Beam measurement configuration for cell groups

Abstract

Disclosed are an apparatus, method, and system for configuring beam measurements for a cell group. One method (1100) includes, in a user equipment, receiving (1102) configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than a current serving cell. The method (1100) includes performing (1104) beam measurements at a physical layer. The beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. The method (1100) includes determining (1106) a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements. The trigger event corresponds to a trigger cell. The method (1100) includes determining (1108) a type of report based on the configuration of the trigger cell.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The subject matter disclosed herein relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to configuring beam measurements for a group of cells. [Background technology]

[0002] In some wireless communication systems, communication may occur at different layers, which may be configured separately from each other. Summary of the Invention [Means for solving the problem]

[0003] A method for configuring beam measurements for a cell group is disclosed. Apparatuses and systems also perform the functions of the method. One embodiment of the method includes receiving, at a user equipment (UE), configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the method includes performing beam measurements at the physical layer. The beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the method includes determining a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements. The trigger event corresponds to a trigger cell. In various embodiments, the method includes determining a type of report based on the configuration of the trigger cell.

[0004] An apparatus for configuring beam measurements for a cell group includes a receiver for receiving configuration information for the cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a processor for: performing beam measurements at a physical layer, the beam measurements corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determining a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements, the trigger event corresponding to a trigger cell; and determining a type of report based on a configuration of the trigger cell.

[0005] Another embodiment of a method for configuring beam measurements for a cell group includes, at a network device, transmitting configuration information for the cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving a report from a UE. The report corresponds to the beam measurement via a report of a type corresponding to a trigger cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0006] Another apparatus for configuring beam measurements for a cell group includes a transmitter for transmitting configuration information for the cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the apparatus includes a receiver for receiving a report from the UE. The report corresponds to the beam measurement via a type report corresponding to a trigger cell, and the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0007] A more particular description of the embodiments briefly described above will be made with reference to specific embodiments that are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. With the understanding that these drawings illustrate only some embodiments and therefore should not be considered limiting in scope, the embodiments will be described and explained with additional specificity and detail through the use of the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a wireless communication system for configuring beam measurements for a group of cells. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus that may be used to configure beam measurements for a cell group. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of an apparatus that may be used to configure beam measurements for a cell group. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system for an inter-gNB handover (HO) procedure. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system for HO within an AM and / or user plane function (UPF). [Figure 6] FIG. 10 is a block diagram illustrating one embodiment of MIMO parameters including additional cells. [Figure 7] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a measurement model in the system. [Figure 8] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system using L1-based mobility. [Figure 9] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system using L1-assisted mobility with security key exchange. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system using L2-based mobility. [Figure 11]FIG. 10 is a flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method for configuring beam measurements for a cell group. [Figure 12] FIG. 10 is a flow chart diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method for configuring beam measurements for a group of cells. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, aspects of the embodiments may be embodied as a system, apparatus, method, or program product. Accordingly, the embodiments may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment (including firmware, resident software, microcode, etc.), or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects, all of which may be generally referred to herein as a "circuit," "module," or "system." Furthermore, the embodiments may take the form of a program product embodied in one or more computer-readable storage devices that store machine-readable code, computer-readable code, and / or program code, hereinafter referred to as code. The storage devices may be tangible, non-transitory, and / or non-transmittable. The storage devices may not embody signals; in some embodiments, the storage devices simply utilize signals to access the code.

[0010] Some of the functional units described herein may be labeled as modules to more specifically emphasize their implementation independence. For example, a module may be implemented as a hardware circuit comprising custom very-large-scale integration (VLSI) circuits or gate arrays, off-the-shelf semiconductors such as logic chips, transistors, or other discrete components. A module may also be implemented in programmable hardware devices such as field programmable gate arrays, programmable array logic, programmable logic devices, etc.

[0011] Modules may also be implemented in code and / or software for execution by various types of processors. For example, an identified module of code may include one or more physical or logical blocks of executable code, which may be organized as, for example, an object, a procedure, or a function. Nevertheless, the executable files of an identified module need not be physically located together, but may include separate instructions stored in different locations that, when logically joined together, comprise the module and achieve the stated purpose of the module.

[0012] In fact, a module of code may be a single instruction, or many instructions, and may even be distributed among several different code segments of different programs, across several memory devices. Similarly, operational data may be identified and depicted herein in modules and may be embodied in any suitable form and organized within any suitable type of data structure. The operational data may be collected as a single data set or may be distributed in different locations, including across different computer-readable storage devices. When a module or portion of a module is implemented in software, the software portion is stored in one or more computer-readable storage devices.

[0013] Any combination of one or more computer-readable mediums may be utilized. The computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable storage medium may be a storage device that stores the code. The storage device may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, holographic, micromechanical, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the above.

[0014] More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of storage devices 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), a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the above. In the context of this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that can contain or store a program for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0015] The code to perform operations for the embodiments may be any number of lines and may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages, including object-oriented programming languages ​​such as Python, Ruby, Java, Smalltalk, C++, and the like, and traditional procedural programming languages ​​such as the "C" programming language, and / or machine languages ​​such as assembly language. The code may run entirely on the user's computer, partially on the user's computer, as a standalone software package, partially on the user's computer and partially on a remote computer, or entirely on a remote computer or server. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through any type of network, including a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection to the external computer may be made (e.g., through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0016] Throughout this specification, reference to "one embodiment," "an embodiment," or similar expressions means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with that embodiment is included in at least one embodiment. Thus, throughout this specification, appearances of the phrases "in one embodiment," "in an embodiment," and similar expressions can, but do not necessarily, all refer to the same embodiment and can mean "one or more, but not all, embodiments" unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "including," "comprising," and "having," and variations thereof, mean "including but not limited to," unless expressly specified otherwise. An enumerated list of items does not imply that any or all of the items are mutually exclusive unless expressly specified otherwise. The terms "a," "an," and "the" also refer to "one or more," unless expressly indicated otherwise.

[0017] Furthermore, the described features, structures, or characteristics of the embodiments may be combined in any suitable manner. In the following description, numerous specific details are provided, such as examples of programming, software modules, user selections, network transactions, database queries, database structures, hardware modules, hardware circuits, hardware chips, etc., to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments. However, one skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other methods, components, materials, etc. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described to avoid obscuring aspects of the embodiments.

[0018] Aspects of the embodiments are described below with reference to schematic flowchart illustrations and / or schematic block diagrams of methods, apparatus, systems, and program products according to the embodiments. It will be understood that each block of the schematic flowchart illustrations and / or schematic block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the schematic flowchart illustrations and / or schematic block diagrams, may be implemented by code. The code may be provided to a processor of a general-purpose computer, special-purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce machines, whereby the instructions, executing via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for performing the functions / acts specified in one or more blocks of the schematic flowchart illustrations and / or schematic block diagrams.

[0019] Code capable of instructing a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to function in a particular manner may also be stored in a storage device, whereby the instructions stored in the storage device produce an article of manufacture including instructions that implement the functions / acts specified in one or more blocks of the schematic flowchart diagrams and / or schematic block diagrams.

[0020] Code for causing a series of operational steps to be executed on a computer, other programmable apparatus, or other device may also be loaded into a computer, other programmable data processing apparatus, or other device to produce a computer-implemented process, whereby the code executing on the computer or other programmable apparatus provides a process for performing the functions / acts specified in one or more blocks of the flowcharts and / or block diagrams.

[0021] The schematic flowchart diagrams and / or schematic block diagrams in the figures illustrate the architecture, functionality, and operation of possible implementations of apparatus, systems, methods, and program products according to various embodiments. In this regard, each block in the schematic flowchart diagrams and / or schematic block diagrams may represent a module, segment, or portion of code, which comprises one or more executable instructions of code for implementing the specified logical function(s).

[0022] It should also be noted that in some alternative implementations, the functions noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the figures. For example, two blocks shown in succession may, in fact, be executed substantially concurrently, or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending on the functionality involved. Other steps and methods may be devised that are equivalent in function, logic, or effect to one or more blocks of the illustrated figures, or portions thereof.

