UE Measurement

Abstract

An example of the present disclosure relates to improving the efficiency of UE measurements. In the example of the present disclosure, a UE is configured to receive a message from a network entity. The message includes control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup. The UE is also configured to perform validation of the one or more measurements according to the instructions.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] Examples of this disclosure relate to user equipment (UE) measurements, in part to improving the efficiency of UE measurements. [Background technology]

[0002] The UE is expected to perform measurements and measurement validation during carrier aggregation (CA) connection setup / resumption, or setup dual connectivity, or other procedures. Improving the efficiency of these measurements will result in improved power consumption at the UE. Summary of the Invention

[0003] According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the present disclosure: receiving a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; and Performing validation of one or more measurements as ordered A UE is provided that includes means for:

[0004] Messages containing control commands are Connection setup messages, Connection reconfiguration messages, Information Request Message It may include at least one of:

[0005] The connection setup message is RRC setup message, RRC Resume Message It may include at least one of:

[0006] The connection reconfiguration message may include an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0007] The control command is An indication of whether to initiate validation of one or more measurements; An indication to stop all ongoing validation of one or more measurements, an indication to stop a subset of ongoing validations of one or more measurements; an indication to continue a subset of the ongoing validation of one or more measurements; an indication of whether to report measurement availability and the validation status of one or more measurements for which validation has been cancelled; Maximum duration of the validation process It may include at least one of:

[0008] A subset of measurements is cell Career Synchronous Signal Block (SSB) Reference signal (RS) may be indicated by at least one of

[0009] The UE may use the maximum period indicated in the validation process to select measurements to validate.

[0010] This means also: Measurement availability for one or more measurements performed by the UE; Validation status for one or more measurements performed by the UE The method may be for enabling transmission of a report including an indication of at least one of:

[0011] The report may be sent in an information response message.

[0012] The measurement or measurements are Carrier aggregation (CA) setup, Dual Connectivity (DC) Setup The measurement may include measurements to assist in at least one of:

[0013] The validation process is Cell detection, Cell measurements, Index Read may include at least one or more of:

[0014] At least part of the measurement and validation process involves: Idle or inactive mode, Connection Setup may be performed by the UE during at least one of:

[0015] According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the present disclosure: receiving a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; and Performing validation of one or more measurements as ordered A method is provided that includes:

[0016] According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the present disclosure, when performed by a UE, may include at least: receiving a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; and Performing validation of one or more measurements as ordered A computer program is provided that includes instructions to cause a UE to execute the

[0017] According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the present disclosure: sending a message to the UE, the message including a control instruction to perform validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; A network entity is provided that includes means for:

[0018] Messages containing control commands are Connection setup messages, Connection reconfiguration messages, Information Request Message It may include at least one of:

[0019] The connection setup message is RRC setup message, RRC Resume Message It may include at least one of:

[0020] The connection reconfiguration message may include an RRC reconfiguration message.

[0021] The control command is An indication of whether to initiate validation of one or more measurements; An indication to stop all ongoing validation of one or more measurements, an indication to stop a subset of ongoing validations of one or more measurements; an indication to continue a subset of the ongoing validation of one or more measurements; an indication of whether to report measurement availability and the validation status of one or more measurements for which validation has been cancelled; Maximum duration of the validation process It may include at least one of:

[0022] A subset of measurements is cell Career Synchronous Signal Block (SSB) Reference signal (RS) may be indicated by at least one of

[0023] The UE may use the maximum period indicated in the validation process to select measurements to validate.

[0024] This means also: Measurement availability for one or more measurements performed by the UE; Validation status for one or more measurements performed by the UE The method may be for receiving a report including an indication of at least one of:

[0025] The report may be received in an information response message.

[0026] The measurement or measurements are Carrier aggregation (CA) setup, Dual Connectivity (DC) Setup The measurement may include measurements to assist in at least one of:

[0027] The validation process is Cell detection, Cell measurements, Index Read may include at least one or more of:

[0028] At least part of the measurement and validation process involves: Idle or inactive mode, Connection Setup may be performed by the UE during at least one of:

[0029] According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the present disclosure: sending a message to the UE, the message including a control instruction to perform validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; A method is provided that includes:

[0030] According to various, but not necessarily all, examples of the present disclosure, when performed by a network entity, may include at least: sending a message to the UE, the message including a control instruction to perform validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; A computer program is provided that includes instructions to cause a network entity to execute the following:

[0031] Although the above examples and optional features of the present disclosure are described separately, it is understood that the present disclosure includes providing them in all possible combinations and permutations. It is understood that various examples of the present disclosure can include any or all of the features described with respect to other examples of the present disclosure, and vice versa. It is also understood that any one or more or all of the features can be implemented by / included in / executed by apparatus, methods, and / or computer program instructions, in any combination, as desired and appropriate.

[0032] Some examples will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0033] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 illustrates an example network. [Figure 2A] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method. [Figure 2B] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary method. [Figure 3] FIG. 1 illustrates another exemplary method. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 illustrates another exemplary method. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 illustrates another exemplary method. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 illustrates an example controller. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0034] The drawings are not necessarily to scale. Some features and aspects of the drawings may be shown diagrammatically or exaggerated in scale for clarity and conciseness. For example, the dimensions of some elements in the drawings may be exaggerated relative to other elements to aid in illustration. Corresponding reference characters are used throughout the drawings to indicate corresponding features. For clarity, not all reference characters are necessarily shown in every drawing.

