Method and apparatus for supporting quality of experience (QoE) measurements collection - Patents.com

Abstract

The present application relates to a method and apparatus for supporting quality of experience (QoE) measurement collection. An exemplary method may include determining at least one of a master node (MN) leg or a secondary node (SN) leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting, and sending information indicating at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting to a user equipment (UE).

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present application relate generally to wireless communication technologies, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for supporting Quality of Experience (QoE) measurement collection. [Background technology]

[0002] Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various telecommunication services such as telephone, video, data, messaging, broadcast, etc. Wireless communication systems may employ multiple access technologies capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of wireless communication systems may include fourth generation (4G) systems, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE) systems, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) systems, or LTE-A Pro systems, and fifth generation (5G) systems, sometimes referred to as New Radio (NR) systems.

[0003] In 3GPP® Release (Rel)-17, the basic mechanisms for NR QoE are specified. Since NR-Dual Connectivity (DC) is an important commercial deployment scenario for 5G networks, it is important to support NR-DC in the NR QoE framework. Therefore, QoE in Rel-18 will support QoE measurement configuration and measurement reporting for NR-DC scenarios as agreed below in RP-213159. - Specifying QoE configuration and measurement reporting via MN / SN for NR-DC architecture, and specifying QoE measurement reporting via other DC legs to maintain reporting continuity.

[0004] In view of the above, the industry desires techniques to support QoE measurement collection for NR-DC, such as, for example, supporting flexible QoE measurement reporting leg configuration and selection, as well as supporting QoE measurement reporting leg switching with reporting continuity in NR-DC, and QoE measurement collection pause and resume. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] An objective of the embodiments of the present application is to provide a technical solution supporting QoE measurement collection, for example a method and apparatus supporting QoE measurement collection for NR-DC. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] Some embodiments of the present application provide a Radio Access Network (RAN) node, e.g., a Master Node (MN) or a Secondary Node (SN), the RAN node including a transceiver and a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to determine at least one of an MN leg or an SN leg to be used for a QoE measurement report, and to transmit, via the transceiver, to a user equipment (UE) information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for the QoE measurement report.

[0007] Some other embodiments of the present application provide a method that may be performed in a RAN node, e.g., an MN or an SN, comprising: determining at least one of an MN leg or an SN leg to be used for the QoE measurement report; and transmitting, to the UE, information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for the QoE measurement report.

[0008] According to some embodiments of the present application, the RAN node is a MN, and the processor is further configured to determine at least one signaling radio bearer (SRB) type for QoE measurement reporting in response to QoE measurement activation information from a core network or QoE measurement configuration information from an operation administration and maintenance (OAM).

[0009] In some embodiments of the present application, when the SN leg is used for QoE measurement reporting, the processor is configured to send, to the SN, a request for SRB establishment of a corresponding SRB type for QoE measurement reporting.

[0010] In some embodiments of the present application, a request for SRB establishment of a corresponding SRB type for QoE measurement reporting is sent in an Xn message during or after the SN addition procedure.

[0011] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to receive, from the SN, a response to a request for SRB establishment of a corresponding SRB type for QoE measurement reporting, indicating an approved SRB type.

[0012] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to send, to the SN, a service type or measurement configuration application layer identifier for the QoE measurement report.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present application, the at least one SRB type includes one of an MN terminated split SRB4, an SN terminated split SRB4, an SRB3, and an SRB terminated between the UE and the SN for QoE measurement reporting with a lower priority than SRB3. A processor is configured to receive, from the SN, a Packet Data Consolidation Protocol (PDCP) Protocol Data Unit (PDU) of a QoE measurement report when the MN terminated split SRB4 is used for the QoE measurement reporting.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present application, a processor is configured to receive from an SN a radio resource control (RRC) segment of a QoE measurement report and concatenate the received RRC segments, or to receive from an SN a concatenated RRC segment of the QoE measurement report.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present application, when the MN leg is used for QoE measurement reporting, the at least one SRB type includes one of MN terminated split SRB4, SN terminated split SRB4, and SRB4.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to send a PDCP PDU of a QoE measurement report to the SN if an SN terminated split SRB4 is used for the QoE measurement report.

[0017] According to some other embodiments of the present application, the RAN node is an SN, and the processor is configured to determine at least one SRB type for QoE measurement reporting in response to QoE measurement activation information from the MN or QoE measurement configuration information from the OAM.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present application, the QoE measurement activation information is sent in an Xn message during or after the SN addition procedure.

[0019] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to select the UE in response to QoE measurement configuration information from the OAM.

[0020] In some embodiments of the present application, the at least one SRB type includes one of MN terminated split SRB4, SN terminated split SRB4, SRB3 or an SRB terminated between the UE and the SN for QoE measurement reporting with a lower priority than SRB3. According to some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to send a request for SN terminated split SRB establishment to the MN in case of an SN terminated split SRB4 to be used for QoE measurement reporting. According to some other embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to receive a PDCP PDU of QoE measurement report from the MN in case of an SN terminated split SRB4 to be used for QoE measurement reporting. According to some still other embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to send a PDCP PDU of QoE measurement report to the MN in case of an MN terminated split SRB4 to be used for QoE measurement reporting.

[0021] In some embodiments of the present application, in response to QoE activation information from the MN, the processor is configured to transmit an RRC segment of a QoE measurement report to the MN, or concatenate received RRC segments of the QoE measurement report and transmit the concatenated RRC segment to the MN.

[0022] In some embodiments of the present application, information indicating at least one of the MN leg or SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting is separate from or indicated within the information about the at least one SRB type.

[0023] According to some embodiments of the present application, the RAN node is an MN, and the processor is configured to send a pause instruction to the UE to pause QoE measurement reporting when both the MN and the SN are overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting.

[0024] In some embodiments of the present application, a processor is configured to receive QoE measurement report overload information from an SN. The QoE measurement report overload information is based on a service type or a measurement configuration application layer identifier. The QoE measurement report overload information is indicated in an Xn user plane protocol.

[0025] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to send a resume instruction to the UE to resume QoE measurement reporting when neither the MN nor the SN is overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting or when only one of the MN and the SN is overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting.

[0026] According to some embodiments of the present application, the RAN node is a MN, and the processor is configured to send a pause instruction to the UE to pause the SN QoE measurement reporting in response to a request of pause SN QoE measurement reporting.

[0027] In some embodiments of the present application, the request to pause SN QoE measurement reporting is based on a service type or a measurement configuration application layer identifier.

[0028] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to send a resume instruction to the UE to resume SN QoE measurement reporting in response to a request of resume SN QoE measurement reporting, the request of resume SN QoE measurement reporting being based on a service type or a measurement configuration application layer identifier.

[0029] According to some embodiments of the present application, a processor is configured to, in response to the RAN node being overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting, send a pause instruction to the UE to pause QoE measurement reporting for a leg of the RAN node.

[0030] In some embodiments of the present application, whether a RAN node is overloaded for QoE measurement reporting is based on a service type or a measurement configuration application layer identifier.

[0031] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to, in response to the RAN node not being overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting, send a resume instruction to the UE to resume QoE measurement reporting for a leg of the RAN node.

