicating at least one determined cell is periodically or triggered by an event based on radio conditions is sent to the access node, and wherein the information is sent via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a Layer 1 measurement report or a Layer 3 measurement report.

[0175] Example 8: According to method 900 of any one of Example Examples 1 to 7, the pre-configuration standard or the indication received from the access node indicates at least one of the following for at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions: - Measurements are permitted on one or more of the identified cells, provided that at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions is in place; - If the number of determined cells is less than a first value, measurements are permitted on all cells in one or more determined cells, provided that at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions is in place. - Measurements are not permitted on any of the identified one or more cells if at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions is in place; - If the number of determined cells is greater than the second value, measurements are not permitted on one or more determined cells if there is at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions. - Measurements are permitted based on the type of reference signal configured for the measurement, provided that at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions is in place; - Measurements are permitted for one or more cells with a measurement configuration based on synchronization signal blocks, provided that at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions is in place. - Measurements are permitted for one or more cells with a measurement configuration based on channel state information reference signals, provided that at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions is in place.

[0176] Figure 10 The illustration shows an example of a method 1000 for mobility measurement according to an exemplary embodiment 1 of method 1000. Method 1000 can be performed by a device such as access node 104.

[0177] At operation 1002, the method includes: sending a measurement configuration to a user equipment for performing measurements on multiple cells.

[0178] At operation 1004, the method includes: receiving from the user equipment information indicating at least one of a plurality of cells, wherein the at least one cell is a cell that can be measured or cannot be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the user equipment.

[0179] At 1006, the method includes: receiving from a user equipment a measurement report of a reference signal associated with a mobility process for at least one of a plurality of cells, wherein the at least one cell includes at least one of the following: a cell measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, or a cell measured with at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions.

[0180] For example, method 1000 can be performed according to any of the following example embodiments:

[0181] Example 2: According to the method 1000 of Example 1, the method further includes: determining, based on the received information, at least one cell that is allowed to be measured under at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions; and sending an indication of the determined at least one cell to the user equipment; and wherein the measurement report includes: the measurement performed on the determined at least one cell.

[0182] Example 3: According to method 1000 of any one of Example 1 or 2, the measurement without at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell includes: measurement without interruption of at least one of the following: data transmission from user equipment to serving cell, data reception from user equipment to serving cell, or measurement performed by user equipment on serving cell.

[0183] Example 4: Method 1000 according to any one of Example 1 to 3, wherein a measurement report is received in at least one of the following ways: periodically, non-periodically, semi-persistently, or event-triggered based on wireless conditions.

[0184] Example 5: Method 1000 according to any one of Example 1 to 4, wherein the measurement includes at least one of low-level measurement or layer 3 measurement.

[0185] Example 6: Method 1000 according to any one of Example 1 to 5, wherein information indicating at least one of a plurality of cells is received periodically or triggered by an event based on radio conditions from a user equipment, and wherein the information is received via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a Layer 1 measurement report or a Layer 3 measurement report.

[0186] Figure 11 An example of a method 1100 for mobility measurement according to an exemplary embodiment 1 of method 1100 is illustrated. Method 1100 can be performed by a device. For example, the device can be a user equipment such as UE 102.

[0187] At operation 1102, the method may include: receiving a measurement configuration from the access node using a first antenna panel for performing measurements from multiple cells.

[0188] At operation 1104, the method may include: identifying a plurality of cells including at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of a measurement restriction or a scheduling restriction on the serving cell of the device.

[0189] At operation 1106, the method may include: determining at least one candidate cell that can be measured without at least one of measurement or scheduling restrictions, based on at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, by using a second antenna panel different from the first antenna panel.

[0190] At operation 1108, the method may include: determining that the signal level of at least one candidate cell, measured using a second antenna panel, satisfies at least one condition.

[0191] At operation 1110, the method may include: performing measurements on at least one candidate cell without at least one of measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell by using a second antenna panel determined to satisfy at least one condition for signal level.