[0035] definition AMF Access and Mobility Management Functions CA Carrier Aggregation DC Dual Connectivity E-UTRA Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access eEMR Extended EMR EMR Early Measurement Reporting FR2 Frequency Range 2 gNB NR base station IE Information Elements MO Mobile Call NR new radio O-RAN Open Radio Access Network RAN Radio Access Network RRC Radio Resource Control RS reference signal SCell Secondary Cell SCG Secondary Cell Group SIB System Information Block SIM Subscriber Identity Module SSB sync signal block UE User Equipment

[0036] 1 illustrates an example of a network 100 including multiple network entities, including a terminal device 110, a node device 120, and one or more network devices 130. The terminal device 110 and the node device 120 communicate with each other. The one or more network devices 130 communicate with the access node 120. In some examples, the one or more network devices 130 communicate with the terminal device 110.

[0037] One or more network devices 130 may, in some examples, communicate with each other. One or more node devices 120 may, in some examples, communicate with each other.

[0038] The network 100 may be a cellular network including multiple cells 122, each served by a node device 120. In this example, the interface between the terminal device 110 and the node device 120 that defines the cell 122 is an air interface 124.

[0039] The node device 120 includes one or more cellular radio transceivers. The terminal device 110 includes one or more cellular radio transceivers.

[0040] In the illustrated example, the cellular network 100 is a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) network in which the terminal devices 110 are user equipment (UE) and the node devices 120 may be access nodes such as base stations.

[0041] The term "user equipment" is used to refer to a mobile device that includes a smart card, such as a Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), for authentication / encryption, etc. In some examples, the term "user equipment" is used to refer to a mobile device that includes circuitry embedded as part of the user equipment for authentication / encryption, such as a software SIM.

[0042] The node device 120 may be any suitable base station. A base station is an access node. It may be a network element responsible for radio transmission and reception to and from the UE 110 in one or more cells. The node device 120 may be a network element in a Radio Access Network (RAN), an Open Radio Access Network (O-RAN), an E-UTRA (Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) Terrestrial Radio Access) network, or any other suitable type of network.

[0043] Network device 130 may be part of a core network. Network device 130 may be configured to manage functionality related to connectivity of UE 110. For example, network device 130 may be configured to manage functionality such as connectivity, mobility, authentication, authorization, and / or other suitable functionality. In some examples, network device 130 may include an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) or any other suitable entity.

[0044] 1, network device 130 is shown as a single entity. In some examples, network device 130 may be distributed across multiple entities. For example, network device 130 may be cloud-based or distributed in any other suitable manner.

[0045] The network 100 may be, for example, a 4G or 5G network. For example, it may be a New Radio (NR) network using gNBs or eNBs as the access nodes 120. New Radio is the 3GPP name for 5G technology. In such a case, the node devices 120 may include gNodeBs (gNBs) 120 configured to provide user plane and control plane protocol termination toward the UE 110 and / or perform any other suitable functions. The gNBs 120 are interconnected by X2 / Xn interfaces 126. The gNBs are also connected to the network device 130 by N2 interfaces 128. The gNBs may be connected to the AMF or any other suitable network device 130. In other examples, other types of networks and interfaces may be used. Other types of networks may include, for example, next-generation mobile communication networks such as 6G networks.

[0046] In a network 100 such as the network 100 of FIG. 1, it is advantageous to have measurement availability for a UE 110 early in connected mode when a connection is being set up or resumed. This benefit may be particularly relevant for a UE 110 transitioning from an idle or inactive mode. For example, reducing the frequency range 2 (FR2) secondary cell / secondary cell group (SCell / SCG) setup / resumption delay for a UE 110 connecting from an idle or inactive mode has a significant positive impact on user throughput. The reduced delay also has a positive impact on power savings for the UE 110.

[0047] In the NR network 100 or other suitable networks, early measurements may be configured in a connection release message that releases the UE 110 to idle or inactive mode. For example, early measurements may be configured in an RRC release message or any other suitable type of message. In NR and other suitable networks, both idle and inactive modes are supported for early measurements. For example, the UE 110 may be configured to perform measurements until a predetermined timer expires or is stopped. The timer may be T331 or any other suitable timer. This may also be a mandatory part of the configuration, indicating how long after release the UE 110 is required to perform early measurements. The measurements may then be used to assist in the setup of carrier aggregation (CA) and / or dual connectivity (DC) in connected mode. Using these measurements may limit the time spent performing measurements during CA and / or DC setup, thereby reducing power consumption of the UE 110.

[0048] UE 110 may be configured to perform measurements as indicated in the connection release message. UE 110 does not need to perform measurements in idle or inactive mode on a given carrier if the synchronization signal block (SSB) configuration for that carrier provided through dedicated signaling differs from the SSB configuration broadcast in the serving cell (if any).

[0049] If UE 110 is not given a carrier in the connection release message, UE 110 measures the carriers as listed in the appropriate system information block (SIB) 11 (configuration for NR cells in SIB5 in LTE), etc. UE 110 performs measurements only on frequencies / carriers in the configured frequency list for which UE 110 supports CA or DC between the frequency and the serving frequency / carrier in idle or inactive mode.

[0050] Thus, an Early Measurement Reporting (EMR)-enabled UE 110 can perform measurements in idle or inactive mode until a timer, such as the T331 timer, expires or is stopped. The EMR UE 110 can maintain detectable cells from connected mode until the timer expires or is stopped. Whether the cells are maintained during the time interval between the expiration or stop of the T331 timer and the UE 110 receiving a connection setup or resumption message is unknown. Whether the cells are maintained and detectable for early measurement reporting purposes after the T331 timer expires or is stopped is up to the implementation of the UE 110. Based on the UE 110's information indication and the network information request, the UE 110 can report early measurement results after security is activated.

[0051] 2A and 2B illustrate a method according to an example of the present disclosure, which allows the network to control the validation process for measurements performed by the UE 110.