[0032] Some embodiments of the present application provide a UE, the UE including: a transceiver; and a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor configured to receive, via the transceiver, information indicating at least one of a MN leg or an SN leg to be used for a QoE measurement report, and to transmit, via at least one SRB type, a QoE measurement report to at least one of the MN or the SN according to the information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg.

[0033] In some embodiments of the present application, when SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the MN by using the MN leg; when SRB3, or an SRB terminated between the UE and the SN for QoE measurement reporting of lower priority than SRB3, is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the SN via the SN leg; MN terminated split SRB4 or SN terminated split SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting; when both the MN leg and the SN leg are used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the MN via the MN leg and to the SN via the SN leg; MN terminated split SRB4 or SN terminated split SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting; when one of the MN leg and the SN leg is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the corresponding one of the MN and the SN via one of the MN leg and SN leg.

[0034] In some embodiments of the present application, when a QoE measurement report is transmitted to both the MN and the SN, the processor is configured to prioritize transmitting the QoE measurement report via a primary leg of the MN leg and the SN leg, or via a higher priority leg of the MN leg and the SN leg.

[0035] In some embodiments of the present application, when the QoE measurement report is transmitted to both the MN and the SN and RRC segmentation is used, the processor is configured to transmit an RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to one or both of the MN and the SN based on an indication as to whether part of the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report is enabled to be transmitted to the MN and another part of the RRC segment to the SN.

[0036] In some embodiments of the present application, a processor is configured to suspend QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN in response to a suspend instruction to suspend QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN. The processor is configured to resume QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN in response to a resume instruction to resume QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN.

[0037] The embodiments of the present application provide a method and apparatus for supporting QoE measurement collection that can be applied in NR-DC scenarios. Thus, the present application can enable and improve NR implementations.

[0038] To describe the manner in which the advantages and features of the present application may be obtained, the present application will be described by reference to specific embodiments thereof that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. These drawings depict only exemplary embodiments of the present application and therefore should not be considered as limiting the scope of the present application. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0039] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates a wireless communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present application. [Diagram 2] 4 is a flowchart illustrating exemplary steps of a method for supporting QoE measurement collection according to some embodiments of the present application. [Diagram 3] 1 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in scenario 1 according to some embodiments of the present application. [Figure 4] 1 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in scenario 2 according to some embodiments of the present application. [Diagram 5] 13 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in scenario 3 according to some embodiments of the present application. [Figure 6]13 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in scenario 4 according to some embodiments of the present application. [Figure 7] 1 is a block diagram of an apparatus supporting QoE measurement collection according to some embodiments of the present application. [Figure 8] 11 is a block diagram of an apparatus supporting QoE measurement reporting according to some other embodiments of the present application. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0040] The detailed description of the accompanying drawings is intended as an illustration of the preferred embodiment of the present application, and does not represent the only form in which the present application may be practiced. It is to be understood that the same or equivalent functions may be accomplished by different embodiments, which are encompassed within the spirit and scope of the present application.

[0041] Reference will now be made in detail to some embodiments of the present application, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. For ease of understanding, the embodiments are provided under a specific network architecture and new service scenarios, such as 3GPP® 5G, 3GPP® Long Term Evolution (LTE), etc. With the development of network architectures and new service scenarios, it is contemplated that all the embodiments in the present application are also applicable to similar technical problems. Moreover, the terms described in the present application may be changed, which should not affect the principles of the present application.

[0042] In an NR-DC scenario, a UE with multiple transceivers may be configured to utilize resources provided by two different nodes connected via a non-ideal backhaul, where one node may provide NR access and another node may provide either Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) (E-UTRA) or NR access. One node may act as a Master Node (MN) and the other node may act as a Secondary Node (SN). The MN and SN are connected via a network interface, e.g., an Xn interface as defined in 3GPP standard documents, where at least the MN is connected to a Core Network (CN).

[0043] For example, FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a wireless communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments of the present application.

[0044] As shown in Figure 1, the wireless communication system 100 may be a dual connectivity system 100 including at least one user equipment (UE) 101, at least one MN 102, and at least one SN 103. In particular, the dual connectivity system 100 in Figure 1 includes, for purposes of illustration, one illustrated UE 101, one illustrated MN 102, and one illustrated SN 103. Although a particular number of UEs 101, MNs 102, and SNs 103 are shown in Figure 1, it is contemplated that any number of UEs 101, MNs 102, and SNs 103 may be included within the wireless communication system 100.

[0045] Referring to Fig. 1, the UE 101 may be connected to the MN 102 and the SN 103 via an interface, for example, a Uu interface as specified in the 3GPP (registered trademark) standard document. The MN 102 and the SN 103 may be connected to each other via a network interface, for example, an Xn interface as specified in the 3GPP (registered trademark) standard document. The MN 102 may be connected to a core network via a network interface (not shown in Fig. 1). The UE 101 may be configured to utilize resources provided by the MN 102 and the SN 103 to perform data transmission.

[0046] In some embodiments of the present application, the UE 101 may include a computing device, such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a smart television (e.g., a television connected to the Internet), a set-top box, a game console, a security system (including a security camera), a vehicle-mounted computer, a network device (e.g., a router, a switch, and a modem). In some other embodiments of the present application, the UE 101 may include a portable wireless communication device, a smartphone, a cellular telephone, a flip phone, a device having a subscriber identity module, a personal computer, a selective call receiving circuit, or any other device capable of sending and receiving communication signals over a wireless network. In some other embodiments of the present application, the UE 101 may include a wearable device, such as a smart watch, a fitness band, an optical head-mounted display, etc. Moreover, the UE 101 may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a user terminal, or a device, or may be described using other terms used in the art.

[0047] The MN 102 refers to a radio access network node that provides a control plane connection to a core network. In one embodiment of the present application, in an E-UTRA-NR DC (EN-DC) scenario, the MN 102 may be an eNB. In another embodiment of the present application, in a Next Generation E-UTRA-NR DC (NGEN-DC) scenario, the MN 102 may be a Next Generation (ng)-eNB. In yet another embodiment of the present application, in an NR-DC scenario or an NR-E-UTRA DC (NE-DC) scenario, the MN 102 may be a gNB. The MN 102 may also be referred to as a Master NG-RAN (M-NG-RAN) node in some embodiments of the present application.

[0048] The MN leg may be referred to as a Master Cell Group (MCG). The MCG may refer to a group of serving cells associated with the MN 102 and may include a primary cell (PCell) and possibly one or more secondary cells (SCells). The PCell may provide a control plane connection to the UE 101.

[0049] The SN 103 may refer to a radio access network node without a control plane connection to a core network but providing additional resources to the UE 101. In some embodiments of the present application, in an EN-DC scenario, the SN 103 may be an en-gNB. In some other embodiments of the present application, in an NR-DC scenario, the SN 103 may be an ng-eNB. In yet another embodiment of the present application, in an NR-DC scenario or an NGEN-DC scenario, the SN 103 may be a gNB. The SN 103 may also be referred to as a secondary NG-RAN (S-NG-RAN) node in some embodiments of the present application.

[0050] An SN leg may be referred to as a secondary cell group (SCG). The SCG may refer to a group of serving cells associated with an SN, and may include a primary secondary cell (PS cell) and possibly one or more SCells.

[0051] The P Cells of the MCG and the PS Cells of the SCG are also sometimes called Special Cells (Sp Cells).

