Expansion of pre-configured measurement gaps

Abstract

A method is provided that is performed by a user equipment (UE), the method including: receiving one or more messages including at least one pre-configured pre-MG for a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG) from a network (NW) including a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN), where the UE is dual connected (DC) with the MN and the SN; and determining a respective pre-MG status for the at least one pre-MG from the pre-MG configuration, where the MN includes a master cell group (MCG) and the SN includes a secondary cell group (SCG).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This application generally relates to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to pre-configured measurement gap extensions.

Background Art

[0002] Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between base stations and wireless mobile devices. Examples of wireless communication system standards and protocols include the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE), the 5th Generation (5G) 3GPP New Radio (NR) standard, the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.16 standard, commonly known to industry groups as Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX), and the IEEE 802.11 standard for Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), commonly known to industry groups as Wi-Fi. In a 3GPP radio access network (RAN) of an LTE system, base stations may include RAN nodes such as Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly called Evolved Node B, Extended Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or Radio Network Controller (RNC) of the E-UTRAN, which communicate with radio communication devices known as user equipment (UE). In a fifth-generation (5G) radio RAN, RAN nodes may include 5G nodes, new radio (NR) nodes, or gNode B (gNB), which communicate with wireless communication devices also known as user equipment (UE). [Overview of the project]

[0003] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that is performed by a user device (UE). The method includes receiving one or more messages from a network (NW) including a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN), the UE being dual-connected (DC) to the MN and SN, and determining the respective pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from the pre-MG configuration.

[0004] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that is performed by a master node (MN). The method comprises determining a first pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from a pre-MG configuration for at least one pre-MG, wherein the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to the MN and a secondary node (SN), the MN comprising a master cell group (MCG) and the SN comprising a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0005] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, a method is provided that is performed by a secondary node (SN). The method comprises determining a first pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG) configuration for at least one pre-MG, wherein the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to a master node (MN) and an SN, the MN comprising a master cell group (MCG) and the SN comprising a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0006] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for a user device (UE) is provided. The apparatus comprises one or more processors configured to perform steps of a method according to one of the methods provided herein by the UE.

[0007] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for a master node (MN) is provided. The apparatus comprises one or more processors configured to perform steps of a method according to one of the methods by an MN provided herein.

[0008] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for a secondary node (SN) is provided. The apparatus comprises one or more processors configured to perform steps of a method according to any of the methods provided herein by the SN.

[0009] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a computer-readable medium is provided which stores a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform steps of any of the methods provided herein.

[0010] According to one aspect of this disclosure, an apparatus for a communication device is provided. The apparatus comprises means for performing steps of a method according to any of the methods provided herein.

[0011] According to one aspect of this disclosure, a computer program product is provided which includes a computer program that, when executed by one or more processors, causes an apparatus to perform steps of a method according to any of the methods provided herein.

[0012] The features and advantages of this disclosure will become apparent from the following detailed description, along with the attached drawings illustrating the features of this disclosure as an example. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0013] [Figure 1] This is a block diagram of a system including a base station (BS) and user equipment (UE) according to several embodiments. [Figure 2] This illustrates an application scenario where the UE is dual-connected (DC) to both the master node (MN) and the secondary node (SN). [Figure 3A]This scenario illustrates how to determine the actual status of a single pre-MG in carrier aggregation (CA). [Figure 3B] This scenario demonstrates how to determine the actual status of multiple pre-MGs in CA. [Figure 4] This document describes methods for determining the actual status of pre-MG on the UE side, using several embodiments. [Figure 5A] Several embodiments illustrate different DC scenarios for determining the actual status of pre-MG. [Figure 5B] Several embodiments illustrate different DC scenarios for determining the actual status of pre-MG. [Figure 5C] Several embodiments illustrate different DC scenarios for determining the actual status of pre-MG. [Figure 6] Several embodiments of this method describe how to determine the actual status of the pre-MG on the MN side. [Figure 7] This document presents scenarios for determining the actual status of the NW's pre-MG, based on several embodiments. [Figure 8] This document presents several embodiments of transmission scenarios for determining the actual status of pre-MG on the network side. [Figure 9] This document presents alternative transmission scenarios for determining the actual status of pre-MG on the network side, based on several embodiments. [Figure 10] This document presents alternative transmission scenarios for determining the actual status of pre-MG on the network side, based on several embodiments. [Figure 11] Several embodiments of this method describe how to determine the actual status of the pre-MG on the SN side. [Figure 12] Block diagrams of devices for UE according to several embodiments are shown. [Figure 13] Block diagrams of devices for MN according to several embodiments are shown. [Figure 14] Shows a block diagram of an apparatus for SN according to some embodiments. [Figure 15] It is a diagram showing exemplary components of a device according to some embodiments. [Figure 16] Shows an exemplary interface of a baseband circuit according to some embodiments. [Figure 17] It is a block diagram showing components according to some exemplary embodiments. [Figure 18] Shows the architecture of a network system according to some embodiments.

Mode for Carrying Out the Invention

[0014] In the present disclosure, a "base station" can include an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) Node B (commonly also referred to as an evolved Node B, extended Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) and / or a radio network controller (RNC) and / or a 5G node, a new radio (NR) node or a g-node B (gNB) that communicates with a wireless communication device known as a user equipment (UE). Although some examples may be described with reference to any one of an E-UTRAN Node B, eNB, RNC, and / or gNB, such devices can be replaced with any type of base station.

[0015] A wireless communication system may be capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). A wireless multiple access communication system may include multiple base stations or network access nodes that each simultaneously support communication for multiple UEs.

[0016] FIG. 1 shows a wireless network 100 according to some embodiments. The wireless network 100 includes a UE 101 and a base station 150 connected via an air interface 190.

[0017] UE101 and any other UEs in the system may be, for example, machine-type devices such as laptop computers, smartphones, tablet computers, printers, smart meters or dedicated devices for healthcare monitoring, remote security monitoring, intelligent transport systems, or any other wireless devices with or without a user interface. Base station 150 provides UE101 with network connectivity to a wider network (not shown) via an air interface 190 within the base station service area provided by base station 150. In some embodiments, such a wider network may be a wide-area network operated by a cellular network provider or the Internet. Each base station service area associated with base station 150 is supported by an antenna integrated with base station 150. The service area is divided into several sectors associated with a particular antenna. Such sectors may be physically associated with a fixed antenna or may be assigned to a physical area using a tunable antenna or antenna configuration that can be adjusted in a beamforming process used to direct signals to a particular sector. One embodiment of the base station 150 includes, for example, three sectors, each covering a 120-degree area, and an array of antennas is directed towards each sector to provide 360-degree coverage around the base station 150.

[0018] UE101 includes a control circuit 105 coupled to a transmit circuit 110 and a receive circuit 115. Each of the transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may be coupled to one or more antennas. The control circuit 105 may be adapted to perform operations associated with the MTC. In some embodiments, the control circuit 105 of UE101 may perform calculations to determine the channel quality of available connections to the base station 150, or initiate measurements associated with the air interface 190. These calculations may be performed in conjunction with the control circuit 155 of the base station 150. The transmit circuit 110 and the receive circuit 115 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively. The control circuit 105 may be adapted or configured to perform various operations, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure relating to the UE. The transmit circuit 110 may transmit multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. The multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed by time division multiplexing (TDM) or frequency division multiplexing (FDM). The transmitting circuit 110 may be configured to receive block data from the control circuit 105 for transmission via the air interface 190. Similarly, the receiving circuit 115 may receive multiplexed downlink physical channels from the air interface 190 and relay the physical channels to the control circuit 105. The uplink and downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmitting circuit 110 and the receiving circuit 115 can transmit and receive both control data and content data (e.g., messages, images, videos, etc.) structured within data blocks carried by the physical channels.

[0019] Figure 1 shows a base station 150 according to several embodiments. The base station 150 circuit may include a control circuit 155 coupled to a transmitting circuit 160 and a receiving circuit 165. The transmitting circuit 160 and the receiving circuit 165 may each be coupled to one or more antennas which can be used to enable communication via the air interface 190.

[0020] The control circuit 155 may be adapted to perform operations associated with the MTC. The transmit circuit 160 and the receive circuit 165 may be adapted to transmit and receive data, respectively, within a narrow system bandwidth that is narrower than the standard bandwidth structured for person-to-person communication. In some embodiments, for example, the transmit bandwidth may be set to 1.4 MHz or close to it. In other embodiments, other bandwidths may be used. The control circuit 155 may perform various operations, such as those described elsewhere in this disclosure relating to base stations.

[0021] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the transmitting circuit 160 can transmit multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels. These multiple downlink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The transmitting circuit 160 may also transmit multiple multiplexed downlink physical channels in a downlink superframe consisting of multiple downlink subframes.

[0022] Within a narrow system bandwidth, the receiving circuit 165 can receive multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels. These multiple uplink physical channels may be multiplexed according to TDM or FDM. The receiving circuit 165 can receive multiple multiplexed uplink physical channels in an uplink superframe composed of multiple uplink subframes.

[0023] As will be further described below, control circuits 105 and 155 may be involved in measuring channel quality for the air interface 190. Channel quality may be based, for example, on physical obstacles between UE 101 and base station 150, electromagnetic signal interference from other sources, reflected or indirect paths between UE 101 and base station 150, or other such sources of signal noise. Based on channel quality, blocks of data may be scheduled to be retransmitted multiple times so that the transmitting circuit 110 can transmit multiple copies of the same data and the receiving circuit 115 can receive multiple copies of the same data multiple times.