[0052] The method of FIG. 2A may be performed by UE 110 or a device within UE 110, or any other suitable terminal entity.

[0053] At block 200, the method includes receiving a message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup. The message may be received from a network entity, such as a gNB 120.

[0054] The measurements may include measurements performed by the UE 110 while the UE 110 is in idle or inactive mode and / or measurements performed during connection setup, possibly during connected mode. The measurements may include measurements used to assist in CA setup or DC setup. In some examples, the measurements may include stored measurements. Stored measurements may be performed by the UE 110 before exiting connected mode.

[0055] The UE 110 may perform a validation process on measurements that have been made or are being made. The validation process used depends on the type of measurement that has been made or is being made. The validation process may determine that the measurement results are still accurate or appropriate, or that the measurements meet one or more other appropriate criteria. For example, the validation process may determine whether the measurements were made in an appropriate period of time or using an appropriate procedure. The validation process may include cell detection, cell measurements, index reading, or any other appropriate process.

[0056] The control instructions may include information indicating how UE 110 should perform measurement validation. This may indicate whether measurements and validations are required, or whether only a subset of measurements and validations are required. The control instructions may allow UE 110 to avoid performing unnecessary measurements and unnecessary validations.

[0057] The control instructions may include an indication of whether to start performing validation of one or more measurements, an indication to stop all ongoing validations of one or more measurements, an indication to stop a subset of ongoing validations of one or more measurements, an indication to continue a subset of ongoing validations of one or more measurements, an indication of whether to report measurement availability, and an indication about the validation status of a canceled validation of one or more measurements, a maximum duration of the validation process, or any other suitable indication or combination of indications.

[0058] In instances where the control instructions include an indication of a maximum duration for the validation process, this may be a predefined period, for example defined in a standard or any other suitable protocol.

[0059] If maximum validation is indicated, UE 110 can use this information to select one or more measurements to validate. For example, UE 110 can select measurements for which validation can be completed within a maximum period of time. UE 110 can choose not to perform validations that cannot be completed within a maximum period of time.

[0060] In examples where the control command indicates starting or stopping a subset of validation, the subset may be indicated in any suitable manner, for example, the subset may be indicated by cell, carrier, synchronization signal block (SSB), reference signal (RS), or any other suitable manner.

[0061] The message containing the control instruction may include a connection setup message, a connection reconfiguration message, an information request message, or any other suitable type of message.

[0062] If the message including the control instruction includes a connection setup message, the connection setup message may include an RRC setup message, an RRC resume message, or any other suitable type of message.

[0063] If the message including the control command includes a connection reconfiguration message, the connection reconfiguration message may include an RRC reconfiguration message or any other suitable type of message.

[0064] At block 202, the method includes performing validation of one or more measurements according to the instructions. For example, the UE 110 can start performing a validation, stop some ongoing validations, or select a validation to be performed.

[0065] In some examples, the UE 110 may also be configured to transmit a report indicating measurement availability and / or validation status for one or more measurements performed by the UE 110. The control instructions may include instructions regarding how the report is to be provided. For example, the control instructions may include an indication of information to be included in the report, or when the report is to be transmitted, or any other suitable instructions.

[0066] The report may be sent in an information response message, for example, the report may be sent in a UE information response message or any other suitable type of message.

[0067] The report may include any suitable information related to the measurements performed by UE 110. In some examples, the response may include any one or more of the following indications: measurement availability, measurement not available, measurement in progress (partially available), validation not started, validation in progress, validation completed, cell detection, index availability (available / not available), or any other suitable information.

[0068] 2B illustrates another exemplary method. The method of FIG. 2B may be performed by the gNB 120 or a device within the gNB 120, or another network entity.

[0069] At block 204, the method includes transmitting a message to the UE 110, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup. The control instructions may include indicating how the UE 110 should perform the validation of the measurements. The control instructions may be as described herein.

[0070] When the message is sent to the UE 110, the UE 110 can perform the validation in accordance with the instructions. In some examples, the gNB 120 can receive a report from the UE 110, the report including an indication of measurement availability and / or validation status for one or more measurements performed by the UE 110. The report can be as described herein.

[0071] 3 illustrates another example method that may be implemented using the UE 110 and the gNB 120. The UE 110 and the gNB 120 may be part of a network such as that shown in FIG. 1 or may be part of any other suitable type of network 100. In this example, the network indicates to the UE 110 that the UE 110 will not perform measurement validation, and the UE 110 does not report the status of the validation.

[0072] At block 300, UE 110 is configured with FR2 SCell and enhanced EMR (eEMR) capability. The eEMR capability enables UE 110 to implement examples of the present disclosure. However, UE 110 can also implement examples of the present disclosure without support for these capabilities.

[0073] At block 302, the gNB 120 sends a release message to the UE 110. The release message may be an RRC release message or any other suitable type of message. The release message may release or suspend the RRC connection so that the UE 110 can enter an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0074] In block 304, the UE 110 enters an idle or inactive mode.

[0075] In block 306, the frequencies are re-evaluated after reselection.

[0076] At block 308, the gNB 120 sends a message to the UE 110 indicating on which frequencies the UE 110 will perform measurements. The message may include an appropriate System Information Block (SIB), such as SIB11.

[0077] At block 310, the gNB 120 sends a message to the UE 110 indicating the type of measurements to be performed. For example, the message may indicate whether the network requires NR or E-UTRA measurements. The message includes an appropriate System Information Block (SIB), such as SIB2.

[0078] The UE 110 performs measurements in block 312. The UE 110 performs the measurements while in an idle mode or an inactive mode. The measurements may include any measurements that can assist in setting up carrier aggregation or dual connectivity.

