Measurements and reporting in disconnected state

Abstract

The present disclosure is related to measurements and reporting in disconnected state in wireless communications. According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a wireless communication system comprises: establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state; entering a disconnected state; during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects, wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

Description

MEASUREMENTS AND REPORTING IN DISCONNECTED STATE

[0001] The present disclosure is related to measurements and reporting in disconnected state in wireless communications.

[0002] 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a technology for enabling high-speed packet communications. Many schemes have been proposed for the LTE objective including those that aim to reduce user and provider costs, improve service quality, and expand and improve coverage and system capacity. The 3GPP LTE requires reduced cost per bit, increased service availability, flexible use of a frequency band, a simple structure, an open interface, and adequate power consumption of a terminal as an upper-level requirement.

[0003] Work has started in International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and 3GPP to develop requirements and specifications for New Radio (NR) systems. 3GPP has to identify and develop the technology components needed for successfully standardizing the new RAT timely satisfying both the urgent market needs, and the more long-term requirements set forth by the ITU Radio communication sector (ITU-R) International Mobile Telecommunications (IMT)-2020 process. Further, the NR should be able to use any spectrum band ranging at least up to 100 GHz that may be made available for wireless communications even in a more distant future.

[0004] The NR targets a single technical framework addressing all usage scenarios, requirements and deployment scenarios including enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), massive Machine Type Communications (mMTC), Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC), etc. The NR shall be inherently forward compatible.

[0005] In mobile communication networks, user equipment (UE) performs various measurements for the purpose of mobility management, cell reselection, and network optimization. While in RRC_CONNECTED state, such measurements are actively configured and reported under the control of the base station. However, when the UE is in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state, continuous signaling is avoided to reduce power consumption and signaling overhead. Therefore, the UE autonomously performs a limited set of measurements to facilitate cell reselection and maintain connectivity.

[0006] An aspect of the present disclosure is to provide method and apparatus for measurements and reporting in disconnected state in a wireless communication system.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method performed by a user equipment (UE) configured to operate in a wireless communication system comprises: establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state; entering a disconnected state; during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects, wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a method performed by a network node configured to operate in a wireless communication system comprises: establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) upon which the UE enters a connected state, wherein the UE is configured to perform operations comprising: entering a disconnected state; and during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects, wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; and receiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0009] According to various embodiments, apparatuses to implement the above methods are provided.

[0010] The present disclosure may have various advantageous effects.

[0011] For example, the UE can exclude one or more cells and / or frequencies which has suffered a link problem in the previous RRC connection for early measurement so that the UE can avoid the same or similar link problem after fast DC / CA setup after reporting of the early measurement while (re)establishing RRC connection.

[0012] Advantageous effects which can be obtained through specific embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the advantageous effects listed above. For example, there may be a variety of technical effects that a person having ordinary skill in the related art can understand and / or derive from the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specific effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those explicitly described herein, but may include various effects that may be understood or derived from the technical features of the present disclosure.

[0013] FIG. 1 shows an example of a communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0014] FIG. 2 shows an example of wireless devices to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0015] FIG. 3 shows an example of UE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0016] FIGs. 4 and 5 show an example of protocol stacks in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0017] FIG. 6 shows a frame structure in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0018] FIG. 7 shows a data flow example in the 3GPP NR system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0019] FIG. 8 shows an example of idle / inactive measurement and reporting procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIG. 9 shows an example of a method performed by a UE for measurements and reporting in disconnected state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIG. 10 shows an example of a signal flow between UE and network node for measurements and reporting in disconnected state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] FIG. 11 show an example of a method for filtered early measurement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0023] The following techniques, apparatuses, and systems may be applied to a variety of wireless multiple access systems. Examples of the multiple access systems include a Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) system, a Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA) system, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) system, an Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) system, a Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) system, and a Multi Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (MC-FDMA) system. CDMA may be embodied through radio technology such as Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) or CDMA2000. TDMA may be embodied through radio technology such as Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Service (GPRS), or Enhanced Data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE). OFDMA may be embodied through radio technology such as Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, or Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA). UTRA is a part of a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is a part of Evolved UMTS (E-UMTS) using E-UTRA. 3GPP LTE employs OFDMA in downlink (DL) and SC-FDMA in uplink (UL). Evolution of 3GPP LTE includes LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-A Pro, and / or 5G New Radio (NR).

[0024] For convenience of description, implementations of the present disclosure are mainly described in regards to a 3GPP based wireless communication system. However, the technical features of the present disclosure are not limited thereto. For example, although the following detailed description is given based on a mobile communication system corresponding to a 3GPP based wireless communication system, aspects of the present disclosure that are not limited to 3GPP based wireless communication system are applicable to other mobile communication systems.

[0025] For terms and technologies which are not specifically described among the terms of and technologies employed in the present disclosure, the wireless communication standard documents published before the present disclosure may be referenced.

[0026] In the present disclosure, "A or B" may mean "only A", "only B", or "both A and B". In other words, "A or B" in the present disclosure may be interpreted as "A and / or B". For example, "A, B or C" in the present disclosure may mean "only A", "only B", "only C", or "any combination of A, B and C".

[0027] In the present disclosure, slash ( / ) or comma (,) may mean "and / or". For example, "A / B" may mean "A and / or B". Accordingly, "A / B" may mean "only A", "only B", or "both A and B". For example, "A, B, C" may mean "A, B or C".

[0028] In the present disclosure, "at least one of A and B" may mean "only A", "only B" or "both A and B". In addition, the expression "at least one of A or B" or "at least one of A and / or B" in the present disclosure may be interpreted as same as "at least one of A and B".

[0029] In addition, in the present disclosure, "at least one of A, B and C" may mean "only A", "only B", "only C", or "any combination of A, B and C". In addition, "at least one of A, B or C" or "at least one of A, B and / or C" may mean "at least one of A, B and C".

[0030] Also, parentheses used in the present disclosure may mean "for example". In detail, when it is shown as "control information (PDCCH)", "PDCCH" may be proposed as an example of "control information". In other words, "control information" in the present disclosure is not limited to "PDCCH", and "PDCCH" may be proposed as an example of "control information". In addition, even when shown as "control information (i.e., PDCCH)", "PDCCH" may be proposed as an example of "control information".

[0031] Technical features that are separately described in one drawing in the present disclosure may be implemented separately or simultaneously.

[0032] Although not limited thereto, various descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts of the present disclosure disclosed herein can be applied to various fields requiring wireless communication and / or connection (e.g., 5G) between devices.

[0033] Hereinafter, the present disclosure will be described in more detail with reference to drawings. The same reference numerals in the following drawings and / or descriptions may refer to the same and / or corresponding hardware blocks, software blocks, and / or functional blocks unless otherwise indicated.

[0034] FIG. 1 shows an example of a communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0035] The 5G usage scenarios shown in FIG. 1 are only exemplary, and the technical features of the present disclosure can be applied to other 5G usage scenarios which are not shown in FIG. 1.

[0036] Three main requirement categories for 5G include (1) a category of enhanced Mobile BroadBand (eMBB), (2) a category of massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC), and (3) a category of Ultra-Reliable and Low Latency Communications (URLLC).

[0037] Referring to FIG. 1, the communication system 1 includes wireless devices 100a to 100f, Base Stations (BSs) 200, and a network 300. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a 5G network as an example of the network of the communication system 1, the implementations of the present disclosure are not limited to the 5G system, and can be applied to the future communication system beyond the 5G system.

[0038] The BSs 200 and the network 300 may be implemented as wireless devices and a specific wireless device may operate as a BS / network node with respect to other wireless devices.

[0039] The wireless devices 100a to 100f represent devices performing communication using Radio Access Technology (RAT) (e.g., 5G NR or LTE) and may be referred to as communication / radio / 5G devices. The wireless devices 100a to 100f may include, without being limited to, a robot 100a, vehicles 100b-1 and 100b-2, an eXtended Reality (XR) device 100c, a hand-held device 100d, a home appliance 100e, an Internet-of-Things (IoT) device 100f, and an Artificial Intelligence (AI) device / server 400. For example, the vehicles may include a vehicle having a wireless communication function, an autonomous driving vehicle, and a vehicle capable of performing communication between vehicles. The vehicles may include an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) (e.g., a drone). The XR device may include an Augmented Reality (AR) / Virtual Reality (VR) / Mixed Reality (MR) device and may be implemented in the form of a Head-Mounted Device (HMD), a Head-Up Display (HUD) mounted in a vehicle, a television, a smartphone, a computer, a wearable device, a home appliance device, a digital signage, a vehicle, a robot, etc. The hand-held device may include a smartphone, a smartpad, a wearable device (e.g., a smartwatch or a smartglasses), and a computer (e.g., a notebook). The home appliance may include a TV, a refrigerator, and a washing machine. The IoT device may include a sensor and a smartmeter.

[0040] In the present disclosure, the wireless devices 100a to 100f may be called User Equipments (UEs). A UE may include, for example, a cellular phone, a smartphone, a laptop computer, a digital broadcast terminal, a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a Portable Multimedia Player (PMP), a navigation system, a slate Personal Computer (PC), a tablet PC, an ultrabook, a vehicle, a vehicle having an autonomous traveling function, a connected car, an UAV, an AI module, a robot, an AR device, a VR device, an MR device, a hologram device, a public safety device, an MTC device, an IoT device, a medical device, a FinTech device (or a financial device), a security device, a weather / environment device, a device related to a 5G service, or a device related to a fourth industrial revolution field.

[0041] The wireless devices 100a to 100f may be connected to the network 300 via the BSs 200. An AI technology may be applied to the wireless devices 100a to 100f and the wireless devices 100a to 100f may be connected to the AI server 400 via the network 300. The network 300 may be configured using a 3G network, a 4G (e.g., LTE) network, a 5G (e.g., NR) network, and a beyond-5G network. Although the wireless devices 100a to 100f may communicate with each other through the BSs 200 / network 300, the wireless devices 100a to 100f may perform direct communication (e.g., sidelink communication) with each other without passing through the BSs 200 / network 300. For example, the vehicles 100b-1 and 100b-2 may perform direct communication (e.g., Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V) / Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication). The IoT device (e.g., a sensor) may perform direct communication with other IoT devices (e.g., sensors) or other wireless devices 100a to 100f.

[0042] Wireless communication / connections 150a, 150b and 150c may be established between the wireless devices 100a to 100f and / or between wireless device 100a to 100f and BS 200 and / or between BSs 200. Herein, the wireless communication / connections may be established through various RATs (e.g., 5G NR) such as uplink / downlink communication 150a, sidelink communication (or Device-to-Device (D2D) communication) 150b, inter-base station communication 150c (e.g., relay, Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB)), etc. The wireless devices 100a to 100f and the BSs 200 / the wireless devices 100a to 100f may transmit / receive radio signals to / from each other through the wireless communication / connections 150a, 150b and 150c. For example, the wireless communication / connections 150a, 150b and 150c may transmit / receive signals through various physical channels. To this end, at least a part of various configuration information configuring processes, various signal processing processes (e.g., channel encoding / decoding, modulation / demodulation, and resource mapping / de-mapping), and resource allocating processes, for transmitting / receiving radio signals, may be performed based on the various proposals of the present disclosure.