[0024] In some wireless communication systems, a UE may be involved in dual connectivity (DC) with multiple base stations or nodes. For example, a first base station may operate as a master node (MN), and a second base station may operate as a secondary node (SN). Both base stations operating as MNs and base stations operating as SNs may have the ability to operate within a frequency band range or a first set of bands (e.g., legacy LTE or sub-6 gigahertz (GHz) frequency band range).

[0025] Figure 2 shows an application scenario 200 in which the UE230 is dual-connected (DC) with a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN) according to several embodiments. As shown in Figure 2, the UE230 is dual-connected with a first base station 210 and a second base station 220. The first base station 210 can operate as an MN, and the second base station 220 can operate as an SN. The MN210 includes a master cell group (MCG) 240, and the SN220 includes a secondary cell group (SCG) 250.

[0026] In some cases, the UE230 can be E-UTRA NR DC (EN-DC), NR E-UTRA DC (NE-DC), or NR DC (NR-DC).

[0027] Often, a UE may need to hand over to another cell. While simultaneously transmitting / receiving on a serving cell, the UE may need a measurement gap to perform measurements on the target carrier frequency. For legacy measurement gaps (MGs), there are three different measurement gap configurations.

[0028] Per FR1 gap: This MG configuration can only be applied to FR1. It cannot be configured together with a Per UE gap. For example, when the UE is in EN-DC and the FR1 frequency needs to be measured, the gNB will constitute either a Per FR1 gap or a Per UE gap.

[0029] Per FR2 gap: This MG configuration can only be applied to FR2. Similar to the Per FR1 gap, the Per FR2 gap cannot be configured together with the Per UE gap. For example, if the UE is in EN-DC and FR2 needs to be measured, the gNB will configure either the Per FR2 gap or the Per UE gap. The FR1 and FR2 gaps can be configured (activated) simultaneously.

[0030] Per UE gap: This MG configuration can be applied to all frequencies, i.e., FR1 and FR2. When a Per UE gap is configured, neither gapFR1 nor gapFR2 can be configured. Using this MG configuration, the UE can measure FR1, FR2, and non-NR RAT.

[0031] In the case of a dual connection, the MG configuration of the MN and the MG configuration of the SN may need to be adjusted. Table 1 below shows the MN / SN adjustments and responsible nodes for the measurement gap configuration.

[0032] [Table 1]

[0033] Several proposals for gap widening are discussed, along with several problems related to the current measurement gap design.

[0034] Rel-17 offers Feature 1: Pre-configured MGs (pre-MGs). These pre-configured MGs are activated or deactivated for each bandwidth portion (BWP). Pre-MGs can be for each UE, FR1, or FR2 gap. BWP switching can occur via RRC, DCI, at timer expiration, or at RACH start. Multiple radio DCs (MR-DCs) can be given lower priority in Rel-17.

[0035] Feature 2: Simultaneous gaps are provided. Multiple gaps are configured / activated, and each gap is associated with one MO / RAT / purpose. MR-DC can also be de-prioritized in Rel-17. In the case of simultaneous gaps, coordination between MN / SN can follow legacy for each UE, FR1, and FR2 gap.

[0036] Feature 3: NCSG Gap. This is designed on top of Rel-16 NeedForGap, which does not support MR-DC.

[0037] Feature 4: MUSIM Gap. The UE requests one or more gap patterns from the gNB to enable the UE to operate on other SIMs (SIB, paging receive, RRM, etc.), and the gNB configures the UE using per-UE gaps (only per-UE gaps are supported). MR-DC is not supported, and gap adjustment is not supported. For MUSIM gaps, legacy gap adjustment can be simply used.

[0038] Feature 5: The FR2 UL gap is likely to be independent of the legacy measurement gap and does not affect the FR1 operation. For the FR2 UL gap, which does not require MN-SN adjustment in MR-DC, the first three features may or may not support the MR-DC scenario.

[0039] Feature 1: Several basic frameworks are provided for pre-MG design. Pre-configured MGs may or may not be activated for each BWP, and as a result, when a UE operates on a particular BWP, the UE does not need to apply the MG to save scheduling opportunities.

[0040] A pre-configured MG is applicable to all MOs (single or multiple), meaning that the UE will activate / deactivate the pre-configured MG considering only the currently running BWP.

[0041] In some cases, the pre-MG status can be determined via the network by indicating the activation / deactivation status to the UE for each BWP. Alternatively, the UE can determine the pre-MG status when the corresponding principle is met, i.e., when the active BWP bandwidth covers the entire MO, or when the UE supports different SCSs between serving cell reception and measurement.

[0042] In some cases, a combined scheme between pre-MG and concurrent gap may be given. It is possible to configure multiple pre-MGs, one or more, each associated with a different MO / RAT / purpose. For each BWP, there may be multiple associated pre-MGs, one or more.

[0043] In the combined method, the activation / deactivation status of each pre-MG can be determined via the network by instructing the UE for each BWP to determine the activation / deactivation status of each pre-MG. Alternatively, the UE can determine the status of each pre-MG according to the principles for each BWP.

[0044] Figure 3A shows a scenario in 300A that illustrates the determination of the actual status of a single pre-MG in carrier aggregation (CA). As shown in Figure 3A, in scenario 310, the UE consists of multiple component carriers (CCs), and each CC consists of multiple BWPs. For example, CC1 consists of BWP1 and BWP2, and CC2 consists of BWP1 and BWP2. In scenario 310, there is only one pre-MG and one measurement opportunity (MO), i.e., MO1. In some cases, the UE can determine the actual status of a single pre-MG through explicit or implicit indication. In the case of explicit indication, the status of the pre-MG is considered "off," or in other words, deactivated, only when all active BWPs on all CCs are flagged as "off." In the case of implicit indication, the status of the pre-MG is considered "off" only when all reference signals(s) are covered by active BWPs(s) on multiple CCs(s).

[0045] In some examples, in Scenario 310, the NW can configure the UE with CC1:{BWP1 off, BWP2 on} and CC2:{BWP1 off, BWP2 off}. The NW can also configure the UE with absence on the pre-MG configuration. For example, MO1 is covered by BWP1 on CC1, and the UE can determine that the pre-MG status for BWP1 on CC1 is off because no measurement gap is required to perform the measurement. On CC2, an off or absence configuration means there is no measurement task for CC2 RF.

[0046] In Scenario 320, there are two MOs. The NW can configure the UE with CC1:{BWP1 off, BWP2 on} and CC2:{BWP1 on, BWP2 off}.

[0047] Figure 3B shows Scenario 300B, which illustrates the determination of the actual status of multiple pre-MGs in a CA. Referring to Figure 3B, there are two pre-MGs, namely pre-MG1 and pre-MG2. Note that each pre-MG applies to both CC1 and CC2. In some examples, each pre-MG may be associated with one or more MOs, as in Scenario 310 or 320. In some implementations, each pre-MG may be considered off only when all associated BWPs on all CCs are off. The determination of the status of each pre-MG may be made by applying both explicit and implicit indications. In the following example, Table 2 shows how the UE determines the status of each pre-MG based on the NW configuration.

[0048] [Table 2]

[0049] Referring to Figure 3B and Table 2, taking PreMG2 as an example, the active BWPs are BWP2 on CC1 and BWP1 on CC2. PreMG2 is configured to be "off" for both BWP2 on CC1 and BWP1 on CC2. In this example, all active BWPs on all CCs are off, and the UE determines that the status of PreMG2 is off.

[0050] In some cases of MR-DC, pre-MG is applied to both MCG and SCG, using the principle that the gap for each UE always applies to UE operation in both MCG and SCG. Since the FR1 band consists of both MCG and SCG, the FR1 gap is usually always applied to FR1 UE operation in both MCG and SCG, and for the FR2 gap, if an FR2-FR2 NR DC is configured, it applies to FR2 UE operation in both MCG and SCG, otherwise it applies only in CGs where the FR2 band is configured.

[0051] In some cases of MR-DC, how the pre-MG status is determined from both the network and UE sides remains unresolved. In other cases, the dynamic activation / deactivation of the pre-MG occurs during BWP switching via DCI or a timer, which cannot be time-coordinated between the network manager (MN) and signal manager (SN).

[0052] Figure 4 shows a method 400 for determining the actual status of the pre-MG on the UE side, according to several embodiments. As shown in Figure 4, method 400 includes steps 410 and 420.

[0053] In step 410, the UE receives one or more messages from the network (NW), which includes the master node (MN) and secondary nodes (SN), including at least one pre-MG about a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG), and the UE is dual-connected (DC) to the MN and SN.

[0054] In step 420, the UE determines the pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from the pre-MG configuration.

[0055] In some implementations, the MN includes a Master Cell Group (MCG), and the SN includes a Secondary Cell Group (SCG). The pre-MG configuration includes pre-MG flag indications for at least one pre-MG for at least one bandwidth portion (BWP) in at least one MCG or SCG, and determining each pre-MG status includes determining the individual pre-MG status for each pre-MG for a first active BWP in the MCG and a second active BWP in the SCG.

[0056] In some implementations, a pre-MG is considered off only when the active BWP from both CGs (e.g., MCG and SCG) is flagged as "off". In some examples, the UE can determine the individual pre-MG status for one of at least one pre-MG through explicit or implicit indication. In some examples, explicit indication is via flag indication from the NW configuration. In some embodiments, when all reference signals are covered by the active BWP, the UE can determine that the respective pre-MG status on the active BWP is inactive.

