DCI-based signaling of measurement gap skipping instructions for user equipments

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and computer program product are provided. In the context of a method, the method includes receiving by a user equipment (UE), from a network node, a configuration of a downlink c

Description

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

[0001] An example embodiment relates generally to measurement gap skipping instructions, and, more particularly, to downlink control information (DCI)-based signaling of measurement gap skipping instructions. BACKGROUND

[0002] Measurement gaps are periods of time duration configured m a user equipment with restrictions to schedule uplink or downlink traffic in order to allow radio resource management (RRM) measurements, such as inter-frequency RRM measurement gaps, intra-frequency measurements. Scheduling restrictions may also occur when a user equipment is performing radio link monitoring related measurements. Scheduling restrictions from measurement gaps, however, have been found to be quite harmful for extended reality capacity, given that there are bounded latency constraints for such services. Therefore, a user equipment performing gap-assisted RRM measurements are naturally not schedulable during the measurement gaps.

[0003] For regularly scheduled extended reality user equipment devices, the most likely used downlink control information (DCI) formats may be 01 or 02 for uplink scheduling and 11 or 12 for downlink scheduling. Formats 0 3 or 13 may also be related for advanced cases with scheduling of, for example, one physical downlink shared channel (PDSCHs) in one cell or multiple PDSCHs in multiple cells, with one PDSCH per cell. Fallback DCI formats 0 0 and 10 are assumed less relevant for scheduling of extended reality user equipment devices and for potential signaling of measurement gap skipping.

[0004] When a measurement gap skipping indication is sent by the network, the UE may skip or ignore executing the RRM measurements to prioritized PDSCH reception or PUSCH / PUCCH transmission, while scheduling restriction associated to the measurement gap is ignored by the network. Thus, measurement gap skipping indication in DCIs with dynamic scheduling of users in either uplink or downlink may not be an efficient solution. For example, if a user equipment is about to enter a measurement gap (e.g., of a duration of 6 milliseconds) where the network expects that data will become available during or within the measurement gap but data are not yet available. Thus it may not be efficient for a network node to send a user equipment specific DCI scheduling grant to the device for conveying the “measurement gap skipping indication” because the network node may have no knowledge or control over the readiness of the scheduling in the user equipment. The DCI may thus contain redundant scheduling information . As another example, for cells with many extended reality user equipment devices, it may not be desirable to send many parallel measurement gap skipping indications. BRIEF SUMMARY

[0005] In view of the above problems, there exists a need to only signal the measurement gap skipping indication when desirable, and to send a compact measurement gap skipping instruction without consideration of whether these users have data for scheduling at any given time.

[0006] In one or more embodiments, a user equipment (110) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user equipment (110) to receive (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) is further caused to receive (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0007] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node (112) to transmit (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112) is further caused to transmit (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0008] In one or more embodiments, a user equipment (110) is provided, including means for receiving (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) further includes means for receiving (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0009] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112) is provided, including means for transmitting (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112) further includes means for transmitting (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0010] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a user equipment (110) and includes receiving (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the method further includes receiving (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0011] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a network node (112) and includes transmitting (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the method further includes transmitting (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0012] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (110), cause the user equipment (110) to receive (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) is further caused to receive (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0013] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a network node (112), cause the network node (112) to transmit (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112) is further caused to transmit (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0014] Having thus described certain example embodiments of the present disclosure in general terms, reference will hereinafter be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and where:

[0015] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system including a user equipment and a network node configured to communicate via at least one of uplink and downlink transmission in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0016] FIG. 2 illustrates a communications device that may include various components configured to perform operations for the techniques disclosed herein in accordance with aspects of the present disclosure;

[0017] FIG. 3 depicts a signaling diagram for a network node signaling measurement gap skipping with a group common DCI format in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] FIG. 4 is an illustration of realization of extended reality packet arrival with overlap with a next measurement gap in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] FIG. 5 illustrates an example flowchart for a process 500 performed by a user equipment in order to a skip or ignore a measurement gap in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 6, illustrates an example flowchart for a process 600 performed by a network node in order to cause a user equipment to a skip or ignore a measurement gap in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0021] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments are shown. Indeed, various embodiments may be embodied in many forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received and / or stored in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0022] As used herein, the term “measurement gap” may be understood as a time duration with an opportunity to make radio measurements. To this end, measurement gap, measurement occasion, measurement opportunity, measurement window, SS block based RRM measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window shall be considered as synonyms. Measurement gap skipping may be understood as bypassing, not executing or ignoring an opportunity to make radio measurements during the measurement gap time duration.

[0023] Additionally, as used herein, “higher” may be used interchangeably with “greater,” and “highest” may be used interchangeably with “greatest.” Additionally, as used herein, “lower than” may be used interchangeably with “less than,” and “lowest” may be used interchangeably with “least.”

[0024] Additionally, as used herein, the term “circuitry” refers to (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in analog circuitry and / or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of circuits and computer program product(s) including software and / or firmware instructions stored on one or more computer readable memories that work together to cause an apparatus to perform one or more functions described herein; and (c) circuits, such as, for example, a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of “circuitry” applies to all uses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” also includes an implementation including one or more processors and / or portion(s) thereof and accompanying software and / or firmware. As another example, the term “circuitry” as used herein also includes, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, other network device (such as a core network apparatus), field programmable gate array, and / or other computing device.

