Reporting relaxation state of signal measurement

Abstract

An embodiment of the present disclosure relates to reporting a relaxation state of signal measurement. A first device performs a first evaluation to determine whether a relaxation criterion of signal measurement is satisfied, and performs a second evaluation to determine whether a transition between DRX and non-DRX occurs. Then, the first device determines whether a report on a change in the relaxation state of signal measurement is initiated to be transmitted to a second device based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation. In this way, the report on the relaxation state of signal measurement can be appropriately transmitted, and unnecessary signaling overhead and additional power consumption can be avoided.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] TECHNICAL FIELD Embodiments of the present disclosure relate generally to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly to reporting mitigation conditions for signal measurements. [Background technology]

[0002] The 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) is working on a work item (WI) on user equipment (UE) power saving by mitigation of signal measurements for radio link monitoring (RLM) and / or beam fault detection (BFD). In general, mitigation of signal measurements for RLM and / or BFD is only allowed when discontinuous reception (DRX) is used. If mitigation state reporting is configured, the UE is supposed to indicate a change in mitigation state when transitioning between "DRX is used" and "DRX is not used". However, such reporting may be unnecessary if the evaluation result of the mitigation criteria does not change. Also, the UE needs to wake up from DRX in order to send a report when DRX is used. This may result in additional power consumption. For this reason, further development is needed for reporting of mitigation state of signal measurements. Summary of the Invention

[0003] Generally, the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for reporting the relaxation state of a signal measurement.

[0004] In a first aspect, a first device is provided, the first device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code configured to cause the first device to: perform a first evaluation to determine whether a mitigation criterion for signal measurements is satisfied, perform a second evaluation to determine whether a transition between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception occurs, and determine whether a report regarding a change in the mitigation state of the signal measurements is initiated to be sent to the second device based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation.

[0005] In a second aspect, a second device is provided, the second device comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured by the at least one processor to cause the second device to: send to the first device a setting indicating that reports regarding changes in the mitigation state of signal measurements are not allowed to be sent during discontinuous reception; and receive from the first device reports triggered based on the mitigation criteria of the signal measurements.

[0006] In a third aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: performing, at a first device, a first evaluation to determine whether a signal measurement mitigation criterion is satisfied, performing a second evaluation to determine whether a transition between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception occurs, and determining whether a report regarding a change in the signal measurement mitigation state is initiated to be sent to a second device based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation.

[0007] In a fourth aspect, a communication method is provided, the method including: transmitting, at a second device, a configuration to a first device indicating that reports regarding changes in a mitigation state of signal measurements are not allowed to be transmitted during discontinuous reception, and receiving, from the first device, reports triggered based on a mitigation criterion of signal measurements.

[0008] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform a method according to the third or fourth aspect.

[0009] It should be understood that this Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become readily apparent through the following description. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] Some exemplary embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network in which example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 shows a reported example of modification of the relaxation state of signal measurement according to a conventional solution. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 illustrates a process for reporting changes in the relaxation state of a signal measurement according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4A] FIG. 4A illustrates an example of reporting changes in relaxation state of signal measurements in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 4B] FIG. 4B illustrates another example report of a change in relaxation state of a signal measurement in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. [Diagram 5] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart of an example communication performed at a first device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example of communication performed in the second device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus suitable for practicing exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. [Figure 8] 8 is a block diagram of an exemplary computer-readable medium in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numbers represent the same or similar elements. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] The principles of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some exemplary embodiments. It should be understood that these embodiments are provided for illustrative purposes, to help those skilled in the art understand and practice the present disclosure, and are not intended to imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein may be implemented in various forms other than those described below.

[0012] In the following description and claims, unless otherwise defined, 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.

[0013] References in this disclosure to "one embodiment," "embodiment," "exemplary embodiment," and the like indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not all embodiments need to include the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Furthermore, it is noted that when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0014] In this specification, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various elements, but it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are merely used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first element can be referred to as a second element, and similarly, a second element can be referred to as a first element, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the term "and / or" includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0015] The terms in this example are for the purpose of describing particular embodiments and are not intended to be limiting to the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an" and "the" are intended to include the plural forms unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that as used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes" and / or "including" specify the presence of the stated features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0016] As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more, or all, of the following: (a) Hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., analog and / or digital-only implementations). (b) A combination of hardware circuitry and software, if applicable. (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware. (ii) A portion or portions of software (including digital signal processors), hardware processors with software and memory that work together to cause a device such as a mobile phone or a server to perform various functions. (c) A hardware circuit or processor, such as a microprocessor or part of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when it is not necessary for operation.

[0017] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of the term in this application, including any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term circuitry covers merely a hardware circuitry or processor (or processors) or a portion of a hardware circuitry or processor and its (or their) associated software and / or firmware implementations. The term circuitry also covers, for example, baseband or processor integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network equipment, or other computing or network devices, if applicable to a particular claim element.

[0018] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network conforming to any suitable communication standard, such as Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High Speed ​​Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Furthermore, the communication between terminal equipment and network equipment in the communication network may be any of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, 5G-Advanced networks, or future sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols currently known or developed in the future. The embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Considering the rapid development of communication, of course, there will also be future communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure may be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be considered as being limited to only the aforementioned systems.

[0019] As used herein, the term "network equipment" refers to a node of a communication network through which terminal equipment accesses the network and receives services therefrom. Depending on the terminology and technology applied, network equipment may refer to a base station (BS) or access point (AP), e.g., a Node B (Node B or NB), an evolved Node B (eNode B or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as gNB), a remote radio unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, a low power node such as femto, pico, etc.

