Methods and apparatuses relating to wireless communication

Abstract

This specification describes a terminal device comprising: means for receiving configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity period pre-configured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity period is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or a non-operating mode; and means for determining whether to follow the modified configuration or the pre-configured measurement validity period.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This specification generally relates to wireless communications. Prior Art

[0002] Terminal devices, sometimes referred to as "user equipment" (UE), can communicate wirelessly with other terminal devices and / or base stations. Such communications can facilitate a variety of tasks. Summary of the invention

[0003] In a first aspect, the present specification describes a terminal device comprising: a component for receiving configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network at the terminal device, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration preconfigured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode; and a component for determining whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration.

[0004] In some examples, the terminal device further includes: means for verifying the measurements by applying the measurement validity duration according to the modified configuration indicated by the configuration information received therefrom in response to determining to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration; and means for reporting empirically verified measurements to the telecommunications network. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device may further include: means for verifying the measurements by applying the preconfigured measurement validity duration in response to determining to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration; and means for reporting empirically verified measurements to the telecommunications network.

[0005] In some instances, the preconfigured measurement validity duration includes a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity duration and indicates that the second measurement validity duration overrides the first measurement validity duration, and wherein the components for determining are configured to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration by using the second measurement validity duration for verifying the measurements. In other examples, the preconfigured measurement validity duration is included in a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity duration and indicates that the first measurement validity duration overrides the second measurement validity duration, and wherein the means for determining are configured to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration by using the first measurement validity duration for verification of the measurements. In some such examples, wherein the first measurement validity duration is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and / or the second measurement validity duration is included in a system information block (SIB) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network.

[0006] In some instances, the measurements are determined to be valid when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at a measurement report time. In other instances, the configuration information includes an evaluation reference time, and the terminal device is configured to determine that the measurements are valid when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at the evaluation reference time. In some such instances, the evaluation reference time corresponds to the terminal device receiving at least one of a paging message and a user equipment (UE) information request message, or corresponding to the terminal device sending at least one of: a radio resource control (RRC) recovery complete message, an RRC setup complete message, and a UE information response message.

[0007] In some examples, the configuration information includes a flag indicating whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements, and the component for determining whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration is configured to make the determination based on the flag included in the configuration information. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may indicate that the preconfigured measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and further indicate that the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode, wherein the components for judging are configured to determine whether the preconfigured measurement validity duration should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in the one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and wherein the components for judging are configured to determine whether the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may be received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network in at least one of: a system information block (SIB) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, and / or a media access control (MAC) message.

[0008] In a second aspect, the specification describes a network node, comprising: means for transmitting configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration preconfigured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is for verifying measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some examples, the network node further comprises means for receiving from the terminal device empirical verification measurements of signals received from the at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may be transmitted to the terminal device in at least one of the following: a system information block (SIB) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, and / or a media access control (MAC) message.

[0009] In a third aspect, the present specification describes an apparatus (e.g., a terminal device) comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following operations: at a terminal device, receiving configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration pre-configured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode; and determining whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration or the pre-configured measurement validity duration.

[0010] In some examples, the operations further include: in response to determining that the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration is to be followed, verifying the measurements by applying the measurement validity duration according to the modified configuration indicated by the received configuration information; and reporting the empirical verification measurement to the telecommunications network. Additionally or alternatively, the operations further include: in response to determining that the preconfigured measurement validity duration is to be followed, verifying the measurements by applying the preconfigured measurement validity duration; and reporting the empirical verification measurement to the telecommunications network.

[0011] In some instances, the preconfigured measurement validity duration includes a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity duration and indicates that the second measurement validity duration overrides the first measurement validity duration, and wherein the components for determining are configured to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration by using the second measurement validity duration for verifying the measurements. In other examples, the preconfigured measurement validity duration is included in a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity duration and indicates that the first measurement validity duration overrides the second measurement validity duration, and wherein the means for determining are configured to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration by using the first measurement validity duration for verification of the measurements. In some such examples, wherein the first measurement validity duration is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and / or the second measurement validity duration is included in a system information block (SIB) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network.

[0012] In some instances, the measurements are determined to be valid when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at a measurement report time. In other instances, the configuration information includes an evaluation reference time, and the terminal device is configured to determine that the measurements are valid when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at the evaluation reference time. In some such instances, the evaluation reference time corresponds to the terminal device receiving at least one of a paging message and a user equipment (UE) information request message, or corresponding to the terminal device sending at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) recovery complete message, an RRC setup complete message, and a UE information response message.

[0013] In some examples, the configuration information includes a flag indicating whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements, and a determination as to whether to follow the modified configuration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration for the measurement validity duration is made based on the flag included in the configuration information. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may indicate that the preconfigured measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and further indicate that the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode, wherein the components for judging are configured to determine whether the preconfigured measurement validity duration should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and wherein the components for judging are configured to determine whether the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may be received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network in at least one of: a system information block (SIB) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, and / or a media access control (MAC) message.

[0014] In a fourth aspect, the present specification depicts an apparatus (e.g., a network node or base station) comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least one operation including the following actions: transmitting, by a network node, configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration preconfigured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some examples, the operations further include means for receiving from the terminal device empirical verification measurements of signals received from the at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may be transmitted to the terminal device in at least one of: a system information block (SIB) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, and / or a media access control (MAC) message.

[0015] In a fifth aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: at a terminal device, receiving configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity period pre-configured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity period is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode; and determining whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity period or the pre-configured measurement validity period.

[0016] In some examples, the method further includes: in response to determining to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration, verifying the measurements by applying the measurement validity duration according to the modified configuration indicated by the received configuration information; and reporting empirical verification measurements to the telecommunications network. Additionally or alternatively, the method further includes: in response to determining to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration, verifying the measurements by applying the preconfigured measurement validity duration; and reporting empirical verification measurements to the telecommunications network.

[0017] In some instances, the preconfigured measurement validity duration includes a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity duration and indicates that the second measurement validity duration overrides the first measurement validity duration, and wherein the components for determining are configured to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration by using the second measurement validity duration for verifying the measurements. In other examples, the preconfigured measurement validity duration is included in a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity duration and indicates that the first measurement validity duration overrides the second measurement validity duration, and wherein the means for determining are configured to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration by using the first measurement validity duration for verification of the measurements. In some such examples, wherein the first measurement validity duration is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and / or the second measurement validity duration is included in a system information block (SIB) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network.

[0018] In some instances, the measurements are determined to be valid when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at a measurement report time. In other instances, the configuration information includes an evaluation reference time, and the terminal device is configured to determine that the measurements are valid when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at the evaluation reference time. In some such instances, the evaluation reference time corresponds to the terminal device receiving at least one of a paging message and a user equipment (UE) information request message, or corresponding to the terminal device sending at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) recovery complete message, an RRC setup complete message, and a UE information response message.

[0019] In some examples, the configuration information includes a flag indicating whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements, and a determination as to whether to follow the modified configuration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration for the measurement validity duration is made based on the flag included in the configuration information. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may indicate that the preconfigured measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and further indicate that the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode, wherein the components for judging are configured to determine whether the preconfigured measurement validity duration should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and wherein the components for judging are configured to determine whether the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may be received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network in at least one of: a system information block (SIB) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, and / or a media access control (MAC) message.

[0020] In a sixth aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: transmitting, by a network node, to a terminal device, configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration preconfigured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some examples, the method further comprises means for receiving from the terminal device empirical verification measurements of signals received from the at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. Additionally or alternatively, the configuration information may be transmitted to the terminal device in at least one of the following: a system information block (SIB) message, a radio resource control (RRC) message, and / or a media access control (MAC) message.