[0052] In addition, for QoE measurement collection activation and reporting, TS38.300 specifies the following: "This capability is activated in the NG-RAN either by direct configuration from the OAM system (management-based activation) or by signaling from the OAM via the core network containing UE-related QoE configurations (signaling-based activation). One or more QoE measurement collection jobs may be activated in the UE per service type, and each QoE measurement configuration is uniquely identified by a QoE Reference." In signaling-based QoE measurement, the OAM initiates QoE measurement activation for a specific UE via the core network, and the NG-RAN node receives one or more QoE measurement configurations by UE-related signaling. The QoE measurement configuration for signaling-based activation includes an application layer measurement configuration list and corresponding information for QoE measurement collection, such as QoE Reference, service type, MCE IP address, slice scope, area scope, MDT alignment information, and an indication of available RAN-visible QoE metrics. Each application layer measurement configuration is encapsulated in a transparent container. The NG-RAN node forwards the corresponding QoE measurement configuration to the UE in a downlink RRC message containing AppLayerMeasConfig as specified in TS 38.331

[12] . In management-based QoE measurement activation, the OAM sends one or more QoE measurement configurations to the NG-RAN node. The QoE measurement configuration for management-based activation also includes an application layer measurement configuration list and corresponding information for QoE measurement collection. Each application layer measurement configuration is encapsulated in a transparent container. The NG-RAN node selects UEs that meet the required QoE measurement capability, area range, and slice range. The UE reports the QoE measurement results in an uplink RRC message to the NG-RAN node as specified in TS 38.331

[12] . The NG-RAN node sends the QoE report and the corresponding QoE Reference ID to the MCE. QoE measurement collection is handled by application layer measurement configurations and measurement reporting, supported only in the RRC_CONNECTED state. Application layer measurement configurations received by the gNB from the OAM or CN are encapsulated in transparent containers and forwarded to the UE as application layer configurations in the RRCReconfiguration message (there can be multiple configurations in the same message). Application layer measurement reports received from higher layers in the UE are encapsulated in transparent containers and sent to the network in MeasurementReportAppLayer messages as specified in TS 38.331

[12] . The UE can send multiple application layer measurement reports to the gNB in ​​one MeasurementReportAppLayer message. Segmentation of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message can be enabled by the gNB to enable the transmission of application layer measurement reports that exceed the maximum PDCP SDU size. The measConfigAppLayerId carried in the RRC signaling is used to identify the application layer measurement configurations and report between the gNB and the UE. The RRC identifier is mapped to a QoE reference at the gNB. The application layer measurement report is forwarded to the OAM along with the QoE reference. The gNB can release one or more application layer measurement configurations from the UE in one RRCReconfiguration message at any time. The UE can be further configured by the gNB to report when a QoE measurement session starts or stops for a certain application layer measurement configuration."

[0053] Thus, application layer measurement configurations received by the gNB from OAM or CN are encapsulated in a transparent container in Rel-17 and forwarded to the UE as application layer configurations in an RRCReconfiguration message (there can be multiple configurations in the same message). Application layer measurement reports received from the UE's application layer are encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message. Segmentation of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message may be enabled by the gNB to enable transmission of application layer measurement reports that exceed the maximum PDCP SDU size.

[0054] TS 38.300 also specifies the handling of QoE measurement collection during RAN overload as follows: "The QoE measurement collection pause / resume procedure is used to pause / resume reporting for all QoE reports or to pause / resume QoE measurement reporting per QoE configuration in the UE in RAN overload situations. The gNB may use the RRCReconfiguration message to temporarily stop application layer measurement reports associated with one or more application layer measurement configurations from being sent from the UE to the gNB. When the UE receives a QoE pause indication, the UE temporarily stores the application layer measurement reports in the AS layer. When the UE receives a QoE resume indication, the UE sends the stored application layer measurement reports to the gNB."

[0055] It can be seen that in Rel-17, the QoE measurement collection pause / resume procedure is used to pause and resume reporting for all QoE reports or to pause and resume QoE measurement reporting per QoE configuration in the UE in network overload situations.

[0056] According to RP-213159, support for QoE measurement configuration and measurement reporting via MN / SN for NR-DC scenarios should be determined in Rel-18. However, in NR-DC scenarios, both MN leg (or MCG) and SN leg (or SCG) may be used for QoE measurement collection. Since the data volume of QoE measurement reports may be large, flexible QoE measurement reporting leg configuration, selection, and switching, for example, based on network overload status, is desirable. Therefore, several issues should be resolved to support QoE measurement collection in NR-DC scenarios, including but not limited to how to support flexible QoE measurement reporting leg configuration and selection, how to support QoE measurement reporting leg switching with reporting continuity in NR-DC, and how to handle QoE measurement pause and resume functions in NR-DC.

[0057] In view of the above, the embodiments of the present application provide a technical solution for supporting QoE measurement collection, particularly to solve the problems in supporting QoE measurement collection in NR-DC.

[0058] 2 is a flow chart illustrating an example procedure of a method for supporting QoE measurement collection according to some embodiments of the present application. Although the method is illustrated at a system level by a RAN node, e.g., MN or SN, on the network side and a remote device, e.g., UE, on the remote side, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the methods implemented in the RAN node and UE may be implemented separately and / or incorporated by other devices having similar functions.

[0059] 2, in an NR-DC scenario, a RAN node, e.g., an MN or an SN, is to determine at least one of an MN leg or an SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting (or QoE measurement collection reporting) in step 201. For example, if the RAN node is an MN, the MN may determine at least one of an MN leg or an SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting in response to a QoE measurement (or QoE measurement collection) that is activated either by direct configuration from an OAM (i.e., management-based activation) or by signaling from an OAM via a CN that includes a UE-related QoE configuration (i.e., signaling-based activation). If the RAN node is an SN, the SN may determine at least one of an MN leg or an SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting in response to a QoE measurement collection that is activated either by direct configuration from an OAM (i.e., management-based activation) or by QoE measurement activation information from the MN (i.e., signaling-based activation). In signaling-based activation, the MN may send QoE measurement activation information to the SN in response to signaling from the OAM via the CN (ie, from the CN), which includes UE-related QoE configuration.

[0060] In some embodiments of the present application, the RAN node is also responsive to QoE measurement activation information, such as direct configuration from OAM or signaling including UE-related QoE configuration from the CN, to determine at least one SRB type to be used for QoE measurement reporting. For example, the RAN node may determine MN-terminated split SRB4 or SN-terminated split SRB4 for QoE measurement reporting over both MN and SN legs, such that the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the MN over the MN leg and to the SN over the SN leg. In another example, the RAN node may determine SRB4, or MN-terminated split SRB4, or SN-terminated split SRB4 for QoE measurement reporting to the MN over the MN leg. In yet another example, the RAN node may determine SRB3, or SRB3-like, or MN-terminated split SRB4, or SN-terminated split SRB4 for QoE measurement reporting to the SN over the SN leg. For something similar to SRB3, it is an SRB terminated between the UE and the SN for QoE measurement reporting with a lower priority than SRB3, e.g., SRB5. In addition, when both the MN leg and the SN leg are used for QoE measurement reporting, the SRB types for the MN leg and the SN leg may be the same or different. For example, SRB4 may be configured for the MN leg, but SRB3 or something similar to SRB3 may be configured for the SN leg, so that the QoE measurement report may be transmitted to the MN via the MN leg and to the SN via the SN leg.

