Methods for handling transmissions between a radio network node and a WD, a related network node and a related wd

Abstract

A method is disclosed, performed by a radio network node, for handling transmissions between the radio network node and a wireless device (WD). The method comprises transmitting, to the WD, a configuration of measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements. The method comprises obtaining an indication indicative of a conflict between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap. The method comprises transmitting, to the WD, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

Description

[0001] METHODS FOR HANDLING TRANSMISSIONS BETWEEN A RADIO NETWORK NODE AND

[0002] A WD, A RELATED NETWORK NODE AND A RELATED WD

[0003] The present disclosure pertains to the field of wireless communications. The present disclosure relates to methods for handling transmissions between a radio network node and a wireless device (WD) and related devices, such as a related radio network node and a related WD.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] In 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR), an operation of Extended Reality (XR), such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and Cloud Gaming, has been supported. These types of operations are typically sensitive to latency and require a high data rate. In addition to performing such data transmissions / receptions procedure between the WD and the radio network node (e.g., a base-station), the WD is also required to perform cell measurements to ensure the WD is attached or connected to the most suitable cell. The measurement can be triggered and / or performed periodically, for example to determine whether a signal quality of the serving cell is deteriorating. Upon the signal quality being below a certain threshold, then the WD is configured to start neighbor cell measurements to initiate a handover from the serving cell. During a measurement occasion the WD is prevented from performing data transmission and / or reception which increases the latency of the data transmission. This can compromise the quality of service of the XR application, for example due to interruptions and / or delayed data transmissions / receptions.

[0006] SUMMARY

[0007] Accordingly, there is a need for devices and methods for handling transmissions between a radio network node and a WD, which may mitigate, alleviate or address the shortcomings existing and may provide a reduced latency of the transmission.

[0008] A method is disclosed, performed by a radio network node, for handling transmissions between the radio network node and a wireless device (WD). The method comprises transmitting, to the WD, a configuration of measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements. The method comprises obtaining an indication indicative of a conflict between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap. The method comprises transmitting, to the WD, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

[0009] Further, a radio network node is provided. The radio network node comprises memory circuitry, processor circuitry, and a wireless interface, wherein the radio network node is configured to perform any of the methods disclosed herein. It is an advantage of the present disclosure that the radio network node can be enabled to temporary modify the configured measurement gaps for a WD to allow the WD to transmit and / or receive data during a configured measurement gap. This allows latency sensitive and / or delay sensitive data transmissions to be prioritized over performing a signal quality measurement in a configured measurement gap. By prioritizing the data transmission, such as configuring the WD to transmit and / or receive data fully or partially within the configured measurement gap, the latency of the data transmission can be reduced since the data transmission does not have to be interrupted to allow the WD to perform a signal quality measurement in the configured measurement gap. By reducing the latency, the risk of losing data, such as video frames of an XR transmission, can be reduced, which increases the quality of the data transmission.

[0010] A method is disclosed, performed by a WD, for handling transmissions between the WD and a radio network node. The method comprises receiving, from the radio network node, a configuration of configured measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements. The method comprises receiving, from the radio network node, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

[0011] Further, a WD is provided. The WD comprises memory circuitry, processor circuitry, and a wireless interface, wherein the WD is configured to perform any of the methods disclosed herein.

[0012] It is an advantage of the present disclosure that the WD can be configured to temporary refrain from performing a signal quality measurement in a configured measurement gap and instead transmit and / or receive data in the configured measurement gap. This allows latency sensitive and / or delay sensitive data transmissions to be prioritized over performing a signal quality measurement in a configured measurement gap. By prioritizing the data transmission and / or reception, such as transmitting and / or receiving data fully or partially within the configured measurement gap, the latency of the data transmission can be reduced since the data transmission does not have to be interrupted to allow the WD to perform a signal quality measurement in the configured measurement gap. By reducing the latency, the risk of losing data, such as video frames of an XR transmission, can be reduced, which increases the quality of the data transmission. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0013] The above and other features and advantages of the present disclosure will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art by the following detailed description of examples thereof with reference to the attached drawings, in which:

[0014] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system comprising an example network node and an example wireless device according to this disclosure,

[0015] Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a measurement operation performed using one or more configured measurement gaps,

[0016] Fig. 3 is a diagram illustrating a measurement model operation at a WD according to a legacy operation,

[0017] Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrating a collision between a configured measurement gap and a data transmission,

[0018] Fig. 5 is a diagram illustrating a measurement operation according to the current disclosure, in which the WD is configured to skip a configured measurement gap,

[0019] Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating a measurement operation according to the current disclosure, in which the WD is configured to perform a partial measurement within a measurement gap occasion,

[0020] Fig. 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example communication between the WD and the radio network node for UL data transmission according to the current disclosure,

[0021] Fig. 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example communication between the WD and the radio network node for DL data transmission according to the current disclosure,

[0022] Fig. 9A-9B is a flow-chart illustrating an example method, performed in a radio network node of a wireless communication system, for handling transmissions between a WD and the radio network node according to this disclosure,

[0023] Fig. 10 is a flow-chart illustrating an example method, performed in a wireless device, for handling transmissions between the WD and a radio network node according to this disclosure,

[0024] Fig. 11 is a block diagram illustrating an example wireless device according to this disclosure, and Fig. 12 is a block diagram illustrating an example network node according to this disclosure.

[0025] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0026] Various examples and details are described hereinafter, with reference to the figures when relevant. It should be noted that the figures may or may not be drawn to scale and that elements of similar structures or functions are represented by like reference numerals throughout the figures. It should also be noted that the figures are only intended to facilitate the description of the examples. They are not intended as an exhaustive description of the disclosure or as a limitation on the scope of the disclosure. In addition, an illustrated example needs not have all the aspects or advantages shown. An aspect or an advantage described in conjunction with a particular example is not necessarily limited to that example and can be practiced in any other examples even if not so illustrated, or if not so explicitly described.

[0027] The figures are schematic and simplified for clarity, and they merely show details which aid understanding the disclosure, while other details have been left out. Throughout, the same reference numerals are used for identical or corresponding parts.

[0028] Fig. 1 is a diagram illustrating an example wireless communication system 1 comprising an example radio network node 400, an example wireless device 300 and a core network (CN) 600 Node according to this disclosure.

[0029] As discussed in detail herein, the present disclosure relates to a wireless communication system 1 comprising a cellular system, for example, a 3GPP wireless communication system.

[0030] A radio network node disclosed herein refers to a radio access network (RAN) node operating in the radio access network, such as a base station, an evolved Node B, eNB, gNB in NR. In one or more examples, the RAN node is a functional unit which may be distributed in several physical units.

[0031] A CN node disclosed herein refers to a network node operating in the core network, such as in the Evolved Packet Core Network, EPC, and / or a 5G Core Network, 5GC. Examples of CN nodes in EPC include a Mobility Management Entity, MME.

[0032] The wireless communication system 1 described herein may comprise one or more wireless devices 300, 300A, and / or one or more network nodes 400, such as one or more of: a base station, an eNB, a gNB and / or an access point.

[0033] A wireless device may refer to a mobile device and / or a user equipment, UE. The wireless device 300, 300A may be configured to communicate with the network node 400 via a wireless link (or radio access link) 10, 10A. The CN 600 may be configured to communicate with the network node 400 via a wireless link (or radio access link) 12.

[0034] In 3rdGeneration Partnership Project (3GPP) New Radio (NR) the wireless communication system may be configured to support Extended Reality (XR) applications, such as Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), and / or Cloud Gaming. extended Reality (XR) and Cloud Gaming refer to various types of augmented, virtual, and mixed environments, where human-to-machine and human-to-human communications are performed with the assistance of wireless devices, such as handheld and / or wearable end user devices (lies). XR and Cloud Gaming are two applications that are considered important for NR Rel-18 and beyond, which is also referred to as 5G Advanced. Therefore, some new features of 5G New Radio (NR) to support extended Reality (XR) has been added as part of 3GPP Release 18.

[0035] XR traffic is rich in video, especially in downlink, with a typical frame rate of 60 Hz. Some applications may require higher frame rate, such as 90 Hz or 120 Hz. This leads to a data transmission with a non-integer periodicity in NR. In other words, the periodicity of the data transmission is not an integer number of subframes. In this example, the periodicity is 16.67 ms. Due to a varying frame encoding delay and network transfer time, a packet arrival at the radio network node may experience random jitter. The frame rate and jitter of a DL traffic is illustrated in Fig. 5.1.1-1 of the 3GPP Technical Report (TR) 38.838 v. 17.0.0. The non-integer and jitter characteristics of XR traffic is known as quasi-periodic traffic.