[0057] Figures 5A to 5C show different DC scenarios for determining the actual status of the pre-MG according to several embodiments.

[0058] Referring to Figure 5A, Scenario 500A is NR-DC. In some embodiments, when the UE is in NR-DC (Scenario 500A), determining the individual pre-MG status for each pre-MG includes determining the first status of the pre-MG for a first active BWP from the pre-MG configuration, determining the second status of the pre-MG for a second active BWP from the pre-MG configuration, and determining that the individual pre-MG status for the pre-MG is deactivated, in response to the determination that both the first and second statuses are deactivated statuses.

[0059] As shown in Figure 5A, taking PreMG2 as an example, when the active BWPs are BWP2 on the MCG and BWP1 on the SCG, PreMG2 is configured as "off" for both BWP2 on CC1 and BWP1 on CC2. In this example, all active BWPs on all CGs (MCG and SCG) are off, and the UE determines that the individual status of PreMG2 is off. In some examples, the "off" flag for PreMG2 may be indicated by the PreMG configuration from the NW. In other examples, the "off" flag for PreMG2 may be implicitly determined when all reference signals are covered by active BWPs.

[0060] Table 3 shows the pre-MG status for the two pre-MGs in Scenario 500A.

[0061] [Table 3]

[0062] Referring to Figure 5B, Scenario 500B is EN-DC. In some embodiments, when the UE is in EN-DC (Scenario 500B), determining the individual pre-MG status for each pre-MG includes determining the third status of the pre-MG for a second active BWP as the individual pre-MG status for the pre-MG. Taking pre-MG1 as an example, the third status of pre-MG1 for a second active BWP (e.g., BWP1 in SCG) is "on". In this example, the UE determines the status of each pre-MG1 to be "on". In Scenario 500B, the MN is an E-UTRAN node, which means it does not support pre-MGs. In some cases, pre-MGs are limited to the FR2 gap so as not to affect the LTE design. In other examples, when pre-MGs are per-UE gaps or FR1 gaps, the MN may need to know the pre-MG configuration in the SN to avoid erroneous transmissions during measurement gaps.

[0063] Table 4 shows the pre-MG status for the two pre-MGs in Scenario 500B.

[0064] [Table 4]

[0065] Referring to Figure 5C, Scenario 500C is NE-DC. In some embodiments, when the UE is in NE-DC (Scenario 500C), determining the individual pre-MG status for each pre-MG includes determining the fourth status of the pre-MG on the first active BWP as the individual pre-MG status for the pre-MG. Taking pre-MG1 as an example, the fourth status of pre-MG1 for the first active BWP (e.g., BWP2 in MCG) is "off". In this example, the UE determines the status of each pre-MG1 to be "off". In some examples, all gaps (including legacy gaps and pre-MGs) are composed of MNs. In some implementations, the pre-MG can be per UE, per FR1, or per FR2 gap. In some cases, when each MG per UE and per FR1 has a status of "on", the SCG operation is affected and the SCG may need to know the pre-MG configuration in the MN to avoid erroneous transmissions during the measurement gap.

[0066] While the UE may be able to determine individual pre-MG statuses based on various information from the MN and / or SN, on the network side, one CG (e.g., MCG) does not have active BWP information in the other CG (e.g., SCG). In some cases, a method may be needed to determine the pre-MG status on the network side.

[0067] Figure 6 shows a method for determining the actual status of pre-MGs on the MN and SN sides according to several embodiments. As shown in Figure 6, Method 600 is performed by the MN. Method 600 includes step 610. In step 610, the MN determines a first pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG) configuration for at least one pre-MG, where the UE is dual-connected (DC) with the MN and secondary node (SN), the MN includes a master cell group (MCG), and the SN includes a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0068] In some implementations, the pre-MG configuration includes a first pre-MG flag indication that shows the activation or deactivation status for each BWP in the MCG, and a second pre-MG flag indication that shows the activation or deactivation status for each BWP in the SCG.

[0069] In some implementations, static assumptions may be used for the network. In some examples, determining the first pre-MG status for each pre-MG includes, for each pre-MG, determining from the second pre-MG flag indication whether at least one of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications for the pre-MG indicates an activated status; determining that the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is an activated status, in response to the determination that at least one of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications indicates an activated status; and determining that the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is the status indicated by the corresponding first pre-MG flag indication for the active BWP in the MCG, in response to the determination that all of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications indicate a deactivated status.

[0070] In some implementations, for one pre-MG that can be in an activated status ("on") in other CGs, it is always considered "on". Referring to Figure 7, Figure 7 shows a scenario 700 for determining the actual status of a pre-MG for a NW according to several embodiments. As shown in Figure 7, for pre-MG1, it can be "on" or "off" in the MCG, and the SCG considers it to be "on" at all times.

[0071] In some implementations, a pre-MG that is "off" for all BWPs (one or more) in other CGs may be considered "on" or "off" for the BWPs in the current CG. For example, as shown in Figure 7, pre-MG2 is "off" for two BWPs (one or more) in the MCG, and the SCG can consider it "on" or "off" based on which BWPs are active.

[0072] In some implementations, the network can determine the pre-MG status through dynamic adjustments between the network manager (MN) and the signal manager (SN). In some implementations, when BWP switching occurs in one computer cluster (CG) and leads to a change in the pre-MG status, it should be notified to other nodes. In some variations, a bwp-inactivitytimer is similarly notified to other nodes to cover timer-based BWP switching.

[0073] In some cases, when the UE is in EN-DC, LTE may not update for pre-MG, and therefore pre-MG is required by SN and applicable only for the FR2 gap.

[0074] In some cases, the FR2 pre-MG is configured only in the SN (Single Nose) and therefore no adjustment is required.

[0075] Table 5 shows how the network determines the pre-MG status when the UE is in EN-DC.

[0076] [Table 5]

[0077] In some embodiments, when the UE is in the NE-DC, determining each of the first pre-MG statuses includes receiving a configuration or reconfiguration request and configuring each of the first pre-MG statuses in response to receiving a configuration or reconfiguration request.

[0078] In some embodiments, when the UE is on the NE-DC, determining each of the first pre-MG statuses includes determining each of the first pre-MG statuses from the pre-MG configuration in response to the BWP being switched on on the MN.

[0079] In some embodiments, when the UE is in the NE-DC, method 600 further includes step 620. In step 620, for each pre-MG which is a gap per UE or a gap per FR1, the MN transmits to the SN an individual pre-MG status from among the first pre-MG statuses for the pre-MG.

[0080] Figure 8 shows a transmission scenario 800 (NE-DC) for determining the actual status of the pre-MG on the network side, according to several embodiments. As shown in Figure 8, the pre-MG status changes when event 810 occurs. Event 810 may be a configuration or reconfiguration on the network manager (MN), or a BWP being switched on on the MN.

[0081] In some examples, when the MN is configured or reconfigured, the MN notifies the SN of each pre-MG, the gapPurpose (per UE or per FR1), and the status indication of the pre-MG of each BWP via message 820. In some examples, message 820 may be RRC signaling. In some variations, the SN may send a gap request to the MN.

[0082] In transmission scenario 800, the pre-MG can be per UE, per FR1, or per FR2 gap. In some examples, for per FR2 pre-MG, it is limited to the MN, so no coordination is needed between the MN and the SN. In some variations, for per UE and per FR1 pre-MG, the MN notifies the SN of its configuration (for example, through message 820).

[0083] In some implementations, when event 810 is a BWP switching at the MN, the MN notifies the SN (for example, via message 820) of the pre-MG status for each UE and each FR1 whenever the pre-MG status changes.

[0084] Table 6 shows how the network determines the pre-MG status when the UE is in the NE-DC.

[0085] [Table 6]

[0086] In some implementations, when the UE is in NR-DC, determining the first pre-MG status further includes receiving from the SN a second pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG as the first pre-MG status for each.

[0087] In some implementations, determining the first pre-MG status when the UE is in NR-DC includes determining the first pre-MG status from the pre-MG configuration in response to the BWP being switched on on the MN. In some examples, method 600 may further include transmitting the first pre-MG status to the SN.

[0088] Figure 9 shows another transmission scenario 900 (NR-DC) for determining the actual status of the pre-MG on the network side, according to several embodiments.

[0089] As shown in Figure 9, the pre-MG status changes when event 910 occurs. Event 910 may be a configuration or reconfiguration on the MN, or a BWP being switched on on the MN.

[0090] In some examples, when the MN is configured or reconfigured, the MN notifies the SN of each pre-MG, the gapPurpose (per UE or per FR1), and the status indication of the pre-MG for each BWP via message 920. In some examples, message 920 may be RRC signaling. In some variations, the SN may send a gap request to the MN. In some variations, the SN may constitute a list of FR1 / FR2 frequencies to measure.

[0091] In some cases, the SN may further configure the status of the pre-MG to the UE for each BWP (930). In some examples, the SN notifies the MN of the status of each pre-MG for each BWP via message 940. In some cases, only the MN can configure the pre-MG, which may be per UE, per FR1 gap, or per FR2 gap.

[0092] In some embodiments, when the UE is in NR-DC, determining each of the first pre-MG statuses includes receiving from the SN, in response to the BWP being switched on, each of the third pre-MG statuses for at least one pre-MG, as each of the first pre-MG statuses.

[0093] Table 7 shows how the network determines the pre-MG status when the UE is in NR-DC.