[0061] It should be well known to those skilled in the art that when a QoE measurement report leg is associated with a RAN node and a MN leg and / or a SN leg are determined for the QoE measurement report, which RAN node, e.g., MN and / or SN, to which the QoE measurement report will be sent is also determined in some embodiments of the present application. However, in the case of MN terminated split SRB4, the SN needs to forward the received QoE measurement report (partial or full) to the MN, and in the case of SN terminated split SRB4, the MN needs to forward the received QoE measurement report (partial or full) to the SN.

[0062] The RAN node is to transmit information to the UE in step 203 indicating the determined leg (or to which RAN node the QoE measurement report is to be transmitted) to be used for the QoE measurement report. For example, the MN may transmit information to the UE indicating that both the MN leg and the SN leg are used for the QoE measurement report, or that only the MN leg is used for the QoE measurement report, or that only the SN leg is used for the QoE measurement report. In another example, the SN may transmit information to the UE indicating that both the MN leg and the SN leg are used for the QoE measurement report, or that only the MN leg is used for the QoE measurement report, or that only the SN leg is used for the QoE measurement report, etc.

[0063] The information indicating the determined leg to be used for the QoE measurement report may directly indicate which leg is to be used for the QoE measurement report in some embodiments of the present application. The SRB type may be indicated to the UE separately from the information indicating the determined leg to be used for the QoE measurement report in the same or different signaling. In some other embodiments of the present application, the information indicating the determined leg to be used for the QoE measurement report may imply which leg is to be used for the QoE for reporting, for example, by indicating an SRB type for the QoE measurement report. That is, the information indicating the determined leg to be used for the QoE measurement report is information about an SRB type. For example, if it is indicated that an MN-terminated split SRB4 or an SN-terminated split SRB4 is to be used for the QoE measurement report, it means that the QoE measurement report may be transmitted via both the MN leg and the SN leg. If it is indicated that SRB3 or something similar to SRB3 shall be used for QoE measurement reporting, it means that the QoE measurement report may be transmitted only via the SN leg. If it is indicated that SRB4 shall be used for QoE measurement reporting, it means that the QoE measurement report may be transmitted only via the MN leg.

[0064] The UE is to receive, in step 204, information indicating at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for the QoE measurement report. After performing the QoE measurement collection, the UE is to transmit, in step 206, a QoE measurement report to at least one of the MN or the SN according to the information indicating at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg via at least one SRB type to the at least one of the MN or the SN. The QoE measurement report may be an application layer measurement report received from an upper layer of the UE, which is encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network, i.e., at least one of the MN or the SN, in an application layer message, e.g., a MeasurementReportAppLayer message. The UE can send multiple application layer measurement reports to the RAN node in one MeasurementReportAppLayer message. To enable the transmission of application layer measurement reports exceeding the maximum PDCP SDU size, segmentation (e.g., RRC segmentation) of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message may be enabled by the RAN node.

[0065] As mentioned above, various SRB types may be used for QoE measurement reporting to the MN and SN. For example, if SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the MN via the MN leg. If SRB3 or something similar to SRB3 is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the SN via the SN leg. If MN-terminated split SRB4 or SN-terminated split SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting and both the MN leg and the SN leg are used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the MN via the MN leg and to the SN via the SN leg. If MN-terminated split SRB4 or SN-terminated split SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting but one of the MN leg and the SN leg is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the corresponding one of the MN leg and the SN leg. For example, if MN terminated split SRB4 or SN terminated split SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting, but the MN leg is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is sent to the MN leg.

[0066] When the QoE measurement report is transmitted to both the MN and the SN, in some embodiments of the present application, a RAN node in the network, e.g., the MN or the SN, may configure one of the MN leg and the SN leg to be the primary leg and the other of the MN leg and the SN leg to be the secondary leg. In some other embodiments of the present application, the MN or the SN may configure one of the MN leg and the SN leg with a higher priority than the other. The UE will prioritize transmitting the QoE measurement report via the primary leg or via the higher priority leg of the MN leg and the SN leg.

[0067] In some embodiments of the present application, when the QoE measurement report is transmitted to both the MN and the SN and RRC segmentation is used, the network side, e.g., the MN or the SN, may configure whether it is enabled to transmit a part of the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to the MN and another part of the RRC segment to the SN, and then transmit such an indication to the UE. The UE will transmit the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to one or both of the MN leg and the SN leg according to the indication. For example, if the indication indicates that it is not enabled to transmit the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report on different legs, i.e., it is not enabled to transmit a part of the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to the MN and another part of the RRC segment to the SN, the UE will transmit the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to one of the MN leg and the SN leg. Otherwise, if the instruction indicates that it is enabled to transmit the RRC segments of the QoE measurement report on different legs, i.e., to transmit part of the RRC segments of the QoE measurement report to the MN and another part of the RRC segments to the SN, the UE will transmit each RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to the corresponding one of the MN and the SN.

[0068] The QoE measurement collection pause / resume procedure may be used to pause (and possibly resume) reporting of all QoE measurement reports, or to pause (and possibly resume) QoE measurement reporting per QoE configuration in the UE if at least one of the MN or SN is in an overloaded situation. Whether a RAN node, e.g., MN or SN, is overloaded for QoE measurement reporting may be determined based on a service type or a measurement configuration application layer identifier, e.g., measConfigAppLayerId. The network, e.g., MN or SN, may send a pause instruction to the UE to pause QoE measurement reporting if at least one of the MN or SN is overloaded for QoE measurement reporting, and then send a resume instruction to the UE to resume QoE measurement reporting if at least one of the MN or SN is not overloaded for QoE measurement reporting.

[0069] For example, in some embodiments of the present application, the MN may send a pause instruction to the UE to pause QoE measurement reporting when both the MN and the SN are overloaded for QoE measurement reporting. When neither the MN nor the SN is overloaded for QoE measurement reporting or only one of the MN and the SN is overloaded for QoE measurement reporting, the MN may send a resume instruction to the UE to resume QoE measurement reporting.

[0070] In another example, the MN may send a pause instruction to the UE to pause MN QoE measurement reporting (i.e., QoE measurement reporting over the MN leg) when the MN is overloaded for QoE measurement reporting, and send a resume instruction to the UE to resume MN QoE measurement reporting after the MN is no longer overloaded for QoE measurement reporting. The MN may also send a pause instruction to the UE to pause SN QoE measurement reporting (i.e., QoE measurement reporting over the SN leg) in response to a request for SN QoE measurement reporting pause from the SN, which may be for all QoE measurements or for QoE measurements based on a service type or measurement configuration application layer identifier, e.g., measConfigAppLayerId. Similarly, the MN may send a resume instruction to the UE to resume SN QoE measurement reporting in response to a request for SN QoE measurement reporting resume from the SN.

[0071] In some embodiments of the present application, the SN may instruct the UE to pause and resume QoE measurement reporting in a manner similar to that of the MN. For example, the SN may send a pause instruction to the UE to pause QoE measurement reporting of a RAN node, e.g., the SN's leg, in response to the SN being overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting, and send a resume instruction to the UE to resume SN QoE measurement reporting after the SN is no longer overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting.