[0036] Apart from performing data transmission and reception, a WD is also required to perform cell measurement. For example, if the signal quality of a serving cell is deteriorating, such as falls below a certain signal quality threshold, then the WD may start neighbor cell measurement to find a cell having a better signal quality than the serving cell. A serving cell can herein be seen as a cell being responsible for establishing and maintaining a radio connection with the WD in a control plane. To determine the signal quality the WD may have to measure the neighboring cells signal. The measurement(s) can also be performed within the same carrier frequency of the serving cell (intra-frequency measurement) or different carrier frequencies (inter-frequency measurement). To reduce the manufacturing cost and / or the form factor of the WD, the WD may have a single radio-frequency (RF) module. The WD may thus have to perform the measurements, and the transmission and reception of data using the single RF module. When the cells, such as the serving cell and the neighboring cells are transmitting on the same frequency the WD may perform measurements on signals transmitted from neighbor cells while simultaneously transmitting and receiving data from the serving cell (i.e. , intra-frequency measurement). However, if the cell measurement(s) and data transmission and / or reception in different bandwidth parts (but still with the same carrier frequency) then the WD has to suspend data transmission / reception when the WD is required to perform measurement. In another example, if the neighbor cells are operating at a different frequency than the serving cell (which may be referred to as the serving cell being an inter frequency neighbor), and / or using a different Radio Access Technology (RAT) (such as LTE while the serving cell is operating using 5G NR), the WD has to suspended communication with the serving cell (such as transmitting (Tx) to the serving cell and / or receiving (Rx) from the serving cell) and needs to tune its RF module to the configured frequencies (which may be referred to as configured Meas Objects) of the neighbor cells and resume the connection with the serving cell after a certain time duration. This is known as inter-frequency measurement. If the other cells are using other wireless communication system, the measurement is known as inter-RAT measurement.

[0037] The time duration during which the WD suspends its communication with the serving cell to measure on the inter frequency neighbor or other RAT neighbor may herein be referred to as a measurement gap.

[0038] Fig. 2 illustrates a measurement operation using one or more measurement gaps 20. During the measurement gap 20, the WD may perform cell signal measurements based on Synchronization Signals (SS) and a Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) comprised in an SS / PBCH Block (SSB). The SSBs may be transmitted in a burst, which can herein be seen as a batch, such as a plurality of SSBs. The number of SSBs in one burst depends on an operating frequency. If the operating frequency (fc) is < 3GHz in frequency range 1 (FR1) the number of SSBs in a burst is typically 4, for fc = 3GHz to 6 GHz in FR1 the number of SSBs in a burst is typically 8 and for fc >6 GHz such as for mm-wave the number of SSBs in a burst is typically 64. The periodicity of the SSBs may be configured for each cell in the range of 5, 10, 20, 40, 80 or 160 ms. However, the WD is not required to measure cell signals with a periodicity as frequent as the periodicity of the SSBs. The periodicity for measuring cell signals may herein be referred to as a measurement periodicity. The appropriate measurement periodicity of the WD can be configured according to a channel condition. This is desirable and can help to avoid unnecessary measurements and reduce the power consumption on Mobile Device (UE).

[0039] 3GPP specifications, such as TS 38.331 v18.0.0, have introduced SSB-based Radio Resource Management (RRM) Measurement Timing Configuration window (referred to as an SMTC window). The network, such as the radio network node, may notify the WD about the measurement periodicity, such as a measurement gap repetition periodicity (MGRP) and timing of SSBs that the WD can and / or is to use for measurements. The SMTC window periodicity may be set in the same range as the SSB periodicity, such as 5, 10, 20, 40, 80 or 160 ms. A duration of the SMTC window may be set to 1 , 2, 3, 4, or 5 ms, according to the number of SSBs transmitted on the cell being measured. The duration of the SMTC window may be selected large enough to accommodate all SSBs that are transmitted from serving and / or neighbor cells.

[0040] The measurement gaps 20 may be used for measuring reference signals, such as SSBs, from a plurality of spatial filter (such as beam direction) from a cell, herein numbered SSB#1to SSB#4. Each measurement gap 20 may comprise SSBs from the plurality of spatial filter, herein referred as SSB#1 from a first spatial filter, SSB#2 from a second spatial filter, SSB#3 from a third spatial filter and SSB#4 from a fourth spatial filter. There may be SSBs from other cells within an SMTC window (for example overlapped). The measurement gaps 20 may have a length in time, such as a duration, herein referred to as measurement gap length (MGL). The measurement gap may comprise the SMTC window. The MGL may be greater than the SMTC window length, to allow the WD to retune its RF module to the operating frequency and / or RAT of the neighboring cells prior to the start of the SMTC window, such as the start of the SSB burst. In other words, the measurement gap may comprise a retuning time prior to and / or after the SMTC window, to aloe the WD to tune its RF module to the upcoming transmissions. The radio network node may set the SMTC window length and Measurement gap length based on the periodicity of the SSB burst for the measured object (measObject), such as the neighbor cells.

[0041] In 3GPP 5G NR, the measurement gap configuration may be provided to the WD via Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, as described in 3GPP TS 38.331 v.18.0.0. The measurement gap configuration may be provided using a MeasGapConfig Information Element (IE) within a MeasConfig IE. The MeasConfig IE and / or the MeasGapConfig IE may be carried by an RRC Reconfiguration message. The RRC Reconfiguration message may have two parts. A first part of the RRC Reconfiguration message may specify control setup and / or release of the Measurement gap. A second part of the RRC Reconfiguration message may specify the measurement gap configuration and control a setup and / or a release of the configured measurement gaps. Details of an example MeasGapConfig IE is shown in the following: MeasGapConf ig SEQUENCE { gapFR2 SetupRelease { GapConfig gapFRl SetupRelease { GapConfig gapUE SetupRelease { GapConfig

[0042] GapConfig : : = SEQUENCE { gapOffset INTEGER ( □ . . 159 ) , mgl ENUMERATED {mslciotS, ms3, ms3dot5, ms4, ms5dot5, ms6 ) mgrp ENUMERATED (ms20, ms40, ms80, mslSO ) , mgta ENUMERATED {msO, ms0dot25, msOdotS } , where: mgrp is a measurement gap repetition period and defines the periodicity (in ms) at which the measurement gap repeats. The mgrp may be configured as 20, 40, 80, and / or 160 ms.

[0043] - gapOffset indicates an offset of the measurement gap pattern, such as the offset between two subsequent measurement gaps. There may be about 160 offset values available for the gapOffset, however, all values may not be applicable for all mgrp periodicities. The offset values may point to the starting subframe within the period. The offset value may range from 0 to mgrp-1. For example, if the mgrp periodicity is 20 ms, the offset gap offset may range from 0 to 19 ms. mgl is a measurement gap length and defines the length of measurement gap in ms.

[0044] The mgl may be 1.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5.5, and / or 6 ms. mgta is a measurement gap timing advance and defines a start of a measurement by the WD prior to an occurrence of a first subframe of the measurement gap. When the mgta is configured, the WD starts the measurement mgta with N ms before the gap subframe occurrence. N is the configured mgta value. In other words, the measurement gap starts at time N ms advanced to the end of the latest subframe occurring immediately before the measurement gap. The amount of timing advance can be 0.25 ms for frequency range 2 (FR2) or 0.5 ms for FR1 .

[0045] In 5G NR, the measurement gap length is not fixed, instead it is configurable by the network. Having a fixed measurement gap may cause unnecessary degradation of throughput in the serving cell. The SMTC window and window duration can be set to match the

[0046] SSB transmissions and accordingly the MGL. For example, assuming an SMTC window duration is 2 ms and the measurement gap length is 6 ms, there would be a 4 ms segment that would not be available for transmission and reception of data in the serving cell, which will result in a reduction of downlink (DL) and / or uplink (UL) throughput.

[0047] The current 5G NR specs allow the network to configure the WD with a search threshold (s- MeasureConfig) for a WD in RRC connected mode, to enable reduction of an intra-frequency measurement effort. For example, 3GPP TS 38.331 v18.0.0 defines a parameter s- MeasureConfig. The parameter s-Measu reConfig is a threshold for NR Secondary Primary Cell (SpCell) RSRP measurement controlling when the WD is required to perform measurements on neighboring cells. The measurements may be based on cell RSRP based on the SS / PBCH block, herein referred to as ssb-RSRP, or cell RSRP based on Channel State Information Reference Signals (CSI-RS), herein referred to as csi-RSRP.