[0079] At block 314, the UE 110 sends a connection request message to the gNB 120. The connection request message may include an RRC request message, an RRC resume message, or any other suitable type of message. The connection request message may include information such as a UE 110 identity and an establishment reason.

[0080] In this example, control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup can be sent in the connection request message. In this example, the control instructions include instructions for the UE 110 to not initiate performance of the measurement validation. The control instructions can also include instructions to not report the measurement validation status. These control instructions can be used in scenarios where the gNB 120 does not require measurements. In other examples of the present disclosure, other types of instructions or combinations of instructions may be provided.

[0081] In this example, the control instructions are sent before the validation process begins. In other examples, the control instructions may be sent at other times.

[0082] In block 316, UE 110 does not validate the measurements, in which case no validation process is initiated.

[0083] In block 318, the UE 110 sends a setup complete message to the gNB 120. The setup complete message may be an RRC setup complete message or any other type of message. Because the gNB 120 does not require validation status, the setup complete message does not need to include a report on this information.

[0084] At block 320, security is activated between the UE 110 and the gNB 120. Any suitable protocol may be used to activate security.

[0085] 3, the control command provided in the connection request message is used to prevent the UE 110 from performing an unnecessary validation process. The control command prevents the UE 110 from initiating the validation process, which helps to reduce power consumption at the UE 110.

[0086] If a control instruction not to start the validation process was not sent, UE 110 can start the validation process according to the agreed procedure. This can be done without a specific control instruction from gNB 120. For example, if the setup message sent in block 314 includes a control instruction, UE 110 performs validation according to the control instruction, but if the setup message sent in block 314 does not include a control instruction, UE 110 performs the validation process according to the agreed procedure by default.

[0087] Variations of the method illustrated in FIG. 3 may be used in examples of the present disclosure.

[0088] For example, in some examples, the control command may be used to indicate to the UE 110 to begin a validation process. In such cases, the control command transmitted from the gNB 120 to the UE 110 may include an instruction to begin performing a validation of the measurement. In such cases, the control command may also include an instruction to cause the validation status of the measurement to be reported.

[0089] The measurement validation status report may include any suitable information related to the measurements performed by UE 110. In some examples, the response may include any one or more of the following indications: measurement availability, measurement not available, measurement in progress (partially available), validation not started, validation in progress, validation completed, cell detection, index availability (available / not available), or any other suitable information.

[0090] The control command to initiate the measurement validation can be sent in any suitable message, which can be sent before the UE 110 starts the validation process, and can be a connection request message similar to that shown in block 314, or any other suitable type of message.

[0091] In some cases, UE 110 may perform validation only if UE 110 receives a control command from GNB 120 indicating that validation is to be initiated, otherwise UE 110 may follow its default procedure, in which case it may not initiate validation.

[0092] Other messages may be used by the gNB to send a control command to the UE 110 indicating whether to start performing the validation process. For example, in some examples, an RRC reconfiguration may be used to provide the control command.

[0093] The control command for initiating the validation process may apply to all of the measurements or to a subset of the measurements. If the control command applies only to a subset of the measurements, the relevant subset of measurements may be indicated in the control command. For example, the control command may indicate not to initiate validation and a list of reference signals (RSs), carriers, or cells to which this command applies. In this case, the UE 110 does not initiate the validation process for the indicated RSs, but initiates validation for RSs, carriers, or cells that are not indicated. Conversely, in some examples, the control command may indicate to initiate validation and a list of reference signals (RSs), carriers, or cells to which this command applies. In this case, the UE 110 initiates the validation process for the indicated RSs, carriers, or cells, but does not initiate validation for RSs, carriers, or cells that are not indicated.

[0094] In the example of FIG. 3, the control command is sent before the validation process begins. In other examples, the control command may be sent while the validation process is in progress. FIGS. 4 and 5 show examples of how the gNB 120 sends a control command after the validation process has begun. In these examples, the control command is sent in an information request message. The control command may be sent in any suitable message at any suitable time.

[0095] 4 shows another example method that may be implemented using the UE 110 and the gNB 120. The UE 110 and the gNB 120 may be part of a network such as that shown in FIG. 1 or may be part of any other suitable type of network 100. In this example, the network indicates to the UE 110 to stop performing an ongoing validation process.

[0096] Blocks 300 to 312 may be as shown in Figure 3. Corresponding reference numerals are used for corresponding blocks of the process.

[0097] At block 400, the UE 110 sends a connection request message to the gNB 120. The connection request message may include an RRC request message, an RRC resume message, or any other suitable type of message. The connection request message may include information such as the UE 110 identity and the establishment reason.

[0098] The example of Figure 4 differs from the example of Figure 3 because in the example of Figure 4, control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements are not sent in the connection request message. Instead, the UE 110 initiates performing validation in block 402. The validation may be initiated according to an agreed-upon procedure.

[0099] At block 404, the UE 110 sends a setup complete message to the gNB 120. The setup complete message may be an RRC setup complete message or any other type of message, and at block 406, security is activated between the UE 110 and the gNB 120. Any suitable protocol may be used to activate security.

[0100] At block 408, an information request message is sent from the gNB 120 to the UE 110. The information request message may be a UE information request message or any other suitable type of message.

[0101] 4, the control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup may be sent in an information request message. In this example, the control instructions include instructions to UE 110 to stop the ongoing validation process. This instruction causes UE 110 to stop the validation process started in block 402.

[0102] The control instructions may also include instructions to prevent the validation status of a measurement from being reported. These control instructions may be used in scenarios where the gNB 120 does not require a measurement. In other examples of the present disclosure, other types of instructions or combinations of instructions may be provided.

