Control of Somatosensory Quality Measurement

Abstract

The embodiments of the present disclosure relate to a method, a device, and a computer-readable storage medium of communication. The method, implemented in a first device, includes obtaining first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity. The first periodicity is used by a second device to perform a quality of experience measurement. The method further includes determining a second periodicity used by an AS of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the QoE measurement. The method also includes transmitting the second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity to the second device. In this way, the first device may participate in a procedure of configuration and maintenance of the QoE measurement. More specifically, the first device may control an interval for reporting the QoE measurement result.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunications, and more particularly, to devices, methods, and computer-readable storage media for controlling quality of experience (QoE) measurements.

Background Art

[0002] QoE measurement results indicate the user's objective experience regarding the fulfillment of communication service(s) at the application (APP) layer. As a result, this is usually used as one of the important metrics for evaluating and rating the quality of communication service(s). Furthermore, a service provider or operator can obtain the quality of communication service(s) by collecting measurement results (sometimes referred to as "QoE metrics") from the user's terminal device, and improve the quality of the corresponding communication service(s) according to the collected measurement results.

[0003] In wireless communication, a core network (CN) device or an operation administration and maintenance (OAM) device receives a QoE measurement configuration from an application server and further transmits the QoE measurement configuration to a terminal device via an access network device. After receiving the QoE measurement configuration, the APP layer of the terminal device performs QoE measurement and transmits the measurement result to the access layer / stratum of the terminal device. The measurement result is processed and transmitted to the access network device, and the access network device forwards the measurement result to the CN / OAM device. During the above procedure, the access network device simply functions as a transfer device between the terminal device and the CN / OAM device. However, in some scenarios (for example, a scenario where the access network device is in an overloaded situation), it is necessary for the access network device to adjust or control QoE measurement. Therefore, it is desirable that the access network device can participate in the configuration and maintenance procedures of QoE measurement.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0004] Generally, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution for controlling QoE measurement.

[0005] In a first aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to cause the first device, using the at least one processor, to obtain first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity used by a second device to perform perceived quality measurement, determine a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement, and transmit second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity to the second device.

[0006] In a second aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the second device to receive, from a first device, second periodicity information indicating a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement, wherein the second periodicity is configured based on a first periodicity used to perform the somatosensory quality measurement by the second device, to collect, by an access stratum of the second device, one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement measured by an application layer of the second device, and to report, by the access stratum of the second device, the one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity.

[0007] In a third aspect, a third device is provided. The third device includes at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, and the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured, using the at least one processor, to cause the third device to obtain a first periodicity used by a second device to perform a somatosensory quality measurement and to transmit a message including the first periodicity to the first device, wherein the first periodicity is transmitted in a manner distinguishable in relation to the access stratum.

[0008] In a fourth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes obtaining, at a first device, first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity used by a second device to perform a somatosensory quality measurement. The method further includes determining a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement. The method also includes transmitting, to the second device, second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity.

[0009] In a fifth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes receiving, at a second device, from a first device, second periodicity information indicating a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device to report one or more measurement results of a somatosensory quality measurement, wherein the second periodicity is configured based on a first periodicity used by the second device to perform the somatosensory quality measurement. The method further includes collecting, by an access stratum of the second device, one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement measured by an application layer of the second device. The method also includes reporting, by the access stratum of the second device, the one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity.

[0010] In a sixth aspect, a method is provided. The method includes obtaining, at a third device, a first periodicity used by a second device to perform a somatosensory quality measurement. The method further includes transmitting, to the first device, a message including the first periodicity, wherein the first periodicity is transmitted in a manner distinguishable in relation to an access stratum.

[0011] In a seventh aspect, a first device is provided. The first device includes means for obtaining first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity used by a second device to perform a somatosensory quality measurement in the first device. The first device further includes means for determining a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement. The first device also includes means for transmitting second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity to the second device.

[0012] In an eighth aspect, a second device is provided. The second device includes means for receiving, in the second device and from the first device, second periodicity information indicating a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement, where the second periodicity is configured based on a first periodicity used by the second device to perform the somatosensory quality measurement. The second device further includes means for collecting, by an access stratum of the second device, one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement measured by an application layer of the second device. The second device also includes means for reporting one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity by an access stratum of the second device.

[0013] In a ninth aspect, a third device is provided. The third device includes means for obtaining a first periodicity used by a second device to perform a somatosensory quality measurement in the third device. The third device further includes means for transmitting a message including the first periodicity to the first device, where the first periodicity is transmitted in a manner distinguishable in relation to the access stratum.

[0014] In a tenth aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes program instructions for causing a device to execute at least the method according to the fourth aspect.

[0015] In a 11th aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute at least the method according to the 5th aspect.

[0016] In a 12th aspect, a computer-readable medium is provided. The computer-readable medium includes program instructions for causing an apparatus to execute at least the method according to the 6th aspect.

[0017] It should be understood that the summary section of the invention is not intended to identify important or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will be readily understood through the following description.

[0018] Next, some exemplary embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019]

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[0020] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar elements.

[0021] Next, the principles of the present disclosure will be described with reference to several exemplary embodiments. These embodiments are described for illustrative purposes only and are useful for those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, but it should be understood that they do not imply any limitation on the scope of the present disclosure. The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various ways other than those described below.

[0022] In the following description and claims, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs, unless otherwise defined.

[0023] References to "an embodiment", "embodiment", "exemplary embodiment", etc. in the present disclosure indicate that the described embodiment may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but not every embodiment necessarily includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Further, such phrases do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is considered within the knowledge of one of ordinary skill in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in other embodiments, whether or not explicitly described.

[0024] In this specification, terms such as "first" and "second" may be used to describe various elements, but it should be understood that these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the exemplary embodiments, the first element may be referred to as the second element, and similarly, the second element may be referred to as the first element. As used herein, the term "and / or" encompasses any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0025] The terms used in this specification are for the sole purpose of describing particular embodiments and are not intended to limit the exemplary embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms "a", "an", and "the" are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. As used herein, the terms "comprises", "comprising", "has", "having", "includes", and / or "including" identify the presence of the described features, elements, and / or components, etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components, and / or combinations thereof.

[0026] As used herein, "determine / determining" (and their grammatical variations) can particularly include, among other things, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, measuring, investigating, examining (e.g., examining within a table, database, or other data structure), and confirming. Also, "determining" can include receiving (e.g., receiving information), accessing (e.g., accessing data in a memory), and obtaining. Further, "determining" can include solving, selecting, choosing, and establishing.

[0027] As used in this application, the term "circuit" can refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) A hardware-only circuit implementation (e.g., implementation using only analog and / or digital circuits) (b) A combination of a hardware circuit and software, e.g., (where applicable): (i) A combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) and software / firmware (ii) Any portion of a hardware processor(s) (including a digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that cooperate to cause a device such as a mobile phone or server to perform various functions (c) A hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s) (e.g., a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s)) that require software (e.g., firmware) to operate. However, the software may not be present if it is not required for operation.