[0048] In case the network has configured the s-MeasureConfig threshold allowing the WD not to perform measurements on non-serving cells, including the intra-frequency neighbor cells, there may be unused scheduling opportunities in cases where the WD is not performing intra- frequency measurements. However, currently the network is not aware of this, and hence obeys the defined scheduling restrictions.

[0049] An example measurement model operation at the WD according to a legacy operation as defined in 3GPP TS 38.331 is shown in Fig. 3. According to TS 38.300 clause 9.2.4 v18.0.0, the WD performs multiple filtering, including layer 1 (L1 ) filtering and layer 3 (L3) filtering on signal quality measurements. When the WD is in RRC_CONNECTED state, the WD measures multiple beams (such as at least one) of a cell and the measurement results (such as power values) are averaged to derive a cell quality, such as a signal quality of the cell. In doing so, the WD is configured to consider a subset of the detected beams and may filter out the other beams. Filtering takes place at two different levels, such as at L1 (physical layer), to derive a beam quality and then at L3, such as RRC level, to derive a cell quality from multiple beams. L1 measurement is typically used for a procedure which may require the action with minimal delay, such as beam management procedure. For example, when the WD is required to quickly change the beam. L3 measurement is typically used for radio resource management decisions. This procedure may require a long term view of channel conditions. For example, the handover procedure is triggered based on layer 3 filtering. The WD collects multiple measurement reports in multiple occasions and multiple beams. The beams may be transmitted in one or more cells, such as a serving cell and / or one or more neighboring cells. Thereafter, the WD may perform filtering based on the multiple measurement reports, and then send a filtered report to the network, such as to the radio network node. These filtering operations are needed to ensure that a reliable measurement report is being reported to by the WD. The parameters to be used for the filtering may be provided to the WD via RRC signaling from the radio network node. In legacy 5G NR, the WD has scheduling restrictions so that the WD is expected not to transmit and / or receive during a measurement gap. During the measurement gap, the WD is expected to perform RRM operation, such as Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) measurement of the received SSB, such as SSBs received from serving and / or neighbor cells. The measurement gap occasions may occur at the same time as the WD has been allocated resources, such as configured grants, for data transmission (Tx) and / or reception (Rx). An example of such a situation is shown in Fig. 4, where a configured grant (CG) for a data transmission, for example for XR traffic, collides in time with a measurement gap 20, such as during an MGL of the measurement gap 20, as indicated by the dotted frame in Fig. 4. A CG can herein be seen as periodically recurring resources for data transmission that may be preassigned to a WD. The legacy scheduling restrictions may affect the XR transmission since the WD may not be able to transmit and / or receive XR application-related data during the MGL, which can result in degraded quality of service (QoS) of the XR application. XR applications are sensitive to delay and / or latency, and may herein be referred to as latency sensitive and / or delay sensitive data transmissions and / or receptions. Herein, latency sensitive and / or delay sensitive is used interchangeably. For simplicity, latency sensitive data transmissions will be used in the following when referring to both latency sensitive and / or delay sensitive data transmissions and / or receptions. A large delay may thus delay a transmission of a video frame. A delayed video frame can be obsolete or unusable, and may even be discarded at an upper layer, such as in the RAN domain, on a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) level and / or on an application layer. A delayed video frame may thus cause an application, such as an XR or cloud gamin application to lag. In other words, a latency sensitive data transmission requires a low latency to ensure that no data is lost in the data transmission.

[0050] The current disclosure provides a solution to overcome the potential limitations the measurement gap configuration may have on data traffic, and in particular XR traffic, by adding functionality allowing the measurements gaps to be dynamically adjusted. Since the data transmission for XR applications is latency sensitive, the current disclosure proposes a mechanism enabling the network to provide information to the WD indicating that the WD can perform and / or continue data transmission and / or reception during measurement gap periods. This mechanism may be supported by one or more of the following operations:

[0051] In one or more example methods, such as in the example method shown Fig. 5, the network, such as the radio network node, indicates to the WD that the WD may temporarily modify the configured measurement gaps 20. In the example shown in Fig. 5, the network may indicate that the WD may skip, which may herein also be referred to as refrain from, the RRM measurement in a measurement gap 20 which potentially collides with the CG of the data traffic, such as for the second measurement gap occasion and the third CG in Fig. 5, as indicated by the dotted frame. The measurement gap to be skipped is indicated by the encircled X in Fig. 5. The radio network node indicating can herein be seen as the radio network node providing information indicative of a temporary modification of configured measurement gaps. The WD is expected to resume the measurement in the subsequent measurement gap occasion, which does not collide with a CG. In one or more example methods, the indication may be provided prior to or during the measurement gap occasion. The indication may be provided prior to the measurement gap upon the measurement and the data transmission being in different bandwidth parts, such as for inter-frequency measurement. The indication may be provided during the measurement gap when the measurement and the data transmission are within the same bandwidth part, such as for intra-frequency measurement.

[0052] In one or more example methods, the indication may be provided from the radio network node to the WD via lower layer signaling, such as Downlink Control Indication (DCI), or via Medium Access Control (MAC) Control Element (CE) signaling. The indication, such as the information being indicative of the temporary modification signal, may in one or more examples comprise an indication to skip and / or release a measurement gap occasion, and / or to perform data transmission and / or reception during the measurement gap occasion. The indication can be provided right before the measurement gap occasion.

[0053] Fig. 6 illustrates a measurement operation according to one or more example methods herein, in which the radio network node may indicate to the WD that the WD is to perform a partial measurement within a measurement gap occasion. In one or more example methods, this may be performed by providing, such as configuring, a virtual measurement gap 20A. The virtual measurement gap can be seen as a temporary measurement gap within a configured measurement gap which is valid to one or more selected measurement gap occasion(s). The virtual measurement gap may be valid for a limited time, such as for a limited number of measurement gap occasions. The virtual measurement gap may thus temporarily take precedence over the configured measurement gaps to enable data transmission and / or reception in a subset of the configured measurement gap, such as in a subset of the resources allocated to the configured measurement gap. The virtual measurement gap can thus be seen as a sub gap of the configured measurement gap. The virtual measurement gap may have a virtual MGL, within a preconfigured MGL. The virtual MGL may be shorter than the preconfigured MGL, and may thus be a subset of the preconfigured MGL. This may for example be applicable to a case where a CG for data Tx / Rx is partly colliding with a measurement gap 20, such as shown for the second MGL and third CG of Fig. 6 and indicated by the dotted frame. The indication, such as the information being indicative of the temporary modification signal, may in one or more examples comprise an indication to perform data transmission and / or reception during the measurement gap occasion. In one or more example methods, the indication, such as the information being indicative of the temporary modification, may comprise an actual position of the virtual measurement gap. The actual position of the virtual measurement gap may for example be indicated as a subpart of the measurement gap. In one or more example methods, the indication of the actual position of the virtual measurement gap comprises a time offset value, such as a time offset relative to a starting point of the legacy measurement gap occasion. The granularity of the time offset may for example be in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol level. In one or more example methods, the indication of the actual position of the virtual measurement gap comprises a length of the virtual measurement gap. The granularity of the length of the virtual measurement gap may be in OFDM symbol level. In one or more example methods, one or more parameters of the indication, such as one or more of the length of the virtual measurement gap, the actual position of the virtual measurement gap, and the time offset value, is provided via higher layer signaling, such as via RRC. In one or more example methods, the length of the virtual measurement gap is provided via higher layer signaling while the time offset value is provided as lower layer signaling, such as via such as via DCI or MAC CE signaling.

[0054] A WD performing a measurement gap release and / or a partial measurement may have a separate, such as a dedicated, L3 filtering operation. For example, it can be configured with its own parameter, such as dedicated filter coefficients to update the L3 beam filtering to include information of beams which have not been measured, such as released and / or skipped.

[0055] In one or more example methods, the radio network node sends a message to the WD comprising an indication to enable and / or disable the operation of data transmission during a measurement gap. The message comprising the indication may be signaled using WD specific signaling. This may be a fall back option, with the primary reason being that skipping the configured measurement gap may affect the measurement operation. If the skipping operation provides negative impact, then there should be fall back option, such as in providing the signal to disable and / or terminate the operation. Subsequently, the radio network node may send another message comprising an indication to activate the operation again.

[0056] In one or more example methods, the radio network node and / or the WD exchange information related to a capability of performing measurement gap skipping and / or partial measurement gap operation. In one or more example methods, exchanging information comprises the radio network node indicating to the WD whether it supports such a feature or not, such as whether the radio network node supports allowing the WD to perform data transmission and / or reception during a measurement gap. In one or more example methods, exchanging information comprises the WD indicating its capability to perform data transmission and / or reception during the measurement gap, such as its capability to skip and / or release a measurement gap and / or its capability to perform a partial measurement, such as performing measurements in a virtual measurement gap.