[0043] NR supports multiples numerologies (and / or multiple Sub-Carrier Spacings (SCS)) to support various 5G services. For example, if SCS is 15 kHz, wide area can be supported in traditional cellular bands, and if SCS is 30 kHz / 60 kHz, dense-urban, lower latency, and wider carrier bandwidth can be supported. If SCS is 60 kHz or higher, bandwidths greater than 24.25 GHz can be supported to overcome phase noise.

[0044] The NR frequency band may be defined as two types of frequency range, i.e., Frequency Range 1 (FR1) and Frequency Range 2 (FR2). The numerical value of the frequency range may be changed. For example, the frequency ranges of the two types (FR1 and FR2) may be as shown in Table 1 below. For ease of explanation, in the frequency ranges used in the NR system, FR1 may mean "sub 6 GHz range", FR2 may mean "above 6 GHz range," and may be referred to as millimeter Wave (mmW).

[0045] Frequency Range designationCorresponding frequency rangeSubcarrier SpacingFR1450MHz - 6000MHz15, 30, 60kHzFR224250MHz - 52600MHz60, 120, 240kHz

[0046] As mentioned above, the numerical value of the frequency range of the NR system may be changed. For example, FR1 may include a frequency band of 410MHz to 7125MHz as shown in Table 2 below. That is, FR1 may include a frequency band of 6GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, etc.) or more. For example, a frequency band of 6 GHz (or 5850, 5900, 5925 MHz, etc.) or more included in FR1 may include an unlicensed band. Unlicensed bands may be used for a variety of purposes, for example for communication for vehicles (e.g., autonomous driving).

[0047] Frequency Range designationCorresponding frequency rangeSubcarrier SpacingFR1410MHz - 7125MHz15, 30, 60kHzFR224250MHz - 52600MHz60, 120, 240kHz

[0048] Here, the radio communication technologies implemented in the wireless devices in the present disclosure may include NarrowBand IoT (NB-IoT) technology for low-power communication as well as LTE, NR and 6G. For example, NB-IoT technology may be an example of Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) technology, may be implemented in specifications such as LTE Cat NB1 and / or LTE Cat NB2, and may not be limited to the above-mentioned names. Additionally and / or alternatively, the radio communication technologies implemented in the wireless devices in the present disclosure may communicate based on LTE-M technology. For example, LTE-M technology may be an example of LPWAN technology and be called by various names such as enhanced MTC (eMTC). For example, LTE-M technology may be implemented in at least one of the various specifications, such as 1) LTE Cat 0, 2) LTE Cat M1, 3) LTE Cat M2, 4) LTE non-bandwidth limited (non-BL), 5) LTE-MTC, 6) LTE Machine Type Communication, and / or 7) LTE M, and may not be limited to the above-mentioned names. Additionally and / or alternatively, the radio communication technologies implemented in the wireless devices in the present disclosure may include at least one of ZigBee, Bluetooth, and / or LPWAN which take into account low-power communication, and may not be limited to the above-mentioned names. For example, ZigBee technology may generate Personal Area Networks (PANs) associated with small / low-power digital communication based on various specifications such as IEEE 802.15.4 and may be called various names.FIG. 2 shows an example of wireless devices to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0049] In FIG. 2, The first wireless device 100 and / or the second wireless device 200 may be implemented in various forms according to use cases / services. For example, {the first wireless device 100 and the second wireless device 200} may correspond to at least one of {the wireless device 100a to 100f and the BS 200}, {the wireless device 100a to 100f and the wireless device 100a to 100f} and / or {the BS 200 and the BS 200} of FIG. 1. The first wireless device 100 and / or the second wireless device 200 may be configured by various elements, devices / parts, and / or modules.

[0050] The first wireless device 100 may include at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver 106, at least one processing chip, such as a processing chip 101, and / or one or more antennas 108.

[0051] The processing chip 101 may include at least one processor, such a processor 102, and at least one memory, such as a memory 104. Additional and / or alternatively, the memory 104 may be placed outside of the processing chip 101.

[0052] The processor 102 may control the memory 104 and / or the transceiver 106 and may be adapted to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts described in the present disclosure. For example, the processor 102 may process information within the memory 104 to generate first information / signals and then transmit radio signals including the first information / signals through the transceiver 106. The processor 102 may receive radio signals including second information / signals through the transceiver 106 and then store information obtained by processing the second information / signals in the memory 104.

[0053] The memory 104 may be operably connectable to the processor 102. The memory 104 may store various types of information and / or instructions. The memory 104 may store a firmware and / or a software code 105 which implements codes, commands, and / or a set of commands that, when executed by the processor 102, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the firmware and / or the software code 105 may implement instructions that, when executed by the processor 102, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the firmware and / or the software code 105 may control the processor 102 to perform one or more protocols. For example, the firmware and / or the software code 105 may control the processor 102 to perform one or more layers of the radio interface protocol.

[0054] Herein, the processor 102 and the memory 104 may be a part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement RAT (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver 106 may be connected to the processor 102 and transmit and / or receive radio signals through one or more antennas 108. Each of the transceiver 106 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver 106 may be interchangeably used with Radio Frequency (RF) unit(s). In the present disclosure, the first wireless device 100 may represent a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0055] The second wireless device 200 may include at least one transceiver, such as a transceiver 206, at least one processing chip, such as a processing chip 201, and / or one or more antennas 208.

[0056] The processing chip 201 may include at least one processor, such a processor 202, and at least one memory, such as a memory 204. Additional and / or alternatively, the memory 204 may be placed outside of the processing chip 201.

[0057] The processor 202 may control the memory 204 and / or the transceiver 206 and may be adapted to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts described in the present disclosure. For example, the processor 202 may process information within the memory 204 to generate third information / signals and then transmit radio signals including the third information / signals through the transceiver 206. The processor 202 may receive radio signals including fourth information / signals through the transceiver 106 and then store information obtained by processing the fourth information / signals in the memory 204.

[0058] The memory 204 may be operably connectable to the processor 202. The memory 204 may store various types of information and / or instructions. The memory 204 may store a firmware and / or a software code 205 which implements codes, commands, and / or a set of commands that, when executed by the processor 202, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the firmware and / or the software code 205 may implement instructions that, when executed by the processor 202, perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. For example, the firmware and / or the software code 205 may control the processor 202 to perform one or more protocols. For example, the firmware and / or the software code 205 may control the processor 202 to perform one or more layers of the radio interface protocol.

[0059] Herein, the processor 202 and the memory 204 may be a part of a communication modem / circuit / chip designed to implement RAT (e.g., LTE or NR). The transceiver 206 may be connected to the processor 202 and transmit and / or receive radio signals through one or more antennas 208. Each of the transceiver 206 may include a transmitter and / or a receiver. The transceiver 206 may be interchangeably used with RF unit. In the present disclosure, the second wireless device 200 may represent a communication modem / circuit / chip.

[0060] Hereinafter, hardware elements of the wireless devices 100 and 200 will be described more specifically. One or more protocol layers may be implemented by, without being limited to, one or more processors 102 and 202. For example, the one or more processors 102 and 202 may implement one or more layers (e.g., functional layers such as Physical (PHY) layer, Media Access Control (MAC) layer, Radio Link Control (RLC) layer, Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer, and Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer). The one or more processors 102 and 202 may generate one or more Protocol Data Units (PDUs), one or more Service Data Unit (SDUs), messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may generate signals (e.g., baseband signals) including PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure and provide the generated signals to the one or more transceivers 106 and 206. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may receive the signals (e.g., baseband signals) from the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 and acquire the PDUs, SDUs, messages, control information, data, or information according to the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure.

[0061] The one or more processors 102 and 202 may be referred to as controllers, microcontrollers, microprocessors, or microcomputers. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may be implemented by hardware, firmware, software, or a combination thereof. As an example, one or more Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), one or more Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), one or more Digital Signal Processing Devices (DSPDs), one or more Programmable Logic Devices (PLDs), or one or more Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) may be included in the one or more processors 102 and 202. For example, the one or more processors 102 and 202 may be configured by a set of a communication control processor, an Application Processor (AP), an Electronic Control Unit (ECU), a Central Processing Unit (CPU), a Graphic Processing Unit (GPU), and a memory control processor.

[0062] The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be connected to the one or more processors 102 and 202 and store various types of data, signals, messages, information, programs, code, instructions, and / or commands. The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be configured by Random Access Memory (RAM), Dynamic RAM (DRAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), electrically Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), flash memory, volatile memory, non-volatile memory, hard drive, register, cash memory, computer-readable storage medium, and / or combinations thereof. The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be located at the interior and / or exterior of the one or more processors 102 and 202. The one or more memories 104 and 204 may be connected to the one or more processors 102 and 202 through various technologies such as wired or wireless connection.

[0063] The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may transmit user data, control information, and / or radio signals / channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, to one or more other devices. The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may receive user data, control information, and / or radio signals / channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, from one or more other devices. For example, the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may be connected to the one or more processors 102 and 202 and transmit and receive radio signals. For example, the one or more processors 102 and 202 may perform control so that the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may transmit user data, control information, or radio signals to one or more other devices. The one or more processors 102 and 202 may perform control so that the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may receive user data, control information, or radio signals from one or more other devices.

[0064] The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may be connected to the one or more antennas 108 and 208. Additionally and / or alternatively, the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may include one or more antennas 108 and 208. The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may be adapted to transmit and receive user data, control information, and / or radio signals / channels, mentioned in the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure, through the one or more antennas 108 and 208. In the present disclosure, the one or more antennas 108 and 208 may be a plurality of physical antennas or a plurality of logical antennas (e.g., antenna ports).

[0065] The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may convert received user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., from RF band signals into baseband signals in order to process received user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., using the one or more processors 102 and 202. The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may convert the user data, control information, radio signals / channels, etc., processed using the one or more processors 102 and 202 from the base band signals into the RF band signals. To this end, the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may include (analog) oscillators and / or filters. For example, the one or more transceivers 106 and 206 can up-convert OFDM baseband signals to OFDM signals by their (analog) oscillators and / or filters under the control of the one or more processors 102 and 202 and transmit the up-converted OFDM signals at the carrier frequency. The one or more transceivers 106 and 206 may receive OFDM signals at a carrier frequency and down-convert the OFDM signals into OFDM baseband signals by their (analog) oscillators and / or filters under the control of the one or more processors 102 and 202.

