Beam information in the initial measurement

Abstract

A method is provided for reporting beam measurements from a dormant wireless device to a network. A measurement reporting method performed by a wireless device includes obtaining a beam measurement configuration from a network. Based on the beam measurement configuration, the wireless device performs at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state. The wireless device reports results of the at least one beam measurement to the network after transitioning from the dormant state to a connected state.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure generally relates to wireless communication, and more particularly to systems and methods for beam information in initial measurements.

Background Art

[0002] In Rel-10, Carrier Aggregation (CA) was introduced into Long Term Evolution (LTE) to enable a User Equipment (UE) to transmit and / or receive information via a plurality of cells, which may be referred to as secondary cells (S cells, SCell), from a plurality of carrier frequencies for the benefit of the presence of discontinuous and continuous carrier waves. In the jargon of CA, the primary cell (P cell, PCell) is the cell to which the UE has established or handed over a Radio Resource Control (RRC) connection. In CA, cells are aggregated at the Medium Access Control level (MAC level). Medium Access Control (MAC) obtains a grant for a cell and multiplexes data sent to that cell from different bearers into a transport block. Also, MAC controls how that process is done.

[0003] FIG. 1 shows a plurality of Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) and Radio Link Control (RLC) connected to a plurality of cells (e.g., cell 1, cell 2, and cell 3) via the MAC layer.

[0004] The S cell can be added or configured for the UE using RRC signaling such as, for example, an RRC connection reconfiguration message, which takes about 100 milliseconds. The cell configured for the UE becomes the serving cell for this UE. Also, the S cell can be related to the S cell state. When configured / added via RRC, the S cell starts in the deactivated state. In LTE Rel-15, the eNB can activate it upon configuration or at least indicate to the UE to change the state in the RRC reconfiguration.

[0005] Figure 2 shows the possible states of a cell as discussed in LTE Rel-15. Specifically, in LTE rel-15, a new intermediate state between the deactivated and activated states has been introduced for enhanced uplink operation. This state is the dormant state and has not yet been introduced in New Radio (NR). The action to move to the dormant state is called hibernation.

[0006] The MAC control element (MAC CE) can be used to change the S cell state between the deactivated state, the activated state, and the dormant state. There are also timers within the MAC to move the cell between the deactivated state, the activated state, and the dormant state. These timers are as follows. - s cell hibernation timer (which moves the S cell from the activated state to the dormant state) - s cell deactivation timer (which moves the S cell from the activated state to the deactivated state) - dormant S cell deactivation timer (which moves the S cell from the dormant state to the deactivated state) MAC-level S cell activation takes about 20 - 30 ms.

[0007] When the network understands the need to configure and / or activate CA, the question is which cell to configure and / or activate first when cells are configured, and / or whether the cell / carrier is good enough in terms of radio quality / coverage (e.g., RSRP and RSRQ, etc.). To understand the situation regarding the S cell or potential S cell in a given available carrier, the network can configure the UE to perform radio resource management (RRM) measurements.

[0008] Typically, the network can be assisted by RRM measurements as reported by the UE. The network can configure the UE using a measurement ID related to a reportConfig that involves event A1 (when the serving cell becomes better than a threshold) if this is the configured S cell, or A4 (when a neighbor cell becomes better than a threshold) for a carrier that is not the configured S cell. The measurement target is related to the carrier for which the network desires the result report. If the network is aware of the exact cell, the network hopes that the UE measures, and the white cell list can be set for the measurement target, and thus the UE is only required to measure these cells in that carrier.

[0009] Figure 3 shows a signaling flow diagram for the re - configuration of the UE in RRC_Connected after the master node (MN) has decided to set up CA and / or dual connectivity (DC). Specifically, the MN sends an RRC re - configuration message that is, for example, a measConfig with A4. After a time period equal to the time taken to obtain the first measurement report, the UE sends an RRC measurement report about the carrier and cells. Then, the MN decides about S cell addition or S cell activation based on the RRC measurement report and sends an RRC re - configuration message to the UE.

[0010] When introducing DC later in Rel-12, it was possible to add to the UE what is called a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) configuration. The main benefit is that the UE can, in principle, add cells from a different eNodeB. For each protocol, one MAC entity is required for each cell group, which is different. The UE has two cell groups, one related to the P cell (master node) and the other related to the PS cell (of the secondary eNodeB), and each group may have S cells related to themselves.

[0011] Regarding additional S cells, when the UE is in single connectivity, the RRC connection reconfiguration message can carry the cell index (and thus the MAC identifier is optimized, i.e., made shorter), cell identifier, and carrier frequency, common parameters, and status information, which are introduced later in Rel-15 (activated or deactivated).

[0012] 5G in 3GPP introduces both a new core network (5GC) and a new radio access network (NR). However, the core network (5GC) also supports radio access technologies (RATs) other than NR. It has been agreed that LTE or Evolved-Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) should also be connected to the 5GC. An LTE base station such as an eNB connected to the 5GC is called an ng-eNB and is also part of the NG-RAN consisting of NR base stations called gNBs. Figure 4 shows the 5GS architecture including the 5GC and the NG-RAN. Specifically, Figure 4 shows how the base stations are connected to each other and to the nodes in the 5GC.

[0013] There are different ways to deploy 5G networks with or without using interworking with LTE (also known as E-UTRA) and the Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Figure 5 shows the LTE and NR interworking options. In principle, NR and LTE can be deployed without using any interworking, as shown by NR Stand-Alone (SA) operation. That is, as shown in Option 1 and Option 2 of Figure 5, the gNB in NR can be connected to the 5G core network (5GC), the eNB can be connected to the EPC, and there is no interconnection between the two. On the other hand, the first support version of NR is E-UTRAN-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC), which is shown as Option 3. In such an arrangement, the DC between NR and LTE applies LTE as the master and NR as the secondary node. The RAN node can include the gNB that supports NR and may not have a control plane connection to the core network (EPC). Instead, the RAN node relies on LTE as the master node (MeNB). This is also called non-standalone NR. In this case, the functionality of the NR cell is limited and is used for the connected mode UE connected as a booster and / or diversity leg, but the RRC_IDLE UE cannot camp on these NR cells.

[0014] When introducing 5GC, other options may also be valid. As described above, Option 2 supports a stand-alone NR configuration where the gNB is connected to 5GC. Similarly, LTE can also be connected to 5GC using Option 5, also known as eLTE, E-UTRA / 5GC, or LTE / 5GC, and the node can be called an ng-eNB. In these cases, both NR and LTE are considered part of the NG-RAN, and both the ng-eNB and the gNB can be called NG-RAN nodes. Options 4 and 7 are other variants of DC between LTE and NR, and it is noteworthy that this variant is standardized as part of the NG-RAN connected to 5GC, which is indicated by Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC). Under the umbrella of MR-DC, we have the following: · EN-DC (Option 3): LTE is the master node and NR is the secondary (EPC CN is used) · NE-DC (Option 4): NR is the master node and LTE is the secondary (5GCN is used) · NGEN-DC (Option 7): LTE is the master node and NR is the secondary (5GCN is used) · NR-DC (variant of Option 2): Dual connectivity where both the master and secondary are NR (5GCN is used)

[0015] When migrations for these options can be different for different operators, it is possible to have an arrangement with multiple options in parallel within the same network. For example, there could be an eNB base station supporting options 3, 5, and 7 within the same network as an NR base station supporting options 2 and 4. In combination with DC solutions between LTE and NR, it is also possible to support CA for each cell group (i.e., MCG and SCG), and dual connectivity between nodes on the same RAT (e.g., NR-NR DC). For LTE cells, the results of these different arrangements are the coexistence of LTE cells related to eNBs connected to the EPC, 5GC, or both EPC / 5GC.

[0016] A very typical scenario / use case is a UE with some bursty traffic going through. For example, the UE can send or receive some video packets, experience an idle period of transmission / reception, and then go live again. To save UE power, the network migrates the UE from connected to idle during these periods. Then the UE comes back again either by paging or UE request to connect and access the network.

[0017] In LTE Rel-13, a mechanism was introduced where the network suspends the UE in a suspended state similar to RRC_IDLE, but there is a difference in that the UE stores the access stratum (AS) context or RRC context. This enables a reduction in signaling when the UE becomes active again by resuming the RRC connection instead of establishing the RRC connection from scratch. Reducing signaling can have several of the following benefits. - For example, reduce latency for a smartphone accessing the Internet. - Reducing signaling reduces battery consumption for machine type devices that transmit very little data.

[0018] The Rel-13 solution is based on the fact that the UE can send an RRC connection resume request message to the network and receive an RRC connection resume from this network in response. The RRC connection resume is not encrypted but integrity is protected.

[0019] The resume procedure in LTE can be found in the RRC specifications such as 3GPP TS 36.331. When the UE executing the resume is in RRC_IDLE (along with the suspended AS context), it triggers a transition from RRC_IDLE to RRC_CONNECTED. Thus, it is modeled in the same subclause that catches the RRC connection establishment (subclause 5.3.3 RRC connection establishment).

[0020] There are several highlights related to the SCG configuration and S cell configuration in the context of the suspend / resume procedure. When suspending, it is specified that the UE shall store its used RRC configuration. In other words, if the UE is operating in any DC mode and has an SCG configuration, or if the UE has just configured an S cell for the MCG, the UE shall store all these configurations. However, when resuming, it is specified that the UE shall release the SCG configuration and S cell configuration until at least Rel-15.

[0021] Therefore, when the UE comes from RRC_IDLE in context, if the network wishes to add an S cell or an SCG to the MCG, it has to do so from scratch even if the UE has suspended and resumed within the same cell / area where all previous P cell and S cell configurations are still valid from a radio state perspective.

[0022] Since the use case of UEs with burst traffic pausing and resuming frequently within the same cell is very typical, 3GPP has standardized a solution in LTE that enables UEs to assist the network using the measurements performed while the UE is in RRC_IDLE, whereby the network can speed up the setup of carrier aggregation or dual connectivity. Specifically, in LTE Rel-15, when transitioning from idle to connected state, it is possible to configure the UE to report so-called initial measurements. These measurements are those that the UE can perform while in the idle state. As shown in the previous chapter, first give the measurement configuration (measConfig) in RRC_CONNECTED, and then the first sample is collected, monitored, and then the first report is triggered, without having to wait hundreds of milliseconds until it is sent to the network. According to the settings provided by the source cell, these measurements are received immediately after the UE is connected, with the intention of quickly setting up CA and / or other forms of DC (e.g., EN-DC, MR-DC, etc.).

[0023] The first aspect of the existing solution is described in 5.6.20 Idle mode measurements as standardized in EUTRA 36.331. The UE can receive these idle mode measurement settings in system information (SIB5) in the field MeasIdleConfigSIB-r15 that indicates the range of cell IDs up to 8 cells or to continue measuring. In addition, the UE may be configured regarding the transition from RRC_CONNECTED to RRC_IDLE, and the dedicated measurement configuration is in the RRC connection release message regarding measIdleDedicated-r15, which disables the broadcast configuration in SIB5.

[0024] Carrier information and cell list The UE has a list of carrier frequencies and, as appropriate, a list of cells for which the UE is to perform measurements. The field s-NonIntraSearch in System Information Block Type 3 has no impact on the UE measurement procedure in idle mode.