[0028] This definition of "circuit" applies to all uses of this term in this application, including all claims. As a further example, the term "circuit" as used in this application encompasses a mere hardware circuit or processor (or processors), or a portion of a hardware circuit or processor, and an embodiment of the software and / or firmware associated therewith (or therewith). The term "circuit" also encompasses, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or a processor integrated circuit of a mobile device, or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device, if it corresponds to a component of a particular claim.

[0029] As used herein, the term "communication network" refers to a network compliant with any suitable communication standard, such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT), etc. Further, the communication between a terminal device and a network device within a communication network may be carried out according to any suitable generation of communication protocols, including but not limited to the communication protocols of the first generation (1G), second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, third generation (3G), fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, next-generation fifth generation (5G), and / or any other arbitrary protocols known currently or developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied to various communication systems. Considering the rapid development in communication, it is natural that there will also be future-oriented communication technologies and systems in which the present disclosure can be embodied. The scope of the present disclosure should not be regarded as limited only to the aforementioned systems.

[0030] As used herein, the term "access network device" refers to a node within a communication network through which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP) according to the applied terms and technologies, such as Node B (NodeB or NB), evolved Node B (eNodeB or eNB), NR NB (also called gNB), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Radio Header (RH), Remote Radio Head (RRH), relay, low-power nodes such as femto and pico, etc.

[0031] The term "terminal device" refers to any end device that can be capable of wireless communication. By way of non-limiting example, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, a user equipment (UE), a subscriber station (SS), a mobile subscriber station, a mobile station (MS), or an access terminal (AT). A terminal device may include, but is not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a voice over IP (VoIP) phone, a wireless local loop phone, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a portable computer, a desktop computer, an image capture terminal device such as a digital camera, a game terminal device, a music storage and playback device, an in-vehicle wireless terminal device, a wireless endpoint, a mobile station, a laptop embedded equipment (LEE), a laptop mounted equipment (LME), a USB dongle, a smart device, a wireless customer premise equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (IoT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and application (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and application (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in the context of a production process and / or an automated processing chain), a home electronic device, a device operating on a commercial and / or industrial wireless network, etc. In the following description, the terms "terminal device", "communication device", "terminal", "user equipment" and "UE" may be used interchangeably.

[0032] The term "core network device" refers to any device or entity that provides access and mobility management functions (AMF: access and mobility management function), session management functions (SMF: session management function), user plane functions (UPF: user plane function), etc. By way of example and not limitation, core network devices can be, for example, a home subscriber server (HSS), a mobility management entity (MME), an AMF, an SMF, a UPF, etc. In other embodiments, the core network device can be any other suitable device or entity.

[0033] The term "OAM device" refers to any device or entity that provides functions such as operation, administration, and maintenance. By way of example and not limitation, an OAM device can be a network management system (NMS) or a network element management system (EMS). In other embodiments, the core network device can be any other suitable device or entity.

[0034] The term "identifiable in relation to the access stratum" means that the access stratum of a device in a communication network can identify data / information related thereto. As used herein, the terms "access layer", "access stratum", and "radio resource control (RRC) layer" are synonymous with each other.

[0035] The term "identifiable in relation to the APP layer" simply refers to the ability to identify data / information related to the APP layer of a device within a communication network. The term "APP layer" may also be referred to as "application layer" or "upper layer" in this disclosure.

[0036] The functions described herein can be implemented in various exemplary embodiments in fixed and / or wireless network nodes. However, in other exemplary embodiments, the functions can be implemented in user equipment devices (e.g., mobile phones, tablet computers, laptop computers, desktop computers, mobile IoT devices, or fixed IoT devices). Such user equipment devices can be equipped with corresponding capabilities, for example, as described in relation to fixed and / or wireless network nodes (s) as required. The user equipment device can be a user equipment and / or a control device such as a chipset or a processor configured to control the user equipment when attached to the user equipment. Examples of such functions include bootstrap server functions and / or home subscriber servers, which can be implemented in the user equipment device by providing the user equipment device with software configured to cause the user equipment device to execute these functions / nodes from the perspective of these functions / nodes.

[0037] As discussed above, it is desirable to improve the procedure for QoE measurement. In the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), a work item (WI) for QoE measurement in new radio (NR) has been implemented. As a result of that work, several QoE solutions have been proposed and defined from the perspective of RAN2. More specifically, the following QoE solutions have been standardized in NR. · Signaling-based procedure: The CN device starts the activation of QoE measurement configured by OAM and sends the QoE measurement configuration to the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN) node. The NG-RAN node further passes the QoE measurement configuration to a specific UE via RRC signaling. The access stratum (AS) of the UE (e.g., the RRC layer) sends the QoE measurement configuration to the APP layer of the UE. · In the management-based procedure, the OAM device sends the QoE measurement configuration to the NG-RAN node. The NG-RAN node determines a plurality of eligible UEs or a single specific UE that meet the criteria (e.g., area scope, application layer capabilities, service type, etc.). The NG-RAN node sends the QoE measurement configuration to the AS layer of the specific UE or each eligible UE. Upon receiving the QoE measurement configuration, the AS of the UE sends the QoE measurement configuration to the APP layer of the UE.

[0038] The QoE data collection procedure is the central procedure of the QoE measurement procedure. Generally speaking, QoE data collection refers to the method of using a radio protocol for collecting QoE metrics developed for HTTP-based download and dynamic adaptive streaming over HTTP (DASH). Regarding the QoE solution for LTE, some agreements have been reached. For example, the QoE solution for LTE includes the following main parts. · Cases started by both signaling-based and management-based are permitted. · The QoE function of LTE is activated by the trace function. · APP layer measurement configurations received from OAM or CN can be encapsulated within a transparent container, which is transferred to the UE in a downlink RRC message. APP layer measurement results received from a higher layer of the UE (e.g., the APP layer) can be encapsulated within a transparent container and transmitted to the network in an uplink RRC message.

[0039] Regarding the QoE of NR, the QoE solution of LTE is used as a baseline, and the details can be discussed in the WI phase. Furthermore, some principles for the configuration and reporting of QoE measurements are also proposed. Specifically, the management-based QoE configuration should not override the signaling-based QoE configuration. Additionally, QoE measurement results are reported in NR via a separate signaling radio bearer (SRB) (i.e., separate from the current SRB), because the priority of this reporting is lower than that of other SRB transmissions. Finally, the configuration and reporting for multiple simultaneous QoE measurements for the UE should be supported.

[0040] Referring to FIG. 1 here, FIG. 1 is a conventional signaling flow 100 of QoE configuration and reporting procedures. As shown in FIG. 1, CN / OAM sends a QoE measurement configuration to the gNB (105), and the QoE measurement configuration is in XML format. The gNB determines the associated UE and sends the QoE measurement configuration to the UE RRC via one application layer container (110). The QoE parameters included in the QoE measurement configuration are transparent to the RRC layers of the gNB and the UE. The QoE parameters are sent to the UE APP layer (i.e., the UE APP entity) via the AppLayerConfiguration service type (115). The UE APP layer determines that QoE measurement is available (120) and then sends the measurement results to the UE RRC layer (i.e., the UE RRC entity) (125). The UE RRC layer sends the measurement results to the gNB via the AppLayerMeasReport container (130), and the gNB transfers the measurement results to the CN / OAM device (135).