[0066] Although not shown in FIG. 2, the wireless devices 100 and 200 may further include additional components. The additional components 140 may be variously configured according to types of the wireless devices 100 and 200. For example, the additional components 140 may include at least one of a power unit / battery, an Input / Output (I / O) device (e.g., audio I / O port, video I / O port), a driving device, and a computing device. The additional components 140 may be coupled to the one or more processors 102 and 202 via various technologies, such as a wired or wireless connection.

[0067] In the implementations of the present disclosure, a UE may operate as a transmitting device in Uplink (UL) and as a receiving device in Downlink (DL). In the implementations of the present disclosure, a BS may operate as a receiving device in UL and as a transmitting device in DL. Hereinafter, for convenience of description, it is mainly assumed that the first wireless device 100 acts as the UE, and the second wireless device 200 acts as the BS. For example, the processor(s) 102 connected to, mounted on or launched in the first wireless device 100 may be adapted to perform the UE behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure or control the transceiver(s) 106 to perform the UE behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure. The processor(s) 202 connected to, mounted on or launched in the second wireless device 200 may be adapted to perform the BS behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure or control the transceiver(s) 206 to perform the BS behavior according to an implementation of the present disclosure.

[0068] In the present disclosure, a BS is also referred to as a node B (NB), an eNode B (eNB), or a gNB.

[0069] FIG. 3 shows an example of UE to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0070] Referring to FIG. 3, a UE 100 may correspond to the first wireless device 100 of FIG. 2.

[0071] A UE 100 includes a processor 102, a memory 104, a transceiver 106, one or more antennas 108, a power management module 141, a battery 142, a display 143, a keypad 144, a Subscriber Identification Module (SIM) card 145, a speaker 146, and a microphone 147.

[0072] The processor 102 may be adapted to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. The processor 102 may be adapted to control one or more other components of the UE 100 to implement the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. Layers of the radio interface protocol may be implemented in the processor 102. The processor 102 may include ASIC, other chipset, logic circuit and / or data processing device. The processor 102 may be an application processor. The processor 102 may include at least one of DSP, CPU, GPU, a modem (modulator and demodulator). An example of the processor 102 may be found in SNAPDRAGONTMseries of processors made by Qualcomm®, EXYNOSTMseries of processors made by Samsung®, A series of processors made by Apple®, HELIOTMseries of processors made by MediaTek®, ATOMTMseries of processors made by Intel®or a corresponding next generation processor.

[0073] The memory 104 is operatively coupled with the processor 102 and stores a variety of information to operate the processor 102. The memory 104 may include ROM, RAM, flash memory, memory card, storage medium and / or other storage device. When the embodiments are implemented in software, the techniques described herein can be implemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, etc.) that perform the descriptions, functions, procedures, suggestions, methods and / or operational flowcharts disclosed in the present disclosure. The modules can be stored in the memory 104 and executed by the processor 102. The memory 104 can be implemented within the processor 102 or external to the processor 102 in which case those can be communicatively coupled to the processor 102 via various means as is known in the art.

[0074] The transceiver 106 is operatively coupled with the processor 102, and transmits and / or receives a radio signal. The transceiver 106 includes a transmitter and a receiver. The transceiver 106 may include baseband circuitry to process radio frequency signals. The transceiver 106 controls the one or more antennas 108 to transmit and / or receive a radio signal.

[0075] The power management module 141 manages power for the processor 102 and / or the transceiver 106. The battery 142 supplies power to the power management module 141.

[0076] The display 143 outputs results processed by the processor 102. The keypad 144 receives inputs to be used by the processor 102. The keypad 144 may be shown on the display 143.

[0077] The SIM card 145 is an　integrated circuit　that is intended to　securely store the　International Mobile Subscriber Identity　(IMSI) number and its related　key, which are used to identify and authenticate subscribers on　mobile telephony　devices (such as　mobile phones　and　computers). It is also possible to store contact information on many SIM cards.

[0078] The speaker 146 outputs sound-related results processed by the processor 102. The microphone 147 receives sound-related inputs to be used by the processor 102.

[0079] FIGs. 4 and 5 show an example of protocol stacks in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0080] In particular, FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a radio interface user plane protocol stack between a UE and a BS and FIG. 5 illustrates an example of a radio interface control plane protocol stack between a UE and a BS. The control plane refers to a path through which control messages used to manage call by a UE and a network are transported. The user plane refers to a path through which data generated in an application layer, for example, voice data or Internet packet data are transported. Referring to FIG. 4, the user plane protocol stack may be divided into Layer 1 (L1, for example PHY layer) and Layer 2 (L2, for example MAC / RLC / PDCP layer). Referring to FIG. 5, the control plane protocol stack may be divided into Layer 1 (L1, for example PHY layer), Layer 2 (L2, for example MAC / RLC / PDCP layer), Layer 3 (L3, for example an RRC layer), and a non-access stratum (NAS) layer. Layer 1, Layer 2 and Layer 3 are referred to as an access stratum (AS).

[0081] In the 3GPP LTE system, the Layer 2 is split into the following sublayers: MAC, RLC, and PDCP. In the 3GPP NR system, the Layer 2 is split into the following sublayers: MAC, RLC, PDCP and SDAP. The PHY layer offers to the MAC sublayer transport channels, the MAC sublayer offers to the RLC sublayer logical channels, the RLC sublayer offers to the PDCP sublayer RLC channels, the PDCP sublayer offers to the SDAP sublayer radio bearers. The SDAP sublayer offers to 5G core network quality of service (QoS) flows.

[0082] In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the MAC sublayer include: mapping between logical channels and transport channels; multiplexing / de-multiplexing of MAC SDUs belonging to one or different logical channels into / from transport blocks (TB) delivered to / from the physical layer on transport channels; scheduling information reporting; error correction through hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) (one HARQ entity per cell in case of carrier aggregation (CA)); priority handling between UEs by means of dynamic scheduling; priority handling between logical channels of one UE by means of logical channel prioritization; padding. A single MAC entity may support multiple numerologies, transmission timings and cells. Mapping restrictions in logical channel prioritization control which numerology(ies), cell(s), and transmission timing(s) a logical channel can use.

[0083] Different kinds of data transfer services are offered by MAC. To accommodate different kinds of data transfer services, multiple types of logical channels are defined, i.e., each supporting transfer of a particular type of information. Each logical channel type is defined by what type of information is transferred. Logical channels are classified into two groups: control channels and traffic channels. Control channels are used for the transfer of control plane information only, and traffic channels are used for the transfer of user plane information only. Broadcast control channel (BCCH) is a downlink logical channel for broadcasting system control information, paging control channel (PCCH) is a downlink logical channel that transfers paging information, system information change notifications and indications of ongoing public warning service (PWS) broadcasts, common control channel (CCCH) is a logical channel for transmitting control information between UEs and network and used for UEs having no RRC connection with the network, and dedicated control channel (DCCH) is a point-to-point bi-directional logical channel that transmits dedicated control information between a UE and the network and used by UEs having an RRC connection. Dedicated traffic channel (DTCH) is a point-to-point logical channel, dedicated to one UE, for the transfer of user information. A DTCH can exist in both uplink and downlink. In downlink, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels exist: BCCH can be mapped to broadcast channel (BCH); BCCH can be mapped to downlink shared channel (DL-SCH); PCCH can be mapped to paging channel (PCH); CCCH can be mapped to DL-SCH; DCCH can be mapped to DL-SCH; and DTCH can be mapped to DL-SCH. In uplink, the following connections between logical channels and transport channels exist: CCCH can be mapped to uplink shared channel (UL-SCH); DCCH can be mapped to UL-SCH; and DTCH can be mapped to UL-SCH.

[0084] The RLC sublayer supports three transmission modes: transparent mode (TM), unacknowledged mode (UM), and acknowledged node (AM). The RLC configuration is per logical channel with no dependency on numerologies and / or transmission durations. In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the RLC sublayer depend on the transmission mode and include: transfer of upper layer PDUs; sequence numbering independent of the one in PDCP (UM and AM); error correction through ARQ (AM only); segmentation (AM and UM) and re-segmentation (AM only) of RLC SDUs; reassembly of SDU (AM and UM); duplicate detection (AM only); RLC SDU discard (AM and UM); RLC re-establishment; protocol error detection (AM only).

[0085] In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the user plane include: sequence numbering; header compression and decompression using robust header compression (ROHC); transfer of user data; reordering and duplicate detection; in-order delivery; PDCP PDU routing (in case of split bearers); retransmission of PDCP SDUs; ciphering, deciphering and integrity protection; PDCP SDU discard; PDCP re-establishment and data recovery for RLC AM; PDCP status reporting for RLC AM; duplication of PDCP PDUs and duplicate discard indication to lower layers. The main services and functions of the PDCP sublayer for the control plane include: sequence numbering; ciphering, deciphering and integrity protection; transfer of control plane data; reordering and duplicate detection; in-order delivery; duplication of PDCP PDUs and duplicate discard indication to lower layers.

[0086] In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of SDAP include: mapping between a QoS flow and a data radio bearer; marking QoS flow ID (QFI) in both DL and UL packets. A single protocol entity of SDAP is configured for each individual PDU session.

[0087] In the 3GPP NR system, the main services and functions of the RRC sublayer include: broadcast of system information related to AS and NAS; paging initiated by 5GC or NG-RAN; establishment, maintenance and release of an RRC connection between the UE and NG-RAN; security functions including key management; establishment, configuration, maintenance and release of signaling radio bearers (SRBs) and data radio bearers (DRBs); mobility functions (including: handover and context transfer, UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection and reselection, inter-RAT mobility); QoS management functions; UE measurement reporting and control of the reporting; detection of and recovery from radio link failure; NAS message transfer to / from NAS from / to UE.

[0088] FIG. 6 shows a frame structure in a 3GPP based wireless communication system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0089] The frame structure shown in FIG. 6 is purely exemplary and the number of subframes, the number of slots, and / or the number of symbols in a frame may be variously changed. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, OFDM numerologies (e.g., subcarrier spacing (SCS), transmission time interval (TTI) duration) may be differently configured between a plurality of cells aggregated for one UE. For example, if a UE is configured with different SCSs for cells aggregated for the cell, an (absolute time) duration of a time resource (e.g., a subframe, a slot, or a TTI) including the same number of symbols may be different among the aggregated cells. Herein, symbols may include OFDM symbols (or CP-OFDM symbols), SC-FDMA symbols (or discrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) symbols).