[0025] Timer T331 Upon receiving the measurement configuration, the UE starts timer T331, and a value that can range from 0 to 300 seconds is given to measIdleDuration. The timer stops the RRC connection resume indicating a transition to RRC_CONNECTED upon receiving an RRC connection setup. The concept exists to limit the amount of time for which the UE performs measurements for initial measurements.

[0026] Valid area Another concept introduced in the LTE rel-15 solution is the valid area that includes a list of PCIs. The intention is to limit the area where CA or DC can be set up later when the UE resumes / setups a connection, and thus the initial measurements are somewhat useful for that purpose. When the valid area is set and the UE reselects the serving cell and its PCI does not match any entry within the valid area for the corresponding carrier frequency, timer T331 is stopped. The UE then stops for performing idle measurements and releases the configuration (i.e., VarMeasIdleConfig). This does not necessarily imply that the UE releases the idle measurements set and executed as set in the release message. These can still be stored and, according to, requested by the network. In addition, the UE can continue with idle mode measurements after timer T331 has expired or stopped according to the broadcasted SIB5 configuration.

[0027] Minimum quality threshold Note that since cell candidates for CA setup need to be within the minimum acceptable threshold, only the measurement values exceeding a certain threshold are to be memorized. How the UE performs measurements in the idle mode depends on the UE implementation as long as the RAN4 requirements for measurement reporting specified in 36.133 are met.

[0028] Indication of initial measurements available at restart / setup in LTE Another aspect of the existing solution occurs when the UE attempts to restart or set up a call from RRC_IDLE without context. For example, if previous steps are executed, such as when the UE is configured to memorize idle measurements, the network can request whether the UE has available idle measurements after restart / setup (after security is activated).

[0029] If this UE is setting up a connection coming from RRC_IDLE without an AS context, the network is not aware that the UE has memorized available measurements. Therefore, the UE can indicate the availability of the memorized idle measurements at the completion of RRC connection setup to enable the network to know this and thus request the UE to report the initial measurements. In any case, since not all cells support the feature, the UE simply includes its availability information when the cell broadcasts idle mode measurement indication in SIB2.

[0030] If this UE is setting up a connection coming from RRC_IDLE using the stored AS context (i.e., resuming from suspension), the network can notice that the UE can have the stored available idle measurements after checking the context retrieved from the source node where the UE was suspended. However, when the cell exceeds the set RSRP / RSRQ threshold, the UE is only required to perform measurements while the UE performs cell selection / cell reselection within the set active area, so it is not yet certain that the UE has available measurements. Then, in order for the network to know this and possibly request the UE to report initial measurements, the UE can also indicate the availability of the stored idle measurements upon completion of RRC connection resume. Since not all cells support the feature, when the cell broadcasts an idle mode measurement indication in SIB2, the UE simply includes its availability information.

[0031] Figure 6 shows the reporting of initial measurements during resume / setup in LTE. When the UE indicates that idle measurements are available at the target cell during resume or setup, the network can ultimately request the UE to report these available measurements by including the field idleModeMeasurementReq in the UE information request message sent to the UE. And the UE responds with a UE information response including these measurements.

[0032] Currently, there are certain issues. For example, unlike LTE, in NR, random access resources are mapped beam-by-beam, e.g., for each SSB and / or for each CSI-RS. Before random access selection, the UE needs to perform measurements in the target cell which is the cell where the UE is performing random access, and select a beam based on these measurements (e.g., SSB for the target cell, i.e., the SSB that encodes the PCI, i.e., the PSS / SSS of the target cell). In RACH, the configuration includes, for example, the mapping between the selected DL beam including the preamble and time / frequency domain resources and the RACH resources to be used (when given, both dedicated or common RACH configurations), so after selecting a beam, the UE then needs to know whether to use the random access resources. In other words, in NR, random access resource selection needs to be performed within the cell according to the measurements performed on the SSB or CSI-RS.

[0033] Figure 7 shows an exemplary transmission of an SSB. As shown, a cell in NR is basically defined by a set of these SSBs that can be transmitted in one (for a typical implementation for low frequencies, e.g., below 6 GHz) or multiple downlink beams (for a typical implementation for low frequencies, e.g., below 6 GHz). For the same cell, these SSBs hold the same physical cell identifier (PCI: Physical Cell Identifier) and the master information block (MIB: Master Information Block). For stand-alone operation and to assist UEs camping on the NR cell, they hold SIB1 and RACH configurations including the mapping between the detected SSB covering the UE at a given time and the PRACH configuration (e.g., time, frequency, preamble, etc.) to be used. For this purpose, each of these beams can transmit its own SSB distinguishable by the SSB index.

[0034] The mapping between the RACH resource and the SSB (or CSI-RS) is also given as part of the RACH configuration (in RACH-ConfigCommon). The two parameters are relevant as follows. - #SSBs-per-PRACH-occasion: Represents the number of SSBs per RACH occasion as 1 / 8, 1 / 4 、 1 / 2 、1, 2, 8, or 16 - #CB-Preambles-per-SSB-Preamble within a RACH occasion: Indicates how many preambles can be allocated within a RACH occasion To give a first example, if the number of SSBs per RACH occasion is 1 and the UE is under the coverage of a specific SSB, e.g., SSB index 2, there is a RACH occasion for that SSB index 2. If the UE moves and is now under the coverage of another specific SSB, e.g., SSB index 5, there is another RACH occasion for that SSB index 5, i.e., each SSB detected by a given UE has its own RACH occasion. Thus, on the network side, when detecting a preamble in a specific RACH occasion, the network knows exactly which SSB the UE has selected and thus which downlink beam is covering the UE. Therefore, the network can continue downlink transmission, e.g., RAR, etc. That factor 1 is an indication that each SSB has its own RACH resource, i.e., the preamble detected there indicates to the network which SSB the UE has a choice for, i.e., which DL beam, such as for sending the RAR, etc., the network should use to communicate with the UE.

[0035] Figure 8 shows the preamble mapping to different RACH occasions, and Figure 9 shows the preamble mapping to the same RACH occasion. Typically, each SS block maps multiple preambles (different cyclic shifts and Zadoff-Chu roots) within a PRACH occasion, so different UEs within the same RACH occasion can be multiplexed because they can be under the coverage of the same SSB. Note that in the second example shown below, the number of SSBs per RACH occasion is two. Therefore, the preamble received in that RACH occasion indicates to the network that one of the two beams has been selected by the UE. Therefore, the network should either have a means by implementation to distinguish these two beams, and / or perform beam sweeping in the downlink by transmitting the RAR on both beams simultaneously, or transmitting on one and waiting for a response from the UE and, if not, transmitting on the other.

[0036] The above example is also applicable for CSI-RS resources.

[0037] The UE can be configured for initial measurements for high-speed CA / DC setup. While in RRC_CONNECTED, the UE can be configured to perform measurements and trigger measurement reports. This can assist the network in making decisions such as addition, modification, or removal of S cells, SCGs, trigger handovers, etc. In the case of NR, the network configures the UE to apply L3 filtering to beam measurements and can include beam measurement information in the RRC measurement report for the serving cell and the trigger cell, i.e., the cell that triggers the measurement report. The configuration for beam reporting is given as part of reportConfigNR and MeasObject, both of which are thereby included in the measurement configuration (see MeasConfig IE). One of the purposes of configuring an RRC_CONNECTED UE to report beam measurements is that the target cell (which can be a target candidate for HO, SCG addition, S cell addition, etc.) can be enabled to efficiently allocate contention-free RACH (CFRA) resources. When receiving beam measurements from a UE related to a target candidate, the source can send these beam measurements during the preparation phase, whereby the target knows which of those beams better cover the UE (e.g., SSB and / or CSI-RS). Thus, when performing beam selection during random access, since there is a high possibility that the UE selects one of these beams, the target can be restricted from preparing CFRA resources only for these beams.

[0038] In existing solutions, as described above, in order to assist the network to make a quicker decision for setting up an S cell for MCG, SCG (which may include, for example, an S cell), instead of waiting for connected-mode measurements that can only be set in an RRC resume-like message, the UE may be set to report cell measurements such as cell RSRP, cell RSRQ, cell SINR, etc. at the end of (or rather, at the end of) the resume procedure. It takes hundreds of milliseconds until the first report is received by the network.

[0039] When existing solutions in LTE are adopted in NR, the network needs to prepare RACH resources for all possible beams (e.g., SSB) that cover a cell, which can be very inefficient. Therefore, the network has problems when performing CFRA for SCG addition and S cell addition. Thus, due to its inefficiency, the network cannot even use such features.

[0040] There may be cells that do not transmit SSB (PSS, SSS, or PBCH) within the sync raster. They are not detected by the UE that searches for the frequency carrier on which the cell camps. When LTE Rel-15 solutions are adopted in NR, such cells cannot be set for initial measurements. Since these cells are excluded from CA or DC fast setup, this limits the use of the features of initial measurements. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0041] Some aspects of the present disclosure and their embodiments can provide solutions to these and other problems.

[0042] According to some embodiments, a measurement reporting method performed by a wireless device includes obtaining a beam measurement configuration from a network. Based on this beam measurement configuration, the wireless device performs at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state. The wireless device reports the result of this at least one beam measurement to the network. This reporting is made after transitioning from the dormant state to the connected state.

[0043] According to some embodiments, a wireless device is provided for measurement reporting. The wireless device includes a processing circuitry configured to obtain a beam measurement configuration from a network. Based on this beam measurement configuration, the processing circuitry is configured to perform at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state. The processing circuitry is configured to report the result of this at least one beam measurement to the network. This reporting is made after transitioning from the dormant state to the connected state.

[0044] According to some embodiments, a method performed by a base station to configure measurement reporting includes transmitting a beam measurement configuration to a wireless device. The wireless device is configured by the beam measurement configuration to perform at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state. The base station receives a report of the result of the at least one beam measurement from the wireless device. The report is received after the wireless device transitions from the dormant state to the connected state.

[0045] According to some embodiments, a base station is provided for configuring measurement reporting. The base station includes a processing circuitry configured to transmit a beam measurement configuration to a wireless device. The wireless device is configured by the beam measurement configuration to perform at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state. The processing circuitry is configured to receive a report of the result of the at least one beam measurement from the wireless device. The report is received after the wireless device transitions from the dormant state to the connected state.

[0046] In some embodiments, one or more of the following technical advantages can be achieved. For example, in some embodiments, when the UE transitions to the connected state, the UE reports beam measurements in the early measurements performed in the idle state to the network, enabling the network to allocate CFRA resources to the target SCG and / or S cell, thereby providing the possibility of efficiently speeding up SCG addition and S cell addition when the UE is transitioning from the idle state to the connected state.

[0047] As another example, in some embodiments, the network is allowed to allocate only CFRA resources (or other resources) related to one DL beam or several DL beams that are most likely to be the best beam for the UE in the target SCG and / or S cell, such as the DL beam that the UE will select. This enables faster SCG and / or S cell addition during the transition from the idle state to the connected state, for example, without allocating resources such as a dedicated RACH for many (or all) of the beams in the added cell.

