NTN operation mode switched between normal mode and store and forward mode

Abstract

Methods for wireless communication including the steps of: determining by the user equipment in an area, that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN); and performing a procedure to adapt the user equipment to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node, wherein the non-terrestrial network node operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment is further configured to perform steps comprising one of: aborting an ongoing procedure to start a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode switching, or adapting configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode based on the configured conditions.

Description

NTN OPERATION MODE SWITCHED BETWEEN NORMAL MODE AND STORE AND FORWARD MODETECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

[0001] An example embodiment relates generally to management of transition between phases in an CP / UP (control plane / user plane) procedure of a user equipment (UE) where there is an upcoming operation mode change in a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) or satellite, such as the NTN switches between a normal operation and a store and forward Satellite (S&F) operation mode, or vice versa.BACKGROUND

[0002] In a 5G system, service requirements in a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) or satellite for mobile originating (MO) and mobile terminating (MT) use cases may use Store and Forward (S&F) satellite operation to provide some level of service when satellite connectivity intermittently / temporarily unavailable between UEs and satellites, and between satellites and core network nodes. A MO communication service for UEs under satellite coverage is without a simultaneous active feeder link connection to the ground segment. A MT communication service for UEs via a satellite having a feeder link connection and is expected to provide coverage in the future to UEs.

[0003] The Store and Forward Satellite (S&F) operation provide communication service (in storing and forwarding information) to a UE in periods of time and / or geographical areas in which a serving satellite is not simultaneously connected to the ground network via a feeder link or an Inter-Satellite Link (ISL). For the case of uplink (UL), "store" refers to on-board storage of UL information from UE and "forward" refers to forwarding of stored UL information to the ground network. For the case of downlink (DL), "store" refers to on-board storage of DL information from the ground network and "forward" refers to forwarding of stored DL information to the UE.

[0004] For cases where the UE has an CP / UP procedure and there is an upcoming non-terrestrial network node (NTN) or satellite operation mode change, the procedure may have to be interrupted or delayed since UE configurations (e.g., triggers, timers, radio bearers) may be different for the different operation modes. The NTN may not have full information to make adecision on whether to continue or not with an ongoing procedure, or whether to start or not with a new procedure. For new procedures, the NTN may not know which type of procedure the UE will start. For ongoing procedures, the NTN may not have information on how much data the UE has left to transmit.BRIEF SUMMARY

[0005] In an example embodiment, a user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) for wireless communication, including: at least one processor (410); and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in a serving cell (one of 104, 106) to perform: determine (206a, 306a) (during time Tl) that the at least one configured condition is met for preparing an operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and perform a procedure to adapt (206b, 306b) (during time Tl) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment further performs one of: abort an ongoing procedure (100D in overlapped area 104 A) to start (206, 306) a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switching, or adapt configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode based on the configured conditions.

[0006] A non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, including: at least one processor (410); and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) to: signal (one of 204, 304), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100 A to 100E), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in an area (102 / 104 / 106) to switch from a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to a normal mode, wherein the NTN operation mode (see area 106).

[0007] A user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) for wireless communication, including: means for determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and means for performing a procedure to adapt (206b, 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment is further configured with one of: means for aborting an ongoing procedure (100D in overlapped area 104 A) to start (206, 306) a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switching, or means for adapting configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode based on the configured conditions.

[0008] A non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, includes: means for signaling (one of 204, 304) ), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106) served by the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in the area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN node is further configured with means for switching from the store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to the normal mode (see area 106).

[0009] A computer implemented method for wireless communication, including: performing by a user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) that includes at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) performs steps, including: determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and performing a procedure to adapt (206b, 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment is further configured to perform steps including one of: aborting an ongoing procedure (100D in overlapped area 104 A) to start (206, 306) a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switching, or adapting configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode based on the configured conditions.

[0010] A computer implemented method for wireless communication, including: performing by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) that includes at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) to perform steps, including: signaling (one of 204, 304) ), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106) served by the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in the area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN switches from the store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to the normal mode (see area 106).

[0011] A user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) is provided for wireless communication, that includes: at least one processor (410); and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to: determine (one of 206a, 306a) that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and perform a procedure to adapt (206b, 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150).

[0012] A non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, include at least one processor (410); and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) to: signal (one of 204, 304), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100 A to 100E), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for anoperation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in an area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN operation mode switch includes one of: (1) switch from a normal mode (see area 102) to a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104), or (2) switch from the store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to the normal mode (see area 106).

[0013] A user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) for wireless communication, include means for determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and means for performing a procedure to adapt (206b or 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the nonterrestrial network node (one of 140, 150).

[0014] A non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, include means for signaling (one of 204, 304) ), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106) served by the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in the area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN node is further configured with one of: means for switching from a normal mode (see area 102) to a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104), or means for switching from the store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to the normal mode (see area 106).

[0015] A computer implemented method for wireless communication, including: performing by a user equipment (one of 100 A to 100E) that includes at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100 A to 100E) performs steps that includes: determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and performing a procedure to adapt (206b or 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150).

[0016] A computer implemented method for wireless communication, including: performing by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) that includes at least one processor (410)and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) to perform steps, that includes: signaling (one of 204, 304), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106) served by the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node that is scheduled to serve in the area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN node performs steps including one of: (1) switching from a normal mode to a store and forward (S&F) mode, or (2) switching from the store and forward (S&F) mode to the normal mode.

[0017] A user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) for wireless communication, including: at least one processor (410); and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in a serving cell (one of 104, 106) to perform: determine (one of 206a, 306a) (during time Tl) that the at least one configured condition is met for preparing for an operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and perform a procedure (during time Tl) to adapt (206b, 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node operation mode switches from a normal operation mode to a store and forward mode, while the user equipment has a new procedure to be initiated, to perform one or a combination of: disable to initiate the new procedure for delay-sensitive data delivery, or initiate the new procedure for delay-tolerant data delivery using a store and forward (S&F) operation mode related configuration when the configured condition is met before the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) changes to the store and forward (S&F) operation mode.