[0041] In the above conventional procedure, the QoE measurement configuration is in XML format. Therefore, only the APP layer of the UE can understand the QoE parameters (e.g., the interval for reporting measurement results) included in the QoE measurement configuration. After obtaining the QoE parameters, the UE APP layer can report QoE data / metrics (i.e., measurement results) at the periodicity defined in the QoE measurement configuration.

[0042] As discussed above, since the QoE parameters are transmitted transparently to the gNB and the UE RRC layer, neither the gNB nor the UE RRC layer can obtain the QoE parameters. Therefore, both the gNB and the UE RRC layer cannot know the exact time to report the measurement results.

[0043] The actual communication environment is very complex. It is a common scenario for the gNB to become overloaded. According to the conventional procedure, when the gNB is in an overloaded situation, the gNB may release the air interface connection (e.g., RRC connection). As shown in Figure 2, the gNB may send an RRC release message to the UE RRC layer (140). The operation of releasing the RRC connection affects QoE measurement. For example, the new QoE measurement configuration is stopped, and the reporting of ongoing QoE measurement is either released or paused at the UE's RRC layer.

[0044] However, the operation of releasing the RRC connection is not known to the UE APP layer. Therefore, the impact of pausing QoE measurement only occurs at the RRC layer. As a result, a problem occurs where the configuration remains in progress at the application level. More specifically, as shown in Figure 1, after receiving the RRC release message, the UE APP layer determines that QoE measurement is available (145), and then sends the measurement result to the UE RRC (150). However, since the RRC connection has been released by the UE RRC layer, the measurement result cannot be sent to the gNB (155). In the next step, the UE APP layer determines again that QoE measurement is available (160), and then sends the measurement result to the UE RRC layer (165). The measurement result still cannot be sent to the gNB (170). The above transmission failures are repeated. In this case, the UE APP layer generates a storm of reports that cannot be sent to the gNB because there is no active RRC connection.

[0045] So far, no solution has been proposed for the method of pausing / resuming QoE measurement reporting in various RRC state contexts, which brings further complexity to dealing with unexpected QoE measurement results generated by the UE APP layer. Furthermore, as discussed above, the measurement results of QoE are important for the service provider or operator. Therefore, pausing or stopping QoE measurement is not considered a desirable result.

[0046] This Disclosure notes that the QoE measurement procedure can be more flexible and reasonable if the access network device can control or maintain QoE measurement, especially if the reporting procedure can be configured.

[0047] According to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a solution for controlling QoE measurement is provided. In this solution, a first device (e.g., an access network device) acquires first periodic information indicating a first periodicity. The first periodicity is used by a second device (e.g., a terminal device) to perform QoE measurement. Then, the first device determines a second periodicity used by the AS (e.g., the RRC layer) of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the QoE measurement, and transmits second periodic information indicating the second periodicity to the second device. In this way, the first device can participate in the configuration and maintenance procedures of QoE measurement. Specifically, the first device can control the interval / cycle for reporting QoE measurement results. The present disclosure is particularly beneficial in scenarios where the first device is in an overloaded situation.

[0048] FIG. 2 shows an exemplary communication environment 200 in which the exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the communication environment 200 the first device 210 can communicate with the second device 220 and the third device 230 via a physical communication channel or link.

[0049] In the example of FIG. 2, the second device 220 is shown as a terminal device. The first device 210 is shown as an access network device that provides services to the second device 220. The service area of the first device 210 is called a cell 240. The third device 230 is shown as a QoE measurement server. The third device 230 can be a CN device, an OAM device, or an application server.

[0050] In a specific example of FIG. 2, the third device 230 may obtain or configure parameters for QoE measurement. Then, the third device 230 may send the parameters to the first device 210. The first device 210 may transfer the parameters to the second device 220. After receiving the parameters, the APP layer of the second device 220 performs QoE measurement and sends the measurement result to the AS (e.g., RRC layer) of the second device 220. The measurement result is sent by the AS of the second device 220 to the first device 210 and then may be transferred by the first device 210 to the third device 230 or other QoE collection server(s).

[0051] It should be understood that the numbers of the first device, the second device, and the third device are for illustrative purposes only and do not imply any limitation. The communication environment 200 may include any suitable number of first devices, second devices, and third devices suitable for implementing the embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0052] The principles and embodiments of the present disclosure are described in detail below with reference to FIG. 3, which shows an exemplary signaling chart 300 of a method for controlling QoE measurement according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. This method may be implemented on any suitable device according to a specific implementation.

[0053] For illustrative purposes only, the signaling chart 300 is described as being implemented among the first device 210, the second device 220, and the third device 230 as shown in FIG. 2. Further, the second device 220 functions as a terminal device, the first device 210 functions as an access network device, and the third device 230 functions as a CN device, an OAM device, or an application server.

[0054] Furthermore, although the operations are presented in a particular order below, it should not be understood that such operations must be performed in the particular order or sequentially shown in order to obtain a desirable result, nor that all of the illustrated operations must be performed.

[0055] Furthermore, a third device 230 may obtain or configure parameters for QoE measurement such that a service provider or operator within the network system can collect one or more measurement results from one or more user devices (e.g., terminal devices). More specifically, the third device 230 may configure a periodicity (referred to herein as "the first periodicity"), which may be a duration for collecting measurement results or a cycle for reporting measurement results.

[0056] Furthermore, the first periodicity may be represented in any suitable manner. In some exemplary embodiments, the first periodicity may be represented as the parameter @reportinginterval. @reportinginterval indicates the time(s) at which measurement reports need to be sent. Further, if @reportinginterval is not configured, the second device 220 needs to send a report including the measurement results after the streaming session ends. If @reportinginterval is configured, the second device 220 needs to send measurement result including reports according to @reportinginterval. Further, each report sent by the second device 220 includes only newly collected measurement results because the previous measurement results have already been reported. According to Disclosure some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, the first periodicity configured by the third device 230 may be hijacked by a second periodicity configured by the first device 210, as discussed below.

[0057] The third device 230 may send parameters to the first device 210 via a configuration (e.g., a configuration message or a configuration information element) (305). In some exemplary embodiments, the configuration may be represented as an XML-formatted file / data or an application-based container. The first device 210 may then send an application layer container containing the configuration to the access stratum AS (i.e., the RRC layer or the access stratum) of the second device 220 (320). At the second device 220, the parameters contained in the application layer container are sent from the AS to the APP layer of the second device 220 (325). In this way, the second device 220 may perform QoE measurements according to the configuration.

[0058] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 obtains first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity (310). The first device 210 may obtain the first periodicity information by any suitable method. As an exemplary embodiment, the first device 210 may decode the first periodicity information from the above-described configuration sent by the third device 230. As discussed above, the configuration is identifiable in relation to the APP layer and is used to configure the perceived quality measurement. Therefore, when the first device 210 receives the configuration, it needs to decode the configuration. In this way, the first device 210 may obtain the first periodicity without exchanging additional messages with other devices.

[0059] Alternatively, or additionally, the first device 210 may extract first periodic information from a message 305 transmitted by the third device 230, and the first periodic information is transmitted in a manner that can be identified in relation to the access stratum (i.e., the RRC layer or the access layer). For example, the third device 230 may transmit the first periodic information via an information element (IE). The IE containing the first periodic information may be transmitted together with the configuration. Alternatively, the IE may be transmitted separately from the configuration. For example, the third device 230 transmits the IE in response to a request from the first device 210 (305). In this way, the first device 210 may obtain the first periodicity without adding an additional ability to decode the APP layer container to the first device 210.