[0048] As another example, in some embodiments, early measurements performed outside the sync raster are enabled to be performed by the idle UE to set up, for example, an SCG and / or S cell that does not transmit any SSB in the sync raster, i.e., a cell where the UE may not be able to camp. As an example, it can be a cell that is only used by a connected UE, for example, as an S cell.

[0049] Those skilled in the art will readily appreciate other advantages. Some embodiments may have none, some, or all of the advantages listed.

[0050] For a more complete understanding of the embodiments of the present disclosure and their features and advantages, reference is made to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0051]

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[0052] Some of the embodiments discussed herein will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in detail. However, other embodiments are within the scope of the subject matter of the invention disclosed herein, and the subject matter of the present disclosure should not be considered limited to only the embodiments explicitly described herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided as examples to convey the scope of the subject matter of the invention to those skilled in the art.

[0053] Generally, all terms used in this specification are to be construed in accordance with their ordinary meanings in the relevant technical field, unless a different meaning is clearly imparted and / or implied by the context in which they are used. When referring to elements, devices, components, means, steps, etc., they are to be construed openly as referring to at least one example of such elements, devices, components, means, steps, etc., unless otherwise explicitly stated. Any step of any method disclosed in this specification need not be performed in exactly the order disclosed, unless the step is clearly stated as following or preceding another step and / or there is no implication that the step needs to follow or precede another step. Any feature of any embodiment disclosed in this specification may be applied, as appropriate, to any other embodiment. Similarly, any advantage of any embodiment may apply to any other embodiment, and vice versa. Other objects, features, and advantages of the embodiments included will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.

[0054] According to some embodiments, a method performed in a wireless terminal / user equipment (UE) during early measurement reporting upon receiving a transition from a dormant state (e.g., RRC_IDLE with saved context, RRC_IDLE without saved context, RRC_INACTIVE) to a connected state includes: - obtaining, from a network, a configuration for beam measurement information based on beam measurements performed in the dormant state, where this report is made upon receiving the transition from the dormant state to the connected state; and - reporting to the network beam measurement information based on beam measurements performed in the dormant state, where this report is made upon receiving the transition from the dormant state to the connected state.

[0055] According to some embodiments, the method performed by a source network node that configures a user equipment (UE) upon receiving a transition from a connected state to an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE with stored context, RRC_IDLE without stored context, RRC_INACTIVE) includes - Configuring the UE transitioning to the idle state to perform beam measurements for each cell (a list of one or more cells may be provided) and / or for each carrier frequency (a list of one or more cells may be provided), the measurements being performed according to measurement configurations.

[0056] According to some embodiments, the method performed by a target network node that a user equipment (UE) is transitioning from an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE with stored context, RRC_IDLE without stored context, RRC_INACTIVE) to a connected state includes - Receiving an early measurement report from the UE transitioning from the idle state to the connected state, the report including measurement values having beam measurement information performed in the idle state, the beam measurement values being provided for at least one carrier frequency per cell, - Configuring the UE to perform SCG and / or S cell configurations such as addition, removal, modification of SCG / S cells for at least one cell, and providing contention-free RACH resources for at least one of the beams reported in the previous step.

[0057] According to some embodiments, the method performed by a source network node that configures a user equipment (UE) upon receiving a transition from a connected state to an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE with stored context, RRC_IDLE without stored context, RRC_INACTIVE) includes - To set a UE transitioning to an idle state to perform beam measurements for each beam and / or for each cell (a list of one or more cells may be provided) and / or for each carrier frequency (a list of one or more cells may be provided), where some or all of the measurements are performed outside the sync raster according to the measurement configuration.

[0058] As used herein, the term "beam measurement information" can be interpreted as measurements performed on reference signals (SSB resources or CSI-RS resources) that can be carried out by the network. Beam measurement information can be beam measurements such as RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR for each beam (e.g., SS-RSRP in the case of RSRP performed on a specific SSB), or information derived from beam measurements, such as a list of beam identifiers selected based on beam measurements, e.g., the identifier of the strongest beam, or the identifiers of beams exceeding a configurable threshold.

[0059] As used herein, beam measurement information can consist of at least one of the following. 〇 The beam identifier of the beam; when the beam is an SSB, it is the SSB identifier, and when the beam is a CSI-RS, it is the CSI-RS identifier. 〇 The radio conditions (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR) of one or more beams to be measured. These radio conditions can be those used for cell quality derivation while the UE is in the idle state.

[0060] In certain embodiments, the beam identifier is the SSB index. This can be derived based on the information transmitted in the MIB payload and its demodulation reference signal (DM-RS).

[0061] In certain embodiments, the beam identifier is a CSI-RS index. This can be provided by the network via dedicated signaling corresponding to a particular CSI-RS resource configuration.

[0062] In the present disclosure, reporting of beam measurement information in early measurements upon transition from a dormant state (e.g., RRC_IDLE with saved context, RRC_IDLE without saved context, RRC_INACTIVE) is described. In the background of the present invention, a "beam" can be a reference signal detected by a UE and assigned an identifier. For example, when the present disclosure is applied to the 3GPP NR standard, the above reference signal may be a synchronization signal and a PBCH block (SSB) or a CSI-RS.

[0063] FIG. 10 shows an SSB according to some embodiments. In the case of an SSB consisting of a primary synchronization signal and a secondary synchronization signal (PSS, SSS), each of the signals occupies one symbol and 127 subcarriers, and a PBCH spanning three OFDM symbols and 240 subcarriers, with an unused portion for the SSS left in the middle in one symbol.

[0064] The possible time positions of the SSB within a half-frame are determined by the subcarrier spacing, and the periodicity of the half-frame in which the SSB is transmitted is set by the network. Between half-frames, if the SSB is different, it can be transmitted in a different spatial direction (i.e., using various beams that spread over the cell coverage area). Within the frequency span of a carrier, multiple SSBs can be transmitted. The PCI of the SSBs transmitted at different frequency positions does not have to be unique, i.e., SSBs in the frequency domain may have different PCIs if they are different. However, if the SSB is associated with the RMSI, the SSB corresponds to an individual cell with a unique NCGI (see subclause 8.2). Such an SSB is called a cell-defining SSB (CD-SSB). The PCell always corresponds to the CD-SSB located in the synchronization raster.

[0065] Layer 1 can receive a set of SS / PBCH block indexes (or CS-RS) from a higher layer and provide corresponding measured values of a set of RSRP, RSRQ, and / or SINR to the higher layer. These may be referred to as L1 measurement values per SSB, L1 measurement values per CSI-RS, or L1 measurement values per beam. These measured values logged and reported according to what the present disclosure describes may be those described in the L1 specification as reproduced below (for simplicity, only the RRSP definition is given for CSI-RS and SSB). - SS Received Signal Received Power (SS-RSRP) 〇 The SS Reference Signal Received Power (SS-RSRP) is defined as the linear average (in units of [W]) over the power contribution of the resource elements carrying the secondary synchronization signal. The measurement time resource for SS-RSRP is limited within the SS / PBCH block measurement time configuration (SMTC) window duration. When SS-RSRP is used for L1-RSRP as set by reporting the configuration as defined in 3GPP TS38.214, the measurement time resource constraint by the SMTC window duration does not apply. 〇 For the Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH), and for the SS-RSRP determination demodulation reference signal when indicated by a higher layer, a CSI reference signal may be used in addition to the secondary synchronization signal. The SS-RSRP using the demodulation reference signal for the PBCH reference signal or the CSI reference signal shall be measured by the linear average over the power contribution of the resource elements carrying the corresponding reference signal, taking into account the power scaling, as defined in 3GPP TS38.213 for the corresponding reference signal. When SS-RSRP is not used for L1-RSRP, the further use of the CSI reference signal for SS-RSRP determination does not apply. 〇 The SS-RSRP shall be measured only among the reference signals corresponding to the SS / PBCH blocks with the same SS / PBCH block index and the same physical layer cell identification information. 〇 The SS-RSRP is not used for L1-RSRP. When the upper layer indicates several SS / PBCH blocks for SS-RSRP measurement, it shall be measured only from the set of SS / PBCH blocks indicated by the SS-RSRP. 〇 In frequency range 1, the reference point for SS-RSRP shall be the antenna connector of the UE. In frequency range 2, the SS-RSRP shall be measured based on the combined signal from the antenna elements corresponding to a given receiver branch. In frequency ranges 1 and 2, when receiver diversity is being used by the UE, the reported SS-RSRP value shall not be lower than the corresponding SS-RSRP of any of the individual receiver branches. 〇 Note 1: The number of resource elements within the measurement period used by the UE to confirm the SS-RSRP is left to the UE implementation to the extent that the corresponding measurement accuracy requirements must be met. That information may also be logged in the RACH report as a new aspect of the present invention. 〇 Note 2: The power for each resource element is confirmed from the energy received over the useful part of the symbol including the CP. - CSI reference signal received power (CSI-RSRP) 〇 The CSI reference signal received power (CSI-RSRP) is defined as the linear average (in units of [W]) over the power contributions of the resource elements of the antenna port carrying the CSI reference signal, which is set in accordance with the RSRP measurement within the measurement frequency band considered in the configured CSI-RS occasion. 〇 For CSI-RSRP confirmation, it is assumed that the CSI reference signal transmitted at antenna port 3000 is used in accordance with 3GPP TS38.211 [4]. When CSI-RSRP is used for L1-RSRP, the CSI reference signals transmitted at antenna ports 3000 and 3001 may be used for CSI-RSRP confirmation. 〇 For in-band CSI-RSRP measurement, when no measurement gap is configured, the UE is not expected to measure CSI-RS resources outside the active downlink bandwidth part. 〇 In frequency range 1, the reference point for CSI-RSRP is assumed to be the UE's antenna connector. In frequency range 2, CSI-RSRP is assumed to be measured based on the combined signal from the antenna elements corresponding to a given receive branch. In frequency ranges 1 and 2, when receiver diversity is in use by the UE, the reported CSI-RSRP value shall not be lower than the corresponding CSI-RSRP of any of the individual receive branches. 〇 Note 1: The number of resource elements within the considered measurement frequency band and within the measurement period used by the UE to confirm CSI-RSRP is left to the UE implementation to the extent that the corresponding measurement accuracy requirements must be met. That information may also be logged in the RACH report as a novel aspect of the present invention.