[0018] A non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, including: at least one processor (410); and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) to: signal (one of 204, 304), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100 A to 100E), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in an area (102 / 104 / 106) to switch from a normal mode (see area 102) to a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104).

[0019] A user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) for wireless communication, including: means for determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and means for performing a procedure to adapt (206b, 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node operation mode switches from a normal operation mode to a store and forward mode, while the user equipment is configured to initiate a new procedure, with means for performing one or a combination of: disabling to initiate the new procedure for delay-sensitive data delivery, or initiating the new procedure for delay-tolerant data delivery using a store and forward (S&F) operation mode related configuration when the configured condition is met before the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) changes to the store and forward (S&F) operation mode.

[0020] A non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, including: means for signaling (one of 204, 304), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in an area (102 / 104 / 106) to switch from a normal mode (see area 102) to a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104).

[0021] A computer implemented method for wireless communication, including: performing by a user equipment (one of 100 A to 100E) that includes at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) performs steps, including: determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and performing a procedure to adapt (206b, 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the nonterrestrial network node operation mode switches from a normal operation mode to a store and forward mode, while the user equipment has a new procedure to be initiated, to perform one or a combination of: disabling to initiate the new procedure for delay-sensitive data delivery, orinitiating the new procedure for delay-tolerant data delivery using a store and forward (S&F) operation mode related configuration when the configured condition is met before the nonterrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) changes to the store and forward (S&F) operation mode.

[0022] A computer implemented method for wireless communication, including: performing by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) that includes at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) to perform steps, including: signaling (one of 204, 304), to at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in an area (102 / 104 / 106) to switch from a normal mode (see area 102) to a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104).BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Having thus described certain example embodiments of the present disclosure in general terms, reference will hereinafter be made to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

[0024] FIG. 1 is a system diagram depicting switching operation modes between a store and forward (S&F) operation scheme and a normal operation;

[0025] FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrating a case of upcoming mode switching from normal mode to S&F mode;

[0026] FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating a case of upcoming mode switching from S&F mode to normal mode;

[0027] FIG. 4 is a system diagram illustrating the means configured to perform the described steps or functions by either a user equipment (UE) or a non-terrestrial network node (NW);

[0028] FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an example of a communication system that the system of FIG. 4 may be deployed, in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Some embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which some, but not all, embodiments areshown. Indeed, various embodiments may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will satisfy applicable legal requirements. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. As used herein, the terms “data,” “content,” “information,” and similar terms may be used interchangeably to refer to data capable of being transmitted, received and / or stored in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. Thus, use of any such terms should not be taken to limit the spirit and scope of embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0030] Additionally, as used herein, the term “circuitry” refers to (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (e.g., implementations in analog circuitry and / or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of circuits and computer program product(s) including software and / or firmware instructions stored on one or more computer readable memories that work together to cause an apparatus to perform one or more functions described herein; and (c) circuits, such as, for example, a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that require software or firmware for operation even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of “circuitry” applies to all uses of this term herein, including in any claims. As a further example, as used herein, the term “circuitry” also includes an implementation including one or more processors and / or portion(s) thereof and accompanying software and / or firmware. As another example, the term “circuitry” as used herein also includes, for example, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile phone or a similar integrated circuit in a server, a cellular network device, other network device (such as a core network apparatus), field programmable gate array, and / or other computing device.

[0031] As used herein, the term “computer-readable medium” refers to non-transitory storage hardware, non-transitory storage device or non-transitory computer system memory that may be accessed by a controller, a microcontroller, a computational system or a module of a computational system to encored thereon computer-executable instructions or software programs. A non-transitory “computer readable medium” may be accessed by a computational system or a module of a computational system to retrieve and / or execute the computerexecutable instructions or software programs encoded on the medium. Examples of non- transitory computer-readable media may include, but are not limited to, one or more types of hardware memory, non-transitory tangible media (for example, one or more magnetic storagedisks, one or more optical disks, one or more universal synchronous bus (USB) flash drives), computer system memory or random-access memory (such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random access memory (SRAM), extended data out random access memory (EDO RAM), and the like.

[0032] The term “user equipment”, “terminal device”, “mobile terminal” may be used interchangeably with equivalent meaning. The term “non-terrestrial network node”, “satellite”, “network node”, “gNB”, “base station” may be used interchangeably with equivalent meaning. The term “core network”, “mobile management entity (MME)”, “mobile management function (AMF)”, “ground station”, or “gateway” may be used interchangeably with equivalent meaning. The term “non-terrestrial network node”, “NTN”, “satellite” or “network node” may be used interchangeably with equivalent meaning. The term “departing satellite” and “first satellite” may be used interchangeably with equivalent meaning. The term “upcoming satellite” and “second satellite” may be used interchangeably with equivalent meaning.

[0033] As stated earlier, Store and Forward Satellite (S&F) operation provide communication service (in storing and forwarding information) to a UE in periods of time and / or geographical areas in which a serving satellite is not simultaneously connected to the ground network via a feeder link or an Inter-Satellite Link (ISL). In an example, since ground network connection is not available in Le Mans (104), therefore, first satellite (150) during time period T1 or the second satellite (140) during time period T2 may operate in S&F mode in area Le Mans (104). Since ground network (120A, 120B) connections are available in Rennes (102) and in Orleans (106), therefore, second satellite (140) during time period T1 in Rennes (102) or during time T3 in Orleans (106), or the first satellite (150) during time period T2 in Orleans (106) may operate in normal mode by simultaneously connected to both the ground network (120A or 120B) via feeder links (107, 105) and to UEs (100 A, 100E).

