Power headroom report for serving cell

Abstract

To provide a method and apparatus for a power headroom report for a serving cell.SOLUTION: A method and apparatus are provided for a PHR for a serving cell in which an active BWP of the serving cell is a dormant BWP. UE transmits a PHR to at least a network node to report PH of the serving cell. The network node receives the PHR from the UE to report the PH of the serving cell and obtains a PH value from the PHR for the serving cell. In the present specification, for the serving cell, at least one of a designation field indicating 1) type 1 PH, 2) type 3 PH, 3) PH being Type 1 or Type 3 and a designation field indicating whether 4) the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP is reported.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD The teachings of the example embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to PHR for a serving cell. [Background technology]

[0002] This section is intended to provide background or context to example embodiments of the present disclosure. The description herein may include concepts that could be pursued, but not necessarily concepts that have been previously conceived or pursued. Accordingly, unless otherwise indicated herein, the material described in this section is not prior art to the description and claims of this application, and is not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

[0003] Certain abbreviations that may appear within the description and / or figures are defined herein as follows: A-CSI Aperiodic CSI BFD Beam Failure Detection BFR Beam Failure Recovery BWP Bandwidth Portion CSI Channel State Information DL-SCH Downlink Shared Channel gNB 5G Node B / Base Station HARQ Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request LS Liaison Statement LTE Long Term Evolution MAC CE Medium Access Control Control Element NR New Radio Technology (5G) NW Network PCell Primary Cell PDCCH Physical Downlink Control Channel PH Power Headroom PHR Power Headroom Report P-SRS Periodic SRS PSCell Primary Secondary Cell PUCCH Physical Uplink Control Channel RAN Radio Access Network Rel Release RRC Radio Resource Control SCell Secondary Cell SP / A-SRS Semi-permanent / Aperiodic-SRS SpCell Special Cell (PCell / PSCell) SRS Sounding Reference Signal UE User Equipment UL Uplink UL-SCH Uplink Shared Channel

[0004] In LTE, the so-called "Dormant SCell state" was introduced in Release 15 according to the following: - No PDCCH monitoring. - No UL transmission. - Only periodic CSI reporting allowed via PCell.

[0005] The purpose of introducing this state was to enable power saving while activating SCells faster than with deactivated SCells.

[0006] In NR, a similar concept was introduced via the "dormant BWP" introduced in Rel-16 [e TS 38.321 from R2-2004183]. 1> If the BWP is activated and the BWP is a dormant BWP: 2> Stop the bwp-Independent CRctivityTimer for this serving cell if it is running. 2>Do not monitor PDCCH in BWP. 2>Do not monitor PDCCH for BWP. 2>DL-SCH is not received in BWP. 2> If configured, perform CSI measurements for BWP. 2>Do not send SRS in BWP. 2>Do not transmit on BWP's UL-SCH. 2>Do not transmit PUCCH in BWP. 2> Clear any configured downlink assignments and any configured uplink grants of type 2 associated with the SCell, respectively. 2>Suspend any configured uplink grant type 1 associated with the SCell. 2> If configured, when a beam failure is detected, perform beam failure detection and beam failure recovery for the SCell. Summary of the Invention

[0007] The scope of protection sought for various embodiments of the present disclosure is set out in the independent claims. Embodiments and features described herein that do not fall within the scope of the independent claims, if any, should be interpreted as examples that serve to understand various embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0008] According to a first aspect, various embodiments provide a method for PHR of a serving cell when an active BWP for the serving cell is a dormant BWP. A UE transmits a PHR to a network node to report a PH of the serving cell, and at least one of the following is reported for the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant or non-dormant BWP.

[0009] According to a second aspect, various embodiments provide a method for PHR of a serving cell when an active BWP for the serving cell is a dormant BWP. A NW node receives a PHR from a UE to report a PH of the serving cell, and obtains a PH value for the serving cell from the PHR. In this specification, at least one of the following is reported for the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant or non-dormant BWP.

[0010] According to a third aspect, various embodiments provide a method for PHR for a serving cell, in which when a PHR is triggered upon a switching event in which an active BWP on a serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP, or when an active BWP on a serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP, a UE transmits a PHR to a network node to report a PH of the serving cell.

[0011] According to a fourth aspect, various embodiments provide a method for PHR of a serving cell when an active BWP for the serving cell is a dormant BWP. A UE transmits a PHR to at least a network node to report a PH of the serving cell, and the network node receives a PHR from the UE to report the PH of the serving cell, and obtains a PH value from the PHR for the serving cell. Herein, at least one of the following is reported for the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant or non-dormant BWP.

[0012] According to a fifth aspect, various embodiments provide a UE with a PHR for a serving cell, where an active BWP of the serving cell is a dormant BWP. The UE includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the UE to at least perform: sending a PHR to a network node to report a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell. Herein, at least one of the following is reported for the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant or non-dormant BWP.

[0013] According to a sixth aspect, various embodiments provide a network node with a PHR for a serving cell, wherein an active BWP of the serving cell is a dormant BWP. The NW includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the network node to at least perform: receiving a power headroom (PHR) from a UE to report a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell; and obtaining a PH value for the serving cell from the PHR. Herein, at least one of the following is reported for the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant or non-dormant BWP.

[0014] According to a seventh aspect, various embodiments provide a UE with a PHR for a serving cell. The UE includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the UE to at least perform: transmitting a PHR to a network node to report a PH of the serving cell when the PHR is triggered upon a switching event in which an active BWP on the serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP, or an active BWP on the serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP.

[0015] According to an eighth aspect, various embodiments provide a system with a PHR for a serving cell, wherein an active BWP of the serving cell is a dormant BWP. The system includes a UE and at least a network node. The UE includes at least one first processor and at least one first memory including first computer program code. The at least one memory and computer program code are configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the UE to at least perform: sending the PHR to the network node to report a PH of the serving cell. The network node includes at least one second processor and at least one second memory including second computer program code. The at least one memory and computer program code are configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the network node to at least receive a PHR from the UE to report a PH of the serving cell, and obtain a PH value for the serving cell from the PHR. Herein, at least one of the following is reported for the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant or non-dormant BWP.

[0016] According to some embodiments, the reported PH is a Type 1 PH with a virtual field indicating that a PUSCH reference format is being used.

[0017] In some embodiments, the reported PH is a Type 3 PH depending on whether there is an SRS transmission in the dormant BWP at the time the PHR is reported.

[0018] According to some embodiments, the PHR is triggered upon a switching event when an active BWP on a serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP, or when an active BWP on a serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP.

[0019] According to some embodiments, the PHR is triggered when the active BWP is switched from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP if no PHR is reported to the serving cell when the active BWP is dormant. Furthermore, the UE continues downlink reference signal measurements for PH calculation without reporting to the network node until the PHR is triggered after the active BWP is switched from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP. And the PHR is triggered for each serving cell when the active BWP is dormant. The PHR trigger is configured by the network node.