[0066] This disclosure mainly focuses on NR, but the method is not limited to NR. Rather, the method described herein applies to - the RAT for which the UE is RRC_CONNECTED when the UE is in the suspended state, - the RAT for which the UE is configured to perform measurements when the UE is in the suspended state, - the RAT for which the UE performs RRC connection resume or RRC connection establishment and the UE sends an early measurement report containing beam measurement information. It applies to many different concepts of RATs including these. The method of this disclosure is applicable to all of various RAT combinations. Some examples are presented below. - A UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state in NR is suspended or released to the idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE) and performs beam measurements on a cell at an NR carrier frequency (which may be a frequency outside the sync raster, i.e., a frequency where other UEs probably do not temporarily reside and is not part of the sync raster). This UE resumes or starts a connection in LTE, whereby these early measurements including beam measurement values can be reported during the transition to the connected state. - A UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state in LTE is suspended or released to the idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE) and performs beam measurements on a cell at an NR carrier frequency (which may be a frequency outside the sync raster, i.e., a frequency where other UEs probably do not temporarily reside and is not part of the sync raster). This UE resumes or starts a connection in LTE, whereby these early measurements including beam measurement values can be reported during this transition to the connected state. - A UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state in NR is suspended or released to the idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE) and performs beam measurements on a cell at an NR carrier frequency (which may be a frequency outside the sync raster, i.e., a frequency where other UEs probably do not temporarily reside and is not part of the sync raster). This UE resumes or starts a connection in LTE, whereby these early measurements including beam measurement values can be reported during the transition to the connected state. - A UE in the RRC_CONNECTED state in LTE is suspended or released to the idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE) and performs beam measurements on a cell at an NR carrier frequency (which can be a frequency outside the sync raster, i.e., where other UEs probably do not temporarily reside and is not part of the sync raster). This UE resumes or initiates a connection in NR, and during this transition to the connected state, these early measurements including beam measurement values can be reported. In the method described herein, the UE can be configured to perform beam measurements on frequencies outside the sync raster, e.g., when it probably does not temporarily reside. As an alternative, the UE may be configured to perform measurements at the cell level or at the carrier level outside the sync raster.

[0067] Since the UE can sometimes move rather quickly between different beams, the reference to information about which beam is best perceived shortens the time from the measurement. According to some embodiments, a method is provided for the network to configure the UE with a threshold for how old the measurement values for the beam levels considered useful are. Thereby, if the measurement is made within the set or specified time before the reporting time, the UE can be configured to report only the measurement for the beam level. As an alternative, the UE includes beam level measurement values (even if they are old) in the report, but also includes information about how old the measurement values are, i.e., information about when the reported measurement was made.

[0068] According to some embodiments, methods performed in a wireless terminal / user equipment (UE) for early measurement reporting upon receiving a transition from an idle state (e.g., RRC_IDLE with a saved context, RRC_IDLE without a saved context, RRC_INACTIVE) to a connected state include - Obtaining a setting for beam measurement information based on beam measurements performed in a dormant state from a network, including obtaining, where this report is made upon receiving a transition from the dormant state to the connected state. There can be various alternative ways for a UE to obtain settings for performing beam measurements while in a dormant state.

[0069] According to some embodiments, the UE can receive dedicated measurement settings when being suspended or released from the dormant state. This setting can be included in an RRC release message (e.g., RRC connection release or RRC release). This can include information provided only at that time in measurement targets (such as cell quality derivation parameters like concatenation thresholds given for each carrier and RS type), and reporting settings such as the number of beams to be reported, measurement quantities during beam measurement to be included, a flag indication including not only beam indices but also measurement values, etc.

[0070] According to some embodiments, the setting for beam measurement is also associated with a validity timer. This can be the same validity timer defined for cell measurement and provided as part of the setting.

[0071] According to some embodiments, the setting for beam measurement is also associated with a validity area. This can be the same validity defined for cell measurement and provided as part of the setting.

[0072] According to some embodiments, the setting can include a list of carriers (e.g., NR carriers, LTE carriers, or both NR carriers and LTE carriers). The UE performs measurements (including beam measurements) on these carrier targets.

[0073] According to some embodiments, the setting can include a list of cells (e.g., of the set carrier targets) on which the UE performs measurements only on the indicated cells.

[0074] According to some embodiments, the configuration may include a list of beams (e.g., for a configured carrier and / or a configured cell, where the beam may be an SSB index or a CSI-RS resource index) for which the UE is to perform measurements only on the indicated beams.

[0075] According to some embodiments, the configuration may include any parameters as shown above, i.e., any parameters that are typically considered to be set only in MeasObjectNR or ReportConfig and that will be provided in RRCRelese.

[0076] According to some embodiments, this configuration may be defined as highlighted below. TIFF0007682839000001.tif143170TIFF0007682839000002.tif254170TIFF0007682839000003.tif75170TIFF0007682839000004.tif180170TIFF0007682839000005.tif255170TIFF0007682839000006.tif58170TIFF0007682839000007.tif249170TIFF0007682839000008.tif109170

[0077] The RRC procedure text conceivable in the proposed method may be as follows. 5.7.6 Idle / Inactive Mode Measurements 5.7.6.1 Overview This procedure specifies the measurements made by a UE in the RRC_IDLE state or the RRC_INACTIVE state when the UE has an IDLE / INACTIVE mode measurement configuration and a storage area for measurement values available to UEs in the RRC_IDLE state, the RRC_INACTIVE state, and the RRC_CONNECTED state. 5.7.6.2 Start While T331 is active, the UE is assumed to be the following: 1> Perform measurements according to the following: 2> For each entry in measIdleCarrierListNR-r16 within VarMeasIdleCongig: 3> If the UE is configured for carrier aggregation and / or dual connectivity (or any form of MR-DC) with the serving carrier indicated by ssbFrequency within the corresponding entry and the carrier frequency: 4> Perform measurements at the carrier frequency and bandwidth indicated by ssbFrequency within the corresponding entry: 4> If measCellListNR-r16 is included: 5> Consider the PCell and cells identified by each entry within measCellListNR-r16 as applicable for idle / non-active mode measurement reporting: 4> Otherwise: 5> Consider the PCell and the cells considered to be the strongest up to maxCellMeasIdleNR-r16 whose RSRP / RSRQ / SINR measurement results exceed the value provided by qualityThresholdNR as applicable for idle mode measurement reporting (if any): 4> If reportQuantityRS-Indexes and maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport are included: 5> Perform measurements for the number of measurements indicated by reportQuantityRS-Indexes (if any) whose RSRP / RSRQ / SINR measurement results exceed the value provided by absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation or absThreshCSI-RS-Consolidation: 4> Save the measurement results for the cells applicable for idle mode measurement reporting within VarMeasIdleReport; 3> Otherwise: 4> Do not consider the carrier frequency as applicable for idle / non-active mode measurement reporting; 2>For each entry in measIdleCarrierListEUTRA within VarMeasIdleConfig: 3>If the UE corresponds to the carrier aggregation of the serving carrier and the carrier, and the bandwidth, indicated by carrierFreq and allowedMeasBandwidth within the corresponding entry; 4>Perform measurements at the carrier frequency and bandwidth indicated by carrierFreq and allowedMeasBandwidth within the corresponding entry; Note: The field s-NonIntraSearch in SystemInformationBlockType3 does not affect the UE measurement procedure in the IDLE mode. How the UE performs measurements in the IDLE mode depends on the UE implementation as long as the requirements in TS36.133

[16] for the measurement report are met. If the SIB2 idle measurement indication is not set, the UE is not required to perform idle measurements. 4>If measCellList is included: 5>Consider the PCell and cells identified by each entry in measCellList as applicable to the IDLE mode measurement report; 4]Otherwise: 5>Consider the PCell and the cell regarded as the strongest up to maxCellMeasIdle whose RSRP / RSRQ measurement result exceeds the value provided by qualityThreshold (if any) as applicable to the IDLE mode measurement report; 4>Save the measurement results for the cells applicable to the IDLE mode measurement report within varMeasldleReport; 3>Otherwise: 4>Do not consider the carrier frequency as applicable to the IDLE mode measurement report; 1> When the UE reselects a serving cell for which the validityArea is set in VarMeasIdleConfig and does not match any entry in the validityArea for the corresponding carrier frequency, where the physical cell identification information (which may be an NR cell, an LTE cell, or a combination of an NR cell and an LTE cell): 2> Stop T331; 5.7.6.3 End or Stop of T331 The UE shall be as follows: 1> When T331 ends or is stopped: 2> Release VarMeasIdleConfig including both beam measurements and cell measurements;

[0078] According to some other embodiments, the UE can obtain the settings for INACTIVE / IDLE measurements for early reporting upon transition from idle to connected state in the system information of each cell that the UE selects (e.g., upon receiving a transition to the idle state) or reselects (while the UE is in the idle state and performing cell reselection). The UE can obtain an indication in the hold / release procedure (e.g., in the settings in the RRC release like a message), but the UE takes measurements during the state transition that are likely to be logged and then reported later, and obtains the measurement settings in the system information for performing these idle / inactive measurements. The UE can obtain the measurement settings for these early idle / inactive measurements in SIB2 and / or SIB4 (in the case of inter-frequency measurements).

[0079] In certain embodiments, in SIB2, the UE can obtain parameters common to both inter-frequency and intra-frequency, while in SIB4, the UE can obtain parameters and perform measurements for a given carrier frequency for which the parameters are provided per frequency.

[0080] In certain embodiments, the UE may also be able to obtain only measurement parameters in SIB4 for a carrier that is perhaps configured in dedicated signaling. For example, in a variant, the UE receives a list of carriers in dedicated signaling but does not receive any measurement parameters (e.g., does not receive anything such as CQD settings, thresholds, etc.), but when obtaining the parameters in SIB4, these parameters are obtained by matching the same carrier.

[0081] SIB2 includes, for example, CQD parameters and further includes parameters related to beam measurement and beam reporting as shown below: -SIB2 SIB2 includes not only intra-frequency, inter-frequency and / or inter-RAT cell reselection information (i.e., more than one type of cell reselection but not necessarily all), but also cell reselection information common to intra-frequency cell reselection information other than the neighboring cells involved. SIB2 also includes settings for non-active / idle mode measurements that are perhaps reported during the transition to the connected state if required by the network and if available. TIFF0007682839000009.tif253170

[0082] SIB4 includes information related only to inter-frequency cell reselection, i.e., information about other NR frequencies and inter-frequency neighboring cells related to cell reselection. The UE includes not only cell reselection parameters common to the frequencies but also cell-specific reselection parameters. TIFF0007682839000010.tif255170TIFF0007682839000011.tif15170

[0083] According to some embodiments, the wireless device or UE is configured to report beam measurement information based on beam measurements performed in the idle state to the network, and this reporting is made upon receiving the transition from the idle state to the connected state.

[0084] The reporting of measurement information can be successfully addressed, for example, by receiving a request from the network and including the beam measurement information in a UE Information Response such as a message. The request can be comprehensive for measurements performed in the idle / inactive state and specific for beam reporting. For example, the network can request measurements with or without beam reporting.

[0085] Including beam measurement information in early measurements upon receiving a transition to the connected state (e.g., as included in a UE Information Response such as a message) can be based on configuration parameters (e.g., configured at RRC release if the UE was in suspended state). For example, the UE can include only the one highest beam and / or multiple highest beams that exceed a configurable threshold for a given measurement quantity (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, etc.).

