Expanded early measurement reporting

Abstract

To provide a method, an apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium for an expanded early measurement reporting procedure in user equipment.SOLUTION: A method includes a step 212 of determining that user equipment 202 is configured for expanded early measurement reporting (EMR), a step 216 of initiating early measurement reporting measurements based at least on the EMR configuration on the basis of the instruction in a case where the user equipment 202 is configured for the EMR, and a step 212 of sending the EMR configuration to the UE by a network node (gNB) 204, and a step 228 of receiving early measurement reporting measurements from the UE.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to early measurement reporting. [Background technology]

[0002] A communication system may be a facility that enables communication between two or more nodes or devices, such as fixed or mobile communication devices. Signals may be carried on wired or wireless carriers.

[0003] An example of a cellular communication system is the architecture standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP®). Recent developments in this field are often referred to as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) of Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. E-UTRA (Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access) is the air interface of 3GPP®'s Long Term Evolution (LTE) upgrade path for mobile networks. In LTE, base stations or access points (APs), called enhanced nodes APs or evolved nodes Bs (eNBs), provide wireless access within a coverage area or cell. In LTE, mobile devices or mobile stations are called user equipment (UE). LTE includes several improvements or developments.

[0004] Fifth Generation (5G) New Radio (NR) development is part of the ongoing mobile broadband evolution process to meet the requirements of 5G, similar to the previous evolution of 3G and 4G wireless networks. In addition, 5G also targets new emerging use cases in addition to mobile broadband. The goal of 5G is to provide significant improvements in wireless performance that may include new levels of data rates, latency, reliability, and security. 5G NR can also scale to efficiently connect large amounts of Internet of Things (IoT) and provide new types of mission-critical services. Ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC) devices may require high reliability and very low latency. Summary of the Invention

[0005] Various exemplary implementations have been described and / or illustrated. The details of one or more example implementations are set forth in the accompanying drawings and the detailed description below. Other features will be apparent from the detailed description and drawings, and from the claims.

[0006] A method, apparatus, and computer-readable storage medium are provided for an enhanced early measurement reporting procedure in a user equipment. In an exemplary implementation, the method comprises: determining, by a user equipment, that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting; determining, by the user equipment, whether to initiate early measurement reporting measurements based on an indication of if the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting; and initiating the early measurement reporting measurements in response to determining, by the user equipment, to initiate the early measurement reporting measurements.

[0007] In an additional example implementation, the method may include a step of a network node transmitting an extended early measurement reporting configuration to a user equipment and receiving an early measurement reporting measurement from the user equipment, the early measurement reporting measurement performed at the user equipment being based at least on the extended early measurement reporting configuration. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network in accordance with an example implementation. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an extended early measurement reporting (EMR) procedure, according to an example implementation. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 illustrates another enhanced early measurement reporting (EMR) procedure, in accordance with an additional exemplary implementation. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is a flow chart illustrating an Extended Early Measurement Reporting (EMR) procedure, in accordance with an exemplary implementation. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 is a flow chart illustrating another Extended Early Measurement Reporting (EMR) procedure, in accordance with an example implementation. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a node or wireless station (eg, a base station / access point or a mobile station / user device / UE) in accordance with an example implementation. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a wireless network 130 according to an example implementation. In the wireless network 130 of FIG. 1, user devices (UDs) 131, 132, 133, and 135, which may also be referred to as mobile stations (MSs) or user equipment (UEs), may be connected to (and communicate with) a base station (BS) 134, which may also be referred to as an access point (AP), enhanced node B (eNB), next generation node B (gNB), or network node. At least some of the functionality of an access point (AP), base station (BS), (enhanced) node B (eNB), or gNB may also be performed by any node, server, or host that may be operatively coupled to a transceiver, such as a remote radio head. The BS (or AP) 134 provides wireless coverage in a cell 136, including user devices 131, 132, 133, and 135. Although only four user devices are shown as connected to or attached to the BS 134, any number of user devices may be provided. The BS 134 is also connected to a core network 150 via an S1 interface 151. This is just a simple example of a wireless network; others may be used.