[0025] As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” refers to non-transitory storage hardware, non-transitory storage device or non-transitory computer system memory that may be accessed by a controller, a microcontroller, a computational system or a module of a computational system to encored thereon computer-executable instructions or software programs. A non-transitory “computer readable medium” may be accessed by a computational system or a module of a computational system to retrieve and / or execute the computerexecutable instructions or software programs encoded on the medium. Examples of non-transitory computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, one or more types of hardware memory, non-transitory tangible media (for example, one or more magnetic storage disks, one or more optical disks, one or more universal synchronous bus (USB) flash drives), computer system memory or random-access memory (such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), extended data out random access memory (EDO RAM), and the like.

[0026] As illustrated in FIG. 1, a system 100 is provided in accordance with an example embodiment. Although the system may be configured in various manners, the system of one embodiment is depicted in FIG. 1 and includes user equipment 110 and network node 112 configured to communicate via at least one of uplink and downlink transmission and reception beams. Although one user equipment and one network node are depicted, the system may include and the user equipment 110 and network node 112 may communicate with additional user equipment devices and / or network nodes in other embodiments. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment 110 and network node 112 may be configured to support, for example, 5G, 5 G advanced, or 6G.

[0027] The data that is transmitted between the user equipment 110 and network node 112 may be any of a wide variety of data including, but not limited to digital imagery data including video data, audio data as well as data provided by sensors, radars, telescopes and radio receivers. In at least some instances, the data is encoded prior to communication of the data and decoded upon reception. The resulting data received may be utilized for a variety of purposes including presentation to a user, storage of the data for subsequent use and / or provision of the data to one or more applications, such as applications that perform statistical inference on the data for various purposes including object recognition, image classification, spectrum sensing, speech transcription and / or prediction or detection of events.

[0028] The user equipment of FIG. 1 (also called UE, user device, user terminal, terminal device, etc.) illustrates a type of an apparatus to which resources on an air interface are allocated and assigned. The user equipment typically refers to a portable computing device that includes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of devices: a mobile station (mobile phone), smartphone, personal digital assistance (PDA), handset, head mounted device (HMD), extended reality (XR) device, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), laptop and / or touch screen computer, tablet, game console, notebook, and multimedia device. User equipment may also be a device having capability to operate in Internet of Things (loT) network which is a scenario in which objects are provided with the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction. The user equipment may also be called a subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal, or user equipment (UE) just to mention but a few names or apparatuses.

[0029] The network node 112 of FIG. 1 may include, for example, base stations such as remote radio heads (RRHs), transmission reception points (TRPs), access points, node Bs (e g., eNB, gNB) or other transmission sources. The network node 112 may be configured to communicate with user equipment 110 via a network. The network node 112 may be accessed through a gateway.

[0030] FIG. 2 depicts an example apparatus 200 that may be configured to function as user equipment 110, network node 112, and / or the like. As shown in FIG. 2, the apparatus includes, is associated with, or is in communications with processing circuitry 220, a memory 240, and a communication interface 260. The processing circuitry 220 may be in communication with the memory device 240 via a bus for passing information among components of the apparatus. The memory device may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatile and / or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memory device may be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storage medium) including gates configured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by a machine (e.g., a computing device like the processing circuitry). The memory device may be configured to store information, data, content, applications, instructions, or the like for enabling the apparatus to carry out various functions in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the memory device could be configured to buffer input data for processing by the processing circuitry. Additionally or alternatively, the memory device could be configured to store instructions for execution by the processing circuitry.

[0031] The apparatus 200 may, in some embodiments, be embodied in various computing devices described as above. However, in some embodiments, the apparatus may be embodied as a chip or chip set. In other words, the apparatus may include one or more physical packages (e.g., chips) including materials, components and / or wires on a structural assembly (e.g., a baseboard). The structural assembly may provide physical strength, conservation of size, and / or limitation of electrical interaction for component circuitry included thereon. The apparatus may therefore, in some cases, be configured to implement an embodiment on a single chip or as a single “system on a chip.” As such, in some cases, a chip or chipset may constitute means for performing one or more operations for providing the functionalities described herein.

[0032] The processing circuitry 220, also referenced as a processor, may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example, the processing circuitry may be embodied as one or more of various hardware processing means such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing element with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other circuitry including integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like. As such, in some embodiments, the processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores configured to perform independently. A multi-core processing circuitry may enable multiprocessing within a single physical package. Additionally or alternatively, the processing circuitry may include one or more processors configured in tandem via the bus to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining, and / or multithreading.