[0086] The following presents the implementation form in the RRC specification where at least one of the parameters provided in the dedicated configuration controls how beam measurement information is included in the report: 5.6.7 UE Information 5.6.7.1 Overview ··· The UE information procedure is used by the NG-RAN to request the UE to report information (e.g., cell measurement values and beam measurement values). 5.6.7.2 Start The NG-RAN starts this procedure by sending a UE information request message. The NG-RAN must start this procedure only after successful security activation. 5.6.7.3 Reception of UE Information Request Message Upon receiving the UE information request message, the UE shall perform the following only after successful security activation: 1> When idleModeMeasurementReq is included in the UE information request and the UE stores VarMeasIdleReport: 2> Set measResultListIdleInactive in the UE information response message to the value of idleInactiveMeasReport in VarMeasIdleInactiveReport; 2> Discard VarMeasIdleReport upon successful transmission of the UE information response message confirmed by the lower layer; 2> Issue a UEInformationRespons message to the lower layer for transmission via SRB1; 1> Set rsIndexResults to include up to the maxNrofRS-IndexesToReport SS / PBCH block index or CSI-RS index in order to reduce the sorting quantity as follows: 2> When the measurement information to be included is based on the SS / PBCH block: 3> Include the index corresponding to the best beam for the SS / PBCH block sorting quantity in resultsSSB-Indexes, and if absThreshSS-blocksConsolidation is included in VarMeasConfig for the measObject corresponding to the cell for which the beam will be reported, include the remaining beams whose sorting quantity exceeds absThreshSS-blocksConsolidation; 3> If includeBeamMeasurements is set, include the SS / PBCH-based measurement results for the quantity in reportQuantityRS-Indexes set to TRUE for each SS / PBCH block index; 2> Otherwise, when the beam measurement information to be included is based on CSI-RS: 3>If absThreshCSI-RS-Consolidation is included in the VarMeasConfig for measObject corresponding to the cell for which the beam for the index corresponding to the highest beam for that CSI-RS sorting quantity will be reported within resultsCSI-RS-Indexes, include the remaining beams whose sorting quantity exceeds absThreshCSI-RS-Consolidation; 3>If includeBeamMeasurements is set, include the CSI-RS based measurement results for that quantity in reportQuantityRS-Indexes set to TRUE for each CSI-RS index. TIFF0007682839000012.tif228170TIFF0007682839000013.tif148170TIFF0007682839000014.tif34170

[0087] FIG. 11 shows an example of a wireless network according to some embodiments. Although the subject matter of the invention described herein can be implemented in any suitable system type using any suitable components, the embodiments disclosed herein are described in the context of a wireless network such as the wireless network example shown in FIG. 11. For simplicity, only network 106, network nodes 160 and 160b, and wireless devices 110, 110b, and 110c are depicted in the wireless network of FIG. 11. In practice, the wireless network can further include any additional elements suitable for facilitating communication between wireless devices or between a wireless device and another communication device such as a landline phone, a service provider, or any other network node or end device. Of the illustrated components, network node 160 and wireless device 110 are depicted in more detail. The wireless network can provide communication and other types of services to one or more wireless devices to facilitate access to and / or use of services provided by or through the wireless network.

[0088] A wireless network can comprise and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunications, data, cellular, and / or wireless network or other similar type of system. In some embodiments, the wireless network can be configured to operate according to a specified standard or other type of defined rules or procedures. Thus, certain embodiments of the wireless network can implement mobile communication (GSM: Global System Mobile Communications), Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS), Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G standards, wireless local area network (WLAN) such as IEEE 802.11 standards, and / or communication standards such as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, and / or ZigBee standards.

[0089] Network 106 can include one or more backhaul networks, core networks, IP networks, public switched telephone network (PSTN), packet data networks, optical networks, wide-area networks (WAN), local area networks (LAN), wireless local area networks (WLAN), wired networks, wireless networks, metropolitan area networks, and other networks that enable communication between devices.

[0090] Network node 160 and wireless device 110 comprise various components, which will be described in more detail below. These components work together to provide the functionality of the network node and / or wireless device, such as providing a wireless connection in a wireless network. In various embodiments, the wireless network may comprise any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, base stations, controllers, wireless devices, relays, and / or any other components or systems that can facilitate or participate in the transfer of data and / or signals therethrough, regardless of wired or wireless connections.

[0091] FIG. 12 shows an example of a network node 160 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a network node refers to a device that communicates directly or indirectly with a wireless device and / or another network node or device in a wireless network, enables and / or provides wireless access to the wireless device, and / or can perform other functions (e.g., management) in the wireless network, and is configured, arranged, and / or usable to perform such functions. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access points (APs) (e.g., wireless access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., wireless base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), and NR Node Bs (gNBs)). Base stations can be classified based on the degree of coverage they provide (or their transmission power levels can be variously described), and thereby may also be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station can be a relay node or a relay donor node that controls relaying. A network node also includes one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as a centralized digital unit and / or a remote radio unit (RRU), sometimes also called a remote radio head (RRH). Such a remote radio unit may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna-integrated radio. A part of a distributed radio base station may sometimes be called a node in a distributed antenna system (DAS).Further examples of network nodes include multi-standard radio (MSR) devices such as MSR BS, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations, transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell / multicast coordination entities (MCEs), core network nodes (e.g., MSC, MME), O&M nodes, OSS nodes, SON nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., E-SMLC), and / or MDTs. As another example, the network node may be a virtual network node as described in more detail below. However, more generally, a network node may correspond to any suitable device (or group of devices) that is configured, arranged, and / or operable to enable and / or provide access to a wireless network to a wireless device, or to provide a service to a wireless device that has accessed the wireless device, and that is so configured, arranged, and / or operable.

[0092] In FIG. 12, network node 160 includes processing circuitry 170, device-readable medium 180, interface 190, auxiliary device 184, power source 186, power circuitry 187, and antenna 162. The network node 160 illustrated in the wireless network example of FIG. 12 may correspond to a device that includes a combination of the illustrated hardware components, but other embodiments may comprise network nodes with different combinations of components. It should be understood that the network node comprises any suitable combination of hardware and / or software required to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Further, although the components of network node 160 are depicted as one box that fits inside a larger box, or one box nested inside multiple boxes, in reality, the network node may comprise multiple different physical components that make up one of the illustrated components (e.g., device-readable medium 180 may comprise multiple separate hard devices as well as multiple RAM modules).

[0093] Similarly, network 160 can be composed of a plurality of physically separate components (e.g., a Node B component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), each of which can have its own respective components. In some cases where network node 160 includes a plurality of separate components (e.g., a BTS component and a BSC component), one or more of the separate components can be shared among several network nodes. For example, one RNC can control a plurality of Node Bs. In such cases, each unique pair of Node B and RNC may be regarded as a separate network node. Depending on the embodiment, network node 160 can be configured to support a plurality of radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate device-readable media 180 if the RATs are different), and some components may be reused (e.g., the same antenna 162 can be shared by the RATs). Network node 160 can also include multiple sets of various illustrated components for various radio technologies, such as GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, or Bluetooth wireless technologies, to be integrated into network node 160. These radio technologies can be integrated into the same or different chips or chip sets and other components within network node 160.

[0094] Processing circuitry 170 is herein configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., some acquisition operations) described as being provided by a network node. These operations performed by processing circuitry 170 can include, for example, processing information obtained by processing circuitry 170 by converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or the converted information with information stored in the network node, and / or making a determination as a result of the processing by performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or the converted information.

[0095] The processing circuit mechanism 170 may include a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application-specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware and / or encoded logic that can be used, alone or in combination with other network node 160 components such as the device-readable medium 180, to provide the network node 160 functionality. For example, the processing circuit mechanism 170 can execute instructions stored on the device-readable medium 180 within the processing circuit mechanism 170 or in memory. Such functionality can include providing any of the various wireless features, functions, or advantages described herein. In some embodiments, the processing circuit mechanism 170 may include a system on chip (SOC).

[0096] In some embodiments, the processing circuit mechanism 170 may include one or more of a radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit mechanism 172 and a baseband processing circuit mechanism 174. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuit mechanism 172 and the baseband processing circuit mechanism 174 may be on separate chips (or chip sets), substrates, or units such as a radio unit and a digital unit. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit mechanism 172 and the baseband processing circuit mechanism 174 may be on the same chip or chip set, substrate, or unit.

[0097] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being provided by a network node, base station, eNB, or other such network device may be performed by processing circuitry 170 executing instructions stored in a device-readable medium 180 or memory within the processing circuitry 170. In alternative embodiments, some or all of this functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry 170 without executing instructions stored in a separate or discrete device-readable medium, such as hard-wired. In any of those embodiments, whether or not executing instructions stored in a device-readable storage medium, the processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform the described functionality. The advantages provided by such functionality are not limited to those for the processing circuitry 170 alone or for other components of the network node 160, but are generally enjoyed by the network node 160 as a whole and / or by users and the wireless network.

[0098] The device-readable medium 180 includes, but is not limited to, a persistent storage area, solid-state memory, remotely attached memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (e.g., hard disk), removable storage media (e.g., flash drive, compact disk (CD), or digital video disk (DVD)), any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory, and / or any other volatile or non-transitory device-readable medium and / or computer-executable memory device that can store information, data, and / or instructions used by the processing circuitry 170. The device-readable medium 180 can store any appropriate instructions, data, or information, including computer programs, software, applications, including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, etc., and / or other instructions executable by the processing circuitry 170 and utilized by the network node 160. The device-readable medium 180 can be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 170 and / or any data received via the interface 190. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 170 and the device-readable medium 180 can be considered integrated.

[0099] Interface 190 is used for the wired or wireless transmission of signaling and / or data between network node 160, network 106, and / or wireless device 110. As shown, interface 190 includes port / terminal 194 for sending and receiving data, for example, with network 106 over a wired connection. Interface 190 may also include radio front-end circuitry 192, which may be coupled to antenna 162 or, in some embodiments, may be part of antenna 162. Radio front-end circuitry 192 includes filter 198 and amplifier 196. Radio front-end circuitry 192 may be connected to antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. The radio front-end circuitry may be configured to condition the signals transmitted between antenna 162 and processing circuitry 170. Radio front-end circuitry 192 can receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or wireless devices via a wireless connection. Radio front-end circuitry 192 can convert the digital data into a wireless signal having corresponding channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filter 198 and / or amplifier 196. Thereby, the wireless signal can be transmitted via antenna 162. Similarly, when receiving data, antenna 162 can collect wireless signals that are thereby converted into digital data by radio front-end circuitry 170. The digital data can be passed to processing circuitry 170. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise various components and / or combinations of various components.

[0100] In some alternative embodiments, network node 160 may not include a separate radio front-end circuit mechanism 192. Instead, processing circuit mechanism 170 may include radio front-end circuit mechanism 192 and may be connected to antenna 162 without a separate radio front-end circuit mechanism 192. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuit mechanism 172 may be regarded as part of interface 190. In still other embodiments, interface 190 may include one or more ports or terminals 194, radio front-end circuit mechanism 192, and RF transceiver circuit mechanism 172 as part of a wireless unit (not shown), and interface 190 may communicate with baseband processing circuit mechanism 174, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0101] Antenna 162 may include one or more antennas, or an antenna array, configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals. Antenna 162 may be coupled to radio front-end circuit mechanism 192 and may be any type of antenna capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data and / or signals. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may include one or more omnidirectional sector antennas or panel antennas that can be used to transmit / receive wireless signals, for example, in the 2 GHz to 66 GHz range. Omnidirectional antennas can be used to transmit / receive wireless signals in any direction, sector antennas can be used to transmit / receive wireless signals from devices within a specific area, and panel antennas can be line-of-sight antennas used to transmit / receive wireless signals in a relatively straight line. In some cases, the use of more than one antenna may be referred to as MIMO. In some embodiments, antenna 162 may be separate from network node 160 and may be connectable to network node 160 through an interface or port.