[0057] In one or more example methods, such as when the scheduled data is in DL, the radio network node knows the priority of the DL data transmission, and may indicate to WD, based on the priority of the DL data transmission, whether skipping of a measurement gap is possible and for how long the skipping is possible.

[0058] In one or more example methods, such as when the scheduled data is in UL, such as when the data transmission is a time critical XR pose control, the WD may indicate to the radio network node that it will prioritize UL traffic using a full or part of an SMTC measurement window for data transmission instead of performing measurements. This may be indicated in a scheduling request (SR) comprising one or more additional parameters. The additional parameter(s) indicates to the network node that the requesting uplink resource is for UL latency / delay sensitive traffic.

[0059] The WD may provide a filtered measurement report to the radio network node. Upon the WD skipping a measurement gap and / or performing a partial measurement, the filtered measurement report may be affected. The filtered measurement report can herein be seen as a measurement report onto which a filtering has been applied, such as an L1 filtering and / or L3 filtering. The filtered measurement report may comprise an indication that the filtered report is based on measurements where one or more measurement gap occasions have not been used, such as have been skipped and / or only partially used.

[0060] Fig. 7 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example message exchange 700 between a radio network node 400 and a WD 300 for handling UL data transmission during a configured measurement gap according to the current disclosure. The proposed method can also be applied for DL data transmission. The WD 300 may be in RRC connected state. In the RRC connected state, an RRC connection is established, and the network has configured the WD 300 with all the required parameters for communication between the WD 300 and the radio network node 400.

[0061] The WD 300 and the radio network node 400 exchange information 701 indicative of a configuration of measurement gaps to be used by the WD 300 to perform signal quality measurements from one or more cells, such as a serving cell and / or one or more neighboring cells, and / or

[0062] - indicative of the type of data transmission being performed, such as the data transmission being a latency sensitive transmission, such as an XR data transmission. For example, the configured grant configuration which is typically used for XR data transmission, and

[0063] - information related to a capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps (such as described in S101 of Fig. 9A).

[0064] The configuration of measurement gaps corresponds to the configuration transmitted by the radio network node 400 in S103 of Figs. 9A-9B.

[0065] The information indicative of the configuration of measurement gaps may be transmitted by the radio network node 400 to the WD 300. The information indicative of the type of data transmission being performed may be transmitted by the WD 300 to the radio network node 400 for uplink type transmission and may be transmitted by the radio network node 400 to the WD 300 for downlink type transmission.

[0066] Upon the WD 300 detecting a conflict in transmission time between an upcoming data transmission in UL and a configured measurement gap, the WD 300 may transmit information 703 indicating that a conflict has been detected to the radio network node 400. A conflict may occur when the upcoming data transmission is to be transmitted, such as is scheduled, in the same time resources as the configured measurement gap. In one or more example methods, the information indicating that a conflict has been detected comprises a request to skip the conflicting configured measurement gap. In one or more example methods, the conflict may be detected by the WD 300 during an On-duration of a Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycle for the WD 300. The indication indicative of the conflict may be transmitted via L1 signaling, such as via a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and / or a MAC CE. There may be a new parameter in uplink control information (UCI) carried by PUCCH and / or MAC CE parameter / information element for this indication. The information 703 corresponds to the message received by the radio network node in S105A of Fig. 9A and received in S206 of Fig.

[0067] 10.

[0068] In response to receiving the information indicating that a conflict has been detected, the radio network node 400 may send information 704 indicative of the temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of skipping one or more measurement gaps, such as one or more of the configured measurement gaps. In one or more examples, the information 704 may comprise an acknowledgement (ACK) or an indication to skip the conflicting configured measurement gap, and instead proceed with data transmission in the time resource allocated in the configured measurement gap. The scheduler in the network node may also detect a potential upcoming conflict between data transmission / reception and measurement. As soon as it is detected, the network node 400 may transmit the information 704 without receiving the information 703. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification may comprise a non-acknowledgement (NACK) to skip the conflicting configured measurement gap. The NACK may indicate that the WD is denied skipping the conflicting configured measurement gap. In another example, the radio network node only provides an indication (such as an ACK). In other words, if the WD does not receive an ACK, the WD may interpret this as the WD not being allowed to skip the configured measurement gap. In this case, the WD 300 proceeds with performing the measurement according to the configured measurement gap which is the default operation. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of a reduction of the length of one or more measurement gaps, such as one or more configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of a shift of one or more measurement gaps, such as configured measurement gaps, in the time domain. In one or more example methods, the radio network node may determine whether radio conditions, such as the signal quality in the cell are sufficient, before sending information 704. The radio conditions may be sufficient upon a signal quality in the cell meeting a signal quality criteria. The signal quality criteria may for example be a signal quality threshold. The signal quality threshold may be referring to an instantaneous threshold for a measurement or an averaged or other statistical measurements (such as a standard deviation) threshold. These threshold(s) may be defined and described in the specifications (such as 3GPP specifications) or may be up to radio network node implementation. Upon the signal quality criteria being met, such as when the signal quality is equal to or above the signal quality threshold, the radio network node may determine that the signal quality of the serving cell is sufficient and may proceed with sending the information 704. Upon determining that radio conditions are not met, such as the signal quality not meeting the signal quality threshold, the radio network node 400 may refrain from sending the information 704. The information 704 corresponds to S110 of Fig. 9B and received in S210 of Fig. 10.

[0069] In one or more example methods, the WD 300 and the radio network node may have an implicit agreement that skipping of a measurement gap can be performed with transmitting the information 703 and receiving the information 704. The WD 300 may thus, upon detecting a conflict, proceed with data transmission and / or reception in the conflicting measurement gap.

[0070] The WD 300 transmits data according to the message 704 indicative of the temporary modifications. Upon the message indicating that the WD can skip one or more configured measurement gap(s) the WD 300 refrains from performing measurements and transmits data during the configured measurement gaps.

[0071] Fig. 8 is a signaling diagram illustrating an example message exchange 800 between a radio network node 400 and a WD 300 for DL data transmission during a measurement gap according to the current disclosure. The WD 300 may be in RRC connected state.

[0072] The WD 300 and the radio network node 400 exchange information 801 indicative of a configuration of measurement gaps to be used by the WD 300 to perform signal quality measurements from one or more cells, such as a serving cell and / or one or more neighboring cells, and / or indicative of the type of data transmission being performed, such as the data transmission being a latency sensitive transmission, such as an XR data transmission. The information indicative of the configuration of measurement gaps may be transmitted by the radio network node 400 to the WD 300. The information indicative of the type of data transmission being performed may be transmitted by the WD 300 to the radio network node 400.

[0073] Upon the radio network node 400 detecting a conflict between an upcoming data transmission in DL and a configured measurement gap, such as when the upcoming data transmission is scheduled in the same time resources as the configured measurement gap, the radio network node 400 triggers the WD 300 to provide a measurement report based on a signal quality measurement performed in a previous measurement gap by transmitting a message 803 comprising information triggering the measurement to the WD 300. The message 803 may be transmitted using L1 signaling, such as DCI and / or MAC CE signaling. In one or more example methods, a new parameter may be added in downlink control information (DCI) carried by PDCCH and / or MAC CE parameter / information element for the trigger, such as a trigger indication. The information 703 corresponds to the message received by the radio network node in S105A of Fig. 9A and received in S206 of Fig. 10.

[0074] In response to the triggering, the WD 300 may send a measurement report 804 to the radio network node, wherein the measurement is based on a measurement performed in one or more previous measurement gap(s), such as one or more measurements performed prior to receiving the trigger. The measurement report may be based on L1 filtering measurement and / or L3 filtering measurement. The measurement report may comprise an indication indicating that the reported measurement is affected by the temporary modification, such as is based on the temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

[0075] Upon receiving the measurement report 804, the radio network node 400 may determine 805, based on the measurement report, whether a signal quality meets a signal quality criteria. The signal quality criteria may for example be a signal quality threshold. The signal quality threshold may refer to an instantaneous threshold for a measurement or an averaged or other statistical measurements (such as a standard deviation) threshold. These threshold(s) can be defined and described in the specifications (such as in 3GPP specifications) or up to the network node implementation. Upon the signal quality criteria being met, such as when the signal quality is equal to or above the signal quality threshold, the radio network node may determine that the signal quality of the serving cell is sufficient to allow a modification of the configured measurement gaps, such as a skipping of the upcoming measurement gap, a reduction of a length of the upcoming measurement gap, and / or a shifting of the configured measurement gaps in time.