[0094] [Table 7]

[0095] In some implementations, when the UE is in NR-DC, determining the pre-MG status involves determining the pre-MG status from the pre-MG configuration in response to the BWP being switched on the SN. In some examples, when the BWP switching is on the SN, the SN can send the pre-MG status to the MN.

[0096] In some embodiments, the UE can notify the MCG or SCG of a pre-MG status change resulting from BWP switching. In some cases, when the UE switches BWPs on the MN, the UE can send a first reported pre-MG configuration, including the respective pre-MG statuses, to the SN. In some implementations, the UE can send the first reported pre-MG configuration through RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling. In some examples, the first reported pre-MG configuration may further include a list of pre-MG identification information (IDs).

[0097] In other cases, when the UE switches BWPs on the SN, the UE may send a second reporting pre-MG configuration to the MN, which includes the respective pre-MG statuses. In some implementations, the UE may send the second reporting pre-MG configuration through RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling. In some examples, the second reporting pre-MG configuration may further include a list of pre-MG identification information (IDs).

[0098] In some implementations, determining each of the first pre-MG statuses includes sending one or more pre-MGs from at least one pre-MG applicable to both MCG and SCG to the UE, and receiving a reported pre-MG configuration from the UE, which includes a set of pre-MG statuses for one or more pre-MGs, depending on whether the BWP has been switched on the SN. In some implementations, the set of pre-MG statuses is determined by the UE. In some examples, the UE can determine the set of pre-MG statuses by Method 400 or any embodiment described therein. For an MN, one of the corresponding first pre-MG statuses for one or more pre-MGs is the same as the set of pre-MG statuses. In some cases, the MN receives a set of pre-MG statuses determined by the UE as one of the corresponding first pre-MG statuses.

[0099] In some implementations, the reported pre-MG configuration further includes a list of identification information (IDs) for one or more pre-MGs.

[0100] In some cases, the reported pre-MG configuration is received through RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling.

[0101] Figure 10 shows another transmission scenario 1000 for determining the actual status of pre-MGs on the NW side according to several embodiments. As shown in Figure 10, the MN sends one or more pre-MGs to the UE (1010), and the one or more pre-MGs are applicable to both MCG and SCG. When the BWP switches over the MN (1020), the status of one or more pre-MGs changes, and the UE reports the one or more pre-MG statuses via one or more messages (1030).

[0102] In some embodiments, when the BWP turns on the SN (1040) and one or more pre-MG statuses change, the UE reports one or more pre-MG statuses via one or more messages (1050).

[0103] In some cases, the UE can report via RRC messages / signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling. In some cases, the RRC messages / signaling may be UAI messages.

[0104] In some implementations, the network determines the pre-MG status based on the network implementation. In an ideal backhaul scenario, all information can be exchanged between the network manager (MN) and the network service manager (SN) without any further specified solutions. In some examples, determining the first pre-MG status of each involves determining the first pre-MG status of each from the network implementation of the MN.

[0105] Figure 11 shows a method 1100 for determining the actual status of a pre-MG on the SN side, according to several embodiments. As shown in Figure 11, the method 1100 includes step 1110. In step 1110, the SN determines a first pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG) configuration for at least one pre-MG, where the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to a master node (MN) and an SN, the MN includes a master cell group (MCG), and the SN includes a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0106] Figure 12 shows a block diagram of the apparatus 1200 for the UE according to several embodiments. The apparatus 1200 shown in Figure 12 may comprise one or more processors configured to perform the steps of method 400 shown in combination with Figure 12. As shown in Figure 12, the apparatus 1200 includes a receiving unit 1210 and a determination unit 1220.

[0107] The receiving unit 1210 is configured to receive one or more messages from a network (NW) including a master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN), including at least one pre-MG about a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG), and the UE is dual-connected (DC) to the MN and SN.

[0108] The determination unit 1220 is configured to determine the status of each pre-MG for at least one pre-MG from the pre-MG configuration.

[0109] Figure 13 shows a block diagram of the apparatus 1300 for MN according to several embodiments. The apparatus 1300 shown in Figure 13 may comprise one or more processors configured to perform the steps of method 600 shown in combination with Figure 13. As shown in Figure 13, the apparatus 1300 includes a determination unit 1310.

[0110] The determination unit 1310 is configured to determine the first pre-MG status of at least one pre-MG from at least one pre-MG for a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG), and the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to an MN and a secondary node (SN), where the MN includes a master cell group (MCG) and the SN includes a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0111] Figure 14 shows a block diagram of an apparatus 1400 for SN according to several embodiments. The apparatus 1400 shown in Figure 14 may comprise one or more processors configured to perform the steps of method 1100 shown in combination with Figure 14. As shown in Figure 14, the apparatus 1400 includes a determination unit 1410.

[0112] The determination unit 1410 is configured to determine the first pre-MG status of at least one pre-MG from at least one pre-MG for a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG), and the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to a master node (MN) and an SN, where the MN includes a master cell group (MCG) and the SN includes a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0113] In the embodiments for determining the pre-MG status on the UE, MN, and SN sides as described above, the NW may have the same understanding of the pre-MG status as the UE. In some cases, when the pre-MG is actually "off" on the UE side, the NW may have increased scheduling opportunities. In other cases, when the pre-MG is actually "on" on the UE side, the NW may suspend scheduling during the gap duration.

[0114] Figure 15 shows exemplary components of device 1500 according to several embodiments. In some embodiments, device 1500 may include, at least, an application circuit 1502, a baseband circuit 1504, a radio frequency (RF) circuit (shown as RF circuit 1520), a front-end module (FEM) circuit (shown as FEM circuit 1530), one or more antennas 1532, and a power management circuit (PMC) (shown as PMC 1534), all coupled together as shown. The illustrated components of device 1500 may be included in a UE or RAN node. In some embodiments, device 1500 may include fewer elements (for example, a RAN node may not utilize the application circuit 1502 and instead include a processor / controller for processing IP data received from the EPC). In some embodiments, device 1500 may include additional elements such as memory / storage, a display, a camera, a sensor, or an input / output (I / O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in two or more devices (for example, the above circuit may be included separately in two or more devices for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementation).

[0115] The application circuit 1502 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuit 1502 may include, but is not limited to, one or more circuits such as single-core processors or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with or include memory / storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in memory / storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on device 1500. In some embodiments, the processor of the application circuit 1502 may process IP data packets received from the EPC.

[0116] The baseband circuit 1504 may include, but is not limited to, one or more single-core processors or multi-core processors. The baseband circuit 1504 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic for processing baseband signals received from the receiving signal path of the RF circuit 1520 and for generating baseband signals for the transmitting signal path of the RF circuit 1520. The baseband circuit 1504 may interface with the application circuit 1502 for generating and processing baseband signals and for controlling the operation of the RF circuit 1520. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1504 may include a third-generation (3G) baseband processor (3G baseband processor 1506), a fourth-generation (4G) baseband processor (4G baseband processor 1508), a fifth-generation (5G) baseband processor (5G baseband processor 1510), or one or more other baseband processors 1512 for other existing, developing, or future generations (e.g., second-generation (2G), sixth-generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuit 1504 (e.g., one or more of the baseband processors) can handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuit 1520. In other embodiments, some or all of the functions of the illustrated baseband processor may be contained in modules stored in memory 1518 and executed via a central processing unit ETnit (CPET 1514). Radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation / demodulation, coding / decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, the modulation / demodulation circuit of the baseband circuit 1504 may include fast Fourier transform (FFT), pre-recording, or constellation mapping / demapping functions. In some embodiments, the encoding / decoding circuit of the baseband circuit 1504 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or low-density parity check (LDPC) encoder / decoder functions. Embodiments of the modulation / demodulation and encoder / decoder functions are not limited to these embodiments, and other embodiments may include other suitable functions.

[0117] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1504 may include one or more digital signal processors (DSPs), such as one or more audio DSPs 1516. One or more audio DSPs 1516 may include elements for compression / decompression and echo cancellation, and in other embodiments, may include other suitable processing elements. The components of the baseband circuit may, in some embodiments, be suitably combined within a single chip, a single chipset, or arranged on the same circuit board. In some embodiments, some or all of the components of the baseband circuit 1504 and the application circuit 1502 may be implemented together, for example, on a system-on-a-chip (SOC).

[0118] In some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1504 may provide communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuit 1504 may support communication with an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (EUTRAN) or other Wireless Metropolitan Area Networks (WMAN), Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN), or Wireless Personal Area Networks (WPAN). Embodiments in which the baseband circuit 1504 is configured to support wireless communication of two or more radio protocols may be referred to as a multimode baseband circuit.

[0119] The RF circuit 1520 can enable communication with a wireless network using electromagnetic radiation modulated through a non-solid medium. In various embodiments, the RF circuit 1520 may include switches, filters, amplifiers, etc., to facilitate communication with the wireless network. The RF circuit 1520 may include a receive signal path which may include a circuit for down-converting the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 1530 and providing the baseband signal to the baseband circuit 1504. The RF circuit 1520 may also include a transmit signal path which may include a circuit for up-converting the baseband signal provided by the baseband circuit 1504 and providing the RF output signal to the FEM circuit 1530 for transmission.