[0020] The term "terminal equipment" refers to any terminal equipment capable of wireless communication. By way of example and not limitation, a terminal equipment may also be referred to as a communication device, a UE, a subscriber station (SS), a mobile subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). Terminal equipment includes, but is not limited to, mobile phones, cellular phones, smartphones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, tablets, wearable terminal equipment, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, desktop computers, image capture terminal equipment such as digital cameras, gaming terminal equipment, music storage / playback equipment, in-vehicle wireless terminal equipment, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer premises equipment (CPE), Internet of Things (loT) equipment, wearables such as watches, head mounted displays (HMD), vehicles, drones, medical devices and applications (e.g., remote surgery), industrial devices and applications (e.g., robots and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of industrial and / or automated processing chains), consumer electronics devices, devices operating in commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal equipment", "communication equipment", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0021] In the context of this disclosure, the expression "DRX is in use" may refer to the case where a DRX configuration is set and the UE is in DRX (e.g., not monitoring a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) from the downlink (DL) or not in active time). The expression "DRX is in use" may be used interchangeably with "DRX in use" or "in DRX."

[0022] The expression "DRX not in use" may refer to the case where a DRX configuration is set but the UE is not in DRX (e.g. the UE is monitoring the PDCCH from the DL and / or is in active time) or to the case where no DRX configuration is set for the UE and the UE is obviously not applying DRX. The expression "DRX not in use" may be used interchangeably with "not in use", "not in use", or "not in DRX".

[0023] Currently, the UE is allowed to relax signaling measurements for RLM and / or BFD if the serving cell quality and / or low mobility criteria are met. Furthermore, it is agreed that relaxation is only allowed if DRX period ≤ 80 ms) and DRX is used. Otherwise, the UE is expected to actively monitor the channel for data transmission etc., so no power can be saved by relaxing signaling measurements. Furthermore, it is agreed that if relaxation state reporting is configured, the UE will trigger a relaxation state report if the relaxation state is changed.

[0024] In this case, the UE is to indicate a change in mitigation state when it transitions between "DRX in use" and "DRX not in use". If the evaluation of the mitigation criteria does not change, such a report is unnecessary. Also, the UE needs to wake up from DRX in order to send a report when DRX is in use, which may result in additional power consumption.

[0025] In view of this, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a solution for reporting a relaxation state of signal measurements to overcome the above and other potential problems. In the solution, a first device performs a first evaluation to determine whether a relaxation criterion of signal measurements is satisfied, and performs a second evaluation to determine whether a transition between DRX and non-DRX occurs. Then, the first device determines whether a report regarding a change in the relaxation state of signal measurements is initiated to be sent to a second device based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation.

[0026] In this way, signal measurement mitigation status reports are properly transmitted, avoiding unnecessary signaling overhead and additional power consumption.

[0027] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to the figures, however, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed description given herein with respect to these figures is for illustrative purposes, as the present disclosure extends beyond these limited embodiments.

[0028] Communication Network Example 1 illustrates an exemplary communication network 100 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the network 100 includes a first device 110 and a second device 120. The second device 120 may provide one or more serving cells that serve one or more devices. In this example, the first device 110 is located within a serving cell (not shown) of the second device 120 and is served by the second device 120.

[0029] For purposes of explanation only, and without implying any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure, some embodiments are described in the context of the first device 110 being a terminal device and the second device 120 being a network device. It should be understood that in other embodiments, the first device 110 may be a network device and the second device 120 may be a terminal device. In other words, the present disclosure may be applicable to both uplink and downlink transmissions.

[0030] It should be understood that the number and types of first and second devices as shown in Figure 1 are for illustration purposes only, without implying any limitation, and that network 100 may include any suitable number and types of first and second devices adapted to implement embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 1, the first device 110 and the second device 120 may communicate with each other via a channel, such as a wireless communication channel. Communications in the network 100 may conform to any suitable standard, including, but not limited to, LTE, LTE Evolution, LTE Advanced (LTE-A), WCDMA, Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), and the like. Furthermore, communications may be performed according to any generation of communications protocol now known or developed in the future. Examples of communications protocols include, but are not limited to, 1G, 2G, 2.5G, 2.75G, 3G, 4G, 4.5G, 5G, 5.5G-Advanced networks, or future 6G communications protocols.

[0032] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a configuration for RLM measurements from the second device 120. Based on the configuration for RLM measurements, the first device 110 may receive a set of RLM reference signals (RLM-RS) on the configured RLM-RS resource set from the second device 120 and perform measurements on the set of RLM-RS. In this manner, the first device 110 may perform RLM measurements. In some exemplary embodiments, the RLM measurements may be relaxed, e.g., RLM measurements may be performed on only a portion of the configured RLM-RS resources.

[0033] In some exemplary embodiments, each of the first device 110 and the second device 120 may have multiple beams. A channel or subchannel may be formed between the beam of the first device 110 and the beam of the second device 120. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a configuration for BFD measurements from the second device 120. Based on the configuration for BFD measurements, the first device 110 may receive a set of BFD-RSs on the configured BFD-RS resource set from the second device 120 and perform measurements on the set of BFD-RSs. In this manner, the first device 110 may perform BFD measurements. In some exemplary embodiments, the BFD measurements may be relaxed, e.g., the BFD measurements may be performed on only a portion of the configured BFD-RS resources.

