Management prioritization for subsequent small data transfers in inactive mode

Abstract

A method, apparatus, and system for determining the priority of subsequent small data transmission (SDT) and measurement opportunities for a UE in inactive mode are disclosed. The UE may determine that one or more subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with one or more measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. In response, the UE may determine which of the subsequent SDT opportunities to utilize or defer, and which of the measurement opportunities to utilize or defer. The procedure for making these decisions may vary based on the type of measurement opportunity associated with the conflict. For example, the procedure may vary based on whether the measurement event is related to an inter-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunity, an inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement opportunity, an intra-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunity, a serving cell downlink measurement opportunity, and / or a serving cell paging opportunity.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present application relates to wireless communication, and more specifically, to a system, device, and method for resolving a conflict between a small data transmission (SDT) session and a cell measurement in cellular communication. Background Technology

[0002] The use of wireless communication systems is increasing rapidly. In recent years, wireless devices such as smartphones and tablet computers have become increasingly sophisticated. Many mobile devices (i.e., User Equipment Devices, or UEs), in addition to supporting phone calls, now provide access to the Internet, email, text messaging, virtual reality, augmented reality, cloud gaming, and navigation using GPS (Global Positioning System), and can run sophisticated applications that utilize these and other functions. Additionally, numerous different wireless communication technologies and standards exist. Some examples of wireless communication standards include GSM, UMTS (associated with, for example, WCDMA or TD-SCDMA air interfaces), LTE, LTE-A (LTE Advanced), NR, HSPA, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g., 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), IEEE 802.11 (WLAN or Wi-Fi), and BLUETOOTH ™ Includes (BT), etc.

[0003] The ever-increasing number of features and functions introduced into wireless communication devices also creates a continuous need for improvement in both wireless communication and wireless communication devices. In particular, as UE devices are improved to support additional functions such as Small Data Transmission (SDT) in inactive mode, UEs and networks may experience an increase in signaling collisions. Therefore, improvements in this area are desired.

[0004] Embodiments of a method, apparatus, and system for resolving conflicts between cell measurements and small data transmission (SDT) sessions for a user equipment (UE) in inactive mode are presented herein.

[0005] For example, the UE may determine that one or more of the multiple periodic subsequent SDT occasions of the SDT session conflict in time with one or more of the multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. In response to the step of determining, the UE may suspend SDT transmission for at least one subset of the one or more subsequent SDT occasions that conflict in time with one or more measurement opportunities.

[0006] In some scenarios, the UE can perform a measurement procedure for at least one subset of measurement opportunities for which the UE withholds SDT transmission.

[0007] In some scenarios, withholding SDT transmission for at least one subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities may involve delaying SDT transmission until a subsequent SDT opportunity that does not conflict temporally with the measurement opportunity. In some such scenarios, the UE may perform a timing alignment (TA) verification procedure after delaying SDT transmission, but before the subsequent SDT opportunity.

[0008] In some scenarios, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE may withhold SDT transmission in a fraction of the subsequent SDT opportunities specified by a scaling factor. In some such scenarios, the UE may receive an indication of the value of the scaling factor from the base station. In some such scenarios, determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session may include determining that multiple periodic subsequent SDT opportunities have the same period as at least one subset of multiple measurement opportunities included in the set of periodic measurement opportunities.

[0009] In some scenarios, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE may suspend SDT transmission until N measurement opportunities have occurred, where N represents the number of carriers scheduled for measurement by the UE in relation to inter-frequency neighbor cell measurements.

[0010] In some scenarios, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE may suspend SDT transmission for each of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session. In some such scenarios, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE may provide the base station with an indication that an SDT opportunity configuration error has occurred.

[0011] In some scenarios, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the paging opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE may scale the cycle length of the paging opportunities. In some of these scenarios, the UE may receive an indication from the base station of a factor to increase the cycle length of the paging opportunities.

[0012] In some scenarios, in response to determining that some (less than all) of the subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE may perform a subsequent SDT transmission during the subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session that do not conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities.

[0013] In some scenarios, the UE may determine that among multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during an SDT session, a measurement target scheduled for measurement during a specific measurement opportunity is a measurement target of higher priority. In response, the UE may suspend SDT transmission during said specific measurement opportunity.

[0014] In some scenarios, multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during an SDT session may include measurement opportunities from one or more sets of periodic measurement opportunities. In some scenarios, one or more sets of periodic measurement opportunities include one or more of the following: a set of periodic inter-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunities; a set of periodic inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement opportunities; a set of periodic intra-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunities; a set of periodic serving cell downlink measurement opportunities; or a set of periodic serving cell paging opportunities.

[0015] In some scenarios, the UE may withhold SDT transmission during each subsequent SDT opportunity that conflicts temporally with one or more measurement opportunities. The UE may also perform SDT transmission during each subsequent SDT opportunity that does not conflict temporally with one or more measurement opportunities.

[0016] A method is disclosed in which a UE can determine that one or more of the multiple periodic subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict in time with one or more of the multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. In response to the determining step, the UE can perform a subsequent SDT transmission during at least one subset of the one or more subsequent SDT opportunities that conflict in time with one or more measurement opportunities.

[0017] In some scenarios, the UE can perform SDT transmission during each of one or more measurement opportunities and one or more subsequent SDT opportunities that conflict in time.

[0018] An apparatus and a memory medium for performing any of the methods described above are disclosed.

[0019] It should be noted that the technology described in this specification may be implemented in and / or used with a number of different types of devices, including but not limited to base stations, access points, cellular phones, portable media players, tablet computers, wearable devices, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicle controllers, automobiles and / or motorized vehicles and various other computing devices.

[0020] The content of the present invention is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described herein. Accordingly, it will be understood that the features described above are merely examples and should not be interpreted to limit the scope or concept of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following specific description, drawings, and claims for carrying out the invention. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0021] The subject of the invention can be better understood when the following detailed description of various embodiments is considered together with the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system according to some embodiments. FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary base station communicating with an exemplary wireless user equipment (UE) device according to some embodiments. FIG. 3 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a UE according to some embodiments. FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary block diagram of a base station according to some embodiments. FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for prioritizing communication functions for a UE in inactive mode according to some embodiments. While various modifications and alternative forms are possible for the features described herein, specific embodiments thereof are illustrated by way of example in the drawings and described in detail herein. However, the drawings and the detailed description therein are not intended to limit the specific forms disclosed, but on the contrary, to encompass all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives within the spirit and scope of the subject matter as defined by the appended claims. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0022] abbreviation

[0023] Various acronyms are used throughout this disclosure. The definitions of the acronyms most prominently used throughout this disclosure are provided as follows:

[0024] CG-SDT : Configured Grant SDT

[0025] DCI : Downlink Control Information

[0026] EUTRA Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access

[0027] GSM Global System for Mobile Communication

[0028] LTE Long Term Evolution

[0029] MAC Medium Access Control

[0030] NR New Radio

[0031] PO Paging Occasion

[0032] RAT Radio Access Technology

[0033] RF : Radio frequency

[0034] RRMRadio Resource Management

[0035] RX : Reception (Reception / Receive)