[0023] Various arrow and line types may be utilized in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams, but they are understood not to limit the scope of the corresponding embodiments. Indeed, some arrows or other connectors may be used to indicate only the logical flow of the illustrated embodiments. For example, arrows may indicate waiting or monitoring periods of unspecified duration between recited steps of the illustrated embodiments. It should also be noted that each block of the block diagrams and / or flowchart diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the block diagrams and / or flowchart diagrams, may be implemented by dedicated hardware-based systems that perform the specified functions or acts, or a combination of dedicated hardware and code.

[0024] The description of an element in each figure may refer to the element in the preceding figure. Like numbers refer to like elements in all figures, including alternative embodiments of like elements.

[0025] 1 illustrates an embodiment of a wireless communication system 100 for configuring beam measurements for a group of cells. In one embodiment, the wireless communication system 100 includes a remote unit 102 and a network unit 104. Those skilled in the art will recognize that although a particular number of remote units 102 and network units 104 are shown in FIG. 1 , any number of remote units 102 and network units 104 may be included in the wireless communication system 100.

[0026] In one embodiment, the remote unit 102 may include a computing device such as a desktop computer, a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a tablet computer, a smartphone, a smart television (e.g., a television connected to the Internet), a set-top box, a game console, a security system (including security cameras), an in-vehicle computer, a network device (e.g., a router, a switch, a modem), an aircraft, a drone, etc. In some embodiments, the remote unit 102 includes a wearable device such as a smart watch, a fitness band, an optical head-mounted display, etc. Additionally, the remote unit 102 may be referred to as a subscriber unit, a mobile, a mobile station, a user, a terminal, a mobile terminal, a fixed terminal, a subscriber station, a UE, a user terminal, a device, or other terms used in the art. The remote unit 102 may communicate directly with one or more of the network units 104 via UL communication signals. In some embodiments, the remote unit 102 may communicate directly with other remote units 102 via sidelink communication.

[0027] The network units 104 may be distributed over a geographic region. In some embodiments, the network unit 104 also includes an access point, an access terminal, a base, a base station, a location server, a core network (CN), a radio network entity, a Node-B, an evolved node-B (eNB), a 5G node-B (gNB), a Home Node-B, a relay node, a device, a core network, an air server, a radio access node, an access point (AP), a new radio (NR), a network entity, an access and mobility management function (AMF), a unified data management (UDM), a unified data repository (UDR), a UDM / UDR, a policy control function (PCF), a radio access network (RAN), a network slice selection function (NSSF), an operations, administration, and management (OAM), a session management function (SMF), a UPF, an application function, an authentication server function (AUSF), a security anchor function (SECF), a service provider function (SFE), a service provider ... The network unit 104 may be referred to by and / or may include one or more of a Trusted Non-3GPP Gateway Function (SEAF), a Trusted Non-3GPP Gateway Function (TNGF), or any other terminology used in the art. The network unit 104 is generally part of a radio access network that includes one or more controllers that are communicatively coupled to one or more corresponding network units 104.The radio access network is typically communicatively coupled to one or more core networks, which may be coupled to other networks such as the Internet and the public switched telephone network, among other networks. These and other elements of the radio access and core networks are not shown but are generally well known by those skilled in the art.

[0028] In one implementation, the wireless communication system 100 complies with the NR protocol standardized in the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), where the network unit 104 transmits on the downlink (DL) using an OFDM modulation scheme and the remote unit 102 transmits on the uplink (UL) using a single-carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) scheme or an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) scheme. More generally, however, wireless communication system 100 may implement any other open or proprietary communication protocol, such as WiMAX, a variant of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11, global system for mobile communications (GSM), general packet radio service (GPRS), universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS), a variant of long term evolution (LTE), code division multiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), Bluetooth, ZigBee, or Sigfox, among other protocols. This disclosure is not intended to be limited to any particular wireless communication system architecture or protocol implementation.

[0029] The network unit 104 may serve several remote units 102 within a serving area, e.g., a cell or a cell sector, via a wireless communication link. The network unit 104 transmits DL communication signals to serve the remote units 102 in the time, frequency, and / or spatial domains.

[0030] In various embodiments, the remote unit 102 may receive configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the remote unit 102 may perform beam measurements at the physical layer. These beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the remote unit 102 may determine a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements. The trigger event corresponds to a trigger cell. In various embodiments, the remote unit 102 may determine a type of reporting based on the configuration of the trigger cell. Thus, the remote unit 102 may be used to configure beam measurements for the cell group.

[0031] In some embodiments, the network unit 104 may transmit configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the network unit 104 may receive a report from the UE. The report corresponds to a beam measurement via a report of a type corresponding to a trigger cell, where the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. Thus, the network unit 104 may be used to configure the beam measurement for the cell group.

[0032] 2 illustrates one embodiment of an apparatus 200 that may be used to configure beam measurements for a cell group. The apparatus 200 includes one embodiment of the remote unit 102. Additionally, the remote unit 102 may include a processor 202, a memory 204, an input device 206, a display 208, a transmitter 210, and a receiver 212. In some embodiments, the input device 206 and the display 208 are combined into a single device, such as a touchscreen. In some embodiments, the remote unit 102 may not include the input device 206 and / or the display 208. In various embodiments, the remote unit 102 may include one or more of the processor 202, the memory 204, the transmitter 210, and the receiver 212, and may not include the input device 206 and / or the display 208.

[0033] In one embodiment, the processor 202 may include any known controller capable of executing computer-readable instructions and / or performing logical operations. For example, the processor 202 may be a microcontroller, microprocessor, central processing unit (CPU), graphics processing unit (GPU), coprocessor, field programmable gate array (FPGA), or similar programmable controller. In some embodiments, the processor 202 executes instructions stored in the memory 204 to implement the methods and routines described herein. The processor 202 is communicatively coupled to the memory 204, the input device 206, the display 208, the transmitter 210, and the receiver 212.

[0034] In one embodiment, memory 204 is a computer-readable storage medium. In some embodiments, memory 204 includes a volatile computer storage medium. For example, memory 204 may include RAM, including dynamic RAM (DRAM), synchronous dynamic RAM (SDRAM), and / or static RAM (SRAM). In some embodiments, memory 204 includes a non-volatile computer storage medium. For example, memory 204 may include a hard disk drive, flash memory, or any other suitable non-volatile computer storage device. In some embodiments, memory 204 includes both volatile and non-volatile computer storage media. In some embodiments, memory 204 also stores program code and associated data, such as an operating system or other controller algorithms running on the remote unit 102.

[0035] In one embodiment, input device 206 may include any known computer input device, including a touch panel, buttons, keyboard, stylus, microphone, etc. In some embodiments, input device 206 may be integrated with display 208, for example, as a touch screen or similar touch-sensitive display. In some embodiments, input device 206 includes a touch screen so that text may be entered using a virtual keyboard displayed on the touch screen and / or by handwriting on the touch screen. In some embodiments, input device 206 includes two or more different devices, such as a keyboard and a touch panel.

[0036] In one embodiment, display 208 may include any known electrically controllable display or display device. Display 208 may be designed to output visual, audible, and / or tactile signals. In some embodiments, display 208 includes an electronic display capable of outputting visual data to a user. For example, display 208 may include, but is not limited to, a liquid crystal display (LCD), a light emitting diode (LED) display, an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display, a projector, or a similar display device capable of outputting images, text, and the like to a user. As another non-limiting example, display 208 may include a wearable display such as a smartwatch, smart glasses, a head-up display, or the like. Furthermore, display 208 may be a component of a smartphone, a personal digital assistant, a television, a tablet computer, a notebook (laptop) computer, a personal computer, a vehicle dashboard, or the like.

[0037] In some embodiments, the display 208 includes one or more speakers for producing sound. For example, the display 208 may produce an audible alert or notification (e.g., a beep or chime). In some embodiments, the display 208 includes one or more haptic devices for producing vibration, movement, or other tactile feedback. In some embodiments, all or a portion of the display 208 may be integrated with the input device 206. For example, the input device 206 and the display 208 may form a touchscreen or similar touch-sensitive display. In other embodiments, the display 208 may be located near the input device 206.