[0034] In some example embodiments for mitigation of RLM and / or BFD measurements, the first device 110 may receive a configuration of mitigation criteria for low mobility and / or good serving cell quality from the second device 120. The first device 110 may perform an evaluation of the mitigation criteria and perform mitigated or mitigated RLM / BFD measurements of RLM and / or BFD if the mitigation criteria are met and perform non-mitigated or non-mitigated / legacy RLM / BFD measurements of RLM and / or BFD if the mitigation criteria are not met.

[0035] In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a configuration from the second device 120 indicating reporting of a change in mitigation state, e.g., from non-mitigated to mitigated or from mitigated to non-mitigated, in which case the first device 110 may trigger reporting of its RLM and / or BFD mitigation state via the UE assistance information if the first device 110 changes its respective RLM and / or BFD mitigation state while the first device 110 meets the UE minimum requirements.

[0036] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 needs to monitor a downlink control channel, such as a PDCCH, from the second device 120. Monitoring the PDCCH consumes a large amount of power in the first device 110. Therefore, the first device 110 may be configured to perform DRX.

[0037] As is known, the UE is only allowed to relax RLM and / or BFD measurements if a short DRX cycle is used. If relaxation reporting (i.e., relaxation state reporting) is configured, the UE is to indicate a change in relaxation state when the UE transitions between "DRX is used (i.e., DRX is in use)" and "DRX is not used (i.e., DRX not in use)". Figure 2 is a diagram (200) showing an example of reporting a change in relaxation state of signal measurements according to a conventional solution. Assume that the DRX period is 80 ms.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 2, at timing T1, the UE detects that the mitigation criteria are met and starts mitigation. Thus, the UE transmits a #1 mitigation report indicating the start of RLM / BFD mitigation since DRX is used. Then, RLM / BFD measurements may be mitigated during DRX. For example, at timing T2, the DRX on-period may start (i.e., DRX is used) and signal measurements may be performed. At timing T3, the DRX on-period may start again, but signal measurements may be skipped due to mitigation.

[0039] At timing T4, a DRX inactivity timer (e.g., DRX inactivity timer) may be started for data transmission, etc. After that, DRX is not used and the UE transmits a #2 mitigation report indicating a return to non-relaxed RLM / BFD measurements. When the inactivity timer expires, if the mitigation criteria are still met, the UE may start RLM / BFD mitigation again. As shown in FIG. 2, at timing T5, the UE may transmit a #3 mitigation report again indicating the start of RLM / BFD mitigation. While the UE transitions between DRX and non-DRX, the mitigation state of the signal measurements may be changed between relaxed and non-relaxed RLM / BFD measurements, but the UE continues to evaluate the downlink radio link quality that meets the minimum requirements and continues to evaluate the mitigation criteria. That is, if the UE performs non-relaxed RLM / BFD measurements, the UE shall be able to evaluate the downlink radio link quality within the legacy evaluation period. If the UE performs relaxed RLM / BFD measurements, the UE shall be able to evaluate the downlink radio link quality within the relaxed evaluation period or longer. Also, during the transition period between DRX and non-DRX, the minimum of the relaxed evaluation period and the non-relaxed evaluation period are applied. The evaluation of the relaxed criteria may be based on RLM / BFD measurement results that meet the minimum requirements.

[0040] In the example of Figure 2, the relaxation reports #2 and #3 are triggered by transitions between "DRX in use" and "DRX not in use or DRX not in use", not by whether the relaxation criteria are met or not. If the evaluation result of the relaxation criteria does not change, such relaxation reports are unnecessary. Since relaxation is only permitted for short DRX periods of 80 ms or less, frequent transitions between "DRX in use" and "DRX not in use" will result in frequent relaxation reports at the beginning and end of active time. This will cause unnecessary signaling overhead and additional power consumption.

[0041] Furthermore, since the UE needs to wake up from DRX in order to send mitigation reports (e.g., #1 and #3 mitigation reports) when DRX is used, the UE will be forced to terminate mitigated RLM / BFD measurements, which involves additional power consumption and should be avoided or at least minimized.

[0042] To address these and other potential issues, embodiments of the present disclosure provide an improved solution for mitigation status reporting, as described in more detail below in conjunction with Figures 3-4B.

[0043] Examples of mitigation reports 3 illustrates a process 300 for reporting changes in relaxation states of signal measurements according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. For convenience, the following description is provided with reference to FIG.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 3, the second device 120 may transmit a configuration 310 for measurement mitigation to the first device 110. In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration for measurement mitigation may include at least a mitigation criterion for signal measurements. In some exemplary embodiments, the mitigation criterion may include low mobility (e.g., mobility is below a mobility threshold or the variation of the channel measurement is not above a threshold within a certain time). In some exemplary embodiments, the mitigation criterion may include good serving cell quality (e.g., serving cell quality is above a quality threshold). It should be understood that the mitigation criterion may include other suitable criteria or combinations of criteria. It should also be understood that the configuration for measurement mitigation may be arbitrary and the mitigation criterion may be predefined. The present disclosure is not limited to this one aspect.

[0045] The second device 120 may also send a configuration 320 for mitigated status reporting to the first device 110. It should be understood that the configuration for mitigated status reporting may include any suitable information. It should also be understood that the configuration for mitigated status reporting may be optional and the mitigated status reporting may be predefined. The disclosure is not limited to this one aspect.

[0046] Continuing to refer to FIG. 3, the first device 110 performs an evaluation (also referred to herein as a first evaluation for convenience) 330 to determine whether a signal measurement relaxation criterion is met. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the relaxation criterion is met if the radio link quality of the first device 110 is changed to be equal to or greater than a radio link quality threshold. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the relaxation criterion is met if the first device 110 is determined to be in a low mobility state. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the relaxation criterion is met if the serving cell quality of the first device 110 is changed to be equal to or greater than a serving cell quality threshold and the first device 110 is determined to be in a low mobility state. These are merely examples and are not intended to be limiting. The evaluation of the relaxation criterion may be performed in any other suitable manner.