[0036] SDT Small Data Transmission

[0037] TA Timing Alignment

[0038] TX : Transmission / Transmit

[0039] UE User Equipment

[0040] UMTS Universal Mobile Telecommunication System

[0041] terminology

[0042] The following is an explanation of terms that may appear in the present disclosure:

[0043] memory media— Any of various types of non-transient memory devices or storage devices. The term “memory medium” is intended to include installation media, e.g., CD-ROM, floppy disk, or tape device; computer system memory or random access memory such as DRAM, DDR RAM, SRAM, EDO RAM, Rambus RAM, etc.; non-volatile memory such as flash, magnetic media, e.g., hard drive, or optical storage; registers, or other similar types of memory elements, etc. The memory medium may also include other types of non-transient memory or combinations thereof. Additionally, the memory medium may be located in a first computer system where a program is executed, or in a different second computer system connected to the first computer system via a network such as the Internet. In the latter case, the second computer system may provide program instructions to the first computer system for execution. The term “memory medium” may include two or more memory media residing in different locations, e.g., different computer systems connected via a network. A memory medium can store program instructions (e.g., implemented as a computer program) that can be executed by one or more processors.

[0044] Carrier Media ― In addition to memory media as described above, physical transmission media such as buses and networks, and / or other physical transmission media that transmit signals such as electrical, electromagnetic, or digital signals.

[0045] computer system (or computer)Any of the various types of computing or processing systems, including personal computer systems (PCs), mainframe computer systems, workstations, network appliances, internet appliances, personal digital assistants (PDAs), television systems, grid computing systems, or other devices or combinations of devices. Generally, the term “computer system” may be broadly defined to encompass any device (or combination of devices) having at least one processor that executes instructions from a memory medium.

[0046] User Equipment (UE) (or "UE Device") Any of the various types of computer systems or devices that are mobile or portable and perform wireless communication. Examples of UE devices include mobile phones or smartphones (e.g., iPhone™, Android™-based phones), tablet computers (e.g., iPad™, Samsung Galaxy™), portable gaming devices (e.g., Nintendo DS™, PlayStation Portable™, Gameboy Advance™, iPhone™), wearable devices (e.g., smartwatches, smart glasses), laptops, PDAs, portable internet devices, music players, data storage devices, other handheld devices, automobiles and / or motorized vehicles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) (e.g., drones), UAV controllers (UACs), virtual / augmented reality devices, etc. Generally, the term “UE” or “UE device” may be broadly defined to encompass any electronic, computing, and / or telecommunications device (or combination of devices) that is easily movable by a user and capable of wireless communication.

[0047] wireless devices - Any of the various types of computer systems or devices that perform wireless communication. Wireless devices may be portable (or mobile) or may be stationary or fixed in a specific location. A UE is an example of a wireless device.

[0048] communication device - Any of the various types of computer systems or devices that perform communication, wherein the communication may be wired or wireless. The communication device may be portable (or mobile), stationary, or fixed in a specific location. A wireless device is one example of a communication device. A UE is another example of a communication device.

[0049] Base Station (BS) - The term "base station" encompasses the full scope of its general meaning and includes a radio station installed at least in a fixed location and used to communicate as part of a wireless telephone system or a wireless system.

[0050] processing element (or processor) - Refers to various elements or combinations of elements capable of performing functions in a device, for example, in a user equipment device or a cellular network device. Processing elements may include, for example, processors and associated memory, parts of individual processor cores or their circuits, entire processor cores, processor arrays, circuits such as Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), programmable hardware elements such as field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), as well as any of the various combinations of the above.

[0051] Wi-FiThe term "Wi-Fi" encompasses the full range of its general meaning and includes at least wireless communication networks or RATs that are serviced by wireless LAN (WLAN) access points and provide a connection to the Internet through these access points. Most modern Wi-Fi networks (or WLAN networks) are based on the IEEE 802.11 standard and are marketed under the name "Wi-Fi." Wi-Fi (WLAN) networks are different from cellular networks.

[0052] automatically— Refers to an action or operation being performed by a computer system (e.g., software executed by a computer system) or a device (e.g., circuits, programmable hardware elements, ASICs, etc.) without user input directly specifying or performing the action or operation. Accordingly, the term “automatically” is contrasted with actions that are performed or specified manually by the user, where user-provided input directly performs the operation. An automatic procedure may be initiated by input provided by the user, but subsequent actions performed “automatically” are not specified by the user; that is, they are not performed “manually” by specifying each action to be performed by the user. For example, filling out an electronic form by a user selecting each field and providing input that specifies information (e.g., typing information, selecting a checkbox, selecting a radio, etc.) constitutes filling out the form manually, even if the computer system is required to update the form in response to the user action. A form may be automatically filled out by a computer system, wherein the computer system (e.g., software running on the computer system) analyzes the fields of the form and fills them out without any user input specifying responses to the fields. As indicated above, a user may invoke the automatic filling of the form but does not participate in the actual filling of the form (e.g., rather than the user manually specifying responses to the fields, the responses will be completed automatically). This specification provides various embodiments of actions that are automatically performed in response to actions taken by a user.

[0053] configured to ~- Various components may be described as being "configured to perform" a task or tasks. In this context, "configured to" is a broad description generally meaning "having a structure that performs a task or tasks during operation." Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently performing the task (for example, a set of electrical conductors may be configured to electrically connect two modules even when one module is not connected to the other). In some contexts, "configured to" may be a broad description of a structure generally meaning "having a circuit part that performs a task or tasks during operation." Thus, a component may be configured to perform a task even when the component is not currently in an "on" state. Generally, the circuit part forming the structure corresponding to "configured to" may include hardware circuits.

[0054] Various components may be described as performing a single task or a series of tasks for convenience in description. Such description should be interpreted as containing the phrase “configured to do so.” Referring to a component configured to perform one or more tasks is expressly intended not to apply the interpretation of 35 USC § 112, 6 to such component.

[0055] FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2 - Exemplary communication system

[0056] FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary (and simplified) wireless communication system in which aspects of the present disclosure may be implemented according to some embodiments. It should be noted that the system of FIG. 1 is merely one example of a possible system, and that the embodiment may be implemented in any of various systems as desired.

[0057] As described, an exemplary wireless communication system includes a base station (102) that communicates via a transmission medium with one or more (e.g., any number) user devices (106A, 106B, etc. to 106N). Each user device may be referred to herein as "user equipment (UE)" or a UE device. Accordingly, a user device (106) is referred to as a UE or a UE device.