[0103] In block 410, the UE 110 stops validating the measurements. This may stop any ongoing validation process according to the control instructions. Any timers monitoring the validation process may be stopped or reset when the validation process is stopped.

[0104] At block 412, the UE 110 responds to the information request message by sending an information response message to the gNB 120. The information response message may include a UE information response message or any other suitable type of message. The information response message may include the information requested in the information request message.

[0105] In some examples, the information response message may include a report indicating measurement availability and validation status for one or more measurements. UE 110 may determine whether a report should be included in the information request message based on the control command. For example, if the control command requests a report of completed validation, this information may be included in the information response message. If the control command does not require a report to be sent, the report need not be sent in the information response message.

[0106] The report sent by UE 110 may include any suitable information related to the measurements performed by UE 110. In some examples, the response may include any one or more of the following indications: measurement availability, measurement not available, measurement in progress (partially available), validation not started, validation in progress, validation completed, cell detection, index availability (available / not available), or any other suitable information.

[0107] Variations of this method may be used in the examples of this disclosure.

[0108] 4, the control instruction may indicate to the UE 110 to stop all ongoing validations. In some examples, the gNB 120 may require validation of a subset of measurements. In such cases, the control instruction sent from the gNB 120 to the UE 110 may include instructions to continue the validation process for a subset of measurements or targets. This may cause the UE 110 to stop the validation process for measurements that are not in the subset.

[0109] If the control command only applies to a subset of measurements for a target, the relevant subset of measurements may be indicated in the control command. For example, the control command may indicate that validation should continue and a list of target reference signals (RSs) to which this command applies. The targets may include reference signals (RSs), carriers, or cells. In this case, the UE 110 continues the validation process for the indicated targets but stops validation for the non-indicated targets. Conversely, in some examples, the control command may indicate that validation should stop and a list of targets to which this command applies. In this case, the UE 110 stops the validation process for the indicated targets but continues validation for the non-indicated targets.

[0110] A field in the information request message or any other appropriate message may be used to indicate the measurements to which the control command applies. If the control command applies to all of the measurements, the field may be left empty. That is, the control command need not be applied to any particular measurement. Figure 5 shows an example manner in which the gNB 120 can control the UE 110 to stop a subset of ongoing measurements.

[0111] 5 shows another example method that may be implemented using the UE 110 and the gNB 120. The UE 110 and the gNB 120 may be part of a network such as that shown in FIG. 1 or may be part of any other suitable type of network 100. In this example, the network indicates to the UE 110 to stop performing a subset of an ongoing validation process.

[0112] Blocks 300 to 312 may be as shown in Figures 3 and 4. Blocks 400 to 406 may be as shown in Figure 4. Corresponding reference numbers are used for corresponding blocks of the process.

[0113] At block 500, an information request message is sent from the gNB 120 to the UE 110. The information request message may be a UE information request message or any other suitable type of message.

[0114] 5, control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup may be sent in an information request message. In this example, the control instructions include instructions for UE 110 to stop a subset of ongoing validation processes. This instruction causes UE 110 to stop the subset of validation processes started in block 402.

[0115] The control instructions may also include instructions regarding reporting of measurement availability and / or validation status. For example, the control instructions may include instructions to prevent the validation status of stopped measurements from being reported.

[0116] These control commands may be used in scenarios where the gNB 120 only requires a subset of measurements. In other examples of the present disclosure, other types of commands or combinations of commands may be provided.

[0117] In block 502, the UE 110 stops the validation of the measurements indicated in the control command, which may stop a subset of the ongoing validation processes, and the timer monitoring the stopped validation processes may be stopped or reset.

[0118] At block 504, the UE 110 responds to the information request message by sending an information response message to the gNB 120. The information response message may include a UE information response message or any other suitable type of message. The information response message may include the information requested in the information request message.

[0119] The UE continues validation of other measurements not indicated in the control command in block 506. These validation procedures may proceed according to an agreed upon procedure.

[0120] In some examples, the UE 110 may transmit a report indicating measurement availability and validation status for one or more measurements to the UE 110. The report may be transmitted in any appropriate message. For example, an information response message may include a report indicating measurement availability and validation status for one or more measurements. The UE 110 may determine whether a report should be included in the information request message based on a control command. For example, if the control command requests a report of completed validation, this information may be included. If the control command does not require a report to be transmitted, the report need not be transmitted in the information response message.

[0121] The report sent by UE 110 may include any suitable information related to the measurements performed by UE 110. In some examples, the response may include any one or more of the following indications: measurement availability, measurement not available, measurement in progress (partially available), validation not started, validation in progress, validation completed, cell detection, index availability (available / unavailable), or any other suitable information. This information may be provided only for a subset of the measurements indicated in the control command.

[0122] Variations on this method may be used in examples of the present disclosure. For example, in the example of FIG. 5, the gNB 120 transmits a control instruction indicating a subset of measurements for which the UE 110 is to stop the validation process. In other examples, the gNB 120 may transmit a control instruction indicating a subset of measurements or targets for which the UE 110 is to continue the validation process. This may be indicated in an information request as shown in FIG. 5 or in any other suitable message. In such an example, the UE 110 continues the validation process for the indicated measurements but stops the validation process for the non-indicated measurements.

[0123] Any suitable field may be used to provide the control instruction in the respective message. For example, if the control instruction is used to indicate to the UE 110 to stop all validation processes, the field STOP_VALIDATION=true / false may be included in the appropriate message. The indication does not have to be true / false. Other types of indications may also be used, such as a bit "0" or "1" indicating start or stop. In some examples, the indication may be part of a configuration bitmap. The bitmap may contain multiple bits. For example, 0001 indicates to stop measuring on three cells and start measuring on one cell.