[0020] According to some embodiments, the PHR is triggered upon activation of the serving cell when the first active BWP of the serving cell is not a dormant BWP, and the PHR is triggered per serving cell when the active BWP is a dormant BWP. The PHR triggering is configured by the network node.

[0021] According to some embodiments, the UE is configured with dual connectivity with a serving cell served by two network nodes, and the network node to which the UE sends the PHR is one of the two network nodes.

[0022] The above and other aspects, features, and advantages of various embodiments of the present disclosure will become more fully apparent from the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals are used to designate similar or equivalent elements. The drawings are presented to facilitate a better understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and are not necessarily drawn to scale. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0023] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a high-level block diagram of various devices used in implementing some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 1A illustrates a method that may be performed by an apparatus according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. 1B and 1C illustrate examples of methods that may be performed by a UE and a network node, respectively, according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 3] 6 shows an example of Table 6.1.3.9-1 illustrating multiple entry PHR MAC CEs where the highest ServCellIndex of serving cells with configured uplinks is less than 8, according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4] 6 shows an example of Table 6.1.3.9 specifying that the multiple-entry PHR MAC CE with the highest ServCellIndex of the serving cell with configured uplink is 8 or greater, according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these exemplary embodiments are merely for the purpose of illustration and to assist those skilled in the art in understanding and practicing the present disclosure, and are not intended to suggest any limitations on the scope of the present disclosure. The embodiments described herein can be implemented in various ways, including but not limited to those described below.

[0025] In the following description and claims, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs, unless defined otherwise.

[0026] As used herein, the terms "terminal device" or "user equipment" (UE) refer to any terminal device capable of wireless communication with each other or with a base station. Communication may include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic signals, radio waves, infrared signals, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information wirelessly. In some example embodiments, a UE may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a UE may transmit information to a network node on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to a request from the network side.

[0027] Examples of UE include, but are not limited to, smartphones, wireless-enabled tablet computers, laptop embedded devices (LEEs), laptop mounted devices (LMEs), wireless customer premises equipment (CPEs), sensors, user equipment (UEs) such as metering devices, personal wearables such as wristwatches, and / or communications-enabled vehicles. For purposes of explanation, some exemplary embodiments are described with reference to UEs as examples of terminal devices, and the terms "terminal device" and "user equipment" (UE) may be used interchangeably in the context of this disclosure.

[0028] As used herein, the term "network node" refers to a device through which a terminal device or UE can access a communication network. Network nodes may include access network nodes and core network nodes. Access network nodes may include any suitable device through which a terminal device or UE can access a communication network. Examples of access networks include a repeater, an access point (AP), a transmit port (TRP), a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), a new radio technology (NR) Node B (gNB), a remote radio module (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a femto, a pico, or other low-power node.

[0029] Communication systems and associated devices (e.g., UEs and network nodes) typically operate according to a given standard or specification that sets out what various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be accomplished. The communication protocols and / or parameters to be used for connectivity are also typically defined. An example of a communication system is the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology, Long Term Evolution (LTE), and so-called 5G or New Radio Technology (NR) networks.

[0030] Before describing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure in detail, reference is made to FIG. 1, which illustrates a simplified block diagram of various electronic devices suitable for use in implementing some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] FIG. 1 illustrates a block diagram of one possible, non-limiting, exemplary system in which some exemplary embodiments of the present invention may be implemented. In FIG. 1, a UE 10 wirelessly communicates with a wireless network 1. The UE is a wireless, typically mobile, device that can access the wireless network. The UE 10 may include one or more processors DP 10A, one or more memories MEM 10B, and one or more transceivers TRANS 10D, interconnected, for example, via one or more buses. Each of the one or more transceivers TRANS 10D may include a receiver and a transmitter. The one or more buses may be an address bus, a data bus, or a control bus and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fiber, or other optical communication facilities. The one or more transceivers TRANS 10D may be connected to one or more antennas for communication 21 and 22 to NN 12 and NN 13, respectively. The one or more memories MEM 10B include computer program code PROG 10C. The UE 10 may communicate with NN 12 and / or NN 13 via wireless links.

[0032] The NN 12 (which may be an NR / 5G Node B, an evolved NB, or an LTE device) is a network node, such as a master node base station or a secondary node base station (e.g., for NR or LTE), that communicates with devices, such as the NN 13 and / or the UE 10 of FIG. 1 . The NN 12 may provide access to the wireless network 1 for wireless devices, such as the UE 10. The NN 12 may include one or more processors DP12A, one or more memories MEM12C, and one or more transceivers TRANS12D, interconnected, for example, via one or more buses. According to some exemplary embodiments, these TRANS12D may include X2 and / or Xn interfaces used to perform some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Each of the one or more transceivers TRANS12D may include a receiver and a transmitter. The one or more transceivers TRANS12D may be connected to one or more antennas, for example, to communicate with the UE 10 via at least link 21. The one or more memories MEM12B and computer program code PROG12C may be configured to cause the NN 12, using the one or more processors DP12A, to perform one or more of the operations described herein. The NN 12 may communicate with another network node, such as a gNB or an eNB, or a device, such as the NN 13. Furthermore, the link 21 and / or any other links may be wired or wireless, or both, and may implement, for example, an X2 or Xn interface. Furthermore, the link 21 may be via another network node, such as, but not limited to, an NCE / MME / SGW device, such as the NCE 14 of FIG. 1.

[0033] In some embodiments, the NN 13 may include a mobility function device, such as an AMF or SMF. In some embodiments, the NN 13 may include an NR / 5G Node B (also referred to as a gNB) or possibly an evolved NB (eNB), which may be a master node base station or a secondary node base station (e.g., in the case of NR or LTE) that communicates with devices such as the NN 12 and / or the UE 10 and / or the radio network 1. The NN 13 may include one or more processors DP13A, one or more memories MEM13B, one or more network interfaces, and one or more transceivers TRANS12D, interconnected, for example, via one or more buses. According to some exemplary embodiments, these network interfaces of the NN 13 may include X2 and / or Xn interfaces used to perform some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Each of the one or more transceivers TRANS13D may include a receiver and a transmitter connected to one or more antennas. The one or more memories MEM13B may include computer program code PROG13C. For example, one or more memories MEM13B and computer program code PROG13C may be configured, using one or more processors DP13A, to cause NN13 to perform one or more of the operations described herein. NN13 may communicate with another mobility function device, such as NN12 and a gNB using link 32, and may communicate with UE10 or any other device using link 22 or another link. These links may be wired or wireless, or both, and may implement, for example, an X2 or Xn interface. Furthermore, link 22 may be through another network device, such as, but not limited to, an NCE / MME / SGW device, such as NCE14 of FIG. 1.