[0072] In some embodiments of the present application, the processor is configured to suspend QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN in response to a suspend instruction to suspend QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN. The processor is configured to resume QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN in response to a resume instruction to resume QoE measurement reporting to at least one of the MN and the SN.

[0073] Those skilled in the art should be well aware that the technical solutions of QoE measurement collection activation and reporting and the technical solutions of QoE measurement collection pause / resume procedures shown in some embodiments of the present application are independent of each other, and they may be applied together or separately with other technical solutions.

[0074] More detailed embodiments of the present application are presented below in view of several exemplary NR-DC scenarios.

[0075] In an exemplary NR-DC scenario (Scenario 1), the MN decides the leg for QoE measurement reporting. Figure 3 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in Scenario 1 according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0076] Referring to Figure 3, the MN may receive QoE measurement activation information, which may be QoE measurement activation signaling from the CN or QoE measurement configuration from the OAM. Thus, in step 301, the MN will determine the leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting. The MN will also determine the SRB type to be used for QoE measurement reporting. The QoE measurement report (or QoE measurement report) is at least one application layer measurement report received from the upper layer of the UE, and the application layer measurement report is encapsulated in a transparent container and sent to the network in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

[0077] For example, the MN may decide that the UE will only send the QoE measurement report directly via the MN leg. The MN may decide that the UE will use SRB4 to send the QoE measurement report to the MN via the MN leg, which is similar to the QoE measurement report in Rel-17.

[0078] In another example, the MN may decide that the UE will only send QoE measurement reports over the SN leg. The MN may decide that the UE will use MN terminated split SRB4, or SN terminated split SRB4, or SRB3, or something similar to SRB3 to send QoE measurement reports over the SN leg.

[0079] In another example, the MN may decide that the UE will send the QoE measurement report via both the MN leg and the SN leg. In this case, the UE will select the reporting leg, e.g., the MN leg or the SN leg, based on a configured rule. The MN may decide that the UE will use MN terminated split SRB4, SN terminated split SRB4, or SRB4 to send the QoE measurement report via the MN leg, and MN terminated split SRB4, SN terminated split SRB4, SRB3, or something similar to SRB3 to send the QoE measurement report via the SN leg.

[0080] In some other embodiments of the present application (not limited to scenario 1), the MN may decide to which RAN node, e.g., the MN or the SN, the QoE measurement report is sent and may decide the SRB type used to send the QoE measurement report. For example, the MN may decide to use SRB4 for the UE to send the QoE measurement report directly to the MN, or to use SRB3, or something similar to SRB3, for the UE to send the QoE measurement report directly to the SN. In another example, the MN may decide to use MN-terminated split SRB4 for the UE to send the QoE measurement report to the MN, which may be via the MN leg and / or the SN leg (i.e., at least one of the MN leg and the SN leg). When the UE sends the QoE measurement report to the SN via the SN leg, the SN will forward the received QoE measurement report to the MN, e.g., via the Xn interface. Similarly, the MN may decide to use an SN terminated split SRB4 for the UE to send the QoE measurement report to the SN, which may be via the MN leg and / or the SN leg. When the UE sends the QoE measurement report to the MN via the MN leg, the MN will forward the received QoE measurement report (e.g., the PDCP PDU of the QoE measurement report) to the SN, e.g., via the Xn interface.

[0081] If the SN leg is configured for sending QoE measurement reports, the MN will send a request for SRB establishment of the corresponding SRB type for QoE measurement reports to the SN in step 303. For example, if the MN decides to use MN terminated split SRB4, or SN terminated split SRB4, or SRB3, or something similar to SRB3, e.g., SRB5, for the UE to send QoE measurement reports over the SN leg, the MN will indicate the request SRB type to the SN so that the SN can establish an SRB for sending QoE measurement reports. The MN may also send a service type or measurement configuration application layer identifier, e.g., measConfigAppLayerId, of the QoE measurement reports to the SN to support per service type or per measConfigAppLayerId configuration. In the per service type case, for different service types, the QoE measurement reports may be configured in different manners. Similarly, in the per measurement configuration application layer identifier case, for different measurement configuration application layer identifiers, the QoE measurement reports may be configured in different manners.

[0082] The request for SRB type establishment may be included in an Xn message during or after the SN addition procedure. For example, the request for SRB type establishment may be included in an Xn-AP S-Node Addition Request message during the SN addition procedure or in an Xn-AP S-Node Modification Request message after the SN addition procedure.

[0083] In response to the request for SRB establishment, the SN may send the approved SRB type, e.g., MN terminated split SRB4, or MN terminated split SRB4, or SRB3, or similar to SRB3, to the MN in step 305, e.g., in an Xn-AP S-Node Addition Acknowledge message in an SN addition procedure, or in an S-Node Modification Request Acknowledge message after an SN procedure. In step 307, there is now an SRB establishment for QoE measurement reporting between the SN and the UE, similar to the legacy technique for establishing the approved SRB type.

[0084] In step 309, the MN will send information indicating the leg for the QoE measurement report (also referred to as "QoE measurement report leg indication") to the UE. The QoE measurement report leg indication may be provided together with the QoE measurement configuration, which is in the RRCReconfiguration message. In some other embodiments of the present application, the MN may send information indicating to which RAN node, e.g., the MN or the SN, the UE will send the QoE measurement report.

[0085] The QoE measurement report indication may explicitly indicate that the QoE measurement report is only reported via the MN leg, or only reported via the SN leg, or reported via both the MN leg and the SN leg. The corresponding SRB type, e.g., reporting via the SN leg via SRB3, or reporting via the MN leg via SRB4, is further indicated to the UE (which may also be included in the QoE measurement configuration, e.g., the RRCReconfiguration message). In some other embodiments of the present application, the QoE measurement report indication may be implicitly indicated, e.g., by indicating the SRB type configured for sending the QoE measurement report. For example, if SRB3 is configured, the UE is expected to send the QoE measurement report via SRB3 via the SN leg. In another example, if MN-terminated split SRB4 is configured, the UE is expected to send the QoE measurement report sent by MN-terminated split SRB4 via both the MN leg and the SN leg.

[0086] In step 311, the UE is caused to send a QoE measurement report (or a QoE measurement report) to the network side according to the QoE measurement report leg indication (or information indicating to which RAN node the QoE measurement report is sent). When the QoE measurement report is at least one application layer measurement report encapsulated in a transparent container and received from an upper layer of the UE, the UE is caused to send the QoE measurement report to the network in a MeasurementReportAppLayer message.

[0087] For example, if the QoE measurement report is configured to be transmitted by SRB4 over the MN leg, the UE shall send the QoE measurement report to the MN over the MN leg. If RRC segmentation is used, the UE shall send all RRC segments of the QoE measurement report to the MN over the MN leg. If the QoE measurement report is configured to be transmitted to the SN by MN terminated split SRB4, SN terminated split SRB4, SRB3, or similar, the UE shall send the QoE measurement report, or all RRC segments of the QoE measurement report, over the MN leg and / or SN leg via MN terminated split SRB4, SN terminated split SRB4, SRB3, or similar.