[0058] The base station (102) may be a base transceiver station (BTS) or a cell site and may include hardware and / or software that enables wireless communication with UEs (106A to 106N). If the base station (102) is implemented in the context of LTE, the base station may alternatively be referred to as an "eNodeB" or "eNB". If the base station (102) is implemented in the context of 5G NR, the base station may alternatively be referred to as a "gNodeB" or "gNB". The base station (102) may also be equipped to communicate with a network (100) (e.g., among various possibilities, a core network of a cellular service provider, a telecommunications network such as a public switched telephone network (PSTN), and / or the Internet). Thus, the base station (102) can facilitate communication between user devices and / or between user devices and the network (100). The communication area (or coverage area) of a base station may be referred to as a "cell." As also used herein, from the perspective of a UE, a base station may be considered to represent a network, insofar as the UE's uplink and downlink communications are involved. Accordingly, the fact that a UE communicates with one or more base stations within a network may also be interpreted as the UE communicating with the network.

[0059] The base station (102) and the user device may be configured to communicate through a transmission medium using any of the various radio access technologies (RATs) also referred to as wireless communication technologies or telecommunication standards, such as GSM, UMTS (WCDMA), LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LAA / LTE-U, 5G NR, 3GPP2 CDMA2000 (e.g. 1xRTT, 1xEV-DO, HRPD, eHRPD), Wi-Fi, etc.

[0060] Accordingly, a base station (102) and other similar base stations operating according to the same or different cellular communication standards may be provided as one or more networks of the cell, which can provide continuous or nearly continuous overlapping services to UEs (106) and similar devices across a geographical area through one or more cellular communication standards.

[0061] Note that the UE (106) may communicate using multiple wireless communication standards. For example, the UE (106) may be configured to communicate using either or both of the 3GPP cellular communication standards or the 3GPP2 cellular communication standards. In some embodiments, the UE (106) may be configured to resolve conflicts between small data transmission (SDT) sessions and cell measurements, for example, according to various methods described herein. The UE (106) may also, or alternatively, be configured to communicate using WLAN, BLUETOOTH™, one or more GNSS (global navigational satellite systems) (e.g., GPS or GLONASS), one and / or one or more mobile television broadcasting standards (e.g., ATSC-M / H), etc. Other combinations of wireless communication standards (including more than two wireless communication standards) are also possible.

[0062] FIG. 2 illustrates an exemplary user equipment (106) (e.g., one of devices (106A to 106N)) communicating with a base station (102) according to some embodiments. The UE (106) may be a device having a wireless network connection, such as a mobile phone, a handheld device, a wearable device, a computer or tablet, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), an unmanned aerial controller (UAC), a vehicle, a virtual / augmented reality device, or virtually any type of wireless device. The UE (106) may include a processor (processing element) configured to execute program instructions stored in memory. The UE (106) may perform any of the method embodiments described herein by executing such stored instructions. Alternatively or additionally, the UE (106) may include programmable hardware elements, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), an integrated circuit, and / or any of various other possible hardware components, configured to perform any of the method embodiments described herein, or any part of any of the method embodiments described herein (e.g., individually or in combination). The UE (106) may be configured to communicate using any of a number of wireless communication protocols. For example, the UE (106) may be configured to communicate using two or more of CDMA2000, LTE, LTE-A, 5G NR, WLAN, or GNSS. Other combinations of wireless communication standards are also possible.

[0063] The UE (106) may include one or more antennas for communicating using one or more radio communication protocols according to one or more RAT standards. In some embodiments, the UE (106) may share one or more portions of the receive chain and / or transmit chain among a number of radio communication standards. To perform radio communication, the shared radio may include a single antenna or a number of antennas (e.g., for MIMO). Generally, the radio may include any combination of a baseband processor, an analog RF signal processing circuit (e.g., including filters, mixers, oscillators, amplifiers, etc.), or a digital processing circuit (e.g., for digital modulation as well as other digital processing). Similarly, the radio may implement one or more receive and transmit chains using the hardware described above.

[0064] In some embodiments, for each wireless communication protocol (the UE (106) is configured to communicate using it), the UE may include a separate transmission and / or reception chain (e.g., including a separate antenna and other wireless components). As an additional possibility, the UE (106) may include one or more wireless communication devices shared among a number of wireless communication protocols, and one or more wireless communication devices used exclusively by a single wireless communication protocol. For example, the UE (106) may include a shared wireless communication device for communicating using either LTE or CDMA2000 1xRTT (or LTE or NR, or LTE or GSM), and separate wireless communication devices for communicating using Wi-Fi and BLUETOOTH™, respectively. Other configurations are also possible.

[0065] Fig. 3 - Block diagram of an exemplary UE device

[0066] FIG. 3 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary UE (106) according to some embodiments. As illustrated, the UE (106) may include a system on chip (SOC) (300) that may include parts for various purposes. For example, as illustrated, the SOC (300) may include processor(s) (302) capable of executing program instructions for the UE (106), and a display circuit (304) capable of performing graphics processing and providing a display signal to a display (360). In some embodiments, the display (360) may include a touchscreen capable of detecting user input, for example, as a touch event. The SOC (300) may also include a sensor circuit (370) that may include a component for detecting or measuring any of the various possible characteristics or parameters of the UE (106). For example, the sensor circuit (370) may include a motion detection circuit configured to detect motion of the UE (106) using, for example, a gyroscope, an accelerometer, and / or any of various other motion detection components. As another possibility, the sensor circuit (370) may include, for example, one or more temperature detection components for measuring the temperature of each of one or more antenna panels and / or other components of the UE (106). As desired, any of various other possible types of sensor circuits may also or alternatively be included in the UE (106).The processor(s) (302) may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) (340) which may be configured to receive an address from the processor(s) (302) and translate that address to a location within memory (e.g., memory (306), read-only memory (ROM) (350), NAND flash memory (310)), and / or to another circuit or device, such as a display circuit (304), a wireless communication device (330), a connector interface (I / F) (320), and / or a display (360). The MMU (340) may be configured to perform memory protection and page table translation or setup. In some embodiments, the MMU (340) may be included as part of the processor(s) (302).

[0067] As described, the SOC (300) can be coupled to various other circuits of the UE (106). For example, the UE (106) may include various types of memory (e.g., NAND flash (310)), a connector interface (320) (e.g., for coupling to a computer system, dock, charging station, etc.), a display (360), and a wireless communication circuit (330) (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, NR, CDMA2000, BLUETOOTH TMIt may include (for Wi-Fi, GPS, etc.). The UE device (106) may include at least one antenna (e.g., 335a) and possibly a plurality of antennas (e.g., antennas (335a, 335b)) to perform wireless communication with a base station and / or other devices. The antennas (335a and 335b) are illustrated as examples, and the UE device (106) may include fewer or more antennas. Overall, one or more antennas are collectively referred to as antennas (335). For example, the UE device (106) may use antennas (335) to perform wireless communication with the help of a wireless circuit (330). As mentioned above, the UE may be configured to communicate wirelessly using a plurality of wireless communication standards in some embodiments.