[0060] Alternatively, or additionally, the first device 210 may extract first periodic information from the second device 220. More specifically, the second device 220 may transmit an RRC message containing the first periodic information. In some exemplary embodiments, when the second device 220 obtains the first periodicity, the second device 220 may transmit an RRC message. Alternatively, the second device 220 may transmit an RRC message in response to a request from the first device 210. In this way, the first device 210 may obtain the first periodicity without adding an additional ability to decode the APP layer container to the first device 210.

[0061] Alternatively, or additionally, the first device 210 may obtain the first periodic information based on the statistics of the measurement results reported by the second device 220. As an example, the second device 220 may derive the interval between the measurement results reported by the second device 220 and may identify that interval as the first periodicity. In this way, the first device 210 may obtain the first periodicity without exchanging additional messages with other devices.

[0062] It should be understood that the above examples for obtaining the first periodic information are shown for illustrative purposes without suggesting any limitation. In other exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 may obtain the first periodic information by any suitable method.

[0063] After obtaining the first periodic information, the first device 210 may determine a second periodicity (315). The second periodicity is used by the AS (e.g., RRC layer) of the second device 220 to report the measurement results of QoE measurements. In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is longer than the first periodicity. Further, when the second periodicity is enabled (i.e., applied by the second device 220), the first periodicity is hijacked by the second periodicity when the second device 220 reports the measurement results. Then, the first device 210 transmits second periodic information indicating the second periodicity to the second device 220 (320).

[0064] In some exemplary embodiments, when there is no first periodicity, the first device 210 configures its own parameters (i.e., the second periodicity) for reporting QoE measurement values and transmits the second periodicity to the second device 220 as an additional parameter triggered by the RAN.

[0065] In some embodiments, the first device 210 may transmit the second periodic information together with an application layer container including a configuration containing parameters for QoE measurement. Alternatively, the first device 210 may transmit the second periodic information when the first device 210 determines that it is in an overload situation.

[0066] Furthermore, the first device 210 may instruct the second device 220 whether to apply a second periodicity. In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity information may be used as an implicit indication to instruct the second device 220 to apply the second periodicity. Alternatively, the first device 210 may send a first request to the second device 220 in an explicit manner. The first request is used to instruct the second device 220 to apply the second periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results. Further, if the first device 210 determines that it is in an overload situation, the first device 210 may send the first request.

[0067] Furthermore, the second periodicity information may indicate the second periodicity through any suitable method. An example of the second periodicity information is the value of the second periodicity. Another example of the second periodicity information is an offset value indicating the time difference between the second periodicity and the first periodicity. A further example of the second periodicity information is a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity.

[0068] It should be understood that the above examples of the second periodicity information are shown for illustrative purposes without suggesting any limitation. In other exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 may indicate the second periodicity by any suitable method.

[0069] In this way, the first device 210 may configure the periodicity used by the second device 220 to report measurement results by the AS. Therefore, even if the first device 210 is in an overload situation, the first device 210 does not necessarily have to immediately stop or pause the ongoing QoE measurement.

[0070] Furthermore, the first device 210 may determine a second periodicity for each service. In other words, the second periodicity is specific to at least one service. In this case, the first device 210 also transmits an indication of at least one service of the second device 220 together with the second periodicity information.

[0071] In this way, different second periodicities can be configured for different services of the second device 220. Thus, the QoE of different services can be controlled more flexibly.

[0072] Alternatively, or additionally, the second periodicity is a common periodicity shared among a plurality of services provided by the network. More specifically, different first periodicities can be configured for different services, and the first device 210 may determine a common second periodicity that is longer than the longest periodicity among the different first periodicities.

[0073] Furthermore, the first device 210 may transmit two or more second periodicities to the second device 220 in one message or a plurality of messages. The second device 220 may apply the two or more second periodicities according to any suitable predefined strategy.

[0074] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 transmits the second periodicity information via a system information block (SIB). Alternatively, the first device 210 transmits the second periodicity information via an RRC message. It should be understood that the second periodicity can be transmitted to the second device 220 in a broadcast mode, a multicast mode, or a unicast mode.

[0075] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 may also indicate to the second device 220 to resume applying the first periodicity. Specifically, if the first device 210 determines that the first device 210 is in an underloaded situation, the first device 210 sends a second request to the second device 220. The second request is used to instruct the second device 220 to resume applying the first periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results.

[0076] Furthermore, the first device 210 may send a load indication indicating the load state of the first device 210 to the second device 220, and the second device 220 may determine whether to apply the second periodicity or the first periodicity based on the load indication of the first device 210.

[0077] In this way, the first device 210 may dynamically adjust the periodicity of reporting measurement reports.

[0078] In a specific example of FIG. 2, the APP layer of the second device 220 performs QoE measurements, which may be represented as QoE metrics. The measurement results are sent to the AS layer of the second device 220. More specifically, the APP layer sends the measurement results to the AS of the second device 220 (330-1 and 330-2). The AS of the second device 220 collects one or more measurement results (335) and reports one or more measurement results to the first device 210. Furthermore, the measurement results are sent in a manner that can be identified in relation to the APP layer. For example, the measurement results are included in an application-based container.

[0079] When the second periodicity is configured in the second device 220, the second device 220 may start a timer according to the second periodicity when reporting measurement results. Within the timer, the second device 220 adds each measurement result to the measurement log. When the timer times out, the second device 220 reports the measurement log to the first device 210 (345).

[0080] In this way, the frequency / interval of reporting measurement results is reduced, thereby saving the resources of the air interface between the first device 210 and the second device 220.

[0081] Furthermore, the second device 220 may determine which of the second periodicity or the first periodicity to apply according to some predefined criteria.

[0082] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 first determines (340) whether the conditions for applying the second periodicity are met, and then determines whether to apply the second periodicity. An example of a condition is receiving the second periodicity information from the first device 210. Another example of a condition is receiving a first request for applying the second periodicity from the first device 210. In this case, the first request functions as a trigger. That is, after receiving a configuration including the second periodicity information, the second device applies the second periodicity based on the configuration when the first request is received. A further example of a condition is determining that the first device 210 is in an overload situation. Specifically, the second device 220 may detect the communication between the first device 210 and the second device 220 and cause the second device 220 to back off or be released due to the detection of the load state of the first device 210. The second device 220 may detect the load state of the first device 210 by any suitable method, for example, by detecting the channel state, the status of the local buffer, the uplink / downlink transmission rate, the release of the connection, etc. Alternatively, the second device 220 may receive a load indication from the first device 210 to obtain the load information of the first device 210. Specifically, when the first device 210 is in an overload situation, the first device may send an overload indicator to the second device 220, start the procedure of releasing the RRC connection, and reject a new random access request or connection request, etc.

[0083] It should be understood that the above conditions for applying the second periodicity are shown for illustrative purposes without suggesting any limitation. The second device 220 may apply any suitable conditions to determine whether to apply the second periodicity.