[0010] A user device (user terminal, user equipment (UE)) may refer to a portable computing device, including a wireless mobile communication device that operates with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM), including a wireless mobile communication device that operates with or without a subscriber identity module (SIM). Examples include mobile stations (MS), mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handsets, devices that use wireless modems (such as alarm or measurement devices), laptops and / or touch screen computers, tablets, phablets, game consoles, notebooks, and multimedia devices. Or any other type of wireless device. It should be understood that a user device may be an almost exclusively uplink-only device, an example of which is a camera or camcorder that loads images or video clips onto the network.

[0011] In LTE (as an example), the core network 150 may be referred to as an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), which may include a Mobility Management Entity (MME) that may handle or assist mobility / handover of user devices between BSs, one or more gateways that may forward data and control signals between the BSs and a packet data network or the Internet, and other control functions or blocks.

[0012] Additionally, as illustrative examples, various exemplary implementations or techniques described herein may be applied to various types of user devices or data service types, or may be applied to user devices that may have multiple applications running herein that may be different data service types. New wireless (5G) developments may support several different applications or several different data service types, such as, for example, machine type communications (MTC), enhanced machine type communications (eMTC), Internet of Things (IoT), and / or narrowband IoT user devices, enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), and ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC).

[0013] IoT may refer to a constantly growing group of objects that may have Internet or network connectivity, and thus may transmit information to and receive information from other network devices. For example, many sensor-type applications or devices may monitor physical conditions or states, and may transmit reports to a server or other network devices, for example, when an event occurs. Machine-type communication (MTC or machine-to-machine communication) may be characterized by fully automatic data generation, exchange, processing, and actuation between intelligent machines, for example, with or without human intervention. Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) may support much higher data rates than are currently available in LTE.

[0014] Ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) is a new data service type or new usage scenario that may be supported for new wireless (5G) systems. This will enable the emergence of new applications and services such as industrial automation, autonomous driving, vehicle safety, and electronic health services. 3GPP targets to provide U-plane (user / data plane) latency connectivity, for example, down to 1 ms with reliability of 1 to 1e-5, as an illustrative example. Thus, for example, URLLC user devices / UEs may require significantly lower block error rates as well as lower latency than other types of user devices / UEs. Thus, for example, URLLC UEs (or URLLC applications on UEs) may require much lower latency compared to eMBB UEs (or eMBB applications running on UEs).

[0015] Various exemplary implementations may be applied to a wide variety of wireless technologies or wireless networks, such as LTE, LTE-A, 5G, IoT, MTC, eMTC, eMBB, URLLC, etc., or any other wireless network or wireless technology. These exemplary networks, technologies, or data service types are provided only as illustrative examples.

[0016] Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) may refer to a technique for increasing the capacity of a wireless link using multiple transmit and receive antennas to take advantage of multipath propagation. MIMO may include the use of multiple antennas at a transmitter and / or receiver. MIMO may include a multidimensional approach to transmitting and receiving two or more unique data streams over one wireless channel. For example, MIMO may refer to a technique for transmitting and receiving multiple data signals simultaneously on the same wireless channel by taking advantage of multipath propagation. According to an illustrative example, multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (multi-user MIMO or MU-MIMO) enhances MIMO technology by allowing a base station (BS) or other wireless node to simultaneously transmit or receive multiple streams to different user devices or UEs, which may include simultaneously transmitting a first stream to a first UE and a second stream to a second UE over the same (or common or shared) set of physical resource blocks (PRBs) (e.g., each PRB may include a set of time-frequency resources).

[0017] The BS may also transmit data to the UE using precoding (based on a precoder matrix or precoder vector for the UE). For example, the UE may receive a reference signal or pilot signal, may determine a quantized version of the DL channel estimate, and may then provide an indication of the quantized DL channel estimate to the BS. The BS may determine a precoder matrix based on the quantized channel estimate, and may use the precoder matrix to focus or direct the transmitted signal energy to the best channel direction for the UE. Each UE may also use a decoder matrix that may be determined, for example, when the UE receives a reference signal from the BS, determines a channel estimate for the DL channel, and may then determine a decoder matrix for the DL channel based on the DL channel estimate. For example, the precoder matrix may indicate antenna weights (e.g., amplitude / gain and phase for each weight) to be applied to the antenna array of the transmitting wireless device. Similarly, the decoder matrix may indicate antenna weights (e.g., amplitude / gain and phase for each weight) to be applied to the antenna array of the receiving wireless device. This applies to the UL as well when the UE is transmitting data to the BS.