[0033] In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry 220 may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory device 240 or otherwise accessible to the processing circuitry. Alternatively or additionally, the processing circuitry may be configured to execute hardcoded functionality. As such, whether configured by hardware or software methods, or by a combination thereof, the processing circuitry may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure while configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when the processing circuitry is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, the processing circuitry may be specifically configured hardware for conducting the operations described herein. Alternatively, as another example, when the processing circuitry is embodied as an executor of instructions, the instructions may specifically configure the processor to perform the algorithms and / or operations described herein when the instructions are executed. However, in some cases, the processing circuitry may be a processor of a specific device (e.g., an image or video processing system) configured to employ an embodiment by further configuration of the processing circuitry by instructions for performing the algorithms and / or operations described herein. The processing circuitry may include, among other things, a clock, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and logic gates configured to support operation of the processing circuitry.

[0034] The communication interface 260 may be any means such as a device or circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination of hardware and software that is configured to receive and / or transmit data including media content in the form of video or image files, one or more audio tracks or the like. In this regard, the communication interface may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardware and / or software for enabling communications with a wireless communication network. Additionally or alternatively, the communication interface may include the circuitry for interacting with the antenna(s) to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s) or to handle receipt of signals received via the antenna(s). In some environments, the communications interface may alternatively or also support wired communication. As such, for example, the communication interface may include a communication modem and / or other hardware / software for supporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms.

[0035] Turning now to FIG. 3, an example flowchart 300 illustrates a group common DCI scheduling format where various forms of measurement gap skipping instructions are included.

[0036] In one or more embodiments, at operation 302, the network node 112 transmits, to the user equipment 110, a configuration 302b of a DCI format 302a (e.g., DCI format 210). In some examples, the configuration 302b indicates which group the user equipment 110 belongs to. In some examples, the configuration 302b includes a measurement gap skip radio network temporary identifier (MG-SKIP-RNTI) 302c. In some examples, the configuration 302a is transmitted via radio resource control signaling 302d. In some examples, DCI format 302a is configured to carry measurement gap skipping instructions in various forms. For example, DCI format 302a is configured to carry instructions for skipping measurement gaps of inter- or intrafrequency radio resource management measurements, radio link monitoring measurements, beam failure measurements, and / or the like.

[0037] In some examples, the DCI format 302a has a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by the MG-SKIP-RNTI. In one or more embodiments, DCI format 302a includes a plurality of block numbers. In some examples, the user equipment 110 assumes that each block in DCI format 302a may equal to a single bit to indicate measurement gap skipping or a multi-bit word size that expresses types of measurements that shall be skipped. In some examples, if a parameter TimeMask MG Skipping Enabled is set, the multi-bit word for the measurement gap skipping is expressing the time domain part of that, e.g., inline with TimeMask MG skipping as configurable by higher layer signaling such as radio resource control signaling. In some examples, the user equipment 110 is configured with higher layer signaling such as RRC signaling 302d indicating the amount of bits in each block as well as the meaning of those bits. In some examples, the number of information bits in DCI format 302a are equal to or less than a payload size of format 10 monitored in common search space in the same serving cell. In some examples, if the number of information bits in DCI format 302a are less than a payload size of format 10 monitored in common search space in the same serving cell, zeros are appended to DCI format 302a until the payload size equals that of format 10 monitored in common search space in the same serving cell.

[0038] In some examples, DCI format 302a may be used to efficiently inform user equipment devices such as extended reality devices of measurement gap skipping. In some examples, the size of DCI format 302a may be significantly smaller than a DCI format the scheduling of a user equipment.

[0039] In one or more embodiments, at operation 304, the network node 112 transmits, to the user equipment 110, a message of the DCI format 302a. In some examples, the DCI format 302a may be a group common DCI format. In some examples, the DCI format 302a may be sent to a plurality 304b of user equipment devices in the cell. In some examples, the DCI format 302a carries measurement gap skipping instructions. In some examples, DCI format 302a carries a Boolean logic measurement gap skipping instruction for each group of user equipment devices. In some examples, a type of measurement gap skipping or timing related information is embedded in the DCI format 302a. In some examples, the measurement gap skipping instructions cover measurement gaps configured by radio resource control. In some examples, the measurement gap skipping instructions may cover availability restrictions overlapping with synchronization signal block occasions.

[0040] In some examples, a higher layer parameter T2 with a value in time measurement units may be included in the message and indicates a maximum validity time of the skipping indication in the message or most recent DCI. In some examples, T2 may be called MG^(lap SkippingValidity Time. In some examples, the validity of a skipping command may expire after T2 and the user equipment 110 may prioritize radio resource management (RRM) measurements if no other skipping indication is sent by the network node 112. In some examples, the value of T2 may be expressed in a number of symbols, slots, or in absolute time. In some examples, T2may be configured using radio resource control procedures like RRC signaling 302d. In some examples, T2 may be set equal to a packet data budget of the traffic, since after the packet delay budget it is not necessary to prioritize scheduling over measurements.

[0041] In some examples, the next coming measurement gap or next coming signal synchronization block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) window may be the first coming measurement gap that appears at least a time T after the user equipment reception of the message of the DCI format 302a with the skipping indication, where T is less than T2. For example, T may be a delay time before measurement gap skipping is performed. In some examples, a DCI with a skipping indication received by the user equipment less than T units from the beginning of the next coming measurement gap is ignored. In some other examples, a DCI with a skipping indication received by the user equipment less than T units from the beginning of the next coming measurement gap may be considered for the measurement gap subsequent to the next measurement gap.