[0021] In a seventh aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: transmitting to a terminal device or receiving at the terminal device a configuration information piece, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration pre-configured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0022] In an eighth aspect, the present specification describes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored therein for performing at least any one of the operations described above with reference to the fifth to seventh aspects. Simple diagram description

[0023] In order to better understand the present application, reference will now be made by way of example only to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an example, which illustrates the communication between a terminal device and a plurality of base stations; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of an operating mode of a terminal device; Figures 3A and 3B are schematic diagrams of various operations that may be performed according to the examples described herein; Figure 4 is an exemplary message flow sequence; Figures 5 and 6 are flowcharts of various operations that may be performed according to the examples described herein; Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary configuration of a terminal device that can be configured to perform various operations described with reference to Figures 1 to 6; FIG8 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary configuration of a base station that may be configured to perform the various operations described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6; and 9 is an illustration of a computer readable medium on which computer readable code may be stored. Implementation

[0024] In the present description and drawings, like reference characters refer to like elements throughout.

[0025] In modern telecommunications networks, a terminal device can perform measurements of signals received from one or more cells of the network. In the example of FIG1 , a terminal device 100 is shown together with cells 110 and 120. By way of example only, the terminal device 100 is shown as a smartphone, and cells 110 and 120 are shown as base stations.

[0026] The network may configure the terminal device 100 to perform measurements of signals received from one or more cells of the network. For example, the terminal device 100 may be configured to perform measurements of carrier signals received from one or more neighboring cells. Such measurements may be reported to the network to facilitate various network tasks, such as selecting a target cell for cell reselection or making a handover decision.

[0027] At any given time, a terminal device, such as terminal device 100, may be operating in one of several modes. For example, these operating modes (or "states") may include an idle mode, an inactive mode, and / or a connected mode. These modes are described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 2. A terminal device operating in an idle or inactive mode may perform measurements of signals received from one or more cells of the network (e.g., carrier measurements), such as measurements for use in a cell reselection process. Typically, these measurements are verified and reported to the network after transitioning to a connected mode. This process may be referred to as early measurement reporting (EMR). EMR may facilitate the establishment of a carrier aggregation or dual connectivity for transitioning the terminal device from the inactive mode to the connected mode.

[0028] Measurements made by a terminal device may be considered valid if the measurement results meet a given measurement accuracy, such as a requirement for measuring a certain number of samples under specific radio conditions. Additionally or alternatively, measurements may be verified using a measurement validity duration. In this case, measurements are considered valid if they are made for a period of time defined using the measurement validity duration. For example, if the measurement validity duration is given by X, measurements may be considered valid if they are made within the last [X] seconds before reporting those measurements to the network. The measurement validity duration (i.e., X) may be configured by the network (e.g., in an RRC message).

[0029] However, using the measurement validity duration to validate measurements in this manner is dependent upon the point in time at which such measurements are reported to the network ("reporting occasion"). Thus, using a single, fixed value for the measurement validity duration may not be appropriate for all possible network conditions that may be encountered by an end device. In other words, the use of a global value for the measurement validity duration for validating all measurements does not allow the validation process to adapt to different end device deployment scenarios. As will be appreciated, the use of a single, fixed configuration for the measurement validity duration may not be optimal for end device measurement reporting performance, and may result in degradation of end device power conservation and / or network performance (e.g., degradation by causing too many or too few measurements to be taken / validated by the end device).

[0030] Therefore, there may be benefits to measuring validity durations that can be configured by the network, particularly to facilitate a reduction in power consumption when the terminal device is operating in an idle or inactive mode. Implementations of the techniques described herein may allow the network to configure measurement validity durations for use in verifying measurements made by a terminal device.

[0031] Various aspects of the technology described herein are related to receiving configuration information at a terminal device from at least one base station of a telecommunications network, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration preconfigured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode; and determining whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration. Other aspects of the technology described herein are related to a network node, which transmits configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration preconfigured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0032] As described in more detail below with reference to FIG. 1 , various implementations of the techniques described herein can facilitate configuration of a measurement validity duration for verifying end device measurements, such as EMR measurements, performed in an idle or inactive mode. As described above, this can contribute to an improvement in network performance. When a measurement validity duration that is shorter than a preset measurement validity duration is configured, a reduction in power consumption at an end device can be achieved. When a measurement validity duration that is longer than the preset measurement validity duration is configured, a sufficient number of measurement opportunities can be ensured to base measurement improvement decisions on.

[0033] There are various implementation options for conducting and verifying measurements by a terminal device. Aspects of the techniques described herein may be particularly beneficial in situations where the terminal device takes non-3GPP sensing data into account when conducting and / or verifying measurements, such as data from additional sensor(s) of the terminal device that are not visible to 3GPP procedures. For example, such sensing data may be positioning data obtained from a global navigation satellite system or a motion sensor such as an inertial sensor, or a proximity sensor that detects hand placement / occlusion on a device. In such a case, network-side configuration of measurement validity durations for use by the terminal device in verifying measurements may avoid degradation of network performance and / or terminal device power consumption.

[0034] A further aspect of the technology described herein relates to a terminal device determining whether to apply a measurement validity period for use in verifying measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. This can further contribute to the aforementioned increase in network performance and / or reduction in power consumption of the terminal device.

[0035] In some examples, the term "terminal device" or "user equipment" may refer to any device used by a user for communication. Although the terminal device of FIG. 1 is illustrated as a mobile phone or "smart phone", it will be understood that the terminal device may include a variety of other devices, including, but not limited to, laptops, smart watches, tablet computers, and vehicle-based terminal devices, such as terminal devices mounted on cars, buses, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), airplanes, trains, or boats. Alternatively, the mobile terminal device may be carried by a user or worn on his body.

[0036] In some instances, the term "measurement" may refer to measurements made by a terminal device of signals received from one or more cells of the network. For example, each measurement may include a measurement of a carrier signal (e.g., an NR and / or E-UTRA carrier) received from a given cell. Based on such measurements, the terminal device and / or the network can make a decision regarding the most appropriate cell for handover and / or reselection. In some instances, a measurement may be considered to be of sufficient quality when a certain number of samples of the corresponding carrier signal are measured. In the context of EMR, measurements made in an idle or inactive mode are reported to the network after transitioning to a connected mode, for example, once the connection becomes secure. When such measurements are reported to the network, the measurements may be associated with a physical cell ID (PCI) indicating which cell they correspond to. As described below with reference to FIG. 1 , the terminal device may verify the measurements before reporting them to the network.

[0037] In some examples, the term "terminal device operating mode" may refer to one of several modes (or "states") in which a terminal device, such as terminal device 100, may operate at a given time. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, these operating modes are generally referred to by reference number 2 and may include a connected mode 201 ("RRC_CONNECTED"), an inactive mode 202 ("RRC_INACTIVE"), and an idle mode 203 ("RRC_IDLE"). This specific terminology for RRC operating modes follows the 3GPP specification. Other systems may use other terminology, but in general, a connected mode refers to a mode in which a communication connection has been established between the terminal device and an access node, such as a base station operating a nest. The establishment may include establishing a set of configuration, identification, and / or security key characteristics for the connection at the terminal device and the access node. Idle mode refers to a mode in which such a connection does not exist, for example, a connection has been terminated. Inactive mode is a mode in which the connection is present but in a standby or power saving state. Measurements made on these standby or power saving modes may depend on specification generation, and new power saving states may be considered in the future. In response to receiving a message from the network (e.g., a radio resource control RRC message), the terminal device may transition from one mode to another. Various examples of such transitions are provided below.