[0084] Furthermore, in some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 first determines (340) whether the conditions for resuming applying the first periodicity are met, and then determines whether to resume applying the first periodicity. An example of a condition is receiving a second request from the first device 210 to resume applying the first periodicity. A further example of a condition is determining that the first device 210 is in a non-overloaded situation. The second device 220 may detect the load state of the first device 210 by any suitable method, for example, by detecting the channel state, the status of the local buffer, the uplink / downlink transmission rate, the release of the connection, etc. A further example of a condition is that the second device 220 receives a new configuration used to perform QoE measurements instead of receiving a configured second periodicity.

[0085] If the second device 220 determines (355) that the conditions for resuming applying the first periodicity are met, the AS of the second device 220 reports the measurement results according to the first periodicity. More specifically, the APP layer of the second device 220 transmits the measurement results to the AS of the second device 220 (350), and the AS of the second device 220 reports the measurement results to the first device 210 according to the first periodicity, which may be implemented by using a timer corresponding to the first periodicity (360).

[0086] Furthermore, as discussed above, the second periodicity may be specific to at least one service. Thus, the second device 220 may receive multiple second periodicities. In this case, the second device 220 independently performs QoE measurements for different services. Alternatively, the second device 220 may divide different services into multiple service groups according to multiple second periodicities, and then perform QoE measurements for each service group. In one exemplary embodiment, the second device 220 receives a second periodicity specific to at least one service. Then, the second device 220 applies the second periodicity to at least one service and reports the measurement results of at least one service according to the second periodicity.

[0087] In this way, the measurement results collected within the second periodicity can be transmitted as one report via an RRC message, improving the efficiency of reporting measurements.

[0088] Alternatively, or additionally, the second periodicity may also be a common periodicity shared among multiple services by the second device 220. In one exemplary embodiment, the second device 220 receives a common second periodicity. Then, the second device 220 applies the second periodicity to multiple services and reports the measurement results of multiple services according to the second periodicity.

[0089] It should be understood that the second device 220 may receive multiple second periodicities, and each of the multiple second periodicities may be either a service-specific second periodicity or a common second periodicity. The second device 220 may apply multiple second periodicities according to any predefined strategy.

[0090] The measurement results are sent by the first device 210 to a QoE collection server. The QoE collection server may be a CN device, an OAM device, or other application server within the communication network.

[0091] In this way, the first device 210 may be involved in the procedures for configuring and maintaining QoE measurements. Specifically, the first device 210 may control the interval at which QoE measurement results are reported. The present disclosure is particularly beneficial in scenarios where the first device 210 is in an overloaded situation.

[0092] Furthermore, according to embodiments of the present disclosure, compared with conventional solutions, the control of QoE measurement when the first device 210 is in an overloaded situation becomes more flexible. During the QoE measurement procedure, the QoE reporting cycle may be adjusted to be a longer cycle. In this way, the load on the first device 210 can be reduced without interrupting the QoE measurement. Furthermore, frequently sending pause / resume commands to the second device 220 is also avoided, and signaling resources in the air interface are further saved.

[0093] One specific example of the control of QoE measurement FIG. 4 shows an exemplary signaling chart 400 of a method for controlling QoE measurement. For illustrative purposes only, the signaling chart 400 will be described as being implemented among the first device 210, the second device 220, and the third device 230 as shown in FIG. 2. Further, the second device 220 functions as a terminal device, the first device 210 functions as an access network device, and the third device 230 functions as a CN device, an OAM device, or an application server.

[0094] The third device 230 determines parameters for QoE measurement and transmits those parameters to the first device 210 (405). One of the parameters is the first periodicity (e.g., @reportinginterval). For example, the third device 230 transmits a QoE measurement configuration including parameters related to QoE to the first device 210. Further, the QoE measurement configuration is represented as XML - formatted data / information / file or an application - based container. Alternatively, or additionally, the first periodicity can also be transmitted in a manner identifiable in relation to the access stratum of the network entity.

[0095] The first device 210 decodes or extracts the first periodicity (e.g., @reportinginterval) from the received QoE measurement configuration (410). Then, the first device 210 determines one or more second periodicities based on the first periodicity. Then, the first device 210 transmits an application container (e.g., AppLayerConfiguration) to the AS (e.g., RRC layer) of the second device 220 (415). The application container may include one or more second periodicities such as a service - specific second periodicity (e.g., reporting interval per service), and / or a common second periodicity (e.g., logging duration per session, or reporting periodicity per session).

[0096] The AS of the second device 220 transmits QoE parameters to the APP layer via, for example, the AppLayerConfiguration service type (420). The APP layer of the second device 220 determines that QoE measurement is available (425) and then transmits the measurement results to the AS of the second device 220 (430). The AS of the second device 220 creates a measurement log for recording the received measurement results (435) and starts a timer according to the second periodicity (440). The measurement log can be stored in the internal storage of the second device 220.

[0097] Next, the APP layer of the second device 220 determines again (445) that QoE measurement is available, and then transmits the measurement result to the AS of the second device 220 (450). Since the timer has not timed out, the AS of the second device 220 adds the measurement result to the measurement log (455). The application layer of the second device 220 continues to perform QoE measurement. As shown in FIG. 4, the APP layer of the second device 220 determines (460) that QoE measurement is available, and then transmits the measurement result to the AS of the second device 220 (465). Since the timer has not yet timed out, the AS of the second device 220 adds the measurement result to the measurement log (470). Next, the AS of the second device 220 determines whether the timer has timed out (470). If the second device 220 determines that the timer has timed out, the AS of the second device 220 reports the measurement log including one or more measured values to the first device 210 (480).

[0098] In this way, the first device 210 can control the interval for reporting QoE measurement results.

[0099] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 500 implemented on the first device 210 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, method 500 will be described from the perspective of the first device 210 with respect to FIGS. 2 and / or 4. It should be understood that method 500 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0100] In block 510, the first device 210 obtains first periodic information indicating a first periodicity used for the second device 220 to perform perceived quality measurement in the first device 210.

[0101] In block 520, the first device 210 determines a second periodicity that is used by an access stratum of the second device 220 to report one or more measurement results of the haptic quality measurement. 。

[0102] In block 530, the first device 210 transmits second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity to the second device 220.

[0103] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 obtaining the first periodicity information includes decoding the first periodicity information from a configuration transmitted by a third device 230, where the configuration is identifiable in relation to the application layer and is used to configure the haptic quality measurement; extracting the first periodicity information from a message transmitted by the third device 230, where the first periodicity information is transmitted in a manner identifiable in relation to the access stratum; extracting the first periodicity information from a radio resource control message transmitted by the second device 220; or obtaining the first periodicity information based on statistics of one or more measurement results reported from the second device 220, including at least one of the foregoing.

[0104] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 receives a configuration from the third device 230 that is used to configure the haptic quality measurement. Further, the first device 210 transmits an application layer container including the configuration to the second device 220 together with the second periodicity information.

[0105] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 transmits the second periodicity information according to a determination that the first device 210 is in an overload situation.

[0106] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 transmits a first request to the second device 220 to apply a second periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results, in accordance with a determination that the first device 210 is in an overload situation.

[0107] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 resumes transmitting a second request to the second device 220 to apply a first periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results, in accordance with a determination that the first device 210 is in a non-overload situation.