[0068] The UE (106) may include hardware and software components for implementing a method for resolving a conflict between a small data transfer (SDT) session and a cell measurement, such as the UE (106) further subsequently described herein. The processor(s) (302) of the UE device (106) may be configured to implement some or all of the methods described herein by executing program instructions stored, for example, on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transient computer-readable memory medium). In other embodiments, the processor(s) (302) may be configured as a programmable hardware element, such as a field programmable gate array (FPGA), or as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). Furthermore, the processor(s) (302) may be coupled to and / or interact with other components, as illustrated in FIG. 3, to resolve a conflict between a small data transfer (SDT) session and a cell measurement, according to various embodiments disclosed herein. The processor(s) (302) can also implement various other applications and / or end-user applications running on the UE (106).

[0069] In some embodiments, the wireless communication device (330) may include a separate controller dedicated to controlling communication for each of the various RAT standards. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the wireless communication device (330) may include a Wi-Fi controller (352), a cellular controller (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, and / or NR controller) (354), and a BLUETOOTH™ controller (356), and in at least some embodiments, one or more or all of these controllers may be implemented as respective integrated circuits (briefly, ICs or chips) that communicate with each other and with the SOC (300) (and more specifically with the processor(s) (302). For example, the Wi-Fi controller (352) can and can communicate with the cellular controller (354) via a cell-ISM link or a WCI interface, or the BLUETOOTH™ controller (356) can communicate with the cellular controller (354), etc., via a cell-ISM link. Although three distinct controllers are exemplified within the wireless communication device (330), other embodiments have fewer or more similar controllers for various different RATs that can be implemented in the UE device (106).

[0070] Additionally, embodiments are also considered in which the controller can implement functions associated with a number of wireless access technologies. For example, according to some embodiments, the cellular controller (354) may include hardware and / or software components for performing one or more activities associated with Wi-Fi, such as detecting a Wi-Fi preamble and / or generating and transmitting a Wi-Fi physical layer preamble signal, in addition to hardware and / or software components for performing cellular communication.

[0071] Fig. 4 - Block diagram of an exemplary base station

[0072] FIG. 4 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary base station (102) according to some embodiments. Note that the base station of FIG. 4 is only one embodiment of a possible base station. As illustrated, the base station (102) may include processor(s) (404) capable of executing program instructions for the base station (102). The processor(s) (404) may also be coupled to a memory management unit (MMU) (440) or other circuit or device that may be configured to receive an address from the processor(s) (404) and convert this address to a location within memory (e.g., memory (460) and read-only memory (ROM) (450)).

[0073] The base station (102) may include at least one network port (470). The network port (470) may be coupled to a telephone network and configured to provide access to the telephone network as described in FIGS. 1 and FIGS. 2 above to a plurality of devices, such as a UE device (106). The network port (470) (or additional network ports) may also, or alternatively, be configured to be coupled to a cellular network, for example, a core network of a cellular service provider. The core network may provide mobility-related services and / or other services to a plurality of devices, such as a UE device (106). In some cases, the network port (470) may be coupled to the telephone network through the core network, and / or the core network may provide a telephone network (for example, between other UE devices serviced by a cellular service provider).

[0074] The base station (102) may include at least one antenna (434) and possibly multiple antennas. The antenna(s) (434) may be configured to operate as wireless transceivers and may be further configured to communicate with the UE device (106) via a wireless communication device (430). The antenna(s) (434) communicate with the wireless communication device (430) via a communication chain (432). The communication chain (432) may be a receiving chain, a transmitting chain, or both. The wireless communication device (430) may be designed to communicate via various wireless telecommunication standards, including but not limited to NR, LTE, LTE-A WCDMA, CDMA2000, etc. The processor (404) of the base station (102) may be configured to implement and / or support the implementation of all or part of the method described herein by executing program instructions stored on a memory medium (e.g., a non-transient computer-readable memory medium). Alternatively, the processor (404) may be configured as a programmable hardware element such as a programmable gate array (FPGA), as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), or as a combination thereof. In the case of a specific RAT, e.g. Wi-Fi, the base station (102) may be designed as an access point (AP), in which case the network port (470) may be implemented to provide access to a wide area network and / or local area network(s), and may include, for example, at least one Ethernet port, and the wireless communication device (430) may be designed to communicate according to Wi-Fi standards.

[0075] CG-SDT Collision

[0076] Under existing 3GPP standards, most uplink communication is performed while the UE is in RRC connected mode. However, Small Data Transmission (SDT) can be configured to transmit small data sets to the base station when the UE is in inactive mode without incurring the overhead cost of the UE switching to connected mode. This can be particularly useful for applications involving, for example, wearable devices, IoT devices, etc., where only a small amount of data can generally be transmitted at any given time and power budgets may be strictly limited.

[0077] One of the various SDTs is the Connected Grant SDT (CG-SDT). In the case of a CG-SDT, the network (e.g., a serving base station) may provide configuration parameters for one or more SDT transmissions. For example, the base station may include SDT configuration parameters in an RRC release message when the UE switches to inactive mode. SDT configuration parameters may include, for example, a period for SDT transmission opportunities. In response, the UE may transmit an SDT transmission only at opportunities defined by the specified period (when the UE has data to transmit).

[0078] In inactive mode, a UE can initiate an SDT procedure by transmitting data in parallel with an SDT request message. The SDT request message may be an RRC message. In CG-SDT, this "initial SDT transmission" may lead to one or more "subsequent SDT transmissions" within the SDT session. In some scenarios, the initial SDT transmission may include buffer status reporting (BSR) and / or other supporting information to request subsequent SDT transmissions. In some implementations, subsequent SDT transmissions may not include an SDT request message or other RRC messages (and may not be transmitted in parallel with them). The initial transmission may be protected UE behavior in that it undergoes various verification procedures (e.g., uplink timing alignment (TA) verification) before transmission. However, subsequent SDT transmissions may not include such verification and may conflict in time with other events, such as measurement events. Therefore, the UE may be responsible for deciding whether to transmit the subsequent SDT when the UE detects such a conflict.

[0079] Collisions with various types of measurement events can be handled in different ways. For example, a subsequent SDT transmission configured to occur according to a defined SDT period following an initial SDT transmission may potentially collide with inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurements, serving cell measurements, or in-frequency neighbor cell measurements. These different cases may raise different considerations when thinking about how to resolve the collision. Therefore, these cases are discussed separately below.

[0080] Inter-frequency / inter-RAT measurements and subsequent CG-SDT transmission collisions

[0081] SDT transmissions are transmitted on the serving carrier. However, when the UE performs inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurements, the UE typically needs to reconfigure its RF chain to a different carrier of a different frequency. Therefore, it would be impossible for the UE to transmit subsequent CG-SDT transmissions on the serving carrier while performing these measurements. If the UE determines that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts in time with an inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement (e.g., if the SDT opportunity for the subsequent CG-SDT transmission overlaps with a time window in which the UE's RF chain can be tuned to a different frequency to perform a scheduled measurement), the UE may subsequently suspend the transmission of the CG-SDT or the performance of the measurement. In various implementations, the UE may perform any of the various options to determine which action to suspend.