[0151] In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuit 1520 may include a mixer circuit 1522, an amplifier circuit 1524, and a filter circuit 1526. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RF circuit 1520 may include a filter circuit 1526 and a mixer circuit 1522. The RF circuit 1520 may also include a synthesizer circuit 1528 for combining the frequencies used by the mixer circuit 1522 of the receive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments, the receive signal path mixer circuit 1522 may be configured to downconvert the RF signal received from the FEM circuit 1530 based on the combined frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 1528. An amplifier circuit 1524 may be configured to amplify the downconverted signal, and a filter circuit 1526 may be a low-pass filter (LPF) or band-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from the downconverted signal to generate an output baseband signal. The output baseband signal may be provided to the baseband circuit 1504 for further processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signal may be a zero-frequency baseband signal, but this is not required. In some embodiments, the receive signal path mixer circuit 1522 may include a passive mixer, but the scope of embodiments is not limited thereto.

[0120] In some embodiments, the mixer circuit 1522 in the transmit signal path may be configured to upconvert the input baseband signal based on the combined frequency provided by the synthesizer circuit 1528 to generate an RF output signal for the FEM circuit 1530. The baseband signal may be provided by the baseband circuit 1504 and filtered by the filter circuit 1526.

[0121] In some embodiments, the receive signal path mixer circuit 1522 and the transmit signal path mixer circuit 1522 may include two or more mixers, each arranged for quadrature down-conversion and quadrature up-conversion. In some embodiments, the receive signal path mixer circuit 1522 and the transmit signal path mixer circuit 1522 may include two or more mixers, each arranged for image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In some embodiments, the receive signal path mixer circuit 1522 and the transmit signal path mixer circuit 1522 may be arranged for direct down-conversion and direct up-conversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the receive signal path mixer circuit 1522 and the transmit signal path mixer circuit 1522 may be configured for superheterodyne operation.

[0122] In some embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be analog baseband signals, but the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternative embodiments, the output baseband signal and the input baseband signal may be digital baseband signals. In these alternative embodiments, the RF circuit 1520 may include an analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and a digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuit, and the baseband circuit 1504 may include a digital baseband interface for communicating with the RF circuit 1520.

[0123] In some dual-mode embodiments, separate wireless IC circuits may be provided to process the signals of each spectrum, but the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect.

[0124] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1528 may be a fractional-N synthesizer or a fractional-N / N+1 synthesizer, but the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect, as other types of frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, the synthesizer circuit 1528 may be a synthesizer comprising a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier, or a phase-locked loop having a frequency divider.

[0125] The synthesizer circuit 1528 may be configured to synthesize output frequencies for use by the mixer circuit 1522 of the RF circuit 1520 based on frequency input and divider control input. In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1528 may be a fractional N / N+1 synthesizer.

[0126] In some embodiments, the frequency input may be provided by a voltage-controlled oscillator (VCO), but this is not required. The divider control input may be provided by either the baseband circuit 1504 or the application circuit 1502 (such as an application processor), depending on the desired output frequency. In some embodiments, the divider control input (e.g., N) may be determined from a lookup table based on the channel indicated by the application circuit 1502.

[0127] The synthesizer circuit 1528 of the RF circuit 1520 may include a divider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer, and a phase accumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulus divider (DMD), and the phase accumulator may be a digital phase accumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured to divide the input signal into either N or N+1 (e.g., based on performance) to provide a fractional division ratio. In some exemplary embodiments, the DLL may include a set of cascaded tunable delay elements, a phase detector, a charge pump, and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments, the delay elements may be configured to divide the VCO period into Nd packets of equal phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in the delay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to contribute to ensuring that the total delay across the delay line is one VCO cycle.

[0128] In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuit 1528 may be configured to generate the carrier frequency as the output frequency; in other embodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrier frequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrier frequency), and may be used with quadrature generators and divider circuits to generate multiple signals at carrier frequencies with multiple different phases relative to each other. In some embodiments, the output frequency may be the LO frequency (fLO). In some embodiments, the RF circuit 1520 may include an IQ / polar coordinate converter.

[0129] The FEM circuit 1530 may include a receive signal path that operates on RF signals received from one or more antennas 1532, amplifying the received signals and providing the amplified version of the received signals to the RF circuit 1520 for further processing. The FEM circuit 1530 may also include a transmit signal path that includes a circuit configured to amplify the signal for transmission provided by the RF circuit 1520 for transmission by one or more of the antennas 1532. In various embodiments, amplification through the transmit or receive signal path may occur in the RF circuit 1520 only, in the FEM circuit 1530 only, or in both the RF circuit 1520 and the FEM circuit 1530.

[0130] In some embodiments, the FEM circuit 1530 may include a TX / RX switch for switching between transmit mode operation and receive mode operation. The FEM circuit 1530 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the FEM circuit 1530 may include an LNA for amplifying the received RF signal and providing the amplified received RF signal as an output (e.g., to the RF circuit 1520). The transmit signal path of the FEM circuit 1530 may include a power amplifier (PA) for amplifying the input RF signal (e.g., provided by the RF circuit 1520) and one or more filters for generating an RF signal for subsequent transmission (e.g., by one or more of the antennas 1532).

[0131] In some embodiments, the PMC1534 may manage the power supplied to the baseband circuit 1504. In particular, the PMC1534 can control power source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-DC conversion. The PMC1534 may often be included when the device 1500 can be powered by a battery, for example, when the device 1500 is contained within an EGE. The PMC1534 can improve power conversion efficiency while providing desirable mounting size and heat dissipation characteristics.

[0132] Figure 15 shows the PMC 1534 coupled only to the baseband circuit 1504. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 1534 can be coupled additionally or alternatively to other components, such as, but not limited to, the application circuit 1502, the RF circuit 1520, or the FEM circuit 1530, and perform similar power management operations for them.

[0133] In some embodiments, the PMC1534 may control, or otherwise be part of, various power-saving mechanisms of device 1500. For example, if device 1500 is still connected to a RAN node, in an RRC connection state, and expecting to receive traffic immediately, it may enter a state known as discontinuous receive mode (DRX) after a period of inactivity. During this state, device 1500 can power down for short time intervals and thus conserve power.

[0134] If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period, device 1500 can transition to an RRC idle state, disconnect from the network, and not perform actions such as channel quality evaluation feedback or handover. Device 1500 enters an ultra-low power state, performs paging, wakes up periodically again to listen to the network, and then powers off again. In this state, device 1500 cannot receive data and transitions back to an RRC connected state to receive data.

[0135] In further power-saving modes, devices may be allowed to be unavailable from the network for longer periods than the paging interval (ranging from a few seconds to several hours). During this time, the device may be completely unable to reach the network and may be completely powered off. Any data transmitted during this time will experience significant delays, but these delays are considered acceptable.

[0136] The processors of application circuit 1502 and baseband circuit 1504 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of the protocol stack. For example, the processor of baseband circuit 1504 may be used alone or in combination to execute layer 3, layer 2, or layer 1 functions, and the processor of application circuit 1502 may utilize data received from these layers (e.g., packet data) to further execute layer 4 functions (e.g., the Transmit Communications Protocol (TCP) layer and the User Datagram Protocol (UDP) layer). As referred to herein, layer 3 may include the Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, which is described in more detail below. As referred to herein, layer 2 may include the Media Access Control (MAC) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, and the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, which are described in more detail below. As referred to herein, layer 1 may include the Physical (PHY) layer of the UE / RAN node, which is described in more detail below.

[0137] Figure 16 shows an exemplary interface 1600 of a baseband circuit according to several embodiments. As described above, the baseband circuit 1504 in Figure 15 may include a 3G baseband processor 1506, a 4G baseband processor 1508, a 5G baseband processor 1510, one or more other baseband processors 1512, a CPU 1514, and memory 1618 used by the processors. As shown, each processor may include a separate memory interface 1602 for sending / receiving data to / from memory 1618.

[0138] The baseband circuit 1504 may further include one or more interfaces for communicative coupling with other circuits / devices, such as a memory interface 1604 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data to and from memory outside the baseband circuit 1604), an application circuit interface 1606 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data to and from the application circuit 1502 in Figure 15), an RF circuit interface 1608 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data to and from the RF circuit 1520 in Figure 15), a wireless hardware connection interface 1610 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving data to and from near-field communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 1612 (e.g., an interface for transmitting / receiving power or control signals to and from the PMC 1534).

[0139] Figure 17 is a block diagram of a component 1700 capable of reading instructions from a machine-readable medium or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-temporary machine-readable storage medium) and performing any one or more of the methods described herein, according to several exemplary embodiments. Specifically, Figure 17 shows a schematic diagram of a hardware resource 1702 including one or more processors 1712 (or processor cores), one or more memory / storage devices 1718, and one or more communication resources 1720, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 1722. In embodiments utilizing node virtualization (e.g., NFV), a hypervisor 1704 may be executed to provide execution environments for one or more network slices / subslice to utilize the hardware resource 1702.

[0140] Processor 1712 (for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a composite instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a high-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, processor 1714 and processor 1716.

[0141] The memory / storage device 1718 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory / storage device 1718 may include, but is not limited to, any type of volatile or non-random access memory, such as dynamic volatile memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, or solid-state storage.

[0142] The communication resource 1720 may include interconnection or network interface components or other suitable devices for communicating with one or more peripheral devices 1706 or one or more databases 1708 via the network 1710. For example, the communication resource 1720 may include wired communication components (for coupling via, for example, Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components.

[0143] Instruction 1724 may include software, programs, applications, applets, apps, or other executable code to cause at least one of the processors 1712 to perform any one or more of the methods described herein. Instruction 1724 may reside entirely or partially within at least one of the processors 1712 (e.g., within the processor's cache memory), within the memory / storage device 1718, or within any suitable combination thereof. Furthermore, any part of instruction 1724 may be transferred from any combination of peripheral devices 1706 or database 1708 to the hardware resource 1702. Thus, the memory of processor 1712, the memory / storage device 1718, the peripheral device 1706, and the database 1708 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

[0144] For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the following exemplary section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in relation to one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, a circuit associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc., as described above in relation to one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the examples section.