[0047] The first device 110 also performs an evaluation (also referred to herein as a second evaluation for convenience) to determine whether a transition between DRX and non-DRX has occurred (340). A transition between DRX and non-DRX may include a transition from DRX to non-DRX, or a transition from non-DRX to DRX. A transition from DRX to non-DRX may refer to a transition from "DRX in use" to "DRX not in use", or a transition from "DRX in use" to "DRX not in use". A transition from non-DRX to DRX may refer to a transition from "DRX not in use" to "DRX in use", or a transition from "DRX not in use" to "DRX in use".

[0048] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is non-DRX if DRX is not configured (e.g., DRX parameters are not configured). In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is non-DRX if DRX is configured (e.g., DRX parameters are configured) and a DRX inactivity timer (e.g., drx-InactivityTimer) is running. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is non-DRX if DRX is configured (e.g., DRX parameters are configured) and a downlink DRX retransmission timer (e.g., drx-RetransmissionTimerDL) is running. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is non-DRX if DRX is configured (e.g., DRX parameters are configured) and an uplink DRX retransmission timer (e.g., drx-RetransmissionTimerUL) is running. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is in non-DRX if DRX is configured (e.g., if DRX parameters are configured) and a contention resolution timer (e.g., ra-ContentionResolutionTimer) for random access (RA) is running. In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is in non-DRX if DRX is configured (e.g., if DRX parameters are configured) and a scheduling request (SR) transmitted on a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) is pending.In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is not DRXed if DRX is configured (e.g., if DRX parameters are configured) and a PDCCH indicating a new transmission addressed to a medium access control (MAC) entity's identity (e.g., a Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI)) has not been received after successful reception of a random access response (RAR) for a preamble not selected by the MAC entity. Otherwise, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is in DRXed or that DRX is being used. It should be understood that any other suitable method may also be performed.

[0049] Based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation, the first device 110 determines (350) whether a report is to be initiated to be sent to the second device 120. That is, the first device 110 can determine whether a report is to be sent to the second device 120.

[0050] In some example embodiments, if the mitigation state is changed only due to a transition between DRX and non-DRX, the first device 110 may determine that a report is not to be sent to the second device 120 (351). For example, the mitigation state may be changed when the UE enters DRX from active time due to expiration of the drx-InactivityTimer or drx-onDurationTimer or receiving a DRX command MAC Control Element (CE) from the network. The mitigation state in other examples may be changed when the UE enters active time from DRX due to, for example, starting of the drx-InactivityTimer, SR trigger, RA procedure trigger, etc. In this example, the first device 110 may determine that a report is not to be sent to the second device 120. That is, the report is skipped from being sent. In this way, unnecessary signaling overhead for the mitigation report may be avoided, and therefore additional power consumption may also be avoided.

[0051] In some example implementations of skipping the sending of the report, the first device 110 may maintain (352) the evaluation of the mitigation criteria (i.e., continue to perform the first evaluation). In this manner, efficient management of measurement mitigation may be achieved, thus further reducing power consumption.

[0052] In some demonstrative embodiments, if the mitigation state has changed based on the mitigation criteria, the first device 110 may determine (353) that a report is to be initiated to be sent to the second device 120. In this manner, unnecessary signaling overhead for mitigation reporting may be avoided, and thus additional power consumption may also be avoided.

[0053] In some exemplary embodiments, if the first device 110 starts mitigation when DRX is used, the first device 110 may delay sending the report until the on-period for DRX (i.e., drx-OnDurationTimer) starts. In some exemplary embodiments, if the report indicates a change in mitigation state from mitigation to non-mitigated RLM / BFD measurements, the first device 110 may delay sending the report until the on-period for DRX starts. Otherwise, the first device 110 may not delay sending the report. In this way, the device may not wake up from DRX to send a mitigation report and may not terminate mitigated RLM and / or BFD measurements. Thus, additional power consumption is avoided.

[0054] In some exemplary embodiments, if the first device 110 receives a configuration from the second device 120 indicating that sending a report during DRX is not permitted, the first device 110 may delay sending a report until the start of a DRX on period. In this way, the device does not wake up from DRX to send a mitigated report and does not terminate the mitigated RLM and / or BFD measurements. Thus, additional power consumption is avoided. Furthermore, at least the network can avoid a flood of UE reports (which may not be of any use to the network's performance) whose sole purpose is to inform the network that it has started or terminated mitigated RLM and / or BFD measurements.

[0055] In some exemplary embodiments, if the mitigation criteria trigger a change in the mitigation state, the first device 110 may be permitted to trigger a report of the change in the mitigation state when DRX is used. In some exemplary embodiments, if the mitigation criteria trigger a change in the mitigation state and the report indicates a change in the mitigation state from non-mitigated to mitigated RLM / BFD measurements, the first device 110 may be permitted to trigger a report of the change in the mitigation state when DRX is used. In this case, the first device 110 may not have to delay sending a report to properly report the change in the mitigation state.

[0056] In some exemplary embodiments, the report may include a period during which the change in the mitigation state of the signal measurements was performed. For example, the period may be expressed in a number of DRX cycles. It should be understood that other suitable methods are also possible. In this way, if the mitigation report is interrupted by a prohibit timer, the first device 110 may additionally report the time during which the first device 110 performed mitigation of the signal measurements.