[0038] In some embodiments, the receiver 212 receives configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the processor 202 performs beam measurements at a physical layer, the beam measurements corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof, determines a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements, the trigger event corresponds to a trigger cell, and determines a type of report based on a configuration of the trigger cell.

[0039] Although only one transmitter 210 and one receiver 212 are shown, the remote unit 102 may have any suitable number of transmitters 210 and receivers 212. The transmitter 210 and receiver 212 may be any suitable type of transmitter and receiver. In one embodiment, the transmitter 210 and receiver 212 may be part of a transceiver.

[0040] 3 shows an embodiment of an apparatus 300 that may be used to configure beam measurements for a cell group. The apparatus 300 includes an embodiment of the network unit 104. Further, the network unit 104 may include a processor 302, a memory 304, an input device 306, a display 308, a transmitter 310, and a receiver 312. As can be appreciated, the processor 302, the memory 304, the input device 306, the display 308, the transmitter 310, and the receiver 312 may be substantially similar to the processor 202, the memory 204, the input device 206, the display 208, the transmitter 210, and the receiver 212 of the remote unit 102, respectively.

[0041] In some embodiments, the transmitter 310 transmits configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the receiver 312 receives a report from the UE. The report corresponds to a beam measurement via a report of a type corresponding to a trigger cell, where the beam measurement corresponds to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0042] It should be noted that one or more embodiments described herein may be combined into a single embodiment.

[0043] In some embodiments, when a UE moves from the coverage area of ​​one cell to the coverage area of ​​another cell, a serving cell change must occur at some point because the current serving cell does not remain a viable radio option. The serving cell change may be triggered by Layer 3 (L3) measurements or by radio resource control (RRC) signaling-triggered reconfiguration in synchronization with the primary cell (PCell) and primary secondary cell (PSCell) changes. In some embodiments, there may be a release of the SCell. In various embodiments, there may be a full Layer 2 (L2) and / or Layer 1 (L1) reset, which may lead to longer latency, more overhead, and longer disruption times than beam switching mobility. In some embodiments, L1 and / or L2 mobility enhancements may enable a serving cell change via L1 and / or L2 signaling to reduce latency, overhead, and / or disruption times.

[0044] In various embodiments, a conditional PSCell change (CPC) and / or conditional PSCell addition (CPA) are supported. A UE configured with CPC / CPA may release the CPC / CPA configuration if it completes random access with transmission to the target PSCell. In such a condition, the UE may not have an opportunity to perform subsequent CPC / CPA without a prior CPC / CPA reconfiguration and reinitialization command from the network. This may increase cell change latency and signaling overhead (e.g., due to frequent secondary cell group (SCG) changes in frequency range 2 (FR2)). Therefore, multi-radio access technology (RAT) (multi-RAT: MR) dual connectivity (DC) (MR-DC) with selective activation of cell groups may enable subsequent CPC / CPA after an SCG change without reconfiguration and reinitialization of the CPC / CPA from the network, which may result in reduced signaling overhead and disruption time for the SCG change.

[0045] In some embodiments, a conditional HO (CHO) and an MR-DC cannot be configured simultaneously. This may limit the usefulness of these two features when an MR-DC is configured. In some embodiments, a CHO and an MR-DC may be configured simultaneously. In various embodiments, a CHO+MR-DC may consider a CHO that includes a target master cell group (MCG) and multiple SCG candidates for a CPC / CPA.

[0046] In some embodiments, RRC connection mobility may be defined.

[0047] Network-controlled mobility may be applied to UEs in RRC_CONNECTED state and may be classified into two types of mobility: cell-level mobility and beam-level mobility. Beam-level mobility includes intra-cell beam-level mobility and inter-cell beam-level mobility.

[0048] Cell-level mobility may use explicit RRC signaling (e.g., HO) to be triggered. For HO between gNBs, the signaling procedure includes at least the basic components shown in FIG. 4.

[0049] 4 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 400 for an inter-gNB HO procedure. System 400 includes a UE 402, a source gNB 404, and a target gNB 406. Each communication in system 400 may include one or more messages.

[0050] In the first communication 408, the source gNB 404 initiates the HO and issues a HANDOVER REQUEST over the Xn interface.

[0051] The target gNB 406 performs admission control (409) and provides the new RRC configuration as part of a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE in a second communication 410.

[0052] In a third communication 412, the source gNB 404 provides the RRC configuration to the UE 402 by forwarding the RRC Reconfiguration message received in the HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE. The RRC Reconfiguration message includes at least a cell ID and all information needed to access the target cell so that the UE 402 can access the target cell without reading system information. In some cases, information needed for contention-based random access and contention-free random access may be included in the RRC Reconfiguration message. The access information to the target cell may include beam-specific information, if any.

[0053] The UE 402 transfers 414 the RRC connection to the target gNB 406 and responds with an RRCReconfigurationComplete message in a fourth communication 416. In some embodiments, user data may be transmitted in the fourth communication 416 if the grant allows it.

[0054] In dual active protocol stack (DAPS) HO, the UE continues to receive downlink user data from the source gNB until it releases the source cell, and continues to transmit uplink user data to the source gNB until the random access procedure to the target gNB is successful.

[0055] Only the source and target PCells are used during DAPS HO. Carrier aggregation (CA), DC, supplementary uplink (SUL), multiple transmission and reception point (TRP) (multi-TRP), (EHC), CHO, (UDC), NR sidelink configuration, and vehicle to everything (V2X) sidelink configuration are released by the source gNB before the HO command is sent to the UE and are not configured by the target gNB until DAPS HO is completed (e.g., at the earliest in the same message that releases the source PCell).

[0056] The RRC-triggered HO mechanisms, except for DAPS HO, require the UE to at least reset the medium access control (MAC) entity and re-establish the radio link connection (RLC); upon receiving the HO command, the UE 1) creates a MAC entity for the target; 2) establishes an RLC entity and associated dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) logical channel for the target for each data radio bearer (DRB) configured with DAPS; 3) for each DRB configured with DAPS, reconfigures packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) entities with separate security and robust header compression (ROHC) capabilities for the source and target and associates them with the RLC entities configured by the source and target, respectively; and 4) retains the remainder of the source configuration until the source is released.

[0057] Both RRC-managed HO with and without PDCP entity re-establishment can be supported. In a DRB using the RLC acknowledged mode (AM) mode, PDCP can either be re-established with security key exchange or can initiate a data recovery procedure without key exchange. In a DRB using the RLC unacknowledged mode (UM) mode, PDCP can either be re-established with security key exchange or can remain intact without key exchange. In a signaling radio bearer (SRB), PDCP can either remain intact and discard its stored PDCP protocol data units (PDUs) and / or service data units (SDUs) without key exchange, or can be re-established with security key exchange.

[0058] In various embodiments, if the target gNB uses the same DRB configuration as the source gNB, data forwarding, in-sequence delivery, and duplicate avoidance in the HO can be guaranteed.

[0059] In NR, a timer-based HO failure procedure may be supported. Furthermore, the RRC connection re-establishment procedure may be used to recover from an HO failure, except for some CHO or DAPS HO scenarios. These scenarios are: 1) when DAPS HO fails, the UE falls back to the source cell configuration, resumes connection with the source cell, and reports a DAPS HO failure via the source without triggering RRC connection re-establishment if the source link is not released; and 2) when the first CHO attempt fails or the HO summary fails, the UE performs cell selection, and if the selected cell is a CHO candidate and the network has configured the UE to attempt CHO after HO and / or CHO failure, the UE attempts CHO once; otherwise, re-establishment is performed. DAPS HO from FR2 to FR2 may not be supported.

[0060] The HO of integrated access and backhaul (IAB) mobile termination (MT) in standalone (SA) mode may follow the same procedure as described for the UE. After backhaul is established, the HO of IAB-MT may be part of an intra-central unit (CU) topology adaptation procedure. Modifications to the configuration of the backhaul adaptation protocol (BAP) sublayer and higher protocol layers above the BAP sublayer may be made.