[0102] Antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any reception operations and / or specific acquisition operations, described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network device. Similarly, antenna 162, interface 190, and / or processing circuitry 170 may be configured to perform any transmission operations described herein as being performed by a network node. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a wireless device, another network node, and / or any other network device.

[0103] Power circuitry 187 may comprise or be coupled to a power management circuit and is configured to supply power to the components of network node 160 to perform the functionality described herein. Power circuitry 187 can receive power from a power source 186. Power source 186 and / or power circuitry 187 may be configured to supply power to the various components of network node 160 in a form suitable for each component (e.g., at the voltage levels and current levels required for each component). Power source 186 may be included within power circuitry 187 and / or network node 160, or may be external thereto. For example, network node 160 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet) via an input circuit or interface such as a power cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry 187. As a further example, power source 186 may include a power source in the form of a battery or battery pack connected to or integrated with power circuitry 187. The battery can provide backup power if the external power source fails. Other types of power sources, such as a photovoltaic device, may also be used.

[0104] One hundred and sixty alternative embodiments of the network node can be responsible for bringing about some aspects of the functionality of the network node, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to correspond to the subject matter of the invention described herein, including additional components other than those shown in FIG. 12. For example, the network node 160 may include a user interface device to enable the input of information to the network node 160 and to enable the output of information from the network node 160. Thereby, the user can perform diagnosis, maintenance, repair, and other management functions on the network node 160.

[0105] FIG. 13 shows an exemplary wireless device 110 according to some embodiments. As used herein, a wireless device refers to a device that is configured, arranged, and / or operable to wirelessly communicate with a network node and / or other wireless devices. Unless otherwise specified, the term wireless device may be used interchangeably with user equipment (UE) herein. Communicating wirelessly may include transmitting and / or receiving a wireless signal using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information via radio waves. In some embodiments, a wireless device may be configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For example, a wireless device may be designed to transmit information to a network at a predetermined schedule when triggered by an internal or external event or in response to a request from the network. Examples of wireless devices include, but are not limited to, smartphones, mobile phones, cellular phones, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, desktop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), wireless cameras, gaming machines or devices, music storage devices, playback devices, wearable terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, tablets, laptops, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart devices, wireless customer premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, etc. A wireless device may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example, by implementing 3GPP standards for sidelink communication, vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), vehicle-to-everything (V2X), in which case it may be referred to as a D2D communication device.As yet another specific example, in an Internet of Things (IoT) scenario, a wireless device may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurement and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurement to another wireless device and / or a network node. The wireless device may in this case be a machine-to-machine (M2M) device that may be referred to as an MTC device in a 3GPP context. As one specific example, the wireless device may be a UE implementing the 3GPP narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) standard. Specific examples of such machines or devices are sensors, measurement devices such as power meters, industrial machines, or household or personal appliances (e.g., refrigerators, televisions, etc.), personal wearables (e.g., wristwatches, fitness trackers, etc.). In other scenarios, the wireless device may represent a vehicle or other equipment that can monitor and / or report the operating status of the wireless device or other functions related to its operation. A wireless device as described above may represent an endpoint of a wireless connection, in which case the device may be referred to as a wireless terminal. Further, a wireless device as described above may be mobile, in which case the wireless device may also be referred to as a mobile device or a mobile terminal.

[0106] As illustrated, the wireless device 110 includes an antenna 111, an interface 114, a processing circuit 120, a device-readable medium 130, a user interface device 132, an auxiliary device 134, a power supply 136, and a power circuit 137. The wireless device 110 may include, for example, one or more sets of one or more of the illustrated components for different wireless technologies supported by the wireless device 110, such as, by way of example only, GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, WiMAX, or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chips or sets of chips as other components within the wireless device 110.

[0107] Antenna 111 may include one or more antennas or antenna arrays configured to transmit and / or receive wireless signals and is connected to interface 114. In certain alternative embodiments, antenna 111 may be separated from wireless device 110 and may be connectable to wireless device 110 via an interface or port. Antenna 111, interface 114, and / or processing circuit 120 may be configured to perform any of the receiving or transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the wireless device. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from network nodes and / or another wireless device. In some embodiments, the wireless front-end circuit and / or antenna 111 may be considered an interface.

[0108] As shown, interface 114 includes a wireless front-end circuit 112 and an antenna 111. The wireless front-end circuit 112 includes one or more filters 118 and an amplifier 116. The wireless front-end circuit 112 is connected to the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120 and is configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 111 and the processing circuit 120. The wireless front-end circuit 112 may be coupled to the antenna 111 or may be part of the antenna 111. In some embodiments, the wireless device 110 may not include a separate wireless front-end circuit 112; rather, the processing circuit 120 may include a wireless front-end circuit and may be connected to the antenna 111. Similarly, in some embodiments, some or all of the RF transceiver circuit 122 may be considered part of the interface 114. The wireless front-end circuit 112 may receive digital data that is to be transmitted to other network nodes or wireless devices via a wireless connection. The wireless front-end circuit 112 may convert the digital data into a wireless signal having appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 118 and / or amplifier 116. The wireless signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 111. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 111 can collect the wireless signal, which is then converted into digital data by the wireless front-end circuit 112. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuit 120. In other embodiments, the interface may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0109] The processing circuit 120 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a central processing unit, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or a combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide the functionality of the wireless device 110, either alone or in conjunction with other wireless device 110 components such as the device-readable medium 130. Such functionality may include providing any of the various wireless features or benefits discussed herein. For example, the processing circuit 120 may execute instructions stored on the device-readable medium 130 or in a memory within the processing circuit 120 to provide the functionality disclosed herein.

[0110] As illustrated, processing circuit 120 includes one or more of RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126. In other embodiments, the processing circuit may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 of wireless device 110 may comprise a system-on-a-chip (SOC). In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126 may be on separate chips or a set of chips. In an alternative embodiment, some or all of baseband processing circuit 124 and application processing circuit 126 may be integrated within one chip or a set of chips, and RF transceiver circuit 122 may be on a separate chip or a set of chips. In yet another alternative embodiment, some or all of RF transceiver circuit 122 and baseband processing circuit 124 may be on the same chip or a set of chips, and application processing circuit 126 may be on a separate chip or a set of chips. In yet other alternative embodiments, some or all of RF transceiver circuit 122, baseband processing circuit 124, and application processing circuit 126 may be integrated within the same chip or a set of chips. In some embodiments, RF transceiver circuit 122 may be part of interface 114. RF transceiver circuit 122 may condition RF signals for processing circuit 120.

[0111] In some embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein as being performed by a wireless device may be provided by processing circuitry 120 that executes instructions stored on a device-readable medium 130, which may be a computer-readable storage medium in some embodiments. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by processing circuitry 120 in a hard-wired fashion, such as without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium. In any of those particular embodiments, with or without executing instructions stored on a device-readable storage medium, processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to processing circuitry 120 alone or to other components of wireless device 110, but are enjoyed generally by wireless device 110 as a whole and / or by an end user and a wireless network.

[0112] Processing circuitry 120 may be configured to perform any determination, calculation, or similar operation (e.g., certain acquisition operations) described herein as being performed by a wireless device. Such operations as performed by processing circuitry 120 may include, for example, processing information obtained by processing circuitry 120 by converting the obtained information to other information, comparing the obtained or converted information to information stored by wireless device 110, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained or converted information, and making a determination as a result of said processing.

[0113] The device-readable medium 130 may be operable to store a computer program, software, an application, etc., including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions that can be executed by the processing circuit 120. The device-readable medium 130 may include a computer memory (e.g., random access memory (RAM) or read-only memory (ROM)), a mass storage medium (e.g., a hard disk), a removable storage medium (e.g., a compact disc (CD) or a digital video disc (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile non-transitory device-readable memory device and / or computer-executable memory device that can store information, data, and / or instructions used by the processing circuit 120. In some embodiments, the processing circuit 120 and the device-readable medium 130 may be integrated.

[0114] The user interface device 132 may provide components that enable a human user to interact with the wireless device 110. Such interactions can take many forms, such as visual, auditory, tactile, etc. The user interface device 132 may be operable to produce an output to the user and to enable the user to provide an input to the wireless device 110. The type of interaction may vary depending on the type of user interface device 132 installed in the wireless device 110. For example, if the wireless device 110 is a smartphone, the interaction can be through a touch screen, and if the wireless device 110 is a smart meter, the interaction can be through a screen showing the usage amount (e.g., the number of gallons used) or a speaker that gives an alarm sound (e.g., when smoke is detected). The user interface device 132 may include an input interface, devices and circuits, and an output interface, devices and circuits. The user interface device 132 is configured to enable the input of information to the wireless device 110 and is connected to the processing circuit 120 to enable the processing circuit 120 to process the input information. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a microphone, a proximity or other sensor, a key / button, a touch display, one or more cameras, a USB port, or other input circuits. The user interface device 132 is also configured to enable the output of information from the wireless device 110 and to enable the processing circuit 120 to output information from the wireless device 110. The user interface device 132 may include, for example, a speaker, a display, a vibration circuit, a USB port, a headphone interface, or other output circuits. Using one or more input and output interfaces, devices, and circuits of the user interface device 132, the wireless device 110 can communicate with the end user and / or the wireless network, enabling them to benefit from the functionality described herein.

[0115] Auxiliary device 134 is operable to provide more specific functionality that generally cannot be performed by a wireless device. This can include specialized sensors for performing measurements for various purposes, interfaces for additional types of communication such as wired communication, etc. What components are included in and the type of auxiliary device 134 can vary depending on the embodiment and / or scenario.

[0116] In some embodiments, power source 136 may be in the form of a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources may also be used, such as an external power source (e.g., an electrical outlet), a photovoltaic device, or a power cell. Wireless device 110 may further include a power circuit 137 for delivering power from power source 136 to various parts of wireless device 110 that require power to perform any of the functionality described or shown herein. In some embodiments, power circuit 137 may include a power management circuit. Power circuit 137 may also or alternatively be operable to receive power from an external power source, in which case wireless device 110 may be connectable to an external power source (such as an electrical outlet) via an interface such as an input circuit or a power cable. In some embodiments, power circuit 137 may also be operable to deliver power from an external power source to power source 136. This may be, for example, for charging power source 136. Power circuit 137 can perform any formatting, conversion, or other modification to the power from power source 136 to make the power suitable for each component of wireless device 110 to which the power is supplied.

[0117] FIG. 14 shows one embodiment of a UE according to various aspects described herein. As used herein, a user equipment or UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates a related device. Instead, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller) that is intended for sale to or operation by a human user but may not be associated with a particular human user or may not initially be associated with one. Alternatively, a UE may represent a device (e.g., a smart power meter) that is not intended for sale to or operation by an end user but may be related to or operated for the benefit of a user. UE 2200 may be any UE identified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including an NB-IoT UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. As shown in FIG. 14, UE 200 is an example of a wireless device configured for communication according to one or more communication standards published by 3GPP, such as the GSM, UMTS, LTE, and / or 5G standards of the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). As described above, the terms wireless device and UE may be used synonymously. Thus, while FIG. 14 shows a UE, the components discussed herein are equally applicable to a wireless device and vice versa.