[0018] For example, according to an exemplary aspect, a receiving wireless user device may determine a precoder matrix using interference cancellation combining (IRC), in which the user device may receive a reference signal (or other signal) from several BSs (e.g., may measure signal strength, signal power, or other signal parameters for the signal received from each BS) to increase the signal-to-interference-and-noise ratio (SINR) of the desired signal, e.g., by providing a null (or very low antenna gain) in the direction of the interfering signal, and generate a decoder matrix that may suppress or reduce signals from one or more interference sources (or interfering cells or BSs). To reduce the overall interference from several different interference sources, the receiver may use, for example, a linear least mean square interference cancellation combining (LMMSE-IRC) receiver to determine the decoding matrix. The IRC receiver and the LMMSE-IRC receiver are merely examples, and other types of receivers or techniques may be used to determine the decoder matrix. After the decoder matrix is ​​determined, the receiving UE / user device may apply antenna weights (e.g., each antenna weight including amplitude and phase) to multiple antennas at the receiving UE or device based on the decoder matrix. Similarly, the precoder matrix may include antenna weights that may be applied to the antennas of the transmitting wireless device or node, as well as the receiving BS.

[0019] A user equipment (UE) may perform early measurement reporting (EMR) measurements or idle / inactive measurements as defined in TS38.331 while a timer, e.g., the T331 timer, is running. This consumes battery power of the UE. It is desirable for the UE to perform EMR measurements only when the measurements are required. Currently, a network node, e.g., gNB / NR, can configure a UE to perform EMR measurements only when the UE transitions from a high-power radio resource control (RRC) state (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED) to a low-power RRC state (e.g., INACTIVE, IDLE, etc.) and when the T331 timer is still running and still causes unnecessary power consumption.

[0020] In some implementations, the T331 timer may be started upon receiving a radio resource control release message (e.g., an RRCRelease message with measIdleDuration) from a network node. When the T331 timer is running, the UE may perform measurements (e.g., according to an initial measurement reporting configuration, e.g., VarMeasIdleConfig). The T331 timer may be stopped upon receiving an RRCSetup, RRCResume, or RRCRelease message with an idle / inactive measurement configuration, upon reselection to a cell not belonging to the validity area (if configured), or upon reselection to a cell to another radio access technology (RAT). When the T331 timer expires (or is stopped), the UE may release the early measurement reporting configuration (e.g., VarMeasIdleConfig).

[0021] For example, in a wireless network, a network node (e.g., gNB / eNB) may request the UE to measure New Radio (NR) and / or Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) carriers in an INACTIVE / IDLE state via system information (SI) or dedicated measurement configuration in an RRC release message. If the UE is configured to perform measurements of NR / E-UTRA carriers while in the IDLE state, the UE may provide an indication of the availability of corresponding measurement results to the network in an RRC Setup Complete message. The network may request the UE to report measurements after security activation. The request for measurements may be sent by the network immediately after sending a security mode command (e.g., before receiving security mode complete from the UE). However, if the UE is configured to perform measurements of NR / E-UTRA carriers while the UE is in the INACTIVE state, the network may request the UE to provide the corresponding measurement results in an RRCResume message, and the UE may then include the available measurement results in the RRCResumeComplete message. Alternatively, the UE may provide an indication of the availability of measurements to the network in the RRCResumeComplete message, and the network may then request the UE to provide these measurements.

[0022] When a UE in RRC_CONNECTED state transitions to RRC_INACTIVE or RRC_IDLE state, the UE may collect Early Measurement Report measurements when the US is in INACTIVE / IDLE state and the T331 timer is running, and report the measurements to the network when the UE transitions to RRC_CONNECTED mode. Thus, there is a desire and / or need to collect EMR measurements and report the EMR measurements.

[0023] This disclosure describes an example extended early measurement reporting (EMR) procedure. The eEMR procedure in an example implementation may include determining that a user equipment is configured for eEMR, and determining whether to initiate early measurement reporting measurements based on an indication in response to determining that the user equipment is configured for extended early measurement reporting. The eEMR procedure may further include initiating EMR measurements in response to determining to initiate eEMR measurements.

[0024] FIG. 2 illustrates an enhanced early measurement reporting (eEMR) procedure 200 according to an example implementation.

