Determining measurements to use for evaluating measurement condition

Abstract

Disclosed is a method comprising receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

Description

[0001] DETERMINING MEASUREMENTS TO USE FOR EVALUATING MEASUREMENT

[0002] CONDITION

[0003] TECHNICAL FIELD

[0004] The following example embodiments relate to wireless communication.

[0005] BACKGROUND

[0006] Optimizing power consumption of a user equipment is desirable to prolong battery life and enhance user experience by ensuring longer usage periods.

[0007] BRIEF DESCRIPTION

[0008] The scope of protection sought for various example embodiments is set out by the independent claims. The example embodiments and features, if any, described in this specification that do not fall under the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various embodiments.

[0009] According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtain, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluate the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

[0010] According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; means for determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; means for obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and means for evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

[0011] According to another aspect, there is provided a method comprising: receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

[0012] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low- power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

[0013] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low- power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

[0014] According to another aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data. According to an aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: transmit, to at least one user equipment, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, the at least one user equipment being configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0015] According to another aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to at least one user equipment, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, the at least one user equipment being configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0016] According to another aspect, there is provided a method comprising: transmitting, to at least one user equipment, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, the at least one user equipment being configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low- power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block. According to another aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: transmitting, to at least one user equipment, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, the at least one user equipment being configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0017] According to another aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: transmitting, to at least one user equipment, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, the at least one user equipment being configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0018] According to another aspect, there is provided a non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: transmitting, to at least one user equipment, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, the at least one user equipment being configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low- power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0019] LIST OF DRAWINGS

[0020] In the following, various example embodiments will be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which

[0021] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a wireless communication network;

[0022] FIG. 2 illustrates a signal flow diagram;

[0023] FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart;

[0024] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart;

[0025] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart;

[0026] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart;

[0027] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart;

[0028] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart;

[0029] FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an apparatus;

[0030] FIG. 10 illustrates a flow chart; and

[0031] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of an apparatus.

[0032] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The following embodiments are exemplifying. Although the specification may refer to "an", "one", or "some" embodiment(s) in several locations of the text, this does not necessarily mean that each reference is made to the same embodiment(s), or that a particular feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Furthermore, the words "comprising" and "including" should be understood as not limiting the described embodiments to consist of only those features that have been mentioned, and such embodiments may also contain features that have not been specifically mentioned. Reference numbers, in the description and / or in the claims, serve to illustrate the embodiments with reference to the drawings, without limiting the embodiments to these examples only. Some example embodiments described herein may be implemented in a wireless communication network comprising a radio access network based on one or more of the following radio access technologies (RATs): global system for mobile communications (GSM) or any other second generation (2G) radio access technology, universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS, 3G) based on basic wideband-code division multiple access (W-CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA), long term evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced, fourth generation (4G), fifth generation (5G), 5G new radio (NR), 5G-Advanced (i.e., 3GPP NR Rel-18 and beyond), or sixth generation (6G). Some examples of radio access networks include the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) radio access network (UTRAN), the evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRA), or the next generation radio access network (NG-RAN). The wireless communication network may further comprise a core network, and some example embodiments may also be applied to network functions of the core network.

[0034] It should be noted that the embodiments are not restricted to the wireless communication network given as an example, but a person skilled in the art may also apply the solution to other wireless communication networks or systems provided with necessary properties. For example, some example embodiments may also be applied to a communication system based on IEEE 802.11 specifications, or a communication system based on IEEE 802.15 specifications. IEEE is an abbreviation for the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

[0035] FIG. 1 depicts an example of a simplified wireless communication network showing some physical and logical entities. The connections shown in FIG. 1 may be physical connections or logical connections. It is apparent to a person skilled in the art that the wireless communication network may also comprise other physical and logical entities than those shown in FIG. 1.

[0036] The example embodiments described herein are not, however, restricted to the wireless communication network given as an example but a person skilled in the art may apply the example embodiments described herein to other wireless communication networks provided with necessary properties. The example wireless communication network shown in FIG. 1 includes a radio access network (RAN) and a core network 110.

[0037] FIG. 1 shows user equipment (UE) 100, 102 configured to be in a wireless connection on one or more communication channels in a radio cell with an access node 104 of a radio access network.

[0038] The access node 104 may comprise a computing device configured to control the radio resources of the access node 104 and to be in a wireless connection with one or more UEs 100, 102. The access node 104 may also be referred to as a base station, a base transceiver station (BTS), an access point, a cell site, a network node, a radio access network node, or a RAN node. In this description, the terms "access node" and "radio access network node" may be used interchangeably.

[0039] The access node 104 may be, for example, an evolved NodeB (abbreviated as eNB or eNodeB), or a next generation evolved NodeB (abbreviated as ng-eNB), or a next generation NodeB (abbreviated as gNB or gNodeB), providing the radio cell. The access node 104 may include or be coupled to transceivers. From the transceivers of the access node 104, a connection may be provided to an antenna unit that establishes a bi-directional radio link to one or more UEs 100, 102. The antenna unit may comprise an antenna or antenna element, or a plurality of antennas or antenna elements.

[0040] The wireless connection (e.g., radio link) from a UE 100, 102 to the access node 104 may be called uplink (UL) or reverse link, and the wireless connection (e.g., radio link) from the access node 104 to the UE 100, 102 may be called downlink (DL) or forward link. A UE 100 may also communicate directly with another UE 102, and vice versa, via a wireless connection generally referred to as a sidelink (SL). It should be appreciated that the access node 104 or its functionalities may be implemented by using any node, host, server, access point or other entity suitable for providing such functionalities.

[0041] The radio access network may comprise more than one access node 104, in which case the access nodes may also be configured to communicate with one another over wired or wireless links. These links between access nodes may be used for sending and receiving control plane signaling and also for routing data from one access node to another access node.

[0042] The access node 104 may further be connected to a core network (CN) 110. The core network 110 may comprise an evolved packet core (EPC) network and / or a 5thgeneration core network (5GC). The EPC may comprise network entities, such as a serving gateway (S-GW for routing and forwarding data packets), a packet data network gateway (P-GW) for providing connectivity of UEs to external packet data networks, and / or a mobility management entity (MME). The 5GC may comprise one or more network functions, such as at least one of: a user plane function (UPF), an access and mobility management function (AMF), a location management function (LMF), and / or a session management function (SMF).

[0043] The core network 110 may also be able to communicate with one or more external networks 113, such as a public switched telephone network or the Internet, or utilize services provided by them. For example, in 5G wireless communication networks, the UPF of the core network 110 may be configured to communicate with an external data network via an N6 interface. In LTE wireless communication networks, the P-GW of the core network 110 may be configured to communicate with an external data network.