[0061] Beam-level mobility does not require explicit RRC signaling to be triggered. Beam-level mobility can be intra-cell or inter-cell, the latter being referred to as inter-cell beam management (ICBM). In ICBM, a UE can receive or transmit UE-dedicated channels and / or signals via a TRP associated with a physical cell identifier (PCI) different from the PCI of the serving cell, while non-UE-dedicated channels and / or signals can only be received via a TRP associated with the PCI of the serving cell. The gNB provides the UE with a measurement configuration via RRC signaling, including a configuration of synchronization signal block (SSB) and / or channel state information (CSI) resources and a resource set to report and trigger channel and interference measurements and reporting. In ICBM, the measurement configuration includes SSB resources associated with a PCI different from the PCI of the serving cell. Beam level mobility is then handled at lower layers by physical and MAC layer control signaling and does not require the RRC to know which beam is being used at a given time.

[0062] SSB-based beam-level mobility may be based on SSBs associated with an initial downlink (DL) bandwidth part (BWP) or may be configured only for the initial DL BWP and the DL BWP that includes SSBs associated with the initial DL BWP. For other DL BWPs, beam-level mobility may be performed based only on CSI reference signals (RSs).

[0063] In some embodiments, there may be an HO procedure. In some embodiments, there may be C-Plane handling. In such embodiments, the NR intra-radio access network (RAN) HO performs the preparation and execution phases of the HO procedure, which are performed without the involvement of fifth generation cells (5GC) (e.g., preparation messages are exchanged directly between gNBs). The release of resources at the source gNB during the HO completion phase is triggered by the target gNB. Figure 5 shows a basic HO scenario, where neither the AMF nor the UPF changes.

[0064] 5 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 500 for intra-AM and / or intra-UPF HO. System 500 includes a UE 502, a source gNB 504, a target gNB 506, an AMF 508, and a UPF 510 (e.g., one or more UPFs). Each communication in system 500 may include one or more messages.

[0065] In the first communication 512 and the second communication 514, user data may be communicated.

[0066] In the third communication 516, the context of the UE 502 in the source gNB 504 includes information about roaming and access restrictions provided in either the connection establishment or the last timing advance (TA) update.

[0067] In a fourth communication 518, the source gNB 504 configures a measurement procedure for the UE 502, and the UE 502 reports according to the measurement configuration.

[0068] The source gNB 504 decides (520) to HO to the UE 502 based on the Measurement Report and the RRM information.

[0069] In a fifth communication 522, the source gNB 504 issues a HO Request message to the target gNB 506, passing a transparent RRC container with information necessary to prepare an HO at the target side. This information includes at least the target cell ID, KgNB*, the cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) of the UE 502 at the source gNB, RRM configuration including UE inactivity time, basic AS configuration including antenna information and DL carrier frequency, current quality of service (QoS) flow to DRB mapping rule applied to the UE 502, system information block 1 (SIB1) from the source gNB, the UE 502's capabilities for different RATs, and UE-reported measurement information including PDU session-related information, including beam-related information, if available. The PDU session-related information includes slice information and QoS flow-level QoS profiles. The source gNB 504 may also request a DAPS HO for one or more DRBs. After issuing the HO request, the source gNB 504 should not reconfigure the UE 502, including performing reflected QoS flow to DRB mapping.

[0070] Admission control may be performed by the target gNB 506 (524). Slice-aware admission control may be performed if slice information is sent to the target gNB 506. If a PDU session is associated with an unsupported slice, the target gNB 506 may reject such a PDU session.

[0071] In a sixth communication 526, the target gNB 506 prepares the HO using L1 and / or L2 and sends a HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE to the source gNB 504, which includes a transparent container to be sent as an RRC message to the UE 502 to perform the HO. The target gNB 506 also indicates whether DAPS HO is accepted. Data transfer can begin as soon as the source gNB 504 receives the HANDOVER REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE or as soon as the transmission of the HO command begins in the downlink. For DRBs configured with DAPS, downlink PDCP SDUs are transferred with a sequence number (SN) assigned by the source gNB 504, followed by normal data transfer, until the SN assignment is handed over to the target gNB 506.

[0072] In a seventh communication 528, the source gNB 504 triggers a Uu HO by sending an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE 502, which includes information needed to access the target cell, i.e., at least the target cell ID, the new C-RNTI, and the target gNB's 506 security algorithm identifier for the selected security algorithm. It may also include a set of dedicated random access channel (RACH) resources, an association between the RACH resources and SSBs, an association between the RACH resources and a UE-specific CSI-RS configuration, common RACH resources, and the target cell's system information. For DRBs configured with DAPS, the source gNB 504 does not stop transmitting downlink packets until it receives a HANDOVER SUCCESS message from the target gNB 506. A CHO cannot be configured simultaneously with a DAPS HO. The source gNB 504 may deliver buffered data and new data from the UPF (530). Additionally, the UE 502 may detach from the old cell (532) and synchronize to the new cell.

[0073] In an eighth communication 534, for a DRB configured with DAPS, the source gNB 504 sends an EARLY STATUS TRANSFER message. The DL COUNT value carried in the EARLY STATUS TRANSFER message indicates the PDCP SN and hyperframe number (HFN) of the first PDCP SDU that the source gNB 504 forwards to the target gNB 506. The source gNB 504 does not stop assigning SNs to downlink PDCP SDUs until it sends an SN STATUS TRANSFER message to the target gNB 506.

[0074] In a ninth communication 536, for a DRB not configured with DAPS, the source gNB 504 sends an SN STATUS TRANSFER message to the target gNB 506 to convey the uplink PDCP SN receiver status and downlink PDCP SN transmitter status of the DRB for which PDCP status preservation applies (e.g., for RLC acknowledged mode (AM)). The uplink PDCP SN receiver status includes at least the PDCP SN of the first missing UL PDCP SDU and may include a bitmap of receiver statuses from any sequential UL PDCP SDUs that the UE 502 needs to retransmit in the target cell. The downlink PDCP SN transmitter status indicates the next PDCP SN that the target gNB 506 may assign to a new PDCP SDU that does not yet have a PDCP SN. In the case of DAPS HO, uplink PDCP SN receiver status and downlink PDCP SN transmitter status for DRBs with RLC AM (RLC-AM) not configured with DAPS may be transferred by an SN STATUS TRANSFER message. For DRBs configured with DAPS, the source gNB may additionally send an EARLY STATUS TRANSFER message to signal the discarding of already forwarded PDCP SDUs. The target gNB 506 does not transmit to the UE 502 forwarded downlink PDCP SDUs whose COUNT is less than the conveyed DL COUNT value and discards them if transmission has not yet been attempted.

[0075] In a tenth communication 538, user data may be communicated. Additionally, the target gNB 506 may buffer 539 the user data from the source gNB 504.

[0076] In an eleventh communication 540, the UE 502 synchronizes to the target cell and completes the RRC HO procedure by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the target gNB 506. In the case of DAPS HO, the UE 502 does not leave the source cell when it receives the RRCReconfiguration message. Upon receiving an explicit release from the target node, the UE 502 releases the source resources and configuration and stops DL and / or UL reception and / or transmission with the source. From the RAN's perspective, the DAPS HO is considered complete only after the UE 502 releases the source cell as explicitly requested by the target node. Due to the RRC interruption, subsequent HOs or inter-RAT HOs cannot be initiated until the source cell is released.

[0077] In the twelfth communication 542 and / or the thirteenth communication 544, in the case of DAPS HO, the target gNB 506 sends a HANDOVER SUCCESS message to the source gNB 504 to indicate that the UE 502 has successfully accessed the target cell. In response, the source gNB 504 sends an SN STATUS TRANSFER message for the DRB configured with DAPS, followed by normal data transfer. The uplink PDCP SN receiver status and downlink PDCP SN transmitter status are also carried for the DRB in RLC unacknowledged mode (UM) (RLC-UM) in the SN STATUS TRANSFER message if configured with DAPS.