[0108] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 transmits an indication of at least one service of the second device 220, and the second periodicity is specific to at least one service.

[0109] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is a common periodicity shared among a plurality of services by the second device 220.

[0110] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication of the second periodicity includes at least one of a value of the second periodicity, an offset value indicating a time difference between the second periodicity and the first periodicity, or a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity.

[0111] In some exemplary embodiments the The periodicity information of 2 is transmitted via a system information block or a radio resource control message.

[0112] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is longer than the first periodicity.

[0113] In some exemplary embodiments the The periodicity of 1 is configured by a third device 230, and the third device 230 is a core network device or an operation and maintenance management device.

[0114] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 is an access network device, and the second device 220 is a terminal device including an access stratum and an application layer.

[0115] The first apparatus capable of executing the method 500 may include means for executing each operation of the method 500. These means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, these means may be implemented by a circuit or a software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as the first device 210 or may be included in the first device 210.

[0116] In some exemplary embodiments, the first apparatus includes means for obtaining first periodic information indicating a first periodicity used by a second apparatus to perform a somatosensory quality measurement in the first apparatus, means for determining a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second apparatus to report one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement, and means for transmitting second periodic information indicating the second periodicity to the second apparatus.

[0117] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for obtaining the first periodic information includes decoding the first periodic information from a configuration transmitted by a third apparatus, the configuration being identifiable in relation to the application layer and used to configure the somatosensory quality measurement; extracting the first periodic information from a message transmitted by the third apparatus, the first periodic information being transmitted in a manner identifiable in relation to the access stratum; extracting the first periodic information from a radio resource control message transmitted by the second apparatus; or obtaining the first periodic information based on statistics of one or more measurement results reported from the second apparatus, and the means for obtaining the first periodic information includes at least one of these.

[0118] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device further comprises means for receiving, from a third device, a configuration used to configure a somatosensory quality measurement, and means for transmitting, to a second device, an application layer container including the configuration together with second periodic information.

[0119] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for transmitting the second periodic information comprises means for transmitting the second periodic information in accordance with a determination that the first device is in an overload situation.

[0120] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device further comprises means for transmitting, to a second device, a first request to apply a second periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results in accordance with a determination that the first device is in an overload situation.

[0121] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device further comprises means for transmitting, to a second device, a second request to resume applying a first periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results in accordance with a determination that the first device is in a non-overload situation.

[0122] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device further comprises means for transmitting an indication of at least one service of the second device, wherein the second periodicity is specific to at least one service.

[0123] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is a common periodicity shared among a plurality of services by the second device.

[0124] In some exemplary embodiments, the indication of the second periodicity includes at least one of a value of the second periodicity, an offset value indicating a time difference between the second periodicity and the first periodicity, or a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity.

[0125] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity information is transmitted via a system information block or a radio resource control message.

[0126] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is longer than the first periodicity.

[0127] In some exemplary embodiments, the first periodicity is configured by a third device, and the third device is a core network device or an operation and maintenance device.

[0128] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a terminal device including an access stratum and an application layer.

[0129] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 600 implemented at a second device 220 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, method 600 will be described from the perspective of the 2 second device 220 shown in FIG. 2. It should be understood that method 600 may include additional blocks not shown and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0130] At block 610, the second device 220 receives from the first device 210 second periodicity information indicating a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device 220 to report one or more measurement results of a somatosensory quality measurement at the second device 220, and the second periodicity is configured based on a first periodicity used by the second device 220 to perform the somatosensory quality measurement.

[0131] In block 620, the second device 220 collects one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement measured by the application layer of the second device 220 through the access stratum of the second device 220.

[0132] In block 630, the second device 220 reports one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity through the access stratum of the second device 220.

[0133] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 obtains the first periodicity and transmits a message including the first periodicity information indicating the first periodicity to the first device 210.

[0134] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 receives from the first device 210 an application layer container used to configure parameters for the somatosensory quality measurement together with the second periodicity information.

[0135] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 reports one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity through the access stratum of the second device 220 according to the determination that the conditions for applying the second periodicity are met.

[0136] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 determines that the conditions for applying the second periodicity are met in response to at least one of receiving the second periodicity information from the first device 210, receiving from the first device 210 a first request to apply the second periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results, or determining that the first device 210 is in an overload situation.

[0137] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 resumes applying the first periodicity and reports one or more measurement results according to the first periodicity by an access stratum of the second device 220 in accordance with a determination that conditions for resuming applying the first periodicity are met.

[0138] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 determines that conditions for resuming applying the first periodicity are met in response to at least one of receiving from the first device 210 a second request to resume applying the first periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results, or determining that the first device 210 is in a non-overloaded situation.

[0139] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 starts a timer according to a second periodicity, adds each of one or more measurement results to a measurement log, and reports the measurement log to the first device 210 in accordance with a determination that the timer has timed out.

[0140] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device 220 receives from the first device 210 an indication of at least one service of the second device 220, and the second periodicity is specific to at least one service. The access stratum of the second device 220 reports one or more measurement results of at least one service according to the second periodicity.

[0141] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is a common periodicity shared among a plurality of services by the second device 220. The second device 220 applies the second periodicity to a plurality of services and reports one or more measurement results of the plurality of services according to the second periodicity by an access stratum of the second device 220.

[0142] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity information includes at least one of a value of the second periodicity, an offset value indicating a time difference between the second periodicity and the first periodicity, or a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity.

[0143] In some exemplary embodiments the The second periodicity information is received via a system information block or a radio resource control message.

[0144] In some exemplary embodiments the The second periodicity is longer than the first periodicity.

[0145] In some exemplary embodiments the The first periodicity is configured by a third device 230, and the third device 230 is a core network device or an operation and maintenance device.

[0146] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device 210 is an access network device, and the second device 220 is a terminal device including an access stratum and an application layer.

[0147] A second device capable of executing method 600 may include means for executing each operation of method 600. These means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, these means may be implemented as a circuit or a software module. The second device may be implemented as the second device 220, or may be included in the second device 220.

[0148] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device comprises means for receiving, from the first device, second periodicity information indicating a second periodicity used by an access stratum of the second device to report one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement, wherein the second periodicity is configured based on a first periodicity used by the second device to perform the somatosensory quality measurement; means for collecting, by the access stratum of the second device, one or more measurement results of the somatosensory quality measurement measured by an application layer of the second device; and means for reporting, by the access stratum of the second device, one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity.

[0149] In some exemplary embodiments, the second installation of device further comprises means for obtaining a first periodicity and means for transmitting, to the first device, a message including first periodicity information indicating the first periodicity.

[0150] In some exemplary embodiments, the second installation of device further comprises means for receiving, from the first device, an application layer container used to configure parameters for the somatosensory quality measurement, together with the second periodicity information.

[0151] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for reporting one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity comprises means for reporting, by the access stratum of the second device, one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity according to a determination that conditions for applying the second periodicity are met.

[0152] In some exemplary embodiments, the second installation of device furtherReceiving second periodic information from the first device, receiving from the first device a first request to apply a second periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results, or determining that the first device is in an overload situation, and comprising means for determining that a condition for applying the second periodicity is satisfied in response to at least one of the above.