[0082] As a first option, in response to determining that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts in time with an inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement, the UE may always prioritize the inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement and defer performing the subsequent CG-SDT transmission at the time of conflict. Prioritizing the inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement may include performing the measurement or attempting to perform the measurement. Deferring the subsequent CG-SDT transmission may include, for example, delaying the subsequent CG-SDT transmission until a subsequent SDT opportunity. It should be noted that delaying the CG-SDT transmission in this manner may interrupt the timing continuity of the SDT session. In response to this, the UE may perform an additional TA verification procedure before performing the CG-SDT transmission at a subsequent SDT opportunity.

[0083] As a second option, in response to determining that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts in time with an inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement, the UE may always prioritize the subsequent CG-SDT transmission. Prioritizing the subsequent CG-SDT transmission may include performing or attempting to perform the transmission during the conflicting CG-SDT opportunity if SDT data is available, but may include performing the inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement during the conflicting measurement opportunity if SDT data is not available. If SDT data is available, the UE may defer performing the inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement during the conflicting measurement opportunity, for example, by dropping the measurement opportunity. It should be noted that dropping too many measurement opportunities may affect the UE timing requirements.

[0084] As a third option, the UE may consider additional conditions for scheduling conflicts. For example, the UE may determine whether all subsequent CG-SDT opportunities of an SDT session will conflict with inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement opportunities. This may be referred to as periodic CG-SDT opportunities completely overlapping with inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement opportunities. In contrast, if only a subset of CG-SDT opportunities conflict with inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement opportunities, such opportunities may be referred to as partially overlapping. A CG-SDT opportunity may completely overlap with a measurement opportunity, for example, if the period of the CG-SDT opportunity is the same as the period of the measurement opportunity, or if the period of the CG-SDT opportunity is an integer multiple of the period of the measurement opportunity; for example, if the period of the measurement opportunity is X ms and the period of the CG-SDT opportunity is 2X ms. A CG-SDT opportunity may completely overlap with a measurement opportunity, for example, if the period of the measurement opportunity is an integer multiple of the period of the CG-SDT opportunity; For example, if the period of the CG-SDT opportunity is X ms and the period of the measurement opportunity is 2X ms, the measurement opportunity may partially overlap.

[0085] If the UE determines that a CG-SDT opportunity partially overlaps with a measurement opportunity, the UE may respond by prioritizing inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurements during the measurement opportunity that conflicts with the CG-SDT opportunity, and by transmitting a subsequent CG-SDT transmission during a CG-SDT opportunity that does not conflict with the measurement opportunity.

[0086] If the UE determines that a CG-SDT opportunity completely overlaps with a measurement opportunity, multiple options may be available to resolve the conflict. As a first embodiment, the UE may use a scaling factor to determine which event to prioritize. For example, the UE may apply a scaling factor of 1 / 3. In this scenario, the UE may prioritize a CG-SDT transmission during every third conflicting SDT opportunity, while prioritizing inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurements during other conflicting SDT opportunities. Thus, the UE may transmit (or attempt to transmit) a subsequent CG-SDT transmission during every three CG-SDT opportunities during an SDT session. Other values ​​of the scaling factor are also considered. In some embodiments, the value of the scaling factor may be indicated by the network, for example, within SDT configuration information provided by the base station. In some embodiments, the value of the scaling factor may be defined by applicable technical standards. For example, the value of the scaling factor can be fixed or predetermined based on objective considerations known to both the UE and the base station.

[0087] In another embodiment, if the UE determines that a CG-SDT opportunity completely overlaps with a measurement opportunity, the UE may use a round-robin method to perform subsequent CG-SDT transmissions and inter-frequency / RAT measurements. Specifically, performing a complete inter-frequency / RAT measurement may involve the UE measuring more than one carrier and / or beam. However, it may be possible for the UE to measure only a single carrier / beam per measurement opportunity. Thus, performing a complete inter-frequency / RAT measurement may require measuring over N measurement opportunities. In the round-robin method, the UE may prioritize inter-frequency / RAT measurements during N consecutive measurement opportunities, and then prioritize subsequent CG-SDT transmissions during one (or some other number) SDT opportunities. Subsequently, the UE may repeat this cycle. Accordingly, if the periods of SDT opportunities and measurement opportunities are the same, the UE can transmit one subsequent CG-SDT transmission during every N+1 CG-SDT opportunities. If the period of measurement opportunities is shorter than the period of SDT opportunities (where measurement opportunities occur more frequently), the UE can transmit one subsequent CG-SDT transmission during the next SDT opportunity after N measurement opportunities have occurred.

[0088] As a fourth option, the UE may consider whether the inter-frequency / inter-RAT measurement is configured as a higher priority measurement target. For example, LTE may allow some inter-frequency / inter-RAT measurement events to be marked as higher priority measurements (compared to other inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement events), while other inter-frequency / RAT measurement events may be marked as having the same or lower priority. In some embodiments, in response to determining that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts temporally with an inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement, the UE may always prioritize the inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement event marked as having higher priority. For other inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement events, the UE may determine the prioritization between the measurement and the subsequent CG-SDT transmission according to any of the options discussed above in relation to the second or third option.

[0089] As a fifth option, the network may indicate a method for resolving conflicts between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and an inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement. For example, the base station may provide an indication, for example in SDT configuration information, that the subsequent CG-SDT transmission should be prioritized over the inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement. In the absence of such an indication, the UE may prioritize the inter-frequency / RAT neighbor cell measurement over the subsequent CG-SDT transmission. In other embodiments, the base station may indicate a different prioritization configuration.

[0090] Serving cell measurement and subsequent CG-SDT transmission collision

[0091] With respect to a serving cell, a subsequent CG-SDT transmission may potentially conflict with paging reception and / or downlink measurement. When receiving paging or measurement targets in a serving cell, the UE does not need to re-tune its RF chain to a different frequency, as it does when performing inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurements. However, nevertheless, it may be impossible for the UE to perform a subsequent CG-SDT transmission in parallel with the serving cell paging or downlink measurement, for example, because the subsequent CG-SDT transmission may occur in a different beam configuration; for example, the uplink beam used for the subsequent CG-SDT transmission may not form a beamset with the downlink beam used for the serving cell paging or measurement. If the UE determines that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts in time with serving cell paging or downlink measurement (e.g., if the SDT opportunity for the subsequent CG-SDT transmission overlaps with the time window for which the UE is scheduled to receive paging or perform downlink measurement), the UE may suspend the transmission of the CG-SDT or the performance of paging / measurement. In various implementations, the UE may perform any of various options to determine which action to suspend.