[0192] At operation 1112, the method may include: sending to the access node a measurement report of a reference signal associated with a mobility process for at least one candidate cell.

[0193] For example, method 1100 can be performed according to any of the following example embodiments:

[0194] Example 2: Method 1100 according to Example 1, wherein the device supports multiple receive operations.

[0195] Example 3: According to the method 1100 of Example 1 or 2, the first antenna panel and the second antenna panel are disposed at different locations in the device.

[0196] Example 4: Method 1100 according to any one of Example 1 to 3, wherein the device is a user equipment and the access node is a base station.

[0197] Example 5: Method 1100 according to any one of Example 1 to 4, wherein the measurement includes at least one of layer 3 measurement or measurement on a layer below layer 3.

[0198] Example 6: According to method 1100 of any one of Example Examples 1 to 5, at least one condition includes at least one of the following: - The measured signal quality for at least one candidate cell is higher than a first threshold; or - The measured signal quality for at least one candidate cell is no lower than the measured signal quality for the same cell on the antenna panel used to serve the cell by no more than a second threshold.

[0199] Example 7: According to the method 1100 of Example 6, the signal quality is measured based on at least one of the layer 1 reference signal received power or the layer 3 reference signal received power.

[0200] Example 8: Method 1100 according to any one of Example 6 or 7, wherein at least one of the first threshold or the second threshold is determined based on at least one of the following: layer 1 measurement or layer 3 measurement.

[0201] Example 9: Method 1100 according to any one of Example Examples 1 to 8, wherein the method includes: determining, based on physical resource association, that the second antenna panel is included in the antenna panel group allocated for the serving cell; and determining, based on determining that the second antenna panel is included in the antenna panel group, that the second antenna panel cannot be selected for measurement.

[0202] Example 10: According to any one of Example Examples 1 to 9, the method 1100 wherein the measurement without at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell includes: the measurement without interruption of at least one of the following: data transmission from the device to the serving cell, data reception from the serving cell by the device, or measurement performed by the device on the serving cell.

[0203] Example 11: Method 1100 according to any one of Example Examples 1 to 10, wherein a measurement report is reported in at least one of the following ways: periodically, non-periodically, semi-persistently, or event-triggered based on wireless conditions.

[0204] Example 12: Method 1100 according to any one of Example Examples 1 to 11, wherein the method includes: determining a plurality of cells, including at least one cell that can be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell; performing a measurement on the determined at least one cell without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions; and wherein, without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, further sending a measurement report for the determined at least one cell.

[0205] Example 13: Method 1100 according to any one of Example Examples 1 to 12, wherein the method includes: sending to an access node information indicating at least one determined cell among a plurality of cells, wherein the at least one determined cell is at least one of cells that can be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell, or cells that cannot be measured; based on the at least one determined cell among the plurality of cells that cannot be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, determining at least one candidate cell that can be measured with at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions based on at least one of a pre-configuration standard or an indication received by the device from the access node in response to the sent information; performing a measurement on the at least one candidate cell that can be measured with at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions; and wherein, in the case of at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions, a measurement report is further sent for the at least one candidate cell.

[0206] Example 14: According to the method 1100 of Example 13, information indicating at least one determined cell is periodically or triggered by an event based on radio conditions and transmitted to the access node, and wherein the information is transmitted via at least one of radio resource control signaling, a Layer 1 measurement report, or a Layer 3 measurement report.

[0207] Example 15: According to method 1100 of any one of Example 13 or 14, the pre-configuration standard, or the indication received from the access node, indicates at least one of the following for at least one cell that cannot be measured without at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions: - Measurements are permitted on one or more of the identified cells, provided that at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions is in place; - Measurements are permitted on all cells in one or more identified cells, provided that the number of indicated cells is below a first value and there is at least one of measurement or scheduling restrictions. - Measurements are not permitted on any of the identified one or more cells if at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions is in place; - If the number of determined cells is greater than the second value, measurements are not permitted on one or more determined cells if there is at least one of measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions. - Measurements are permitted based on the type of reference signal configured for the measurement, provided that at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions is in place; - Measurements are permitted for one or more cells with a measurement configuration based on synchronization signal blocks, provided that at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions is in place. - Measurements are permitted for one or more cells with a measurement configuration based on channel state information reference signals, provided that at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions is in place.