[0034] In another example, Le Mans (102) may partially overlap with Rennes (e.g., 102A) and overlap with Orleans (e.g., 106A). Thus UE (100B) in the overlapped area (102A) may be connected (via link 103 A) to second satellite (140) that operates in normal mode during time period T1 over area Rennes (102), or later be connected (via link 103B) to the same second satellite (140) that has switched to S&F mode during time period T2 over area Le Mans (104).

[0035] In another example, Le Mans (102) may partially overlap with area Orleans (e.g., 106A). Thus UE (100D) in the overlapped area (106A) may be connected (via link 101 A) to firstsatellite (150) that operates in S&F mode during time period T1 while over area Le Mans (104), or later be connected (via link 103D) to the same first satellite (150) that has switched to operate in normal mode during time period T2 while over Orleans (106).

[0036] The store and forward scheme may rely on a regenerative architecture where a radio area network (RAN) may be placed in one or more satellite (140 orl50) or “non-terrestrial network node” (“NTN”). In a Store & Forward (S&F) scheme, the part of MME (or AMF for 5GS type of deployments) is at satellite (e.g., first satellite (150) or second satellite (140)) which may be responsible to provide Store and Forward feature (e.g., over area Le Mans (102)). MME in the first satellite (150), and second satellite (140) may be represented as MME-NT-1, MME-NT-2 (non-terrestrial node or NTN) in FIG. 1. Let’s assume the time T1 is between 10:00-10:20 and T2 is 10:40-11 :00 and T3 is 11:20- 11 :40. The satellites (150 or 140) will have ground station coverage when hovering over area Rennes (102) and area Orleans (106) but not when crossing area Le Mans (104).

[0037] At time Tl, at least one first satellite (150) may provide coverage to Le Mans (104) and at least one second satellite (140) may provide coverage to Rennes (102). At time T2, the first satellite (150) may be at Orleans (106) and the at least one second satellite (140) may be covering Le Mans (102). At time T3, the at least one second satellite (140) may sync up with the MME-NT at Orleans (106).

[0038] It may be possible that a current operation mode information of (i.e. S&F mode or normal mode) may be provided by both satellites (150, 140), and also a time (i.e., time period or time instance) when there is a need of operation mode change when a satellite (e.g., 150) may depart from a current area (e.g., Le Mans 104) to enter into another area (e.g., Orleans 106). However, such information (i.e., time period or time instance) alone may not be sufficient for the UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) to make a “smart” decision whether and how certain procedure should be initiated as UE in an area may not know all the satellites (150, 140) or NTN situation (e.g. the cell load, the backhaul link / feeder link latency in normal mode etc.). Hence NTN configuration on the conditions may be needed to facilitate the UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) to make the decision when / in which conditions / how to prepare the mode switching.

[0039] When UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) has an ongoing control plane / user plane (CP / UP procedure or is about to initiate a CP / UP procedure (e.g. attach / registration procedure, MO / MT data delivery in CP or UP CIoT (cellular internet of things) optimization procedure) while theNTN operation mode may change in a short time period (e.g. in x seconds), an initiated procedure may not be completed when NTN operation mode changes. However, as the supported services / use cases in NTN S&F mode may be limited to the delay-tolerant services and the UE behaviour and used parameters and timers for the initiated procedures may be different for different NTN operation mode, an ongoing procedure may have to be stopped when NTN operation mode changes. For example, if the initiated procedure in normal operation mode is for data delivery of delay-sensitive traffic, and the procedure / data delivery is not fully completed when a NTN normal operation mode is switched to S&F mode, the procedure / data delivery may need to be stopped. Thus, the consumed resources and energy for the noncompleted procedures may be totally wasted, or the performance of the ongoing procedure may be degraded if the procedure is continued after NTN operation mode changes, but the continued procedure may still be using the parameters and / or timers corresponding to the operation mode before the change. Therefore, this disclosure targets to the problem of how to configure the UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) to prepare for an upcoming NTN (140 / 150) operation mode switch and what is the corresponding UE behavior when NTN operation mode is about to change.

[0040] This disclosure proposes a network configuration and the corresponding UE behavior of an ongoing procedure or a newly initiated procedure for the upcoming NTN operation mode switching between S&F mode and normal mode.

[0041] A network node on satellite (e.g., NTN 140 / 150) configures the UE (one of 100A to 100E) with conditions for preparation of the upcoming NTN operation mode switching. The detailed conditions include at least one of the followings or any combination thereof:(A) One or more time periods before mode switching that an UE should prepare for an upcoming NTN operation mode switch. The time period may be configured with time units (e.g. in seconds) or configured with the absolute time instance that the mode switching may take place or the UE should prepare for the upcoming NTN operation mode switch .(B) One or more NTN cell related conditions, e.g. Timing Advance (TA) threshold / range, of which the UE should prepare for the upcoming NTN operation mode switch.(C) One or more UE traffic flow related conditions, e.g. the 5QI of the QoS flows, the PDB threshold or range, some of data radio bearer (DRB) configuration parameters threshold or range, the data volume threshold to be transmitted etc., of which the UE should prepare for the upcoming NTN operation mode switch.(D) If more than one time, cell related or UE traffic flow related conditions are configured, the different conditions (i.e. different values or thresholds in those configured conditions) may correspond to different type of procedures (e.g attach / registration procedure, MO data deliver in CP CIoT / UP CIoT, delay-sensitive or delay tolerant data delivery etc.), different procedure status (e.g. ongoing procedure, new procedure to be initiated etc.), different UE behavior for impacted procedures (e.g. early release the procedure, complete the procedure with higher priority, delay the initiation of the procedure) and / or different UE RRC state (e.g. UE in Connected state or in Idle / Inactive state).