[0044] It should also be understood that the distribution of functions between core network operations and access node operations may differ in future wireless communication networks compared to that of the LTE or 5G, or even be nonexistent.

[0045] The illustrated UE 100, 102 is one type of an apparatus to which resources on the air interface may be allocated and assigned. The UE 100, 102 may also be called a wireless communication device, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a terminal device, or a user device, just to mention but a few names. The UE 100, 102 may be a computing device operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of computing devices: a mobile phone, a smartphone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a handset, a computing device comprising a wireless modem (e.g., an alarm or measurement device, etc.), a laptop computer, a desktop computer, a tablet, a game console, a notebook, a multimedia device, a reduced capability (RedCap) device, a wearable device (e.g., a watch, earphones or eyeglasses) with radio parts, a sensor comprising a wireless modem, or a computing device comprising a wireless modem integrated in a vehicle.

[0046] It should be appreciated that the UE 100, 102 may also be a nearly exclusive uplink-only device, of which an example may be a camera or video camera loading images or video clips to a network. The UE 100, 102 may also be a device having capability to operate in an Internet of Things (loT) network, which is a scenario in which objects may be provided with the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

[0047] The wireless communication network may also be able to support the usage of cloud services. For example, at least part of core network operations may be carried out as a cloud service (this is depicted in FIG. 1 by "cloud" 114). The UE 100, 102 may also utilize the cloud 114. In some applications, the computation for a given UE may be carried out in the cloud 114 or in another UE.

[0048] The wireless communication network may also comprise a central control entity, such as a network management system (NMS), or the like. The NMS is a centralized suite of software and hardware used to monitor, control, and administer the network infrastructure. The NMS is responsible for a wide range of tasks such as fault management, configuration management, security management, performance management, and accounting management. The NMS enables network operators to efficiently manage and optimize network resources, ensuring that the network delivers high performance, reliability, and security.

[0049] 5G enables using multiple-input and multiple-output (M1M0) antennas in the access node 104 and / or the UE 100, 102, many more base stations or access nodes than an LTE network (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and employing a variety of radio technologies depending on service needs, use cases and / or spectrum available. 5G wireless communication networks may support a wide range of use cases and related applications including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing and various forms of machine-type applications, such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC), including vehicular safety, different sensors and real-time control.

[0050] In 5G wireless communication networks, access nodes and / or UEs may have multiple radio interfaces, such as below 6 gigahertz (GHz), centimeter wave (cmWave) and millimeter wave (mmWave), and also being integrable with legacy radio access technologies, such as LTE. Integration with LTE maybe implemented, for example, as a system, where macro coverage may be provided by LTE, and 5G radio interface access may come from small cells by aggregation to LTE. In other words, a 5G wireless communication network may support both inter-RAT operability (such as interoperability between LTE and 5G) and inter-Rl operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as between below 6GHz, cmWave, and mmWave).

[0051] 5G wireless communication networks may also apply network slicing, in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub-networks (network instances) maybe created within the same physical infrastructure to run services that have different requirements on latency, reliability, throughput and mobility.

[0052] In one embodiment, an access node 104 may comprise: a radio unit (RU) comprising a radio transceiver (TRX), i.e., a transmitter (Tx) and a receiver (Rx); one or more distributed units (DUs) 105 that may be used for the so-called Layer 1 (LI) processing and real-time Layer 2 (L2) processing; and a central unit (CU) 108 (also known as a centralized unit) that may be used for non-real-time L2 and Layer 3 (L3) processing. The CU 108 may be connected to the one or more DUs 105 for example via an Fl interface. Such an embodiment of the access node 104 may enable the centralization of CUs relative to the cell sites and DUs, whereas DUs may be more distributed and may even remain at cell sites. The CU and DU together may also be referred to as baseband or a baseband unit (BBU). The CU and DU may also be comprised in a radio access point (RAP).

[0053] The CU 108 may be a logical node hosting radio resource control (RRC), service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) and / or packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), of the NR protocol stack for an access node 104. The CU 108 may comprise a control plane (CU-CP), which may be a logical node hosting the RRC and the control plane part of the PDCP protocol of the NR protocol stack for the access node 104. The CU 108 may further comprise a user plane (CU-UP), which maybe a logical node hosting the user plane part of the PDCP protocol and the SDAP protocol of the CU for the access node 104.

[0054] The DU 105 may be a logical node hosting radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) and / or physical (PHY) layers of the NR protocol stack for the access node 104. The operations of the DU 105 may be at least partly controlled by the CU 108. It should also be understood that the distribution of functions between the DU 105 and the CU 108 may vary depending on the implementation.

[0055] Cloud computing systems may also be used to provide the CU 108 and / or DU 105. A CU provided by a cloud computing system may be referred to as a virtualized CU (vCU). In addition to the vCU, there may also be a virtualized DU (vDU) provided by a cloud computing system. Furthermore, there may also be a combination, where the DU may be implemented on so-called bare metal solutions, for example application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) or customer-specific standard product (CSSP) system-on-a-chip (SoC).

[0056] Edge cloud may be brought into the radio access network by utilizing network function virtualization (NFV) and software defined networking (SDN). Using edge cloud may mean access node operations to be carried out, at least partly, in a computing system operationally coupled to a remote radio head (RRH) or a radio unit (RU) of an access node 104. It is also possible that access node operations may be performed on a distributed computing system or a cloud computing system located at the access node 104. Application of cloud RAN architecture enables RAN real-time functions being carried out at the radio access network (e.g., in a DU 105), and non-real-time functions being carried out in a centralized manner (e.g., in a CU 108).

[0057] 5G (or new radio, NR) wireless communication networks may support multiple hierarchies, where multi-access edge computing (MEC) servers may be placed between the core network 110 and the access node 104. It should be appreciated that MEC may be applied in LTE wireless communication networks as well.

[0058] A 5G wireless communication network ("5G network") may also comprise a non-terrestrial communication network, such as a satellite communication network, to enhance or complement the coverage of the 5G radio access network. For example, satellite communication may support the transfer of data between the 5G radio access network and the core network 110, enabling more extensive network coverage. Possible use cases may include: providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (loT) devices or for passengers on board of vehicles, or ensuring service availability for critical communications, and future railway, maritime, or aeronautical communications. Satellite communication may utilize geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems, but also low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, in particular mega-constellations (i.e., systems in which hundreds of (nano) satellites are deployed). A given satellite 106 in the mega- constellation may cover several satellite-enabled network entities that create on-ground cells. The on-ground cells may be created through an on-ground relay access node or by an access node located on-ground or in a satellite.