[0124] If the control command is used to indicate to the UE 110 to stop a subset of the validation process, add a list of affected targets to the field STOP_VALIDATION=true. The affected targets can be indicated by a list of RS indices, cells, carriers, or any combination thereof. These control commands allow the UE 110 to stop the indicated measurements and continue all other measurements.

[0125] In some examples, the control instructions may also include instructions to indicate to the UE 110 whether to provide reports related to measurement availability and / or validity status. In some cases, reporting of this information may use a default agreed-upon procedure. This default agreed-upon procedure may be replaced if appropriate instructions are provided by the gNB 120. Any appropriate field in an appropriate message may be used by the gNB 120 to provide instructions related to reporting of the information. For example, in some cases, a field STOP_VALIDATION=true may indicate to the UE 110 to stop the validation process and not respond to the information request, i.e., not to send an information response message and / or not to send reports in any other appropriate message. The indication need not be true / false. Other types of indications may also be used, such as a bit “0” or “1” indicating start or stop. In some examples, the indication may be part of a configuration bitmap. The indication may indicate whether to stop or start validation of measurements for one or more targets.

[0126] In some examples, the UE 110 may be configured to always send a report on measurement availability and / or validity status for any requested measurements. In some cases, the gNB 120 may indicate to the UE 110 to provide a report of validated measurements when validation of all or a subset of measurements is stopped. This may be indicated using any suitable field, such as REPORT=true / false, to indicate whether to report measurement results and validation status. The indication need not be true / false. Other types of indications may also be used, such as a bit "0" or "1" to indicate start or stop. In some examples, the indication may be part of a configuration bitmap.

[0127] In some examples, the control command may indicate a maximum duration allowed for the validation process, which may be from when UE 110 receives the connection request message until when UE 110 must stop the validation process and continue in RRC connected mode. In some examples, the maximum duration allowed may be predefined in a standard. In other examples, the maximum duration allowed may not be defined in a standard and may be defined by any other suitable means.

[0128] The gNB 120 may transmit the control command indicating the allowed maximum period to the UE 110 in any suitable message. In some examples, the control command indicating the allowed maximum period may be transmitted to the UE 110 before the validation process begins. For example, the control command may be transmitted in a connection request message, a SIB or measurement configuration message, or any other suitable type of message.

[0129] In some examples, a control command indicating the maximum allowed duration may be sent to the UE 110 after the validation process has begun. This may be used if the network 100 wants to change a defined or previously signaled maximum allowed duration. In such cases, the control command indicating the maximum allowed duration may be sent in an information request message or any other suitable message.

[0130] In some examples, UE 110 may be required to respond immediately to an information request message. In such examples, gNB 120 may be configured to transmit multiple information request messages, and gNB 120 may adjust the time for requesting any results based on the indicated maximum allowed period. In some cases, UE 110 may be configured to postpone responding to an information request message. In such cases, UE 110 postpones the information response message until the maximum validation period expires.

[0131] The UE 110 may determine which measurements to validate based at least in part on a maximum allowed time period. The maximum allowed time period may be shorter than the time it takes the UE 110 to validate some of the measurements. The UE 110 may evaluate the time it takes to validate each measurement and initiate validation only for measurements that can be validated in less than or equal to the maximum validation time period. The UE 110 may evaluate the time it takes to validate each measurement by calculating the time it takes to read an index, calculating the time it takes to perform measurements related to validation, assuming that a cell is detected, and / or any other process or combination of processes.

[0132] All of the methods described herein can be used alone or in any kind of combination to allow better control of the validation process performed by the UE 110.

[0133] An advantage of allowing the gNB 120 to control the validation process performed by the UE 110 as described herein is that the UE 110 does not need to spend unnecessary time or power validating measurements that the network 100 may not be interested in using in SCell / SCG activation. Also, the methods described herein allow the network 100 and the UE 110 to react to sudden changes during the activation process.

[0134] 6 illustrates an example of a controller 600. The controller 600 may be provided in a device such as a UE 110 or a network device. An embodiment of the controller 600 may be a controller circuit. The controller 600 may be implemented solely in hardware, may have certain aspects solely in software including firmware, or may be a combination of hardware and software (including firmware).

[0135] As shown in FIG. 6, the controller 600 may be implemented using instructions that enable hardware functionality, for example, by using executable instructions of a computer program 606 in a general-purpose or special-purpose processor 602, which may be stored on a computer-readable storage medium (disk, memory, etc.), for execution by such processor 602.

[0136] The processor 602 is configured to read from and write to the memory 604. The processor 602 may also include an output interface through which data and / or commands are output by the processor 602 and an input interface through which data and / or commands are input to the processor 602.

[0137] The memory 604 stores a computer program 606 that includes computer program instructions (computer program code) that, when loaded into the processor 602, control the operation of the apparatus. The computer program instructions of the computer program 606 provide the logic and routines that enable the apparatus to perform the methods illustrated in the figures. The processor 602 can load and execute the computer program 606 by reading the memory 604.

[0138] Thus, in examples where the controller 600 is provided within the UE 110, the controller 600 comprises at least one processor 602 and at least one memory 604 having instructions stored thereon that, when executed by the at least one processor 602, cause the UE 110 to at least: receiving 200 a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; and Performing validation of one or more measurements 202 in accordance with the instructions.

[0139] Thus, in examples where the controller 600 is provided within the gNB 120, the controller 600 comprises at least one processor 602 and at least one memory 604 having instructions stored therein that, when executed by the at least one processor 602, cause the UE 110 to at least: Sending 204 a message to the UE 110, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup.