[0025] At 210, a UE, for example UE 202, may be in an RRC_CONNECTED state and may be communicating with a network node, for example gNB / gNB 204.

[0026] At 212, the UE 202 may receive an RRC release message from the gNB 204. In an example implementation, the RRC release message may be sent (or transmitted) by the gNB to the UE when the UE is in an RRC_CONNECTED state to command the release or suspension of the RRC connection (e.g., with suspendConfig, which may indicate a configuration for an RRC_INACTIVE state). In an example implementation, the RRC release message may command the release of the RRC connection such that the UE may transition to an RRC_IDLE state. In another example implementation, the RRC release message may command the suspension of the RRC connection such that the UE may transition to an RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0027] In some implementations, the RRC release message may include several information elements (IEs) or parameters. In an example implementation, the RRC release message may include system information (SI), EMR configuration, eEMR configuration, a T331 timer value, etc. In an example implementation, the eEMR configuration may include an instruction to the UE to save (or retain) the EMR configuration received at 212 upon expiration of the T331 timer. In an example implementation, the RRC release message may include information for EMR measurements, such as a MeasIdleConfig information element (IE). The MeasIdleConfig IE may be used to convey information to the UE about measurements to be performed while the UE is in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTVE state.

[0028] At 214, upon receiving the RRC release message from the gNB, the UE 202 may transition the UE 202 to an RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, for example, to conserve UE power / battery and / or network resources.

[0029] When the UE transitions to the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE 202 may perform EMR measurements at 216 as defined in TS 38.331. For example, 5.7.8 of TS 38.331 describes procedures that specify measurements made by the UE in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states when the UE has an idle / inactive measurement configuration, and storage of available measurements by the UE in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE states. In some implementations, for example, the UE 202 may perform EMR measurements when the T331 timer is running (e.g., the T331 timer has not expired). The UE may perform EMR measurements based at least on the EMR configuration received at 212 from the gNB 204 (e.g., via an RRC message or SIB11).

[0030] At 218, upon expiration of the T331 timer, the UE 202 may stop the EMR measurement. In other words, the UE may perform the EMR measurement based on at least the EMR configuration and stop performing (e.g., measuring, collecting, etc.) the EMR measurement when the T331 timer expires.

[0031] When the T331 timer expires, at 220, the UE 202 may store the EMR configuration received at 212. Because the UE may delete the EMR configuration received from the gNB when the T331 timer expires, in some implementations, for example, the UE 202 may store the EMR configuration received at 212 if the UE is configured with an eEMR configuration. This allows the UE to perform EMR measurements based on at least the EMR configuration even after expiration of the T331 timer. In some implementations, for example, the UE 202 may store the EMR configuration if the UE is configured for eEMR.

[0032] In some implementations, the UE may decide to store the EMR configuration upon expiration of the T331 timer if the UE is configured with or supports eEMR.

[0033] After a certain time has elapsed at 222, the UE 202 may receive a wake-up signal / indication or a paging message from the gNB 204 at 224. In some implementations, the UE may receive the wake-up signal / indication to wake up to receive the paging message. In some implementations, for example, the wake-up signal / indication or paging message may include an instruction to initiate EMR measurements at the UE and / or report the EMR measurements to the gNB. In some implementations, for example, the wake-up signal (WUS) may enable the UE to skip physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring for paging reception when in IDLE / INACTIVE state (or mode) or for OnDuration when there is no data transmission to be made in CONNECTED mode. If the network node intends to send a paging message to the UE or schedule the UE, the network node may send a wake-up signaling to the UE during the WUS opportunity to wake up the UE, and the UE then monitors the normal PDCCH for paging reception or scheduling data in the upcoming OnDuration. The WUS is sometimes referred to in the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) as Downlink Control Information (DCI) with a Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) scrambled by a Power Saving Radio Network Temporary Identifier (PS-RNTI) (DCP). The WUS may be a reference signal or sequence received / decoded by the UE. The WUS may be a special Downlink Control Information (DCI) format that may wake up an individual UE, a group of UEs, or all UEs that decode the WUS.