[0038] As will be appreciated, although 5G terminology is used for the operating modes in this specification, other naming conventions may be used for similar or equivalent modes in 6G and beyond. Various aspects of the technology described herein may be applicable to terminal devices that utilize such modes.

[0039] In connected mode 201, the terminal device is connected to a cell of the network (i.e., an RRC connection is established). In this mode, in response to receiving a release message (e.g., an "RRCRelease" message), the terminal device can transition to idle mode. Similarly, in response to receiving a release message with a temporary suspension (e.g., an "RRCRRelease" message with a "temporary suspension" configuration), the terminal device can transition to inactive mode.

[0040] In the inactive mode 202, the terminal device maintains a limited degree of connectivity to a cell of the network in order to reduce the network signaling load. For example, compared to the idle mode, the inactive mode can achieve reduced latency when transitioning to the connected mode. In the inactive mode, in response to receiving a release message (e.g., an "RRCRelease" message), the terminal device can transition to the idle mode. On the other hand, in response to receiving a resume message (e.g., an "RRCResume" message), the terminal device can transition to the connected mode.

[0041] In idle mode 203, the terminal device is not connected to a particular cell of the network. Due to the mobility of the terminal device during idle mode, the terminal device may change the cell in which it resides through cell reselection. In idle mode, in response to receiving a setup message (e.g., an "RRCSetup" message), the terminal device may transition to connected mode.

[0042] It will be appreciated that other transitions may be possible when a terminal device is handed off from one nest to another, or when a nest reselection is performed. For example, in a handoff scenario, the terminal device may transition directly from a first nest with a connected mode to a second nest with a connected mode. On the other hand, in a nest reselection scenario, the terminal device may transition from a first nest with an idle or inactive mode to a second nest with an idle or inactive mode. Other modes and / or transitions may be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

[0043] Various methods and apparatus are described in detail, by way of example only, in the context of a cellular network, such as an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) network or a 5G network. However, it will be appreciated that the techniques may be applicable in conjunction with other types of communication networks, such as, but not limited to, other types of cellular networks. A cellular network may include one or more base stations, sometimes referred to as transmit-receive points (TRPs) or access points (such as, but not limited to, gNBs and / or eNBs). Although only two base stations are shown in FIG. 1 , a radio access network (RAN, NG-RAN) may typically include thousands of such base stations. Together, the base stations may provide cellular network coverage to one or more terminal devices over a wide geographic area.

[0044] Although in no way limited to this implementation, examples of the techniques described herein may be readily integrated into any New Radio (NR) terminal device that performs measurements of signals received from one or more cells of the network, such as Early Measurement Report (EMR) measurements (e.g., standardized in 3GPP Release 16). Furthermore, examples of the techniques described herein may be compatible with future enhancements to EMR behavior expected to be specified in 3GPP Release 18.

[0045] In some implementations, and for example, depending on the characteristics of the cellular network, base stations and terminal devices within the network may be configured to communicate with each other, for example, using an OFDM-based communication scheme such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA), and / or Cyclic Prefix Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (CP-OFDMA).

[0046] As described above, FIG. 1 illustrates a terminal device 100 along with nests 110 and 120. In the example of FIG. 1 , when operating in an idle or inactive mode, the terminal device 100 performs measurements of signals received from nests 110 and 120. For example, these measurements may be used in transitioning the terminal device to a connected mode (e.g., as part of a nest reselection process). The signals are represented by arrows in FIG. 1 and may include carrier signals. In such examples, each of the carrier signals may be identifiable as coming from a particular nest. As will be appreciated, signal measurements may include any one or a combination of signal strength measurements and signal quality measurements.

[0047] The measurements performed when the terminal device is operating in an idle or inactive mode may include nested reselection measurements, and / or Early Measurement Report (EMR) measurements.

[0048] Terminal device 100 receives configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network (e.g., via nest 110 or nest 120). The configuration information indicates a modified configuration for a measurement validity duration (i.e., an X value as described above) preconfigured at the terminal device. In this example, the measurement validity duration is for use by terminal device 100 in verifying measurements of signals received from at least one nest (e.g., nest 110 or nest 120) of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device when operating in an idle mode, or an inactive mode.

[0049] In some examples, the configuration information may be included in an RRC message (e.g., an RRC Release message) transmitted by at least one base station of the network for reception at the terminal device. In other examples, the configuration information is received at the terminal device from at least one base station of the telecommunications network in a system information block (SIB) message or a master information block (MIB) message. In still other examples, the configuration information may be included in a media access control (MAC) message (i.e., an in-band control message or a 6G control message) received at the terminal device from the network.

[0050] In some examples described in more detail below, multiple sets of configuration information may be received at a terminal device, each set indicating a respective configuration for the measurement validity duration. For example, such configurations may be received in any one or any combination of RRC, SIB, and MAC, or other in-band messages. The configuration information received at the terminal device may indicate whether a given configuration overrides other configurations for the measurement validity duration, or alternatively, is overridden by other configurations. In this manner, and by way of example only, the network can implicitly or explicitly override the SIB message configuration for the measurement validity duration via RRCRelease, or vice versa.

[0051] After receiving the configuration information, the terminal device 100 determines whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration. In response to determining to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration, the terminal device 100 may verify the measurements by applying the measurement validity duration according to the modified configuration indicated by the received configuration information. On the other hand, in response to determining to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration, the terminal device 100 may verify the measurements by applying the preconfigured measurement validity duration. After verifying the measurements using the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration, or the existing configuration (i.e., the configuration indicated by the preconfigured value for the measurement validity duration), the terminal device 100 may report the empirically verified measurements to the telecommunications network.

[0052] As described above, configurations used for measurement validity durations at a terminal device may override one another. For example, a preconfigured measurement validity duration may include a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from at least one base station of a telecommunications network, and a modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by configuration information received from the network may include a second measurement validity duration. In some instances, the configuration information received from the network, and / or the modified configuration indicated by that information, may indicate that the second measurement validity duration overrides the first measurement validity duration. In such a case, the terminal device is configured to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration by using the second measurement validity duration for verification of the measurements. In other instances, the configuration information received from the network, and / or the modified configuration indicated by that information, may indicate that the first measurement validity duration overrides the second measurement validity duration. In this case, the terminal device is configured to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration (ie, to use the existing configuration) by using the first measurement validity duration for verification of the measurements.

[0053] In some examples, the first measurement validity duration is included in a radio resource control (RRC) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network. Additionally or alternatively, the second measurement validity duration is included in a system information block (SIB) message received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network.

[0054] In other words, aspects of the techniques described herein may allow measurement validity durations to be configured via multiple types of messages (e.g., RRC and SIB messages). In this manner, adjustments to the configuration of the measurement validity duration at the terminal device may be dynamically introduced in response to changes in the conditions of the nest or nests that the terminal device enters from an idle or inactive mode. As described below, the configuration received at the terminal device may be limited to certain terminal device operating modes. For example, a configuration received in a SIB message may be used to override a measurement validity duration configuration used to verify measurements taken in one of the idle or inactive modes, while a configuration received via RRC may be used to verify measurements taken in the other of the idle or inactive modes.

[0055] In other words, the configuration information may indicate that the preconfigured measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and further indicate that the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode. In this case, the terminal device is configured to follow the preconfigured measurement validity duration for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in one of the idle mode and the inactive mode, and to follow the modified configuration for measurement validity duration for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode. In other words, the terminal device may be configured using independent X values, one X value for measurements performed in the idle mode, and another X value for measurements performed in the inactive mode. One of these X values ​​(eg, for idle mode) may be configured via SIB signaling only, while the other (eg, for inactive mode) may be configured via dedicated signaling.