[0059] It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the access node 104 depicted in FIG. 1 is just an example of a part of a radio access network, and in practice the radio access network may comprise a plurality of access nodes 104, the UEs 100, 102 may have access to a plurality of radio cells, and the radio access network may also comprise other apparatuses, such as physical layer relay access nodes or other entities. At least one of the access nodes may be a Home eNodeB or a Home gNodeB. A Home gNodeB or a Home eNodeB is a type of access node that may be used to provide indoor coverage inside a home, office, or other indoor environment.

[0060] Additionally, in a geographical area of a radio access network, a plurality of different kinds of radio cells as well as a plurality of radio cells may be provided. Radio cells may be macro cells (or umbrella cells) which may be large cells having a diameter of up to tens of kilometers, or smaller cells such as micro-, femto- or picocells. The access node(s) 104 of FIG. 1 may provide any kind of these cells. A cellular radio network maybe implemented as a multilayer access networks including several kinds of radio cells. In multilayer access networks, one access node may provide one kind of a radio cell or radio cells, and thus a plurality of access nodes may be needed to provide such a multilayer access network.

[0061] For fulfilling the need for improving performance of radio access networks, the concept of "plug-and-play" access nodes may be introduced. A radio access network, which may be able to use "plug-and-play" access nodes, may include, in addition to Home eNodeBs or Home gNodeBs, a Home Node B gateway (HNB-GW) (not shown in FIG. 1). An HNB-GW, which may be installed within an operator’s radio access network, may aggregate traffic from a large number of Home eNodeBs or Home gNodeBs back to a core network 110 of the operator.

[0062] Some example embodiments relate to network awareness on the sleep state of a UE.

[0063] Currently, UEs 100, 102 may need to periodically wake up once per discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle. When the UE wakes up, the power consumption of the UE increases. If UEs wake up only when they are triggered (e.g., via paging), power consumption may be reduced. This can be achieved by using a low-power wake-up signal (LP-WUS) to trigger the main receiver (MR) of the UE, and a separate low-power wake-up receiver (LP-WUR) that can monitor the wakeup signals with lower power consumption compared to the main receiver. In other words, to page the UE, the network (e.g., access node 104) may broadcast a low- power wake-up signal including the UE’s unique address. Upon receiving or detecting the LP-WUS with the LP-WUR, the UE may wake up for physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) monitoring. The power consumption for monitoring wake-up signals depends on the wake-up signal design and the hardware module of the wake-up receiver used for signal detecting and processing.

[0064] The LP-WUS operating principle is that in every wake-up cycle, called w-cycle, the LP-WUR monitors a set of specified subcarriers for a short duration of time to determine whether it receives a wake-up indicator (Wl) or not. Through the WI, the network (e.g., access node 104) may inform the UE to decode the PDCCH with a specified time offset, called w-offset. Once the LP-WUR successfully detects the Wl, the baseband processor (BBP) will be switched on. After that, the BBP decodes the PDCCH messages at an active state for a preconfigured on-duration period, followed by the initiation of its inactivity timer. After the inactivity timer is initiated, and if a new PDCCH message is received before the timer expiration, the BBP re-initiates its inactivity timer. However, if there is no PDCCH message received before the expiration of the inactivity timer, a sleep period starts, the UE switches to its sleep state, and the LP-WUR operates according to its w-cycle.

[0065] By using the LP-WUR, the main receiver of the UE can enter an ultradeep sleep state, i.e., a state where the main receiver may sleep or be turned off. The ultra-deep sleep state may be entered, when one or more predefined conditions are fulfilled. During ultra-deep sleep or when using the LP-WUR, the UE’s main receiver may not perform measurements as in legacy procedures.

[0066] If the serving cell conditions are good enough, the UE may rely on the LP-WUR measurements alone. However, when the UE moves further away from the serving cell (and the measured signal power falls below a set threshold), the measurements by the main receiver may be (re)initiated, possibly first with relaxed periodicity (i.e., less frequently). If the observed radio conditions of the serving cell degrade further, then the measurement periodicity of the main receiver may be adjusted such that the measurements are performed more frequently.

[0067] There are at least three cases for which the LP-WUR can perform measurements: low-power synchronization signal (LP-SS) entry / exit condition evaluation (i.e., start or stop monitoring LP-SS), radio resource management (RRM) measurement relaxation condition evaluation, and cell selection and / or cell reselection condition evaluation. The LP-WUR may be capable of performing LP-SS measurements and / or synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements. The main receiver may be capable of performing LP-SS measurements and / or synchronization signal block (SSB) measurements.

[0068] A difference between LP-WUS and LP-SS is that LP-SS is transmitted periodically (i.e., at regular intervals), while LP-WUS is transmitted only when the network (e.g., access node 104) has a need to wake-up one or more UEs for PDCCH monitoring.

[0069] To provide additional power saving opportunities, the UE can also perform serving cell measurements by interleaving measurements on LP-SS and SSB, e.g. by performing both LP-SS and SSB measurements in an alternating manner. The UE may also adjust the mutual portions of the LP-SS and SSB measurements as a part of the interleaving measurements. To attain more power savings, it is possible to have a region where the signal strength of LP-SS is no longer strong enough to allow RRM measurements completely based on LP-SS, but is still good enough to be used as part of serving cell measurement. This would give the UE more opportunities to save power. For example, LP-SS-based measurements may be interleaved with SSB-based measurements, and the latter may be performed once every N LP-SS-based measurements. In this case, the UE can still use LP-SS to save some power, and SSB measurements can be used to help calibrate the accuracy of the measurements on LP-SS, thus reaching high accuracy with low power consumption. The improved accuracy may also give the UE a more reliable assessment of when to stop using LP-SS for serving cell measurements.

[0070] However, if LP-SS and SSB measurements are interleaved, there is a challenge in how to determine which measurements are used in different condition evaluations, such as the LP-SS usage entry / exit condition evaluation, the RRM measurement relaxation condition evaluation, or the cell (re)selection condition evaluation. In addition, the measurement accuracy may be different between measurements performed by the main receiver and the LP-WUR. For example, it may be possible that the measurement obtained by using the main receiver gives a different result than the measurement obtained by using the LP-WUR. Often, the main receiver may provide a greater accuracy.

[0071] Some example embodiments are described below using principles and terminology of 5G radio access technology without limiting the example embodiments to 5G radio access technology, however.

[0072] For the sake of definition, the terms SSB and the LP-SS may be understood to be analogous to their definition in the 3GPP specifications. However, the same signals may be provided in other wireless networks and protocols. The SSB may be understood as a signal block that carries one or more synchronization signals on a physical broadcast channel (PBCH). In the 5G NR, the SSB carries a Primary Synchronization Signal and a Secondary Synchronization Signal. Additionally, the SSB carries PBCH demodulation reference signal (DMRS) and PBCH data. In other protocols, the SSB may have a different structure and may be void of the PBCH data, for example. The purpose of the SSB is to provide the UE with the first signal to detect and decode once it is powered on. The UE may use the SSB for frequency and time synchronization with a cell and for obtaining a physical cell identifier. And as described herein, the SSB may be used for the measurements. The LP-SS distinguishes from the SSB in that the LP-SS is a synchronization signal targeted for the LP-WUR. Furthermore, LP-SS uses a simpler modulation scheme compared to SSB, such as on-off keying (OOK).