[0042] In some examples, if a higher layer parameter MG GapTypeSkippingEnabled is configured by radio resource control signaling, the DCI format 302a includes information of which type of measurement gaps (MGs) shall be skipped as expressed in Type of Gap skipping. The Type of Gap skipping may be expressed with two bits, and may be configured as follows in the example Table 1 below. Type of Gap skipping Meaning / UE behavior 00 No skipping of any type of MGs 01 Skip next RRM MG (e g. SMTC window) 10 Skip next MG for Beam failure detection (BFD) 11 Skip next MG for RLM Table 1

[0043] In some examples, the network can more precisely instruct the user equipment 110 which measurements to skip with the purpose of prioritizing reception of PDCCH / PDSCH or transmission of PUSCH / PUCCH. In some examples, if Type of Gap skipping is 11, the user equipment 110 will only skip measurements for radio link monitoring purposes, while if it is set to 10, it will skip measurements for beam failure detection. In some examples, the user equipment 110 will bypass the currently defined scheduling restrictions for bidirectional forwarding detection or radio link monitoring measurements. In some examples, entries for each time of skipping may be configurable from a network point of view.

[0044] In some examples, if a higher layer parameter TimeMask MG Gap Skipping Enabled is configured by radio resource control for the user equipment, the time-domain information is included in DCI format 302a which upcoming measurement gaps to skip. For example, a parameter TimeMask MG skipping may have a two-bit word size to be interpreted as in the following Table 2. TimeMask MG skipping Interpretation / UE actions 00 Skip only the first coming MG 01 Skip the two first coming MGs 10 Skip the three first coming MGs 11 Skip the first coming MG and the third coming MG. Table 2

[0045] As another example, TimeMask MG skipping may have a two-bit word size as interpreted in the following Table 3. TimeMask MG skipping Interpretation / UE actions 00 No skipping of any type of MGs 01 Skip only the first coming MG 10 Skip only the second coming MG 11 Skip the first coming MG and the third coming MG. Table 3

[0046] In some examples, a “first coming MG” in the tables above is a first measurement gap that appears at least time T after the user equipment 110 receives the message. In some examples, the value of T represents the user equipment 110 processing time acting on such measurement gap skipping instruction. In some examples, T may be expressed as a number of symbols or slots or in absolute time. In some examples, T may be defined as a user equipment processing capability parameter. In some examples, it is desirable for the network to have T fixed at a short value (e.g., one slot) and have it taken the same value for all user equipment devices supporting RRM measurement skipping capability. In some examples, this capability may be supported by default by extended reality devices.

[0047] In some examples, when T2 indicates the maximum validity time of DCI format 302a with skipping indication, “the first coming MG” is the first coming measurement gap (MG) that appears at least time T after the user equipment receives the message and less than time T2 after reception of the message. In some examples, T2is called MG Gap Skipping Validity lime.

[0048] In some examples, the meaning of TimeMask MG skipping is configurable by higher layer signaling (e.g., radio resource control signaling). In some examples, a radio resource control configuration determines to which measurement occasions the indication field configured to the user equipment 110 in the DCI format 302a applies to, and skipping is only applied to those. For example, skipping may only be applied to scheduling restrictions during signal synchronization block (SSB) measurement timing configuration or radio resource control (RRC) configured measurement gaps, association configured individually if concurrent measurement gaps are configured.

[0049] In one or more embodiments, at operation 306, the user equipment 110 decodes the DCI 302a. In some examples, the user equipment 110 may determine that measurement gap (MG) skipping may be indicated. In some examples, measurement gap skipping is indicated for only user equipment 110 or for a group of user equipment devices including user equipment 110. For example, the group may be a group of extended reality user equipment devices with approximately similar traffic arrival so that they would experience traffic in the same measurement gaps that need skipping. In some examples, the user equipment 110 may performthe corresponding measurement gap skipping. In some examples, a user equipment 110 may prioritize physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) decoding and / or physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) transmission during the measurement gap over radio resource management measurements. In some examples, user equipment 110 is therefore schedulable for serving timesensitive extended reality traffic needs.

[0050] In some examples, measurements in measurement gaps such as radio resource management measurements, where a user equipment measures reference signal received power or reference signal received quality are relaxed. In some examples, a user equipment may ignore, relax, or skip measurements in measurement occasions (measurement gaps, signal synchronization block measurement timing configuration windows). In some examples, scheduling restrictions associated to the measurement occasion are ignored, relaxed, or skipped by the network.

[0051] Turning now to FIG. 4, an example 400 of realization of extended reality packet arrival with overlap 420 with a next measurement gap 410 is provided in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure. In some examples, a network (e.g., network node 112) selects a group of user equipment devices that shall skip the next measurement gap.