[0034] 1 may be an address bus, a data bus, or a control bus and may include any interconnection mechanism, such as a series of lines on a motherboard or integrated circuit, optical fiber or other optical communication facilities, wireless channels, etc. For example, one or more transceivers TRANS12D, TRANS13D, and / or TRANS10D may be implemented as a remote radio head (RRH), with other elements of NN12 physically located differently from the RRH, and one or more buses may be implemented in part as fiber optic cables to connect the other elements of NN12 to the RRH.

[0035] It should be noted that while FIG. 1 illustrates network nodes such as NN12 and NN13, any of these nodes may incorporate or be incorporated within an eNB or gNB and still be configurable to perform example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0036] It should also be noted that while the description herein indicates that a "cell" performs some functions, it should be clear that the network node (e.g., eNB or gNB) that provides the cell performs functions that are in some cases facilitated by user equipment and / or mobility management function devices. Furthermore, a cell forms part of a gNB, and there may be multiple cells per gNB.

[0037] The wireless network 1 may comprise a network control element (NCE) 14, which may include an MME (Mobility Management Entity) / SGW (Serving Gateway) function, providing connectivity to further networks, such as a telephone network and / or a data communication network (e.g., the Internet). The NNs 12 and 13 may be coupled to the NCE 14 via links 31 and / or 32. Furthermore, it should be noted that operations according to some example embodiments performed by the NN 13 may also be performed by the NCE 14.

[0038] NCE 14 may include one or more processors DP14A, one or more memories MEM14B, and one or more network interfaces (N / WI / F(s)) interconnected, for example, via one or more buses coupled to links 13 and / or 14. According to some exemplary embodiments, these network interfaces may include X2 and / or Xn interfaces used to perform some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more memories MEM14B may include computer program code PROG14C. The one or more memories MEM14B and computer program code PROG14C may be configured to cause NCE 14, using one or more processors DP14A, to perform one or more operations that may be required to support operation in accordance with some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0039] Wireless network 1 may implement network virtualization, which is the process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functions to create a single software-based management entity, a virtual network. Network virtualization is often accompanied by platform virtualization combined with resource virtualization. Network virtualization is categorized as either external network virtualization, which combines multiple networks or network portions to create a virtual unit, or internal network virtualization, which provides network-like functionality to software containers on a single system. It should be noted that the virtualized entities resulting from network virtualization may further be implemented at some level using hardware, such as processors DP10A, DP12A, DP13A, and / or DP14A, and memories MEM10B, MEM12B, MEM13B, and / or MEM14B, and such virtualized entities produce a technical effect.

[0040] The computer-readable memories MEM12B, MEM13B, and MEM14B may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The computer-readable memories MEM12B, MEM13B, and MEM14B may be means for performing storage functions. The processors DP10, DP12A, DP13A, and / or DP14A may be of any type suitable for the local technology environment and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a special-purpose computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The processors DP10, DP12A, DP13A, and / or DP14A may be means for performing functions such as control of the UE10, NN12, and NN13, as well as other functions described herein.

[0041] An LS was sent from RAN2 to RAN1 asking whether there is a problem with not supporting aperiodic CSI reporting for dormant BWPs and not supporting SRS transmission in dormant BWPs. The following response was received from RAN1 (R1-2003075): RAN1 was not able to reach an agreement on supporting A-CSI measurements in dormant BWPs (e.g. by reports triggered by another cell such as the PCell) or SP / A-SRS transmission in dormant BWPs. RAN1 is also happy to support at least long periodicity P-SRS, e.g. >100 ms.

[0042] The RAN1 response LS in R1-2003075 reverted the previous RAN2 assumption of no periodic SRS transmissions when the UE is in dormant DL BWP (possibly including A-CSI, but this was not yet clear). This issue needs to be resolved in RAN2.

[0043] Assuming there is no UL transmission when the DL is in a dormant BWP, the following agreement was reached in RAN2: - UL sleep BWP is not defined, UL behavior when DL BWP is switched to sleep BWP is specified in TS38.321. - RAN2 ensures that the UE does not switch UL BWP (in case of FDD) as a result of transition from dormant to non-dormant state or vice versa (no change to date regarding BWP switching). - Activated SCells whose active BWP is a dormant BWP should not be included in the PHR report. Whether additions / modifications to the PHR triggers are necessary for further research.

[0044] PHR triggers are currently defined in TS 38.321, and the specification does not yet reflect the agreement that PHRs will not be reported for dormant BWPs.

[0045] There is no explanation as to how PHR works. Now that the UE starts performing SRS transmission, it also needs to be explained whether PHR is required. The NW node needs to know the PH value of the serving cell.

[0046] Furthermore, in the case of dual connectivity, it may be problematic whether the PHR content depends on whether the UE is a dormant or non-dormant BWP, for the following reasons. - Because other NW nodes do not know in which BWP the UE is located relative to cells from other nodes. - Because the PHR bitmap only indicates whether a PH is reported for a cell (whether the cell is activated or not). - The virtual bit only indicates whether the PH is real or virtual.

[0047] Other NW nodes cannot determine whether the PH is for Type 1 for PUSCH in the non-dormant case or for Type 3 for SRS transmission in the dormant case.

[0048] Reference is now made to Figures 2a-2c, which illustrate an example method for PHR to a serving cell according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. Figure 2a illustrates the interaction between a UE and a NW node, while Figures 2b and 2c illustrate operations performed at the UE and NW node, respectively.

[0049] In step 201, the UE sends a PHR to the NW node to report the PH of the serving cell. In this specification, the reported PH is indicated by one of the following: 1) Type 1 PH, 2) Type 3 PH, 3) a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; 4) A designation field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant bandwidth portion (BWP) or a non-dormant BWP.

[0050] In some embodiments, the PH reported for the serving cell may be a Type 1 PH. When the active BWP of the serving cell is a dormant BWP, the UE may always report a Type 1 PH for the cell. In the PHR, a virtual field (V field) is used to indicate whether the PH value is based on an actual transmission or a reference format. For Type 1 PH, a V field set to 0 indicates an actual transmission on the PUSCH, and a V field set to 1 indicates that the PUSCH reference format is being used. In some embodiments, when the DL active BWP is a dormant BWP, there is no PUSCH transmission, so only a virtual Type 1 PH is reported for the serving cell. In other words, whenever the V bit indicates a virtual PHR, the NW unambiguously understands that it is Type 1.

[0051] The Type 1 virtual PH of the serving cell is reported based on the reference PUSCH of the dormant UL BWP, or of the active UL BWP if there is no definition of a dormant UL BWP.

[0052] In some embodiments, the PH reported for the serving cell may be a Type 3 PH. When SRS is configured to be transmitted in the dormant state, the UE may always report a Type 3 PH for a dormant SCell or for a serving cell with an active DL BWP of the dormant BWP. Depending on whether there is an SRS transmission in the dormant BWP when the PHR is reported, the real / virtual Type 3 PH is used for reporting. When a PHR is reported and an SRS transmission occurs in the dormant BWP, the real Type 3 PH is included in the PHR. When a PHR is reported and there is no SRS transmission in the dormant BWP, the virtual Type 3 PH is included in the PHR.