[0208] Other features of these methods derive directly from, for example, the functionality of UE 102 or access node 104, as described throughout the specification, claims, and drawings, and therefore will not be repeated here. Apparatus (e.g., UE 102 or access node 104, 106, or 108) may be configured to perform or cause to perform any aspect of the methods(s) described herein. Furthermore, a computer program, computer program product, or (non-transitory) computer-readable medium may include instructions for causing the apparatus to perform any aspect of the methods(s) described herein when executed by the apparatus. Additionally, an apparatus may include components for performing any aspect of the methods(s) described herein. According to an example embodiment, the components 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 perform at least any aspect of the methods(s) described herein.

[0209] Any ranges or values ​​given herein may be extended or modified without losing the desired effect. Furthermore, unless expressly prohibited, any embodiment may be combined with another embodiment.

[0210] Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and / or actions, it should be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or actions described above. Rather, the specific features and actions described above are disclosed as examples of implementing the claims, and other equivalent features and actions are intended to be within the scope of the claims.

[0211] It should be understood that the above benefits and advantages may relate to one embodiment or several embodiments. The embodiments are not limited to embodiments that solve any or all of the described problems, nor are they limited to embodiments that have any or all of the described benefits and advantages. It should also be understood that references to "an" can refer to one or more of these items.

[0212] The steps or operations of the methods described herein can be performed in any suitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. Furthermore, individual blocks can be deleted from any method without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Aspects of any of the above example embodiments can be combined with aspects of any other example embodiments described above to form further example embodiments without losing the desired effect.

[0213] The term “comprising” is used herein to mean including the identified method, block or element, but such block or element does not include an exclusive list, and the method or apparatus may include additional blocks or elements.

[0214] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording (where a list of two or more elements is connected by “and” or “or”) means at least any one of these elements, or at least any two or more of these elements, or at least all of these elements.

[0215] Although a subject may be referred to as the 'first' or 'second' subject, this does not necessarily indicate any order or importance of the subject. Rather, such an attribute may simply be used to distinguish subjects.

[0216] As used in this application, the term 'circuit system' may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) a purely hardware circuit implementation (such as an implementation solely in analog and / or digital circuit systems), and (b) a combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (if applicable): (i) a combination of (multiple) analog and / or digital hardware circuitry with software / firmware, and (ii) any portion of (multiple) hardware processors (including (multiple) digital signal processors), software, and (multiple) memories having software, which work together to enable a device (such as a mobile phone or a server) to perform various functions; and (c) (multiple) hardware circuitry and / or (multiple) processors, such as (multiple) microprocessors or portions thereof, which require software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but may be absent when operation does not require software. This definition of circuit system applies to all uses of the term in this application, including in any claim.

[0217] As another example, as used in this application, the term "circuit system" also encompasses implementations of hardware circuitry or processors (or processors) or a portion thereof and their accompanying software and / or firmware. For instance, if applicable to a particular claim element, the term "circuit system" 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.

[0218] It should be understood that the above description is given by way of example only, and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, examples, and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of the exemplary embodiments. Although various embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of clarity or by referring to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art can make many modifications to the disclosed embodiments without departing from the scope of this specification.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: Receive measurement configuration from the access node for performing measurements on multiple cells; Determine whether there exists at least one cell among the plurality of cells that can be measured without at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the device; as well as If it is determined that at least one cell can be measured without at least one of the measurement restrictions or the scheduling restrictions, then the measurement is performed on the determined at least one cell without at least one of the measurement restrictions or the scheduling restrictions; and Send to the access node a measurement report of reference signals associated with the mobility process for the at least one determined cell.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment and the access node is a base station.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the apparatus supports multiple receive operations.