[0052] In some examples, a network (e.g., network node 112) may initialize a list (Ls) of user equipment devices to skip the next measurement gap to zero. In some examples, if the scheduler buffer contains data for the user equipment 110 and the remaining delay budget overlaps 420 the next measurement gap, the user equipment 110 may be added to the list Ls. Otherwise, in some examples, the network 112 may determine the probability that the next packet transmission will overlap 420 with the next measurement gap 410. In one example, the interval of the measurement gap 410 is extended by a window of duration T prior to the measurement gap 410. In another example, two thresholds Wi and W2 may define a time window which includes the next measurement gap 410 and are used to determine the probability that the next frame arrival will overlap 420 the time window [Wi; W2]. In some examples, if the probability that the next packet transmission will overlap 420 with the next measurement gap 410 that is larger than a threshold Ps, the user equipment 110 is added to the list Ls. In some examples, the network sets skipping instructions to skip in the DCI format 302a (e.g., DCI Group Common format 2 10) for each user equipment included in list Ls (e.g., TimeMaskJrfGskipping= ‘01 ’) or not to skip in the DCI format 302a for each user equipment not included in the list Ls (e.g., 1'imeMask MG skipping ‘00 ’).

[0053] In some examples, at any given time t, the network may determine the probability that the next packet transmission overlaps 420 with the next measurement gap. For example, if tMG is the starting time of the next measurement gap, Lmg is the time duration of the next measurement gap, where t is before tMG (i.e., the determination or decision time is earlier than the beginning of the next measurement gap), Yi is a random variable representing the inter-arrival time between two consecutive packet arrivals for the i-th user equipment, and ti is the last packet arrival time such that ti is less than or equal to t, a probability that a next packet transmission of a user equipment i overlaps 420 with the next measurement gap may be calculated with the equation J*(tMG <tj + Yi <tMG + LMG\ In some examples with extended reality traffic, Yt = Xik — where X,.k is the arrival time of the k-th extended reality packet (as known as frame) for I the user equipment i. In some examples, the arrival time is modeled with Xik = - k + ]ik, where r is the frame-rate of the XR video stream, k is the sequence number of the frame (assuming k starts from 1) and a2, a, b) may be the jitter, which may follow a Truncated Gaussian Distribution with e.g. a zero mean p = 0, a standard deviation a = 2, and an interval [a; b] = [—4; +4], In some examples, the probability that the next packet transmission for a user equipment i may overlap 420 with the next measurement gap is simplified by noticing that Yi is the difference of two Gaussian distributions: (i) Yt = Xik — Xi^^ = ^ + (jt,k — Ji,k-i) = + (j'.k ^J'tk-i) = ^ + Zb where Zi~N(jp 2a2,0,2(b — a)) follows a Truncated Gaussian Distribution with zero mean p = 0, standard deviation a = 2, and interval [0; 16], and (ii) J\tMG — C + — tMG + Lmg) = P\tMG — — %i,k — %i,k-l — ^MG + ^MG — ti) = _ / 1 . _ . . 1\ pMG+LMG-ti—~~ . _ , , , P 1 tMG ~ ti — ~~ <Zi <tMG + Lmg — ti — ] —1 1 fz’'Zi — zj az, where \ zr zr / tMG-p— fzkZi = z) is the probability density function of Z,. In this case, the two thresholds Wi and W2 that define the time window [Wi; W2] are equal to Wi = tMG and W2 = tMG + Lmg. If IP (< it + Yt <tMG + LMG) >Ps. then the UE is added to the list Ls.

[0054] Turning now to FIG. 5, an example flowchart is illustrated for a process 500 performed by an apparatus embodied by, associated with or otherwise in communication with (hereinafter generally referenced as being embodied by) a user equipment (110) in order to a skip or ignore a measurement gap in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] As shown in block 502 of FIG. 5, an apparatus may be embodied as the user equipment (110) to include means, such as the processing circuitry (220), the communication interface (260), the like, for receiving (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action during the at least one measurement gap is user equipment group specific, which further instructs the user equipment in the group to perform one or more of relax the corresponding measurements or relax scheduling restrictions during the at least one measurement gap, prioritize decoding at least one of: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), transmit at least one of: a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) during at least one of the one or more measurement gaps, and prioritize the corresponding measurements during the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) includes at least one of a validity time for the received (304) instructions carried in the DCI format (302a) or a delay time configured for execution of the instructions carried in the received message in the DCI format (302a). In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) of DCI format (302a) is transmitted to the user equipment through radio resource control signaling (302d); and the measurement gap skipping instructions in the message are valid for a time / duration up to the validity time after the reception (304) of the message. In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) includes one or more of: an indication of a group of user equipment devices with capabilities to skip measurement gaps or based on traffic arrivals or time-domain information of which upcoming measurement gaps to skip.