[0057] In some exemplary embodiments, the report may include a cause for the change in mitigation state of the signal measurements. In some exemplary embodiments, the cause may include a change in low mobility state. In some exemplary embodiments, the cause may include a change in serving cell quality. In some exemplary embodiments, the cause may include a change in both low mobility state and serving cell quality. In some exemplary embodiments, the cause may include a set of signals or a set of indexes associated with the signals for which the mitigation state change occurs. For example, in case multiple RLM / BFD-RS are configured, the RLM / BFD-RS(s) for which the mitigation state is changed.

[0058] In some example embodiments, the cause may include signal measurements being relaxed while the report is being transmitted. In other words, the first device 110 may be permitted to report a relaxed state indicating that the first device 110 is easing off, even though such a report would cause the first device 110 to enter a "DRX not in use" state that the UE is not permitted to relax.

[0059] In some example embodiments, the cause may include that the relaxation criteria are met and the signal measurements are relaxed during DRX (i.e., when DRX is used). In other words, the first device 110 may report that the first device 110 may relax when the first device 110 meets the relaxation criteria and when the first device 110 enters the "DRX is used" state. For example, the first device 110 may determine that the relaxation criteria are met during non-DRX. When DRX is initiated, the first device 110 may perform relaxation of the signal measurements. As another example, the first device 110 may determine that the relaxation criteria are not met during non-DRX. When DRX is initiated, the first device 110 may perform non-relaxation of the signal measurements.

[0060] In some example embodiments, the cause may include signal measurements being non-mitigated while the report is transmitted and signal measurements being mitigated after the report is transmitted, In other words, if DRX is not used, the first device 110 is not mitigating but may be permitted to report a mitigated state indicating that the first device 110 is mitigating.

[0061] It is to be understood that the cause may include any other suitable information or combination of information, and that the report may include any other suitable content, and this disclosure is not limited to these aspects.

[0062] For the sake of explanation, some exemplary embodiments will be described in relation to Figures 4A and 4B. Figure 4A is a diagram (400A) showing an exemplary report on the change of relaxation state of signal measurement in some embodiments of the present disclosure. In this example, the relaxation criteria remain satisfied while there is no DRX. Assume that the DRX period is 80 ms.

[0063] 4A, at timing t1, the first device 110 detects that the mitigation criteria are met and starts mitigation. However, at timing t1, the first device 110 does not transmit a #1 mitigation report indicating the start of mitigation because DRX is in use. At timing t2, the DRX on period starts. Then, at timing t2, the first device 110 transmits a #1 mitigation report indicating the start of mitigation.

[0064] When DRX is used, mitigation measurements are performed. At timing t3, an inactivity timer is started, for example for data transmission. After that, DRX is not used, but the first device 110 does not send a #2 mitigation report indicating a return to non-mitigation measurements. Non-mitigation measurements are performed when DRX is not used. When the inactivity timer expires, the mitigation criteria are still met and the first device 110 can start mitigating measurements again. However, since a change in mitigation state is only triggered by a change from non-DRX to DRX, the first device 110 does not send a #3 mitigation report again indicating the start of mitigation.

[0065] 4B is a diagram (400B) showing an example of a report on a change in relaxation state of a signal measurement in some embodiments of the present disclosure. The relaxation criteria in this example are not met during non-DRX. Assume that the DRX period is 80 ms.

[0066] As shown in FIG 4B, at timing t4, the first device 110 detects that the mitigation criteria are met and starts mitigation. However, at timing t4, the first device 110 does not transmit a #1 mitigation report indicating the start of mitigation because DRX is in use. At timing t5, the DRX on period starts. Then, at timing t5, the first device 110 transmits a #1 mitigation report indicating the start of mitigation.

[0067] If DRX is used, mitigation measurements are performed. At time t6, an inactivity timer is started, for example for data transmission. After that, DRX is not used, but the first device 110 does not send a #2 mitigation report indicating a return to non-mitigation measurements. If DRX is not used, non-mitigation measurements are performed.

[0068] At timing t7, the first device 110 may detect that the mitigation criteria are no longer met. When the inactivity timer expires, the first device 110 may enter "DRX is in use" and continue non-mitigation. The first device 110 may not transmit a #3 mitigation report indicating the start of non-mitigation even if the inactivity timer expires. At timing t8, the DRX on period begins. At this time, the first device 110 transmits a #3 mitigation report indicating a change from mitigation to non-mitigation.

[0069] So far, the solution of the relaxation state report according to the embodiment of the present disclosure has been described. It should be noted that the operations shown in Fig. 3 are not necessarily required to implement the embodiment of the present disclosure, and more or multiple operations may be adapted as necessary. The process of Fig. 3 can properly send a report on the change of the relaxation state of the signal measurement, and can avoid unnecessary signaling overhead and additional power consumption.

[0070] Example implementation of this method Corresponding to the process described in Figure 3, embodiments of the present disclosure provide communication methods implemented in a first device and a second device, which are described below with reference to Figures 5-6.

[0071] 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method 500 of communication implemented in a first device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 500 may be implemented in the first device 110 shown in FIG. 1. For discussion purposes, the method 500 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that the method 500 may further include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some illustrated blocks, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0072] 5, in block 510, the first device 110 performs a first evaluation to determine whether a signal measurement relaxation criterion is met. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may perform the first evaluation by evaluating at least one of a radio link quality, a mobility state, or a serving cell quality. It should be understood that other suitable methods are also possible.