[0090] Referring to FIG. 6, downlink and uplink transmissions are organized into frames. Each frame has Tf= 10ms duration. Each frame is divided into two half-frames, where each of the half-frames has 5ms duration. Each half-frame consists of 5 subframes, where the duration Tsfper subframe is 1ms. Each subframe is divided into slots and the number of slots in a subframe depends on a subcarrier spacing. Each slot includes 14 or 12 OFDM symbols based on a cyclic prefix (CP). In a normal CP, each slot includes 14 OFDM symbols and, in an extended CP, each slot includes 12 OFDM symbols. The numerology is based on exponentially scalable subcarrier spacing βf = 2u*15 kHz.

[0091] Table 3 shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot Nslotsymb, the number of slots per frameNframe,uslot, and the number of slots per subframe Nsubframe,uslotfor the normal CP, according to the subcarrier spacing f = 2u*15 kHz.

[0092] uNslotsymbNframe,uslotNsubframe,uslot01410111420221440431480841416016

[0093] Table 4 shows the number of OFDM symbols per slot Nslotsymb, the number of slots per frameNframe,uslot, and the number of slots per subframe Nsubframe,uslotfor the extended CP, according to the subcarrier spacing f = 2u*15 kHz.

[0094] uNslotsymbNframe,uslotNsubframe,uslot212404

[0095] A slot includes plural symbols (e.g., 14 or 12 symbols) in the time domain. For each numerology (e.g., subcarrier spacing) and carrier, a resource grid ofNsize,ugrid,x*NRBscsubcarriers andNsubframe,usymbOFDM symbols is defined, starting at common resource block (CRB)Nstart,ugridindicated by higher-layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling), whereNsize,ugrid,xis the number of resource blocks (RBs) in the resource grid and the subscript x is DL for downlink and UL for uplink.NRBscis the number of subcarriers per RB. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system,NRBscis 12 generally. There is one resource grid for a given antenna portp, subcarrier spacing configurationu, and transmission direction (DL or UL). The carrier bandwidthNsize,ugridfor subcarrier spacing configurationuis given by the higher-layer parameter (e.g., RRC parameter). Each element in the resource grid for the antenna portpand the subcarrier spacing configurationuis referred to as a resource element (RE) and one complex symbol may be mapped to each RE. Each RE in the resource grid is uniquely identified by an indexkin the frequency domain and an indexlrepresenting a symbol location relative to a reference point in the time domain. In the 3GPP based wireless communication system, an RB is defined by 12 consecutive subcarriers in the frequency domain. As shown in FIG. 6, as SCS doubles, the slot length and symbol length are halved. For example, when SCS is 15kHz, the slot length is 1ms, which is the same as the subframe length. When SCS is 30kHz, the slot length is 0.5ms (=500us), and the symbol length is half of that when the SCS is 15kHz. When SCS is 60kHz, the slot length is 0.25ms (=250us), and the symbol length is half of that when the SCS is 30kHz. When SCS is 120kHz, the slot length is 0.125ms (=125us), and the symbol length is half of that when the SCS is 60kHz. When SCS is 240kHz, the slot length is 0.0625ms (=62.5us), and the symbol length is half of that when the SCS is 120kHz.

[0096] In the 3GPP NR system, RBs are classified into CRBs and physical resource blocks (PRBs). CRBs are numbered from 0 and upwards in the frequency domain for subcarrier spacing configurationu. The center of subcarrier 0 of CRB 0 for subcarrier spacing configurationucoincides with 'point A' which serves as a common reference point for resource block grids. In the 3GPP NR system, PRBs are defined within a bandwidth part (BWP) and numbered from 0 toNsizeBWP,i-1, where i is the number of the bandwidth part. The relation between the physical resource block nPRBin the bandwidth part i and the common resource block nCRBis as follows: nPRB= nCRB+NsizeBWP,i, whereNsizeBWP,iis the common resource block where bandwidth part starts relative to CRB 0. The BWP includes a plurality of consecutive RBs. A carrier may include a maximum of N (e.g., 5) BWPs. A UE may be configured with one or more BWPs on a given component carrier. Only one BWP among BWPs configured to the UE can active at a time. The active BWP defines the UE's operating bandwidth within the cell's operating bandwidth.

[0097] In the present disclosure, the term "cell" may refer to a geographic area to which one or more nodes provide a communication system, or refer to radio resources. A "cell" as a geographic area may be understood as coverage within which a node can provide service using a carrier and a "cell" as radio resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) is associated with bandwidth which is a frequency range configured by the carrier. The "cell" associated with the radio resources is defined by a combination of downlink resources and uplink resources, for example, a combination of a DL component carrier (CC) and a UL CC. The cell may be configured by downlink resources only, or may be configured by downlink resources and uplink resources. Since DL coverage, which is a range within which the node is capable of transmitting a valid signal, and UL coverage, which is a range within which the node is capable of receiving the valid signal from the UE, depends upon a carrier carrying the signal, the coverage of the node may be associated with coverage of the "cell" of radio resources used by the node. Accordingly, the term "cell" may be used to represent service coverage of the node sometimes, radio resources at other times, or a range that signals using the radio resources can reach with valid strength at other times.

[0098] In CA, two or more CCs are aggregated. A UE may simultaneously receive or transmit on one or multiple CCs depending on its capabilities. CA is supported for both contiguous and non-contiguous CCs. When CA is configured, the UE only has one RRC connection with the network. At RRC connection establishment / re-establishment / handover, one serving cell provides the NAS mobility information, and at RRC connection re-establishment / handover, one serving cell provides the security input. This cell is referred to as the primary cell (PCell). The PCell is a cell, operating on the primary frequency, in which the UE either performs the initial connection establishment procedure or initiates the connection re-establishment procedure. Depending on UE capabilities, secondary cells (SCells) can be configured to form together with the PCell a set of serving cells. An SCell is a cell providing additional radio resources on top of special cell (SpCell). The configured set of serving cells for a UE therefore always consists of one PCell and one or more SCells. For dual connectivity (DC) operation, the term SpCell refers to the PCell of the master cell group (MCG) or the primary SCell (PSCell) of the secondary cell group (SCG). An SpCell supports PUCCH transmission and contention-based random access, and is always activated. The MCG is a group of serving cells associated with a master node, comprised of the SpCell (PCell) and optionally one or more SCells. The SCG is the subset of serving cells associated with a secondary node, comprised of the PSCell and zero or more SCells, for a UE configured with DC. For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED not configured with CA / DC, there is only one serving cell comprised of the PCell. For a UE in RRC_CONNECTED configured with CA / DC, the term "serving cells" is used to denote the set of cells comprised of the SpCell(s) and all SCells. In DC, two MAC entities are configured in a UE: one for the MCG and one for the SCG.

[0099] FIG. 7 shows a data flow example in the 3GPP NR system to which implementations of the present disclosure is applied.

[0100] Referring to FIG. 7, "RB" denotes a radio bearer, and "H" denotes a header. Radio bearers are categorized into two groups: DRBs for user plane data and SRBs for control plane data. The MAC PDU is transmitted / received using radio resources through the PHY layer to / from an external device. The MAC PDU arrives to the PHY layer in the form of a transport block.

[0101] In the PHY layer, the uplink transport channels UL-SCH and random access channel (RACH) are mapped to their physical channels physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and physical random access channel (PRACH), respectively, and the downlink transport channels DL-SCH, BCH and PCH are mapped to physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), physical broadcast channel (PBCH) and PDSCH, respectively. In the PHY layer, uplink control information (UCI) is mapped to physical uplink control channel (PUCCH), and downlink control information (DCI) is mapped to physical downlink control channel (PDCCH). A MAC PDU related to UL-SCH is transmitted by a UE via a PUSCH based on an UL grant, and a MAC PDU related to DL-SCH is transmitted by a BS via a PDSCH based on a DL assignment.

[0102] Hereinafter, UE states and state transitions are described.

[0103] A UE is either in RRC_CONNECTED state (or, connected state) or in RRC_INACTIVE state (or, inactive state) when an RRC connection has been established. If this is not the case, i.e., no RRC connection is established, the UE is in RRC_IDLE state (or, idle state).

[0104] The RRC_CONNECTED state is defined as an RRC state in which a UE maintains an active RRC connection with the network via a network.

[0105] When the UE is in the RRC_CONNECTED state, the RRC connection has been established between the UE and the network, thereby enabling the exchange of control and user plane data. In this state, the UE is contextually known to the network and can actively transmit and receive data.

[0106] The RRC_CONNECTED state is characterized by the following attributes:

[0107] - Dedicated radio resources are allocated to the UE for uplink and downlink transmissions;

[0108] - The UE maintains an active connection with the Access Stratum (AS), including the maintenance of physical channels and logical channel mappings;

[0109] - The UE may perform handover procedures as triggered by mobility events, based on measurements and reporting to the serving base station;

[0110] - The UE is capable of receiving RRC signaling messages, such as measurement control, mobility commands, security control, and configuration updates;

[0111] - Security procedures, including encryption and integrity protection, are applied to both signaling and user data; and / or

[0112] - The UE may perform discontinuous reception (DRX) to conserve battery power while still monitoring for control messages.

[0113] Additionally, in the RRC_CONNECTED state, the network maintains full AS and NAS context for the UE, allowing it to perform coordinated actions, such as bearer setup / modification / release and Quality of Service (QoS) enforcement.

[0114] Transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state typically occurs from the RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE state upon initiation of a connection establishment procedure, such as for mobile-originated data transmission or mobile-terminated data reception.

[0115] The RRC_CONNECTED state remains active until the RRC connection is explicitly released or transitioned to a lower activity state, such as RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE, by the network based on inactivity or mobility management procedures.

[0116] The RRC_IDLE state is defined as an RRC state in which the UE does not maintain an RRC connection with the network. Instead, the UE performs necessary monitoring and mobility-related procedures while in a power-efficient and resource-unallocated mode.

[0117] In the RRC_IDLE state, the UE is not contextually known to the radio access network (RAN) on a per-cell basis but remains known to the core network through stored Non-Access Stratum (NAS) context. The UE camps on a selected cell and may change cells autonomously without notification to the network.

[0118] Key characteristics of the RRC_IDLE state include:

[0119] - The UE performs cell selection and reselection autonomously based on broadcast system information and radio measurements;

[0120] - The UE monitors paging messages from the network for mobile-terminated services using Discontinuous Reception (DRX) cycles to minimize power consumption;

[0121] - No dedicated radio resources are assigned to the UE, and no RRC signaling connection exists with the network;

[0122] - The UE is required to periodically acquire system information to maintain synchronization and support mobility decisions; and / or

[0123] - The UE initiates the RRC connection establishment procedure when it needs to perform data transmission or reception (i.e., mobile-originated or mobile-terminated services).

[0124] In the RRC_IDLE state, the UE is responsible for maintaining its own mobility within a Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) and tracking area. The UE updates the core network by initiating NAS-level Tracking Area Update (TAU) procedures when necessary, such as upon entering a new tracking area not registered with the core network.