[0073] This is just two major components of SS Block and it carries a lot of details. Followings are the topics that will be explained in this page.

[0074] Some example embodiments define how different measurements results (e.g., SSB measurements and / or LP-SS measurements) that may be obtained by two different receivers (e.g., the main receiver and the low-power wake-up receiver) are taken into account in the condition evaluation.

[0075] The example embodiments described below may help to reduce UE power consumption, since some measurements may be offloaded from the main receiver to the low-power wake-up receiver. Furthermore, the example embodiments may provide predictable UE behavior with different measurements and condition evaluations.

[0076] FIG. 2 illustrates a signal flow diagram according to an example embodiment.

[0077] Referring to FIG. 2, at 201, a UE 100 receives, from a network node (access node) 104 of a radio access network, information indicating a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring (only) one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block. In other words, the measurement condition may be measurable by either one or both of the low-power radio signal and / or the synchronization signal block. Thus, there is provided flexibility in arranging how to measure the measurement condition, by using one or both signals. The network node 104 may control a serving cell of the UE 100.

[0078] Herein the low-power radio signal may refer to a radio signal intended to be received or monitored by the low-power wake-up receiver of the UE 100. For example, the low-power radio signal may refer to LP-SS or LP-WUS. However, it should be noted that the main receiver of the UE 100 may also be capable of receiving the low-power radio signal.

[0079] At 202, the network node 104 transmits, or broadcasts, a synchronization signal block (SSB) that is received by the UE 100. The network node 104 may transmit the SSB periodically.

[0080] At 203, the network node 104 transmits, or broadcasts, a low-power radio signal, such as LP-SS or LP-WUS, that is received by the UE 100. The network node 104 may transmit the LP-SS periodically.

[0081] At 204, the UE 100 measures at least one of: the synchronization signal block transmitted from the network node 104, or the low-power radio signal transmitted from the network node 104. Alternatively, or additionally, the UE 100 may measure a synchronization signal block and / or a low-power radio signal (e.g., LP-SS or LP-WUS) transmitted from one or more other network nodes controlling one or more neighbor cells of the serving cell.

[0082] The UE 100 may measure the synchronization signal block by using either one or both of a low-power wake-up receiver of the UE 100 and / or a main receiver of the UE 100. The UE 100 may measure the low-power radio signal by using either one or both of the low-power wake-up receiver of the UE 100 and / or the main receiver of the UE 100.

[0083] For example, the UE 100 may measure at least one of the following metrics from the SSB and / or LP-SS: reference signal received power (RSRP), received signal strength indicator (RSS1), reference signal received quality (RSRQ), signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), or signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (S1NR). However, it should be noted that the measurement is not limited to these metrics, and any other metric indicative of received signal power or received signal quality may alternatively be used.

[0084] At 205, the UE 100 determines, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low- power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal or the synchronization signal block. Some examples of how to make this determination are described below with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6.

[0085] At 206, the UE 100 obtains, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block. For example, the UE 100 may perform additional measurements from the low-power radio signal and / or the synchronization signal block. The measurement data may be obtained by using at least one of the low-power wake-up receiver, or the main receiver.

[0086] The measurement data may be associated with at least one of: the serving cell of the UE 100, or the one or more neighbor cells of the serving cell. In other words, the measurement data may be measured from the SSB and / or LP-SS transmitted from the network node 104 controlling the serving cell, and / or from an SSB and / or LP-SS transmitted from the one or more other network nodes controlling the one or more neighbor cells.

[0087] The measurement data may be indicative of at least one of: received signal power or received signal quality. For example, the measurement data may comprise at least one of: one or more RSRP measurements, one or more RSS1 measurements, one or more RSRQ measurements, one or more SNR measurements, or one or more S1NR measurements.

[0088] At 207, the UE 100 evaluates the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data. The measurement condition maybe associated with at least one of: radio resource management (RRM) measurement relaxation, cell (re)selection, or monitoring the low-power radio signal. In one embodiment, the UE 100 may obtain one or more measurement results from the synchronization signal block for evaluating the measurement condition. The measurements maybe defined in two levels. Firstly, physical layer measurements may be averaged by the UE 100 over the layer 1 (LI) filter. This results in an LI measurement sample. Then the LI measurements may be averaged over the layer 3 (L3) filter to form an L3 measurement sample.

[0089] In one embodiment, one measurement instance from the SSB may equal one or more measurement instances from the LP-SS in evaluating the measurement condition. In other words, the measurements based on LP-SS may have longer LI filtering (evaluation period) than the SSB-based measurements. These may then be combined as one LI measurement sample to form an L3 measurement sample. Similarly, the L3 filtering may be different for LP-SS based and SSB-based measurements), and the results may be combined after the filtering(s) to form a joint L3 measurement sample to be used for the evaluation.

[0090] In case the measurement condition is associated with monitoring the low-power radio signal, then the UE may start monitoring or measuring the low- power radio signal, when the measurement condition for monitoring the low- power radio signal is fulfilled. When the measurement condition for monitoring the low-power radio signal is not fulfilled, then the UE may stop monitoring or measuring the low-power radio signal. Some examples of evaluating the measurement condition for monitoring the low-power radio signal are described below with reference to FIG. 7 and FIG. 8.

[0091] In case the measurement condition is associated with cell (re)selection, then the UE 100 performs cell (re)selection, when the measurement condition for cell (re)selection is fulfilled. With cell (re)selection, the UE 100 searches for a suitable cell of the selected public land mobile network (PLMN) or selected standalone non-public network (SNPN), chooses that cell to provide available services, and monitors its control channel. This procedure is defined as "camping on the cell". If the UE 100 finds a more suitable cell, according to the cell (re)selection criteria, the UE 100 re-selects onto that cell and camps on it. The evaluation of the measurement condition at 207 may refer to evaluating the cell (re)selection criteria. For example, cell (re)selection may be based on measurements and evaluations of signal strength, quality, and / or other parameters of the current serving cell and one or more neighboring cells. The UE 100 may autonomously make the decision to re-select a different cell in idle (RRCJDLE) mode, or if the UE 100 experiences a radio link failure.

[0092] In case the measurement condition is associated with RRM measurement relaxation, then the UE 100 may start RRM measurement relaxation, when the measurement condition for RRM measurement relaxation is fulfilled. As another example, when the measurement condition for RRM measurement relaxation is not fulfilled, the UE 100 may stop RRM measurement relaxation (if it has been previously started) or continue with RRM measurements without relaxation.