[0073] At block 520, the first device 110 performs a second evaluation to determine whether a transition between DRX and non-DRX occurs. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is in non-DRX in response to DRX not being configured. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the first device 110 is in non-DRX in response to DRX being configured and at least one of: a DRX inactivity timer is running, a retransmission timer for downlink DRX is running, a retransmission timer for uplink DRX is running, an RA contention resolution timer is running, an SR transmitted on the PUCCH is pending, or a PDCCH transmission has not been received after successful reception of an RAR for a preamble not selected by the MAC entity, and the PDCCH transmission indicates a new transmission addressed to the MAC entity's identity.

[0074] At block 530, the first device 110 determines whether a report regarding a change in the mitigation state of the signal measurement is initiated to be sent to the second device 120 based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation.

[0075] In some embodiments, if the mitigation state is changed only by a transition between DRX and non-DRX, the first device 110 may determine that a report is not to be initiated to be transmitted to the second device 120. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may further keep the first evaluation running.

[0076] In some embodiments, if the mitigation state has changed based on the mitigation criteria, the first device 110 may determine that a report is to be initiated to be sent to the second device 120 .

[0077] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may delay sending a report until the on-period begins in response to at least one of: a report being triggered during DRX, the report indicating a change in the mitigation state of signal measurements from mitigated to non-mitigated, or a configuration being received from the second device 120 indicating that reports are not allowed to be sent during DRX.

[0078] In some embodiments, the report may include at least one of the period during which the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement was performed or the cause of the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement. It should be appreciated that other suitable information may also be included in the report.

[0079] In some embodiments, the cause may include at least one of: a change in low mobility state, a change in serving cell quality, a set of signals for which a change in mitigation state occurred, signal measurements being relaxed while the report is being transmitted, mitigation criteria being met and signal measurements being relaxed during DRX, or signal measurements being non-mitigated while the report is being transmitted and signal measurements being relaxed after transmission of the report. It should be understood that other suitable information may also be utilized.

[0080] In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the relaxation criteria are met during non-DRX. In response to initiation of DRX, the first device 110 may perform relaxation of signal measurements. In some embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the relaxation criteria are not met during non-DRX. In response to initiation of DRX, the first device 110 may perform non-relaxation of signal measurements.

[0081] The method 500 allows reports regarding changes in mitigation states of signal measurements to be sent appropriately, avoiding unnecessary signaling overhead and additional power consumption.

[0082] 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method 600 of communication implemented in a second device in an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented in the second device 120 shown in FIG. For purposes of discussion, the method 600 will be described with reference to FIG. 1. It should be understood that the method 600 may further include additional blocks not shown and / or omit some illustrated blocks, and that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this respect.

[0083] As shown in FIG. 6, in block 610, the second device 120 transmits a configuration to the first device 110 indicating that reports regarding changes in the mitigation state of signal measurements are not allowed to be transmitted during DRX.

[0084] At block 620, the second device 120 receives from the first device 110 a report triggered based on the mitigation criteria of the signal measurements.

[0085] In some embodiments, the report may include at least one of the period during which the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement was performed or the cause of the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement, although it should be understood that other suitable information may also be used.

[0086] In some embodiments, the cause may include at least one of: a change in low mobility state, a change in serving cell quality, a set of signals for which a change in mitigation state occurred, signal measurements being relaxed while the report is being transmitted, mitigation criteria being met and signal measurements being relaxed during DRX, or signal measurements being non-mitigated while the report is being transmitted and signal measurements being relaxed after transmission of the report. It should be understood that other suitable information may also be utilized.

[0087] The method 600 allows reports regarding changes in mitigation state of signal measurements to be sent appropriately based on network configuration, avoiding unnecessary signaling overhead and additional power consumption. Furthermore, at least the network can avoid a flood of UE reports whose sole purpose is to inform the network that mitigation measurements have been started or ended.

[0088] Apparatus and device embodiments In some exemplary embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 500 (e.g., the first device 110) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0089] In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus comprises means for performing, at the first device, a first evaluation to determine whether a signal measurement mitigation criterion is satisfied, means for performing a second evaluation to determine whether a transition between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception has occurred, and means for determining whether a report regarding a change in the signal measurement mitigation state is initiated to be sent to the second device based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation.

[0090] In some embodiments, the means for performing a first evaluation may include means for evaluating at least one of a radio link quality, a mobility state, or a serving cell quality.

[0091] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for determining may include means for determining that the report is not initiated from being transmitted to the second device in accordance with a determination that the mitigation state is changed only by a transition between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception. In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus may further comprise means for maintaining performing the first evaluation.

[0092] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for performing the second evaluation comprises means for determining that the first device is in non-discontinuous reception in response to discontinuous reception not being configured. In some exemplary embodiments, the means for performing the second evaluation includes means for determining that the first device is in non-discontinuous reception in response to discontinuous reception being configured and at least one of: an inactivity timer for discontinuous reception is running, a retransmission timer for downlink discontinuous reception is running, a retransmission timer for uplink discontinuous reception is running, a contention resolution timer for random access is running, a scheduling request transmitted on a physical uplink control channel is pending, or a physical downlink control channel transmission has not been received after successfully receiving a random access response to a preamble not selected by the media access control entity, the physical downlink control channel transmission indicating a new transmission addressed to the identity of the media access control entity.

[0093] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for determining comprises means for determining that a report is initiated to be transmitted to the second device in accordance with a determination that the mitigation state has changed based on the mitigation criteria. In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus further comprises means for delaying transmission of the report until the on-period begins in response to at least one of the report being triggered during discontinuous reception, the report indicating a change in the mitigation state from mitigating signal measurements to not mitigating signal measurements, or a configuration being received from the second device, the configuration indicating that reports are not permitted to be transmitted during discontinuous reception.