[0053] In some embodiments, a designation field in the PHR may be used to indicate whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, if an actual SRS occurs when the PHR is reported, an actual PH of Type 3 will be reported, while if no transmission occurs in the dormant BWP, a hypothetical Type 1 PH will be reported.

[0054] Referring to Figure 3, Figure 3 shows an example of a multiple entry PHR MAC CE where the highest ServCellIndex of serving cells with configured uplinks is less than 8. The previously reserved field is designated as the "D" field to indicate whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3. When a Type 1 PH is reported and the active BWP of this serving cell is a dormant BWP, the V field is always set to 1.

[0055] In some embodiments, a designated field in the PHR may be used to indicate whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP. In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, a reserved bit in the PHR may be redefined for such an indication, and the NW node will then know whether the UE is in a dormant BWP or not, and whether Type 1 or Type 3 PH is being reported.

[0056] Referring again to Figure 3, the previously reserved field is designated as the "D" field to indicate whether the PH value is based on a dormant or non-dormant BWP transmission. When a Type 1 PH is reported and the active BWP for this serving cell is a dormant BWP, the V field is always set to 1.

[0057] In some embodiments, the PHR may be triggered by an event defined in TS 38.321. In other embodiments, a new trigger event is introduced for triggering the PHR. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the new trigger event may be a switch event of an active BWP on a serving cell, and the PHR for the serving cell is triggered when the active BWP switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP or when the active BWP switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP.

[0058] Further, in some embodiments, the trigger is when switching the active BWP from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP if no PHR was reported for the serving cell when the active BWP was a dormant BWP. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE triggers the PHR when activating a non-dormant BWP when the dormant BWP was the previously activated BWP. And, such a trigger may further depend on whether a PH of the dormant SCell is reported, e.g., for SRS transmission. For example, if no PHR is reported for a dormant SCell, the PHR is triggered when activating a non-dormant BWP after the dormant BWP was the previously activated BWP.

[0059] In some embodiments, the PHR trigger upon activation of a serving cell may be limited to the case where the first active BWP of the serving cell is not a dormant BWP. In other words, for example, if the first active BWP of a serving cell to be activated is a dormant BWP, the UE may not trigger the PHR. For example, if the first active BWP of a serving cell to be activated is not a dormant BWP, the UE may trigger the PHR. In some examples, the serving cell may be activated by a MAC CE, such as an SCell activation / deactivation MAC CE, or by a NW node by RRC signaling.

[0060] In some embodiments, before step 201, the UE continues downlink reference signal measurements for PH calculation without reporting to the NW node until a PHR is triggered after the active BWP switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, the UE continues DL RS measurements for PH calculation but does not report a given SCell during a dormant BWP. If a PHR is triggered while a dormant BWP is active, the UE will then send a report to the NW after moving to a non-dormant BWP.

[0061] In some embodiments, PHR is further prohibited for a predetermined time. In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, PHR reporting as in the above embodiment may also be limited by phr-ProhibitTimer, which allows the NW to limit too frequent PHR reporting when the SCell is placed in dormant BWP for a short time.

[0062] In some embodiments, the triggering of the PHR is configured by the NW node. In an example embodiment of the present disclosure, the NW node may configure whether the PHR is triggered when the UE moves from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP. Furthermore, such configuration will be done for each SCell for which a dormant BWP is configured.

[0063] In some embodiments, a UE is configured with dual connectivity with a serving cell served by two NW nodes. To avoid ambiguity in reporting Type 1 PHR / Type 3 PHR to other nodes (SN or MN, respectively) because the other nodes are unaware of which BWP (dormant or non-dormant) the UE is using, a PHR procedure for reporting PH for a serving cell where the active BWP is a dormant BWP is used, according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0064] Referring back to Figures 2b to 2c, in step 202, the NW node receives a PHR to report the PH of the serving cell, and then in step 203, the NW node obtains the reported PH for the serving cell from the PHR.

[0065] In some embodiments, the NW node may decode the reported PH when it is always a Type 1 PH or a Type 3 PH. In other embodiments, the NW node may decode the reported PH according to an indication in a designated field that the reported PH is Type 1 or Type 3, or whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP.

[0066] In the following, an example of specification changes based on TS 38.321 required for the new trigger option for PHR when moving from dormant to non-dormant BWP is detailed. The specification changes are made to three sections: Power Headroom Reporting (Section 5.4.6), Bandwidth Portion (BWP) Operation (Section 5.15), and Multiple Entry PHR MAC CE (Section 6.1.3.9).

[0067] Power Headroom Reporting (Section 5.4.6) The power headroom reporting procedure is used to provide the serving gNB with the following information: Type 1 power headroom: the difference between the nominal UE maximum transmit power and the estimated power for UL-SCH transmission per activated serving cell; Type 2 power headroom: the difference between the nominal UE maximum transmit power and the estimated power for UL-SCH and PUCCH transmission in the SpCell of other MAC entities (i.e. E-UTRA MAC entities in case of EN-DC, NE-DC and NGEN-DC); - Type 3 power headroom: The difference between the nominal UE maximum transmit power and the estimated power for SRS transmission per activated serving cell.

[0068] RRC controls the power headroom reporting by configuring the following parameters: -phr-PeriodicTimer, ‐phr-ProhibitTimer, -phr-Tx-PowerFactorChange, ‐phr-Type2OtherCell, -phr-ModeOtherCG, -multiplePHR

[0069] A Power Headroom Report (PHR) shall be triggered when any of the following events occur: - when the phr-ProhibitTimer expires or has expired and the MAC entity has UL resources for a new transmission, if the path loss has changed by more than phr-Tx-PowerFactorChange dB for at least one activated serving cell of any MAC entity used as path loss reference since the last transmission at this MAC entity; NOTE 1: The variation in path loss for a single cell evaluated above is the path loss measured at the current time against the current path loss criterion, and the path loss measured against the path selection criterion in use at the time of the previous transmission of the PHR, regardless of whether the path loss criterion has changed in between. - phr-PeriodicTimer expires, - When the power headroom reporting function is configured or reconfigured by higher layers, which is not used to disable the function; - Activation of SCells of any MAC entity with a configured uplink if the first BWP is not a dormant BWP; (Additions according to some embodiments introduced by this disclosure) -PSCell addition (i.e., a PSCell is newly added or modified), - upon switching of an active BWP from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP (as defined in paragraph 5.15); (This trigger event is a new event introduced by this disclosure to trigger a PHR to the serving cell.) - if the phr-ProhibitTimer expires or has expired when the MAC entity has UL resources for a new transmission and the following is true for any activated serving cell of any MAC entity with a configured uplink: - if there are UL resources allocated for transmission or there is a PUCCH transmission in this cell and the power backoff required due to power management (allowed by P-MPRc as specified in TS 38.101-1

[14] , TS 38.101-2

[15] and TS 38.101-3

[16] ) for this cell has changed by more than phr-x-PowerFactorChange dB since the last transmission of a PHR when the MAC entity had UL resources allocated for transmission or PUCCH transmission in this cell. NOTE 2: A MAC entity should avoid triggering a PHR when the required power backoff due to power management decreases only temporarily (e.g., for up to tens of milliseconds), and a MAC entity should avoid reflecting such temporary decreases in the value of PCMAX,f,c / PH when the PHR is triggered by other triggering conditions. NOTE 3: If an HARQ process is configured with a cg-RetransmissionTimer, and if a PHR is already included in a MAC PDU for transmission by this HARQ process but has not yet been sent by lower layers, it is up to the UE implementation how to handle the PHR content.