[0093] RRM measurement relaxation means that the UE may 100 perform measurements on its serving cell and / or one or more neighbor cells less frequently in order to reduce power consumption, if one or more RRM relaxation trigger conditions are fulfilled. For example, the RRM relaxation trigger condition(s) may comprise at least one of: a low-mobility criterion, a not-at-cell-edge criterion, or a stationarity criterion. The evaluation of the measurement condition at 207 may refer to evaluating the one or more RRM relaxation trigger conditions.

[0094] The low-mobility criterion aims to identify a UE in a low-mobility state. The low-mobility criterion compares the difference in reference signal received power (RSRP) between two time instances (denoted as t and t+x):

[0095] (RSRPrxRef(t) - RSRPrx(t+x)) < S_SearchDeltaP, where RSRPrx is the current RSRP value of the serving gNB, and RSRPrxRef is a reference RSRP value that may be updated in three different ways. Firstly, RSRPrxRef may be updated to the RSRP value of the serving gNB after selecting or re-selecting a new gNB. Secondly, RSRPrxRef may be updated to the new RSRP value, when the UE is moving closer to the cell center, i.e., (RSRPrx - RSRPrxRef) > 0. Thirdly, if the RRM relaxation criterion has not been met for a time period T_SearchDeltaP (denoted by x in the above equation), the UE may set the value of RSRPrxRef to the current RSRPrx value. S_SearchDeltaP is a threshold configured to the UE to monitor the received signal variation. The values of S_SearchDeltaP and T_SearchDeltaP may be used to define the mobility level of the UE.

[0096] The not-at-cell-edge criterion aims to detect whether or not the UE is at the cell edge of the serving cell. If the not-at-cell-edge criterion is fulfilled, then it may mean that the UE is not at the cell edge of the serving cell. In order to detect whether the UE is at the cell edge or not, the UE may compare the received signal level against a threshold as follows:

[0097] RSRPrx > S_SearchThresholdP, where RSRPrx is the current RSRP value of the serving gNB, and S_SearchThresholdP is the RSRP threshold set for the not-at-cell-edge criterion. The not-at-cell-edge criterion is fulfilled, when RSRPrx is above the threshold S_SearchThresholdP (i.e., the UE is not at the cell edge).

[0098] As an alternative to RSRP, the above thresholds and conditions may be configured with reference signal received quality (RSRQ) values. For example, a parameter called S_SearchThresholdQ may be used instead of S_SearchThresholdP to specify an RSRQ threshold for the not-at-cell-edge criterion.

[0099] The stationarity criterion aims to identify whether the UE is stationary. The stationarity criterion may be used to enable longer RRM relaxation compared to the low-mobility criterion and the not-at-cell-edge criterion.

[0100] FIG. 3 illustrates a flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 900 depicted in FIG. 9. For example, the apparatus 900 may be, or comprise, or be comprised in, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102.

[0101] Referring to FIG. 3, in block 301, the apparatus 900 receives, from a network node 104, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block. The low-power radio signal may be, for example, a low-power synchronization signal or a low-power wake-up signal.

[0102] In block 302, the apparatus 900 determines, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0103] The apparatus 900 may measure the synchronization signal block by using either one or both of a low-power wake-up receiver 951, and / or a main receiver 952. In an embodiment where the apparatus 900 is or comprises the UE 100, the low-power wake-up receiver 951 and the main receiver 952 may be comprised in the apparatus 900 as well. In other embodiments where the apparatus is a radio modem or a chipset of the radio modem, for example, at least some elements of the low-power wake-up receiver 951 and the main receiver 952 may be external to the apparatus 900. The apparatus 900 may measure the low- power radio signal by using either one or both of the low-power wake-up receiver 951, and / or the main receiver 952.

[0104] In block 303, the apparatus 900 obtains, based on said determining of block 302, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0105] The measurement data maybe associated with at least one of: a serving cell of the apparatus 900, or one or more neighbor cells of the serving cell.

[0106] The measurement data may be indicative of at least one of: received signal power or received signal quality.

[0107] The measurement data may be obtained by using at least one of the low- power wake-up receiver 951, or the main receiver 952.

[0108] In block 304, the apparatus 900 evaluates the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

[0109] The measurement condition may be associated with at least one of: radio resource management measurement relaxation, cell selection, or monitoring the low-power radio signal.

[0110] In one embodiment, an evaluation period of the measurements obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may be longer than an evaluation period of the measurements obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block. In an embodiment, the apparatus 900 determines whether to use only one of the SSB and LP-SS measurements or both the SSB and LP-SS measurements and, based on determining to use both the SSB and LP-SS measurements, the LP-SS measurements are manipulated before combining the SSB and LP-SS measurements for evaluating the measurement condition. The manipulation may comprise calibrating the LP-SS measurements with the SSB measurements. The resulting advantage is that the LP-SS measurements become comparable with the SSB measurements, thus improving the estimate of the measurement condition. The manipulation may comprise offsetting or scaling the LP-SS measurement value(s). Embodiments of the manipulation are described below.

[0111] FIG. 4 illustrates a flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 900 depicted in FIG. 9. The method of FIG. 4 is an example of the determination of 205 or 302 above. For example, the apparatus 900 may be, or comprise, or be comprised in, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102.

[0112] Referring to FIG.4, in block 401, the apparatus 900 may optionally apply an offset or a bias to one of: a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSSI, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal, or a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSSI, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block. The offset or the bias may be based on at least one of: a network configuration, a capability associated with a low-power wake-up receiver of the apparatus 900, a capability associated with a main receiver of the apparatus 900, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal, or the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

[0113] For example, if the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block is above a certain threshold, then an offset value may be added to the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal before the comparison of block 402.

[0114] As another example, the measurement of the synchronization signal block may be biased over the measurement of the low-power radio signal, such that, in the case of one measurement sample from the low-power radio signal being -80 decibel-milliwatts (dbm) and one measurement sample from the SSB being -90 dbm, then the result maybe determined as (-80dbm) + (-90dbm) + (-90dbm) / 3 = -86.6dbm.

[0115] The value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the synchronization signal block.

[0116] Alternatively, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the synchronization signal block.

[0117] In block 402, the apparatus 900 compares the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal (possibly with the offset or bias applied), and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (possible with the offset or bias applied).

[0118] In block 403, based on the comparison, the apparatus 900 determines whether a difference between the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold (value).

[0119] In block 404, based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold (block 403: yes), the apparatus 900 determines to use the measurements obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block for evaluating the measurement condition. Alternatively, or additionally, the apparatus 900 may determine to not use the measurements obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal for evaluating the measurement condition, based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold (block 403: yes). Alternatively, in block 405, based on determining that the difference is not larger than the threshold (block 403: no), the apparatus 900 determines to use the measurements obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal for evaluating the measurement condition. In other words, the measurements obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is taken into account in evaluating the measurement condition, if the difference is not larger than the threshold.