[0056] In general, both the preconfigured measurement validity duration and the measurement validity duration indicated in the configuration information may be valid, just under different operating conditions of the terminal device. Therefore, based on the prevailing operating conditions, the terminal device may select the preconfigured measurement validity duration or the measurement validity duration received in the configuration information. Under a first operating condition, the terminal device may select and apply the preconfigured measurement validity duration, and under a second operating condition that is different from or mutually exclusive of the first operating condition, the terminal device may select the measurement validity duration received in the configuration information.

[0057] In some examples, measurements are determined to be valid when they are taken by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at a measurement reporting time. This is described in detail below with reference to FIG. 3A.

[0058] In other examples, the configuration information includes an evaluation reference time for use with the measurement validity duration when verifying measurements. In this case, the terminal device is configured to determine that the measurements are valid when the measurements are made by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the measurement validity duration ending at the evaluation reference time. In other words, the evaluation reference time included in the configuration information can constitute a "hypothetical reporting time" that is used in place of the "real" reporting time (i.e., the time point at which the measurement results are reported to the network) and can be configured and / or determined and / or configured independently of the actual reporting time. The evaluation reference time is described in detail below with reference to Figure 3B.

[0059] In some examples, the configuration information includes a flag, or a field in a configuration object, that indicates whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements. In this case, the terminal device determines whether to follow the modified configuration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration for the measurement validity duration based on the flag included in the configuration information. In other words, the configuration for the measurement validity duration may include an RRC configurable flag that enables / disables verification using the measurement validity duration. When this flag indicates that the measurement validity duration is disabled, verification of measurements (that is, measurements taken when the terminal device is in an idle or inactive mode) is performed according to internal terminal device measurement verification criteria. In other words, the terminal device may configure a flag via a message from the network (e.g., an RRC release or RRC reconfiguration message). When this flag is set to true, the terminal device may report to the network measurements taken outside the time period defined by the measurement validity duration, that is, measurements that would otherwise have been considered to have failed verification. However, even if this flag is enabled, the end device measurements may still be required to meet other requirements, such as accuracy requirements, before reporting to the network. When this flag is set to false, the end device uses the measurement verification duration when verifying measurements, as described above. The default value for this flag may be set to false, indicating that the end device should apply the measurement verification duration for verifying measurements taken during operation in idle or inactive modes.

[0060] In some examples, the flag may be associated with a new verification mechanism, in which case the flag disables the old verification mechanism (ie, measurement validity duration) to prevent undesirable UE behavior.

[0061] If the measurement validity duration is not configured or is otherwise configured to be disabled, then it may be specified that the verification is determined by the UE implementation in addition to the accuracy of the measurement. Otherwise, the terminal device is configured to use the measurement validity configuration as described above.

[0062] To avoid RRCReconfiguration, the network may configure subsequent behavior for RRCConfiguration. For example, the terminal device may be configured to maintain the measurement validity over time (e.g., as a configuration object). In other words, the rules / configuration associated with a given X value may be stored for use in subsequent measurement verification scenarios.

[0063] According to various aspects of the technology described herein, it may be beneficial to provide a means by which a measurement validity period can be interpreted in different ways and disabled when necessary. As described above, various aspects of the technology described herein are related to a terminal device (e.g., terminal device 100) determining whether to apply a measurement validity period for use in verifying a measurement of a signal received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0064] In response to determining that the measurement validity period should be applied, the terminal device uses the measurement validity period to verify the measurements in the manner described above. After verifying the measurements, the terminal device then reports the measurements to the network.

[0065] In response to determining not to apply the measurement validity period, the terminal device verifies the measurements without applying the measurement validity period and reports the verified measurements to the telecommunications network.

[0066] To verify the measurements without applying a measurement validity period, the terminal device may use data from at least one sensor of the terminal device. For example, as described above, the terminal device may have access to non-3GPP sensors. Such sensors may be able to assess whether proximity conditions (e.g., terminal device movement, hand movement, or physical obstacles blocking the signal, etc.) and / or mobility conditions have changed. In the event that there has been a change in proximity conditions, the terminal device may declare the measurement invalid. This is another example of verification according to internal verification criteria of the terminal device.

[0067] Yet another example of terminal device internal verification criteria involves the terminal device using specific idle or inactive mode measurements of signal levels. For example, signals above a certain strength may be determined to be valid according to these criteria.

[0068] In some examples, in response to the measurement validity duration being a particular value indicating that it should not be applied, the terminal device may determine not to apply the measurement validity duration. In other words, the value of X may take a "special value" that the terminal device interprets as a flag indicating that the measurement validity duration configuration is disabled. When the value of X does not take this special value, it is applied normally (i.e., as described above with reference to the previous figure).

[0069] For example, the specific value (or special value) used for the measurement validity duration can be at least one of the following: a maximum value used for the measurement validity duration (e.g., X_max = 0xFFF = 4095), an out-of-range value used for the measurement validity duration (e.g., a value not included in the RRC configuration), and / or a backup value used for the measurement validity duration (e.g., an RRC configuration backup value).

[0070] If the measurement validity duration uses a special value, then the terminal device is configured with a rule by which the actual value used for the measurement validity duration is ignored when it uses the special value(s). In this case, the terminal device considers measurements that are otherwise outside the interval defined by the X value (i.e., the "time window" described with respect to FIG. 3B ) (e.g., measurements of a particular carrier) as valid and reports them to the network. In some instances, internal terminal device validity criteria may need to be met before such measurements are reported to the network, such as requiring a certain number of samples for such measurements.

[0071] In some examples, the terminal device receives a flag indicating whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements. The decision as to whether the measurement validity duration should be applied is then based on the flag. In other words, a flag to enable / disable the measurement validity duration may be received at the terminal device.

[0072] Alternatively, the network may determine not to allocate a terminal device by virtue of a measurement validity duration used in verifying measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by a terminal device in an idle mode, or an inactive mode. For example, the network may determine not to allocate a terminal device based on a type and / or capability of the terminal device. As will be appreciated, in this case, measurements received from the terminal device are not verified using the measurement validity duration, but are instead verified according to the internal validity criteria of the terminal device as described above.

[0073] In other words, the configuration of the measurement validity duration may be disabled by the network. For example, this disabling may be based on the terminal device capabilities and / or chipset model identification. In some examples, rather than disabling the configuration, the network may simply decide not to configure the terminal device with an X value in the first instance (e.g., using RRC signaling to configure).

[0074] When measurement validity duration is not configured or disabled, verification of measurements made in idle / inactive mode depends on the End Device implementation (i.e., it is done according to internal verification criteria). However, even if measurement validity duration is not in use, the End Device may still require that measurement accuracy requirements must be met in order to report a measurement to the network. In other words, the SCell setup test must still be passed. If a flag is used to enable or disable measurement validity duration configuration, this flag may be based on End Device capability signaling, or based on End Device type.

[0075] In some examples, the terminal device may determine not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the terminal device having enhanced measurement capabilities.

[0076] In this context, the difference between enhanced measurement and existing measurement solutions is as follows. When using the existing measurement capability, the end device does not make any additional measurements to verify those measurements, and instead uses a measurement validity duration for verification. For the enhanced measurement capability, the measurement validity duration is not configured because the end device is assumed to always be able to verify existing measurements (i.e., measurements made in idle or inactive mode) with new measurements as and when verification is required.

[0077] For example, an end device may indicate support for both enhanced measurements and conventional measurements, but not use the enhanced measurement process. Instead, the end device reports to the network that measurements have been taken and verified using the measurement validity period, even when the measurements have not been taken by the end device. The "measured" values ​​reported to the network may be determined based on internal end device logic (e.g., the measurements may be estimated using predictive logic or an artificial intelligence / machine learning model).