[0042] Based on a satellite network node (NTN) (140 / 150) configured conditions, the following UE behavior is proposed for preparing the upcoming NTN operation mode switch:

[0043] For the direction of mode switching from normal operation mode to S&F operation mode: (a) If a UE has an ongoing procedure that is initiated according to NTN normal operation mode, the UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) may determine to complete the procedure before the mode switching if it is possible or early release / abort the procedure if the procedure cannot be completed before the mode switching. This may be considered as complementary UE behavior in addition to NW initiated procedure release / abort. For instance, if UE has ongoing control plane procedure (e.g. registration update procedure) that requires the interaction with network functions in core network deployed on the ground, UE may determine to complete the procedure before the mode switching when the configured conditions are met. For another instance, if UE has procedure / data delivery for delay-sensitive traffic when the configured conditions are met (e.g. using the UE traffic flow related conditions such as 5QI or PDB of QoS flow and / or DRB configurations as well as the data volume threshold / range), the UE may be configured to early abort the procedure or request to release the corresponding CP connections or UP sessions. This on one hand can help to avoid the waste of radio resources and power consumption of the UE for performing the partial procedure that cannot anyway be completed before switching to S&F mode and on the other hand can make the room for the NW to serve the legacy UEs that cannot make the preparation for upcoming mode switching.

[0044] If a UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) decides to complete or abort the procedure before the mode switching, the UE may indicate this to the NW (NTN 140 or NTN 150) so that the NW may prioritize the UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) and corresponding traffic flows (e.g. QoS flow or DRB) transmitted to / from UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) in order to complete the procedureor release the UE configuration (e.g. PDU session or RRC connection or DRB) before the mode switching.

[0045] Alternatively, a UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) may decide to modify the current / established connection from an existing mode of operation to another one for the delivery of user data (e.g., from user plane mode to control plane mode such as CP CIoT EPS optimization). This may allow a faster and smoother transition from a normal operation mode to S&F operation mode. This transition may be NW-initiated as well.

[0046] If the UE (e.g., UE 100B) has a new procedure to be started before NTN operation mode switch from a normal mode to a S&F mode, the UE (e.g., UE 100B) may determine whether to initiate the procedure or not and how / when to initiate the procedure based on the configured conditions. For instance, the UE (e.g., UE 100B) may determine not to initiate the procedure or data delivery if the procedure or data delivery is for delay-sensitive traffic when NTN cell (e.g., area 102A) is about to change to the S&F operation mode, e.g. based on the configured time conditions. For another instance, the UE (e.g., UE 100B) may determine to initiate the procedure for delay-tolerant traffic using S&F mode related configuration even before the NTN cell changes to S&F operation mode if the configured conditions is met. In this case, even the NTN 140 may operate in normal mode, the served UE (e.g., UE 100B) may still initiate the procedure using S&F mode configuration and indicate to the NTN 140 (network node) that the UE (e.g., UE 100B) is using the S&F mode to initiate the procedure.

[0047] For a direction of mode switching from S&F operation mode to normal operation mode: if the UE (e.g., UE 100D in area 104A) has an ongoing procedure that is initiated according to NTN (150) S&F operation mode, the UE (e.g., UE 100D) may abort the ongoing procedure and re-start the procedure after mode switching or the UE (e.g., UE 100D) may adapt the ongoing procedure for the upcoming mode switching based on the configured conditions. For instance, the UE (anyone of 100B to 100D) may be configured to adapt the timers or waiting time related to the procedure initiated in NTN S&F mode according to the time periods towards the mode switching time.

[0048] If the UE (e.g., UE 100D in area 104A) has a new procedure (e.g. tracking area update procedure) to be started, the UE (e.g., UE 100D) may determine whether to initiate the procedure in S&F mode or wait for the mode switching and then initiate the procedure in normal mode (with NTN 140 during time period T3) based on the configured conditions. If the UE (e.g., UE100D) determines to initiate the procedure in S&F mode, the UE (e.g., UE 100D) may adapt the related timers or waiting time for the initiated procedure according to the time periods towards the mode switching time.

[0049] The proposed network configuration and some embodiments on UE behavior are illustrated in Figure 2 and Figure 3 respectively, for the mode switching from normal mode to S&F mode (see FIG. 2) or from S&F mode to normal mode (see FIG. 3). Herein the network onboard of satellite (140 or 150) may have at least the base station (e.g. eNB or gNB) functionalities. In another embodiment the NTN (140 or 150) may also have necessary core network (120) functions (e.g. some of MME or AMF functions) as illustrated in Figure 1.

[0050] Referring to FIGs. 2 and 3, in steps 202 and 204 (or 302 and 304), the UE (100 may be used to represent anyone of 100A to 100E) may receive configuration conditions through signaling from a satellite or a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (140 or 150). In an example, the signaling to the UE (100) may be a RAN level signaling using broadcasted RRC signaling such as system information block (SIB) or dedicated RRC signaling. It may be also Non-Access Stratum (NAS) level signaling or a combination of RAN and NAS signaling, depending on whether the conditions are related to the access stratum level or non-access stratum level. For instance, if the configured conditions may be cell related (e.g. TA threshold / range) or the conditions may be related to DRB configurations, either broadcasted or dedicated RRC signaling may be used to configure the conditions.

[0051] Alternatively, the conditions may be configured to the UE (anyone of UE 100 A to 100E) based on UE implementation or pre-configured to the UE according to the standardization specifications or operator configurations.

[0052] In step 206a or 306a, the UE (anyone of 100A to 100E) may determine (during time Tl) that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150). In an example, in addition to the configured conditions for preparation of the upcoming mode switching, the configuration may also include the different configurations to be used before and after the mode switching, which can be used by the UE e.g. to adapt the used timer or waiting time values.