[0070] When the MAC entity has UL resources allocated for a new transmission, the MAC entity shall: 1> If it is the first UL resource allocated for a new transmission since the last MAC reset, 2> Start phr-PeriodicTimer, 1> If the power headroom reporting procedure determines that at least one PHR has been triggered and not cancelled, and 1> If the allocated UL resources can accommodate the MAC CE for the PHR that the MAC entity is configured to transmit in addition to its subheader as a result of the LCP as defined in clause 5.4.3.1, 2> If multiplePHR with a value of true is configured: 3> For each activated serving cell associated with any MAC entity, which has a configured uplink and whose active BWP is not a dormant BWP, 4>Get the power headroom value of Type 1 or Type 3 of the corresponding uplink carrier as specified in clause 7.7 of TS 38.213 [6]; 4> This MAC entity has UL resources allocated for transmission on this serving cell, or 4> If other MAC entities are configured, they have UL resources allocated for transmission on this serving cell and phr-ModeOtherCG is set to real by higher layers. 5>Get the values ​​of the corresponding PCMAX, f, c fields from the physical layer. 3> For each activated serving cell that has a configured uplink associated with any MAC entity and whose active BWP is a dormant BWP for which SRS is configured, 4>Get the value of the virtual Type 1 power headroom of the corresponding uplink carrier as specified in clause 7.7 of TS 38.213 [6]; (The NW node obtains the value of virtual type 1 PH for an active BWP that is a dormant BWP with SRS configured. An addition according to some embodiments introduced by the present disclosure.) 4> If this MAC entity has SRS resources allocated for transmission in this serving cell when PHS is reported, 5>Get the actual Type 3 power headroom value of the corresponding uplink carrier as specified in clause 7.7 of TS 38.213 [6]; 4> Otherwise, 5>Get the value of the virtual Type 1 power headroom of the corresponding uplink carrier as specified in clause 7.7 of TS 38.213 [6]; (The NW node obtains the actual Type 3 value of an active BWP that is a dormant BWP using SRS transmission when PHR is reported, or obtains the virtual Type 1 PH value of an active BWP that is a dormant BWP for which SRS is configured. This is an addition according to some embodiments introduced by the present disclosure.) 3> If a phr-Type2OtherCell with a value of true is configured, 4> If the other MAC entity is an E-UTRA MAC entity, 5>Get the Type 2 power headroom value for the SpCell of the other MAC entity (i.e., E-UTRA MAC entity); 5> If phr-ModeOtherCG is set to real by a higher layer, 6>Get the value of the corresponding PCMAX,f,c field of the SpCell of the other MAC entity (i.e., E-UTRA MAC entity) from the physical layer. 3> Instruct the multiplexing and assembly procedure to generate and transmit multiple entry PHR MAC CEs as defined in clause 6.1.3.9 based on the values ​​reported by the physical layer. 2> Otherwise (i.e., single-entry PHR format is used), 3> Obtain the Type 1 power headroom value from the physical layer for the corresponding uplink carrier of the PCell. 3> Obtain the values ​​of the corresponding PCMAX, f, and c fields from the physical layer. 3> Instruct the multiplexing and assembly procedure to generate and transmit a single-entry PHR MAC CE as defined in clause 6.1.3.8 based on the values ​​reported by the physical layer. 2> Start or restart phr-PeriodicTimer, 2>Start or restart phr-ProhibitTimer, 2> Cancel all triggered PHR(s).

[0071] Bandwidth Portion (BWP) Operation (Section 5.15) Downlink and Uplink (Section 5.15.1)

[0072] In addition to clause 12 of TS 38.213[6], this clause specifies the requirements for BWP operation.

[0073] A serving cell may consist of one or more BWPs, the maximum number of BWPs per serving cell being specified in TS 38.213 [6].

[0074] The serving cell's BWP switching is used to activate an inactive BWP and deactivate an active BWP at the same time. BWP switching is controlled by the PDCCH indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant, by the bwp-InactivityTimer, by RRC signaling, or by the MAC entity itself at the start of a random access procedure or upon detection of a consistent LBT failure in the SpCell. At the RRC (re)configuration of the firstActiveDownlinkBWP-Id and / or firstActiveUplinkBWP-Id for the SpCell or upon activation of an SCell, the DL BWP and / or UL BWP indicated by the firstActiveDownlinkBWP-Id and / or firstActiveUplinkBWP-Id, respectively (as specified in TS 38.331 [5]) are active even without receiving a PDCCH indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant. The serving cell's active BWP is indicated either by RRC or by the PDCCH (as specified in TS 38.213 [6]). In the case of unpaired spectrum, the DL BWP is paired with the UL BWP and the BWP switching is common for both UL and DL.

[0075] For each SCell, a dormant BWP can be configured with dormantDownlinkBWP-Id by RRC signaling as described in TS 38.331 [5]. Entering or leaving a dormant BWP for an SCell is performed by BWP switching per SCell or per dormant SCell group using PDCCH (as specified in TS 38.213 [6]). The configuration of dormant SCell groups indicated by dormancySCellGroups is configured by RRC signaling as described in TS 38.331 [5]. Upon reception of a PDCCH indicating leaving a dormant BWP, the DL BWP indicated by firstOutsideActiveTimeBWP-Id or firstWithinActiveTimeBWP-Id (as specified in TS 38.331 [5] and TS 38.213 [6]) is activated. Dormant BWP configuration for SpCell or PUCCH SCells is not supported.