[0145] Figure 18 shows the architecture of System 1800 of the network according to several embodiments. System 1800 includes one or more user devices (UEs), shown in this example as UE1802 and UE1804. UE1802 and UE1804 are shown as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices capable of connecting to one or more cellular networks), but may also include any mobile or non-mobile computing devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, or any computing devices including wireless communication interfaces.

[0146] In some embodiments, either UE1802 or UE1104 may comprise an IoT UE with a network access layer designed for low-power Internet of Things (IoT) applications that utilize short-lived UE connections. The IoT UE may utilize technologies such as M2M (machine-to-machine) or MTC to exchange data with MTC (machine-type communication) servers or devices via PLMN (public land mobile network), ProSe (Proximity-Based Service), or D2D (device-to-device) communication, sensor networks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC data exchange may be the exchange of machine activation data. The IoT network refers to interconnected IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiable embedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure) via short-lived connections. The IoT UE may run background applications (e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate connectivity within the IoT network.

[0102] UE1802 and UE1804 may be configured to connect to a radio access network (RAN) designated as RAN1806, for example, to be communicatively coupled. RAN1806 may be, for example, an Advanced ETniversal Mobile Telecommunications System (ETMTS) terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a Next Generation RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. UE1802 and UE1804 utilize connection 1808 and connection 1810, respectively, each comprising a physical communication interface or layer (discussed in more detail below).In this embodiment, connections 1808 and 1810 are shown as air interfaces to enable communicable coupling and can be matched with cellular communication protocols such as the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, code-division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, PTT (Push-to-Talk) protocol, POC (PTT over Cellular) protocol, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) protocol, 3GPP Long-Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, fifth-generation (5G) protocol, and New Radio (NR) protocol.

[0147] In this embodiment, UE1802 and UE1804 may further directly exchange communication data via the ProSe interface 1812. The ProSe interface 1812 may also be referred to as a sidelink interface having one or more logical channels, including, but not limited to, a physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH), a physical sidelink sharing channel (PSSCH), a physical sidelink discovery channel (PSDCH), and a physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH).

[0148] UE1804 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) designated as AP1184 via connection 1816. Connection 1816 can be a local wireless connection such as a connection matching any IEEE 802.18 protocol, and AP1814 will be a Wireless Fidelity (WiFi®) router. In this example, AP1814 can connect to the internet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system (described in more detail below).

[0149] RAN1806 may include one or more access nodes that enable connections 1808 and 1810. These access nodes (ANs) may be referred to as base stations (BS), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next-generation NodeBs (gNBs), RAN nodes, etc., and may comprise ground stations (e.g., ground access points) or satellite stations that provide coverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). RAN1806 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells, e.g., macroRAN node 1818, and one or more RAN nodes for providing femtocells or picocells (e.g., cells with smaller coverage areas, smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells), e.g., low-power (LP) RAN nodes such as LP RAN node 1820.

[0106] Either macroRAN node 1818 or LP RAN node 1820 can terminate the air interface protocol and may be the first single gateway for UE1802 and UE1804. In some embodiments, either the macro RAN node 1818 or the LP RAN node 1820 can perform various logical functions for RAN 1806, including, but not limited to, radio bearer management, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management and data packet scheduling, and radio network controller (RNC) functions such as mobility management.

[0150] According to some embodiments, EGE1802 and EGE1804 may be configured to communicate with each other or with either macro RAN node 1818 or LP RAN node 1820 via a multi-carrier communication channel using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals, according to various communication technologies, such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDMA) communication technology (for example, for downlink communication) or single-carrier frequency division multiplexing (SC-FDMA) communication technology (for example, for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communication), but the scope of embodiments is not limited in this respect. OFDM signals may include multiple orthogonal subcarriers.

[0151] In some embodiments, the downlink resource grid may be used for downlink transmissions from either macro RAN node 1818 or LP RAN node 1820 to UE1802 and UE1804, although uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The grid can be a time-frequency grid, also called a resource grid or time-frequency resource grid, which represents the physical resources of the downlink within each slot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common method for OFDM systems, thereby making the allocation of radio resources intuitive. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds to one OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration of the resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in the radio frame. The smallest time-frequency unit of the resource grid is denoted as a resource element. Each resource grid contains a number of resource blocks, which represent the mapping of a particular physical channel to a resource element. Each resource block contains a set of resource elements, which in the frequency domain may represent the minimum amount of resources that can currently be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are transmitted using such resource blocks.

[0152] The Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) can carry user data and upper-layer signaling to UE1802 and UE1804. The Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) can, among other things, carry information regarding the transport format and resource allocation for the PDSCH channel. It may also notify UE1802 and UE1804 of the transport format, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request) information for the uplink shared channel. Generally, downlink scheduling (allocating control and shared channel resource blocks to UE1804 within a cell) can be performed at either macro RAN node 1818 or LP RAN node 1820 based on channel quality information fed back from either UE1802 or UE1804. Downlink resource allocation information can be sent over the PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of UE1802 and UE1804.

[0153] A PDCCH may transmit control information using control channel elements (CCEs). Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex numerical symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be swapped using subblock interleavers for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, and each CCE can correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. A PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more CCEs depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel state. There may be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

[0154] Some embodiments may use a concept for resource allocation for control channel information, which is an extension of the above concept. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for transmitting control information. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs). As above, each ECCE may correspond to a set of nine physical resource elements, known as an enhanced resource element group (EREG), consisting of four physical resource elements. In some situations, an ECCE may have a different number of EREGs.

[0155] RAN1806 is communicably coupled to a core network (CN) designated as CN1828 via Sl interface 1822. In this embodiment, CN1828 may be an Evolutionary Packet Core (EPC) network, a Next Generation Packet Core (NPC) network, or any other type of CN. In this embodiment, Sl interface 1822 is divided into two parts: Sl-U interface 1824, which carries traffic data between macro RAN node 1818 and LP RAN node 1820 and S-GW designated as Serving Gateway (S-GW) 1132; and Sl-Mobility Management Entity (MME) interface, designated as Sl-MME interface 1826, which is a signaling interface between macro RAN node 1818 and LP RAN node 1820 and MME(s)1830(s).

[0183] In this embodiment, CN1828 comprises one or more MMEs 1830, an S-GW 1832, a Packet Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) (shown as P-GW 1834), and a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) (shown as HSS 1836). The MMEs 1830 may have similar control plane and functionality to a Legacy Serving General-Purpose Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Support Node (SGSN). The MMEs 1830 can manage mobility aspects in access, such as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 1836 may include a database for network users, including subscription-related information to support the processing of network entities of communication sessions. CN1828 may have one or more HSS 1836 depending on the number of mobile subscribers, equipment capacity, network organization, etc. For example, HSS1836 can provide support for routing / roaming, authentication, authorization, naming / addressing resolution, location dependency, and more.

[0156] S-GW1832 can terminate Sl interface 322 toward RAN1806 and route data packets between RAN1806 and CN1828. In addition, S-GW1832 can be a local mobility anchor point for handover between RAN nodes and can also provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Other responsibilities may include lawful interception, billing, and certain policy enforcement.

[0157] The P-GW1834 can terminate the SGi interface toward the PDN. The P-GW1834 can route data packets to and from external networks, such as the network containing the CN1828 (e.g., the EPC network) and the application server 1842 (alternatively referred to as the Application Function (AF)), via an Internet Protocol (IP) interface (shown as the IP communication interface 1838). Generally, the application server 1842 may be an element that provides applications that use IP address bearer resources together with the core network (e.g., the ETMTS Packet Service (PS) domain, the LTE PS data service, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW1834 is shown to be communicably coupled to the application server 1842 via the IP communication interface 1838. The application server 1842 may also be configured to support one or more communication services for UE1802 and UE1804 via the CN1828 (e.g., a Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) session, a PTT session, a group communication session, a social networking service, etc.).

[0158] P-GW1834 may also be a node for policy enforcement and billing data collection. The Policy and Billing Enforcement Function (PCRF) (represented as PCRF1840) is the policy and billing control element of CN1828. In a non-roaming scenario, a single PCRF may exist within the Home Public Land Mobile Network (HPLMN) associated with the ETE's Internet Protocol Connected Access Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with local breakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with the UE's IP-CAN session: a home PCRF (H-PCRF) within the HPLMN and a visited PCRF (V-PCRF) within the visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). PCRF1840 may be communicably coupled to application server 1842 via P-GW1834. Application server 1842 can signal PCRF1840 to indicate a new service flow and select appropriate Quality of Service (QoS) and billing parameters. PCRF1840 can provision this rule to the Policy and Billing Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) along with the appropriate Traffic Flow Template (TFT) and QoS Class (QCI) identifiers that initiate QoS and billing as specified by the application server 1842.

[0159] Additional examples For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components described in one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and / or methods as described in the following exemplary section. For example, the baseband circuit described above in relation to one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below. As another example, a circuit associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc., as described above in relation to one or more of the aforementioned figures may be configured to operate according to one or more of the examples described below in the examples section.

[0160] The following examples relate to further embodiments.