[0053] The UE (one of 100A to 100E) may perform a procedure (during time Tl) to adapt (206b, 306b) the user equipment (one of 100 A to 100E) to the operation mode switch (duringtime T2) that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150). In one implementation, RRC signaling may be used providing different configurations, if the UE (one of 100A to 100E) has an ongoing procedure and in RRC CONNECTED mode. The UE may be configured with two configurations: i) one corresponds to normal mode (see FIG. 1, over Rennes 102) and ii) another one corresponds to S&F mode (FIG. 1, over Le Mans 104) in the way that the radio bearer configurations, timers values, triggers for RLF and state transitions may differ for the two configurations. The two configurations may be associated with the time, cell and / or traffic flow related conditions / triggers to switch the configuration or upon receiving the indication or notification from network to switch the configuration.

[0054] Alternatively, the implicit indication / notification for configuration switching may be applied if the UE receives the system information modification notification for S&F or normal mode switching. As another alternative of configuration signaling, when the NTN operation mode switched from the normal mode to the S&F mode as the feeder link becomes unavailable (i.e., NTN 140 traveling from Rennes 102 to Le Mans during T2), the network (NTN 140) may suspend the UE (e.g., UE 100B in area 102A) from RRC CONNECTED in the normal mode into RRC INACTIVE / IDLE in the S&F mode using, e.g., RRC Connection Release comprising an indication that the UE (100B in area 102A) needs to switch from the normal mode to the S&F mode even before the mode switching happens. The indication may be implicit via the use of the suspend -resume procedure. The UE (100B in area 102A) may activate and use the configuration of the S&F mode for the delay -tolerant bearers and release the normal mode and configuration thereof including the release of delay-sensitive bearers. This way allows the UE (100B) to switch from the normal mode to the S&F mode faster and more efficiently, as compared to conventional use of a separate RRC Reconfiguration procedure to configure the UE to switch from the normal mode to the S&F mode and then suspend the UE into RRC INACTIVE / IDLE.

[0055] In some embodiments, for upcoming mode switching from S&F mode to normal mode, the UE (e.g., UE 100D in area 106A) may determine to adapt the relevant timers of the ongoing procedure or newly initiated procedures that are performed according to S&F operation mode. For example, the UE may determine (step 206 or 306) to initiate a new procedure immediately using S&F mode configuration before the upcoming mode switching. While the UE (100D in area 106A) initiate the new procedure, based on the information of time for mode switching provided by the network (NTN 150 moving from Le Mans 104 to Orleans 106), the UE (100D)may calculate a time period (Tn) that the NTN (150) moving from Le Mans 104 to Orleans 106, until the mode switching to normal mode. The UE then initiate the procedure using S&F mode configuration, but adapt the relevant timers according to the calculated time period until the mode switching (e.g. the timer value is set to the calculated time period plus a configured offset or the configured values of the corresponding timers in normal mode configuration). When the UE (100D) initiates the procedure, the UE may also indicate the adapted timer values to the NW so that the timer values used in UE and network side can be aligned.

[0056] In the option that the configuration signaling is at least partially using NAS level signaling and / or the ongoing procedure or newly initiated procedure is related to NAS level procedure, the UE decision on preparation for upcoming mode switching may also have impact on core network functions that are deployed out of satellite. In this case, the UE decision including the adapted timer values may also need to be indicated to the CN (120) on the ground to trigger the corresponding handling of the UE (100D) procedure in CN.

[0057] In another embodiment, the eNB / gNB of a first satellite (150) can choose only to schedule the UE (100C) during the time period (Tl), where normal mode is applicable of the eNB / gNB. The eNB / gNB can inform the UE (100D) to defer the rest of the uplink transmission until the next satellite (next eNB / gNB) operating in normal mode appears. This is useful if the next satellite (140) operating in normal mode appears at the UE before the first satellite operating in S&F mode reaches the next gateway. Thus, in this scenario the UE (100D) shall not attempt further transmission to the first satellite (150) when it is operated in S&F mode.

[0058] FIGs. 4 and 5 depict an example of an apparatus (100, 140, 150) that may be configured to function as user equipment (e.g., anyone of 100A to 100E) or configured to function as anyone of a non-terrestrial network node (e.g., NTN 140 or 150). As shown in FIG. 4, the apparatus includes, is associated with, or is in communications with processing circuitry 410, a memory 420, and a communication interface 260. The processing circuitry (410) may be in communication with the memory device 440 via a bus for passing information among components of the apparatus. The memory device may be non-transitory and may include, for example, one or more volatile and / or non-volatile memories. In other words, for example, the memory device may be an electronic storage device (e.g., a computer readable storage medium) including gates configured to store data (e.g., bits) that may be retrievable by a machine (e.g., a computing device like the processing circuitry). The memory device may be configured to storeinformation, data, content, applications, instructions, or the like for enabling the apparatus to carry out various functions in accordance with an example embodiment of the present disclosure. For example, the memory device could be configured to buffer input data for processing by the processing circuitry. Additionally or alternatively, the memory device could be configured to store instructions for execution by the processing circuitry.

[0059] The apparatus (100 / 140 / 150) may, in some embodiments, be embodied in various computing devices (e.g., UE 100A to 100E or NTN 140 or 150) described as above. However, in some other embodiments, the apparatus may be embodied as a chip or chip set. In other words, the apparatus may include one or more physical packages (e.g., chips) including materials, components and / or wires on a structural assembly (e.g., a baseboard). The structural assembly may provide physical strength, conservation of size, and / or limitation of electrical interaction for component circuitry included thereon. The apparatus may therefore, in some cases, be configured to implement an embodiment on a single chip or as a single “system on a chip.” As such, in some cases, a chip or chipset may constitute means for performing one or more operations for providing the functionalities described herein.

