Methods, communications devices, and infrastructure equipment

Abstract

A method of operating a communications device is provided. The method comprises evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device. Each of the plurality of beam quality conditions is associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure equipment. In response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, the method comprises transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

Description

[0001] METHODS, COMMUNICATIONS DEVICES, AND INFRASTRUCTURE EQUIPMENT

[0002] BACKGROUND Field of Disclosure

[0003] The present disclosure relates to communications devices and infrastructure equipment of wireless communications networks and methods of operating such communications devices and infrastructure equipment.

[0004] The present application claims Paris Convention priority from European patent application number 24193699.6, filed on 8 August 2024, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

[0005] Description of Related Art

[0006] The “background” description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description which may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly or impliedly admitted as prior art against the present invention.

[0007] Previous generation mobile telecommunication systems, such as those based on the 3GPP defined UMTS and Long Term Evolution (LTE) architecture, are able to support a wider range of services than simple voice and messaging services offered by previous generations of mobile telecommunication systems. For example, with the improved radio interface and enhanced data rates provided by LTE systems, a user is able to enjoy high data rate applications such as mobile video streaming and mobile video conferencing that would previously only have been available via a fixed line data connection. The demand to deploy such networks is therefore strong and the coverage area of these networks, i.e. geographic locations where access to the networks is possible, is expected to continue to increase rapidly.

[0008] Current and future wireless communications networks are expected to routinely and efficiently support communications with an ever-increasing range of devices associated with a wider range of data traffic profiles and types than existing systems are optimised to support. For example, it is expected future wireless communications networks will be expected to efficiently support communications with devices including reduced complexity devices, machine type communication (MTC) devices, high resolution video displays, virtual reality headsets, extended Reality (XR) and so on. Some of these different types of devices may be deployed in very large numbers, for example low complexity devices for supporting the “The Internet of Things”, and may typically be associated with the transmissions of relatively small amounts of data with relatively high latency tolerance. Other types of device, for example supporting high-definition video streaming, may be associated with transmissions of relatively large amounts of data with relatively low latency tolerance. Other types of device, for example used for autonomous vehicle communications and for other critical applications, may be characterised by data that should be transmitted through the network with low latency and high reliability. A single device type might also be associated with different traffic profiles / characteristics depending on the application(s) it is running. For example, different consideration may apply for efficiently supporting data exchange with a smartphone when it is running a video streaming application (high downlink data) as compared to when it is running an Internet browsing application (sporadic uplink and downlink data) or being used for voice communications by an emergency responder in an emergency scenario (data subject to stringent reliability and latency requirements).

[0009] In view of this there is expected to be a desire for current wireless communications networks, for example those which may be referred to as 5G or new radio (NR) systems / new radio access technology (RAT) systems, or indeed future 6G wireless communications, as well as future iterations / releases of existing systems, to efficiently support connectivity for a wide range of devices associated with different applications and different characteristic data traffic profiles and requirements. The desire to support these new use-cases and scenarios gives rise to new challenges for efficiently handling communications in wireless communications systems that need to be addressed.

[0010] SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

[0011] The present disclosure can help address or mitigate at least some of the issues discussed above.

[0012] Respective aspects and features of the present disclosure are defined in the appended claims.

[0013] It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary, but are not restrictive, of the present technology. The described embodiments, together with further advantages, will be best understood by reference to the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

[0014] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] A more complete appreciation of the disclosure and many of the attendant advantages thereof will be readily obtained as the same becomes better understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference numerals designate identical or corresponding parts throughout the several views, and wherein:

[0016] Figure 1 schematically represents some aspects of an LTE-type wireless telecommunication system which may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0017] Figure 2 schematically represents some aspects of an NR-type wireless telecommunications system which may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0018] Figure 3 is a schematic block diagram of an example infrastructure equipment and communications device which may be configured to operate in accordance with certain embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0019] Figure 4A is a representation of a gNB distributed unit (DU) and a gNB controlling unit (CU) communicating via an Fl interface;

[0020] Figure 4B is a schematic representation of a protocol stack operated respectively by the gNB DU and gNB CU shown in Figure 4A for communicating control plane data;

[0021] Figure 4C is a schematic representation of a protocol stack operated respectively by the gNB DU and gNB CU shown in Figure 4A for communicating user plane data;

[0022] Figure 5 schematically illustrates a split of gNB functionality between a CU-CP, CU-UP and the DU according to current architecture;

[0023] Figure 6 is a schematic block diagram of an example of a source infrastructure equipment controlling handover of a communications device to a target infrastructure equipment;

[0024] Figure 7 schematically represents a conventional conditional handover procedure;

[0025] Figure 8 illustrates the scope of Layer 1 / Layer 2 Triggered Mobility (LTM) in current 3GPP specifications;

[0026] Figure 9 is reproduced from [6], and shows an example message sequence for LTM in accordance with current 3 GPP specifications;

[0027] Figure 10 is an example message sequence of UE-initiated beam management mode A;