[0092] It should be understood that serving cell paging is considered a high-priority operation for the UE in inactive mode. Therefore, as a first option, in response to determining that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts temporally with paging, the UE may always prioritize paging and defer performing the subsequent CG-SDT transmission at the time of conflict. Prioritizing paging may include receiving the paging message or attempting to receive the paging message. Deferring the subsequent CG-SDT transmission may include, for example, delaying the subsequent CG-SDT transmission until a subsequent SDT opportunity. As previously mentioned, delaying the CG-SDT transmission in this manner may interrupt the timing continuity of the SDT session. In response to this, the UE may perform an additional TA verification procedure before performing the CG-SDT transmission at a subsequent SDT opportunity.

[0093] As a second option, in response to determining that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts temporally with paging, the UE may determine whether the CG-SDT opportunity of the SDT session completely or partially overlaps with a paging opportunity (PO). If the UE determines that the CG-SDT opportunity partially overlaps with the PO, the UE may respond by sending a subsequent CG-SDT transmission during a CG-SDT opportunity that does not conflict with the PO, while prioritizing paging during the PO that conflicts with the CG-SDT opportunity.

[0094] If the UE determines that a CG-SDT opportunity completely overlaps with a PO, a number of options may be available to resolve the conflict. In a first embodiment, the UE may receive paging for all POs and provide information to the network indicating an error in the CG-SDT opportunity configuration. For example, the UE may provide such indication to the base station on RACH, PUCCH, or PUSCH. In response to receiving the indication, the base station may reconfigure the CG-SDT opportunity configuration and provide updated CG-SDT configuration information to the UE, for example, via RRC signaling. Specifically, the updated configuration information may specify a CG-SDT opportunity that has a different period from the paging or otherwise does not completely overlap with the PO.

[0095] In another embodiment, if the UE determines that a CG-SDT opportunity completely overlaps with a PO, the UE may automatically scale the PO cycle by a scaling factor M (M > 1). After the PO cycle is scaled, subsequent CG-SDT opportunities will no longer completely overlap with the PO. Subsequently, the UE may proceed as in a partially overlapping scenario by prioritizing paging during the PO that conflicts with the CG-SDT opportunity, and transmitting subsequent SG-SDT transmissions during CG-SDT opportunities that do not conflict with the PO. In some embodiments, the value of M may be indicated by the network, for example, within SDT configuration information provided by the base station. In some embodiments, the value of M may be defined by applicable technical standards. For example, the value of M may be fixed or predetermined based on objective considerations known to both the UE and the base station.

[0096] As a third option, the network may be restricted to configure subsequent CG-SDT configuration information so that the SDT opportunity does not conflict temporally with the planned PO. In this implementation, the UE will not experience a conflict.

[0097] Generally, serving cell downlink measurements may be considered to have a lower priority than paging. Therefore, if a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts temporally with both paging and downlink measurements, the UE may respond based on resolving the conflict between the subsequent CG-SDT transmission and paging, for example, according to one of the options mentioned above. However, if the UE determines that the subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts with the serving cell downlink measurement but not with paging, various options may be available to resolve the conflict.

[0098] As a first option, the UE may always prioritize downlink measurements and defer performing subsequent CG-SDT transmissions at the time of conflict. Prioritizing downlink measurements may include performing downlink measurements or attempting to perform downlink measurements. Deferring subsequent CG-SDT transmissions may include, for example, delaying subsequent CG-SDT transmissions until a subsequent SDT opportunity becomes available. As previously mentioned, delaying CG-SDT transmissions in this manner may interrupt the timing continuity of the SDT session. In response, the UE may perform additional TA verification procedures before performing CG-SDT transmissions at a subsequent SDT opportunity.

[0099] As a second option, in response to determining that a subsequent CG-SDT transmission conflicts temporally with a serving cell downlink measurement, the UE may always prioritize the subsequent CG-SDT transmission. Prioritizing the subsequent CG-SDT transmission may include performing or attempting to perform the transmission during the conflicting CG-SDT opportunity if SDT data is available, but may include performing the downlink measurement during the conflicting measurement opportunity if SDT data is not available. If SDT data is available, the UE may defer performing the downlink measurement during the conflicting measurement opportunity; for example, by dropping the measurement opportunity. It should be noted that dropping too many measurement opportunities may affect the UE timing requirements.

[0100] As a third option, the UE may consider additional conditions for scheduling conflicts. For example, the UE may determine whether subsequent CG-SDT opportunities partially or wholly overlap with serving cell downlink measurement opportunities.

[0101] If the UE determines that a CG-SDT opportunity partially overlaps with a measurement opportunity, the UE may respond by prioritizing a serving cell downlink measurement during a measurement opportunity that conflicts with the CG-SDT opportunity, and by transmitting a subsequent CG-SDT transmission during a CG-SDT opportunity that does not conflict with the measurement opportunity.

[0102] If the UE determines that a CG-SDT opportunity completely overlaps with a measurement opportunity, the UE may use a scaling factor to determine which event to prioritize, for example, as described with respect to substantially inter-frequency / inter-RAT neighbor cell measurements. For example, the UE may apply a scaling factor of 1 / 3. In this scenario, the UE may prioritize a CG-SDT transmission during every third conflicting SDT opportunity while prioritizing a serving cell downlink measurement during another conflicting SDT opportunity. Thus, the UE may transmit (or attempt to transmit) a subsequent CG-SDT transmission during every three CG-SDT opportunities during an SDT session. Other values ​​of the scaling factor are also considered. In some embodiments, the value of the scaling factor may be indicated by the network, for example, within SDT configuration information provided by the base station. In some embodiments, the value of the scaling factor may be defined by applicable technical standards. For example, the value of the scaling factor can be fixed or predetermined based on objective considerations known to both the UE and the base station.

[0103] As a fourth option, the network may indicate a method for resolving conflicts between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and a serving cell downlink measurement. For example, the base station may provide an indication, for example in SDT configuration information, that the subsequent CG-SDT transmission should be prioritized over the serving cell downlink measurement. In the absence of such an indication, the UE may prioritize the serving cell downlink measurement over the subsequent CG-SDT transmission. In other embodiments, the base station may indicate a different prioritization configuration.

[0104] As a fifth option, the UE may prioritize the serving cell downlink measurement preceding the PO, but otherwise may prioritize the subsequent CG-SDT transmission. This option recognizes that, in order to ensure the UE can successfully monitor paging, it may be necessary for the UE to perform time / frequency (T / F) tracking via the serving cell downlink measurement. Therefore, when the downlink measurement precedes the PO immediately, it may be considered to have a higher priority—for example, it may be prioritized as high as paging. In some scenarios, the downlink measurement preceding the PO may be the nearest downlink measurement opportunity before the PO. In other scenarios, the downlink measurement preceding the PO may be any downlink measurement opportunity within Z ms before the PO. In some embodiments, the value of Z may be indicated by the network, for example, within the SDT configuration information provided by the base station. In some embodiments, the value of Z may be defined by applicable technical standards. For example, the value of Z can be fixed or predetermined based on objective considerations known to both the UE and the base station.