[0078] By way of example only, the measurement validity period may be configured to be ten seconds. In this example, the terminal device has taken measurements eleven seconds ago. From the perspective of existing measurement-based verification (such as described above), these measurements would be invalid and therefore not reported to the network. However, a terminal device with enhanced capabilities may ignore the measurement validity period even if it has not taken any additional measurements for the purpose of verifying the existing measurements, and may report the existing measurements as enhanced measurement results (e.g., subject to the fact that the measurements meet the terminal device's internal validity criteria). In another way, the terminal device may intentionally ignore the measurement validity period and state that it supports enhanced measurements. However, the terminal device may consider the measurements taken eleven seconds ago to be valid without further verification. In this way, the results may be reported to the network earlier, such as in an RRC recovery complete message.

[0079] In some examples, a terminal device includes means for modifying a configuration of a measurement validity duration; and means for verifying the measurements by applying the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration.

[0080] For example, an end device may have the ability to use measurement validity duration for verification in a test version of end device software (e.g., end device firmware), but this functionality may be disabled in a production version. In a test scenario, the measurement validity duration may be dynamically modified at the end device, allowing test cases to be checked. When checking a given condition, special behavior may allow the end device to use a specific value for the measurement validity duration based on an end device test profile. This behavior may be disabled when not under test conditions. In some instances, this behavior may only exist in end device software releases dedicated to testing. For example, the end device software may be compiled using a compiler flag that ensures that this portion of the software is not compiled for any version except the test release.

[0081] In some instances, the terminal device may observe non-3GPP sensors or use operator information to determine whether the terminal device is in a test environment and dynamically enable this parameter. As will be appreciated, such behavior cannot be observed in a release (e.g., for use in a field deployment) because this behavior is not compiled in.

[0082] 3A and 3B illustrate an example of a measurement validity duration used to verify measurements taken while the terminal device is operating in an idle or inactive mode.

[0083] It will be appreciated that the various operations and entities described with reference to Figures 3A and 3B may correspond to the operations and entities described with reference to the previous Figures. For example, the terminal devices and nests described with reference to Figures 3A and 3B may correspond to those described with reference to Figures 1 and 2.

[0084] In the example of FIG. 3A , at time 301 , the terminal device receives an initial configuration for the measurement validity duration. This initial configuration for the measurement validity duration may correspond to the pre-configured measurement validity duration described above. For example, this may be included in an RRC release message signaling the terminal device to transition from a connected mode to an idle / inactive mode.

[0085] At time 302, while operating in an idle / inactive mode, the terminal device receives a new configuration for measurement validity duration corresponding to a candidate cell. For example, this configuration may be received in a SIB message and may be used to verify measurements corresponding to a signal (e.g., a carrier signal) received from the candidate cell.

[0086] Times 303 and 304 may correspond to the time points at which the terminal device is triggered to verify measurements made in an idle or inactive mode. For example, time 303 may correspond to the receipt of an RRC setup or RRC recovery message at the terminal device, while time 304 may correspond to the receipt of an RRC reconfiguration message at the terminal device. For example only, time 304 is also shown as the actual reporting time at which the terminal device transmits the verification results to the network.

[0087] In the example of FIG. 3B , the evaluation reference point used for the measurement validity duration is configured separately from the reporting opportunity. That is, as described above, a "hypothetical reporting opportunity" is used. In this example, the configuration used for the measurement validity duration received from the network indicates whether the terminal device should use the hypothetical reference point for anchoring the interval defined by the measurement validity duration, or instead use the actual reporting opportunity.

[0088] For example, the configuration may indicate the evaluation reference point at time 306. In this case, the measurement is determined to be valid when it is made within a length interval given by the measurement validity duration and ends at the evaluation reference point 306. In FIG. 3B , this is given by the verification time window between 305 and 306.

[0089] In other examples, the evaluation reference point can be configured with an offset. For example, the same verification time window between 305 and 306 can be achieved by using the evaluation reference point at time 307 and an offset equal to the difference between time 307 and 306.

[0090] When verification is performed using an evaluation reference point, the terminal device stores the verification results until the next possible reporting opportunity (eg, time 304), at which point the results are transmitted to the network.

[0091] In some examples, the evaluation reference point corresponds to the terminal device receiving at least one of the following: a paging message and a user equipment UE information request message, or corresponds to the terminal device sending at least one of the following: a radio resource control RRC recovery complete message, an RRC setup complete message and a UE information response message. As will be appreciated, the evaluation reference point may be before or after the actual reporting time.

[0092] In the "test case" embodiment described above, the configuration of the evaluation reference points can be used to verify the correct operation of the terminal device during verification and reporting measurements.

[0093] As in the previous example, a measurement may be reported only if it also meets the measurement accuracy requirements (e.g. number of samples under specific radio conditions) at the time of the assigned reporting opportunity, whether real or hypothetical.

[0094] FIG. 4 is a message flow sequence, generally indicated by reference number 4, according to some aspects of the described technology. Message flow sequence 4 shows an exemplary implementation aspect in which a process, such as the process described with reference to FIGS. 1-3B , may be performed. In this example, a terminal device 100 is shown communicating with nests 110 and 120.

[0095] In general, the example of FIG. 4 relates to a procedure for assembling a measurement validity duration at an end device, and to how the end device should use the measurement validity duration to verify measurements taken in an idle or inactive mode of operation.

[0096] It will be appreciated that the various operations and entities described with reference to Figure 4 may correspond to the operations and entities described with reference to the previous figures. For example, the terminal device and nest described with reference to Figure 4 may correspond to those described with reference to Figures 1 to 3B.

[0097] It will be further appreciated that various operations described with reference to FIG. 4 may be performed by entities other than those explicitly illustrated. For example, some or all of the operations attributed to the terminal device may be performed by another terminal device. Similarly, various operations attributed to nests 110 and 120 may be performed by other network entities, such as a core network (CN) entity, a radio access node, or a base station (e.g., a base station in the serving nest of terminal device 100).

[0098] In operation 401, the terminal device operates in a connected mode.

[0099] In operation 402, the terminal device receives an RRC connection release message (or a release with a temporary suspension) from the nest 120. In response to receiving this message, the terminal device transitions to an idle or inactive mode.

[0100] In operation 403, the terminal device is operated in an idle or inactive mode. When operating in this mode, the terminal device can perform measurements of signals (eg, carrier signals) received from the cells of the network, as described above.

[0101] In some examples, the terminal device may store a time value associated with when an SSB of the measurements was read. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device may record an RSRP or RSRQ value for the measurements.

[0102] In operation 404 , the terminal device receives a SIB or MIB message from the nested cell 110 .

[0103] In operation 405, the terminal device determines whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration. As explained above with reference to the previous figure, the modified configuration may be received in the RRC message of operation 402 or the SIB message of operation 404.

[0104] As explained above with reference to the previous figure, if the network provides a SIB configuration for the measurement validity duration and the terminal equipment has also configured it using an RRC message, the configuration from the SIB message can override the configuration from the RRC message. Alternatively, if a configuration defines only a single value for the measurement validity duration, a configuration that specifies a dedicated value and / or evaluation reference point for idle and / or inactive mode can override the single value configuration.

[0105] In other examples, the most recent configuration received may override any previous configuration for the measurement validity duration. Since different configurations for the measurement validity duration may be valid at different times, information indicating which configuration to use for a given measurement may be stored with the measurement data. For example, the terminal device may maintain a time window whose lower edge is the oldest measurement that satisfies the condition given by a configuration for the measurement validity duration, and whose higher edge is the most recent sample that satisfies the condition.

[0106] In some examples, a configuration of the measurement validity duration may indicate that measurements taken before receiving the new configuration should be discarded.

[0107] As will be seen, if an existing The value is replaced by a larger If the value is changed, any measurement previously determined to be valid under the old configuration is also considered valid under the new configuration.