[0153] In some exemplary embodiments, the second installation of device further comprises means for reporting one or more measurement results according to a first periodicity by an access stratum of the second device according to a determination that a condition for resuming applying the first periodicity is satisfied.

[0154] In some exemplary embodiments, the second installation of device further comprises means for determining that a condition for resuming applying the first periodicity is satisfied in response to at least one of receiving from the first device a second request to resume applying the first periodicity when reporting one or more measurement results, or determining that the first device is in a non-overload situation.

[0155] In some exemplary embodiments, the means for reporting one or more measurement results according to a second periodicity comprises means for starting a timer according to the second periodicity, means for adding each of the one or more measurement results to a measurement log, and means for reporting the measurement log to the first device according to a determination that the timer has timed out.

[0156] In some exemplary embodiments, the second device further comprises means for receiving from the first device an indication of at least one service of the second device, wherein the second periodicity is specific to at least one service, and means for reporting one or more measurement results of at least one service according to the second periodicity by an access stratum of the second device.

[0157] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is a common periodicity shared among a plurality of services by a second device. The second device further comprises means for applying the second periodicity to the plurality of services, and means for reporting one or more measurement results of the plurality of services according to the second periodicity by an access stratum of the second device.

[0158] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity information includes at least one of a value of the second periodicity, an offset value indicating a time difference between the second periodicity and the first periodicity, or a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity.

[0159] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity information is received via a system information block or a radio resource control message.

[0160] In some exemplary embodiments, the second periodicity is longer than the first periodicity.

[0161] In some exemplary embodiments, the first periodicity is configured by a third device, and the third device is a core network device or an operation, administration, and maintenance device.

[0162] In some exemplary embodiments, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a terminal device including an access stratum and an application layer.

[0163] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an exemplary method 700 implemented in a third device 230 according to some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. For purposes of discussion, method 700 is described with respect to FIG. 2 as the 3 device of Step 2This will be described from the perspective of 30. It should be understood that method 700 may include additional blocks (not shown) and / or may omit some of the blocks shown, and the scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

[0164] In block 710, the third device 230 obtains a first periodicity used by the second device 220 to perform a perceived quality measurement in the third device 230.

[0165] In block 720, the third device 230 sends a message including the first periodicity to the first device 210, and the first periodicity is sent in a manner distinguishable in relation to the access stratum.

[0166] In some exemplary embodiments, the third device 230 is a core network device or an operation and maintenance management device, the first device 210 is an access network device, and the second device 220 is a terminal device including an access stratum and an application layer.

[0167] A third apparatus capable of executing method 700 may include means for executing each operation of method 700. These means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, these means may be implemented by a circuit or a software module. The third apparatus may be implemented as the third device 230 or may be included in the third device 230.

[0168] In some exemplary embodiments, the third apparatus includes means for obtaining, in the third apparatus, a first periodicity used by the second apparatus to perform a perceived quality measurement, and means for sending a message including the first periodicity to the first apparatus, wherein the first periodicity is sent in a manner distinguishable in relation to the access stratum.

[0169] In some exemplary embodiments, the third device is a core network device or an operation management and maintenance device, the first device is an access network device, and the second device is a terminal device including an access stratum and an application layer.

[0170] FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 suitable for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided, for example, to implement communication devices such as a first device 210, a second device 220, and a third device 230 as shown in FIG. 2. As shown, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 (e.g., a transmitter and / or a receiver) coupled to the processor 810.

[0171] The communication module 840 is for two-way communication. The communication module 840 has at least one antenna to facilitate communication. The communication interface may represent any interface necessary for communication with other network elements.

[0172] The processor 810 may be of any type suitable for a local technical network and may include, by way of non-limiting example, one or more of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture. The device 800 may have multiple processors such as an application-specific integrated circuit chip that is time-slaved to a clock that synchronizes the main processor.

[0173] Memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, read-only memory (ROM) 824, electrically programmable read-only memory (EPROM), flash memory, hard disk, compact disk (CD), digital video disk (DVD), and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of volatile memories include, but are not limited to, random access memory (RAM) 822, and other volatile memories that do not persist while the power is off.

[0174] Computer program 830 includes computer-executable instructions to be executed by an associated processor 810. Program 830 may be stored in ROM 820. Processor 810 may execute any suitable operations and processing by loading program 830 into RAM 820.

[0175] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by program 830 such that device 800 can execute any of the processes of the present disclosure discussed with reference to FIGS. 3-7. Embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0176] In some embodiments, program 830 may be tangibly embodied on a computer-readable medium (e.g., memory 820) included in device 800, or on another storage device accessible by device 800. Device 800 may load program 830 from the computer-readable medium into RAM 822 for execution. The computer-readable medium may include any type of tangible non-volatile storage, such as ROM, EPROM, flash memory, hard disk, CD, DVD, etc. FIG. 9 shows an example of a computer-readable medium 900 in the form of a CD or DVD. Program 830 is stored on the computer-readable medium.

[0177] In general, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or dedicated circuitry, software, logic, or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software that may be executed by a controller, a microprocessor, or other computing device. Although various aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other graphical description, the blocks, devices, systems, techniques, or methods described herein are, by way of non-limiting example, hardware, software, firmware, dedicated circuitry or logic, general-purpose hardware or a controller or other computing device, or any combination thereof.

[0178] The present disclosure also provides at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. The computer program product includes computer-executable instructions, such as those included in program modules, that are executable by a device on a target physical processor or a virtual processor to perform the methods 500-700 described above with reference to FIGS. 5-7. In general, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, etc., that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functions of the program modules may be combined or divided among the program modules as desired in various embodiments. The machine-executable instructions of the program modules may be executed within a local device or within a distributed device. In a distributed device, the program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0179] The program code for executing the method of the present disclosure may be described in any combination of one or more programming languages. These program codes can be provided to a processor or a controller of a general-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, or other programmable data processing devices, so that when the program code is executed by the processor or the controller, the functions / operations defined in the flowchart and / or block diagram are executed. The program code may be executed entirely on a machine, may be executed partially on a machine as a stand-alone software package, may be executed partially on a machine and partially on a remote machine, or may be executed entirely on a remote machine or server.

[0180] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data can be carried by any suitable carrier so that a device, apparatus, or processor can execute various processes and operations as described above. Examples of carriers include signals, computer-readable media, and the like.

[0181] The computer-readable medium can be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. The computer-readable medium can include, but is not limited to, electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor systems, devices, or apparatuses, or any suitable combination thereof. More specific examples of computer-readable storage media would include electrical connections having one or more wires, portable computer diskettes, hard disks, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or flash memory), optical fiber, portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage devices, magnetic storage devices, or any suitable combination thereof.

[0182] Furthermore, although the operations are shown in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown, or sequentially, or that all of the illustrated operations be performed, to obtain a desirable result. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Similarly, although details of some specific embodiments are included in the above discussion, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions and interpretations of features that may be specific to a particular embodiment. The particular features described in the context of separate embodiments may be implemented in combination within a single embodiment. Conversely, various features described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented separately, or in any suitable sub-combination, in a plurality of embodiments.

[0183] The present disclosure has been described in terms of language specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, but it is to be understood that the present disclosure as defined by the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the above specific features and acts are disclosed as exemplary forms for implementing the claims.