[0076] Upon the radio network node 400 determining that the signal meets the signal quality criteria, the radio network node sends information 806 indicative of a modification of the upcoming measurement gap, such as a skipping, a reduction of length of the measurement gap, and / or a shifting in time of the measurement gap. This message 806 corresponds to message 704 of the signaling diagram in Fig. 7, action S210 of Fig. 10 and action S110 of Fig. 9B.

[0077] The radio network node 400 may skip the configured measurement gap proceeds with DL data transmission 807 in the time resources of the configured measurement gap.

[0078] Fig. 9A-B show a flow diagram of an example method 100, performed by a radio network node according to the disclosure, for handling transmissions between the radio network node and a WD. The radio network node is the radio network node disclosed herein, such as radio network node 400 of Figs. 1 -2, Fig. 4, Figs. 7-8, and Fig. 11.

[0079] The capability of a WD in handling modified measurement gaps may be controlled by for example WD capability or assistance information. Hence, in one or more example methods, the method 100 comprises communicating S101 , with the WD, information related to a capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, communicating S101 comprises transmitting S101A information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps to the WD. In one or more example methods, communicating S101 comprises receiving S101 B information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps from the WD. The information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps may comprise information relating to one or more of a capability to refrain from measuring during a measurement gap, and a capability to perform measurements in a part of a measurement gap.

[0080] A WD that requires measurement gaps, such as for determining cell conditions, is typically configured by periodic gaps, herein called measurement gaps. During these gaps the WD performs measurements and does not need to receive and / or transmit data. In other words, the method 100 comprises transmitting S103, to the WD, configuration of measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements, such as quality measurements on signals received from one or more beams of the serving cell and / or one or more neighboring cells. The signal quality measurements may, in one or more example methods, be RRM measurements, such as RSRP measurements. In one or more example methods, the measurement gaps, such as the configured measurement gaps are time gaps. In a default configuration, the configured measurement gaps, such as the configuration, identify time periods exclusively allocated for performing measurements. In other words, in the default configuration, the configured measurement gaps are time periods where no data transmissions are allowed and the WD is configured to perform measurements, such as signal quality measurements, for one or more beams from serving and / or neighboring cells. The measurement gaps can thus be seen as breaks in a data stream between the radio network node and the WD, such as breaks in which the data stream is interrupted to allow the WD to perform measurements. This step S103

[0081] A WD may be configured by the network with periodically recurring resources, such as CGs, for UL data transmission. The CGs may be preassigned to the WD. By using CGs for scheduling UL transmissions, a need for requesting and assigning resources for each packet transmission can be eliminated. Thus, in one or more example methods, the method 100 comprises scheduling S104 a data transmission between the WD 300 and the radio network node 400. In other words, the radio network node may schedule configured grants for the data transmission between the WD 300 and the radio network node 400.

[0082] The method 100 comprises obtaining S105 an indication indicative of a conflict, such as a potential collision, between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap. A potential collision can herein be seen as a potential collision in time between the data transmission and the configured measurement gap. In other words, the conflict may occur when the data transmission, such as a configured grant for the data transmission, and the configured measurement gap are scheduled in the same time frame, such as in the same OFDM subframe. In one or more example methods, the upcoming data transmission is a time critical data transmission, periodically recurring data transmissions allocated to preassigned resources, such as CGs, and / or a sporadic data transmission. For example, the XR applications are typically operated with CG transmission. A sporadic data transmission can herein be seen as a sudden, such as not schedulable, data transmission. The sporadic data transmission may not be schedulable since it may be triggered by a triggering event occurring. The triggering event may be higher layer signaling, such as a DL data transmission from the radio network node. The sporadic data transmission may be an UL data transmission from the WD triggered by the triggering event. The triggering event may for example be reception of a DL data transmission. A time critical data transmission, such as a timer may herein be a latency sensitive transmission, such as an XR data transmission, such as a data transmission requiring that the data is transmitted without delay.

[0083] In one or more example methods, such as when the upcoming data transmission is in UL, obtaining S105 comprises receiving S105A, from the WD 300, an indication indicative of the conflict between the upcoming data transmission and the configured measurement gap. In one or more example methods, the information indicating that a conflict has been detected may comprise a request to skip an upcoming configured measurement gap. The indication indicative of the conflict may be received via 3GPP L1 signaling, such as via a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), and / or a MAC CE. Receiving S105A corresponds to transmitting S206 of Fig. 10 and signaling 703 in Fig. 7.

[0084] In one or more example methods, such as when the upcoming data transmission is in DL, obtaining S105 comprises detecting S105B a collision between the upcoming data transmission and the configured measurement gap. Receiving S105A corresponds to signaling 802 in Fig. 8.

[0085] Channel conditions may affect the quality of data transmissions and / or receptions. If the channel conditions are bad, data might be lost. In order to ensure sufficient channel conditions, the WD is configured to measure on cells, for example to determine if the WD is to be handed over from the serving cell to a neighboring cell. If the channel conditions are bad, a skipping of a measurement gap may cause the WD to not be able to provide measurement information required to determine whether a handover is required. Therefore, in one or more example methods, the method 100 comprises triggering S106 the WD 300 to provide a measurement report based on a signal quality measurement performed in a previous measurement gap. Upon the radio network node 400 detecting a conflict between the upcoming data transfer and the configured measurement gaps, the radio network node 400 may send a message to the WD 300 comprising information triggering the WD 300 to provide a measurement report based on a signal quality measurement performed in one or more previous measurement gap(s), such as measurement gaps configured prior to triggering the measurement report. The trigger, such as the message comprising information triggering the WD, to provide the measurement report may be transmitted using L1 signaling, such as DCI and / or MAC CE signaling. Contrary to legacy triggering of measurements, which are only performed when a handover of the WD to a new cell is required, the signal quality measurement according to this disclosure is triggered based on the detected collision between the upcoming data traffic and configured measurement gaps. Triggering S106 corresponds to receiving S207 of Fig. 10 and signaling 803 of Fig. 8.

[0086] In one or more example methods, the method 100 comprises receiving S107, from the WD, a measurement report based on a measurement performed in a previous measurement gap. The measurement report may be received using L1 signaling.

[0087] In one or more example methods, the method 100 comprises determining S108, based on the measurement report from the WD, whether a signal quality meets a signal quality criteria. The signal quality criteria may for example be a signal quality threshold. Upon the signal quality criteria being met, such as when the signal quality is equal to or above the signal quality threshold, the radio network node may determine that the signal quality of the serving cell is sufficient to allow a modification of the configured measurement gaps. A modification of the configured measurement gaps may herein comprise a skipping of an upcoming measurement gap, a reduction of a length of an upcoming measurement gap, and / or a shifting of the configured measurement gaps.

[0088] Upon the signal quality criteria not being met, such as when the signal quality is below the signal quality threshold, the radio network node may determine that the signal quality of the serving cell is insufficient to allow a modification of one or more of the configured measurement gaps in the time domain.

[0089] In one or more example methods, the method 100 comprises, for example upon determining that the signal quality meets the signal quality criteria, temporary modifying S109 the configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, temporary modifying the configured measurement gaps comprises skipping an upcoming measurement gap, such as an upcoming measurement gaps of the configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, temporary modifying the configured measurement gaps comprises reducing a length of an upcoming measurement gap, such as by defining a virtual measurement gap having a shorter length than configured measurement gap. In one or more example methods, temporary modifying the configured measurement gaps comprises shifting, such as moving, the configured measurement gaps. Shifting the configured measurement gaps can herein be seen as shifting the configured measurement gaps in the time domain, with or without changing the MGL of the configured measurement gap. It can be changing the starting time of the measurement gap and / or reducing the MGL. By temporary modifying the configured measurement gaps, resources allocated to the measurement may be used by the WD for transmission and / or reception of latency and / or delay sensitive data.

[0090] In order for the WD to apply the modified measurement gaps, the method 100 comprises transmitting S110, to the WD, information indicative of the temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of skipping one or more measurement gaps, such as one or more of the configured measurement gaps. This may be indicated by providing an indication to skip and / or release a configured measurement gap occasion, or by providing an indication to perform data transmission and / or reception during the configured measurement gap.