[0125] The RRC_IDLE state provides a low-energy, scalable configuration suitable for UEs that are not actively engaged in data communication but must remain reachable by the network.

[0126] Transition from the RRC_IDLE state to RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_INACTIVE is initiated by the UE or the network depending on service requirements, including uplink data availability or paging reception, respectively.

[0127] The RRC_INACTIVE state is defined as an RRC state that enables a UE to remain in a lightweight connected mode, allowing for rapid transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state while minimizing signaling overhead and power consumption.

[0128] In the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE retains an RRC context with the network (i.e., the gNB), yet no active radio bearer is maintained. The UE is not required to perform RRC connection re-establishment for state transitions to RRC_CONNECTED, thereby enabling reduced latency and overhead for mobile-terminated and mobile-originated services.

[0129] Key characteristics of the RRC_INACTIVE state include:

[0130] - The UE is known to the network, and its Access Stratum (AS) context is preserved in both the UE and the serving gNB;

[0131] - The UE performs paging monitoring using a configured RAN-based paging mechanism with Discontinuous Reception (DRX) to conserve battery power;

[0132] - The UE performs cell reselection within a predefined Registration Area without notifying the network, unless a change of registration area occurs;

[0133] - System information acquisition may be performed on-demand as necessary during mobility or upon specific triggers; and / or

[0134] - The UE can rapidly transition to the RRC_CONNECTED state using the Resume procedure, eliminating the need for full RRC connection re-establishment.

[0135] The RRC_INACTIVE state is particularly optimized for scenarios involving frequent transitions between idle and connected behaviors, such as Internet of Things (IoT) devices, delay-tolerant applications, and UEs exhibiting intermittent activity patterns.

[0136] When in the RRC_INACTIVE state, the UE is reachable by the network via RAN-based paging and can resume the RRC connection with significantly reduced signaling latency compared to RRC_IDLE.

[0137] Transition to the RRC_INACTIVE state may occur upon network initiation (e.g., RRC Release message withsuspendConfig) or via UE-initiated procedures, depending on policy, configuration, or inactivity conditions. Transition out of the RRC_INACTIVE state occurs when the UE resumes the connection, transitions to RRC_IDLE (e.g., upon exceeding the registration timer), or performs a registration area update.

[0138] Hereinafter, idle / inactive measurement is described.

[0139] The idle / inactive measurement may be a measurement (to be) performed and / or stored by a UE in a disconnected state (e.g., idle state / inactive state) when the UE has an idle / inactive measurement configuration. In the present disclosure, idle / inactive measurement may also be referred to as early measurement, and they can be used interchangeably.

[0140] FIG. 8 shows an example of idle / inactive measurement and reporting procedure according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0141] Referring to FIG. 8, in step S801, UE may receive an idle / inactive measurement configuration from a network.

[0142] For example, the UE may receiveRRCReleasemessage comprising the idle / inactive measurement configuration from the network.

[0143] Upon reception of theRRCReleaseby the UE, the UE shall:

[0144] 1> if theRRCReleaseincludes themeasIdleConfig:

[0145] 2> if T331 is running:

[0146] 3> stop timer T331;

[0147] 3> perform the actions related to T331 expiry / stop;

[0148] 2> if themeasIdleConfigis set tosetup:

[0149] 3> store the receivedmeasIdleDurationinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0150] 3> start timer T331 with the value set tomeasIdleDuration;

[0151] 3> if themeasIdleConfigcontainsmeasIdleCarrierListNR:

[0152] 4> store the receivedmeasIdleCarrierListNRinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0153] 3> if themeasIdleConfigcontainsmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRA:

[0154] 4> store the receivedmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRAinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0155] 3> if themeasIdleConfigcontainsvalidityAreaList:

[0156] 4> store the receivedvalidityAreaListinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0157] 3> if themeasIdleConfigcontainsmeasReselectionCarrierListNR:

[0158] 4> store the receivedmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0159] 3> if themeasIdleConfigcontainsmeasReselectionValidityDuration:

[0160] 4> store the receivedmeasReselectionValidityDurationinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0161] 3> if themeasIdleConfigcontainsmeasIdleValidityDuration:

[0162] 4> store the receivedmeasReselectionValidityDurationinVarEnhMeasIdleConfig.

[0163] For example, the UE may receiveSIB11comprising the idle / inactive measurement configuration from the network.

[0164] The idle / inactive measurement configuration can be expressed as MeasIdleConfig. The idle / inactive measurement configuration included inRRCReleasecan be expressed as MeasIdleConfig and / orMeasIdleConfigDedicated. The idle / inactive measurement configuration included in SIB11 can be expressed as MeasIdleConfig and / or MeasIdleConfigSIB. In the present disclosure, MeasIdleConfig,MeasIdleConfigDedicatedand MeasIdleConfigSIB can be used interchangeably.

[0165] In some implementations, the UE may perform a procedure to update the idle / inactive measurement configuration. The UE may initiate the procedure while T331 is running and SDT procedure is not ongoing and one of the following conditions is met:

[0166] 1> upon selecting a cell when entering RRC_IDLE or RRC-INACTIVE from RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_INACTIVE; or

[0167] 1> upon update of system information (SIB4, orSIB11), e.g. due to intra-RAT cell (re)selection.

[0168] While in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE, and T331 is running, the UE shall:

[0169] 1> ifVarMeasIdleConfigincludes neither ameasIdleCarrierListEUTRAnor ameasIdleCarrierListNRreceived from theRRCReleasemessage:

[0170] 2> if the UE supportsidleInactiveEUTRA-MeasReport:

[0171] 3> if the SIB11 includes themeasIdleConfigSIBand containsmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRA:

[0172] 4> store or replace themeasIdleCarrierListEUTRAofmeasIdleConfigSIBof SIB11 withinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0173] 3> else:

[0174] 4> remove themeasIdleCarrierListEUTRAinVarMeasIdleConfig, if stored;

[0175] 2> if the UE supportsidleInactiveNR-MeasReport:

[0176] 3> ifSIB11includes themeasIdleConfigSIBand containsmeasIdleCarrierListNR:

[0177] 4> store or replace themeasIdleCarrierListNRofmeasIdleConfigSIBofSIB11withinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0178] 3> else:

[0179] 4> remove themeasIdleCarrierListNRinVarMeasIdleConfig, if stored;

[0180] 2> if SIB11 includes the measIdleConfigSIB and contains measIdleValidityDuration:

[0181] 3> store or replace the measIdleValidityDuration of measIdleConfigSIB of SIB11 within VarEnhMeasIdleConfig;

[0182] 2> else:

[0183] 3> remove the measIdleValidityDuration in VarEnhMeasIdleConfig, if stored;

[0184] 1> for each entry in themeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfigthat does not contain anssb-MeasConfigreceived from theRRCReleasemessage:

[0185] 2> if there is an entry inmeasIdleCarrierListNRinmeasIdleConfigSIBofSIB11that has the same carrier frequency and subcarrier spacing as the entry in themeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfigand that containsssb-MeasConfig:

[0186] 3> delete thessb-MeasConfigof the corresponding entry in themeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0187] 3> store the SSB measurement configuration fromSIB11intonrofSS-BlocksToAverage,absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation,smtc,ssb-ToMeasure,deriveSSB-IndexFromCell, andss-RSSI-Measurementwithinssb-MeasConfigof the corresponding entry in themeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0188] 2> else if there is an entry ininterFreqCarrierFreqListofSIB4with the same carrier frequency and subcarrier spacing as the entry inmeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfig:

[0189] 3> delete thessb-MeasConfigof the corresponding entry in themeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0190] 3> store the SSB measurement configuration fromSIB4intonrofSS-BlocksToAverage,absThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation,smtc,ssb-ToMeasure,deriveSSB-IndexFromCell, andss-RSSI-Measurementwithinssb-MeasConfigof the corresponding entry in themeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfig;

[0191] 2> else:

[0192] 3> remove thessb-MeasConfigof the corresponding entry in themeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfig, if stored;

[0193] 1> perform idle / inactive measurements.

[0194] In some implementations, the UE may perform a procedure to update the reselection measurement configuration. The UE may initiate the procedure while SDT procedure is not ongoing and one of the following conditions is met:

[0195] 1> upon selecting a cell when entering RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE from RRC_CONNECTED or RRC_INACTIVE; or

[0196] 1> upon update of system information (SIB11), e.g., due to intra-RAT cell (re)selection;

[0197] While in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE, the UE shall:

[0198] 1> ifVarMeasReselectionConfigdoes not includemeasReselectionCarrierListNRreceived from theRRCReleasemessage:

[0199] 2> if the UE supports reselection measurement reporting:

[0200] 3> ifSIB11includes themeasIdleConfigSIBand containsmeasReselectionCarrierListNR:

[0201] 4> store or replace themeasReselectionCarrierListNRofmeasIdleConfigSIBofSIB11withinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0202] 3> else:

[0203] 4> remove themeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfig, if stored;

[0204] 1> ifVarMeasReselectionConfigdoes not includemeasReselectionValidityDurationreceived from theRRCReleasemessage:

[0205] 2> ifSIB11includes themeasIdleConfigSIBand containsmeasReselectionValidityDuration:

[0206] 3> store or replace themeasReselectionValidityDurationofmeasIdleConfigSIBofSIB11withinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0207] 2> else:

[0208] 3> remove themeasurementValidityDurationinVarMeasReselectionConfig, if stored.

[0209] In step S803, the UE may perform idle / inactive measurements based on the idle / inactive measurement configuration. That is, the UE may perform measurements in a disconnected state based on the idle / inactive measurement configuration.

[0210] When performing idle / inactive measurements on NR carriers, the UE shall derive the cell quality and consider the beam quality to be the value of the measurement results of the concerned beam, where each result is averaged.