[0056] As shown in block 504 of FIG. 5, the apparatus embodied by the user equipment (110) includes means, such as the processing circuitry (220), the communication interface (260), the like, for receiving (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions to instruct the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap, wherein the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the message includes measurement gap skipping instructions specific for at least one user equipment group served by the network node (112) (304b), wherein the corresponding measurements may include radio resource management (RRM) measurements, or the configuration (302b) may be transmitted through radio resource control signaling (302d). In one or more embodiments, the instructions may instruct the user equipment to perform one or more of apply the at least one measurement gap after reception of the message, skip a type of measurement gap, or skip a particular number of measurement gaps after reception (304) of the message. In one or more embodiments, the type of measurement gap includes at least one of: a radio resource management measurement gap, a measurement gap for beam failure detection, or a measurement gap for radio link monitoring. In one or more embodiments, the instructions include one or more blocks with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a measurement gap skip radio network temporary identifier (MG-SKIP-RNTI) (302c). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment skips or ignore the at least one measurement gap by decoding the message. In one or more embodiments, the message includes Boolean logic measurement gap skipping instructions for different groups of user equipment devices, wherein a type of measurement gap skipping or timing related information is embedded in the message.

[0057] Turning now to FIG. 6, an example flowchart is illustrated for a process 600 performed by an apparatus embodied by, associated with or otherwise in communication with (hereinafter generally referenced as being embodied by) a network node (112) in order to cause a user equipment (110) to a skip or ignore a measurement gap in accordance with example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] As shown in block 602 of FIG. 6, the apparatus embodied by the network node (112) includes means, such as the processing circuitry (220), the communication interface (260), the like, for transmitting (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action during the at least one measurement gap is user equipment group specific, which further instructs the user equipment in the group to perform one or more of relax the corresponding measurements or relax scheduling restrictions during the at least one measurement gap, prioritize decoding at least one of: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), transmit at least one of: a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) during at least one of the one or more measurement gaps, and prioritize the corresponding measurements during the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) includes at least one of: a validity time for the received (304) instructions carried in the DCI format (302a); and a delay time configured for execution of the instructions carried in the received message in the DCI format (302a). In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) of DCI format (302a) is transmitted to the user equipment through radio resource control signaling (302d); and the measurement gap skipping instructions in the message are valid for a time / duration up to the validity time after the reception (304) of the message. In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) includes one or more of an indication of a group of user equipment devices with capabilities to skip measurement gaps or based on traffic arrivals or time-domain information of which upcoming measurement gaps to skip.

[0059] As shown in block 604 of FIG. 6, the apparatus embodied by the network node (112) includes means, such as the processing circuitry (220), the communication interface (260), the like, for transmitting (304), to the user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap, wherein the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the network node transmits (304) the message to at least one user equipment group served by the network node (112) (304b) with a single transmission, the message includes measurement gap skipping instructions specific for at least one user equipment group served by the network node (112) (304b), the corresponding measurements include radio resource management (RRM) measurements, or wherein the configuration (302b) is transmitted through radio resource control signaling (302d). In one or more embodiments, the instructions instruct the user equipment to perform one or more of: apply the at least one measurement gap after reception of the message, skip a type of measurement gap, or skip a particular number of measurement gaps after reception (304) of the message. In one or more embodiments, the type of measurement gap includes at least one of a radio resource management measurement gap, a measurement gap for beam failure detection, or a measurement gap for radio link monitoring. In one or more embodiments, the instructions include one or more blocks with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a measurement gap skip radio network temporary identifier (MG-SKIP-RNTI) (302c). In one or more embodiments, the user equipment skips or ignore the at least one measurement gap by decoding the message. In one or more embodiments, the message includes a Boolean logic measurement gap skipping instruction for different groups of user equipment devices, wherein a type of measurement gap skipping or timing related information is embedded in the message.

[0060] FIGS. 5-6 illustrate flowcharts depicting methods according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowcharts and combination of blocks in the flowcharts may be implemented by various means, such as hardware, firmware, processor, circuitry, and / or other communication devices associated with execution of software including one or more computer program instructions. For example, one or more of the procedures described above may be embodied by computer program instructions. In this regard, the computer program instructions which embody the procedures described above may be stored by a memory device 240 of an apparatus employing an embodiment and executed by a processor 220. As will be appreciated, any such computer program instructions may be loaded into a computer or other programmable apparatus (for example, hardware) to produce a machine, such that the resulting computer or other programmable apparatus implements the functions specified in the flowchart blocks. These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable memory that may direct a computer or other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable memory produce an article of manufacture the execution of which implements the function specified in the flowchart blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded into a computer or other programmable apparatus to cause a series of operations to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing the functions specified in the flowchart blocks.

[0061] Accordingly, blocks of the flowcharts support combinations of means for performing the specified functions and combinations of operations for performing the specified functions for performing the specified functions. It will also be understood that one or more blocks of the flowcharts, and combinations of blocks in the flowcharts, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and computer instructions.

[0062] In one or more embodiments, a user equipment (110) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user equipment (110) to receive (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) is further caused to receive (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0063] In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action during the at least one measurement gap is user equipment group specific, which further instructs the user equipment in the group to perform one or more of: relax the corresponding measurements or relax scheduling restrictions during the at least one measurement gap, prioritize decoding at least one of: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), transmit at least one of: a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or physical uplink shared channel (PUS CH) during at least one of the one or more measurement gaps, and prioritize the corresponding measurements during the at least one measurement gap.