[0060] The processing circuitry (410), also referenced as a processor, may be embodied in a number of different ways. For example, the processing circuitry may be embodied as one or more of various hardware processing means such as a coprocessor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing element with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other circuitry including integrated circuits such as, for example, an ASIC (application specific integrated circuit), an FPGA (field programmable gate array), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like. As such, in some embodiments, the processing circuitry may include one or more processing cores configured to perform independently. A multi-core processing circuitry may enable multiprocessing within a single physical package. Additionally or alternatively, the processing circuitry may include one or more processors configured in tandem via the bus to enable independent execution of instructions, pipelining, and / or multithreading.

[0061] In an example embodiment, the processing circuitry (410) may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory device (420) or otherwise accessible to the processing circuitry. Alternatively or additionally, the processing circuitry may be configured to execute hardcoded functionality. As such, whether configured by hardware or software methods, or by acombination thereof, the processing circuitry may represent an entity (e.g., physically embodied in circuitry) capable of performing operations according to an embodiment of the present disclosure while configured accordingly. Thus, for example, when the processing circuitry is embodied as an ASIC, FPGA or the like, the processing circuitry may be specifically configured hardware for conducting the operations described herein. Alternatively, as another example, when the processing circuitry is embodied as an executor of instructions, the instructions may specifically configure the processor to perform the algorithms and / or operations described herein when the instructions are executed. However, in some cases, the processing circuitry may be a processor of a specific device (e.g., an image or video processing system) configured to employ an embodiment by further configuration of the processing circuitry by instructions for performing the algorithms and / or operations described herein. The processing circuitry may include, among other things, a clock, an arithmetic logic unit (ALU) and logic gates configured to support operation of the processing circuitry.

[0062] The communication interface (440) may be any means such as a device or circuitry embodied in either hardware or a combination of hardware and software that is configured to receive and / or transmit data including media content in the form of video or image files, one or more audio tracks or the like. In this regard, the communication interface may include, for example, an antenna (or multiple antennas) and supporting hardware and / or software for enabling communications with a wireless communication network. Additionally or alternatively, the communication interface may include the circuitry for interacting with the antenna(s) to cause transmission of signals via the antenna(s) or to handle receipt of signals received via the antenna(s). In some environments, the communications interface may alternatively or also support wired communication. As such, for example, the communication interface may include a communication modem and / or other hardware / software for supporting communication via cable, digital subscriber line (DSL), universal serial bus (USB) or other mechanisms.

[0063] Referring to FIGS. 1-3, an example embodiment is disclosed for a user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) for wireless communication, which includes: at least one processor (410); and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in a coverage area (one of 102 / 104 / 106) to: determine (one of 206a, 306a) (during time Tl) that the at least one configured condition is met for preparing for an operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and perform a procedure to adapt (206b, 306b) (during time Tl) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch (during time T2) that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment further performs one of: abort an ongoing procedure (100D in overlapped area 104A) to start (206, 306) a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switching, or adapt configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode based on the configured conditions.

[0064] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the switching of operation mode takes place at one of: a same non-terrestrial network node (140 or 150) that is about to switch to a different operation mode while connected to the user equipment (UE 100B in overlapped area 102A or UE 100D in overlapped area 104 A), or between a departing non-terrestrial network node (150) that currently serves the user equipment (100C or 100E) in an area (one of 102, 104, 106) an upcoming non-terrestrial network node (140) that is about to serve the area (104 / 106) of the user equipment (100C or 100E), wherein the departing non-terrestrial network node (150) and the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (140) do not operate in a same mode.

[0065] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the at least one configuration condition (one of 204a, 304a) is related to a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150) operation, and the at least one configuration condition (one of 204a, 304a) is either received by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), from the non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150) through signaling, or the at least one configuration condition (one of 204a, 304a) had previously been pre-configured into the user equipment (one of 100 A to 100E).

[0066] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the at least one configured condition includes one or more of: one or more time periods (Tn) before the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) operation mode switch or an absolute time instance defining a time of non-terrestrial network node operation mode switch,one or more cell conditions determined by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) when the procedure is performed, or one or more traffic conditions related to the procedure performed by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E).

[0067] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the one or more cell conditions comprise one or more of: a timing advance (TA) threshold or a range of the timing advance (TA).

[0068] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the one or more traffic conditions comprise one or more of: quality of service (QoS) flows, a packet delay budget (PDB) threshold or a range of the packet delay budget (PDB), a data radio bearer (DRB) configuration parameters threshold or a range of the data radio bearer (DRB) configuration parameters, data volume threshold to be transmitted by the user equipment.

[0069] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the user equipment is configured with a combination of different conditions, the different configured conditions correspond to a combination of two or more of: different types of the procedure, different procedure statuses, different user equipment actions for corresponding procedure, or different radio resource control (RRC) states of the user equipment.

[0070] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the different types of the procedure comprise: attach or registration procedure, mobile originated (MO) data delivery in control plane cellular internet of things / user plane cellular internet of things (CP CIoT / UP CIoT), delay-sensitive or delay tolerant data delivery; the different procedure statuses comprise: an ongoing procedure or a new procedure to be initiated; the different user equipment actions for the impacted procedure comprise: early release of the procedure, complete the procedure with a higher priority, delay initiation of the procedure, and adapt configuration parameters for performing the procedure; and the different radio resource control (RRC) states comprise: the user equipment in radio resource control connected state, in radio resource control idle state or in radio resource control inactive state.