[0108] In some examples, at the terminal device (eg, in an RRC release message), one of the The value can be later Replaced by one received in a later configuration when the value is less than the earlier value For example, if an RRC release message indicates a duration of 5 seconds, and a SIB message indicates a duration of 60 seconds, the terminal device is not expected to "go back in time" (i.e., check measurements previously determined to be invalid) and continue to verify measurements with a duration of 5 seconds. Alternatively, measurements previously verified using a duration of 5 may be considered invalid.

[0109] In operation 406 , the terminal device uses the measurement validity duration to verify measurements taken while operating in an idle or inactive mode based on the determination made in operation 405 .

[0110] In operation 407, the terminal device reestablishes a connection with the network and reports the verification result to the network. For example, if the connection is restored, the terminal device can reconnect to the nest 120. Alternatively, a new connection can be established with the nest 110.

[0111] FIG5 is a flow chart illustrating various operations that may be performed according to various examples. For example, the operations shown in FIG5 may be performed by a terminal device or other suitable equipment.

[0112] In operation S5.1, the terminal device receives configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity period pre-configured at the terminal device, wherein the measurement validity period is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0113] In operation S5.2, the terminal device determines whether to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration or the preconfigured measurement validity duration modified configuration.

[0114] In some examples, the method includes operation S5.3a, wherein, in response to determining (operation S5.2) to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration, the terminal device verifies the measurements by applying the measurement validity duration according to the modified configuration indicated by the received configuration information.

[0115] In some examples, the method includes an operation S5.3b, wherein, in response to determining (operation S5.2) that the preconfigured measurement validity duration is to be followed, the terminal device verifies the measurements by applying the preconfigured measurement validity duration.

[0116] In some examples, the method includes operation S5.4, in which the terminal device reports the empirical core measurements to the telecommunications network.

[0117] These operations are discussed in detail above with reference to the previous figure. For the sake of brevity, such discussion will not be repeated here.

[0118] As will of course be appreciated, the various operations shown in Figure 5 may correspond to operations already described with reference to previous figures. For example, operation S5.1 may correspond to operation 402 or 404 of Figure 4; operation S5.2 may correspond to operation 405 of Figure 4; operations S5.3a and S5.3b may correspond to operation 406 of Figure 4; and operation S5.4 may correspond to operation 407 of Figure 4.

[0119] FIG6 is a flow chart illustrating various operations that may be performed according to various examples. For example, the operations shown in FIG6 may be performed by a terminal device or other suitable equipment.

[0120] In operation S6.1, the terminal device determines whether to apply a measurement validity period for use in verifying measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode.

[0121] In some examples, the method includes operation S6.2, in which the terminal device verifies the measurements without applying the measurement validity duration.

[0122] In some examples, the method includes operation S6.3, in which the terminal device reports the empirical core measurements to the telecommunications network.

[0123] These operations are discussed in detail above with reference to the previous figure. For the sake of brevity, such discussion will not be repeated here.

[0124] As will of course be appreciated, the various operations shown in Figure 6 may correspond to operations already described with reference to the previous figures. For example, operation S6.3 may correspond to operation 407 of Figure 4.

[0125] FIG. 7 is a diagram of an exemplary configuration of a computing device 7 that may be configured to perform the various operations described with reference to FIGS. 1-6 .

[0126] The computing device may include a control device 700 configured to control the operation of other components forming part of the computing device 7, thereby enabling the various operations described with reference to Figures 1 to 6 to be performed. The computing device 700 may include a processing device 701 and a memory 702. Computer readable code 702-2A may be stored on the memory 702, which, when executed by the processing device 701, causes the control device 700 to perform any of the operations described herein.

[0127] In addition, the computing device may further include a display 703, a user interactive interface (UII) 704, a radio frequency interface 705 configured to interface radio frequency signals transmitted and received via a radio frequency antenna array 705A, and a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) 706. In some examples, other satellite communication systems may be used instead of or in addition to GNSS 706.

[0128] FIG. 8 is a diagram of an exemplary configuration of a base station 8 that may be configured to perform the various operations described with reference to FIGS. 1-6.

[0129] The base station 8 may be referred to as an eNB or access point (AP), and includes a control device 800 configured to control the operation of other components forming part of the base station 8, thereby enabling the transmission of signals to UEs in the vicinity of its coverage area and the reception of signals from such UEs. For example, the base station control device 800 is configured to cause reference signals to be transmitted to UEs within its coverage area. Furthermore, in some examples, the control device 800 may be configured to receive reference signal measurement data and / or location data from such UEs in its coverage area. The control device 800 may also be capable of communicating with other base stations and / or other network nodes. The control device 800 may additionally be configured to cause any other operations described herein with reference to the base station 8.

[0130] The base station 8 includes an RF antenna array 805 configured to receive and transmit RF signals. Although the base station 8 in FIG. 8 is shown as having an array 805A of three antennas, this is only illustrative. The number of antennas can vary, for example, from one to hundreds.

[0131] The base station 8 further includes a radio frequency interface 805 configured to interface radio frequency signals received and transmitted by the antenna 805A, and a control device 80. The radio frequency interface 805 may also be referred to as a transmitter, a receiver and / or a transceiver. The base station 8 may also include an interface 807, through which, for example, it may communicate with other network elements, such as other radio access network entities (such as other base stations) and / or core network entities.

[0132] The base station control device 800 can be configured to process signals from the RF interface 805 to control the RF interface 805 to generate suitable RF signals to transmit information to the UE via the wireless communication link, and also exchange information with other base stations 8 and core network entities via interface 807.

[0133] The control device 800 may include a processing device 801 and a memory 802. Computer readable code 802-2A may be stored on the memory 802, which when executed by the processing device 801 causes the control device 800 to perform any of the operations described herein and attributed to the base station 8.

[0134] Some further details of the components and features of the above-mentioned devices / entities / apparatuses 7, 8 and their alternatives will now be described.

[0135] The control devices 700, 800 described above may include a processing device 701, 801 communicatively coupled to a memory 702, 802. The memory 702, 802 has computer readable instructions 702-2A, 802-2A stored thereon, which, when executed by the processing device 701, 801, cause the control device 700, 800 to perform various operations described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6. The control devices 700, 800 may be referred to as "devices" in some examples using a generic term.

[0136] The processing device 701, 801 may have any suitable composition and may include one or more processors 701A, 801A of any suitable type or combination of suitable types. In fact, the term "processing device" should be understood to include computers with different architectures such as single / multi-processor architecture and sequencer / parallel architecture. For example, the processing device 701, 801 may be a programmable processor that interprets computer program instructions 702-2A, 802-2A and processes data. The processing device 701, 801 may include multiple programmable processors. Alternatively, the processing device 701, 801 may be programmable hardware with embedded firmware, for example. The processing device 701, 801 may alternatively or additionally include one or more dedicated circuits, such as a field programmable gate array FPGA, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a signal processing device, etc. In some examples, the processing device 701, 801 may be referred to as a computing device or a processing component.

[0137] The processing device 701, 801 is coupled to the memory 702, 802 and is operable to read or write data to or from the memory 702, 802. The memory 702, 802 may include a single memory unit or a plurality of memory units on which computer readable instructions (or software code) 702-2A, 802-2A are stored. For example, the memory 702, 802 may include both volatile memory 702-1, 802-1 and non-volatile memory 702-2, 802-2. In such examples, the computer readable instructions / program code 702-2A, 802-2A may be stored in the non-volatile memory 702-2, 802-2 and may be executed by the processing device 701, 801 using the volatile memory 702-1, 802-1 for temporary storage of data or data and instructions. Examples of volatile memory include random access memory (RAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM). Examples of non-volatile memory include read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical storage or magnetic storage, etc.