[0034] At 226, in response to receiving the wake-up signal / indication or the paging message, the UE 202 may start or initialize EMR measurements. In some implementations, for example, the UE 202 may start EMR measurements based at least on the EMR configuration received at 212. In some implementations, for example, the wake-up signal / indication or the paging message may further indicate to the UE to perform EMR measurements. In addition, in some implementations, for example, the wake-up signal / indication or the paging message may also instruct the UE to report EMR measurements to the gNB. In an example implementation, the UE may report EMR measurements to the gNB when the UE transitions to an RRC_CONNECTED state.

[0035] At 228, the UE 202 may perform connection establishment with the gNB, which may configure a carrier aggregation (CA) or dual connectivity (DC) configuration and send an EMR measurement (e.g., an EMR report or an EMR result) to the gNB.

[0036] At 230, the UE 202 may transition to an RRC_CONNECTED state once the connection is established. In some implementations, for example, the UE may be configured with CA or DC. For example, if the UE provides sufficiently good EMR results for CA or DC, the gNB may configure CA or DC for the UE. In an example implementation, if the reported RSRP is sufficiently good for cells a, b, and c, the gNB may configure CA or DC with cells a, b, and / or c.

[0037] Thus, the UE after transitioning to the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state may perform EMR measurements upon expiration of the T331 timer in response to a wake-up signal / indication or a paging message. The UE may perform EMR measurements and collect measurement results after expiration of the T331 timer based at least on an EMR configuration stored by the UE. The UE may store the EMR configuration in response to receiving an eEMR configuration from the gNB. In other words, the UE may store the EMR configuration even though the T331 timer has expired. In some implementations, the UE may store the EMR configuration if the UE is configured for eEMR configuration or the UE supports eEMR configuration, e.g., based on 3GPP specifications.

[0038] FIG. 3 illustrates another enhanced early measurement reporting (EMR) procedure 300 according to an additional exemplary implementation.

[0039] In some implementations, for example, the operations at 210-222 and 226-230 shown in FIG. 3 may be the same as or similar to the operations at 210-222 and 226-230 shown in FIG.

[0040] At 324, the UE 202 may detect the availability (presence) of uplink data in a buffer at the UE for transmission to the gNB 204. In response to detecting the availability of uplink data for transmission, the UE 202 may initiate EMR measurements and collect measurement results, as previously described with reference to 226 of FIG.

[0041] Thus, the UE after transitioning to the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state may perform EMR measurements upon / after expiration of the T331 timer in response to detecting the availability of uplink data for transmission to the gNB. The UE may perform EMR measurements after expiration of the T331 timer based at least on an EMR configuration stored by the UE, as previously described with reference to FIG. 2.

[0042] FIG. 4 is a flow chart 400 illustrating an enhanced early measurement reporting (EMR) procedure, according to an example implementation.

[0043] At block 410, a UE, for example, UE 202, may determine that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting.

[0044] In some implementations, for example, the UE may be configured for eEMR configuration based on an RRC message received from the gNB. In additional example implementations, the RRC message may be an RRC release message or a SIB. In another additional example implementation, the UE may determine that the UE is configured for eEMR based on whether the UE supports eEMR.

[0045] At block 420, the UE may determine whether to initiate early measurement reporting measurements based on the indication when the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting. In some implementations, for example, when the UE is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the UE may initiate EMR measurements in response to receiving an indication, e.g., a wake-up signal / indication or a paging message from the gNB. In additional example implementations, the UE may initiate EMR measurements and collect measurement results in response to an indication, which may be the availability of uplink data in a buffer at the UE for transmission to the gNB. In additional example implementations, the wake-up signal / indication or the paging message may also instruct the UE to report EMR measurements to the gNB.

[0046] At block 430, the UE may initiate early measurement reporting measurements and collect measurement results. In an example implementation, the UE may initiate EMR in response to determining that EMR measurements should be initiated. In an example implementation, the UE may initiate EMR measurements before, during, and / or after connection establishment, connection resumption, and / or random procedures.

[0047] Optionally, in some implementations, for example, at block 440, the UE may transmit the EMR measurement to the gNB.

[0048] Thus, the UE after transitioning to RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state can perform EMR measurements upon / after expiry of the T331 timer and can report the measurements to the gNB.

[0049] FIG. 5 is a flow chart 500 illustrating an enhanced early measurement reporting (EMR) procedure, according to an example implementation.

[0050] At block 510, a network node, e.g., gNB204, may transmit an extended early measurement reporting configuration to a user equipment, e.g., UE202.