Claims

1. A terminal device, comprising: at least one processor; at least one memory including computer program code; The at least one memory and the computer program code, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: Receive, from an access network device, first periodic information together with second periodic information by an access stratum of the terminal device, wherein the first periodic information indicates a first periodicity used by an application layer of the terminal device when reporting a perceived quality measurement for a service of the terminal device, and the second periodic information indicates a second periodicity configured by the access network device for the terminal device for reporting one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement of the service; Collect, by the terminal device, the one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement measured by the application layer of the terminal device; Report the one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity. A terminal device configured to perform the above.

2. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein after receiving a request from the access network device, the terminal device uses the second periodicity to transmit the one or more measurement results by the access stratum.

3. The at least one memory and the computer program code, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to: To receive, from the access network device, an application layer container used to configure parameters for the somatosensory quality measurement, together with the second periodic information, wherein the application layer container includes the first periodic information indicating the first periodicity The terminal device according to claim 1, further configured to cause the above to be further performed.

4. The at least one memory and the computer program code, using the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to Start a timer according to the second periodicity; Add each of the one or more measurement results to a measurement log; Report the measurement log to the access network device according to a determination that the timer has timed out The terminal device according to claim 1, configured to cause the one or more measurement results to be reported according to the second periodicity.

5. The at least one memory and the computer program code, using the at least one processor, cause the terminal device to Transmit the one or more measurement results to the access network device by the access stratum of the terminal device The terminal device according to claim 1, further configured to cause the above to be further performed.

6. A method, comprising Receiving, from an access network device, first periodic information together with second periodic information according to an access stratum of a terminal device, wherein the first periodic information indicates a first periodicity used by an application layer of the terminal device when reporting a perceived quality measurement for a service of the terminal device, and the second periodic information indicates a second periodicity configured by the access network device for the terminal device for reporting one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement of the service, Collecting, by the terminal device, the one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement measured by the application layer of the terminal device, Reporting the one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity, A method comprising:

7. The one or more measurement results are collected by the access stratum of the terminal device, The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the one or more measurement results are transmitted by the access stratum of the terminal device.

8. The one or more measurement results are collected by the access stratum of the terminal device, The method according to claim 6, wherein the one or more measurement results are transmitted by the access stratum of the terminal device.

9. Receiving, from the access network device, an application layer container used for configuring parameters for the perceived quality measurement, together with the second periodic information, wherein the application layer container includes first periodic information indicating a first periodicity, The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

10. Reporting the one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity is, Starting a timer according to the second periodicity; Adding each of the one or more measurement results to a measurement log; Reporting the measurement log to the access network device according to a determination that the timer has timed out; The method according to claim 6, comprising:

11. Transmitting the one or more measurement results to the access network device by the access stratum of the terminal device The method according to claim 6, further comprising:

12. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the second periodicity information is received via a radio resource control message.

13. The method according to claim 6, wherein the second periodicity information is received via a radio resource control message.

14. The terminal device according to claim 1, wherein the second periodicity information includes a logging duration per session.

15. The method according to claim 6, wherein the second periodicity information includes a logging duration per session.

16. An access network device, comprising: At least one processor; At least one memory including computer program code; An access network device, comprising: The at least one memory and the computer program code, when using the at least one processor, cause the access network device to: Obtain first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity used by an application layer of the terminal device when reporting a perceived quality measurement for a service of the terminal device; To report one or more measurement results of the perceived quality of the service, determining a second periodicity for the terminal device, transmitting the first periodicity information to the terminal device together with second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity, An access network device configured to cause the above to be performed.

17. The at least one memory and the computer program code cause the access network device, using the at least one processor, to decode the first periodicity information from a configuration transmitted by a third device, the configuration being identifiable to an application layer and used to configure the perceived quality measurement, to extract the first periodicity information from a message transmitted by the third device, the first periodicity information being transmitted in a manner identifiable to an access stratum, to extract the first periodicity information from a radio resource control message transmitted by the terminal device, or to obtain the first periodicity information based on statistics of the one or more measurement results reported from the terminal device, The access network device according to claim 16, configured to obtain the first periodicity information by at least one of the above.

18. The at least one memory and the computer program code cause the access network device, using the at least one processor, to receive, from a third device, a configuration used to configure the perceived quality measurement, to transmit an application layer container including the configuration to the terminal device together with the second periodicity information, The access network device according to claim 16, which is further configured to cause **Claim 19** The at least one memory and the computer program code, using the at least one processor, cause the access network device to transmit an indication of the service of the terminal device The access network device according to claim 16, which is further configured to cause **Claim 20** A method comprising: in an access network device, obtaining first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity used by an application layer of a terminal device when reporting a perceived quality measurement for a service of the terminal device; determining a second periodicity for the terminal device to report one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement of the service; transmitting the first periodicity information to the terminal device together with second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity; A method comprising. **Claim 21** Obtaining the first periodicity information comprises decoding the first periodicity information from a configuration transmitted by a third device, the configuration being identifiable to the application layer and being used to configure the perceived quality measurement; extracting the first periodicity information from a message transmitted by the third device, the first periodicity information being transmitted in a manner identifiable to the access stratum; extracting the first periodicity information from a radio resource control message transmitted by the terminal device, or Obtaining the first periodic information based on the statistics of the one or more measurement results reported from the terminal device The method according to claim 20, comprising obtaining the first periodic information by at least one of **Claim 22** Receiving, from a third device, a configuration used to configure the haptic quality measurement Transmitting an application layer container including the configuration to the terminal device together with the second periodic information The method according to claim 20, further comprising **Claim 23** Transmitting an indication of the service of the terminal device The method according to claim 20, further comprising **Claim 24** The second periodic information is a value of the second periodicity, or a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity, The terminal device according to claim 1, including at least one of **Claim 25** The second periodic information is a value of the second periodicity, or a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity, The method according to claim 6 or 20, including at least one of **Claim 26** The second periodic information is a value of the second periodicity, or a scale factor of the second periodicity with respect to the first periodicity, The access network device according to claim 16, including at least one of A computer-readable medium comprising a computer program on a computer-readable medium, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor of an access network device, causes the access network device to obtain first periodicity information indicating a first periodicity used by an application layer of the terminal device when reporting a perceived quality measurement for a service of the terminal device; determine a second periodicity for the terminal device for reporting one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement of the service; transmit the first periodicity information together with second periodicity information indicating the second periodicity to the terminal device; and cause the above to be performed. A computer-readable medium. A computer-readable medium comprising a computer program on a computer-readable medium, wherein the computer program, when executed by a processor of a terminal device, causes the terminal device to receive, from an access network device, first periodicity information together with second periodicity information by an access stratum of the terminal device, wherein the first periodicity information indicates a first periodicity used by an application layer of the terminal device when reporting a perceived quality measurement for a service of the terminal device, and the second periodicity information indicates a second periodicity configured by the access network device for the terminal device for reporting one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement of the service; collect the one or more measurement results of the perceived quality measurement measured by the application layer of the terminal device by the terminal device; report the one or more measurement results according to the second periodicity; and cause the above to be performed. A computer-readable medium.

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