[0091] In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of a reduction of the length of one or more configured measurement gaps, for example by providing a virtual measurement gap, such as a virtual measurement window, having a shorter length than the configured measurement gap. The virtual measurement gap may be comprised within a configured measurement gap occasion, such as within the measurement gap length of the configured measurement gap. In other words, the virtual measurement gap may be a subpart of the configured measurement gap. The length of the virtual measurement gap may be shorter than the configured measurement gap length and thus allows the WD to transmit and / or receive data in a part of the configured measurement gap that is not allocated to the virtual measurement gap. When a virtual measurement gap is configured, the information indicative of the temporary modification may comprise an actual position of virtual measurement gap. The actual position may be provided by indicating one or more of a time offset value, and a length of the virtual measurement gap. The time offset value may be the offset relative to a starting point of the configured measurement gap. The granularity of the time offset and / or the length of virtual measurement gap may be on an OFDM symbol(s) level. In one or more example methods, one or more of these parameters may also be provided via higher layer signaling, such as RRC signaling. In this case, the radio network node may indicate to the WD to perform a partial measurement within the configured measurement gap occasion. This may for example be applicable to the case where the data transmission and / or reception is partly colliding with the configured measurement gap, such as in the example illustrated in Fig.

[0092] 6.

[0093] In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of a shift of one or more measurement gaps, such as configured measurement gaps, in the time domain.

[0094] In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification may be provided prior to the measurement gap occasion. This may for example be the case when the measurement and data transmission are in different bandwidth parts, such as for an interfrequency measurement. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification may be provided during the measurement gap occasion. This case is applicable when the measurement and data transmission are within the same bandwidth part, such as for an intrafrequency measurement.

[0095] In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification may be provided as a header and / or a flag in a message. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps is transmitted using one or more of DCI, MAC CE, and RRC signaling. RRC signaling may be used for providing an indication of a configuration of temporary modifications, such as rules and / or a generic configuration. RRC signaling, such as an RRC message, may be provided to the WD indicating that the WD is allowed to perform data transmission and / or reception (until further notice) by modifying the configured measurement gap whenever there is a conflict between data transmission and / or reception and a measurement. An indication of an actual modification to be used at a given time, such as for a given measurement gap, may be transmitted using DCI or MAC CE. For example, the length of the virtual measurement gap may be provided via RRC signaling while the time offset may be part of the indication sent via lower layer signaling, such as via DCI or MAC CE.

[0096] In one or more example methods, such as when the WD has indicated a conflict between the data transmission and the measurement gap, the information indicative of the temporary modification may comprise an ACK to skip the conflicting configured measurement gap, and instead proceed with data transmission in the time resource allocated in the configured measurement gap. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification may comprise a NACK to skip the conflicting configured measurement gap. The NACK may indicate that the WD is denied skipping the conflicting configured measurement gap. Transmitting S110 corresponds to receiving S210 of Fig. 10, message 704 of Fig. 7, and message 804 of Fig. 8.

[0097] In one or more example methods, the radio network node may signal, such as transmit a message comprising an indication, to the WD to enable and / or disable data transmission and / or reception during the configured measurement gap(s). This signaling may be WD specific and may be comprised in the information indicative of the temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps or may be a separate signaling, such as message.

[0098] In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification comprises a measurement configuration to be used by the WD for performing measurements in accordance with the temporary modification. In one or more examples, the measurement configuration may comprise a dedicated parameter for the WD to use on a signal quality measurement. The dedicated parameter may for example be a dedicated filter coefficient, such as a filter coefficient for updating an L3 measurement filtering such as L3 beam measurement filtering to include information of beams which have not been measured, such as beams which have been fully or partially skipped.

[0099] In legacy signal quality measurements, the WD may perform multiple measurements in subsequent measurement gaps, filter the measurements and provide a measurement report comprising the filtered measurements to the radio network node. If one or more of these measurements is affected by the temporary modification according to the current disclosure, then the WD may use the received measurement configuration, such as new filter coefficients to include information of beams which have not been measured, such as beams which have been fully or partially skipped.

[0100] In one or more example methods, the method 100 comprises participating S111 in data communication in accordance with the temporary modification. Participating in the data communication in accordance with the temporary communication can herein be seen as transmitting and / or receiving data during at least a part of a configured measurement gap. In other words, the radio network node may receive data from the WD and / or transmit data to the WD during a configured measurement gap.

[0101] Fig. 10 shows a flow diagram of an example method 200, performed by a wireless device according to the disclosure, for handling transmissions between the wireless device and a radio network node. The wireless device is the wireless device disclosed herein, such as wireless device 300 of Fig. 1 , Fig. 7, Fig. 8, and Fig. 12.

[0102] In one or more example methods, the method 200 comprises communicating S201 , with the radio network node, information related to a capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, communicating S201 comprises receiving S201A information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps from the radio network node 400. In one or more example methods, communicating S201 comprises transmitting S201B information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps to the radio network node 400. The information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps may comprise information relating to one or more of a capability to refrain from measuring during a configured measurement gap, such as a capability to communicate data during a configured measurement gap, and a capability to perform measurements in a part of a configured measurement gap. Refraining from measuring during a configured measurement gap can herein be seen as a capability to skip a configured measurement gap. The method 200 comprises receiving S203, from the radio network node, a configuration of configured measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements, such as quality measurements on signals received from one or more beams of the serving cell and / or one or more neighboring cells. The signal quality measurements may, in one or more example methods, be RRM measurements, such as RSRP measurements. In one or more example methods, the measurement gaps, such as the configured measurement gaps are time gaps. In one or more example methods, the configured measurement gaps identify time periods exclusively allocated for performing measurements. In other words, the configured measurement gaps are time periods where no data transmissions are allowed and the WD is configured to perform measurements, such as signal quality measurements, for one or more beams from serving and / or neighboring cells. The measurement gaps can thus be seen as breaks in a data stream between the radio network node and the WD, such as breaks in which the data stream is interrupted to allow the WD to perform measurements.

[0103] In one or more example methods, such as when the upcoming data transmission is in UL, the method 200 comprises detecting S205 a conflict, such as a potential collision, between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap. A potential collision can herein be seen as a potential collision in time between the data transmission and the configured measurement gap. In other words, the conflict may occur when the data transmission, such as a configured grant for the data transmission, and the configured measurement gap are scheduled in the same time frame, such as in the same OFDM subframe. In one or more example methods, the upcoming data transmission is a time critical data transmission and / or a sporadic data transmission. The sporadic data transmission can herein be seen as a sudden, such as not schedulable, data transmission. The sporadic data transmission may not be schedulable since it may be triggered by a triggering event occurring. The triggering event may be higher layer signaling, such as a DL data transmission from the radio network node. The sporadic data transmission may be an UL data transmission from the WD triggered by the triggering event, such as the DL data transmission.

[0104] In one or more example methods, such as when the upcoming data transmission is in UL, the method 200 comprises transmitting S206, to the radio network node, an indication indicative of the conflict between the upcoming data transmission and the configured measurement gap. Transmitting S206 corresponds to receiving S105A of Fig. 9A and signaling 703 in Fig. 7.

[0105] In one or more example methods, such as when the upcoming data transmission is in DL and the radio network node has detected a collision, the method 200 comprises receiving S207, from the radio network node, a trigger to provide a measurement report based on a signal quality measurement performed in a previous measurement gap. The WD may receive a message the radio network node may comprising information triggering the WD to provide a measurement report based on a measurement, such as a signal quality measurement, performed in one or more previous measurement gap(s), such as measurement gaps configured prior to receiving the trigger triggering the measurement report. The trigger, such as the message comprising information triggering the WD to provide the measurement report, may be received using L1 and / or MAC CE signaling.

[0106] In one or more example methods, the method 200 comprises providing S208, to the radio network node, the measurement report, such as the measurement report based on a measurement performed in one or more previous measurement gap(s). The measurement report may comprise an indication indicating that the reported measurement is affected by the temporary modification, such as is based on the temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps. The measurement report may be provided, such as transmitted, to the radio network node in response to receiving the trigger from the radio network node.

[0107] The method 200 comprises receiving S210, from the radio network node, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of one or more of: skipping one or more measurement gaps, reducing length of one or more measurement gaps, and / or moving one or more measurement gaps in time domain. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of the temporary modification comprises a measurement configuration to be used by the WD for performing measurements in accordance with the temporary modification. In one or more example methods, the information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps is transmitted using one or more of DCI, MAC CE, and RRC signaling. This action S210 corresponds to message 704 of the signaling diagram in Fig. 7, message 804 of Fig. 8 and action S110 of Fig. 9B.