[0161] Example 1 is a method performed by a user device (UE), A master node (MN) and a secondary node (SN), wherein the UE is dual-connected (DC) to the MN and SN, the MN includes a master cell group (MCG), and the SN includes a secondary cell group (SCG), and the UE receives one or more messages from the network (NW) including the MN and SN, including a pre-MG configuration for at least one pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG). This includes determining the status of each pre-MG for at least one pre-MG from the pre-MG configuration.

[0162] Example 2 is the method of Example 1, and the pre-MG configuration includes a pre-MG flag indication showing the activation or deactivation status of at least one pre-MG for at least one bandwidth portion (BWP) of at least one MCG or SCG, and determining the respective pre-MG status is: This includes determining the individual pre-MG status for each pre-MG, specifically for the first active BWP during MCG and the second active BWP during SCG.

[0163] Example 3 is the same method as in Example 2, where the UE is located at NR-DC, and for each pre-MG, the individual pre-MG status is determined. From the pre-MG configuration, determine the first status of the pre-MG for the first active BWP, From the pre-MG configuration, determine the second status of the pre-MG for the second active BWP, This includes determining that the individual pre-MG status for pre-MG is a deactivated status, in response to the determination that both the first status and the second status are deactivated status.

[0164] Example 4 is the method of Example 2, where the UE is located in EN-DC, and for each pre-MG, the individual pre-MG status is determined. This includes determining the third status of PreMG for the second Active BWP as an individual PreMG status for PreMG.

[0165] Example 5 is the same method as in Example 4, and the pre-MG is applied to each RF2 gap.

[0166] Example 6 is the method of Example 2, where the UE is located at NE-DC, and for each pre-MG, the individual pre-MG status is determined. This includes determining the fourth status of PreMG on the first active BWP as the individual PreMG status for PreMG.

[0167] Example 7 is the method of Example 6, where the pre-MG is the gap between each UE, each FR1, or each FR2.

[0168] Example 8 is the method of Example 1, where all reference signals are covered by the active BWP, and the pre-MG status of each is determined. This includes determining that each pre-MG status on the active BWP is in a deactivated status.

[0169] Example 9 is the method of Example 1, wherein at least one pre-MG is applicable to both MCG and SCG, and the method is The system further includes sending a first reporting pre-MG configuration, including the respective pre-MG statuses, to the SN in response to the BWP being switched on on the MN.

[0170] Example 10 is the method of Example 9, in which the first reporting pre-MG configuration is transmitted via RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling.

[0171] Example 11 is the method of Example 1, wherein at least one pre-MG is applicable to both MCG and SCG, and the method is The system further includes sending a second reporting pre-MG configuration, including the respective pre-MG statuses, to the MN in response to the BWP being switched on on the SN.

[0172] Example 12 is the method of Example 9, in which the second reporting pre-MG configuration is transmitted via RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling.

[0173] Example 13 is a method performed by a master node (MN), The process involves determining a first pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from at least one pre-MG for a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG), wherein the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to an MN and a secondary node (SN), the MN including a master cell group (MCG) and the SN including a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0174] Example 14 is the method of Example 13, and the pre-MG configuration includes a first pre-MG flag indication indicating the activation or deactivation status of each BWP in the MCG, and a second pre-MG flag indication indicating the activation or deactivation status of each BWP in the SCG.

[0175] Example 15 is the method of Example 14, and the determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: Regarding each pre-MG, From the second pre-MG flag indication, determine whether at least one of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications for pre-MG indicates an activation status, In response to the determination that at least one of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications indicates an activated status, the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is determined to be an activated status, This includes determining, in response to a determination that all of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications indicate a deactivation status, that the pre-MG status for pre-MG is the status indicated by one of the corresponding first pre-MG flag indications for active BWP in MCG.

[0176] Example 16 is the method of Example 14, where the UE is in NE-DC or NR-DC, and the first pre-MG status of each is determined. Receiving a configuration or reconfiguration request, This includes configuring each of the first pre-MG statuses in response to receiving a configuration or reconfiguration request.

[0177] Example 17 is the method of Example 14, where the UE is located at NE-DC, and the determination of the first pre-MG status is as follows: This includes determining the first pre-MG status from the pre-MG configuration in response to BWP being switched on on MN.

[0178] Example 18 is the method of Example 16 or 17, where the UE is located at NE-DC, and the method is For each pre-MG, which is the gap for each UE or the gap for each FR1, This further includes sending the SN an individual pre-MG status from among the first pre-MG statuses for each pre-MG.

[0179] Example 19 is the method of Example 16, where the UE is in NR-DC, and the first determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: The SN further includes receiving a second pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG as the first pre-MG status for each pre-MG.

[0180] Example 20 is the method of Example 14, where the UE is in NR-DC, and the first determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: This includes determining the first pre-MG status from the pre-MG configuration in response to BWP being switched on on MN.

[0181] Example 21 is the method of Example 20, This further includes sending the respective pre-MG status to the SN.

[0182] Example 22 is the method of Example 14, where the UE is in NR-DC, and the first determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: This includes receiving a third pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from the SN as the first pre-MG status, in response to the BWP being switched on on the SN.

[0183] Example 23 is the method of Example 13, and the determination of each of the first pre-MG statuses is as follows: Applicable to both MCG and SCG, send one or more pre-MGs of at least one pre-MG to the UE, In response to BWP being switched on on SN, the UE receives a reported pre-MG configuration which includes a set of pre-MG statuses for one or more pre-MGs, where the set of pre-MG statuses is determined by the UE and one of the corresponding first pre-MG statuses for each of the one or more pre-MGs is the same as the set of pre-MG statuses.

[0184] Example 24 is the method of Example 23, and the reported pre-MG configuration further includes a list of identification information (IDs) for one or more pre-MGs.

[0185] Example 25 is the same method as in Example 23, and the reported pre-MG configuration is received via RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling.

[0186] Example 26 is the method of Example 13, and the first determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: This includes determining the first pre-MG status for each MN based on its network implementation configuration.

[0187] Example 27 is a method performed by a secondary node (SN), The process involves determining a first pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from at least one pre-MG for a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG), wherein the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to a master node (MN) and an SN, the MN including a master cell group (MCG) and the SN including a secondary cell group (SCG).

[0188] Example 28 is the method of Example 27, and the pre-MG configuration includes a first pre-MG flag indication indicating the activation or deactivation status of each BWP in the SCG, and a second pre-MG flag indication indicating the activation or deactivation status of each BWP in the MCG.

[0189] Example 29 is the method of Example 28, and the determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: Regarding each pre-MG, From the second pre-MG flag indication, determine whether at least one of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications for pre-MG indicates an activation status, In response to the determination that at least one of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications indicates an activated status, the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is determined to be an activated status, This includes determining, in response to a determination that all of the corresponding second pre-MG flag indications indicate a deactivation status, that the pre-MG status for pre-MG is the status indicated by one of the corresponding first pre-MG flag indications for active BWP in MCG.

[0190] Example 30 is the method of Example 28, where the UE is located at EN-DC, and the second pre-MG flag indication includes a corresponding pre-MG flag indication for each pre-MG, which is per FR2 gap, and the first determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: This includes determining that the PreMG status for a PreMG is the status indicated by the corresponding PreMG flag indication for that PreMG.

[0191] Example 31 is the method of Example 28, where the UE is in NE-DC, and for each pre-MG which is the gap per UE or the gap per FR1, the first pre-MG status is determined. This includes receiving from the MN, as the corresponding first pre-MG status for the pre-MG, one of the second pre-MG statuses for the pre-MG, depending on whether the BWP is switched on on the MN or the configuration or reconfiguration on the MN.

[0192] Example 32 is the method of Example 28, where the UE is in NR-DC, and the first determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: This includes BWP being switched on on the MN, or receiving a third pre-MG status for at least one pre-MG from the MN as a first pre-MG status, depending on the configuration or reconfiguration on the MN.

[0193] Example 33 is the same method as in Example 32. Depending on the configuration or reconfiguration on the MN, configure the first pre-MG status for each, This further includes sending the configured first pre-MG status to the MN.

[0194] Example 34 is the method of Example 28, where the UE is in NR-DC, and the first determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: This includes determining the first pre-MG status from the pre-MG configuration in response to BWP being switched on on SN.

[0195] Example 35 is the method of Example 34, This further includes sending the respective pre-MG status to the MN.

[0196] Example 36 is the method of Example 27, and the determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: In response to BWP being switched on on MN, the UE receives a reported pre-MG configuration which includes a set of pre-MG statuses for one or more pre-MGs, where the set of pre-MG statuses is determined by the UE and one of the corresponding first pre-MG statuses for each of the one or more pre-MGs is the same as the set of pre-MG statuses.

[0197] Example 37 is the method of Example 36, and the reported pre-MG configuration further includes a list of identification information (IDs) for one or more pre-MGs.

[0198] Example 38 is the same method as in Example 36, and the reported pre-MG configuration is received via RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling.

[0199] Example 39 is the method of Example 27, and the determination of each pre-MG status is as follows: This includes determining the first pre-MG status for each based on the network implementation configuration of the SN.

[0200] Example 40 is a device for user equipment (UE), and the device is The system comprises one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method described in any one of Examples 1 to 12.

[0201] Example 41 is a device for a master node (MN), and the device is The system comprises one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method described in any one of Examples 13 to 26.

[0202] Example 42 is an apparatus for a secondary node (SN), and the apparatus is The system comprises one or more processors configured to perform the steps of the method described in any one of Examples 27 to 39.