[0088] When the QoE measurement report is configured to be transmitted via both the MN leg and the SN leg via the MN-terminated split SRB4 or the SN-terminated split SRB4, the primary and secondary legs of the MN leg and the SN leg may be configured for the UE. The UE will prioritize transmitting the QoE measurement report via the primary leg as a legacy. In some embodiments of the present application, different priorities may be configured for the MN leg and the SN leg, and the UE will prioritize transmitting the QoE measurement report via the leg with a higher priority.

[0089] In some embodiments of the present application, if the QoE measurement report is configured to be transmitted via SRB4 over the MN leg (or configured to be transmitted to the MN) and configured to be transmitted via SRB3 or similar over the SN leg (or configured to be transmitted to the SN), the network side may also configure whether to enable some of the RRC segments transmitted over the MN leg (or to the MN) and other parts of the RRC segments over the SN leg (or to the SN). If it is not enabled, the UE will transmit all RRC segments of the QoE measurement report over one of the MN leg and the SN leg. Similarly, the network side, e.g., the MN or the SN, may also configure the priority of the two legs (or two RAN nodes), so that the UE can prioritize transmitting the QoE measurement report to the leg with the higher priority. If the higher priority leg is not available or cannot transmit the QoE measurement report, e.g., is overloaded, the UE will use the leg with the lower priority.

[0090] If MN terminated split SRB4 is used, the SN needs to forward the received QoE measurement report or partial or all RRC segments to the MN. If SN terminated split SRB4 is used, the MN needs to forward the received PDCP PDU of the QoE measurement report or partial or all PDCP PDU of the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to the SN. In any case, if the SN receives the PDCP PDU of the QoE measurement report or partial or all PDCP PDU of the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report via the Uu interface and via the SN leg, the SN will forward the received PDCP PDU of the QoE measurement report or PDCP PDU of the RRC segment of the QoE measurement report to the MN via the Xn interface in step 313, so that the MN can send the entire QoE measurement report to the OAM or CN.

[0091] For example, after receiving the RRC segments of the QoE measurement report via MN terminated split SRB4, or SN terminated split SRB4, or SRB3, or similar, the SN may concatenate all the RRC segments into the whole QoE measurement report, e.g., MeasurementReportAppLayer, and send the concatenated QoE measurement report to the MN. In another example, after receiving the RRC segments of the QoE measurement report via MN terminated split SRB4, or SN terminated split SRB4, or SRB3, or similar, the SN may forward all the received RRC segments to the MN via an Xn message. The SN will also forward the RRC segment index along with the received RRC segment to the MN via the Xn message. Compared to the legacy message, the Xn message may be a new Xn message, e.g., referred to as an "RRC segmentation Transfer" message, introduced for RRC segmentation delivery between the MN and the SN. The MN will link all RRC segments to the QoE measurement report.

[0092] In another NR-DC scenario (Scenario 2), the SN, rather than the MN, decides which legs are used for QoE measurement reporting. Figure 4 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in Scenario 2 according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0093] Referring to FIG. 4, in step 401, the SN may determine at least one of the MN leg or SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting in response to QoE measurement activation information from the MN (signaling-based QoE measurement) or QoE measurement configuration information from the OAM (management-based QoE measurement).

[0094] For signaling-based QoE measurement, the MN receives QoE measurement activation signaling from the CN and then requests the SN to provide the UE with QoE measurement configuration by sending QoE measurement activation information, for example, in an S-node addition request message or an S-node modification request message. The MN may also include the UE QoE measurement capability in the message. The QoE measurement activation information may include a QoE reference, a service type, a measurement collection entity (MCE) Internet Protocol (IP) address, a slice range, an area range, or minimization of drive tests (MDT) matching information, and an indication of available RAN-visible QoE metrics, etc. The MN may also send a requested SRB type, for example, SRB3, for QoE measurement configuration indication to the SN in some embodiments of the present application.

[0095] For management-based QoE measurement, the SN may receive a QoE measurement configuration from the OAM. After receiving the QoE measurement configuration, the SN may select UEs for QoE measurement collection.

[0096] The SN will also decide the SRB type for QoE measurement reporting. Similarly, if the MN leg can be used, the SN will send an SRB establishment request of the corresponding SRB type for QoE measurement reporting to the MN in step 403. For example, the SN may decide to use SN-terminated split SRB4 and send an SN-terminated split SRB establishment request to the MN.

[0097] The SN will send information indicating the leg for the QoE measurement report, i.e., QoE measurement report leg indication, to the UE, e.g., via SRB3, in step 405. Similarly, the QoE measurement report leg indication may be provided together with the QoE measurement configuration, which is in the RRCReconfiguration message. In some other embodiments of the present application, the SN may send information indicating to which RAN node, e.g., MN or SN, the UE will send the QoE measurement report.

[0098] The QoE measurement report indication may explicitly indicate that the QoE measurement report is only reported via the MN leg, or only reported via the SN leg, or reported via both the MN leg and the SN leg. In some other embodiments of the present application, the QoE measurement report indication may be implicitly indicated, for example, by indicating the SRB type configured for sending the QoE measurement report. For example, if an SN-terminated split SRB4 is configured, the UE will handle the QoE measurement report to be sent via the SN-terminated split SRB over the MN leg and the SN leg.

[0099] In step 407, the UE will send the QoE measurement report to the network side, e.g., the MN and / or the SN, according to the QoE measurement report leg indication (or information indicating to which RAN node the QoE measurement report is sent). For example, if an SN-terminated split SRB4 is indicated, the UE may send the QoE measurement report (or a partial or all RRC segment of the QoE measurement report) to the MN via the MN leg and to the SN via the SN leg. However, after receiving the PDCP PDU of the QoE measurement report, the MN will forward the received PDCP PDU to the SN via Xn signaling, e.g., an RRC Transfer message if an SN-terminated split SRB4 is used.

[0100] After receiving the QoE measurement report, the SN will send it to the MN in case of signaling-based QoE measurement, so that the MN can report the QoE measurement report to the CN, and in case of management-based QoE measurement, the SN will send the QoE measurement report to the QAM.

[0101] Compared with Scenario 1, the description of Scenario 2 is simplified to avoid unnecessary duplication. Those skilled in the art should be well aware that the details given in Scenario 1 may also be applied to Scenario 2 in the same or similar manner.

[0102] Scenarios 3 and 4 concern the QoE measurement collection pause / resume procedure. In scenario 3, the MN configures the QoE measurement collection pause / resume indication taking into account the SN QoE measurement reporting overload information. In scenario 4, the MN and SN decide their own QoE measurement reporting pause / resume indication, i.e. separate pause / resume indications for QoE measurement reporting per leg are configured.

[0103] FIG. 5 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in scenario 3 according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0104] Referring to FIG. 5, in step 501, the SN may send SN QoE measurement reporting overload information to the MN via the Xn interface, which may be sent periodically or event-triggered. The SN QoE measurement reporting overload information may be an explicit instruction to indicate the QoE measurement reporting overload status in the SN, such as with overload status of "high", "medium", and "low". The SN QoE measurement reporting overload information may be per service type or per measurement configuration application layer identifier, e.g., measConfigAppLayerId. The service type may indicate the service type of the QoE measurement, such as virtual reality (VR), multicast and broadcast service (MBS), etc. If the SN QoE measurement reporting overload information is per service type, the service type will be included in the SN QoE measurement reporting overload information. If the SN QoE measurement reporting overload information is per measConfigAppLayerId, the measConfigAppLayerId will be included in the SN QoE measurement reporting overload information. In another example, the SN QoE measurement report overload information may be an implicit indication. The MN can infer the SN QoE measurement report overload status according to information provided in the Xn user plane protocol, such as flow control information. The MN can also infer the SN QoE measurement report overload status according to information provided by the load information.