[0078] In a DRB configured with DAPS, the source gNB 504 does not stop delivering uplink QoS flows to the UPF until it sends the SN STATUS TRANSFER message in step 8b. The target gNB does not forward the QoS flows of uplink PDCP SDUs that were successfully received in sequence to the UPF 510 until it receives the SN STATUS TRANSFER message, in which the UL HFN and the first missing SN in the uplink PDCP SN receiver status indicate the start of the uplink PDCP SDUs to be delivered to the UPF 510. The target gNB 506 does not deliver any uplink PDCP SDUs with a UL COUNT smaller than the one given.

[0079] In a fourteenth communication 546, a fifteenth communication 548, and a sixteenth communication 550, user data is transmitted.

[0080] In the seventeenth communication 552, the target gNB 506 sends a PATH SWITCH REQUEST message to the AMF 508 to trigger the 5GC to switch the DL data path towards the target gNB 506 and establish an (NG-C) interface instance towards the target gNB 506.

[0081] At an eighteenth communication 554, the 5GC switches the DL data path towards the target gNB 506. At a nineteenth communication 556, the UPF 510 may send one or more "end marker" packets to the source gNB 504 on the old path for each PDU session and / or tunnel and release any user plane (U-plane) and / or TNL resources towards the source gNB 502.

[0082] In a twentieth communication 558, user data may be communicated.

[0083] In a twenty-first communication 560, the AMF 508 acknowledges the PATH SWITCH REQUEST message with a PATH SWITCH REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message.

[0084] Upon receiving the PATH SWITCH REQUEST ACKNOWLEDGE message from the AMF 508, in a 22nd communication 562, the target gNB 506 sends a UE CONTEXT RELEASE to inform the source gNB 504 about the success of the HO. The source gNB 504 may then release radio and C-plane related resources associated with the UE context. Any ongoing data transfer may continue. In the system 500 of FIG. 5, some steps 564 may correspond to HO preparation, some steps 566 may correspond to HO execution, and other steps 568 may correspond to HO completion.

[0085] The RRM configuration may include both SSB-related beam measurement information (e.g., for L3 mobility) and CSI-RS-related beam measurement information for the reported cell if both types of measurements are available. Also, if CA is configured, the RRM configuration may include a list of the best cells on each frequency for which measurement information is available, and the RRM measurement information may also include beam measurements for the listed cells belonging to the target gNB.

[0086] The common RACH configuration for the beam in the target cell is associated with only SSB. The network may have a dedicated RACH configuration associated with SSB and / or a dedicated RACH configuration associated with CSI-RS in the cell. The target gNB may include only one of the following RACH configurations in the HO command to enable the UE to access the target cell: 1) common RACH configuration, 2) common RACH configuration + dedicated RACH configuration associated with SSB, and 3) common RACH configuration + dedicated RACH configuration associated with CSI-RS.

[0087] The dedicated RACH configuration allocates RACH resources along with a quality threshold for their use. When dedicated RACH resources are provided, they are prioritized by the UE, and the UE does not have to switch to contention-based RACH resources as long as the quality threshold for those dedicated resources is met. The order in which the dedicated RACH resources are accessed is up to the UE implementation.

[0088] Upon receiving an HO command requesting DAPS HO, the UE suspends the source cell SRB, stops transmitting and receiving any RRC control plane signaling towards the source cell, and establishes an SRB for the target cell. After successful DAPS HO execution, the UE releases the source cell SRB configuration upon receiving a source cell release indication from the target cell. When DAPS HO to the target cell fails, if the source cell link is available, the UE reverts to the source cell configuration and resumes the source cell SRB for control plane signaling transmission.

[0089] In some embodiments, there may be enhanced mobility for the purpose of defining mechanisms and procedures for L1 and / or L2 based inter-cell mobility for mobility latency reduction, which may include: 1) configuration and maintenance for multiple cell candidates to enable fast application of configurations for cell candidates; 2) dynamic switching mechanisms between serving cell (e.g., including SpCell and secondary cell (SCell)) candidates for potential applicable scenarios based on L1 and / or L2 signaling; 3) L1 enhancements for inter-cell beam management including L1 measurement and reporting and beam direction; 4) TA management; and / or 5) centralized unit-distributed unit (CU-DU) interface signaling to support L1 and / or L2 mobility. It should be noted that FR2-specific enhancements are not excluded and that L1 and / or L2-based inter-cell mobility procedures may be applicable to: 1) standalone, CA, and NR-DC with serving cell change within one configured grant (CG); 2) intra-DU and intra-CU inter-DU (e.g., applicable to standalone and CA: no new RAN interface required); 3) both intra-frequency and inter-frequency; 4) both FR1 and FR2; and / or 5) scenarios where the source and target cells may or may not be synchronized.

[0090] In various embodiments, there may be L1 and / or L2 based inter-cell mobility mechanisms and procedures for mobility latency reduction.

[0091] In a first embodiment, there may be elements for a mobility procedure: 1) measurement configuration, 2) measurement, 3) measurement reporting, and / or 4) network determination and / or response.

[0092] Additional cells may be defined for the measurement configuration. The additional cells may be cells that are not configured as part of the serving cell configuration but are configured as part of the cell group configuration. This may include adding multiple input multiple output (MIMO) parameters (MIMO-Parameters) at the top level of the cell group configuration. One embodiment of the MIMO-Parameters is shown in Figure 6.

[0093] FIG. 6 is a block diagram 600 illustrating one embodiment of MIMO parameters including additional cells.

[0094] Cell group configuration allows additional cells to be shared by the entire cell group. Furthermore, cell group configuration acts as a multi-TRP situation, where some TRPs belong to additional cells that are not yet serving cells but can become serving cells in response to measurement triggers. The beams (e.g., TCI-States) belonging to these additional cells may be provided using any suitable means (e.g., BWP-Downlink->BWP-DownlinkDedicated->PDSCH-Config->TCI-states->additionalPCI). For signaling purposes, the additional cells may be indexed from 1 to N, in which case N additional cells are configured, or from X to X+N, in which case there are X-1 serving cells configured at that time.

[0095] In some embodiments, the additional cells are defined as part of the Scell ​​and SpCell configurations (e.g., defined inside the MIMO-Parameters of the ServingCellConfig) with the following conditions and / or features: 1) additional cells from the SCell may be added as (or replace) an SCell using L1 and / or L2 procedures, 2) additional cells from the SpCell may be added as (or replace) an SpCell using L1 and / or L2 procedures, 3) additional cells from the PCell may replace the current PCell, and / or 4) additional cells from the PSCell may replace the current PSCell. For signaling purposes, the additional cells are indexed from 1 to N, in which case N additional cells are configured, or from X to X+N, in which case there are X-1 serving cells configured at that time.

[0096] In various embodiments, a new RRC configuration is used to indicate for each additional cell (or additional group of cells, e.g., if the additional cell is directly added to the cell group configuration) whether mobility to the cell requires RRC-based measurement reporting (or not) and / or whether RRC-based mobility is required (e.g., reconfigurationwithSync). RRC-based measurement reporting may be required if mobility to the additional cell requires a change of security keys. For this purpose, a Boolean flag, e.g., "RRC-based," may be added to the corresponding additional cell (or additional group of cells) while configuring the cell and / or cell group.

[0097] In some embodiments, transmission configuration indicator (TCI) configuration and activation of additional cells may occur (e.g., the configuration may follow an RRC+MAC+Phy (DCI) model). In some embodiments, lower layers configured with RRC may be created with new information and other configuration information described herein.