[0211] While in RRC_IDLE or RRC_INACTIVE, and T331 is running and SDT procedure is not ongoing, the UE shall:

[0212] 1> perform the measurements in accordance with the following:

[0213] 2> if theVarMeasIdleConfigincludes themeasIdleCarrierListEUTRAand theSIB1containsidleModeMeasurementsEUTRA:

[0214] 3> for each entry inmeasIdleCarrierListEUTRAwithinVarMeasIdleConfig:

[0215] 4> if UE supports NE-DC between the serving carrier and the carrier frequency indicated bycarrierFreqEUTRAwithin the corresponding entry:

[0216] 5> perform measurements in the carrier frequency and bandwidth indicated bycarrierFreqEUTRAandallowedMeasBandwidthwithin the corresponding entry;

[0217] 5> if thereportQuantitiesEUTRAis set torsrq:

[0218] 6> consider RSRQ as the sorting quantity;

[0219] 5> else:

[0220] 6> consider RSRP as the sorting quantity;

[0221] 5> if themeasCellListEUTRAis included:

[0222] 6> consider cells identified by each entry within themeasCellListEUTRAto be applicable for idle / inactive mode measurement reporting;

[0223] 5> else:

[0224] 6> consider up tomaxCellMeasIdlestrongest identified cells, according to the sorting quantity, to be applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting;

[0225] 5> for all cells applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting, derive measurement results for the measurement quantities indicated byreportQuantitiesEUTRA;

[0226] 5> store the derived measurement results as indicated byreportQuantitiesEUTRAwithin themeasReportIdleEUTRAinVarMeasIdleReportin decreasing order of the sorting quantity, i.e. the best cell is included first, as follows:

[0227] 6> ifqualityThresholdEUTRAis configured:

[0228] 7> include the measurement results from the cells applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting whose RSRP / RSRQ measurement results are above the value(s) provided inqualityThresholdEUTRA;

[0229] 6> else:

[0230] 7> include the measurement results from all cells applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting;

[0231] 2> if theVarMeasIdleConfigincludes themeasIdleCarrierListNRand the SIB1 containsidleModeMeasurementsNR:

[0232] 3> for each entry inmeasIdleCarrierListNRwithinVarMeasIdleConfigthat containsssb-MeasConfig:

[0233] 4> if UE supports carrier aggregation or NR-DC between serving carrier and the carrier frequency and subcarrier spacing indicated bycarrierFreqandssbSubCarrierSpacingwithin the corresponding entry:

[0234] 5> perform measurements in the carrier frequency and subcarrier spacing indicated bycarrierFreqandssbSubCarrierSpacingwithin the corresponding entry;

[0235] 5> if thereportQuantitiesis set to rsrq:

[0236] 6> consider RSRQ as the cell sorting quantity;

[0237] 5> else:

[0238] 6> consider RSRP as the cell sorting quantity;

[0239] 5> if themeasCellListNRis included:

[0240] 6> consider cells identified by each entry within themeasCellListNRto be applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting;

[0241] 5> else:

[0242] 6> consider up tomaxCellMeasIdlestrongest identified cells, according to the sorting quantity, to be applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting;

[0243] 5> for all cells applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting, derive cell measurement results for the measurement quantities indicated byreportQuantities;

[0244] 5> store the derived cell measurement results as indicated byreportQuantitiesfor cells applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting withinmeasResultsPerCarrierListIdleNRin themeasReportIdleNRinVarMeasIdleReportin decreasing order of the cell sorting quantity, i.e. the best cell is included first, as follows:

[0245] 6> ifqualityThresholdis configured:

[0246] 7> include the measurement results from the cells applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting whose RSRP / RSRQ measurement results are above the value(s) provided inqualityThreshold;

[0247] 6> else:

[0248] 7> include the measurement results from all cells applicable for idle / inactive measurement reporting;

[0249] 5> ifbeamMeasConfigIdleis included in the associated entry inmeasIdleCarrierListNRand if UE supportsidleInactiveNR-MeasBeamReportfor the FR of the carrier frequency indicated bycarrierFreqwithin the associated entry, for each cell in the measurement results:

[0250] 6> derive beam measurements based on SS / PBCH block for each measurement quantity indicated inreportQuantityRS-Indexes, as described in TS 38.215 [9];

[0251] 6> if thereportQuantityRS-Indexesis set to rsrq:

[0252] 7> consider RSRQ as the beam sorting quantity;

[0253] 6> else:

[0254] 7> consider RSRP as the beam sorting quantity;

[0255] 6> setresultsSSB-Indexesto include up tomaxNrofRS-IndexesToReportSS / PBCH block indexes in order of decreasing beam sorting quantity as follows:

[0256] 7> include the index associated to the best beam for the sorting quantity and ifabsThreshSS-BlocksConsolidationis included, the remaining beams whose sorting quantity is aboveabsThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation;

[0257] 6> if theincludeBeamMeasurementsis set totrue:

[0258] 7> include the beam measurement results as indicated byreportQuantityRS-Indexes;

[0259] 2> if, as a result of the procedure in this clause, the UE performs measurements in one or more carrier frequency indicated bymeasIdleCarrierListNRormeasIdleCarrierListEUTRA:

[0260] 3> store the cell measurement results for RSRP and RSRQ for the serving cell withinmeasResultServingCellin the measReportIdleNR inVarMeasIdleReport.

[0261] 3> if theVarMeasIdleConfigincludes themeasIdleCarrierListNRand it contains an entry withcarrierFreqset to the value of the serving frequency:

[0262] 4> ifbeamMeasConfigIdleis included in that entry, and if the UE supportsidleInactiveNR- MeasBeamReportfor the FR of the serving cell:

[0263] 5> derive beam measurements based on SS / PBCH block for each measurement quantity indicated inreportQuantityRS-Indexes;

[0264] 5> if thereportQuantityRS-Indexesis set to rsrq:

[0265] 6> consider RSRQ as the beam sorting quantity;

[0266] 5> else:

[0267] 6> consider RSRP as the beam sorting quantity;

[0268] 5> setresultsSSB-Indexesto include up tomaxNrofRS-IndexesToReportSS / PBCH block indexes in order of decreasing beam sorting quantity as follows:

[0269] 6> include the index associated to the best beam for the sorting quantity and ifabsThreshSS-BlocksConsolidationis included inSIB2of serving cell, the remaining beams whose sorting quantity is aboveabsThreshSS-BlocksConsolidation;

[0270] 5> if theincludeBeamMeasurementsis set to true:

[0271] 6> include the beam measurement results as indicated byreportQuantityRS-Indexes.

[0272] The UE is not required to perform idle / inactive measurements on a given carrier if the SSB configuration of that carrier provided via dedicated signaling is different from the SSB configuration broadcasted in the serving cell, if any.

[0273] WhenidleModeMeasVoiceFallbackis included in SIB5, UE may decide to measure and report idle / inactive measurements for EUTRA carrier frequencies included in SIB5 even if it does not support NE-DC between the serving carrier and the EUTRA carrier frequencies.

[0274] The UE shall:

[0275] 1> if T331 expires or is stopped:

[0276] 2> release theVarMeasIdleConfig.

[0277] In some implementations, the UE may continue idle / inactive measurements according to SIB11 and SIB4 configurations or according to E-UTRA SIB5 and E-UTRA SIB24 configurations upon inter-RAT cell reselection to E-UTRA, after T331 has expired or stopped.

[0278] The UE shall:

[0279] 1> if intra-RAT cell selection or reselection occurs while T331 is running:

[0280] 2> ifvalidityAreaListis configured inVarMeasIdleConfig:

[0281] 3> if the serving frequency does not match with thecarrierFreqof an entry in thevalidityAreaList; or

[0282] 3> if the serving frequency matches with thecarrierFreqof an entry in thevalidityAreaList, thevalidityCellListis included in that entry, and the physical cell identity of the serving cell does not match with any entry invalidityCellList:

[0283] 4> stop timer T331;

[0284] 4> perform the actions related to T331 expiry / stop, upon which the procedure ends.

[0285] 1> else if inter-RAT cell selection or reselection occurs while T331 is running:

[0286] 2> stop timer T331;

[0287] 2> perform the actions related to T331 expiry / stop.

[0288] In step S805, the UE may transmit an idle / inactive measurement report to the network. The idle / inactive measurement report may comprise the stored / logged measurement information as a result of the idle / inactive measurements, which can be expressed asVarMeasIdleReport(or,MeasIdleReport).

[0289] For example, the UE may transmit an indication that the UE has the idle / inactive measurement report available (i.e.,idleMeasAvailable) to the network during an RRC connection establishment procedure.

[0290] The UE shall perform the following actions upon reception of theRRCSetup:

[0291] 1> set the content ofRRCSetupCompletemessage as follows:

[0292] 2> if the SIB1 containsidleModeMeasurementsNRand the UE has NR idle / inactive measurement information concerning cells other than the PCell available inVarMeasIdleReport; or

[0293] 2> if the SIB1 containsidleModeMeasurementsEUTRAand the UE has E-UTRA idle / inactive measurement information available inVarMeasIdleReport:

[0294] 3> include theidleMeasAvailable;

[0295] 2> if the SIB1 containsreselectionMeasurementsNRand the UE has valid NR reselection measurements available for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfig:

[0296] 3> include thereselectionMeasAvailable.

[0297] For example, the UE may transmit the idle / inactive measurement report or an indication that the UE has the idle / inactive measurement report available (i.e.,idleMeasAvailable) to the network during an RRC connection resume procedure.

[0298] Upon reception of theRRCResume, the UE shall:

[0299] 1> set the content of the ofRRCResumeCompletemessage as follows:

[0300] 2> if the UE has idle / inactive measurement information concerning cells other than the PCell available inVarMeasIdleReport:

[0301] 3> if theidleModeMeasurementReqis included in theRRCResumemessage:

[0302] 4> ifvalidatedMeasurementsReqis included in theRRCResumeandmeasIdleValidityDurationis included inVarEnhMeasIdleConfig;

[0303] 5> set themeasResultIdleEUTRAin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to the value ofmeasReportIdleEUTRAin theVarMeasIdleReportfor any valid measurement results,if available, and setvalidityStatusto the value ofmeasIdleValidityDurationinVarEnhMeasIdleConfig;

[0304] 5> set themeasResultIdleNRin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to the value ofmeasReportIdleNRin theVarMeasIdleReportfor any valid measurement results, if available, and setvalidityStatusto the value ofmeasIdleValidityDurationinVarEnhMeasIdleConfig;

[0305] 5> discard theVarMeasIdleReportupon successful delivery of theRRCResumeCompletemessage is confirmed by lower layers;

[0306] 4> else:

[0307] 5> set themeasResultIdleEUTRAin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to the value of measReportIdleEUTRA in theVarMeasIdleReport, if available;

[0308] 5> set themeasResultIdleNRin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to the value ofmeasReportIdleNRin theVarMeasIdleReport, if available;

[0309] 5> discard theVarMeasIdleReportupon successful delivery of theRRCResumeCompletemessage is confirmed by lower layers;

[0310] 3> else:

[0311] 4> if the SIB1 containsidleModeMeasurementsNRand the UE has NR idle / inactive measurement information concerning cells other than the PCell available inVarMeasIdleReport; or

[0312] 4> if the SIB1 containsidleModeMeasurementsEUTRAand the UE has E-UTRA idle / inactive measurement information available inVarMeasIdleReport:

[0313] 5> include theidleMeasAvailable;

[0314] 2> if the reselectionMeasurementReq is included in the RRCResume message:

[0315] 3> if validatedMeasurementsReq is included in the RRCResume and measReselectionValidityDuration is included in VarMeasReselectionConfig:

[0316] 4> if measReselectionCarrierListNR is present in VarMeasReselectionConfig:

[0317] 5> if the UE has valid cell reselection measurements results for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasRelectionConfig:

[0318] 6> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to the valid NR measurement results, if available for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfigand setvalidityStatusto the value ofmeasReselectionValidityDurationinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0319] 4> else:

[0320] 5> if the UE has valid NR cell reselection measurements results:

[0321] 6> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to any available valid NR measurement results, if available;

[0322] 3> else:

[0323] 4> if measReselectionCarrierListNR is present in VarMeasReselectionConfig:

[0324] 5> if the UE has cell reselection measurements results for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasRelectionConfig:

[0325] 6> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to the NR measurement results, if available for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0326] 4> else:

[0327] 5> if the UE has NR cell reselection measurements results:

[0328] 6> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theRRCResumeCompletemessage to any available NR measurement results, if available;

[0329] 3> else:

[0330] 4> if the SIB1 containsreselectionMeasurementsNR:

[0331] 5> ifmeasReselectionCarrierListNRis present inVarMeasReselectionConfigand the UE has NR reselection measurements available for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfig; or

[0332] 5> ifmeasReselectionCarrierListNRis not present inVarMeasReselectionConfigand if the UE has NR reselection measurements available:

[0333] 6> include the reselectionMeasAvailable.