[0105] In step 503, the MN, in response to both the MN and the SN being overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting, will decide to pause QoE measurement reporting. The MN will send a pause indication (e.g., an RRC configuration) to the UE, for example by setting a parameter "pauseReporting" to true, which it will forward to the UE in step 505.

[0106] After receiving the pause instruction, the UE is to pause QoE measurement reporting on both the MN leg and the SN leg in step 507. For example, in some embodiments of the present application, the SN QoE measurement report overload information is per measConfigAppLayerId and RRC segmentation is enabled. If at least one segment of the segmented MeasurementReportAppLayer message including the application layer measurement report associated with the measConfigAppLayerId has been submitted to the lower layer of the two DC legs for transmission but not submitted to the network side, the UE is to submit at least one segment of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the lower layer for transmission. The UE is to submit the remaining segments of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the lower layer for transmission. The UE is to stop submitting application layer measurement report containers to the lower layer for the application layer measurement configuration associated with the measConfigAppLayerId. In addition, the UE will store any previously or subsequently received application layer measurement report containers associated with the measConfigAppLayerId for which no segments have been submitted to a lower layer for transmission or for which the entire QoE measurement report has been submitted to a lower layer for transmission.

[0107] In step 507, the MN may decide to resume QoE measurement reporting if either the MN or the SN, or both of them, are not overloaded for QoE measurement reporting. For example, the MN may receive SN QoE measurement reporting overload information indicating that the SN is not overloaded for QoE measurement reporting. The MN will send a resume instruction to the UE to resume QoE measurement reporting in step 509, for example, set the parameter "pauseReporting" to false and send it to the UE.

[0108] Then, after receiving a resume indication, e.g., pauseReporting set to false, the UE will resume QoE measurement reporting in step 511. For example, the UE will submit an application layer measurement report container to the lower layer for the application layer measurement configuration associated with measConfigAppLayerId.

[0109] FIG. 6 is a flowchart of a procedure for QoE measurement collection in scenario 4 according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0110] 6, a separate pause / resume indication for QoE measurement reporting per leg is configured in scenario 4. The UE will only pause or resume the QoE measurement reporting on the corresponding leg.

[0111] Taking the SN as an example, the SN may decide to pause QoE measurement reporting according to its own QoE measurement reporting overload status. In step 601, if the SN decides to pause QoE measurement reporting, the SN may send a request for pausing SN QoE measurement reporting to the MN. Similarly, the request for pausing SN QoE measurement reporting may be per service type or per measConfigAppLayerId. If the request for pausing SN QoE measurement reporting is per service type, the service type will be included in the request for pausing SN QoE measurement reporting. If the request for pausing SN QoE measurement reporting is per measConfigAppLayerId, the measConfigAppLayerId will be included in the request for pausing SN QoE measurement reporting.

[0112] After the MN receives the request to pause SN QoE measurement reporting from the SN, the MN will send a pause instruction (e.g., RRC configuration) to the UE to pause QoE measurement to the SN. For example, the MN may set pauseReportingSN to true and send it to the UE in step 603.

[0113] After receiving pauseReportingSN set to true, the UE is to pause QoE measurement reporting in the SN leg in step 605. For example, in some embodiments of the present application, the SN QoE measurement reporting pause request is per measConfigAppLayerId and RRC segmentation is enabled. If at least one segment of a segmented MeasurementReportAppLayer message including an application layer measurement report associated with measConfigAppLayerId has been submitted to the lower layer of the SN leg for transmission but not submitted to the network side, the UE is to submit at least one segment of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the lower layer of the SN leg for transmission. The UE is to submit the remaining segments of the MeasurementReportAppLayer message to the lower layer of the SN leg for transmission. The UE is to stop submitting application layer measurement report containers to the lower layer of the SN leg for the application layer measurement configuration associated with measConfigAppLayerId. In addition, the UE will store any previously or subsequently received application layer measurement report containers associated with the measConfigAppLayerId for which no segments have been submitted to the lower layers of the SN leg for transmission or for which the entire QoE measurement report has been submitted to the lower layers of the SN leg for transmission.

[0114] The SN will decide whether to resume QoE measurement reporting according to its own QoE measurement reporting overload status, which may be per service type or per measConfigAppLayerId. Similarly, the SN will send a SN QoE measurement reporting resume request to the MN in step 607 if the SN QoE measurement reporting is not overloaded. The SN QoE measurement reporting resume request may include the service type or measConfigAppLayerId in the per service type or per measConfigAppLayerId case, respectively.

[0115] When the MN receives a request to resume SN QoE measurement reporting from the SN, the MN will send a resume instruction to the UE to resume SN QoE measurement reporting in step 609, for example, set pauseReportingSN to false and send it to the UE.

[0116] In step 611, after receiving pauseReportingSN set to false, the UE will resume QoE measurement reporting in the SN leg, e.g., the UE will resume submitting application layer measurement report containers to lower layers in the SN leg for the application layer measurement configuration associated with measConfigAppLayerId.

[0117] Similar to the SN, the MN can pause and resume QoE measurement reporting on the MN leg based on its own QoE measurement reporting overload status. Similar handling as shown above can also be applied to the MN leg.

[0118] In some other embodiments of the present application, the SN may generate an indication (e.g., RRC configuration or Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE)) of QoE measurement reporting suspension or resumption on the SN leg itself. The SN may send the RRC configuration of QoE measurement reporting suspension or resumption on the SN leg to the MN directly via SRB3 or by RRC container so that the MN can forward it to the UE.

[0119] Besides the method, the embodiments of the present application also propose an apparatus for supporting QoE measurement collection. Figure 7 is a block diagram of an apparatus for supporting QoE measurement collection according to some embodiments of the present application.

[0120] 7, an apparatus 700, e.g., a UE or RAN node, may include at least one processor 702 and at least one transceiver 704. The transceiver 704 may include at least one separate receiving circuit 706 and transmitting circuit 708, or at least one integrated receiving circuit 706 and transmitting circuit 708. The at least one processor 702 may be a CPU, DSP, microprocessor, etc.

[0121] According to some embodiments of the present application, when the apparatus 700 is a UE, the processor is configured to receive, via the transceiver, information indicating at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for the QoE measurement report, and to transmit a QoE measurement report to at least one of the MN or the SN via at least one SRB type according to the information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg.

[0122] According to some other embodiments of the present application, when the apparatus 700 is a RAN node, e.g., an MN or an SN, the processor may be configured to determine at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for the QoE measurement report, and transmit, via the transceiver, to the UE, information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for the QoE measurement report.

[0123] For example, FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an apparatus 800 that supports QoE measurement reporting in accordance with some other embodiments of the present application.