[0105] Collision between in-frequency measurement and subsequent CG-SDT transmission

[0106] The collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and an in-frequency neighbor cell measurement is similar in many respects to the collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and a serving cell downlink measurement. For example, when performing an in-frequency neighbor cell measurement, the UE may not need to tune to a different frequency, but the downlink beam may not form a beamset with the uplink beam used for the subsequent CG-SDT transmission in the serving cell. Therefore, it may be impossible for the UE to perform a subsequent CG-SDT transmission in parallel with the in-frequency neighbor cell measurement.

[0107] Since the conditions are similar, the UE may respond to a collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and an in-frequency neighbor cell measurement using any of the first through fourth options discussed above with respect to a collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and a serving cell downlink measurement. For example, in some embodiments, the UE may be configured to respond to a collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and an in-frequency neighbor cell measurement using the same option as when responding to a collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and a serving cell downlink measurement (selected from the first four options discussed). This can simplify the management of the collision resolution procedure.

[0108] In another embodiment, the UE may be configured to respond to a collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and an in-frequency neighbor cell measurement using any one of the first four options discussed, and regardless of which option is used to respond to a collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and an in-frequency neighbor cell measurement, it may respond to a collision between a subsequent CG-SDT transmission and a serving cell downlink measurement using any one of the five options discussed.

[0109] Fig. 5 ― Method for determining priority

[0110] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a method for prioritizing communication functions for a UE in inactive mode according to some embodiments. The method of FIG. 5 may be performed by a UE such as UE (106), or by some component(s) thereof, for example, by a wireless communication device (330) and / or a cellular controller (354). As illustrated, the method of FIG. 5 may operate as follows:

[0111] In 502, the UE (106) may receive SDT configuration information regarding a CG-SDT session. The SDT configuration information may include configuration parameters such as the period of SDT transmissions, including subsequent transmissions. In some scenarios, a serving base station, such as base station (102), may provide SDT configuration information, for example, in an RRC release message when the UE (106) switches to inactive mode, or in other messaging.

[0112] In 504, the UE (106) may transmit an initial SDT transmission to a serving base station, for example, according to SDT configuration information. In some scenarios, the initial SDT transmission may include information regarding additional data to be transmitted in subsequent SDT transmissions (or may be accompanied by information).

[0113] In 506, the UE (106) may determine that one or more of the multiple periodic subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict in time with one or more of the multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. The subsequent SDT opportunities may be determined based on the SDT configuration information received in 502 and may indicate the time for the UE (106) to transmit the subsequent SDT transmission without any conflict. The multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session may indicate the time for the UE (106) to be scheduled to perform a measurement procedure. The measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session may include measurement opportunities from one or more sets of periodic measurement opportunities. For example, the set of periodic measurement opportunities may include a set of periodic inter-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunities, a set of periodic RAT inter-neighbor cell measurement opportunities, a set of periodic intra-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunities, a set of periodic serving cell downlink measurement opportunities, and / or a set of periodic serving cell paging opportunities.

[0114] In 508, the UE (106) may, in response to the determining step, withhold SDT transmission for at least one subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities that conflict in time with one or more measurement opportunities.

[0115] In 510, the UE (106) may perform a measurement procedure for at least one subset of measurement opportunities in which the UE withholds SDT transmission. For example, in some scenarios, the UE (106) may perform a measurement procedure for each measurement opportunity in which the UE withholds SDT transmission.

[0116] As discussed above, the UE may exercise any of the multiple options in determining which SDT opportunity to utilize or defer in 508 and which measurement opportunity to utilize or defer in 510. In some embodiments, various options may be available to the UE based on the above situation. In some embodiments, the option to be used by the UE in response to a certain type of collision may be predetermined, for example, by applicable technical standards. Some options may be available in response to one type of collision (e.g., a collision between a subsequent SDT transmission and an inter-frequency neighbor cell measurement) but may not be available in response to another type of collision (e.g., a collision between a subsequent SDT transmission and a serving cell paging opportunity). The various options and their applicability to different types of collisions are discussed above.

[0117] In some embodiments, withholding SDT transmission for at least one subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities in 508 may include withholding SDT transmission for each subsequent SDT opportunity that conflicts temporally with one or more measurement opportunities, and performing SDT transmission for each subsequent SDT opportunity that does not conflict temporally with one or more measurement opportunities. In some scenarios, these embodiments may further include the UE performing a measurement procedure for each measurement opportunity for which SDT transmission is withheld, and the UE withholding a measurement procedure for each measurement opportunity for which SDT transmission is performed.

[0118] In some embodiments, withholding SDT transmission for at least one subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities in 508 may include delaying SDT transmission until a subsequent SDT opportunity that does not conflict temporally with the measurement opportunity. In such cases, the UE may also perform a TA verification procedure after delaying SDT transmission, but before the subsequent SDT opportunity.

[0119] In some embodiments, deferring SDT transmission for at least one subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities in 508 may include determining whether all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. For example, the UE may determine that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, based at least partially on a determination that the plurality of periodic subsequent SDT opportunities have a period equal to the period of at least one subset of the plurality of measurement opportunities included in the set of periodic measurement opportunities (e.g., equal to the period of one type of measurement opportunity such as a serving cell downlink measurement opportunity). Likewise, the UE may determine that some of the subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, based at least partially on a determination that the plurality of periodic subsequent SDT opportunities have a period longer than the period of at least one subset of the plurality of measurement opportunities included in the set of periodic measurement opportunities. However, it must be understood that when determining whether all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the scheduling of all types of measurement opportunities must be considered.

[0120] In one embodiment, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE (106) may withhold SDT transmission for a portion (or ratio, percentage, etc.) of the subsequent SDT opportunities specified by the scaling factor in 508. For example, a scaling factor of 1 / 3 may indicate that the UE (106) may perform SDT transmission for one SDT opportunity out of every three SDT opportunities and withhold SDT transmission for the remaining opportunities. In some scenarios, the UE (106) may receive the value of the scaling factor from the serving base station. In some scenarios, the value of the scaling factor may be predetermined, for example, by applicable technical standards.

[0121] In another embodiment, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE (106) may suspend SDT transmission until N measurement opportunities have occurred. Here, N may represent the number of carriers scheduled to be measured by the UE in relation to inter-frequency neighbor cell measurements.

[0122] In another embodiment, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE (106) may suspend SDT transmission for each of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session. In this scenario, the UE may also provide the serving base station with an indication that an SDT opportunity configuration error has occurred.

[0123] In another embodiment, in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the paging opportunities of multiple measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE (106) may scale the cycle length of the paging opportunities. In some of these scenarios, the UE (106) may receive an indication from the serving base station of a factor to increase the cycle length of the paging opportunities. In other of these scenarios, the factor to increase the cycle length may be predetermined, for example, by applicable technical standards.

[0124] In a slightly different embodiment, in response to determining that some of the subsequent SDT opportunities of an SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, the UE may perform a subsequent SDT transmission during the subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session that do not conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities.