[0334] When the UE has transmitted the indication that the UE has the idle / inactive measurement report available (i.e.,idleMeasAvailable) to the network during the RRC connection establishment procedure or RRC connection resume procedure, the UE may transmit the idle / inactive measurement report to the network during a UE information procedure.

[0335] Upon receiving theUEInformationRequestmessage, the UE shall, only after successful security activation:

[0336] 1> if theidleModeMeasurementReqis included in theUEInformationRequestand the UE has storedVarMeasIdleReportthat contains measurement information concerning cells other than the PCell:

[0337] 2> ifvalidatedMeasurementsReqis included in theUEInformationRequestandmeasIdleValidityDurationis included inVarEnhMeasIdleConfig;

[0338] 3> set themeasResultIdleEUTRAin theUEInformationResponsemessage to the value ofmeasReportIdleEUTRAin theVarMeasIdleReportfor any valid measurement results, if available, and setvalidityStatusto the value ofmeasIdleValidityDurationinVarEnhMeasIdleConfigfor each reported measurement;

[0339] 3> set themeasResultIdleNRin the UEInformationResponse message to the value ofmeasReportIdleNRin theVarMeasIdleReportfor any valid measurement results, if available, and setvalidityStatusto the value ofmeasIdleValidityDurationinVarEnhMeasIdleConfigfor each reported measurement;

[0340] 3> discard theVarMeasIdleReportupon successful delivery of theUEInformationResponsemessage confirmed by lower layers;

[0341] 2> else:

[0342] 3> set themeasResultIdleEUTRAin theUEInformationResponsemessage to the value ofmeasReportIdleEUTRAin theVarMeasIdleReport, if available;

[0343] 3> set themeasResultIdleNRin theUEInformationResponsemessage to the value ofmeasReportIdleNRin theVarMeasIdleReport, if available;

[0344] 3> discard theVarMeasIdleReportupon successful delivery of theUEInformationResponsemessage confirmed by lower layers;

[0345] 1> if thereselectionMeasurementReqis included in theUEInformationRequest:

[0346] 2> ifvalidatedMeasurementsReqis included in theUEInformationRequestandmeasReselectionValidityDurationis included inVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0347] 3> ifmeasReselectionCarrierListNRis present inVarMeasReselectionConfig:

[0348] 4> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theUEInformationResponsemessage the valid NR measurement results, if available for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfigand setvalidityStatusto the value ofmeasIdleValidityDurationinVarMeasReselectionConfigfor each reported measurement;

[0349] 3> else:

[0350] 4> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theUEInformationResponsemessage to any valid NR measurement results, if available, and set validityStatus to the value ofmeasIdleValidityDurationinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0351] 2> else:

[0352] 3> ifmeasReselectionCarrierListNRis present inVarMeasReselectionConfig:

[0353] 4> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theUEInformationResponsemessage the NR measurement results, if available for any frequency listed inmeasReselectionCarrierListNRinVarMeasReselectionConfig;

[0354] 3> else:

[0355] 4> set themeasResultReselectionNRin theUEInformationResponsemessage to any NR measurement results, if available.

[0356] Meanwhile, when establishing / re-establishing an RRC connection, and / or resuming the RRC connection, the UE can perform early measurements and inform the network of the measurement results to set up DC / CA quickly if there are measurement results available for DC / CA operation.

[0357] In the case of RRC re-establishment, some link problems may arise in DC / CA operation even if the DC / CA is configured based on the measurement results from the early measurement. This is because re-establishing the RRC connection means recovering the RRC connection after one or more link problems have occurred before, which means that the link problem may have also occurred in the SCG or SCell.

[0358] The problem is that, even though the link problem has occurred, the signaling quality measured based on RSRP from the early measurement may still be good for SCG or SCells. Then, the UE may face the same link problem after RRC re-establishment due to quick DC / CA configuration including the problematic SCG or SCells.

[0359] Therefore, the present disclosure provides various embodiments for measurements and reporting in disconnected state.

[0360] FIG. 9 shows an example of a method performed by a UE for measurements and reporting in disconnected state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0361] Referring to FIG. 9, in step S901, the UE may establish a connection with a network and entering a connected state.

[0362] In step S903, the UE may enter a disconnected state.

[0363] In step S905, during the disconnected state, the UE may obtain measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects. The list of measurement objects may be included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network.

[0364] In step S907, the UE may transmit a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects. The one or more second measurement objects may be measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0365] According to various embodiments, the disconnected state may comprise at least one of: a state after a link problem is detected on one or more serving cells during the connected state; an idle state; or an inactive state.

[0366] According to various embodiments, the UE may receive, from the network, a radio resource control (RRC) release message comprising the measurement configuration for the disconnected state. The UE may enter the disconnected state based on receiving the RRC release message.

[0367] According to various embodiments, the UE may receive, from the network, system information (e.g., SIB11) comprising the measurement configuration for the disconnected state.

[0368] According to various embodiments, each measurement object in the list of measurement objects may comprise at least one of a cell or a frequency related to the cell. The cell may comprise at least one of a primary cell (PCell), a primary secondary cell (PSCell), or a secondary cell (SCell).

[0369] According to various embodiments, the link problem may be detected on a measurement object based on at least one of: a radio link failure being detected on the measurement object; a random access failure being detected for the measurement object; a retransmission failure being detected for the measurement object; a configured event condition being met for the measurement object; or a signal quality of the measurement object being below a configured threshold.

[0370] According to various embodiments, the one or more second measurement objects are excluded from the list of measurement objects. The UE may perform a measurement on the one or more first measurement objects during the disconnected state while skipping a measurement on the one or more second measurement objects during the disconnected state.

[0371] According to various embodiments, the UE may perform a measurement on the one or more first measurement objects and a measurement on the one or more second measurement objects during the disconnected state. Measurement results of the one or more second measurement objects may be excluded from the measurement report.

[0372] According to various embodiments, the UE may perform a measurement on the one or more first measurement objects and a measurement on the one or more second measurement objects during the disconnected state. The measurement report may further comprise: measurement results of the one or more second measurement objects; and information informing that the link problem is detected on the one or more second measurement objects during the connected state.

[0373] According to various embodiments, the UE may receive, from the network, a request for measurement results obtained in the disconnected state. The UE may transmit the measurement report in response to the request.

[0374] According to various embodiments, the UE may transmit, to the network, information for an availability of measurement results obtained in the disconnected state. The UE may receive the request for measurement results obtained in the disconnected state after transmitting the information for an availability of measurement results obtained in the disconnected state.

[0375] According to various embodiments, the measurement report may be transmitted during at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure, RRC connection resume procedure, RRC connection re-establishment procedure, or user equipment (UE) information procedure.

[0376] FIG. 10 shows an example of a signal flow between UE and network node for measurements and reporting in disconnected state according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0377] Referring to FIG. 10, in step S1001, the network node may establish a connection with the UE upon which the UE enters a connected state.

[0378] In step S1003, the UE may enter a disconnected state.

[0379] In step S1005, during the disconnected state, the UE may obtain measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects. The list of measurement objects may be included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network.

[0380] In step S1007, the network node may receive, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects. The one or more second measurement objects may be measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0381] Hereinafter, detailed implementations regarding measurements and reporting in disconnected state are described.

[0382] According to implementations of the present disclosure, while / when performing an early measurement, the UE which is in non-RRC connected mode (e.g., non-connected mode such as idle mode, inactive mode) may determine whether one or more previous serving cells and / or related frequencies (i.e., measurement objects) are excluded for the early measurement. The UE may check whether there is at least one serving cell and / or related frequency in a list of measurement objects for early measurement that has experienced one or more link problems in the previous RRC connection. If the serving cell and / or frequency information that has experienced the link problem is included in the list of measurement objects to measure for the early measurement, the UE may exclude that serving cell and / or frequency from the list of measurement objects and perform the early measurement.

[0383] FIG. 11 show an example of a method for filtered early measurement according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0384] Referring to FIG. 11, in step S1101, the UE may enter a non-RRC connected mode).

[0385] UE which is in the non-RRC connected mode may mean the case where the UE is in RRC inactive mode or RRC idle mode, which means the UE has leaved RRC connected mode successfully. Also, UE in the non-RRC connected mode may mean the case where the UE is trying to re-establish an RRC connection after the declaration of radio link failure i.e., the UE has disconnected the RRC connected mode unexpectedly due to some problem.

[0386] In the present disclosure, the non-RRC connected mode may also referred to as disconnected mode / state. The disconnected mode / state may comprise at least one of: a state after a link problem is detected on one or more serving cells during the connected state; an idle state; or an inactive state.

[0387] In step S1103, the UE may perform early measurements (or, idle / inactive measurements).

[0388] The early measurement may mean the UE performing measurements for quick DC / CA setup while the UE is in non-RRC connected mode (i.e., idle / inactive measurement which specifies the measurements (to be) performed and / or stored by a UE in RRC_IDLE and RRC_INACTIVE when it has an idle / inactive measurement configuration). To perform this early measurement, the network may provide the UE with a frequency list and / or cell list (i.e., list of measurement objects) via broadcast information (e.g., system information such as SIB11) or dedicated information (e.g., RRC signaling such as RRC release message includingMeasIdleConfigDedicated). This early measurement may or may not have the same frequency list as the measurement for cell reselection, which is performed to move to a better cell when the UE is in non-RRC connected mode. This early measurement can also be performed while the UE is signaling to (re)establish / resume an RRC connection.