[0071] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein: the normal operation mode (e.g., area 102 or 106) includes the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) simultaneously connected (107, 105) to a ground-based network node (e.g., gateway or core network 120A or 120B) and to (103 A, 108) the user equipment (100A or 100E) providing service in the area (102 or 106); and the store and forward operation mode includes thenon-terrestrial network node (140 or 150) connected to the user equipment (100C) in the area (104) without simultaneously connected to the ground-based network node (120 A or 120B), or the nonterrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) connected to the ground-based network node (120A or 120B) without simultaneously connected to the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in the area (104). Alternately, the store and forward operation mode may include a scenario that the user equipment (anyone of 100A to 100E) may be in an idle / inactive mode and the NTN (140 or 150) may still be serving the area (anyone of 102 / 104 / 106) without simultaneously being connected to the ground-based network node (120A or 120B).

[0072] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein the adapting of the configuration parameters of the ongoing procedure to the nonterrestrial network node operation mode includes the user equipment configured to adapt timers or waiting time according to the values of the timers for the procedure initiated in the S&F operation mode plus the time periods towards operation mode switching time.

[0073] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein in a case that the user equipment needs to start a new procedure (100D in overlapped area 104A or 100E in area 106), when the non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switches from the store and forward (S&F) operation mode (in area 104) to the normal operation mode (in area 106), the adapting of the non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switch further includes the user equipment performing at least one of: initiate (206b) the new procedure in the store and forward (S&F) operation mode (UE 100D in overlapped area 104A), or adapt the configuration parameters of the initiated procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the non-terrestrial network node operation mode based on the configured condition, or wait for the mode switching (UE 100D in overlapped area 104A) and then initiate the new procedure in the normal mode based on the configured conditions.

[0074] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), wherein adapting the configuration parameters of the initiated procedure to the non-terrestrial network node operation mode switch includes the user equipment configured to adapt (306b) timers or waiting time according to the procedure initiated in the store and forward (S&F) operation mode plus the time periods towards the operation mode switching.

[0075] Another example embodiment is disclosed for a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, which includes: at least one processor (410); and at leastone memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) to: signal (one of 204, 304) to, at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in an area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN operation mode switch includes one of: switch from a normal mode (see area 102) to a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104), or switch from the store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to the normal mode (see area 106).

[0076] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node being one of: a same non-terrestrial network node (140 or 150) that is about to switch to a different operation mode that serves at least one area (overlapped area 102A / 104A) where the at least one UE (100B / 100D) is located, or either a departing non-terrestrial network node (150) that currently serves the at least one area (104 / 106) or an upcoming non-terrestrial network node (140) that is about to serve the at least one area (104 / 106), wherein the departing non-terrestrial network node (150) and the upcoming nonterrestrial network node (140) do not operate in a same mode in the at least one area (102 / 104 / 106).

[0077] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), is further caused to: receive from the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), an indication to adapt to perform the procedure when the at least one configured condition is met.

[0078] Another example embodiment is disclosed for the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E), which includes: means for determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and means for performing a procedure to adapt (206b or 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150), wherein the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment is further configured with one of: means for aborting an ongoing procedure (100D in overlapped area 104A) to start (206, 306) a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switching, or means for adapting configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for theprocedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode based on the configured conditions.

[0079] Another example embodiment is disclosed for a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) for wireless communication, which includes: means for signaling (one of 204, 304) to, at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106) served by the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node (one of 140, 150) that is scheduled to serve in the area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN node is further configured with one of: means for switching from a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to a normal mode (see area 106).

[0080] Another example embodiment is disclosed for a computer implemented method for wireless communication, which includes the steps of: performing by a user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) that includes at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to further perform steps, including: determining (one of 206a or 306a) by the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106), that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) (one of 140, 150); and performing a procedure to adapt (206b or 306b) the user equipment (one of 100A to 100E) to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) , wherein the non-terrestrial network node (one of 140, 150) operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment is further configured to perform steps comprising one of: aborting an ongoing procedure (100D in overlapped area 104A) to start (206, 306) a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode switching, or adapting configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node (150) operation mode based on the configured conditions.

[0081] Another example embodiment is disclosed for a computer implemented method for wireless communication, includes the steps of: performing by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150) that includes at least one processor (410) and at least one memory (420) storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node (one of 140, 150)to perform steps, including: signaling (one of 204, 304) ) to, at least one user equipment (UE) (one of 100A to 100E) in an area (one of 104, 106) served by the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node (one of 140, 150), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node that is scheduled to serve in the area (102 / 104 / 106), wherein the NTN node switches from a store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to a normal mode (see area 106).

[0082] Many modifications and other embodiments set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which this disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific embodiments disclosed and that modifications and other embodiments are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims.

[0083] Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and the associated drawings describe example embodiments in the context of certain example combinations of elements and / or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and / or functions may be provided by alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and / or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of the appended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

We claim:

1. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment in a serving cell to perform: determine that the at least one configured condition is met for preparing an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN); and perform a procedure to adapt the user equipment to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node, wherein the non-terrestrial network node operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment further performs one of: abort an ongoing procedure to start a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode switching, or adapt configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode based on the configured conditions.

2. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the switching of operation mode takes place at one of: a same non-terrestrial network node that is about to switch to a different operation mode while connected to the user equipment, or between a departing non-terrestrial network node that currently serves the user equipment in an area and an upcoming non-terrestrial network node that is about to serve the area of the user equipment, wherein the departing non-terrestrial network node and the upcoming nonterrestrial network node do not operate in a same mode.

3. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the at least one configuration is related to a non-terrestrial network node (NTN) operation, and the at least one configuration condition is either received by the user equipment, from the non-terrestrial network node (NTN) throughsignaling, or the at least one configuration condition had previously been pre-configured into the user equipment.