[0140] The computer program 606 may reach the UE 110 via any suitable distribution mechanism 608. The distribution mechanism 608 may be, for example, a machine-readable medium, a computer-readable medium, a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium, a computer program product, a memory device, a recording medium such as a CD-ROM (compact disc read-only memory) or a DVD (digital versatile disc) or a solid-state memory, an article of manufacture that contains or tangibly embodies the computer program 606. The distribution mechanism may also be a signal configured to reliably transfer the computer program 606. A device may propagate or transmit the computer program 606 as a computer data signal.

[0141] The computer program 606 may include computer program instructions for causing the UE 110 to perform or to perform at least the following: receiving 200 a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; and Performing validation of one or more measurements 202 in accordance with the instructions.

[0142] The computer program 606 may include computer program instructions for causing the gNB 120 to perform or to perform at least the following: Sending 204 a message to the UE 110, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup.

[0143] The computer program instructions may be included in a computer program, a non-transitory computer-readable medium, a computer program product, a machine-readable medium, etc. In some, but not necessarily all, examples, the computer program instructions may be distributed across multiple computer programs.

[0144] Although memory 604 is illustrated as a single component / circuit, it may be implemented as one or more separate components / circuits, some or all of which may be integrated / removable and / or provide permanent / semi-permanent / dynamic / cached storage.

[0145] Although the processor 602 is shown as a single component / circuit, it may be implemented as one or more separate components / circuits, some or all of which may be integrated / removable. The processor 602 may be a single-core or multi-core processor.

[0146] References to "computer-readable storage medium," "computer program product," "tangibly embodied computer program," etc., or to "controller," "computer," "processor," etc., should be understood to encompass computers having various architectures, such as single / multi-processor architectures, serial (von Neumann) / parallel architectures, as well as special purpose circuitry, such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific circuits (ASICs), signal processing devices, and other processing circuitry. References to computer programs, instructions, code, etc., should be understood to encompass software for a programmable processor, or firmware, such as the programmable content of a hardware device, whether, for example, instructions for a processor or configuration settings for a fixed function device, gate array, or programmable logic device, etc.

[0147] As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more, or all, of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit embodiments (e.g., analog and / or digital-only circuit embodiments); and (b) Combinations of hardware circuitry and software (where appropriate), such as: (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuitry and software / firmware; (ii) Portions of hardware processors (including digital signal processors) with software, software, and memory that work together to cause a device, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions; (c) A hardware circuit and / or processor, such as a microprocessor or portion of a microprocessor, that requires software (e.g., firmware) to operate, but the software may be absent when not necessary for operation.

[0148] This definition of circuit applies to all uses of the term in this application, including the claims. As a further example, when used in this application, the term circuit also covers merely hardware circuits or processors and their associated software and / or firmware embodiments. The term circuit also covers, for example, baseband integrated circuits for mobile devices, or similar integrated circuits in servers, cellular network devices, or other computing or network devices, if applicable to certain claim elements.

[0149] 2 through 5 may represent steps in a method and / or sections of code in the computer program 606. The description of a particular order to the blocks does not necessarily imply a required or preferred order for the blocks, and the order and arrangement of the blocks may be varied. Additionally, some blocks may be omitted.

[0150] Where a structural feature is described, it may be replaced by a means for performing one or more of the functions of the structural feature, whether that function or functions are explicitly or implicitly described.

[0151] The term "comprises" is used in this document in an inclusive rather than exclusive sense, i.e., any reference to X comprising Y indicates that X may comprise only one Y or may comprise multiple Ys. Where the exclusive sense of "comprises" is intended, this will be made clear in the context by referring to "comprising only one of" or by using "consisting of."

[0152] As used herein, the terms "connect," "couple," and "communicate," as well as their derivatives, mean to be operatively connected / coupled / communicate. It should be appreciated that any number or combination of intervening components may be present (including no intervening components), i.e., to provide a direct or indirect connection / coupling / communication. Such intervening components may include hardware and / or software components.

[0153] As used herein, the term "determining / determining" (and grammatical variations thereof) can include, among other things: calculating, computing, processing, deriving, measuring, investigating, identifying, looking up (e.g., looking up in a table, database, or another data structure), ascertaining, etc. Also, "determining" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), obtaining, etc. Also, "determining / determining" may include resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, etc.

[0154] Reference is made herein to various examples. The description of a feature or function with respect to one example indicates that the feature or function is present in that example. Use of the terms "example," "for example," "can," or "may" in this document, whether explicitly stated or not, indicates that such feature or function is present in at least the described example, whether stated in the example, and that it may, but not necessarily, be present in some or all of the other examples. Thus, "example," "for example," "can," or "may" refers to a particular instance of a class of examples. The nature of the instance may be a nature of that instance alone, a nature of the class, or a nature of a subclass of the class that includes some but not all instances in the class. Thus, a feature described with reference to one example and not described with reference to another example is implicitly disclosed as being capable of, but not necessarily required to be used in, that other example, where possible as part of a functional combination.

[0155] Although the preceding paragraphs have described examples with reference to various examples, it will be appreciated that modifications can be made to the examples given without departing from the scope of the claims.

[0156] The features set out in the preceding description may also be used in combinations other than those explicitly set out above.

[0157] Although functions have been described with reference to particular functions, these functions may be performed by other functions, whether or not described.

[0158] Although features have been described with reference to particular examples, these features may be present in other examples, whether or not described.

[0159] The terms "a," "an," or "the" are used in this document in an inclusive, rather than an exclusive, sense. That is, a reference to X containing one Y indicates that X may contain only one Y or may contain multiple Ys, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. If "a," "an," or "the" is intended to be exclusive, this will be made clear in the context. In some circumstances, the use of "at least one" or "one or more" may be used to emphasize an inclusive sense, but the absence of these terms should not be taken to imply an exclusive sense.