4. The apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the measurement is performed using an antenna panel different from the antenna panel used for the serving cell.

5. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement includes at least one of a lower layer measurement or a layer 3 measurement.

6. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement, in the absence of at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell, comprises: Measurements performed without interruption of at least one of the following: data transmission from the device to the serving cell, data reception from the serving cell by the device, or measurements performed by the device on the serving cell.

7. The apparatus according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement report is reported in at least one of the following ways: periodically, non-periodically, semi-persistently, or event-triggered based on wireless conditions.

8. An apparatus comprising: At least one processor; as well as At least one memory stores instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the device to at least: Send measurement configuration to the user equipment for performing measurements on multiple cells; and A measurement report is received from the user equipment associated with a reference signal for a mobility process in at least one of the plurality of cells, measured in the absence of at least one of measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment.

9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the apparatus is further configured to: The measurement report was not received from the user equipment within a specific time interval. Based on the detection, it is determined that the user equipment cannot perform the measurement for the plurality of cells without at least one of the measurement restrictions or the scheduling restrictions; and Send instructions to the user equipment to perform the measurement on one or more cells that are different from the plurality of cells.

10. A method comprising: The user equipment receives the measurement configuration from the access node for performing measurements on multiple cells; Determine whether there exists at least one cell among the plurality of cells that can be measured without at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment; as well as If it is determined that at least one cell can be measured without at least one of the measurement restrictions or the scheduling restrictions, then the measurement is performed on the determined at least one cell without at least one of the measurement restrictions or the scheduling restrictions; and Send to the access node a measurement report of reference signals associated with the mobility process for the at least one determined cell.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the measurement is performed using an antenna panel different from the antenna panel used for the serving cell.

12. The method of claim 10 or 11, wherein the measurement comprises at least one of a lower layer measurement or a layer 3 measurement.

13. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 12, wherein the measurement in the absence of at least one of the measurement restrictions or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell comprises: Measurements performed without interruption of at least one of the following: data transmission from the user equipment to the serving cell, data reception from the serving cell by the user equipment, or measurements performed by the user equipment on the serving cell.

14. The method according to any one of claims 10 to 13, wherein the measurement report is reported in at least one of the following ways: periodically, non-periodically, semi-persistently, or event-triggered based on wireless conditions.

15. The apparatus according to any one of claims 10 to 14, wherein the user equipment supports multiple receive operations.

16. A method comprising: Send measurement configuration to the user equipment for performing measurements from multiple cells; as well as A measurement report is received from the user equipment associated with a reference signal for a mobility process in at least one of the plurality of cells, measured in the absence of at least one of measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment.

17. The method of claim 16, further comprising: The measurement report was not received from the user equipment within a specific time interval. Based on the detection, it is determined that the user equipment cannot perform the measurement for the plurality of cells without at least one of the measurement restrictions or the scheduling restrictions; and Send instructions to the user equipment to perform the measurement on one or more cells that are different from the plurality of cells.

18. An apparatus comprising: Components for receiving measurement configurations from the access node for performing measurements on multiple cells; A component for determining whether there exists at least one cell among the plurality of cells that can be measured without at least one of the measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment; as well as A component for performing the measurement on the determined at least one cell without the measurement restriction or the scheduling restriction if it is determined that at least one cell can be measured without the measurement restriction or the scheduling restriction. as well as A component for sending a measurement report to the access node that is associated with a reference signal for the mobility process of the at least one determined cell.

19. An apparatus comprising: Components used to send measurement configurations to user equipment for performing measurements from multiple cells; as well as A component for receiving from the user equipment a measurement report associated with a reference signal for mobility processes in at least one of the plurality of cells, measured in the absence of at least one of measurement or scheduling restrictions on the serving cell of the user equipment.

20. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed by a device, cause the device to perform at least the method according to any one of claims 10 to 17.

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