[0098] In various embodiments, new measurements may be performed. In such embodiments, there may be new measurement events (e.g., trigger events) such as 1) Event A1_L1 (e.g., the beam of the serving cell becomes better than a threshold), 2) Event A2_L1 (e.g., the beam of the serving cell becomes worse than a threshold), 3) Event A3_L1 (e.g., the beam of an additional cell becomes better offset than the best beam of the SpCell), 4) Event A4_L1 (e.g., the beam of an additional cell becomes better than a threshold), 5) Event A5_L1 (e.g., the first beam of the SpCell becomes worse than a first threshold and the second beam of an additional cell becomes better than a second threshold), and / or 6) Event A6_L1 (e.g., the beam of an additional cell becomes better offset than the best beam of the SCell). Furthermore, in such embodiments, there may be a measurement configuration with an information element (IE) indicating to L1 or MAC the thresholds, hysteresis, trigger times, etc. configured by the RRC.

[0099] In some embodiments, new measurement events may be evaluated, such as using a mix of functionality in the physical (Phy) layer and the RRC layer (eg, as shown in FIG. 7).

[0100] 7 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a measurement model in a system 700. The system 700 includes a UE 702 that receives an input (A) that includes up to K gNB beams 708 from a first gNB beam 704, a second gNB beam 706. The UE 702 applies L1 filtering to the input to generate an output (A 1 ) to the UE 702. The UE 702 provides an output to a beam combining and / or selection (710) function. The beam combining and / or selection (710) device also receives parameters 712 configured by the RRC to generate an output (e.g., cell quality, B) that is provided to an L3 filtering for cell quality (714) function. Moreover, the L3 filtering for cell quality (714) device also receives parameters 716 configured by the RRC to generate an output (C) that is provided to an evaluation of reporting criteria (718) function. Furthermore, the evaluation of reporting criteria (718) function receives a second input (C 1) 720 and parameters configured by the RRC 722 to produce output (D) 724. The UE 702 also provides its output to an L3 beam filtering (726) function that performs L3 beam filtering. The L3 beam filtering (726) function also receives parameters configured by the RRC 728 to produce an output of K beams (E) that is provided to a beam selection for reporting (730) function. In addition, the beam selection for reporting (730) function also receives parameters configured by the RRC 732 to produce an output of X beams (F) 734. In various embodiments, filtering among multiple parameters may include examining values ​​associated with those parameters and selecting a subset of parameters based on the examined values. Specifically, beam filtering here may include examining signal strengths obtained while applying spatial filters associated with multiple beams and then selecting one or more beams with the highest associated signal strengths. Unless explicitly mentioned, the term “filtering” here may refer to beam filtering. If filtering is performed by the physical layer, data link layer, or RRC, the filtering may be referred to as L1 filtering, L2 filtering, or L3 filtering, respectively. L1 and / or L2 filtering may be performed faster than L3 filtering at the expense of reliability.

[0101] In various embodiments, different measurement models may be used for the L1-based mobility procedure and / or the L2-based mobility procedure, such as: 1) a first model where measurement events are briefly evaluated at the Phy layer and L1 measurement reports are sent to the gNB, in which the Phy layer directly uses the beam measurement results and, after filtering, determines whether any of the events (e.g., trigger events) configured by the RRC are met (e.g., triggered), and / or 2) a second model where measurement events are evaluated at the MAC, in which mode the functionality of the RRC is adopted by the MAC as shown in Figure 7. L3 filtering may or may not be applied depending on the RRC measurement configuration.

[0102] In some embodiments, there may be several measurement reports.

[0103] In one embodiment, there may be reporting using the Phy layer. Additionally, in one implementation, the Phy layer reports the best beam of the corresponding additional cell. This may be based on an event trigger condition in response to one or more events being triggered (e.g., one or more thresholds being met). The device may perform periodic reporting configured by RRC. Because reporting is performed directly at the Phy layer, it may be performed faster than L3 reporting. As can be appreciated, measurements obtained at the Phy layer may not be considered very stable without L3 filtering. In some embodiments, the network may configure whether L1-based mobility and / or L2-based mobility is used, or whether only L3 mobility may be used, depending on the UE mobility (e.g., low mobility vs. high mobility), available spectrum (e.g., whether FR2 is available), UE capabilities, scattering environment, etc. In one example, if the UE exhibits high mobility characteristics to the network, e.g., in a high-speed train / car, the network may configure an L1 / L2-based mobility procedure rather than an L3-only based mobility procedure. In another example, OAM or another network entity may pre-configure gNB RRC to configure all UEs (or, in an alternative example, only high-speed UEs) in urban areas and / or when connecting on FR2 bands. In these examples, a fast mobility procedure may be preferred over L3 mobility. Once measurement results are available, actual reporting may be done using 1) a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) based on a PUCCH format using spatial relationship information (PUCCH-SpatialRelationInfo) of the serving cell and / or of cell groups including additional cells, or 2) an additional cell set-based sounding reference signal (SRS) spatial relationship indication, where a medium access control control element (MAC CE) may be used.

[0104] In various embodiments, reporting using MAC is possible. In such embodiments, RACH+MAC CE may be used for cell change indication (e.g., to an additional cell). When a measurement report needs to be transmitted, the MAC either 1) initiates contention-free random access (CFRA) if the appropriate beam of the additional cell has dedicated RACH resources assigned, i.e., successful completion of the RACH procedure indicates successful mobility to the additional cell, or 2) uses contention-based random access (CBRA), in which the MAC initiates transmission of a measurement report MAC CE including the additional cell ID and the corresponding appropriate and / or best beam. A physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) message received on the same hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process used to transmit the MAC CE may be used by the serving gNB to indicate cell change confirmation. The MAC CE may include an indication of the best beam (e.g., TCI status) and the index of the corresponding additional cell.

[0105] In some embodiments, reporting may be done using RRC. If the additional cell belongs to another CU, it is configured with required RRC-based mobility (e.g., a Boolean flag such as an "RRC-based" indication). RRC performs measurement reporting based on various possible procedures. A similar procedure may apply to an integrated access and backhaul (IAB) system when an IAB node performs HO from a first serving cell of a first parent IAB node to a second serving cell of a second parent IAB node, where the first parent IAB node and the second parent IAB node are configured with different IAB donor CUs.

[0106] In some embodiments, the network response may include: 1) information corresponding to L1 mobility via PDCCH received on the same HARQ process used to transmit the MAC CE for the mobility—the measurement report may complete the L1 mobility; 2) information indicating an L2 reconfiguration from the network—when the gNB receives one or more L1 measurement reports, it can add a new SCell or change an SpCell with or without HO (e.g., reconfiguration with synchronization)—MAC CE may be used—the gNB sends a MAC CE adding and / or replacing a new list of cells (e.g., converting the additional cell to an SCell and / or SpCell); and / or 3) information indicating an L3 reconfiguration from the network. When the gNB sends an L3 HO CMD (e.g., reconfiguration with synchronization), a security change may be performed. The physical cell ID and frequency of the additional cell to which mobility (e.g., PCell) is being performed are used for the derivation of new security keys.

[0107] The second embodiment may be based on the features found in the first embodiment. In such an embodiment, the gNB configures the UE using the elements of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 8, the UE RRC configures the lower layers accordingly. The UE's Phy layer initiates Phy layer internal measurements (e.g., beam-specific samples) and performs L1 filtering (e.g., input internal L1 filtering). In some embodiments, beam-specific measurement results are integrated to derive cell quality, or the measurement events described herein are directly evaluated based on beam measurements (e.g., after L1 filtering). The triggered event initiates notification to the gNB using a physical channel (e.g., PUCCH), and the UE selects an appropriate beam for the corresponding additional cell and reports the cell index on the associated PUCCH cell (e.g., SpCell or PUCCH cell of the cell group). In some embodiments, an additional cell set-based SRS spatial relationship indication MAC CE may be used. The uplink spatial relationship may include an uplink spatial relationship information parameter or TCI state, including a QCL relationship. Moreover, in various embodiments, the gNB confirms the cell change by either adding cell X as an SCell or replacing the current SpCell with cell X if no security change is required. If a security change is required, the gNB may initiate the HO procedure by sending a reconfigurationWithSync message (e.g., HO CMD) to the UE.

[0108] 8 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 800 using L1-based mobility. The system 800 includes a UE RRC 802, a UE MAC 804, a UE L1 806, and a gNB 808. Each of the illustrated communications may include one or more messages.