[0118] In FIG. 14, the UE 200 includes a processing circuit 201 operably coupled to an input / output interface 205, a radio frequency (RF) interface 209, a network connection interface 211, a memory 215 including a random access memory (RAM) 217, a read-only memory (ROM) 219, and a storage medium 221, a communication subsystem 231, a power supply 233, and / or any other components, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 221 includes an operating system 223, an application program 225, and data 227. In other embodiments, the storage medium 221 may include other similar types of information. Some UEs may utilize only all of the components shown in FIG. 14, or a subset of those components. The level of integration between components may vary depending on the UE. Further, some UEs may include multiple instances of components such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0119] In FIG. 14, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to process computer instructions and data. The processing circuit 201 may be configured to execute machine instructions stored as a machine-readable computer program in a memory, such as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, FPGA, ASIC, etc.), any sequential state machine operable to execute the machine instructions, programmable logic together with appropriate firmware, a microprocessor or a digital signal processor (DSP) together with appropriate software, a general-purpose processor, or any combination of the foregoing. For example, the processing circuit 201 may include two central processing units (CPUs). The data may be information in a form suitable for use by a computer.

[0120] In the illustrated embodiment, the input / output interface 205 can be configured to provide a communication interface to an input device, an output device, or both an input and an output device. The UE 200 can be configured to use an output device via the input / output interface 205. The output device can use the same type of interface port as the input device. For example, a USB port can be used to provide input to and output from the UE 200. The output device can be a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smart card, another output device, or any combination thereof. The UE 200 can be configured to use an input device via the input / output interface 205 to enable a user to capture information within the UE 200. The input device can include a touch sensor or presence sensor type display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smart card, etc. The presence sensor type display can include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor for sensing input from a user. The sensor can be, for example, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, an inclination sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, another similar sensor, or any combination thereof. For example, the input device can be an accelerometer, a magnetometer, a digital camera, a microphone, and an optical sensor.

[0121] In FIG. 14, the RF interface 209 can be configured to provide a communication interface to RF components such as a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna. The network connection interface 211 can be configured to provide the communication interface to the network 243a. The network 243a can include a wired network and / or a wireless network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243a can include a Wi-Fi network. The network connection interface 211 can be configured to include a receiver and a transmitter interface used to communicate with one or more other devices via a communication network according to one or more communication protocols such as Ethernet, TCP / IP, SONET, ATM, etc. The network connection interface 211 can implement the functionality of a receiver and a transmitter suitable for a communication network link (e.g., optical, electrical, etc.). The functions of the transmitter and the receiver can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, can be implemented separately.

[0122] RAM 217 can be configured to interface with the processing circuit 201 via the bus 202 to store or cache data or computer instructions during the execution of software programs such as an operating system, application programs, and device drivers. ROM 219 can be configured to provide computer instructions or data to the processing circuit 201. For example, ROM 219 can be configured to store invariant low-level system code or data for basic system functions such as basic input and output (I / O), startup, or reception of keystrokes from a keyboard stored in non-volatile memory. The storage medium 221 can be configured to include memory such as RAM, ROM, programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disk, optical disk, floppy disk, hard disk, removable cartridge, or flash drive. In one example, the storage medium 221 can be configured to include an operating system 223, an application program 225 such as a web browser application, a widget or gadget engine or another application, and a data file 227. The storage medium 221 can store any of a variety of operating systems or combinations of operating systems for use by the UE 200.

[0123] The storage medium 221 can be configured to include several physical drive units such as RAID (redundant array of independent disk), floppy disk drive, flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro DIMM SDRAM, smart card memory such as subscriber identity module or a removable user identity (SIM / RUIM) module, other memories, or any combination thereof. The storage medium 221 can enable the UE200 to access computer-executable instructions, application programs, etc. stored in a temporary or non-temporary memory medium, offload data, or upload data. A manufactured article such as one using a communication system can be tangibly embodied in the storage medium 221 that can comprise a device-readable medium.

[0124] In FIG. 14, the processing circuit 201 can be configured to communicate with the network 243b using the communication subsystem 231. The network 243a and the network 243b may be one or more of the same networks or one or more different networks. The communication subsystem 231 can be configured to include one or more transceivers used to communicate with the network 243b. For example, the communication subsystem 231 can be configured to include one or more transceivers for communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another wireless device, UE, or base station, etc. that can perform wireless communication, such as a wireless access network (RAN) according to one or more communication protocols such as IEEE802.11, CDMA, WCDMA, GSM, LTE, UTRAN, WiMax, etc. Each transceiver can include a transmitter 233 and / or a receiver 235 to implement the functionality of a transmitter or receiver suitable for the RAN link (e.g., frequency allocation, etc.). Further, the transmitter 233 and the receiver 235 of each transceiver can share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively, can be implemented separately.

[0125] In the illustrated embodiment, the communication functions of the communication subsystem 231 may include data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communication such as Bluetooth, short-range wireless communication, location-based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) for determining a location, other similar communication functions, or any combination thereof. For example, the communication subsystem 231 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, Bluetooth communication, and GPS communication. The network 243b may include a wired network and / or a wireless network such as a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a computer network, a wireless network, a telecommunications network, another similar network, or any combination thereof. For example, the network 243b may be a cellular network, a Wi-Fi network, and / or a short-range wireless network. The power supply 213 may be configured to provide alternating current (AC) or direct current (DC) power to the components of the UE 200.

[0126] The features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in one of the components of the UE 200 or may be divided across multiple components of the UE 200. Further, the features, benefits, and / or functions described herein may be implemented in any combination of hardware, software, or firmware. In one example, the communication subsystem 231 may be configured to include any of the components described herein. Further, the processing circuit 201 may be configured to communicate with any of such components via the bus 202. In another example, any of such components may be represented by program instructions stored in a memory that execute the corresponding functions described herein when executed by the processing circuit 201. In another example, the functionality of any of such components may be divided between the processing circuit 201 and the communication subsystem 231. In another example, the non-computation-intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware, and the computation-intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0127] FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram showing a virtualized environment 300 in which functions implemented by some embodiments can be virtualized. In this context, virtualization means the generation of a virtual version of a device or apparatus that may include virtualization of a hardware platform, a memory device, and network resources. In this specification, virtualization can be applied to a node (e.g., a virtualized base station or a virtualized radio access node), or to a device (e.g., a UE, a wireless device, or any other type of communication device), or to their components, and relates to an implementation in which at least a part of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components (e.g., one or more applications, components, functions, virtual machines, or containers running on one or more physical processing nodes in one or more networks).

[0128] In some embodiments, some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines hosted in one or more virtualized environments 300 by one or more of the hardware nodes 330. Further, in embodiments where the virtual node is not a radio access node or does not require wireless connectivity (e.g., a core network node), the network node may be fully virtualized.

[0129] This function can be implemented by one or more applications 320 (which may alternatively be referred to as software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) that are operable to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. The application 320 is executed in a virtualization environment 300 that provides hardware 330 including a processing circuit 360 and a memory 390. The memory 390 includes instructions 395 executable by the processing circuit 360, whereby the application 320 is operable to provide one or more of the features, benefits, and / or functions disclosed herein.

[0130] The virtualized environment 300 includes a general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware device 330 that includes one or more processors or processing circuits 360. This general-purpose or special-purpose network hardware device 330 can be a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processor, a dedicated application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or any other type of processing circuit that includes digital or analog hardware components or a dedicated processor. Each hardware device can include a memory 390-1 that can be a non-persistent memory for temporarily storing instructions 395 or software executed by the processing circuit 360. Each hardware device can include one or more network interface controllers (NICs) 370, also known as network interface cards, that include a physical network interface 380. Each hardware device can also include a non-transitory and persistent machine-readable storage medium 390-2 that stores software 395 and / or instructions executable by the processing circuit 360 internally. The software 395 can include any type of software, including software for creating an instance of one or more virtualization layers 350 (also called hypervisors), software for executing virtual machines 340, and software that enables it to perform the functions, features, and / or benefits described in some embodiments herein.

[0131] The virtual machine 340 includes virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interfaces and virtual storage, and can be executed by a corresponding virtualization layer 350 or hypervisor. Different embodiments of instances of the virtual appliance 320 may be implemented in one or more of the virtual machines 340, and the implementation forms may be performed in different ways.

[0132] During operation, the processing circuit 360 executes software 395 to create an instance of a hypervisor or virtualization layer 350, sometimes also called a virtual machine monitor (VMM). The virtualization layer 350 may represent a virtual operating platform that appears to the virtual machines 340 as networking hardware.

[0133] As shown in FIG. 15, the hardware 330 may be a stand-alone network node with general or specific components. The hardware 330 can include an antenna 3225 and can implement some functions through virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 330 may be part of a larger class of hardware (e.g., within a data center or customer premise equipment (CPE)) where multiple hardware nodes cooperate and are managed via management and orchestration (MANO) 3100 that oversees, among other things, the lifecycle management of the application 320.

[0134] The virtualization of hardware is, in some contexts, called network function virtualization (NFV). NFV can be used to integrate multiple network device types into industry-standard high-volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage that can be placed within data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0135] In the context of NFV, the virtual machine 340 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that executes a program as if the program were running on a physical non-virtualized machine. Each virtual machine 340, and that portion of the hardware 330 that executes this virtual machine, forms a separate virtual network element (VNE: Virtual Network Element) if it is hardware dedicated to that virtual machine and / or hardware shared by that virtual machine with other virtual machines 340.

[0136] Furthermore, in the context of NFV, a virtual network function (VNF: Virtual Network Function) is responsible for processing a specific network function executed in one or more virtual machines 340 on top of the hardware networking infrastructure 330, corresponding to the application 320 in FIG. 15.

[0137] In some embodiments, one or more radio units 3200, each including one or more transmitters 3220 and one or more receivers 3210, may be coupled to one or more antennas 3225. The radio unit 3200 can communicate directly with the hardware node 330 via one or more appropriate network interfaces and can be used in combination with virtual components to provide a virtual node having radio capabilities such as a radio access node or a base station.

[0138] In some embodiments, some signaling may be affected by the use of a control system 3230 that can alternatively be used for communication between the hardware node 330 and the radio unit 3200.

[0139] Any suitable steps, methods, features, functions, or benefits disclosed herein may be performed by one or more functional units or modules of one or more virtual devices. Each virtual device may comprise several of these functional units. These functional units may be implemented via a processing circuit that may include one or more microprocessors or microcontrollers, as well as other digital hardware that may include a digital signal processor (DSP), dedicated digital logic, etc. The processing circuit may be configured to execute program code stored in a memory that may include one or several types of memory, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), cache memory, flash memory devices, optical storage devices, etc. The program code stored in the memory includes program instructions for performing one or more electrical communication and / or data communication protocols, as well as instructions for performing one or more of the techniques described herein. In some implementations, the processing circuit may be used to cause the corresponding functions according to one or more embodiments of the present disclosure to be performed by respective functional units.