4. The user equipment of anyone of claims 1 to 3, wherein the at least one configured condition comprises one or more of: one or more time periods (Tn) before the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode switch or absolute time instance defining a time of non-terrestrial network node operation mode switch, one or more cell conditions determined by the user equipment when the procedure is performed, or one or more traffic conditions related to the procedure performed by the user equipment.

5. The user equipment of claim 4, wherein the one or more cell conditions comprise one or more of: a timing advance (TA) threshold or a range of the timing advance (TA).

6. The user equipment of claim 4, wherein the one or more traffic conditions comprise one or more of: quality of service (QoS) flows, a packet delay budget (PDB) threshold or a range of the packet delay budget (PDB), a data radio bearer (DRB) configuration parameters threshold or a range of the data radio bearer (DRB) configuration parameters, data volume threshold to be transmitted by the user equipment.

7. The user equipment of anyone of claims 1 to 6, wherein the user equipment is configured with a combination of different conditions, the different configured conditions correspond to a combination of two or more of: different types of the procedure, different procedure statuses, different user equipment actions for impacted procedure, or different radio resource control (RRC) states of the user equipment.

8. The user equipment of claim 7, wherein: the different types of the procedure comprise: attach or registration procedure, mobile originated (MO) data delivery in control plane cellular internet of things / user plane cellular internet of things (CP CIoT / UP CIoT), delay-sensitive or delay tolerant data delivery; the different procedure statuses comprise: an ongoing procedure or a new procedure to be initiated; the different user equipment actions for the impacted procedure comprise: early release of the procedure, complete the procedure with a higher priority, delay initiation of the procedure, and adapt configuration parameters for performing the procedure; and the different radio resource control (RRC) states comprise: the user equipment in radio resource control connected state, in radio resource control idle state or in radio resource control inactive state.

9. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein: the normal operation mode comprises the non-terrestrial network node simultaneously connected to a ground-based network node and to the user equipment in the area; and the store and forward operation mode comprises the non-terrestrial network connected to the user equipment in the area without simultaneously connected to the ground-based network node, or the non-terrestrial network node connected to the ground-based network node without simultaneously connected to the user equipment.

10. The user equipment of claim 1, wherein the adapting of the configuration parameters of the ongoing procedure to the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode comprises the user equipment configured to adapt timers or waiting time according to the values of the timers for the procedure initiated in the S&F operation mode plus the time periods towards operation mode switching time.

11. The user equipment of claim 1 or claim 10, wherein in a case that the user equipment needs to start a new procedure, when the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode switches from the store and forward (S&F) operation mode to the normal operation mode (inarea 106), the adapting of the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode switch further comprises the user equipment performing one of: initiate the new procedure in the store and forward (S&F) operation mode, or adapt the configuration parameters of the initiated procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode based on the configured condition, or wait for the mode switching and then initiate the new procedure in the normal mode based on the configured conditions.

12. The user equipment of claim 11, wherein adapting the configuration parameters of the initiated procedure to the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode comprises the user equipment configured to adapt timers or waiting time according to the procedure initiated in the S&F operation mode plus the time periods towards the operation mode switching.

13. A non-terrestrial network (NTN) node for wireless communication, comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node to: signal, to at least one user equipment (UE), at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node that is scheduled to serve in an area to switch from a store and forward (S&F) mode to a normal mode, wherein the NTN operation mode.

14. The non-terrestrial network (NTN) node of claim 13, wherein the non-terrestrial network node being one of: a same non-terrestrial network node that is about to switch to a different operation mode that serves at least one area where the at least one UE is located, or either a departing non-terrestrial network node that currently serves the at least one area or an upcoming non-terrestrial network node that is about to serve the at least one area, wherein the departing non-terrestrial network node and the upcoming non-terrestrial network node do not operate in a same mode in the at least one area.

15. The non-terrestrial network (NTN) node of claim 13, is further caused to: receive from the user equipment, an indication to adapt to perform the procedure when the at least one configured condition is met.

16. A user equipment (UE) for wireless communication, comprising: means for determining by the user equipment in an area, that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a nonterrestrial network node (NTN); and means for performing a procedure to adapt the user equipment to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node, wherein the non-terrestrial network node operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment is further configured with one of: means for aborting an ongoing procedure to start a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode switching, or means for adapting configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode based on the configured conditions.

17. A non-terrestrial network node for wireless communication, comprising: means for signaling, to at least one user equipment (UE) in an area served by the nonterrestrial network (NTN) node , at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node that is scheduled to serve in the area, wherein the NTN node is further configured with means for switching from the store and forward (S&F) mode to the normal mode.

18. A computer implemented method for wireless communication, comprising: performing by a user equipment that comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the user equipment performs steps, comprising:determining by the user equipment in an area, that at least one configuration condition is met, for preparing for an operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at a non-terrestrial network node (NTN); and performing a procedure to adapt the user equipment to the operation mode switch that is scheduled to occur at the non-terrestrial network node, wherein the non-terrestrial network node operation mode switches from a store and forward (S&F) operation mode to a normal operation mode, wherein the user equipment is further configured to perform steps comprising one of: aborting an ongoing procedure to start a new procedure in the normal operation mode after the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode switching, or adapting configuration parameters of the procedure to values used for the procedure initiated in the upcoming non-terrestrial network node operation mode based on the configured conditions.

19. A computer implemented method for wireless communication, comprising: performing by a non-terrestrial network (NTN) node that comprises at least one processor and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the (NTN) node to perform steps, comprising: signaling, to at least one user equipment (UE) in an area served by the non-terrestrial network (NTN) node , at least one configuration condition to cause the at least one user equipment to perform a procedure to prepare for an operation mode switch in the NTN node that is scheduled to serve in the area, wherein the NTN switches from the store and forward (S&F) mode (see area 104) to the normal mode.

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