[0120] In another embodiment, the absolute level of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block, and the absolute level of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may be used to determine whether to use only the measurements obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block for evaluating the measurement condition.

[0121] FIG. 5 illustrates a flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 900 depicted in FIG. 9. The method of FIG. 5 is an example of the determination of 205 or 302 above. For example, the apparatus 900 may be, or comprise, or be comprised in, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102.

[0122] Referring to FIG. 5, in block 501, the apparatus 900 may optionally apply an offset or a bias to one of: a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSS1, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal, or a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSS1, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block. The offset or the bias may be based on at least one of: a network configuration, a capability associated with a low-power wake-up receiver of the apparatus 900, a capability associated with a main receiver of the apparatus 900, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal, or the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

[0123] For example, if the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block is above a certain threshold, then an offset may be added to the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal before the comparison of block 502. The value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the synchronization signal block.

[0124] Alternatively, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the synchronization signal block.

[0125] In block 502, the apparatus 900 compares the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal (possibly with the offset or bias applied), and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (possibly with the offset or bias applied).

[0126] In block 503, based on the comparison, the apparatus 900 determines whether the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is higher than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

[0127] In block 504, based on determining that the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is higher than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (block 503: yes), the apparatus 900 determines to use the measurements obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal for evaluating the measurement condition. In other words, the measurement result from the low-power radio signal is taken into account in evaluating the measurement condition, if it is better than a previous measurement result from the synchronization signal block.

[0128] Alternatively, in block 505, based on determining that the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is not higher than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (block 503: no), the apparatus 900 determines to use only the measurements obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block for evaluating the measurement condition.

[0129] FIG. 6 illustrates a flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 900 depicted in FIG. 9. The method of FIG. 6 is an example of the determination of 205 or 302 above. For example, the apparatus 900 may be, or comprise, or be comprised in, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102.

[0130] Referring to FIG. 6, in block 601, the apparatus 900 may optionally apply an offset or a bias to one of: a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSS1, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal, or a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSS1, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block. The offset or the bias may be based on at least one of: a network configuration, a capability associated with a low-power wake-up receiver of the apparatus 900, a capability associated with a main receiver of the apparatus 900, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal, or the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

[0131] For example, if the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block is above a certain threshold, then an offset may be added to the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal before the comparison of block 602.

[0132] The value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the synchronization signal block.

[0133] Alternatively, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the synchronization signal block. In block 602, the apparatus 900 compares the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal (possibly with the offset or bias applied), and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (possibly with the offset or bias applied).

[0134] In block 603, based on the comparison, the apparatus 900 determines whether the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is lower than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

[0135] In block 604, based on determining that the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is lower than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (block 603: yes), the apparatus 900 determines to use the measurements obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal for evaluating the measurement condition. In other words, the measurement result from the low-power radio signal is taken into account in evaluating the measurement condition, if it is worse than a previous measurement result from the synchronization signal block.

[0136] Alternatively, in block 605, based on determining that the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is not lower than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (block 603: no), the apparatus 900 determines to use only the measurements obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block for evaluating the measurement condition.

[0137] FIG. 7 illustrates a flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 900 depicted in FIG. 9. The method of FIG. 7 may be performed at 207 of FIG. 2, or at block 304 of FIG. 3. For example, the apparatus 900 may be, or comprise, or be comprised in, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102.

[0138] Referring to FIG. 7, in block 701, the apparatus 900 may optionally apply an offset or a bias to one of: a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSS1, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal, or a value of a measurement (e.g., RSRP, RSS1, or RSRQ measurement) obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block. The offset or the bias may be based on at least one of: a network configuration, a capability associated with a low-power wake-up receiver of the apparatus 900, a capability associated with a main receiver of the apparatus 900, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal, or the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

[0139] For example, if the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block is above a certain threshold, then an offset may be added to the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal before the comparison of block 702.

[0140] The value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the synchronization signal block.

[0141] Alternatively, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the low-power radio signal, and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block may comprise a single measurement sample measured from the synchronization signal block.

[0142] In block 702, the apparatus 900 compares the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal (possibly with the offset or bias applied), and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block (possibly with the offset or bias applied).

[0143] In block 703, based on the comparison, the apparatus 900 determines whether a difference between the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block and the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold (value). In block 704, based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold (block 703: yes), the apparatus 900 stops performing measurements of the low-power radio signal. For example, if the low-power radio signal is measured by using the low-power wake-up receiver, then the apparatus 900 may stop performing measurements with the low-power wake-up receiver.

[0144] Alternatively, in block 705, based on determining that the difference is not larger than the threshold (block 703: no), the apparatus 900 determines to continue or start performing the measurements of the low-power radio signal.

[0145] FIG. 8 illustrates a flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 900 depicted in FIG. 9. The method of FIG. 8 may be performed at 207 of FIG. 2, or at block 304 of FIG. 3. For example, the apparatus 900 may be, or comprise, or be comprised in, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102.

[0146] Referring to FIG. 8, in block 801, the apparatus 900 compares two consecutive measurement samples obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal.

[0147] In block 802, based on the comparison, the apparatus 900 determines whether a difference between the two consecutive measurement samples obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold (value).

[0148] In block 803, based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold (block 802: yes), the apparatus 900 performs at least one of: starts performing measurements of the synchronization signal block, or stops performing measurements of the low-power radio signal. For example, if the synchronization signal block is measured by using the main receiver, then the apparatus 900 may start performing measurements with the main receiver. As another example, if the low-power radio signal is measured by using the low-power wake-up receiver, then the apparatus 900 may stop performing measurements with the low-power wake-up receiver.

[0149] Alternatively, in block 804, based on determining that the difference is not larger than the threshold (block 802: no), the apparatus 900 continues or starts performing the measurements of the low-power radio signal. FIG. 9 illustrates an example of an apparatus 900 comprising means for performing one or more of the example embodiments described above. For example, the apparatus 900 may be an apparatus such as, or comprising, or comprised in, a user equipment (UE) 100, 102. The user equipment may also be called a wireless communication device, a subscriber unit, a mobile station, a remote terminal, an access terminal, a user terminal, a terminal device, or a user device.

[0150] The apparatus 900 may comprise a circuitry or a chipset applicable for realizing one or more of the example embodiments described above. For example, the apparatus 900 may comprise at least one processor 910. The at least one processor 910 interprets instructions (e.g., computer program instructions) and processes data. The at least one processor 910 may comprise one or more programmable processors. The at least one processor 910 may comprise programmable hardware with embedded firmware and may, alternatively or additionally, comprise one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs).