[0124] 8, the apparatus 800 may include at least one non-transitory computer-readable medium 801, at least one receiving circuit 802, at least one transmitting circuit 804, and at least one processor 806 coupled to the non-transitory computer-readable medium 801, the receiving circuit 802, and the transmitting circuit 804. The apparatus 800 may be a RAN node or a terminal device (e.g., a UE) configured to perform methods such as those presented above.

[0125] In this figure, elements such as at least one processor 806, transmit circuitry 804, and receive circuitry 802 are described in the singular, but the plural is contemplated unless limitation to the singular is expressly stated. In some embodiments of the present application, the receive circuitry 802 and the transmit circuitry 804 may be combined into a single device such as a transceiver. The processor 806 may be a CPU, DSP, microprocessor, etc. In some embodiments of the present application, the apparatus 800 may further include an input device, a memory, and / or other components.

[0126] In some embodiments of the present application, the non-transitory computer-readable medium 801 may store computer-executable instructions for causing the processor 806 to perform a method for a RAN node, e.g., a MN or a SN, as described above. For example, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, cause the processor 806, interacting with the receiving circuitry 802 and the transmitting circuitry 804, to perform steps for a RAN node, as shown above.

[0127] In some embodiments of the present application, the non-transitory computer-readable medium 801 may store computer-executable instructions for causing a processor to perform a method relating to a terminal device as described above. For example, the computer-executable instructions, when executed, cause a processor 806 interacting with the receiving circuitry 802 and the transmitting circuitry 804 to perform steps relating to a UE as shown above.

[0128] The method according to the embodiment of the present application may also be implemented on a programmed processor. However, the controller, the flow chart, and the module may also be implemented in a general-purpose or dedicated computer, a programmed microprocessor or microcontroller and peripheral integrated circuit elements, integrated circuits, hardware electronic or logic circuits such as discrete element circuits, programmable logic devices, and the like. In general, any device capable of implementing the flow charts shown in the figures may be used to implement the processor functions of the present application. For example, an embodiment of the present application provides an apparatus including a processor and a memory. Computer programmable instructions for implementing the method are stored in the memory, and the processor is configured to execute the computer programmable instructions for implementing the method. The method may be a method as described above, or another method according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0129] An alternative embodiment implements the method according to an embodiment of the present application in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, preferably storing computer programmable instructions. The instructions are preferably executed by a computer-executable component, preferably incorporated with the network security system. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium may be stored on any suitable computer-readable medium, such as a RAM, a ROM, a flash memory, an EEPROM, an optical storage device (CD or DVD), a hard drive, a floppy drive, or any suitable device. The computer-executable component is preferably a processor, but the instructions may alternatively or additionally be executed by any suitable dedicated hardware device. For example, an embodiment of the present application provides a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium having computer programmable instructions stored therein. The computer programmable instructions are configured to implement the method as described above, or other methods according to an embodiment of the present application.

[0130] Although the present application has been described with its specific embodiments, it is apparent that numerous alternatives, modifications, and variations may be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example, various components of the embodiments may be exchanged, added, or substituted in other embodiments. Also, not all elements of each figure are necessary for the operation of the disclosed embodiments. For example, a person skilled in the art of the disclosed embodiments will be enabled to make and use the teachings of the present application by simply adopting the elements of the independent claims. Thus, the embodiments of the present application described herein are intended to be illustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application. [Explanation of symbols]

[0131] 100 Wireless Communication System, Dual Connectivity System 101 User Equipment (UE) 102 MN 103SN 700, 800 equipment 702, 806 processors 704 Transceiver 706, 802 Receiver circuit 708, 804 Transmitting circuit 801 Non-transitory computer-readable medium

Claims

1. 1. A Radio Access Network (RAN) node, comprising: A transceiver; a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor comprising: determining at least one of a master node (MN) leg or a secondary node (SN) leg to be used for quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting; transmitting, via the transceiver, to a user equipment (UE) information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting; A RAN node configured to:

2. 2. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the RAN node is a MN, and the processor is further configured to determine at least one signaling radio bearer (SRB) type for QoE measurement reporting in response to QoE measurement activation information from a core network or QoE measurement configuration information from an Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM).

3. 3. The RAN node of claim 2, wherein if the SN leg is used for QoE measurement reporting, the processor is configured to send, to the SN, a request for SRB establishment of a corresponding SRB type for QoE measurement reporting.

4. 4. The RAN node of claim 3, wherein the at least one SRB type includes one of an MN terminated split SRB4, an SN terminated split SRB4, an SRB3, and an SRB terminated between a UE and an SN for QoE measurement reporting of lower priority than SRB3.

5. 2. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the RAN node is a SN, and the processor is configured to determine at least one signaling radio bearer (SRB) type for QoE measurement reporting in response to QoE measurement activation information from a MN or QoE measurement configuration information from an Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM).

6. 6. The RAN node of claim 5, wherein the at least one SRB type comprises one of an MN terminated split SRB4, an SN terminated split SRB4, an SRB3, or an SRB terminated between a UE and an SN for QoE measurement reporting of lower priority than SRB3.

7. 7. The RAN node of claim 6, wherein the processor is configured to: send a request for SN terminated split SRB establishment to the MN in case of an SN terminated split SRB4 to be used for QoE measurement reporting.

8. 6. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting is separate from or indicated within information about at least one SRB type.

9. 2. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the RAN node is a MN, and the processor is configured to send a pause instruction to the UE to pause QoE measurement reporting when both the MN and the SN are overloaded due to QoE measurement reporting.

10. 10. The RAN node of claim 9, wherein the processor is configured to receive QoE measurement report overload information from the SN.

11. 2. The RAN node of claim 1, wherein the RAN node is a MN, and the processor is configured to send a pause instruction to the UE to pause SN QoE measurement reporting in response to a request for pausing SN QoE measurement reporting.

12. A user equipment (UE), A transceiver; a processor coupled to the transceiver, the processor comprising: receiving, via the transceiver, information indicating at least one of a master node (MN) leg or a secondary node (SN) leg to be used for quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting; sending a QoE measurement report to at least one of the MN or the SN via at least one signaling radio bearer (SRB) type according to the information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg; The UE is configured to:

13. If a signaling radio bearer (SRB) 4 is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is sent to the MN by using the MN leg; If an SRB3 or an SRB terminated between the UE and the SN for QoE measurement reporting with a priority lower than SRB3 is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the SN via the SN leg; When an MN terminated split SRB4 or an SN terminated split SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting, and both the MN leg and the SN leg are used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is sent to the MN via the MN leg and to the SN via the SN leg; When the MN terminated split SRB4 or the SN terminated split SRB4 is used for QoE measurement reporting, and one of the MN leg and the SN leg is used for QoE measurement reporting, the QoE measurement report is transmitted to the corresponding one of the MN and the SN via the one of the MN leg and the SN leg. The UE of claim 12.

14. 13. The UE of claim 12, wherein the processor is configured to pause the QoE measurement reporting to the at least one of the MN and the SN in response to a pause instruction to pause the QoE measurement reporting to the at least one of the MN and the SN.

15. 1. A method comprising: determining at least one of a master node (MN) leg or a secondary node (SN) leg to be used for quality of experience (QoE) measurement reporting; sending, to a user equipment (UE), information indicating the at least one of the MN leg or the SN leg to be used for QoE measurement reporting; A method comprising:

Images