[0051] At block 520, the network node may receive early measurement report measurements. In some implementations, for example, the early measurement report measurements may be collected at the UE based at least on an early measurement reporting configuration transmitted by the gNB.

[0052] Therefore, the gNB can receive early measurement report measurements based at least on the extended early measurement reporting configuration transmitted to the user equipment.

[0053] Additional example implementations are described herein.

[0054] [Example 1] A communications method comprising: a step of determining, by a user equipment, that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting; a step of determining, by the user equipment, whether to initiate early measurement reporting measurements based on an indication of when the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting; and a step of initiating the early measurement reporting measurements in response to the step of determining, by the user equipment, to initiate the early measurement reporting measurements.

[0055] [Example 2] 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the indication comprises a wake-up signal / indication or a paging message received by the user equipment from the network node, or uplink data being made available for transmission at the user equipment.

[0056] [Example 3] 3. The method of example 1 or example 2, further comprising transmitting the early measurement report measurements to a network node.

[0057] [Example 4] 4. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 3, further comprising the steps of: sending a message to the network node indicating availability of the early measurement report measurements; receiving a request from the network node to send the available early measurement report measurements; and sending the early measurement report measurements to the network node.

[0058] [Example 5] 5. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the wake-up signal / indication or paging message further indicates to the user equipment to perform the initiating and / or transmitting of the early measurement report measurements to the network node.

[0059] [Example 6] The method of any one of examples 1 to 5, wherein the early measurement report measurement is an idle / inactive measurement.

[0060] [Example 7] 7. The method of any one of examples 1 to 6, wherein the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting based at least on a radio resource control message from the network node.

[0061] [Example 8] 8. The method of any one of examples 1 to 7, wherein the radio resource control message is a radio resource control release message.

[0062] [Example 9] 9. The method of any one of examples 1 to 8, wherein the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting based on whether the user equipment supports enhanced early measurement reporting.

[0063] [Example 10] 10. The method of any one of Examples 1 to 9, further comprising: receiving, by the user equipment, an early measurement reporting configuration from the network node; and, in response to determining that the user equipment is configured for extended early measurement reporting, storing, upon expiration of a T331 timer, the early measurement reporting configuration received by the user equipment from the network node.

[0064] [Example 11] The method of any one of Examples 1 to 10, wherein the user equipment initiates, collects, or measures early measurement report measurements before, during, and / or after one or more of a connection establishment, connection resumption, and random access procedure.

[0065] [Example 12] 12. The method of any one of examples 1 to 11, further comprising terminating early measurement reporting measurements upon reporting the early measurement reporting measurements to the network node.

[0066] [Example 13] 13. The method of any one of examples 1 to 12, wherein the network node is a gNB.

[0067] [Example 14] A communications method comprising the steps of: transmitting, by a network node, an extended early measurement reporting configuration to a user equipment; and receiving, by the network node, early measurement reporting measurements from the user equipment, the early measurement reporting measurements being performed at the user equipment based at least on the extended early measurement reporting configuration.

[0068] [Example 15] and transmitting an extended early measurement reporting configuration to a user equipment, wherein the receiving of the early measurement report measurements from the user equipment is based at least on the extended measurement reporting configuration and the early measurement reporting configuration.

[0069] [Example 16] 16. The method of example 14 or example 15, further comprising sending a wake-up signal / indication or a paging message to the user equipment.

[0070] [Example 17] 17. The method of any one of examples 14 to 16, wherein the wake-up signal / instruction or paging message includes an instruction to start early measurement report measurements.

[0071] [Example 18] The method according to any one of examples 14 to 17, wherein the network node is a gNB.

[0072] [Example 19] An apparatus comprising a procedure for carrying out the method according to any one of Examples 1 to 18.

[0073] [Example 20] A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, wherein instructions stored in the non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, when executed by at least one processor, cause a computing system to perform a method as described in any one of Examples 1 to 18.

[0074] [Example 21] An apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory containing computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code, together with the at least one processor, causing the apparatus to perform at least one of the methods described in any one of Examples 1 to 18.