[0094] In some exemplary embodiments, the report includes at least one of the period during which the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement was performed or the cause of the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement.

[0095] In some example embodiments, the causes include at least one of: a change in low mobility state, a change in serving cell quality, a set of signals for which a change in mitigation state occurs, signal measurements being mitigated while the report is being transmitted, mitigation criteria being met and signal measurements being mitigated during discontinuous reception, or signal measurements being not mitigated while the report is being transmitted and signal measurements being mitigated after transmission of the report.

[0096] In some exemplary embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any of the methods 600 (e.g., the second device 120) may comprise means for performing each step of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuit or a software module.

[0097] In some exemplary embodiments, the apparatus includes means for transmitting, at the second device, a setting to the first device indicating that reports regarding changes in the mitigation state of signal measurements are not allowed to be transmitted during discontinuous reception, and means for receiving, from the first device, reports triggered based on the mitigation criteria of the signal measurements.

[0098] In some exemplary embodiments, the report includes at least one of the period during which the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement was performed or the cause of the change in mitigation state of the signal measurement.

[0099] In some example embodiments, the causes include at least one of: a change in low mobility state, a change in serving cell quality, a set of signals causing a change in mitigation state, signal measurements being relaxed while the report is being transmitted, mitigation criteria being met and signal measurements being relaxed during discontinuous reception, or signal measurements not being relaxed while the report is being transmitted and signal measurements being relaxed after transmission of the report.

[0100] 7 is a simplified block diagram of an apparatus 700 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The apparatus 700 may be provided to implement a first device or a second device, such as the first device 110 or the second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the apparatus 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver) coupled to the processor 710.

[0101] The communication module 740 is for bidirectional communication. The communication module 740 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0102] The processor 710 may be of any type suitable for a local technology network and may include, by way of non-limiting examples, 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 device 700 may have multiple processors, such as application specific integrated circuit chips that are slaved in time to a clock that synchronizes a main processor.

[0103] The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read only memory (ROM) 724, electronically programmable read only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disks, compact disks (CDs), digital video disks (DVDs), and other magnetic and / or optical storage devices. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that do not persist when power is lost.

[0104] The computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The program 730 may be stored in the ROM 724. The processor 710 can load the program 730 into the RAM 722 to perform any suitable operations and processes.

[0105] The embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by a program 730 such that the apparatus 700 executes the processes of the present disclosure as described with reference to Figure 3. The embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or a combination of software and hardware.

[0106] In some exemplary embodiments, the program 730 may be included in a computer readable medium that may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage accessible by the device 700. The computing device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer readable medium into the RAM 722 and execute it. The computer readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage device, such as a ROM, an EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, a CD, a DVD, etc. FIG. 8 shows an example of a computer readable medium 800 in the form of a CD or DVD. The computer readable medium has the program 730 stored thereon.

[0107] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic, or any combination thereof. 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 various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other graphical representations, it should be understood that the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or a controller or other computing device, or some combination thereof, in non-limiting examples.

[0108] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored in a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that execute on a computing device on a target real or virtual processor to perform the methods 500 and 600 as described above with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc. that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split among program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed in local or distributed devices. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0109] The program codes for implementing the methods of the present disclosure can be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or controller of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, and when the program codes are executed by the processor or controller, the specific functions / operations in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams are implemented. The program codes can be executed entirely on the machine, partially on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partially on the machine and partially on a remote machine, or entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0110] In the context of the present disclosure, computer program code or associated data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable a device, computing device, or processor to perform the various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer readable media, and the like.

[0111] The computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium includes, but is not limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of the computer-readable storage medium include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0112] Furthermore, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring such operations to be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or to perform all of the operations depicted, to achieve desired results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be preferred. Similarly, although some specific implementation details are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limiting the scope of the disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that are specific to certain embodiments. Certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in multiple embodiments separately or in any suitable subcombination.

[0113] Although the present disclosure has been described in language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure as defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A first device At least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, by the at least one processor: performing a first evaluation to determine whether a signal measurement relaxation criterion is satisfied; performing a second evaluation to determine whether a transition occurs between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception; determining whether a report regarding a change in the mitigation state of the signal measurements is to be initiated to the second device based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation; A first device configured to cause the first device to execute the following:

2. The first device is determining that the report is not to be initiated from being transmitted to the second device in accordance with determining that the mitigation state is changed only by the transition between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception. The first device according to claim 1 , adapted to determine whether the report is to be initiated from being transmitted by:

3. The first device further comprises: maintaining the outcome of said first evaluation; The first device according to claim 2 .

4. The first device is The discontinuous reception is not set. The discontinuous reception is set, an inactivity timer for discontinuous reception is running; a retransmission timer for said discontinuous reception of the downlink is running; a retransmission timer for said discontinuous reception of an uplink is running; The random access contention resolution timer is running. that a scheduling request transmitted on the physical uplink control channel is pending; after successful reception of a random access response for a preamble not selected by a medium access control entity, a physical downlink control channel transmission has not been received, said physical downlink control channel transmission indicating a new transmission addressed to the identity of said medium access control entity; At least one of determining that the first device is in the non-discontinuous reception in response to any of The first device of claim 1 , adapted to perform the second evaluation by:

5. The first device is determining, based on the mitigation criteria, to initiate sending of the report to the second device in response to a determination that the mitigation state has been changed; The first device of claim 1 , adapted to determine whether the report is to be initiated for transmission by:

6. The first device further comprises: said reporting being triggered during discontinuous reception; the report indicates a change in relaxation state from relaxed signal measurements to non-relaxed signal measurements; or receiving a configuration from the second device indicating that the report is not permitted to be transmitted during discontinuous reception; delaying the transmission of the report until an on-duration timer or an inactivity timer starts in response to at least one of The first device according to claim 5 .