[0151] The at least one processor 910 is coupled to at least one memory 920. The at least one processor is configured to read and write data to and from the at least one memory 920. The at least one memory 920 may comprise one or more memory units. The memory units may be volatile or non-volatile. It is to be noted that there may be one or more units of non-volatile memory and one or more units of volatile memory or, alternatively, one or more units of non-volatile memory, or, alternatively, one or more units of volatile memory. Volatile memory may be for example random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) or synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM). Non-volatile memory may be for example read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical storage or magnetic storage. In general, memories may be referred to as non-transitory computer readable media. The term "non-transitory," as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM). The at least one memory 920 stores computer readable instructions that are executed by the at least one processor 910 to perform one or more of the example embodiments described above. For example, non-volatile memory stores the computer readable instructions, and the at least one processor 910 executes the instructions using volatile memory for temporary storage of data and / or instructions. The computer readable instructions may refer to computer program code.

[0152] The computer readable instructions may have been pre-stored to the at least one memory 920 or, alternatively or additionally, they may be received, by the apparatus, via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer readable instructions by the at least one processor 910 causes the apparatus 900 to perform one or more of the example embodiments described above. That is, the at least one processor and the at least one memory storing the instructions may provide the means for providing or causing the performance of any of the methods and / or blocks described above.

[0153] In the context of this document, a "memory" or "computer-readable media" or "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory media or medium or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer. The term "non-transitory," as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0154] The apparatus 900 may further comprise, or be connected to, an input unit 930. The input unit 930 may comprise one or more interfaces for receiving input. The one or more interfaces may comprise for example one or more temperature, motion and / or orientation sensors, one or more cameras, one or more accelerometers, one or more microphones, one or more buttons and / or one or more touch detection units. Further, the input unit 930 may comprise an interface to which external devices may connect to.

[0155] The apparatus 900 may also comprise an output unit 940. The output unit may comprise or be connected to one or more displays capable of rendering visual content, such as a light emitting diode (LED) display, a liquid crystal display (LCD) and / or a liquid crystal on silicon (LCoS) display. The output unit 940 may further comprise one or more audio outputs. The one or more audio outputs may be for example loudspeakers.

[0156] The apparatus 900 further comprises a connectivity unit 950. The connectivity unit 950 enables wireless connectivity to one or more external devices. The connectivity unit 950 comprises at least one transmitter and at least one receiver that may be integrated to the apparatus 900 or that the apparatus 900 may be connected to. For example, the connectivity unit 950 may comprise at least one of: the low-power wake-up receiver 951 and / or the main receiver 952 described above.

[0157] The at least one transmitter comprises at least one transmission antenna, and the at least one receiver comprises at least one receiving antenna. The connectivity unit 950 may comprise an integrated circuit or a set of integrated circuits that provide the wireless communication capability for the apparatus 900. Alternatively, the wireless connectivity may be a hardwired application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC). The connectivity unit 950 may also provide means for performing at least some of the blocks or functions of one or more example embodiments described above. The connectivity unit 950 may comprise one or more components, such as: power amplifier, digital front end (DFE), analog-to- digital converter (ADC), digital-to-analog converter (DAC), frequency converter, (de)modulator, and / or encoder / decoder circuitries, controlled by the corresponding controlling units.

[0158] It is to be noted that the apparatus 900 may further comprise various components not illustrated in FIG. 9. The various components may be hardware components and / or software components.

[0159] FIG. 10 illustrates a flow chart according to an example embodiment of a method performed by an apparatus 1100 depicted in FIG. 11. For example, the apparatus 1100 maybe, or comprise, or be comprised in, a network node (access node) 104 of a radio access network. Referring to FIG. 10, in block 1001, the apparatus 1100 may determine, for at least one user equipment 100, 102, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low- power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0160] The low-power radio signal may be, for example, a low-power synchronization signal or a low-power wake-up signal.

[0161] In block 1002, the apparatus 1100 transmits, to the at least one user equipment 100, 102, the measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low- power radio signal and the synchronization signal block. For example, the apparatus 1100 may generate and transmit a message comprising information indicating the measurement condition to be measured.

[0162] The at least one user equipment 100, 102 is configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0163] That is, the transmission of the measurement condition may cause the at least one user equipment 100, 102 to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low- power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

[0164] In one embodiment, the measurement condition indicates the at least one user equipment 100, 102 to stop performing measurements of the low-power radio signal, if a difference between a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block and a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold. In another embodiment, the measurement condition indicates the at least one user equipment 100, 102 to perform, if a difference between two consecutive measurement samples obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold, at least one of: start performing measurements of the synchronization signal block, or stop performing measurements of the low- power radio signal.

[0165] The blocks, related functions, and information exchanges (messages) described above by means of FIGS. 2 to 8 and FIG. 10 are in no absolute chronological order, and some of them may be performed simultaneously or in an order differing from the described one. Other functions can also be executed between them or within them, and other information may be sent, and / or other rules applied. Some of the blocks or part of the blocks or one or more pieces of information can also be left out or replaced by a corresponding block or part of the block or one or more pieces of information.

[0166] As used herein, "at least one of the following: " and "at least one of " and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by "and" or "or", mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0167] FIG. 11 illustrates an example of an apparatus 1100 comprising means for performing one or more of the example embodiments described above. For example, the apparatus 1100 may be an apparatus such as, or comprising, or comprised in, a network node (access node) 104 of a radio access network.

[0168] The apparatus 1100 may comprise, for example, a circuitry or a chipset applicable for realizing one or more of the example embodiments described above. The apparatus 1100 may be an electronic device comprising one or more electronic circuitries. The apparatus 1100 may comprise a communication control circuitry 1110 such as at least one processor, and at least one memory 1120 storing instructions 1122 which, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus 1100 to carry out one or more of the example embodiments described above. Such instructions 1122 may, for example, include computer program code (software). The at least one processor and the at least one memory storing the instructions may provide the means for providing or causing the performance of any of the methods and / or blocks described above.

[0169] The processor is coupled to the memory 1120. The processor is configured to read and write data to and from the memory 1120. The memory 1120 may comprise one or more memory units. The memory units may be volatile or non-volatile. It is to be noted that there may be one or more units of non-volatile memory and one or more units of volatile memory or, alternatively, one or more units of non-volatile memory, or, alternatively, one or more units of volatile memory. Volatile memory may be for example random-access memory (RAM), dynamic random-access memory (DRAM) or synchronous dynamic random-access memory (SDRAM). Non-volatile memory may be for example read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), electronically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory, optical storage or magnetic storage. In general, memories may be referred to as non-transitory computer readable media. The term "non-transitory," as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM). The memory 1120 stores computer readable instructions that are executed by the processor. For example, non-volatile memory stores the computer readable instructions, and the processor executes the instructions using volatile memory for temporary storage of data and / or instructions.