[0076] For each activated serving cell configured in the BWP, the MAC entity shall: 1> If the BWP is activated and the BWP is not a dormant BWP, 2> Transmit on UL-SCH of BWP, 2> If a PRACH opportunity is configured, transmit on the RACH on the BWP; 2> Monitor PDCCH with BWP, 2> If configured, transmit PUCCH in BWP, 2>Report the CSI of BWP, 2> If configured, send SRS in BWP, 2>Receive DL-SCH with BWP, 2> If the previously active BWP was a dormant BWP, 3>Triggering a PHR in accordance with section 5.4.6; (UE triggers PHR when active BWP switches from dormant BWP to non-dormant BWP. Addition according to some embodiments introduced by this disclosure.) 2> (re)initialize any suspended configured uplink grants of grant type 1 configured in the active BWP according to the stored configuration, if any, starting in symbols according to the rules of section 5.8.2, 2> If consistent LBT failure recovery is configured, 3> Stop the lbt-FailureDetectionTimer if it is running, 3>Set LBT_COUNTER to 0, 3> Monitor LBT fault indications from lower layers as specified in Section 5.21.2. 1> When the BWP is activated and the BWP is a dormant BWP, 2> If it is running, stop the bwp-InactivityTimer for this serving cell. 2>Do not monitor PDCCH in BWP, 2>Do not monitor PDCCH of BWP, 2> DL-SCH is not received in BWP, 2> If configured, perform CSI measurements on the BWP, 2> Do not send SRS in BWP, 2>Do not transmit on BWP's UL-SCH. 2>Do not transmit PUCCH in BWP. 2> clear any configured downlink assignments and any configured uplink grants type 2 associated with the SCell, respectively; 2> suspend any configured uplink grant type 1 associated with the SCell; 2> If configured, when a beam failure is detected, perform beam failure detection and beam failure recovery for the SCell. 1>If BWP is deactivated, 2>Do not transmit on BWP's UL-SCH. 2>Do not transmit on the RACH of the BWP. 2>Do not monitor PDCCH in BWP. 2>Do not transmit PUCCH in BWP. 2>Failure to report CSI of BWP, 2>Do not send SRS in BWP. 2>DL-SCH is not received in BWP. 2>BWP clears any configured downlink assignments and configured uplink grants of configured grant type 2; 2> Suspend any configured uplink grants of configured grant type 1 on inactive BWPs.

[0077] At the start of a random access procedure in a serving cell, after the selection of a carrier for performing the random access procedure as specified in clause 5.1.1, the MAC entity shall do the following for the selected carrier of this serving cell: 1>If the PRACH opportunity is not configured for an active UL BWP, 2> Switch the active UL BWP to the BWP indicated by initialUplinkBWP, 2> If the serving cell is SpCell, 3> Switch the active DL BWP to the BWP indicated by initialDownlinkBWP, 1> Otherwise, 2> If the serving cell is SpCell, 3> If the active DL BWP does not have the same bwp-Id as the active UL BWP, 4> Switch the active DL BWP to a DL BWP with the same bwp-Id as the active UL BWP, 1> Stop the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP of this serving cell, if it is running. 1> If the serving cell is an SCell, 2> Stop the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP of the SpCell, if it is running. 1> Perform a random access procedure to the active DL BWP of the SpCell and the active UL BWP of this serving cell.

[0078] When the MAC entity receives a PDCCH for BWP switching of the serving cell, the MAC entity shall do the following: 1> if there is no ongoing random access procedure associated with this serving cell, or 1> If an ongoing random access procedure associated with this serving cell (as specified in subclause 5.1.4, subclause 5.1.4a and subclause 5.1.5) is successfully completed upon reception of this PDCCH addressed to the C-RNTI; 2> Cancel any consistent LBT failures triggered for this serving cell, if any, 2>Perform BWP switching to the BWP indicated by the PDCCH.

[0079] If a MAC entity receives a PDCCH for BWP switching of serving cell(s) or dormant SCell group(s) while a random access procedure associated with that serving cell is ongoing at the MAC entity, it is up to the UE implementation whether to switch BWPs or ignore the PDCCH for BWP switching, except for reception of the PDCCH for BWP switching addressed to the C-RNTI for successful completion of the random access procedure (as specified in subclause 5.1.4, 5.1.4a, and 5.1.5), in which case the UE shall perform a BWP switch to the BWP indicated by the PDCCH. If the MAC entity decides to perform a BWP switch upon reception of a PDCCH for BWP switching other than successful contention resolution, the MAC entity shall stop the ongoing random access procedure and initiate the random access procedure after performing the BWP switch. If the MAC decides to ignore the PDCCH for BWP switching, the MAC entity shall continue the ongoing random access procedure at the serving cell.

[0080] If an RRC (re)configuration for a BWP switch of a serving cell is received while a random access procedure associated with that serving cell is ongoing in a MAC entity, the MAC entity shall stop the ongoing random access procedure and initiate the random access procedure after performing a BWP switch.

[0081] Upon receiving an RRC (re)configuration for BWP switch of the serving cell, any LBT failure triggered in this serving cell will be cancelled.

[0082] The MAC entity shall do the following for each activated serving cell configured in the bwp-InactivityTimer: 1>defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is configured and the active DL BWP is not the BWP indicated by defaultDownlinkBWP-Id, and the active DL BWP is not the BWP indicated by dormantDownlinkBWP-Id, if configured, or 1>If defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is not configured and the active DL BWP is not the initialDownlinkBWP and the active DL BWP is not the BWP indicated by dormantDownlinkBWP-Id, if configured, 2> If a PDCCH addressed to a C-RNTI or CS-RNTI indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant is received with an active BWP, or 2> If a PDCCH addressed to a C-RNTI or CS-RNTI indicating a downlink assignment or an uplink grant is received for an active BWP, or 2>If a MAC PDU is transmitted in a configured uplink grant or received in a configured downlink allocation, 3> if there is no ongoing random access procedure associated with this serving cell, or 3> If an ongoing random access procedure associated with this serving cell (as specified in subclause 5.1.4, subclause 5.1.4a and subclause 5.1.5) is successfully completed upon reception of this PDCCH addressed to the C-RNTI, 4> Start or restart the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP. 2> If the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with an active DL BWP expires, 3>If defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is configured, 4>Perform a BWP switch to the BWP indicated by defaultDownlinkBWP-Id. 3> Otherwise, 4> Execute BWP switch to initialDownlinkBWP. Note: If a random access procedure is initiated on an SCell, both this SCell and the SpCell are associated with this random access procedure. 1> When a PDCCH for BWP switching is received and the MAC entity switches the active DL BWP, 2> If defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is configured and the MAC entity switches to a DL BWP not indicated by defaultDownlinkBWP-Id and configured, but not indicated by dormantDownlinkBWP-Id, or 2>If defaultDownlinkBWP-Id is not configured and the MAC entity is configured instead of initialDownlinkBWP, it switches to the initialDownlinkBWP not indicated by dormantDownlinkBWP-Id. 3> Start or restart the bwp-InactivityTimer associated with the active DL BWP.

[0083] Multiple Entry PHR MAC CE (Section 6.1.3.9) A multiple entry PHR MAC CE is identified by a MAC subheader with an LCID as specified in Table 6.2.1-2.

[0084] It has a variable size and contains a bitmap, an octet containing a Type 2 PH field and associated PCMAX,f,c fields (if reported) for the SpCell of another MAC entity, and an octet containing a Type 1 PH field and associated PCMAX,f,c fields (if reported) for the PCell. It further contains, in ascending order based on ServCellIndex, one or more octets containing a Type X PH field and associated PCMAX,f,c fields (if reported) of serving cells other than the PCell indicated in the bitmap. X is either 1 or 3 according to TS 38.213 [6] and TS 36.213

[17] .