[0109] In a first communication 810, a new RRC configuration is transmitted. The new RRC configuration may include additional cells X and Y. The UE RRC 802 configures 812 L1 and L2. The UE L1 806 monitors 814 for measurement events.

[0110] In a second communication 816, a PUCCH message is transmitted in response to the measurement event. The PUCCH message may include information indicating the additional cell X (e.g., the cell that caused the measurement event).

[0111] An L1 HO message is transmitted in a third communication 818. The L1 HO message may include information indicating an additional cell X (e.g., a cell for HO).

[0112] A mobility message is communicated in a fourth communication 820. The mobility message may indicate that cell X is being added as an SCell or PCell.

[0113] In a fifth communication 822, an L1 mobility complete message may be communicated.

[0114] The third embodiment may be based on the features found in the first embodiment. In such an embodiment, the gNB configures the UE using the elements of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 9, the UE RRC configures the lower layers accordingly. The UE's Phy layer initiates Phy layer internal measurements (e.g., beam-specific samples) and then performs L1 filtering (e.g., input internal L1 filtering). The beam-specific measurement results are integrated to derive cell quality, and L1 recognizes that the trigger beam is marked "report to RRC," after which L1 reports the beam measurements to RRC. In various embodiments, RRC may configure L1 directly on the beams belonging to each cell for which L1 is to perform measurements and configures which cells are configured for "report to RRC." If the trigger cell is not among the cells configured with "report to RRC," the approach of the second embodiment is used. The RRC either performs beam merging, cell quality assessment, L3 filtering, and evaluation of reporting criteria before reporting the measurement results with a transmission to the gNB (e.g., event), or directly reports additional cell X measurements corresponding to the best reported beam from L1 to the gNB without further evaluation.

[0115] 9 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 900 using L1-assisted mobility with security key exchange. The system 900 includes a UE RRC 902, a UE MAC 904, a UE L1 906, and a gNB 908. Each of the illustrated communications may include one or more messages.

[0116] In a first communication 910, a new RRC configuration is transmitted. The new RRC configuration may include additional cells X (e.g., RRC-based) and Y (e.g., L1 and / or MAC-based). The UE RRC 902 configures L1 and L2 (912). The UE L1 906 monitors for a measurement event (914) (e.g., cell X triggers an event in one example).

[0117] In a second communication 916, the cell X event is reported by L1 to L3 after L1 filtering.

[0118] In a third communication 918, a measurement report is transmitted (eg, indicating cell X).

[0119] In a fourth communication 920, an HO CMD is transmitted. The HO CMD may indicate a reconfiguration with synchronization (e.g., indicating cell X).

[0120] In a fifth communication 922, a reconfiguration complete (eg, HO complete) message may be communicated.

[0121] The fourth embodiment may be based on the features found in the first embodiment. In such an embodiment, the gNB configures the UE using the elements of the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 10, the UE RRC configures the lower layers accordingly. The UE's Phy layer initiates Phy layer internal measurements (e.g., by obtaining beam-specific samples from signals received on reference signal resources) and then performs L1 filtering (e.g., input internal L1 filtering). The filtered L1 measurement results are reported to the MAC, which performs beam integration and measurement report evaluation. When a measurement report needs to be transmitted, the MAC either 1) initiates CFRA if the appropriate beam of the additional cell has been assigned dedicated RACH resources—successful completion of the RACH procedure indicates successful mobility to the new additional cell, or 2) the MAC initiates transmission of a measurement report MAC CE including the additional cell ID and the corresponding appropriate beam and / or best beam. The MAC CE may include the measurement report MAC CE.

[0122] In some embodiments, the measurement report MAC CE is identified by a MAC subheader with a new enhanced logical channel identifier (LCID) (eLCID), which may be variable in size, and which contains the following fields: 1) activate and / or deactivate (A / D): this field indicates whether to add, activate, remove, and / or deactivate the indicated beam—this field may be set to 1 to indicate activation, otherwise it may indicate deactivation; 2) TCI state serving cell ID. i : This field indicates the identity of the serving cell in which the TCI state used for SRS resource i is located - the length of this field can be 5 bits, 3) TCI state ID i : This field contains the identifier of the TCI state used for SRS resource I - TCI state ID0 refers to the first SRS resource in the resource set, TCI state ID1 refers to the second SRS resource, etc. - If joint and / or downlink TCI states are used, there can be a 7-bit long TCI state ID - If separate downlink and uplink TCI states are used, the most significant bit of the TCI state ID is considered a reserved bit and the remaining 6 bits indicate the UL-TCIState-Id - The length of this field can be 7 bits - This field is only present if the MAC CE is used for activation of a semi-persistent (SP) SRS resource set (e.g., if the A / D field is set to 1 or for an AP SRS resource set), and 4) R: Reserved bit, set to 0

[0123] In some embodiments, the gNB responds with a bitmap indicating which serving and additional cells are considered to be added and / or active and which are to be removed and / or deactivated, or the additional cell index(ies) that are being added and / or are active. The gNB may also initiate an RRC procedure to implement the change of serving cell.

[0124] 10 is a schematic block diagram illustrating one embodiment of a system 1000 using L2-based mobility. The system 1000 includes a UE RRC 1002, a UE MAC 1004, a UE L1 1006, and a gNB 1008. Each of the illustrated communications may include one or more messages.

[0125] In a first communication 1010, a new RRC configuration is transmitted. The new RRC configuration may include additional cells X and Y. The UE RRC 1002 configures 1012 L1 and L2.

[0126] Measurement reports may be transmitted in a second communication 1014, a third communication 1016, and a fourth communication 1018.

[0127] The UE MAC 1004 performs beam combining 1020. Additionally, the UE MAC 1004 monitors 1022 for measurement events (eg, in one example, cell X triggers an event).

[0128] In the fifth communication 1024, CFRA is performed on the appropriate beam of cell X.

[0129] In a sixth communication 1026, a measurement report MAC CE is transmitted.

[0130] In a seventh communication 1028, the cell configuration MAC CE is transmitted.

[0131] In an eighth communication 1030, an RRC reconfiguration message is transmitted.

[0132] The UE RRC 1002 configures L1 and L2 (1032).

[0133] In a ninth communication 1034, an RRC reconfiguration complete message may be communicated.

[0134] 11 is a flow chart diagram illustrating one embodiment of a method 1100 for configuring beam measurements for a cell group. In some embodiments, the method 1100 is performed by a device such as the remote unit 102. In some embodiments, the method 1100 may be performed by a processor executing program code, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU, an auxiliary processing unit, an FPGA, etc.

[0135] In various embodiments, method 1100 includes receiving (1102) configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, method 1100 includes performing (1104) beam measurements at the physical layer. The beam measurements correspond to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, method 1100 includes determining (1106) a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements. The trigger event corresponds to a trigger cell. In various embodiments, method 1100 includes determining (1108) a type of report based on the configuration of the trigger cell.

[0136] In some embodiments, the method 1100 further includes transmitting a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report. In some embodiments, the method 1100 further includes receiving a mobility message confirming mobility of the UE in response to transmitting the report corresponding to the beam measurement. In various embodiments, the configuration of the trigger cell includes an RRC report or a lower layer report.

[0137] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes at least one trigger event. In some embodiments, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells that use RRC reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

[0138] 12 is a flow chart diagram illustrating another embodiment of a method 1200 for configuring beam measurements for a group of cells. In some embodiments, the method 1200 is performed by an apparatus such as the network unit 104. In some embodiments, the method 1200 may be performed by a processor executing program code, such as a microcontroller, a microprocessor, a CPU, a GPU, an auxiliary processing unit, an FPGA, etc.

[0139] In various embodiments, the method 1200 includes transmitting 1202 configuration information for a cell group. The cell group includes at least one cell other than the current serving cell. In some embodiments, the method 1200 includes receiving 1204 a report from the UE. The report corresponds to a beam measurement via a type of report corresponding to a trigger cell, the beam measurement corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0140] In some embodiments, the method 1200 further includes transmitting a mobility message confirming mobility of the UE in response to receiving the report corresponding to the beam measurement. In some embodiments, the type of report corresponding to the trigger cell includes an RRC report or a lower layer report.