[0389] In step S1105, the UE may check whether there is at least one measurement object in a list of measurement objects for early measurement that has experienced link problem during the connected mode.

[0390] The serving cell and / or related frequency that has experienced one or more link problems in the previous RRC connection may mean the cell on the frequency is one of the serving cells in a master cell group (i.e., MCG) or a secondary cell group (i.e., SCG), and the cell has one or more causes to declare the radio link failure in the previous RRC connection. The serving cell may comprise PCell, PSCell and / or SCell. If the serving cell is SCell, the network may provide new or existing event conditions or threshold values to identify whether the SCell has suffered the link problem. If the event condition is met for the SCell or the signal quality of the SCell (e.g., based on RSRQ or CSI-RS) is below the threshold, the UE can consider that the SCell has a link problem. The one or more causes to declare the radio link failure (or, to detect a link problem) may comprise at least one of:

[0391] 1) T310 expiry in PCell (i.e., detecting a radio link failure in MCG / PCell);

[0392] 2) T312 expiry in PCell (i.e., detecting a radio link failure in MCG / PCell);

[0393] 3) random access problem indication from MCG MAC while neither T300, T301, T304, T311 nor T319 are running and SDT procedure is not ongoing (i.e., detecting a random access failure for MCG / PCell);

[0394] 4) indication from MCG RLC that the maximum number of retransmissions has been reached while SDT procedure is not ongoing (i.e., detecting a retransmission failure that the maximum number of retransmissions has been reached in MCG / PCell);

[0395] 5) T310 expiry in PSCell (i.e., detecting a radio link failure in SCG / PSCell);

[0396] 6) T312 expiry in PSCell (i.e., detecting a radio link failure in SCG / PSCell);

[0397] 7) random access problem indication from SCG MAC (i.e., detecting a random access failure for SCG / PSCell); or

[0398] 8) indication from SCG RLC that the maximum number of retransmissions has been reached (i.e., detecting a retransmission failure that the maximum number of retransmissions has been reached in SCG / PSCell).

[0399] In step S1107, the UE may exclude one or more measurement objects that have experienced link problem during the connected mode and / or their related measurement results.

[0400] In some implementations, after the UE checks whether there is at least one serving cell and / or related frequency in the list of measurement objects for early measurement that has experienced one or more link problems in the previous RRC connection, the UE may exclude that serving cell and / or frequency from the list of measurement objects to perform the early measurement. That is, the UE may no longer consider the serving cells and / or related frequencies to be valid to measure and the UE may ignore / remove the serving cell and / or the frequency from the frequency list and / or the cell list (i.e., list of measurement objects) for the early measurement even though the frequency list and / or the cell list is dedicatedly provided for the UE.

[0401] In some implementations, after performing the early measurement and when reporting the results of the early measurement to the network, the UE may check whether there is any measurement result related to the serving cells and / or related frequencies that are not valid. If there is at least one measurement result related to the serving cells and / or related frequencies that are not valid in the reporting of the early measurement, the UE may exclude the measurement result and / or may add an additional indicator to indicate that the serving cells and / or related frequencies have the link problem in the previous RRC connection. For example, the UE may exclude the measurement result of the serving cells and / or related frequencies that are not valid from the reporting of the early measurement, and add the additional indicator to indicate that the serving cells and / or related frequencies have the link problem in the previous RRC connection. For another example, the UE may include the measurement result of the serving cells and / or related frequencies that are not valid in the reporting of the early measurement, and add the additional indicator to indicate that the serving cells and / or related frequencies have the link problem in the previous RRC connection.

[0402] According to various embodiments, UE may receive early measurement configuration including one or more cell lists and / or one or more frequency lists from the network. Upon leaving RRC connection, the UE may check if there is at least one serving cell having suffered one or more link problem while being in RRC connected mode. The UE may perform the early measurement based on the early measurement configuration after excluding the serving cell and / or related frequency having suffered the one or more link problem from one or more cell lists and / or one or more frequency lists. The UE may report measurement results of the early measurement or indicating an availability of the reporting to the network while entering RRC connected mode.

[0403] Furthermore, the method in perspective of the communication device / UE described in the present disclosure (e.g., in FIG. 9) may be performed by the first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 2 and / or the UE 100 shown in FIG. 3.

[0404] More specifically, the communication device / UE comprises at least one transceiver, at least processor, and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations.

[0405] The operations comprise: establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state; entering a disconnected state; during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects, wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0406] Furthermore, the method in perspective of the communication device / UE described in the present disclosure (e.g., in FIG. 9) may be performed by a software code 105 stored in the memory 104 included in the first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 2.

[0407] More specifically, at least one computer readable medium (CRM) stores instructions that, based on being executed by at least one processor, perform operations comprising: establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state; entering a disconnected state; during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects, wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0408] Furthermore, the method in perspective of the communication device / UE described in the present disclosure (e.g., in FIG. 9) may be performed by control of the processor 102 included in the first wireless device 100 shown in FIG. 2 and / or by control of the processor 102 included in the UE 100 shown in FIG. 3.

[0409] More specifically, an apparatus configured to / adapted to operate in a wireless communication system (e.g., communication device / UE) comprises at least processor, and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor. The at least one processor is configured to / adapted to perform operations comprising: establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state; entering a disconnected state; during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects, wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0410] Furthermore, the method in perspective of a network node described in the present disclosure (e.g., in FIG. 10) may be performed by the second wireless device 200 shown in FIG. 2. The network node may be related to a serving cell.

[0411] More specifically, the network node comprises at least one transceiver, at least processor, and at least one computer memory operably connectable to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations.

[0412] The operations comprise: establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) upon which the UE enters a connected state, wherein the UE is configured to perform operations comprising: entering a disconnected state; and during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects, wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; and receiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

[0413] The present disclosure may have various advantageous effects.

[0414] For example, the UE can exclude one or more cells and / or frequencies which has suffered a link problem in the previous RRC connection for early measurement so that the UE can avoid the same or similar link problem after fast DC / CA setup after reporting of the early measurement while (re)establishing RRC connection.

[0415] Advantageous effects which can be obtained through specific embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the advantageous effects listed above. For example, there may be a variety of technical effects that a person having ordinary skill in the related art can understand and / or derive from the present disclosure. Accordingly, the specific effects of the present disclosure are not limited to those explicitly described herein, but may include various effects that may be understood or derived from the technical features of the present disclosure.

[0416] Claims in the present disclosure can be combined in a various way. For instance, technical features in method claims of the present disclosure can be combined to be implemented or performed in an apparatus, and technical features in apparatus claims can be combined to be implemented or performed in a method. Further, technical features in method claim(s) and apparatus claim(s) can be combined to be implemented or performed in an apparatus. Further, technical features in method claim(s) and apparatus claim(s) can be combined to be implemented or performed in a method. Other implementations are within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1.A method comprising:establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state;entering a disconnected state;during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects,wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network;transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects,wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.2.The method of claim 1, wherein the disconnected state comprises at least one of:a state after a link problem is detected on one or more serving cells during the connected state;an idle state; oran inactive state.3.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the network, a radio resource control (RRC) release message comprising the measurement configuration for the disconnected state,wherein the entering of the disconnected state comprises entering the disconnected state based on receiving the RRC release message.4.The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, from the network, system information comprising the measurement configuration for the disconnected state.5.The method of claim 1, wherein each measurement object in the list of measurement objects comprises at least one of a cell or a frequency related to the cell, andwherein the cell comprises at least one of a primary cell (PCell), a primary secondary cell (PSCell), or a secondary cell (SCell).6.The method of claim 1, wherein the link problem is detected on a measurement object based on at least one of:a radio link failure being detected on the measurement object;a random access failure being detected for the measurement object;a retransmission failure being detected for the measurement object;a configured event condition being met for the measurement object; ora signal quality of the measurement object being below a configured threshold.7.The method of claim 1, wherein the one or more second measurement objects are excluded from the list of measurement objects, andwherein the method further comprises performing a measurement on the one or more first measurement objects during the disconnected state while skipping a measurement on the one or more second measurement objects during the disconnected state.8.The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a measurement on the one or more first measurement objects and a measurement on the one or more second measurement objects during the disconnected state,wherein measurement results of the one or more second measurement objects are excluded from the measurement report.9.The method of claim 1, further comprising performing a measurement on the one or more first measurement objects and a measurement on the one or more second measurement objects during the disconnected state,wherein the measurement report further comprises:measurement results of the one or more second measurement objects; andinformation informing that the link problem is detected on the one or more second measurement objects during the connected state.10.The method of claim 1, further comprising:receiving, from the network, a request for measurement results obtained in the disconnected state,wherein the transmitting of the measurement report comprises transmitting the measurement report in response to the request.11.The method of claim 10, further comprising transmitting, to the network, information for an availability of measurement results obtained in the disconnected state,wherein the receiving of the request for measurement results obtained in the disconnected state comprises receiving the request for measurement results obtained in the disconnected state after transmitting the information for an availability of measurement results obtained in the disconnected state.12.The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement report is transmitted during at least one of a radio resource control (RRC) connection establishment procedure, RRC connection resume procedure, RRC connection re-establishment procedure, or user equipment (UE) information procedure.13.The method of claims 1, wherein the method is performed by a user equipment (UE) in communication with at least one of a mobile device, a network, or autonomous vehicles.14.A user equipment (UE) comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor; andat least one memory operatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising:establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state;entering a disconnected state;during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects,wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network;transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects,wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.15.An apparatus comprising:at least processor; andat least one memory operatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising:establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state;entering a disconnected state;during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects,wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network;transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects,wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.16.A non-transitory computer readable medium (CRM) having stored thereon a program code implementing instructions that, based on being executed by at least one processor, perform operations comprising:establishing a connection with a network and entering a connected state;entering a disconnected state;during the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects,wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network;transmitting a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects,wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.17.A method comprising:establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) upon which the UE enters a connected state,wherein the UE is configured to perform operations comprising:entering a disconnected state; andduring the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects,wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; andreceiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects,wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.18.A network node comprising:at least one transceiver;at least one processor; andat least one memory operatively coupled to the at least one processor and storing instructions that, based on being executed by the at least one processor, perform operations comprising:establishing a connection with a user equipment (UE) upon which the UE enters a connected state,wherein the UE is configured to perform operations comprising:entering a disconnected state; andduring the disconnected state, obtaining measurement results of one or more measurement objects in a list of measurement objects based on performing a measurement on the one or more measurement objects,wherein the list of measurement objects is included in a measurement configuration for the disconnected state received from the network; andreceiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising measurement results of one or more first measurement objects other than one or more second measurement objects in the list of measurement objects,wherein the one or more second measurement objects are measurement objects on which a link problem is detected during the connected state.

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