[0125] In some embodiments, withholding SDT transmission for at least one subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities in 508 may include determining that a measurement target scheduled for measurement during a specific measurement opportunity among a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session is a measurement target of higher priority, and withholding SDT transmission during the specific measurement opportunity.

[0126] It should be understood that the method described above is one embodiment and that various variations are considered. In some scenarios, one or more steps may be omitted or rearranged, and / or additional steps may be added. For example, in some scenarios, this method may omit steps 502 through 504 for brevity. As another embodiment, in some scenarios, 508 may be modified to indicate that the UE (106) can perform a subsequent SDT transmission during at least one subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities that conflict temporally with one or more measurement opportunities. Other modifications are also considered.

[0127] It is well known that the use of personally identifiable information must follow privacy policies and practices generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industrial or governmental requirements to maintain user privacy. In particular, personally identifiable information data must be managed and handled to minimize the risk of unintended or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use must be clearly presented to the user.

[0128] Any of the methods described herein for operating a user equipment (UE) may form the basis of a corresponding method for operating a base station by interpreting each message / signal X received by the UE in the downlink as a message / signal X transmitted by the base station, and each message / signal Y transmitted by the UE in the uplink as a message / signal Y received by the base station.

[0129] Embodiments of the present disclosure may be realized in any of various forms. For example, in some embodiments, the subject matter of the present invention may be realized as a computer-implemented method, a computer-readable memory medium, or a computer system. In other embodiments, the subject matter of the present invention may be realized using one or more custom-designed hardware devices, such as an ASIC. In other embodiments, the subject matter of the present invention may be realized using one or more programmable hardware elements, such as an FPGA.

[0130] In some embodiments, a non-transient computer-readable memory medium (e.g., a non-transient memory element) may be configured to store program instructions and / or data, wherein the program instructions, when executed by a computer system, cause the computer system to perform a method, e.g., any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of the method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets.

[0131] In some embodiments, a device (e.g., UE) may be configured to include a processor (or set of processors) and a memory medium (or memory element), wherein the memory medium stores program instructions, the processor is configured to read and execute program instructions from the memory medium, and the program instructions are executable to implement any of the various method embodiments described herein (or any combination of method embodiments described herein, or any subset of any of the method embodiments described herein, or any combination of such subsets). The device may be realized in any of the various forms.

[0132] Although the above embodiments have been described in considerable detail, many variations and modifications will be apparent to those skilled in the art once the above disclosure is sufficiently recognized. The following claims are intended to be interpreted as encompassing all such variations and modifications.

Claims

Claim 1 A method comprising: determining that one or more subsequent SDT opportunities among a plurality of periodic subsequent small data transmission (SDT) opportunities of a small data transmission (SDT) session conflict in time with one or more measurement opportunities among a plurality of measurement opportunities during the SDT session; in response to the determining step, suspending SDT transmission for at least one subset of the one or more subsequent SDT opportunities that conflict in time with the one or more measurement opportunities; and in response to determining that less than all of the subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict in time with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities during the SDT session, performing subsequent SDT transmission during the subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session that do not conflict in time with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities. Claim 2 A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of performing a measurement procedure for at least one subset of the measurement opportunities while deferring SDT transmission. Claim 3 A method according to claim 1, wherein the step of withholding SDT transmission for at least a subset of one or more subsequent SDT opportunities comprises the step of delaying SDT transmission until a subsequent SDT opportunity that does not conflict temporally with the measurement opportunity. Claim 4 A method according to paragraph 3, further comprising the step of performing a timing alignment (TA) verification procedure after delaying the SDT transmission, but before the subsequent SDT opportunity. Claim 5 A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of withholding SDT transmission in a portion of the subsequent SDT opportunities specified by a scaling factor in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. Claim 6 A method according to claim 5, further comprising the step of receiving a display of the value of the scaling factor from a base station. Claim 7 A method according to claim 5, wherein the step of determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session comprises the step of determining that the plurality of periodic subsequent SDT opportunities have the same period as the period of at least one subset of the plurality of measurement opportunities included in the set of periodic measurement opportunities. Claim 8 The method of claim 1 further comprises the step of withholding SDT transmission until N measurement opportunities have occurred in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict in time with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, wherein N represents the number of carriers to be measured in relation to inter-frequency neighbor cell measurements. Claim 9 A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of withholding SDT transmission during each of the one or more subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. Claim 10 A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of providing a base station with an indication that an SDT opportunity configuration error has occurred in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. Claim 11 A method according to claim 1, further comprising the step of scaling the cycle length of the paging opportunity in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the paging opportunity of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session. Claim 12 The method of claim 1 further comprises the step of withholding SDT transmission during the first subsequent SDT opportunity in response to determining that the first subsequent SDT opportunity among the one or more subsequent SDT opportunities conflicts in time with the serving cell downlink measurement opportunity of the measurement opportunity scheduled during the SDT session—where the serving cell downlink measurement opportunity precedes the paging opportunity of the measurement opportunity scheduled during the SDT session. Claim 13 A method according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of determining that a measurement target scheduled for measurement during a specific measurement opportunity among the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session is a measurement target of higher priority; and a step of withholding SDT transmission during the specific measurement opportunity. Claim 14 A method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session include measurement opportunities from one or more sets of periodic measurement opportunities. Claim 15 In claim 14, the method wherein one or more sets of periodic measurement opportunities comprise one or more of: a set of periodic inter-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunities; a set of periodic inter-RAT neighbor cell measurement opportunities; a set of periodic intra-frequency neighbor cell measurement opportunities; a set of periodic serving cell downlink measurement opportunities; or a set of periodic serving cell paging opportunities. Claim 16 A method according to claim 1, further comprising: a step of withholding SDT transmission during each subsequent SDT opportunity that temporally conflicts with the one or more measurement opportunities; and a step of performing SDT transmission during each subsequent SDT opportunity that temporally does not conflict with the one or more measurement opportunities. Claim 17 A method comprising: determining that one or more subsequent SDT opportunities among a plurality of periodic subsequent small data transmission (SDT) opportunities of an SDT session conflict in time with one or more measurement opportunities among a plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session; in response to the determining step, performing a subsequent SDT transmission during at least one subset of the one or more subsequent SDT opportunities that conflict in time with the one or more measurement opportunities; and in response to determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict in time with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session, withholding an SDT transmission in a portion of the subsequent SDT opportunities designated by a scaling factor. Claim 18 A method according to claim 17, further comprising the step of receiving a display of the value of the scaling factor from a base station. Claim 19 A method according to claim 17, wherein the step of determining that all subsequent SDT opportunities of the SDT session conflict temporally with the measurement opportunities of the plurality of measurement opportunities scheduled during the SDT session comprises the step of determining that the plurality of periodic subsequent SDT opportunities have the same period as the period of at least one subset of the plurality of measurement opportunities included in the set of periodic measurement opportunities. Claim 20 A device comprising: a memory storing instructions; and at least one processor configured to execute the instructions so as to cause the device to perform the method of any one of claims 1 to 19.

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