[0064] In one or more embodiments, the message includes measurement gap skipping instructions specific for at least one user equipment group served by the network node (112) (304b). In one or more embodiments, the corresponding measurements include radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) is transmitted through radio resource control signaling (302d).

[0065] In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) comprises at least one of a validity time for the received (304) instructions carried in the DCI format (302a) or a delay time configured for execution of the instructions carried in the received message in the DCI format (302a).

[0066] In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) of DCI format (302a) is transmitted to the user equipment through radio resource control signaling (302d) and the measurement gap skipping instructions in the message are valid for a time / duration up to the validity time after the reception (304) of the message.

[0067] In one or more embodiments, the instructions instruct the user equipment to perform one or more of: apply the at least one measurement gap after reception of the message, skip a type of measurement gap, or skip a particular number of measurement gaps after reception (304) of the message.

[0068] In one or more embodiments, the type of measurement gap includes at least one of: a radio resource management measurement gap, a measurement gap for beam failure detection, or a measurement gap for radio link monitoring.

[0069] In one or more embodiments, the instructions include one or more blocks with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a measurement gap skip radio network temporary identifier (MG-SKIP-RNTI) (302c).

[0070] In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) includes one or more of an indication of a group of user equipment devices with capabilities to skip measurement gaps or based on traffic arrivals or time-domain information of which upcoming measurement gaps to skip.

[0071] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment skips or ignore the at least one measurement gap by decoding the message.

[0072] In one or more embodiments, the message includes Boolean logic measurement gap skipping instructions for different groups of user equipment devices, wherein a type of measurement gap skipping or timing related information is embedded in the message.

[0073] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112) is provided, including at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node (112) to transmit (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112) is further caused to transmit (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0074] In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action during the at least one measurement gap is user equipment group specific, which further instructs the user equipment in the group to perform at least one of relax the corresponding measurements or relax scheduling restrictions during the at least one measurement gap, prioritize decoding at least one of: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), transmit at least one of: a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or physical uplink shared channel (PUS CH) during at least one of the one or more measurement gaps, and prioritizes the corresponding measurements after a measurement gap skipping validity time.

[0075] In one or more embodiments, the network node transmits (304) the message to at least one user equipment group served by the network node (112) (304b) with a single transmission. In one or more embodiments, the message includes measurement gap skipping instructions specific for at least one user equipment group served by the network node (112) (304b). In one or more embodiments, the corresponding measurements include radio resource management (RRM) measurements. In one or more embodiments, wherein the configuration (302b) is transmitted through radio resource control signaling (302d).

[0076] In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) includes at least one of: a validity time for the received (304) instructions carried in the DCI format (302a) and a delay time configured for execution of the instructions carried in the received message in the DCI format (302a).

[0077] In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) of DCI format (302a) is transmitted to the user equipment through radio resource control signaling (302d); and the measurement gap skipping instructions in the message are valid for a time / duration up to the validity time after the reception (304) of the message.

[0078] In one or more embodiments, the instructions instruct the user equipment to perform one or more of apply the at least one measurement gap after reception of the message, skip a type of measurement gap, or skip a particular number of measurement gaps after reception (304) of the message.

[0079] In one or more embodiments, the type of measurement gap includes at least one of a radio resource management measurement gap, a measurement gap for beam failure detection, or a measurement gap for radio link monitoring.

[0080] In one or more embodiments, the instructions include one or more blocks with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a measurement gap skip radio network temporary identifier (MG-SKIP-RNTI) (302c).

[0081] In one or more embodiments, the configuration (302b) includes one or more of an indication of a group of user equipment devices with capabilities to skip measurement gaps or based on traffic arrivals or time-domain information of which upcoming measurement gaps to skip.

[0082] In one or more embodiments, the user equipment skips or ignore the at least one measurement gap by decoding the message.

[0083] In one or more embodiments, the message includes a Boolean logic measurement gap skipping instruction for different groups of user equipment devices, wherein a type of measurement gap skipping or timing related information is embedded in the message.

[0084] In one or more embodiments, a user equipment (110) is provided, including means for receiving (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) further includes means for receiving (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0085] In one or more embodiments, a network node (112) is provided, including means for transmitting (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112) further includes means for transmitting (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0086] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a user equipment (110) and includes receiving (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the method further includes receiving (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0087] In one or more embodiments, a computer-implemented method is provided that is performed by a network node (112) and includes transmitting (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the method further includes transmitting (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0088] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a user equipment (110), cause the user equipment (110) to receive (302), from a network node (112), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the user equipment (110) is further caused to receive (304), from the network node (112), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0089] In one or more embodiments, a non-transitory computer readable storage medium is provided including computer instructions that, when executed by a network node (112), cause the network node (112) to transmit (302), to a user equipment (110), a configuration (302b) of a downlink control information (DCI) format (302a), wherein the DCI format (302a) is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment. In one or more embodiments, the network node (112) is further caused to transmit (304), to a user equipment (110), a message in the configuration (302b) of the DCI format (302a), wherein the message includes instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap. In one or more embodiments, the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements (306) during the at least one measurement gap.