[0138] The memory 702, 802 may be referred to as one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media or one or more storage devices. Furthermore, the term "memory" may include only one or more volatile memories or only one or more non-volatile memories, in addition to including both one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. In the context of this document, a "memory" or "computer-readable medium" may be any medium or component that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport instructions for use by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

[0139] The computer readable instructions / program code 702-2A, 802-2A may be pre-programmed into the control device 700, 800. Alternatively, the computer readable instructions 702-2A, 802-2A may arrive at the control device via an electromagnetic carrier signal, or may be copied from a physical entity 9, such as a computer program product, a memory device, or a recording medium, such as a compact disc read only memory (CD-ROM) or a digital versatile disc (DVD), an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 9. The computer readable instructions 702-2A, 802-2A may provide the logic and routines that enable the physical device / apparatus 7, 8 to perform the above-described functionality. A combination of computer readable instructions stored on a memory (of any of the above-described types) may be referred to as a computer program product. In general, references to computer programs, instructions, code, etc. should be understood to mean software for use with a programmable processor firmware, such as the programmable contents of a hardware device, as instructions for a processor, or to be assembled, or as configuration settings for a fixed function device, gate array, programmable logic device, etc.

[0140] As desired, the various functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and / or in parallel with one another. Furthermore, one or more of the above functions may be selected or combined as desired. Similarly, it will also be appreciated that the flow charts of FIGS. 7 and 8 are merely examples, and the various operations shown therein may be omitted, reordered, and / or combined.

[0141] Although the method and apparatus have been described in conjunction with an E-UTRA network, it will be appreciated that they are not limited to such networks and are applicable to various different types of radio networks.

[0142] Although the various aspects of the methods and devices described herein are set forth in the independent items of the patent application, other aspects may still include other combinations of features from the described embodiments and / or dependent items and features of the independent items, not just the combinations explicitly set forth in the patent application.

[0143] It is also noted herein that, although various examples are described above, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Instead, several variations and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

[0144] Finally, various additional aspects of this specification are described below.

[0145] In a first additional aspect, the present specification describes a terminal device comprising: means for determining whether to apply a measurement validity period for use in verifying measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some instances, the terminal device further comprises: means for verifying the measurements without applying the measurement validity period; and means for reporting the empirically verified measurements to the telecommunications network. In some such instances, the means for verifying is configured to verify the measurements using at least one sensor of the terminal device.

[0146] In some examples, the determining means is configured to determine not to apply the measurement validity period in response to the measurement validity period belonging to a specific value indicating that the measurement validity period should not be applied. In some such examples, the specific value for the measurement validity period includes at least one of: a maximum value for the measurement validity period, an out-of-range value for the measurement validity period, and / or an alternate value for the measurement validity period.

[0147] In some examples, the terminal device may further include: means for receiving a flag indicating whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements, wherein the means for determining is configured to determine not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the flag indicating that the received flag indicates that the measurement validity duration should not be used to verify the measurements. Additionally or alternatively, the means for determining may be configured to determine not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the terminal device having enhanced measurement capabilities. Additionally or alternatively, the terminal device may further include: means for modifying a configuration of the measurement validity duration; and means for verifying the measurements by applying the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration.

[0148] In a second additional aspect, the specification describes a network node comprising: means for determining not to configure a terminal device by virtue of a measurement validity duration used in a measurement of a signal received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by a terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some examples, the means for determining is configured to determine not to configure the terminal device based on a type and / or capability of the terminal device. Additionally or alternatively, the network node may further comprise: means for receiving measurements from the terminal device, wherein the measurements have been verified according to internal validity criteria of the terminal device.

[0149] In a third additional aspect, the specification describes an apparatus (e.g., a terminal device) comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least operations including: determining whether to apply a measurement validity period for use in verifying measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some instances, the operations further include: verifying the measurements without applying the measurement validity period; and reporting the empirical measurements to the telecommunications network. In some such instances, the measurements are verified using at least one sensor of the terminal device.

[0150] In some instances, the determination includes determining not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the measurement validity duration belonging to a particular value indicating that the measurement validity duration should not be applied. In some such instances, the particular value for the measurement validity duration includes at least one of: a maximum value for the measurement validity duration, an out-of-range value for the measurement validity duration, and / or an alternate value for the measurement validity duration.

[0151] In some examples, the operations may further include: receiving a flag indicating whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements, wherein the determining includes determining not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the flag indicating that the received flag indicates that the measurement validity duration should not be used to verify the measurements. Additionally or alternatively, the determining includes determining not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the terminal device having enhanced measurement capabilities. Additionally or alternatively, the operations may further include: modifying a configuration component of the measurement validity duration; and verifying the measurements by applying the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration.

[0152] In a fourth additional aspect, the specification describes an apparatus (e.g., a network node or base station) comprising at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus to perform at least operations comprising: determining not to configure a terminal device by virtue of a measurement validity duration used in verifying a measurement of a signal received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by a terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some instances, the measurement validity duration is mandatory for the terminal device to be applied. In some instances, the determination comprises determining not to configure the terminal device based on a type and / or capability of the terminal device. Additionally or alternatively, the operations may further comprise: receiving a component for measurement from the terminal device, wherein the measurements have been verified according to internal validity criteria of the terminal device.

[0153] In a fifth additional aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: determining, by a terminal device, whether to apply a measurement validity period for use in verifying measurements of signals received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some instances, the method further comprises: means for verifying the measurements without applying the measurement validity period; and reporting the empirically verified measurements to the telecommunications network. In some such instances, the measurements are verified using at least one sensor of the terminal device.

[0154] In some instances, the determination includes determining not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the measurement validity duration belonging to a particular value indicating that the measurement validity duration should not be applied. In some such instances, the particular value for the measurement validity duration includes at least one of: a maximum value for the measurement validity duration, an out-of-range value for the measurement validity duration, and / or an alternate value for the measurement validity duration.

[0155] In some examples, the method may further include: receiving a flag indicating whether the measurement validity duration should be used to verify the measurements, wherein the determining includes determining not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the flag indicating that the received flag indicates that the measurement validity duration should not be used to verify the measurements. Additionally or alternatively, the determining includes determining not to apply the measurement validity duration in response to the terminal device having enhanced measurement capabilities. Additionally or alternatively, the method may further include: modifying a configuration component of the measurement validity duration; and verifying the measurements by applying the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration.

[0156] In a sixth additional aspect, the present specification describes a method comprising: determining not to assemble components for a terminal device by virtue of a measurement validity duration used in a measurement of a signal received from at least one cell of a telecommunications network performed by a terminal device in an idle mode or an inactive mode. In some examples, the determination comprises determining not to assemble the terminal device based on a type and / or capability of the terminal device. Additionally or alternatively, the method may further comprise: receiving components for measurements from the terminal device, wherein the measurements have been verified according to internal validity criteria of the terminal device.

[0157] In a seventh additional aspect, the present specification describes a non-transitory computer-readable medium comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing at least any one of the operations described above with reference to the fifth and sixth aspects.