[0108] In one or more example methods, the method 200 comprises participating S211 in data communication in accordance with the temporary modification. Participating in the data communication in accordance with the temporary communication can herein be seen as transmitting and / or receiving data during at least a part of a configured measurement gap. In other words, the WD may transmit data to the radio network node and / or receive data from the radio network node during a configured measurement gap.

[0109] Fig. 11 shows a block diagram of an example radio network node 400 according to the disclosure. The radio network node 400 comprises memory circuitry 401 , processor circuitry 402, and a wireless interface 403. The radio network node 400 may be configured to perform any of the methods disclosed in Fig. 9A-9B. In other words, the network node 400 may be configured for handling transmissions between the radio network node 400 and a WD. The network node 400 is configured to communicate with a WD, such as the WD 300 disclosed herein, using a wireless communication system.

[0110] The wireless interface 403 is configured for wireless communications via a wireless communication system, such as a 3GPP system, such as a 3GPP system supporting one or more of: New Radio, NR, NR advanced, beyond NR, Long Term Evolution, LTE, Narrow-band loT, NB- loT, and Long Term Evolution - enhanced Machine Type Communication, LTE-M, and 3GPP system operated in licensed bands or unlicensed bands.

[0111] The radio network node 400 is configured to transmit, for example via the wireless interface 403, to the WD, a configuration of measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements.

[0112] The radio network node 400 is configured to obtain, for example via the wireless interface 403 and / or the processor circuitry 402, an indication indicative of a conflict between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap.

[0113] The radio network node 400 is configured to transmit, for example via the wireless interface 403, to the WD, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

[0114] Processor circuitry 402 is optionally configured to perform any of the operations disclosed in Fig. 9A-9B (such as any one or more of S101 , S101A, S101 B, S103, S105, S105A, S105B, S106, S107, S108, S109, S110, S111 ). The operations of the radio network node 400 may be embodied in the form of executable logic routines (for example, lines of code, software programs, etc.) that are stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium (for example, memory circuitry 401 ) and are executed by processor circuitry 402).

[0115] Furthermore, the operations of the network node 400 may be considered a method that the network node 400 is configured to carry out. Also, while the described functions and operations may be implemented in software, such functionality may also be carried out via dedicated hardware or firmware, or some combination of hardware, firmware and / or software.

[0116] Memory circuitry 401 may be one or more of a buffer, a flash memory, a hard drive, a removable media, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a random access memory (RAM), or other suitable device. In a typical arrangement, memory circuitry 401 may include a nonvolatile memory for long term data storage and a volatile memory that functions as system memory for processor circuitry 402. Memory circuitry 401 may exchange data with processor circuitry 402 over a data bus. Control lines and an address bus between memory circuitry 401 and processor circuitry 402 also may be present (not shown in Fig. 11 ). Memory circuitry 401 is considered a non-transitory computer readable medium.

[0117] Memory circuitry 401 may be configured to store information, such as measurement gap configurations, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps, measurement reports, and / or signal quality measurements, in a part of the memory.

[0118] Fig. 12 shows a block diagram of an example wireless device 300 according to the disclosure. The wireless device 300 comprises memory circuitry 301 , processor circuitry 302, and a wireless interface 303. The wireless device 300 may be configured to perform any of the methods disclosed in Fig. 10. In other words, the wireless device 300 may be configured for handling transmissions between the WD and a radio network node.

[0119] The wireless device 300 is configured to communicate with a network node, such as the radio network node disclosed herein, using a wireless communication system.

[0120] The wireless device 300 is configured to receive (such as via the wireless interface 303), from the radio network node, a configuration of configured measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements.

[0121] The wireless device 300 is configured to receive (such as via the wireless interface 303), from the radio network node, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

[0122] The wireless interface 303 is configured for wireless communications via a wireless communication system, such as a 3GPP system, such as a 3GPP system supporting one or more of: New Radio, NR, NR advanced, beyond NR, Long Term Evolution, LTE, Narrow-band loT, NB- loT, and Long Term Evolution - enhanced Machine Type Communication, LTE-M, and 3GPP system operated in licensed bands or unlicensed bands.

[0123] The wireless device 300 is optionally configured to perform any of the operations disclosed in Fig. 10 (such as any one or more of S201 , S203, S205, S206, S207, S208, S210, S211 ). The operations of the wireless device 300 may be embodied in the form of executable logic routines (for example, lines of code, software programs, etc.) that are stored on a non-transitory computer readable medium (for example, memory circuitry 301 ) and are executed by processor circuitry 302).

[0124] Furthermore, the operations of the wireless device 300 may be considered a method that the wireless device 300 is configured to carry out. Also, while the described functions and operations may be implemented in software, such functionality may also be carried out via dedicated hardware or firmware, or some combination of hardware, firmware and / or software.

[0125] Memory circuitry 301 may be one or more of a buffer, a flash memory, a hard drive, a removable media, a volatile memory, a non-volatile memory, a random access memory (RAM), or other suitable device. In a typical arrangement, memory circuitry 301 may include a nonvolatile memory for long term data storage and a volatile memory that functions as system memory for processor circuitry 302. Memory circuitry 301 may exchange data with processor circuitry 302 over a data bus. Control lines and an address bus between memory circuitry 301 and processor circuitry 302 also may be present (not shown in Fig. 12). Memory circuitry 301 is considered a non-transitory computer readable medium.

[0126] Memory circuitry 301 may be configured to store information, such as measurement gap configurations, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps, measurement reports, and / or signal quality measurements, in a part of the memory.

[0127] Examples of methods and products (radio network node and wireless device) according to the disclosure are set out in the following items:

[0128] Item 1 . A method performed by a radio network node, for handling transmissions between the radio network node and a wireless device, WD, the method comprising:

[0129] - transmitting (S103), to the WD, configuration of measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements,

[0130] - obtaining (S105) an indication indicative of a conflict between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap, and

[0131] - transmitting (S110), to the WD, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

[0132] Item 2. The method according to item 1 , wherein the upcoming data transmission is a time critical data transmission.

[0133] Item 3. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the upcoming data transmission is a sporadic data transmission.

[0134] Item 4. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the measurement gaps are time gaps. Item 5. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the configured measurement gaps identify time periods exclusively allocated for performing measurements.

[0135] Item 6. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification comprises a measurement configuration to be used by the WD for performing measurements in accordance with the temporary modification.

[0136] Item 7. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of one or more of: skipping one or more measurement gaps, reducing length of one or more measurement gaps, and / or a shifting one or more measurement gaps in time domain.

[0137] Item 8. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps is transmitted using one or more of Downlink Control Information, DCI, a Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE, and Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling.

[0138] Item 9. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the method comprises:

[0139] - triggering (S106) the WD to provide a measurement report based on a signal quality measurement performed in a previous measurement gap.

[0140] Item 10. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the method comprises:

[0141] - determining (S108), based on a measurement report from the WD, whether a signal quality meets a signal quality criteria, and

[0142] - upon determining that the signal quality meets the signal quality criteria, temporary modifying (S109) the configured measurement gaps.

[0143] Item 11. The method according to item 9, wherein the method comprises:

[0144] - receiving (S107), from the WD, a measurement report based on a measurement performed in a previous measurement gap.

[0145] Item 12. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the method comprises:

[0146] - participating (S111 ) in data communication in accordance with the temporary modification. Item 13. The method according to any one of the previous items, wherein the method comprises:

[0147] - communicating (S101), with the WD, information related to a capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps.

[0148] Item 14. The method according to item 13, wherein the information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps comprises information relating to one or more of a capability to refrain from measuring during a measurement gap, and a capability to perform measurements in a part of a measurement gap.

[0149] Item 15. A method performed by a wireless device, WD, for handling transmissions between the WD and a radio network node, the method comprising:

[0150] - receiving (S203), from the radio network node, a configuration of configured measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements, and

[0151] - receiving (S210), from the radio network node, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

[0152] Item 16. The method according to item 15, wherein the measurement gaps are time gaps.

[0153] Item 17. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 16, wherein the configured measurement gaps identify time periods exclusively allocated for performing measurements.

[0154] Item 18. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 17, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification comprises a measurement configuration to be used by the WD for performing measurements in accordance with the temporary modification.

[0155] Item 19. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 18, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of one or more of: skipping one or more measurement gaps, reducing length of one or more measurement gaps, and / or moving one or more measurement gaps in time domain.

[0156] Item 20. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 19, wherein the information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps is transmitted using one or more of Downlink Control Information, DCI, Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE, and Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling.