[0090] Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of elements and / or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and / or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended 5 claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and / or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

1. A user equipment, comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the user equipment to:receive, from a network node, a configuration of a downlink control information (DCI) format, wherein the DCI format is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment; andreceive, from the network node, a message in the configuration of the DCI format, wherein the message comprises instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to at least one measurement gap, wherein the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to:skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements during the at least one measurement gap.

2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one type of action during the at least one measurement gap is user equipment group specific, which further instructs the user equipment in the group to perform one or more of:relax the corresponding measurements or relax scheduling restrictions during the at least one measurement gap;prioritize decoding at least one of: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH);transmit at least one of: a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) during at least one of the one or more measurement gaps; andprioritize the corresponding measurements during the at least one measurement gap.

3. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein:the message comprises measurement gap skipping instructions specific for at least one user equipment group served by the network node;the corresponding measurements comprise radio resource management (RRM) measurements; orthe configuration is transmitted through radio resource control signaling (302d).

4. The user equipment of claim 3, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of:a validity time for the received instructions carried in the DCI format; ora delay time configured for execution of the instructions carried in the received message in the DCI format.

5. The user equipment of claim 4, wherein: the configuration of DCI format is transmitted to the user equipment through radio resource control signaling; and the measurement gap skipping instructions in the message are valid for a time / duration up to the validity time after the reception of the message.

6. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the instructions instruct the user equipment to perform one or more of:apply the at least one measurement gap after reception of the message;skip a type of measurement gap; orskip a particular number of measurement gaps after reception of the message.

7. The user equipment of claim 6, wherein the type of measurement gap comprises at least one of: a radio resource management measurement gap, a measurement gap for beam failure detection, or a measurement gap for radio link monitoring.

8. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the instructions comprise one or more blocks with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a measurement gap skip radio network temporary identifier (MG-SKIP-RNTI).

9. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of:an indication of a group of user equipment devices with capabilities to skip measurement gaps or based on traffic arrivals; ortime-domain information of which upcoming measurement gaps to skip.

10. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the user equipment skips or ignore the at least one measurement gap by decoding the message.

11. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the message comprises Boolean logic measurement gap skipping instructions for different groups of user equipment devices, wherein a type of measurement gap skipping or timing related information is embedded in the message.

12. A network node, comprising:at least one processor; andat least one memory storing instructions thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the network node to:transmit, to a user equipment, a configuration of a downlink control information (DCI) format, wherein the DCI format is configured to carry information related to respective types of action that correspond with one or more measurement gaps, to be performed by the user equipment; andtransmit, to a user equipment, a message in the configuration of the DCI format, wherein the message comprises instructions instructing the user equipment to perform at least one type of action that corresponds to the at least one measurement gap, wherein the at least one type of action at least causes the user equipment to:skip or ignore the at least one measurement gap without making corresponding measurements during the at least one measurement gap.

13. The network node of claim 12, wherein the at least one type of action during the at least one measurement gap is user equipment group specific, which further instructs the user equipment in the group to perform at least one of:relax the corresponding measurements or relax scheduling restrictions during the at least one measurement gap;prioritize decoding at least one of: physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) or physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH);transmit at least one of: a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) during at least one of the one or more measurement gaps; and prioritizes the corresponding measurements after a measurement gap skipping validity time.

14. The network node of claim 12, wherein:the network node transmits the message to at least one user equipment group served by the network node with a single transmission;the message comprises measurement gap skipping instructions specific for at least one user equipment group served by the network node;the corresponding measurements comprise radio resource management (RRM) measurements; orwherein the configuration is transmitted through radio resource control signaling.

15. The network node of claim 14, wherein the configuration comprises at least one of: a validity time for the received instructions carried in the DCI format; and a delay time configured for execution of the instructions carried in the received message in the DCI format.

16. The network node of claim 15, wherein the configuration of DCI format is transmitted to the user equipment through radio resource control signaling; and the measurement gap skipping instructions in the message are valid for a time / duration up to the validity time after the reception of the message.

17. The network node of claim 12, wherein the instructions instruct the user equipment to perform one or more of:apply the at least one measurement gap after reception of the message;skip a type of measurement gap; orskip a particular number of measurement gaps after reception of the message.

18. The network node of claim 17, wherein the type of measurement gap comprises at least one of a radio resource management measurement gap, a measurement gap for beam failure detection, or a measurement gap for radio link monitoring.

19. The network node of claim 12, wherein the instructions comprise one or more blocks with cyclic redundancy check (CRC) scrambled by a measurement gap skip radio network temporary identifier (MG-SKIP-RNTI)20. The network node of claim 12, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of:an indication of a group of user equipment devices with capabilities to skip measurement gaps or based on traffic arrivals; ortime-domain information of which upcoming measurement gaps to skip.

21. The network node of claim 12, wherein the user equipment skips or ignore the at least one measurement gap by decoding the message.

22. The network node of claim 12, wherein the message comprises a Boolean logic measurement gap skipping instruction for different groups of user equipment devices, wherein a type of measurement gap skipping or timing related information is embedded in the message.33

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