[0158] 2: Operation Mode 4: Reference number; message flow sequence 7: Computing equipment 8: Base station 9: Physical Entity 100: terminal device 110: Nest 120: Nest 201: Connected mode 202: No action mode 203: Idle mode 301: Time 302: Time 303: Time 304: Time 305: Time 306: Time 307: Time 401: Operation 402: Operation 403: Operation 404: Operation 405: Operation 406: Operation 407: Operation S5.1: Operation S5.2: Operation S5.3a: Operation S5.3b: Operation S5.4: Operation S6.1: Operation S6.2: Operation S6.3: Operation 700: Control Equipment 701: Processing Equipment 701A: Processor 702: Memory 702-1: Electrically dependent memory 702-2: Non-volatile memory 702-2A: Computer readable code; Computer readable instructions; Computer program instructions; Computer readable instructions / program code 703: Display 704: User Interaction Interface (UII) 705: RF interface 705A:RF Antenna Array 706: Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) 801: Processing equipment 801A: Processor 802: Memory 802-1: Electrically dependent memory 802-2: Non-volatile memory 802-2A: Computer readable code; Computer readable instructions; Computer program instructions; Computer readable instructions / program code 805: RF antenna array; RF interface 805A: Array; Antenna 807: Interface

Claims

1. A terminal device comprising: a component for receiving configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity period pre-configured at the terminal device, wherein, The measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network by the terminal device in an idle mode or a non-operation mode; a component for determining whether to follow the modified configuration or the pre-configured measurement validity duration for the measurement validity duration; a component for verifying the measurements by applying the measurement validity duration according to the modified configuration indicated by the received configuration information in response to the determination that to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration; a component for verifying the measurements by applying the pre-configured measurement validity duration in response to the determination that to follow the pre-configured measurement validity duration; and a component for reporting the verified measurements to the telecommunications network.

2. As in request item 1, the terminal device, wherein, The pre-configured measurement validity period includes a first measurement validity period received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity period indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity period and indicates that the second measurement validity period overrides the first measurement validity period, and wherein the components used for judgment are configured to comply with the modified configuration for the measurement validity period by using the second measurement validity period to verify the measurements.

3. As in request item 1, the terminal device, wherein, The pre-configured measurement validity period includes a first measurement validity period received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity period indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity period and indicates that the first measurement validity period overrides the second measurement validity period, and wherein the components used for judgment are configured to comply with the pre-configured measurement validity period by using the first measurement validity period to verify the measurements.

4. The terminal device as requested in item 2 or 3, wherein, The first measurement validity duration is included in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message received by the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and / or the second measurement validity duration is included in a System Information Block (SIB) message received by the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network.

5. A terminal device as described in any of requests 1 to 3, wherein, The measurements are deemed valid when they are performed by the terminal device during a period of time corresponding to the validity period of the measurement, which ends at a measurement report time.

6. A terminal device as described in any of requests 1 to 3, wherein, The configuration information includes an evaluation reference time, and the terminal device is configured to determine the validity of the measurements when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the validity period of the measurements ending at the evaluation reference time.

7. The terminal device as described in claim 6, wherein, The assessment reference time corresponds to the terminal device receiving at least one of a call message and a user equipment (UE) information request message, or to the terminal device transmitting at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) recovery completion message, an RRC setup completion message, and a UE information response message.

8. A terminal device as described in any of requests 1 to 3, wherein, The configuration information includes a flag indicating whether the measurements should be used to verify them, and wherein the components used to determine whether to follow the modified configuration for the validity period of the measurement or the pre-configured measurement validity period are configured based on the flag included in the configuration information.

9. A terminal device as described in any of requests 1 to 3, wherein, The configuration information indicates that the pre-configured measurement validity period should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in either the idle mode or the inactive mode, and further indicates that the modified configuration for the measurement validity period should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode. The components used for judgment are configured to determine whether the pre-configured measurement validity period should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in either the idle mode or the inactive mode, and the components used for judgment are configured to determine whether the modified configuration for the measurement validity period should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode.

10. A terminal device as described in any of requests 1 to 3, wherein, The configuration information is received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network in at least one of the following: a System Information Block (SIB) message, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and / or a Media Access Control (MAC) message.

11. A network node comprising: a component for transmitting configuration information to a terminal device, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity period pre-configured at the terminal device, such that the terminal device can: determine whether to follow the modified configuration or the pre-configured measurement validity period; upon determining that to follow the modified configuration for the measurement validity period, verify the measurements by applying the measurement validity period according to the modified configuration indicated by the received configuration information; upon determining that to follow the pre-configured measurement validity period, verify the measurements by applying the pre-configured measurement validity period; and report the verified measurements to a telecommunications network, wherein... The validity period of the measurement is used to verify the measurement of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network by the terminal device in an idle mode or a non-operational mode.

12. The network node of claim 11 further includes: a component for receiving from the terminal device an empirical measurement of the signal received from the at least one cell of the telecommunications network, performed by the terminal device in an idle mode or a non-operation mode.

13. For network nodes as requested in items 11 or 12, where, The configuration information is transmitted to the terminal device in at least one of the following: System Information Block (SIB) message, Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and / or a control message based on the Media Access Control (MAC) header.

14. A method for communication, the method comprising: receiving configuration information from at least one base station of a telecommunications network at a terminal device, the configuration information indicating a modified configuration for a measurement validity period pre-configured at the terminal device, wherein... The measurement validity duration is used to verify measurements of signals received from at least one cell of the telecommunications network by the terminal device in an idle mode or a non-operational mode; to determine whether to follow the modified configuration or the pre-configured measurement validity duration for the measurement validity duration; to verify the measurements by applying the measurement validity duration according to the modified configuration indicated by the received configuration information, in response to the determination that the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration should be followed; to verify the measurements by applying the pre-configured measurement validity duration, in response to the determination that the pre-configured measurement validity duration should be followed; and to report the verified measurements to the telecommunications network.

15. As in request item 14, wherein, The pre-configured measurement validity duration includes a first measurement validity duration received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity duration and indicates that the second measurement validity duration overrides the first measurement validity duration, and the method includes: following the modified configuration for the measurement validity duration by using the second measurement validity duration to verify the measurements.

16. As in request item 14, wherein, The pre-configured measurement validity period includes a first measurement validity period received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, wherein the modified configuration for the measurement validity period indicated by the received configuration information includes a second measurement validity period, and indicates that the first measurement validity period overrides the second measurement validity period, and the method includes: following the pre-configured measurement validity period by using the first measurement validity period to verify the measurements.

17. As in request item 15 or 16, wherein, The first measurement validity period is included in a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message received by the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network, and / or the second measurement validity period is included in a System Information Block (SIB) message received by the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network.

18. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16 above, wherein, The measurements are deemed valid when they are performed by the terminal device during a period of time corresponding to the validity period of the measurement, which ends at a measurement report time.

19. The method of any one of claims 14 to 16 above, wherein, The configuration information includes an evaluation reference time, and the terminal device is configured to determine the validity of the measurements when the measurements are performed by the terminal device during a time period corresponding to the validity period of the measurements ending at the evaluation reference time.

20. The method as described in request item 19, wherein, The assessment reference time corresponds to the terminal device receiving at least one of a call message and a user equipment (UE) information request message, or to the terminal device transmitting at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) recovery completion message, an RRC setup completion message, and a UE information response message.

21. The method of any one of requests 14 to 16, wherein, The configuration information includes a flag indicating whether the measurement validity period should be used to verify the measurements, and the determination of whether to follow the modified configuration or the pre-configured measurement validity period is based on the flag included in the configuration information.

22. The method of any one of requests 14 to 16, wherein, The configuration information indicates that the pre-configured measurement validity period should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in either the idle mode or the inactive mode, and further indicates that the modified configuration for the measurement validity period should be applied to measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode. The determination step includes: determining whether the pre-configured measurement validity period should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in either the idle mode or the inactive mode; and the determination step further includes: determining whether the modified configuration for the measurement validity period should be followed for verification of measurements performed by the terminal device in the other of the idle mode and the inactive mode.

23. The method of any one of requests 14 to 16, wherein, The configuration information is received at the terminal device from the at least one base station of the telecommunications network in at least one of the following: a System Information Block (SIB) message, a Radio Resource Control (RRC) message, and / or a Media Access Control (MAC) message.

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