[0075] 6 is a block diagram of a wireless station (e.g., user equipment (UE) / user device or AP / gNB / MgNB / SgNB) 600 according to an example implementation. The wireless station 600 may include, for example, one or more RF (radio frequency) or wireless transceivers 602A, 602B, each including a transmitter for transmitting signals and a receiver for receiving signals. The wireless station also includes a processor or control unit / entity (controller) 604 / 608 that executes instructions or software and controls the transmission and reception of signals, and a memory 606 that stores data and / or instructions.

[0076] The processor 604 may also make decisions or determinations, generate frames, packets, or messages for transmission, decode received frames or messages for further processing, and perform other tasks or functions described herein. For example, the processor 604, which may be a baseband processor, may generate messages, packets, frames, or other signals for transmission via the wireless transceiver 602 (602A or 602B). The processor 604 may control the transmission of signals or messages over a wireless network, control the reception of signals or messages over a wireless network (e.g., after being downconverted by the wireless transceiver 602), and the like. The processor 604 may be programmable and capable of executing software or other instructions stored in memory or other computer media to perform various tasks and functions described above, such as one or more of the tasks or methods described above. The processor 604 may be (or may include), for example, hardware, programmable logic, a programmable processor executing software or firmware, and / or any combination thereof. Using other terminology, the processor 604 and the transceiver 602 together may be considered as, for example, a wireless transmitter / receiver system.

[0077] 6, the controller (or processor) 608 may execute software and instructions and may provide overall control for the station 600, may provide control for other systems not shown in FIG. 6, such as controlling input / output devices (e.g., display, keypad), and / or may execute software for one or more applications that may be provided on the wireless station 600, such as, for example, an email program, an audio / video application, a word processor, a voice-over-IP application, or other application or software. Further, a storage medium may be provided that contains stored instructions that, when executed by a controller or processor, cause the processor 604, or other controllers or processors, to perform one or more of the functions or tasks described above.

[0078] According to another example implementation, the RF or wireless transceiver 602A / 602B can receive signals or data and / or transmit or transmit signals or data. The processor 604 (and possibly the transceiver 602A / 602B) can control the RF or wireless transceiver 602A or 602B to receive, transmit, broadcast, or transmit signals or data.

[0079] However, the aspects are not limited to the system given as an example, and those skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems. Another example of a suitable communication system is the 5G concept. It is assumed that the network architecture in 5G is quite similar to that of LTE-advanced. 5G is likely to use multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, more base stations or nodes than LTE (the so-called small cell concept), and macro sites will work in cooperation with smaller stations, and probably also use different radio technologies for better coverage and improved data rates.

[0080] It should be appreciated that future networks will most likely utilize Network Function Virtualization (NFV), a network architecture concept that proposes virtualizing network node functions into "building blocks," or entities that can be operatively connected or linked together to provide services. A Virtualized Network Function (VNF) may comprise one or more virtual machines that run computer program code using standard or general-purpose servers instead of customized hardware. Cloud computing or data storage may also be utilized. In wireless communications, this may mean that node operations may take place, at least in part, within a server, host, or node that is operatively coupled to a remote radio head. It is also possible that node operations may be distributed among multiple servers, nodes, or hosts. It should also be appreciated that the distribution of labor between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of LTE, or even may not exist.

[0081] Implementations of the various techniques described herein may be implemented in digital electronic circuitry, or in computer hardware, firmware, software, or in combinations thereof. Implementations may be implemented as a computer program product, i.e., a computer program tangibly embodied in an information carrier, e.g., in a machine-readable storage device, or in a carrier signal, for execution by or for controlling the operation of a data processing apparatus, e.g., a programmable processor, computer, or multiple computers. Implementations may also be provided on a computer-readable medium or computer-readable storage medium, which may be a non-transitory medium. Implementations of the various techniques may also include implementations provided via a transitory signal or medium, and / or implementations of programs and / or software downloadable via the Internet or other networks, either wired networks and / or wireless networks. In addition, implementations may be provided via machine type communication (MTC) and via the Internet of Things (IoT).

[0082] The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or any intermediate form, and may be stored on any kind of carrier, distribution medium, or computer-readable medium, which may be any entity or device capable of carrying a program. Such carriers include, for example, recording media, computer memories, read-only memories, optical and / or electrical carrier signals, telecommunication signals, and software distribution packages. Depending on the processing power required, the computer program may be executed in a single electronic digital computer or distributed among several computers.