[0203] Example 43 is a computer-readable medium on which a computer program is stored, and the computer program, when executed by one or more processors, causes the device to perform the steps of the method described in any one of Examples 1 to 39.

[0204] Example 44 is an apparatus for a communication device, comprising means for performing the steps of the method described in any one of Examples 1 to 39.

[0205] Example 45 is a computer program product that, when executed by one or more processors, causes a device to perform the steps of any one of Examples 1 to 39.

[0206] Any of the embodiments described above can be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments) unless otherwise specified. The above descriptions of one or more implementation forms are illustrative and illustrative, but are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the exact forms disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible based on the above teachings or can be learned from the practice of various embodiments.

[0207] It should be acknowledged that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments may be combined into a single system, partially combined into other systems, divided into multiple systems, or otherwise divided or combined. In addition, parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. of one embodiment are intended to be usable in another embodiment. Parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. are described in one or more embodiments for clarity only, and it should be acknowledged that parameters / attributes / aspects / etc. may be combined with or substituted for parameters / attributes / etc. of another embodiment unless specifically abandoned herein.

[0208] It should be fully understood that the use of personally identifiable information should adhere to privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or government requirements for maintaining user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled in a manner that minimizes the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to the user.

[0209] While the foregoing has been described in some detail for clarity, it will be clear that certain changes and modifications can be made without departing from the principles. It should be noted that many alternative methods exist for implementing both the processes and apparatus described herein. Therefore, these embodiments should be considered illustrative and not limiting, and the description is not limited to the details given herein and may be modified within the appended claims and equivalents.

Claims

1. A method performed by a user device (UE) or a component of a UE, The UE receives messages from a master node (MN) associated with a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary node (SN) associated with a secondary cell group (SCG), including a pre-MG configuration for a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG), wherein the UE is dual-connected (DC) to the MN and the SN. From the aforementioned pre-MG configuration, the pre-MG status of the pre-MG is determined, In response to the Bandwidth Portion (BWP) being switched on on the MN, and based on the fact that the BWP has been switched on on the MN, output a first report including the pre-MG status to the SN, In response to the BWP being switched on on the SN, and based on the BWP being switched on on the SN, output a second report including the pre-MG status to the MN, Methods that include...

2. The pre-MG configuration includes a pre-MG flag indicating the activation or deactivation status of the pre-MG for BWP in at least one of the MCG or SCG, and determining the pre-MG status is The method according to claim 1, comprising determining the pre-MG status for the active BWP in the MCG and the active BWP in the SCG.

3. The aforementioned UE is located in the wireless-to-wireless DC (NR-DC), and the determination of the pre-MG status is as follows: From the aforementioned pre-MG configuration, the first status of the pre-MG with respect to the active BWP of the MCG is determined, From the aforementioned pre-MG configuration, the second status of the pre-MG with respect to the active BWP of the SCG is determined, The method according to claim 2, comprising determining that the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is inactive in response to the determination that both the first status and the second status are inactive status.

4. The aforementioned UE is located in an advanced universal terrestrial radio access-radio DC (EN-DC), and the determination of the pre-MG status is as follows: This includes determining the status of the pre-MG for the active BWP of the SCG as the pre-MG status, The method according to claim 2, wherein the pre-MG is for each FR2 gap.

5. The aforementioned UE is in an advanced universal terrestrial radio access-radio DC (NE-DC), and determining the pre-MG status is: This includes determining the status of the pre-MG on the active BWP of the MCG as the pre-MG status. The method according to claim 2, wherein the pre-MG is for each UE, each FR1, or each FR2 gap.

6. All reference signals are covered by active BWP, and the determination of the pre-MG status is performed by The method according to claim 1, comprising determining that the pre-MG status on the active BWP is a deactivation status.

7. The aforementioned pre-MG is applicable to both the MCG and the SCG. The first report mentioned above includes radio resource control (RRC) signaling, media access control (MAC) control elements (CE), or physical layer signaling. The method according to claim 1, wherein the second report is included in RRC signaling, MAC CE, or physical layer signaling.

8. It is a device, Interface circuit and A processing circuit coupled to the interface circuit, wherein the processing circuit is Determining the pre-MG status for a pre-MG from a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG) configuration, wherein the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to a master node (MN) associated with a master cell group (MCG) and a secondary node (SN) associated with a secondary cell group (SCG), In response to the Bandwidth Portion (BWP) being switched on the SN, the UE receives a report via the interface circuit from the Pre-MG, including the Pre-MG status, based on the BWP being switched on the SN. A processing circuit that performs the following operations: in response to the BWP being switched on on the MN, outputs the pre-MG status based on the BWP being switched on on the MN for transmission to the SN via the backhaul interface through the interface circuit; A device equipped with the following features.

9. The apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the pre-MG configuration includes a first pre-MG flag indicating the activation or deactivation status of the BWP in the MCG, and a second pre-MG flag indicating the activation or deactivation status of the BWP in the SCG.

10. In order to determine the pre-MG status, The aforementioned processing circuit is From the second pre-MG flag, determine whether the second pre-MG flag indicates an activated status, In response to the determination that the second pre-MG flag indicates an activation status, the pre-MG status is determined to be an activation status, The apparatus according to claim 9, comprising determining, in response to a determination that the second pre-MG flag indicates a deactivation status, that the pre-MG status is the status indicated by the first pre-MG flag for the active BWP in the MCG.

11. When the UE is a wireless-advanced universal terrestrial radio access DC (NE-DC) or wireless-wireless DC (NR-DC), the processing circuit is: Receiving a configuration or reconfiguration request, The apparatus according to claim 9, which performs an operation including configuring the pre-MG status in response to the receipt of the aforementioned configuration or reconfiguration request.

12. In response to the BWP being switched ON on the MN, the processing circuit: The UE is located in a wireless-advanced universal terrestrial radio access DC (NE-DC), and the pre-MG outputs the pre-MG status for transmission to the SN via the backhaul interface through the interface circuit, when it is for each UE gap or each FR1 gap. The apparatus according to claim 9, wherein the UE is in a wireless-to-wireless DC (NR-DC), and the pre-MG performs an operation including outputting the pre-MG status for transmission to the SN via the backhaul interface through the interface circuit when the pre-MG is for each UE gap, each FR1 gap, or each FR2 gap.

13. The aforementioned UE is located in NR-DC, and the processing circuit is, The apparatus according to claim 9, which performs an operation including receiving the pre-MG status from the SN via the backhaul interface via the interface circuit in response to the BWP being switched on the SN.

14. The processing circuit is The apparatus according to claim 8, which performs an operation including outputting the pre-MG applicable to both the MCG and the SCG for transmission to the UE via the interface circuit.

15. In order to determine the pre-MG status, The aforementioned processing circuit is The apparatus according to claim 8, which performs an operation including determining the pre-MG status based on whether the information is exchangeable between the MN and the SN via a backhaul between the MN and the SN.

16. One or more non-temporary computer-readable media having instructions, wherein, when the instructions are executed, a processing circuit is sent to, Based on a pre-configured measurement gap (pre-MG) configuration, the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is determined, and the user equipment (UE) is dual-connected (DC) to the master node (MN) associated with the master cell group (MCG) and the secondary node (SN) associated with the secondary cell group (SCG). The aforementioned pre-MG configuration is, A first pre-MG flag for indicating the activation or deactivation status of the bandwidth portion (BWP) within the SCG, A second pre-MG flag for indicating the activation or deactivation status of the BWP within the MCG, In response to the BWP being switched on on the SN, and based on the BWP being switched on on the SN, the UE receives a first report including the pre-MG status. A non-temporary computer-readable medium that, in response to the BWP being switched on the MN, and based on the BWP being switched on the MN, causes the MN to receive a second report, including the pre-MG status, via the backhaul interface from the MN.

17. In order to determine the pre-MG status, The instruction further instructs the processing circuit to: From the second pre-MG flag, determine whether the second pre-MG flag indicates an activated status. In response to the determination that the second pre-MG flag indicates an activated status, the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is determined to be an activated status. One or more non-temporary computer-readable media according to claim 16, wherein, in response to a determination that the second pre-MG flag indicates a deactivation status, the pre-MG status for the pre-MG is determined to be the status indicated by the first pre-MG flag for the active BWP in the MCG.

18. The UE is in an advanced universal terrestrial radio access-wireless dual connection (EN-DC), the pre-MG is for each FR2 gap, and in order to determine the pre-MG status, the instruction further sends to the processing circuit, One or more non-temporary computer-readable media according to claim 16, wherein the pre-MG status of the pre-MG is determined based on the first pre-MG flag.

19. The UE is located in a wireless-advanced universal terrestrial radio access DC (NE-DC), and each of the pre-MG statuses is a first pre-MG status, and for each pre-MG which is a gap for each UE or a gap for each FR1, in order to determine the first pre-MG status, the instruction further sends to the processing circuit, One or more non-temporary computer-readable media according to claim 16, wherein the BWP is switched on on the MN, or the MN is configured or reconfigured, and the MN receives a pre-MG status as the pre-MG status.

20. In response to the BWP being switched ON on the MN, the instruction further instructs the processing circuit: When the UE is located in the NE-DC and the pre-MG is for each UE gap or each FR1 gap, the pre-MG status is received from the MN via the backhaul interface. One or more non-temporary computer-readable media according to claim 16, wherein the UE is in a wireless-to-wireless DC (NR-DC) and the pre-MG is per UE gap, per FR1 gap, or per FR2 gap, the pre-MG status is received from the MN via the backhaul interface.

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