[0170] The computer readable instructions may have been pre-stored to the memory 1120 or, alternatively or additionally, they may be received, by the apparatus, via an electromagnetic carrier signal and / or may be copied from a physical entity such as a computer program product. Execution of the computer readable instructions causes the apparatus 1100 to perform one or more of the functionalities described above.

[0171] The memory 1120 may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, flash memory, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory and / or removable memory. The memory may comprise a configuration database for storing configuration data, such as a current neighbour cell list, and, in some example embodiments, structures of frames used in the detected neighbour cells.

[0172] The apparatus 1100 may further comprise or be connected to a communication interface 1130, such as a radio unit, comprising hardware and / or software for realizing communication connectivity with one or more wireless communication devices according to one or more communication protocols. The communication interface 1130 comprises at least one transmitter (Tx) and at least one receiver (Rx) that may be integrated to the apparatus 1100 or that the apparatus 1100 may be connected to. The communication interface 1130 may provide means for performing some of the blocks and / or functions (e.g., transmitting and receiving) for one or more example embodiments described above. The communication interface 1130 may comprise one or more components, such as: power amplifier, digital front end (DFE), analog-to-digital converter (ADC), digital-to-analog converter (DAC), frequency converter, (de)modulator, and / or encoder / decoder circuitries, controlled by the corresponding controlling units.

[0173] The communication interface 1130 provides the apparatus with radio communication capabilities to communicate in the wireless communication network. The communication interface may, for example, provide a radio interface to one or more UEs 100, 102. The apparatus 1100 may further comprise or be connected to another interface towards a core network 110, such as the network coordinator apparatus or AMF, and / or to the access nodes 104 of the wireless communication network.

[0174] The apparatus 1100 may further comprise a scheduler 1140 that is configured to allocate radio resources. The scheduler 1140 may be configured along with the communication control circuitry 1110 or it may be separately configured.

[0175] It is to be noted that the apparatus 1100 may further comprise various components not illustrated in FIG. 11. The various components may be hardware components and / or software components. As used in this application, the term "circuitry" may refer to one or more or all of the following: a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry); and b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone, to perform various functions); and c) hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (for example firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0176] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0177] The techniques and methods described herein may be implemented by various means. For example, these techniques may be implemented in hardware (one or more devices), firmware (one or more devices), software (one or more modules), or combinations thereof. For a hardware implementation, the apparatus(es) of example embodiments may be implemented within one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digital signal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), graphics processing units (GPUs), processors, controllers, micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed to perform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof. For firmware or software, the implementation can be carried out through modules of at least one chipset (for example procedures, functions, and so on) that perform the functions described herein. The software codes maybe stored in a memory unit and executed by processors. The memory unit may be implemented within the processor or externally to the processor. In the latter case, it can be communicatively coupled to the processor via various means, as is known in the art. Additionally, the components of the systems described herein may be rearranged and / or complemented by additional components in order to facilitate the achievements of the various aspects, etc., described with regard thereto, and they are not limited to the precise configurations set forth in the given figures, as will be appreciated by one skilled in the art.

[0178] It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that, as technology advances, the inventive concept may be implemented in various ways within the scope of the claims. The embodiments are not limited to the example embodiments described above, but may vary within the scope of the claims. Therefore, all words and expressions should be interpreted broadly, and they are intended to illustrate, not to restrict, the embodiments.

Claims

Claims1. An apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtain, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluate the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measurement data is associated with at least one of: a serving cell of the apparatus, or one or more neighbor cells of the serving cell.

3. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the measurement data is indicative of at least one of: received signal power or received signal quality.

4. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the measurement data is obtained by using at least one of a low-power wake-up receiver, or a main receiver.

5. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the measurement condition is associated with at least one of: radio resource management measurement relaxation, cell selection, or monitoring the low-power radio signal.

6. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the determining comprises: determining whether a difference between a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block and a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold; and determining to use the measurements obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block for evaluating the measurement condition, based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold.

7. The apparatus according to claim 6, further being caused to: determine to not use the measurements obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal for evaluating the measurement condition, based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold.

8. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determining comprises: determining whether a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is higher than a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block; and determining to use the measurements obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal for evaluating the measurement condition, based on determining that the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal is higher than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

9. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 5, wherein the determining comprises: determining whether a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is lower than a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block; and determining to use the measurements obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal for evaluating the measurement condition, based on determining that the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal is lower than the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

10. The apparatus according to any of claims 6 to 9, further being caused to: apply an offset or a bias to one of: the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal, or the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block, wherein the offset or the bias is based on at least one of: a network configuration, a capability associated with a low-power wake-up receiver of the apparatus, a capability associated with a main receiver of the apparatus, the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal, or the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

11. The apparatus according to any of claims 6 to 10, wherein the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal comprises an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the low-power radio signal, and wherein the value of the measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block comprises an average value of multiple measurement samples measured from the synchronization signal block.

12. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, further being caused to: determine whether a difference between a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block and a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold; and stop performing measurements of the low-power radio signal, based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold.

13. The apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 11, further being caused to: determine whether a difference between two consecutive measurement samples obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold; and based on determining that the difference is larger than the threshold, perform at least one of: start performing measurements of the synchronization signal block, or stop performing measurements of the low-power radio signal.

14. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein an evaluation period of the measurements obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is longer than an evaluation period of the measurements obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block.

15. The apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the low- power radio signal is a low-power synchronization signal or a low-power wake-up signal.

16. An apparatus comprising at least one processor, and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to:transmit, to at least one user equipment, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, the at least one user equipment being configured to determine, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block.

17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the measurement condition indicates the at least one user equipment to stop performing measurements of the low-power radio signal, if a difference between a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the synchronization signal block and a value of a measurement obtained by measuring the low-power radio signal is larger than a threshold.

18. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the measurement condition indicates the at least one user equipment to perform, if a difference between two consecutive measurement samples obtained by measuring the low- power radio signal is larger than a threshold, at least one of: start performing measurements of the synchronization signal block, or stop performing measurements of the low-power radio signal.

19. A method comprising: receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and thesynchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

20. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprising program instructions which, when executed by an apparatus, cause the apparatus to perform at least the following: receiving, from a network node, a measurement condition to be measured, wherein the measurement condition is measurable by measuring both a low-power radio signal and a synchronization signal block, and by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; determining, for evaluating the measurement condition, whether to use measurements obtained by measuring both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block, or to use measurements obtained by measuring one of the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; obtaining, based on said determining, measurement data from one of or both the low-power radio signal and the synchronization signal block; and evaluating the measurement condition based on the obtained measurement data.

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