[0083] Furthermore, implementations of the various techniques described herein may use cyber-physical systems (CPSs), which are systems that cooperate computational elements to control physical entities. CPSs may enable the implementation and utilization of a large number of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors, microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile cyber-physical systems, where physical systems have inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robots and electronic devices transported by humans or animals. The increasing popularity of smartphones has led to increased interest in the field of mobile cyber-physical systems. Thus, various implementations of the techniques described herein may be provided via one or more of these technologies.

[0084] Computer programs, such as those described above, can be written in any form of programming language, including compiled or interpreted languages, and can be deployed in any form, including as a stand-alone program or as a module, component, subroutine, or other unit or part suitable for use in a computing environment. A computer program can be deployed to be executed on one computer at one site, or on multiple computers, or distributed across multiple sites and interconnected by a communication network.

[0085] The method steps may be performed by one or more programmable processors executing computer programs or computer program portions to perform functions by operating on input data and generating output. The method steps may also be performed by, and an apparatus may be implemented as, special purpose logic circuitry, such as an FPGA (field programmable gate array) or an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit).

[0086] Processors suitable for executing computer programs include, by way of example, both general purpose and special purpose microprocessors, as well as any one or more processors of any kind of digital computer, chip or chipset. Generally, a processor will receive instructions and data from a read-only memory or a random access memory or both. The elements of a computer may include at least one processor for executing instructions and one or more memory devices for storing instructions and data. Generally, a computer may also include one or more mass storage devices for storing data, such as magnetic, magneto-optical, or optical disks, or be operatively coupled to receive data from or transfer data to them, or both. Information carriers suitable for embodying computer program instructions and data include, by way of example, all forms of non-volatile memory, including semiconductor memory devices, such as EPROM, EEPROM, and flash memory devices, magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks or removable disks, magneto-optical disks, and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks, and the like. The processor and memory may be supplemented by, or incorporated in, special purpose logic circuitry.

Claims

1. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; sending the early measurement report measurements to the network node; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received by the user equipment from the network node; or A user equipment including uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment.

2. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; sending a message to the network node indicating availability of the early measurement report measurements; receiving a request from the network node to transmit the available early measurement report measurements; transmitting the early measurement report measurements to the network node; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received by the user equipment from the network node; or A user equipment including uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment.

3. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received by the user equipment from the network node; or uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment; The wake-up signal / indication indicates to the user equipment to perform the step of initiating the early measurement report measurement.

4. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received by the user equipment from the network node; or uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment; The wake-up signal / indication indicates to the user equipment to perform a step of transmitting the early measurement report measurement to the network node.

5. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received by the user equipment from the network node; or uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment; The early measurement reporting measurements are idle / inactive measurements, user equipment.

6. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to the determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received by the user equipment from the network node; or uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment; A user equipment configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting based at least on the radio resource control message from the network node.

7. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the radio resource control message is a radio resource control release message.

8. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received from said network node; or uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment; A user equipment configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting based on whether the user equipment supports the enhanced early measurement reporting.

9. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; receiving the extended early measurement reporting configuration from the network node; storing the early measurement reporting configuration received from the network node upon expiration of a T331 timer in response to determining that the user equipment is configured for the extended early measurement reporting; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received from said network node; or A user equipment including uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment.

10. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received from said network node; or uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment; A user equipment that initiates, collects, or measures the early measurement reporting measurements before, during, and / or after one or more of connection establishment, connection resumption, and random access procedures.

11. At least one processor; and at least one memory containing computer program code, The at least one memory and the computer program code are coupled to the at least one processor in the user equipment, determining that the user equipment is configured for enhanced early measurement reporting, the determining being based on a radio resource control message received from a network node, the radio resource control message including a first instruction to the user equipment to store an enhanced early measurement reporting configuration; determining whether to start early measurement reporting measurements based on a second indication if the user equipment is configured for the enhanced early measurement reporting; initiating the early measurement report measurement in response to determining to initiate the early measurement report measurement; and terminating the early measurement report measurement when the early measurement report measurement is reported to the network node. Run the command, The second instruction includes: a wake-up signal / indication received from said network node; or A user equipment including uplink data available for transmission at the user equipment.

12. The user equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the network node is a gNB.

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