[0085] The presence of a type 2 PH field for an SpCell of another MAC entity is configured by phr-Type2OtherCell with the value true.

[0086] A single octet bitmap is used to indicate the presence of a PH per serving cell when the maximum ServCellIndex of the serving cells with configured uplinks is less than 8, otherwise four octets are used.

[0087] The MAC entity determines whether the PH value of the activated serving cell is based on the actual transmission or on the reference format by considering the configured grant(s) and the downlink control information received up to and including the PDCCH opportunity, in which the first UL grant for a new transmission that can accept a MAC CE for the PHR as a result of the LCP as defined in clause 5.4.3.1 is received from the time the PHR is triggered if the PHR MAC CE is reported for an uplink grant received on the PDCCH, or until the first uplink symbol of the PUSCH transmission minus the PUSCH preparation time as defined in clause 7.7 of TS 38.213 [6] if the PHR MAC CE is reported for a configured grant.

[0088] For band combinations for which the UE does not support dynamic power sharing, the UE may omit octets containing the power headroom and PCMAX,f,c fields for the serving cells of other MAC entities, except for the PCells of other MAC entities, and the reported values ​​of power headroom and PCMAX,f,c for the PCells are up to the UE implementation.

[0089] The PHR MAC CE is defined as follows: - Ci: This field indicates the presence of the PH field of the serving cell with ServCellIndex i as specified in TS 38.331 [5]. A Ci field set to 1 indicates that the PH field of the serving cell with ServCellIndex i is reported. A Ci field set to 0 indicates that the PH field of the serving cell with ServCellIndex i is not reported. - R: reserved bits set to 0, -V: This field indicates whether the PH value is based on the actual transmission or on a reference format. For Type 1 PH, a V field set to 0 indicates an actual transmission on the PUSCH, and a V field set to 1 indicates that the PUSCH reference format is used. For Type 2 PH, a V field set to 0 indicates an actual transmission on the PUCCH, and a V field set to 1 indicates that the PUCCH reference format is used. For Type 3 PH, a V field set to 0 indicates an actual transmission on the SRS, and a V field set to 1 indicates that the SRS reference format is used. Furthermore, for Type 1 PH, Type 2 PH, and Type 3 PH, a V field set to 0 indicates the presence of an octet containing the associated PCMAX,f,c field, and a V field set to 1 indicates that the octet containing the associated PCMAX,f,c field is omitted. - Power Headroom (PH): This field indicates the power headroom level. The length of the field is 6 bits. The reported PH and the corresponding power headroom levels are shown in Figure 3 of Table 6.1.3.9-1 (the corresponding measurements in dB for the NR serving cell are specified in TS 38.133

[11] , while the corresponding measurements in dB for the E-UTRA serving cell are specified in TS 36.133

[12] ). - P: This field indicates whether the MAC entity applies power back-off due to power management (as allowed by P-MPRc specified in TS 38.101-4

[14] , TS 38.101-2

[15] , and TS 38.101-3

[16] ). A MAC entity shall set the P field to 1 if the corresponding PCMAX,f,c field would have a different value if power back-off due to power management had not been applied. - PCMAX,f,c: If present, this field indicates the PCMAX,f,c (as specified in TS 38.213 [6]) of the NR serving cell and the PCMAX,c or PCMAX,c (as specified in TS 36.213

[17] ) of the E-UTRA serving cell used in the calculation of the preceding PH field. The reported PCMAX,f,c and corresponding nominal UE transmit power levels are shown in Figure 4 of Table 6.1.3.9-2 (the corresponding measured values ​​in dBm for the NR serving cell are specified in TS 38.133

[11] , while the corresponding measured values ​​in dBm for the E-UTRA serving cell are specified in TS 36.133

[12] ). - D: If present, this field indicates whether the PH value is based on dormant or non-dormant BWP transmissions. (The D field is a designated field to indicate whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP. An addition according to some embodiments introduced by the present disclosure.)

[0090] In general, various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special-purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. For example, some aspects may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, microprocessor, or other computing device, although the present disclosure is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the present disclosure may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical representation, it should be appreciated that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, special-purpose circuits or logic, general-purpose hardware or controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof.

[0091] For example, embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in various components, such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is generally a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available to convert logic-level designs into semiconductor circuit designs ready to be etched into semiconductor substrates.

[0092] As used in this disclosure, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations using only analog and / or digital circuits); (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, such as (where applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry(s) and software / firmware; (ii) Any portion of the software-based hardware processor(s) (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(s) that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions. (c) Hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as microprocessor(s) or portions of microprocessor(s), that require software (e.g., firmware) for operation, although software may be absent if not necessary for operation.

[0093] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of this term in this disclosure, including any claims. As a further example, the term "circuit," as used in this disclosure, also encompasses implementations of simply a hardware circuit or processor(s), or portions of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuit also encompasses, for example, baseband or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices, if applicable to certain claim elements.

[0094] The word "exemplary" is used herein to mean "serving as an example, instance, or illustration." Any embodiment described herein as "exemplary" is not necessarily to be construed as preferred or advantageous over other embodiments. All embodiments described in this Detailed Description are exemplary embodiments provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure and do not limit the scope of the disclosure, which is defined by the claims.

[0095] The foregoing description provides a full and informative description of the best methods and apparatus presently contemplated by the inventors for carrying out the present disclosure, by way of illustrative but non-limiting example. However, various modifications and adaptations will become apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such and similar modifications of the teachings of the present disclosure are still intended to be within the scope of the present disclosure.

[0096] It should be noted that the terms “connected,” “coupled,” or any variation thereof, refer to any connection or coupling, direct or indirect, between two or more elements and may include the presence of one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” to each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. As used herein, two elements may be considered to be “connected” or “coupled” to each other by using one or more wires, cables, and / or printed electrical connections, as well as by using electromagnetic energy, such as electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency range, microwave range, and optical (both visible and invisible) range, as some non-limiting and non-exhaustive examples.

[0097] Moreover, some of the features of some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may be used beneficially without the corresponding use of other features. Accordingly, the foregoing description should be considered as merely illustrative of the principles of the present disclosure, and not in limitation thereof.

Claims

1. 1. A method for power headroom reporting (PHR) to a serving cell, wherein an active bandwidth portion (BWP) of the serving cell is a dormant BWP, transmitting a power headroom (PHR) by a user equipment (UE) to a network node to report a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell; Including, For the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - a designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant or non-dormant BWP; The method, wherein at least one of the following is reported.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reported PH is a Type 1 PH having a virtual field indicating that a PUSCH reference format is used.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the reported PH is a Type 3 PH depending on whether there is an SRS transmission in the dormant BWP when the PHR is reported.

4. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the PHR is triggered upon a switching event in which the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP or the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the trigger for the PHR is when the active BWP is switched from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP if no PHR is reported for the serving cell when the active BWP is a dormant BWP.

6. The method comprises: Continuing downlink reference signal measurements for PH calculation without reporting to the network node until the PHR is triggered after the active BWP switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP. The method of claim 4 further comprising:

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein the PHR is triggered upon activation of the serving cell when a first active BWP of the serving cell is not a dormant BWP.

8. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the UE is configured with dual connectivity with a serving cell served by two network nodes, and the network node to which the UE sends the PHR is one of the two network nodes.

9. The method of claim 4 or 7, wherein the trigger for PHR is configured by the network node.

10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the PHR is triggered on a per-serving-cell basis when the active BWP is a dormant BWP.

11. 1. A method for power headroom reporting (PHR) to a serving cell, wherein an active bandwidth portion (BWP) of the serving cell is a dormant BWP, receiving, by a network node, a power headroom (PHR) from a user equipment (UE) for reporting a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell; For the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP wherein at least one of the following is reported: obtaining a PH value for the serving cell from the PHR; The method comprising:

12. The method of claim 11 , wherein the reported PH is a Type 1 PH having a virtual field indicating that a PUSCH reference format is used.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein the reported PH is a Type 3 PH depending on whether there is an SRS transmission in the dormant BWP when the PHR is reported.

14. The method comprises: Configuring the PHR trigger at the UE. The method of claim 11 further comprising:

15. 15. The method of claim 14, wherein the trigger of the PHR is configured upon a switching event in which the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP or the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP.

16. The method of claim 14 , wherein the PHR is triggered on a per-serving-cell basis when the active BWP is a dormant BWP.

17. 12. The method of claim 11, wherein the UE is configured with dual connectivity with a serving cell served by two network nodes, and the network node that receives the PHR is one of the two network nodes.

18. 1. A method for power headroom reporting (PHR) to a serving cell, comprising: When a PHR is triggered upon a switching event in which an active bandwidth portion (BWP) on the serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP, or the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP, the PHR is transmitted by a user equipment (UE) to a network node to report a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell. The method comprising:

19. The reported pH is: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP 20. The method of claim 18, wherein the method is represented by one of:

20. A user equipment (UE) for power headroom reporting (PHR) to a serving cell, wherein an active bandwidth portion (BWP) of the serving cell is a dormant BWP; at least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code; Equipped with The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the UE, using the at least one processor, to at least: configured to cause a power headroom (PH) report to be sent to a network node to report a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell; For the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP At least one of the following is reported to the UE.

21. 21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the reported PH is a Type 1 PH having a virtual field indicating that a PUSCH reference format is being used.

22. 21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the reported PH is a Type 3 PH depending on whether there is an SRS transmission in the dormant BWP when the PHR is reported.

23. 21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the PHR is triggered upon a switching event in which an active BWP on the serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP, or the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP.

24. 24. The UE of claim 23, wherein the PHR is triggered when the active BWP switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP if no PHR is reported to the serving cell when the active BWP is a dormant BWP.

25. The UE, Continuing downlink reference signal measurements for PH calculation without reporting to the network node until the PHR is triggered after the active BWP switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP. The UE of claim 23, further comprising:

26. The UE of claim 20, wherein the PHR is triggered upon activation of the serving cell when a first active BWP of the serving cell is not a dormant BWP.

27. 21. The UE of claim 20, wherein the UE is configured with dual connectivity with a serving cell served by two network nodes, and the network node to which the UE sends the PHR is one of the two network nodes.

28. 27. The UE of claim 23 or 26, wherein the trigger for PHR is configured by the network node.

29. 29. The UE of claim 28, wherein the PHR is triggered on a per-serving-cell basis when the active BWP is a dormant BWP.

30. A network node for power headroom reporting (PHR) to a serving cell, wherein an active bandwidth portion (BWP) of the serving cell is a dormant BWP, at least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code; Equipped with The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the network node to use the at least one processor to: receiving a power headroom (PHR) from a user equipment (UE) for reporting a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell; For the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP wherein at least one of the following is reported: obtaining a PH value for the serving cell from the PHR; The network node.

31. 31. The network node of claim 30, wherein the reported PH is a Type 1 PH having a virtual field indicating that a PUSCH reference format is being used.

32. 31. The network node of claim 30, wherein the reported PH is a Type 3 PH depending on whether there is an SRS transmission in the dormant BWP when the PHR is reported.

33. The network node Configuring the PHR trigger at the UE.

31. The network node of claim 30, further comprising:

34. 34. The network node of claim 33, wherein the triggering of the PHR is configured upon a switching event in which the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP or the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP.

35. 34. The network node of claim 33, wherein the PHR is triggered on a per-serving-cell basis when the active BWP is a dormant BWP.

36. 31. The method of claim 30, wherein the UE is configured with dual connectivity with a serving cell served by two network nodes, and the network node that receives the PHR is one of the two network nodes.

37. A user equipment (UE) for power headroom reporting (PHR) to a serving cell, at least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code; Equipped with The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the UE, using the at least one processor, to at least: When a PHR is triggered upon a switching event in which an active bandwidth portion (BWP) on the serving cell switches from a dormant BWP to a non-dormant BWP, or the active BWP on the serving cell switches from a non-dormant BWP to a dormant BWP, the PHR is sent to a network node to report a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell. The UE is configured to execute the following:

38. The reported pH is: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP 38. The UE of claim 37, wherein the UE is indicated by one of:

39. 1. A method for power headroom reporting (PHR) to a serving cell, wherein an active bandwidth portion (BWP) of the serving cell is a dormant BWP, transmitting, by a user equipment (UE), a power headroom (PH) report to at least a network node for reporting a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell; For the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP wherein at least one of the following is reported: receiving, by the network node, the PHR from the UE for reporting the PH of the serving cell; obtaining, by the network node, a PH value of the serving cell from the PHR; The method comprising:

40. 1. A system for power headroom reporting (PHR) for a serving cell, comprising: a user equipment (UE) and at least a network node; the serving cell's active bandwidth portion (BWP) is a dormant BWP; The UE, at least one first processor; at least one first memory containing first computer program code; Equipped with The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the UE, using the at least one processor, to at least: transmitting a power headroom (PHR) to the network node to report a power headroom (PH) of the serving cell; For the serving cell: - Type 1 PH, - Type 3 PH, - a designation field indicating whether the PH is Type 1 or Type 3; - A designated field indicating whether the serving cell is in a dormant BWP or a non-dormant BWP is reported, and the network node: at least one second processor; at least one second memory containing second computer program code; Equipped with The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the network node to use the at least one processor to: receiving the PHR from the UE to report the PH of the serving cell; obtaining a PH value for the serving cell from the PHR; configured to cause the The system.

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