[0140] FIG. 16 shows an exemplary method 400 for measurement reporting performed by a wireless device 110 according to some embodiments. The method begins at step 402 when the wireless device 110 obtains a beam measurement configuration from the network. At step 404, based on the beam measurement configuration, the wireless device 110 performs at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state. At step 406, the wireless device 110 reports the result of the at least one beam measurement to the network. The report is made after a transition from the dormant state to the connected state.

[0141] In certain embodiments, the dormant state includes one of RRC_IDLE with context preservation, RRC_IDLE without context preservation, or the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0142] In certain embodiments, at least one beam measurement includes at least one measurement performed on at least one reference signal beamformed by the network. The at least one reference signal includes at least one of SSB and CSI-RS resources.

[0143] In certain embodiments, at least one beam measurement includes at least one of RSRP, RSRQ, or SINR.

[0144] In certain embodiments, the results of at least one beam measurement are reported in a Radio Resource Control Resume Complete message.

[0145] In certain embodiments, the results of at least one beam measurement are reported in a UE Information Response message.

[0146] In certain embodiments, obtaining a beam measurement configuration includes receiving a message including the beam measurement configuration. The message indicates that the wireless device is about to transition to a dormant state.

[0147] In certain embodiments, performing at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state includes performing at least one beam measurement per cell and / or per carrier frequency while in the dormant state.

[0148] In certain embodiments, performing at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state includes performing at least one beam measurement on at least one cell or carrier having an SSB outside the sync raster while in the dormant state. In other words, the beam measurement is performed outside the sync raster.

[0149] In certain embodiments, the beam measurement configuration is obtained from a source network node, and the results of at least one beam measurement are reported to a target network node different from the source node.

[0150] In certain embodiments, a beam measurement configuration is obtained from a network node, and a report of the results of at least one beam measurement is sent to the network node. In this scenario, the network node is the source network node.

[0151] In some embodiments, the measurement report of the present method as described above can be executed by a virtual computing device. FIG. 17 shows an exemplary virtual computing device 500 for measurement reporting according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the virtual computing device 500 may include modules for performing steps similar to those described above with respect to the method illustrated and described in FIG. 16. For example, the virtual computing device 500 may include an acquisition module 502, an execution module 504, a reporting module 506, and any other suitable modules for measurement reporting. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules may be implemented using the processing circuit 120 of FIG. 13. In some embodiments, the functions of two or more of the various modules may be combined into a single module.

[0152] The acquisition module 502 can perform the acquisition function of the virtual computing device 500. For example, in certain embodiments, the acquisition module 502 can obtain a beam measurement configuration from the network.

[0153] The execution module 504 can perform the execution function of the virtual computing device 500. For example, in certain embodiments, based on the beam measurement configuration, the execution module 504 can perform at least one beam measurement while operating in a dormant state.

[0154] The reporting module 506 can perform the reporting function of the virtual computing device 500. For example, in certain embodiments, the reporting module 506 can report the results of at least one beam measurement to the network. The report is made after the transition from the idle state to the connected state.

[0155] Other embodiments of the virtual computing device 500 may include any of the above-described functionality and / or any additional functionality (including any functionality necessary to support the above-described solutions), and may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 17 that can provide certain aspects of the functionality of a wireless device. Various different types of wireless devices 110 may include components having the same physical hardware but may be configured (e.g., by programming) to support different radio access technologies or may represent partially or completely different physical components.

[0156] FIG. 18 shows an exemplary method 600 by a network node 115, such as a base station, for setting measurement reports according to some embodiments. The method begins in step 602 when the base station transmits a beam measurement setting to the wireless device. The beam measurement setting configures the wireless device to perform at least one beam measurement while operating in the idle state. In step 604, the base station receives a report of the results of at least one beam measurement from the wireless device. The report is received after the wireless device transitions from the idle state to the connected state.

[0157] In certain embodiments, the idle state includes one of the RRC_IDLE state with context preservation, the RRC_IDLE state without context preservation, or the RRC_INACTIVE state.

[0158] In certain embodiments, at least one beam measurement includes at least one measurement performed on at least one reference signal beamformed by the network. The at least one reference signal includes at least one of SSB and CSI-RS resources.

[0159] In certain embodiments, at least one beam measurement includes at least one of RSRP, RSRQ, and SINR.

[0160] In certain embodiments, the results of at least one beam measurement are received in an RRC resume completion message.

[0161] In certain embodiments, the results of at least one beam measurement are reported in a UE information response message.

[0162] In certain embodiments, a beam measurement configuration message indicates that the wireless device is about to transition to a dormant state.

[0163] In certain embodiments, the beam measurement configuration message configures the wireless device 110 to perform at least one beam measurement for each cell and / or for each carrier frequency while in the dormant state.

[0164] In certain embodiments, the beam measurement configuration message configures the wireless device 110 to perform at least one beam measurement on at least one cell or carrier having an SSB outside the sync raster while in the dormant state. In other words, the beam measurement configuration message configures the wireless device 110 to perform beam measurements outside the sync raster.

[0165] In certain embodiments, the base station transmits to the wireless device 110 a contention-free radio access channel (RACH) resource for at least one beam included in the report of the results of at least one beam measurement.

[0166] In some embodiments, the method for setting the measurement report as described above may be executed by a virtual computing device. FIG. 19 shows an exemplary virtual computing device 700 for setting a measurement report according to some embodiments. In some embodiments, the virtual computing device 700 may include modules for performing steps similar to those described above with respect to the method illustrated and described in FIG. 18. For example, the virtual computing device 700 may include at least one transmission module 702, a reception module 704, and any other suitable module for setting the measurement report. In some embodiments, one or more of the modules may be implemented using the processing circuit 170 of FIG. 12. In some embodiments, the functions of two or more of the various modules may be combined into a single module.

[0167] The transmission module 702 can perform the transmission function of the virtual computing device 700. For example, in certain embodiments, the transmission module 702 can transmit beam measurement settings to the wireless device 110. The beam measurement settings cause the wireless device 110 to be configured to perform at least one beam measurement while the wireless device 110 is operating in a dormant state.

[0168] The reception module 704 can perform the reception function of the virtual computing device 700. For example, in certain embodiments, the reception module 704 can receive a report of the results of at least one beam measurement from the wireless device 110. The report is received after the wireless device 110 transitions from the dormant state to the connected state.

[0169] Other embodiments of the virtual computing device 700 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIG. 12 that may be responsible for providing certain aspects of the functionality of a network node that includes any of the functionality described above and / or any additional functionality (including any functionality necessary to support the solutions described above). Various different types of wireless devices 115 may include components having the same physical hardware, but may be configured (e.g., by programming) to support different wireless access technologies or may represent partially or completely different physical components.

Claims

1. A measurement reporting method performed by a wireless device, comprising: receiving, from a network, a message indicating that the wireless device is to transition from a Radio Resource Control Connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state to a Radio Resource Control Idle (RRC_IDLE) or Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, the message including beam measurement settings; starting a timer upon receiving the message; performing at least one beam measurement while operating in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state based on the beam measurement settings; releasing the beam measurement settings when the timer expires or is stopped; transitioning from the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state; and reporting the result of the at least one beam measurement to the network while in the RRC_CONNECTED state.

2. The at least one beam measurement includes at least one measurement performed on at least one reference signal beamformed by the network, the at least one reference signal including a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB). The method according to claim 1.

3. The at least one beam measurement includes at least one of: Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), and Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). The method according to claim 1.

4. The result of the at least one beam measurement is reported in an RRC Resume Complete message. The method according to claim 1.

5. The result of the at least one beam measurement is reported in a UE Information Response message. The method according to claim 1.

6. The message includes an RRCRelase message. The method according to claim 1.

7. Performing the at least one beam measurement while operating in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state includes performing the at least one beam measurement for each cell and / or for each carrier frequency while in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state. The method according to claim 1.

8. A wireless device comprising a processing circuit mechanism, wherein the processing circuit mechanism: Receives, from a network, a message indicating that the wireless device is to transition from a Radio Resource Control Connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state to a Radio Resource Control Idle (RRC_IDLE) or Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, the message including a beam measurement configuration; Starts a timer upon receiving the message; Performs at least one beam measurement while operating in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state based on the beam measurement configuration; Removes the beam measurement configuration when the timer expires or is stopped; Transitions from the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state; Reports the result of the at least one beam measurement to the network while in the RRC_CONNECTED state.

9. The wireless device according to claim 8, wherein the at least one beam measurement includes at least one measurement performed on at least one reference signal beamformed by the network, and the at least one reference signal includes a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB).

10. The at least one beam measurement includes: Received Signal Strength of Reference Signal (RSRP), and Received Signal Quality of Reference Signal (RSRQ), at least one of which is included.

11. The wireless device according to claim 8, wherein the result of the at least one beam measurement is reported in an RRC Resume Complete message or a UE Information Response message.

12. The wireless device according to claim 8, wherein the message includes an RRCRelase message.

13. A method for setting a measurement report, performed by a base station, comprising: To send a message to a wireless device indicating that the wireless device is to transition from a Radio Resource Control Connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state to a Radio Resource Control Idle (RRC_IDLE) or Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, the message including a beam measurement setting, the beam measurement setting configuring the wireless device to perform at least one beam measurement while the wireless device is operating in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, the wireless device starting a timer upon receiving the message, and the beam measurement setting being released by the wireless device when the timer expires or is stopped, To receive a report of the result of the at least one beam measurement from the wireless device, the report being received after a first transition of the wireless device from the RRC_CONNECTED state to the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state and after a second transition of the wireless device from the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state, a method comprising. Claim 14 A base station comprising processing circuitry, the processing circuitry being configured to To send a message to a wireless device indicating that the wireless device is to transition from a Radio Resource Control Connected (RRC_CONNECTED) state to a Radio Resource Control Idle (RRC_IDLE) or Radio Resource Control Inactive (RRC_INACTIVE) state, the message including a beam measurement setting, the beam measurement setting configuring the wireless device to perform at least one beam measurement while the wireless device is operating in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, the wireless device starting a timer upon receiving the message, and the beam measurement setting being released by the wireless device when the timer expires or is stopped, Receiving a report of the result of the at least one beam measurement from the wireless device, the report being received after a first transition of the wireless device from the RRC_CONNECTED state to the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state and after a second transition of the wireless device from the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state to the RRC_CONNECTED state, a base station configured to perform the above.

15. The at least one beam measurement includes at least one measurement performed on at least one reference signal beamformed by the network, the at least one reference signal including a synchronization signal block (SSB), the base station according to claim 14.

16. The at least one beam measurement includes Received Reference Signal Power (RSRP), and At least one of Received Reference Signal Quality (RSRQ) is included, the base station according to claim 14.

17. The result of the at least one beam measurement is received in an RRC resume completion message, the base station according to claim 16.

18. The result of the at least one beam measurement is reported in a UE information response message, the base station according to claim 16.

19. The message includes an RRCRelese message, the base station according to claim 14.

20. By the message, the wireless device is configured to perform the at least one beam measurement for each cell and / or for each carrier frequency while in the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, the base station according to claim 14.

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