7. The report states: the time period during which the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement was performed; or A cause of the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement; The first device of claim 1 , further comprising at least one of:

8. The cause is: Change in low mobility state, Changes in the quality of serving cells, a set of signals at which said change in said relaxed state occurs; said signal measurements are relaxed while said report is being transmitted; the relaxation criteria are met and the signal measurements are relaxed during the discontinuous reception; the signaling measurements are not relaxed while the report is being transmitted, and the signaling measurements are relaxed after the transmission of the report; The first device of claim 7 , comprising at least one of:

9. The first device is radio link quality, Moving state, or Serving cell quality, evaluating at least one of: The first device of claim 1 , adapted to perform the first evaluation by:

10. The first device further comprises: determining whether the relaxation criteria are satisfied during the non-discontinuous reception; In response to initiating the discontinuous reception, performing a relaxation of the signal measurement if the relaxation criteria are met; or performing a non-mitigation of the signal measurement if the mitigation criteria are not met; The first device according to claim 1 .

11. a second device, At least one processor; at least one memory containing computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, by the at least one processor: sending a configuration to the first device indicating that reports regarding changes in the mitigation state of signal measurements are not permitted to be sent during discontinuous reception; receiving, from the first device, the report triggered based on a mitigation criterion for the signal measurement; The second device is configured to cause the second device to execute the

12. The report states: the time period during which the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement was performed; or A cause of the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement; The second device of claim 11 , comprising at least one of:

13. The cause is: Change in low mobility state, Changes in the quality of serving cells, a set of signals at which said change in said relaxed state occurs; said signal measurements are relaxed while said report is being transmitted; the relaxation criteria are met and the signal measurements are relaxed during the discontinuous reception; the signaling measurements are not relaxed while the report is being transmitted, and the signaling measurements are relaxed after the transmission of the report; The second device of claim 12 , comprising at least one of:

14. 1. A communication method comprising: performing a first evaluation at the first device to determine whether a relaxation criterion for signal measurements is satisfied; performing a second evaluation to determine whether a transition between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception has occurred; determining whether a report regarding a change in the mitigation state of the signal measurements is initiated to be sent to a second device based on at least one of the first evaluation or the second evaluation; The method includes:

15. Determining whether the report is to be transmitted includes: determining that the report is not initiated from being transmitted to the second device in response to a determination that the mitigation state is changed only by the transition between discontinuous reception and non-discontinuous reception; The method of claim 14 comprising:

16. maintaining said first evaluation; The method of claim 15 further comprising:

17. Performing the second evaluation includes: The discontinuous reception is not set. The discontinuous reception is set, an inactivity timer for discontinuous reception is running; a retransmission timer for said discontinuous reception of the downlink is running; a retransmission timer for said discontinuous reception of an uplink is running; The random access contention resolution timer is running. that a scheduling request transmitted on the physical uplink control channel is pending; after successful reception of a random access response for a preamble not selected by a medium access control entity, a physical downlink control channel transmission has not been received, said physical downlink control channel transmission indicating a new transmission addressed to the identity of said medium access control entity; At least one of determining that the first device is in the non-discontinuous reception in response to any one of The method of claim 14 comprising:

18. Determining whether the report is to be transmitted includes: determining that the report is initiated to be transmitted to the second device in response to determining that the mitigation state has been changed based on the mitigation criteria. The method of claim 14 comprising:

19. said reporting being triggered during discontinuous reception; the report indicates a change in relaxation state from relaxed signal measurements to non-relaxed signal measurements; or receiving a configuration from the second device, the configuration indicating that the report is not permitted to be transmitted during discontinuous reception; delaying the transmission of the report until an on-period begins in response to at least one of 20. The method of claim 18, further comprising:

20. The report states: the time period during which the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement was performed; or A cause of the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement; The method of claim 14 , comprising at least one of:

21. The cause is: Change in low mobility state, Changes in the quality of serving cells, a set of signals at which said change in said relaxed state occurs; said signal measurements being relaxed while said report is being transmitted; the relaxation criteria are met and the signal measurements are relaxed during the discontinuous reception; the signaling measurements are not relaxed while the report is being transmitted, and the signaling measurements are relaxed after the transmission of the report; 21. The method of claim 20, comprising at least one of:

22. 1. A communication method comprising: transmitting, at the second device, a configuration to the first device indicating that the first device does not allow reports regarding changes in the mitigation state of the signal measurement to be transmitted during discontinuous reception; receiving, from the first device, the report triggered based on a mitigation criterion for the signal measurement; The method includes:

23. The report states: the time period during which the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement was performed; or A cause of the change in the relaxation state of the signal measurement; 23. The method of claim 22, comprising at least one of:

24. The above cause is Change in low mobility state, Changes in the quality of serving cells, a set of signals at which said change in said relaxed state occurs; said signal measurements being relaxed while said report is being transmitted; the relaxation criteria are met and the signal measurements are relaxed during the discontinuous reception; the signaling measurements are not relaxed while the report is being transmitted, and the signaling measurements are relaxed after the transmission of the report; 24. The method of claim 23, comprising at least one of:

25. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform a method according to any one of claims 14 to 21 or any one of claims 22 to 24.

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