[0157] Item 21. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 20, wherein the method comprises: - detecting (S205) a conflict between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap, and

[0158] - transmitting (S206), to the radio network node, an indication indicative of the conflict between the upcoming data transmission and the configured measurement gap.

[0159] Item 22. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 21 , wherein the upcoming data transmission is a time critical data transmission.

[0160] Item 23. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 22, wherein the upcoming data transmission is a sporadic data transmission.

[0161] Item 24. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 23, wherein the method comprises:

[0162] - receiving (S207), from the radio network node, a trigger to provide a measurement report based on a signal quality measurement performed in a previous measurement gap, and

[0163] - providing (S208), to the radio network node, the measurement report.

[0164] Item 25. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 24, wherein the method comprises:

[0165] - participating (S211) in data communication in accordance with the temporary modification.

[0166] Item 26. The method according to any one of the items 15 to 25, wherein the method comprises:

[0167] - communicating (S201), with the radio network node, information related to a capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps.

[0168] Item 27. The method according to item 26, wherein the information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps comprises information relating to one or more of a capability to refrain from measuring during a measurement gap, and a capability to perform measurements in a part of a measurement gap.

[0169] Item 28. The method according to any one of items 15 to 27, wherein the measurement report comprises an indication indicating that the reported measurement is affected by the temporary modification. Item 29. A radio network node comprising memory circuitry, processor circuitry, and a wireless interface, wherein the radio network node is configured to perform any of the methods according to any of items 1-14.

[0170] Item 30. A wireless device comprising memory circuitry, processor circuitry, and a wireless interface, wherein the wireless device is configured to perform any of the methods according to any of items 15-28.

[0171] The use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not imply any particular order, but are included to identify individual elements. Moreover, the use of the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. does not denote any order or importance, but rather the terms “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used to distinguish one element from another. Note that the words “first”, “second”, “third” and “fourth”, “primary”, “secondary”, “tertiary” etc. are used here and elsewhere for labelling purposes only and are not intended to denote any specific spatial or temporal ordering. Furthermore, the labelling of a first element does not imply the presence of a second element and vice versa.

[0172] It may be appreciated that Figures 1-12 comprise some circuitries or operations which are illustrated with a solid line and some circuitries, components, features, or operations which are illustrated with a dashed line. Circuitries or operations which are comprised in a solid line are circuitries, components, features or operations which are comprised in the broadest example. Circuitries, components, features, or operations which are comprised in a dashed line are examples which may be comprised in, or a part of, or are further circuitries, components, features, or operations which may be taken in addition to circuitries, components, features, or operations of the solid line examples. It should be appreciated that these operations need not be performed in order presented. Furthermore, it should be appreciated that not all of the operations need to be performed. The example operations may be performed in any order and in any combination. It should be appreciated that these operations need not be performed in order presented. Circuitries, components, features, or operations which are comprised in a dashed line may be considered optional.

[0173] Other operations that are not described herein can be incorporated in the example operations. For example, one or more additional operations can be performed before, after, simultaneously, or between any of the described operations.

[0174] Certain features discussed above as separate implementations can also be implemented in combination as a single implementation. Conversely, features described as a single implementation can also be implemented in multiple implementations separately or in any suitable sub-combination. Moreover, although features may be described above as acting in certain combinations, one or more features from a claimed combination can, in some cases, be excised from the combination, and the combination may be claimed as any sub-combination or variation of any sub-combination

[0175] It is to be noted that the word "comprising" does not necessarily exclude the presence of other elements or steps than those listed.

[0176] It is to be noted that the words "a" or "an" preceding an element do not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

[0177] It is to be noted that the term "indicative of may be seen as “associated with”, “related to”, “descriptive of’, “characterizing”, and / or “defining”. The terms “indicative of”, “associated with”, “related to”, “descriptive of’, “characterizing”, and “defining” can be used interchangeably. The term “indicative of” can be seen as indicating a relation. For example, weight data indicative of weight may comprise one or more weight parameters.

[0178] It is to be noted that the word "based on" may be seen as “as a function of” and / or “derived from”. The terms “based on” and “as a function of’ can be used interchangeably. For example, a parameter determined “based on” a data set can be seen as a parameter determined “as a function of” the data set. In other words, the parameter may be an output of one or more functions with the data set as an input.

[0179] A function may be characterizing a relation between an input and an output, such as mathematical relation, a database relation, a hardware relation, logical relation, and / or other suitable relations.

[0180] It should further be noted that any reference signs do not limit the scope of the claims, that the examples may be implemented at least in part by means of both hardware and software, and that several "means", "units" or "devices" may be represented by the same item of hardware.

[0181] The various example methods, devices, nodes and systems described herein are described in the general context of method steps or processes, which may be implemented in one aspect by a computer program product, embodied in a computer-readable medium, including computerexecutable instructions, such as program code, executed by computers in networked environments. A computer-readable medium may include removable and non-removable storage devices including, but not limited to, Read Only Memory (ROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), compact discs (CDs), digital versatile discs (DVD), etc. Generally, program circuitries may include routines, programs, objects, components, data structures, etc. that perform specified tasks or implement specific abstract data types. Computer-executable instructions, associated data structures, and program circuitries represent examples of program code for executing steps of the methods disclosed herein. The particular sequence of such executable instructions or associated data structures represents examples of corresponding acts for implementing the functions described in such steps or processes.

[0182] Although features have been shown and described, it will be understood that they are not intended to limit the claimed disclosure, and it will be made obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes and modifications may be made without departing from the scope of the claimed disclosure. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to be regarded in an illustrative rather than restrictive sense. The claimed disclosure is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A method performed by a radio network node, for handling transmissions between the radio network node and a wireless device, WD, the method comprising:- transmitting (S103), to the WD, configuration of measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements,- obtaining (S105) an indication indicative of a conflict between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap, and- transmitting (S110), to the WD, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

2. The method according to claim 1 , wherein the upcoming data transmission is one or more of a time critical data transmission and a sporadic data transmission.

3. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the measurement gaps are time gaps.

4. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the configured measurement gaps identify time periods exclusively allocated for performing measurements.

5. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification comprises a measurement configuration to be used by the WD for performing measurements in accordance with the temporary modification.

6. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of one or more of: skipping one or more measurement gaps, reducing length of one or more measurement gaps, and / or a shifting one or more measurement gaps in time domain.

7. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps is transmitted using one or more of Downlink Control Information, DCI, a Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE, and Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling.

8. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the method comprises: triggering (S106) the WD to provide a measurement report based on a signal quality measurement performed in a previous measurement gap.

9. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the method comprises:- determining (S108), based on a measurement report from the WD, whether a signal quality meets a signal quality criteria, and upon determining that the signal quality meets the signal quality criteria, temporary modifying (S109) the configured measurement gaps.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the method comprises: receiving (S107), from the WD, a measurement report based on a measurement performed in a previous measurement gap.

11. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the method comprises:- participating (S111 ) in data communication in accordance with the temporary modification.

12. The method according to any one of the previous claims, wherein the method comprises:- communicating (S101), with the WD, information related to a capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps.

13. The method according to claim 12, wherein the information related to the capability of handling a modification of configured measurement gaps comprises information relating to one or more of a capability to refrain from measuring during a measurement gap, and a capability to perform measurements in a part of a measurement gap.

14. A method performed by a wireless device, WD, for handling transmissions between the WD and a radio network node, the method comprising: receiving (S203), from the radio network node, a configuration of configured measurement gaps for the WD to perform signal quality measurements, and receiving (S210), from the radio network node, information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps.

15. The method according to claims 14, wherein the measurement gaps are time gaps.

16. The method according to any one of the claims 14 to 15, wherein the configured measurement gaps identify time periods exclusively allocated for performing measurements.

17. The method according to any one of the claims 14 to 16, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification comprises a measurement configuration to be used by the WD for performing measurements in accordance with the temporary modification.

18. The method according to any one of the claims 14 to 17, wherein the information indicative of the temporary modification is indicative of one or more of: skipping one or more measurement gaps, reducing length of one or more measurement gaps, and / or moving one or more measurement gaps in time domain.

19. The method according to any one of the claims 14 to 18, wherein the information indicative of a temporary modification of the configured measurement gaps is transmitted using one or more of Downlink Control Information, DCI, Medium Access Control Control Element, MAC CE, and Radio Resource Control, RRC, signaling.

20. The method according to any one of the claims 14 to 19, wherein the method comprises:- detecting (S205) a conflict between an upcoming data transmission and a configured measurement gap, and- transmitting (S206), to the radio network node, an indication indicative of the conflict between the upcoming data transmission and the configured measurement gap.

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