[0141] In various embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one trigger event. In one embodiment, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells that use RRC reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

[0142] In some embodiments, the network device determines the configuration information based on a high mobility indication of the UE, a carrier frequency of at least one cell, a deployment scenario of the network device, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, this determination is configured by an OAM entity. In various embodiments, the high mobility indication of the UE may indicate that the UE is in a high-speed train, in a high-speed vehicle, or in a non-ground vehicle.

[0143] In one embodiment, this determination is based on determining that the carrier frequency is in the FR2 band or the mmWave band. In some embodiments, this determination is based on determining that the deployment scenario is designated as "urban," "metropolitan," or "small city."

[0144] In one embodiment, an apparatus comprises: a receiver for receiving configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than a current serving cell; and a processor for performing beam measurements at a physical layer, the beam measurements corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof, determining a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements, the trigger event corresponding to a trigger cell, and determining a type of report based on a configuration of the trigger cell.

[0145] In some embodiments, the apparatus further comprises a transmitter for transmitting a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

[0146] In some embodiments, the receiver further receives a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to the transmitter transmitting a report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0147] In various embodiments, the configuration of the trigger cell includes an RRC report or a lower layer report.

[0148] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes at least one trigger event.

[0149] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells that use RRC reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

[0150] In one embodiment, a method in a UE includes receiving configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than a current serving cell; performing beam measurements at a physical layer, the beam measurements corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determining a trigger event at the physical layer based on the beam measurements, the trigger event corresponding to a trigger cell; and determining a type of report based on the configuration of the trigger cell.

[0151] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

[0152] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving a mobility message confirming mobility of the UE in response to transmitting a report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0153] In various embodiments, the configuration of the trigger cell includes an RRC report or a lower layer report.

[0154] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes at least one trigger event.

[0155] In some embodiments, the configuration information includes configuration of a first set of cells that use RRC reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

[0156] In one embodiment, the apparatus comprises: a transmitter for transmitting configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than a current serving cell; and a receiver for receiving a report from a UE, the report corresponding to a beam measurement via a report of a type corresponding to a trigger cell, the beam measurement corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0157] In some embodiments, the transmitter further transmits a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to the receiver receiving a report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0158] In some embodiments, the type of report corresponding to the trigger cell includes an RRC report or a lower layer report.

[0159] In various embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one trigger event.

[0160] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes configuration for a first set of cells that use RRC reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

[0161] In one embodiment, a method in a network device includes a step of transmitting configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than a current serving cell, and a step of receiving a report from a UE, the report corresponding to a beam measurement via a report of a type corresponding to a trigger cell, and the beam measurement corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof.

[0162] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a mobility message confirming mobility of the UE in response to receiving the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

[0163] In some embodiments, the type of report corresponding to the trigger cell includes an RRC report or a lower layer report.

[0164] In various embodiments, the configuration information includes at least one trigger event.

[0165] In one embodiment, the configuration information includes configuration for a first set of cells that use RRC reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

[0166] In some embodiments, the network device determines the configuration information based on a high mobility indication of the UE, a carrier frequency of the at least one cell, a deployment scenario of the network device, or a combination thereof.

[0167] In some embodiments, this decision is configured by an OAM entity.

[0168] In various embodiments, the high mobility indication of the UE may indicate that the UE is in a high speed train, in a high speed vehicle, or in a non-ground vehicle.

[0169] In one embodiment, this determination is based on determining that the carrier frequency is in the FR2 band or the mmWave band.

[0170] In some embodiments, this determination is based on determining whether the deployment scenario is designated as "urban," "metropolitan," or "small city."

[0171] The embodiments may be embodied in other specific forms. The described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive. The scope of the invention is therefore indicated by the appended claims, rather than by the foregoing description. All changes that come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are intended to be embraced within their scope. [Explanation of symbols]

[0172] 100 Wireless Communication System 102 Remote Unit 104 Network Unit 200 equipment 202 processors 212 receiver 310 Transmitter 312 Receiver 402UE 404 Source gNB 406 Target gNB 502UE 504 Source gNB 506 Target gNB 508 AMF 510 UPF 702 UE 704 First gNB beam 706 Second gNB beam 708th gNB beam 710 Beam Integration and / or Selection 712 RRC configured parameters 714 L3 Filtering for Cell Quality 716 RRC configured parameters 718 Reporting Standards Assessment 720 Second Input 722 RRC configured parameters 724 output 726 L3 Beam Filtering 728 RRC configured parameters 730 Beam Selection for Reporting 732 RRC configured parameters 734 output 802 UE RRC 804 UE MAC 806 UE L1 808 gNB 902 UE RRC 904 UE MAC 906 UE L1 908 gNB 1002 UE RRC 1004 UE MAC 1006 UE L1 1008 gNB

Claims

1. A user equipment (UE), at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the UE comprising: receiving configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than a current serving cell; performing beam measurements at a physical layer, the beam measurements corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determining a trigger event in the physical layer based on the beam measurements, the trigger event corresponding to a trigger cell; and determining a type of report based on the configuration of the trigger cell; at least one processor configured to cause UE equipped with.

2. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to transmit a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

3. The UE of claim 2, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the UE to receive a mobility message confirming the mobility of the UE in response to transmitting the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

4. 10. The UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration of the trigger cell comprises a radio resource control (RRC) report or a lower layer report.

5. The UE of claim 1 , wherein the configuration information includes at least one trigger event.

6. 10. The UE of claim 1, wherein the configuration information includes a configuration for a first set of cells that use radio resource control (RRC) reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

7. 1. A method performed by a user equipment (UE), comprising: receiving configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than the current serving cell; performing beam measurements at a physical layer, the beam measurements corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determining a trigger event in the physical layer based on the beam measurements, the trigger event corresponding to a trigger cell; determining a type of report based on the configuration of the trigger cell; A method comprising:

8. The method of claim 7 , further comprising transmitting a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

9. 9. The method of claim 8, further comprising receiving a mobility message confirming mobility of the UE in response to transmitting the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein the configuration of the trigger cell comprises a radio resource control (RRC) report or a lower layer report.

11. The method of claim 7 , wherein the configuration information includes at least one trigger event.

12. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein the configuration information includes a configuration for a first set of cells that use radio resource control (RRC) reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

13. 1. A processor for wireless communications, comprising: at least one controller coupled to at least one memory, the controller configured to: receiving configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than a current serving cell; performing beam measurements at a physical layer, the beam measurements corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof; determining a trigger event in the physical layer based on the beam measurements, the trigger event corresponding to a trigger cell; and determining a type of report based on the configuration of the trigger cell; at least one controller configured to cause A processor comprising:

14. The processor of claim 13 , wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to transmit a report corresponding to the beam measurement using the determined type of report.

15. 15. The processor of claim 14, wherein the at least one controller is configured to cause the processor to receive a mobility message confirming mobility of a user equipment (UE) in response to transmitting the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

16. A base station, at least one memory; at least one processor coupled to the at least one memory, the base station transmitting configuration information for a cell group, the cell group including at least one cell other than the current serving cell; and Receiving a report from a user equipment (UE), the report corresponding to a beam measurement via a type report corresponding to a trigger cell, the beam measurement corresponding to the cell group, the current serving cell, or a combination thereof. at least one processor configured to cause A base station comprising:

17. 17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the at least one processor is configured to cause the base station to transmit a mobility message confirming mobility of the UE in response to receiving the report corresponding to the beam measurement.

18. 17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the type of report corresponding to the trigger cell comprises a radio resource control (RRC) report or a lower layer report.

19. The base station of claim 16 , wherein the configuration information includes at least one trigger event.

20. 17. The base station of claim 16, wherein the configuration information includes a configuration for a first set of cells that use radio resource control (RRC) reporting and a second set of cells that use lower layer reporting.

Images