[0160] The presence of a feature (or combination of features) in a claim is a reference to the feature or (combination of features) itself, and also to features that achieve substantially the same technical effect (equivalent features). Equivalent features include, for example, features that are modifications and achieve substantially the same result in substantially the same way. Equivalent features include, for example, features that perform substantially the same function in substantially the same way and achieve substantially the same result.

[0161] Reference is made herein to various examples using adjectives or adjectival language to describe properties of the examples. Such description of a property with respect to an example indicates that the property exists in some examples exactly as described and in other examples generally as described.

[0162] While the foregoing description describes several examples of the present disclosure, those skilled in the art will recognize possible alternative structures and method features that provide equivalent functionality to the specific examples of such structures and features described herein above. These have been omitted from the foregoing description for purposes of brevity and clarity. Nevertheless, references in the foregoing description to such alternative structures and method features that provide equivalent functionality should be read as implicitly included, unless such alternative structures or method features are explicitly excluded in the foregoing description of examples of the present disclosure.

[0163] Although the foregoing specification has attempted to draw attention to features believed to be important, it should be understood that applicants may seek protection in the claims with respect to any patentable feature or combination of features described hereinabove and / or shown in the drawings, whether or not emphasized.

Claims

1. means for receiving a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; means for performing validation of said one or more measurements in accordance with said instructions; A UE comprising:

2. the message containing the control command, Connection setup messages, Connection reconfiguration messages, Information request message. The UE of claim 1 , comprising at least one of:

3. said connection setup message RRC setup message, RRC Resume Message The UE of claim 2 , comprising at least one of:

4. The UE of claim 2 , wherein the connection reconfiguration message comprises an RRC reconfiguration message.

5. The control instruction: an indication of whether to initiate performance of the validation of the one or more measurements; an indication to stop all ongoing validation of said one or more measurements; an indication to stop an ongoing validation subset of the one or more measurements; an indication to continue the ongoing validation of a subset of the one or more measurements; an indication of whether to report measurement availability and an indication of the validation status of a canceled validation of said one or more measurements; Maximum duration of the validation process The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising at least one of:

6. said subset of measurements being: cell Career Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Reference signal (RS) The UE of claim 5, wherein the indication is by at least one of:

7. 6. The UE of claim 5, wherein the UE uses a maximum period indicated in the validation process to select measurements to perform validation.

8. The means comprises: Measurement availability for one or more measurements performed by the UE; Validation status for one or more measurements performed by the UE.

8. The UE of any one of claims 1 to 7, further adapted to enable transmission of a report comprising an indication of at least one of:

9. The UE of claim 8 , wherein the report is sent in an information response message.

10. the one or more measurements Carrier Aggregation (CA) setup, Dual Connectivity (DC) Setup 10. The UE of claim 1, further comprising measurements to assist in at least one of:

11. The validation process comprises: Cell detection, Cell measurements, Index reads. The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 10, comprising at least one or more of:

12. At least a portion of the measurement and validation process comprises: Idle or inactive mode, Connection Setup The UE according to any one of claims 1 to 11, wherein the UE is implemented during at least one of the following:

13. receiving a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; performing validation of said one or more measurements in accordance with said instructions; A method comprising:

14. When executed by the UE, at least receiving a message from a network entity, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; and performing validation of said one or more measurements in accordance with said instructions; a computer program comprising instructions for causing the UE to execute the

15. means for transmitting a message to a UE, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; A network entity comprising:

16. the message containing the control command, Connection setup messages, Connection reconfiguration messages, Information request message.

16. The network entity of claim 15, comprising at least one of:

17. the connection setup message: RRC setup message, RRC Resume Message 17. The network entity of claim 16, comprising at least one of:

18. The network entity of claim 16 , wherein the connection reconfiguration message comprises an RRC reconfiguration message.

19. The control instruction: an indication of whether to initiate performance of the validation of the one or more measurements; an indication to stop all ongoing validation of said one or more measurements; an indication to stop an ongoing validation subset of the one or more measurements; an indication to continue the ongoing validation of a subset of the one or more measurements; an indication of whether to report measurement availability and an indication of the validation status of a canceled validation of said one or more measurements; Maximum duration of the validation process The network entity according to any one of claims 15 to 18, comprising at least one of:

20. said subset of measurements being: cell Career Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) Reference signal (RS) 20. The network entity of claim 19, wherein the network entity is indicated by at least one of:

21. 20. The network entity of claim 19, wherein the UE uses a maximum period indicated in a validation process to select measurements to validate.

22. The means comprises: Measurement availability for one or more measurements performed by the UE; Validation status for one or more measurements performed by the UE. A network entity according to any one of claims 15 to 21, also being means for receiving a report comprising an indication of at least one of:

23. The network entity of claim 22, wherein the report is received in an information response message.

24. the one or more measurements Carrier Aggregation (CA) setup, Dual Connectivity (DC) Setup A network entity according to any one of claims 15 to 23, comprising measurements to assist in at least one of:

25. The validation process comprises: Cell detection, Cell measurements, Index Read A network entity according to any one of claims 15 to 24, comprising at least one or more of:

26. At least a portion of the measurement and validation process comprises: Idle or inactive mode, Connection Setup The network entity according to any one of claims 15 to 25, wherein the network entity is implemented by the UE during at least one of the following:

27. sending a message to the UE, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; A method comprising:

28. When performed by a network entity, at least: sending a message to the UE, the message including control instructions for performing validation of one or more measurements during connection setup; a computer program comprising instructions for causing the network entity to execute the

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