[0028] Figure 11 is an example message sequence of UE-initiated beam management mode B; and

[0029] Figure 12 is a flow diagram illustrating a method of operating a communications device in accordance with example embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0030] Long Term Evolution Advanced Radio Access Technology (4G)

[0031] Figure 1 provides a schematic diagram illustrating some basic functionality of a mobile telecommunications network / system 6 operating generally in accordance with LTE principles, but which may also support other radio access technologies, and which may be adapted to implement embodiments of the disclosure as described herein. Various elements of Figure 1 and certain aspects of their respective modes of operation are well-known and defined in the relevant standards administered by the 3GPP (RTM) body, and also described in many books on the subject, for example, Holma H. and Toskala A [1], It will be appreciated that operational aspects of the telecommunications networks discussed herein which are not specifically described (for example in relation to specific communication protocols and physical channels for communicating between different elements) may be implemented in accordance with any known techniques, for example according to the relevant standards and known proposed modifications and additions to the relevant standards.

[0032] The network 6 includes a plurality of base stations 1 connected to a core network 2, which may be for example an Evolved Packet Core (EPC). Each base station provides a coverage area 3 (i.e., a cell) within which data can be communicated to and from communications devices 4. Although each base station 1 is shown in Figure 1 as a single entity, the skilled person will appreciate that some of the functions of the base station may be carried out by disparate, inter-connected elements, such as antennas (or antennae), remote radio heads, amplifiers, etc. Collectively, one or more base stations may form a radio access network.

[0033] Data is transmitted from base stations 1 to communications devices 4 within their respective coverage areas 3 via a radio downlink (DL). Data is transmitted from communications devices 4 to the base stations 1 via a radio uplink (UL). The core network 2 routes data to and from the communications devices 4 via the respective base stations 1 and provides functions such as authentication, mobility management, charging and so on. Terminal devices may also be referred to as mobile stations, user equipment (UE), user terminal, mobile radio, communications device, and so forth. Services provided by the core network 2 may include connectivity to the internet or to external telephony services. The core network 2 may further track the location of the communications devices 4 so that it can efficiently contact (i.e., page) the communications devices 4 for transmitting downlink data towards the communications devices 4.

[0034] Base stations, which are an example of network infrastructure equipment, may also be referred to as transceiver stations, nodeBs, e-nodeBs, eNB, g-nodeBs, gNB and so forth. In this regard different terminology is often associated with different generations of wireless telecommunications systems for elements providing broadly comparable functionality. However, certain embodiments of the disclosure may be equally implemented in different generations of wireless telecommunications systems, and for simplicity certain terminology may be used regardless of the underlying network architecture. That is to say, the use of a specific term in relation to certain example implementations is not intended to indicate these implementations are limited to a certain generation of network that may be most associated with that particular terminology.

[0035] New Radio Access Technology (5G)

[0036] An example configuration of a wireless communications network which uses some of the terminology proposed for and used in NR and 5G is shown in Figure 2. In Figure 2 a plurality of transmission and reception points (TRPs) 10 are connected to distributed control units (DUs) 41, 42 by a connection interface represented as a line 16. Each of the TRPs 10 is arranged to transmit and receive signals via a wireless access interface within a radio frequency bandwidth available to the wireless communications network. Thus, within a range for performing radio communications via the wireless access interface, each of the TRPs 10, forms a cell of the wireless communications network as represented by a circle 12. As such, wireless communications devices 14 which are within a radio communications range provided by the cells 12 can transmit and receive signals to and from the TRPs 10 via the wireless access interface. Each of the distributed units 41, 42 are connected to a central unit (CU) 40 (which may be referred to as a controlling node) via an interface 46. The central unit 40 is then connected to the core network 20 (which may be for example referred to as 5GC) which may contain all other functions required to transmit data for communicating to and from the wireless communications devices and the core network 20 may be connected to other networks 30.

[0037] The elements of the wireless access network shown in Figure 2 may operate in a similar way to corresponding elements of an LTE network as described with regard to the example of Figure 1. It will be appreciated that operational aspects of the telecommunications network represented in Figure 2, and of other networks discussed herein in accordance with embodiments of the disclosure, which are not specifically described (for example in relation to specific communication protocols and physical channels for communicating between different elements) may be implemented in accordance with any known techniques, for example according to currently used approaches for implementing such operational aspects of wireless telecommunications systems, e.g. in accordance with the relevant standards.

[0038] The TRPs 10 of Figure 2 may in part have a corresponding functionality to a base station or eNodeB of an LTE network. Similarly, the communications devices 14 may have a functionality corresponding to the UE devices 4 known for operation with an LTE network. It will be appreciated therefore that operational aspects of a new RAT network (for example in relation to specific communication protocols and physical channels for communicating between different elements) may be different to those known from LTE or other known mobile telecommunications standards. However, it will also be appreciated that each of the core network component, base stations and communications devices of a new RAT network will be functionally similar to, respectively, the core network component, base stations and communications devices of an LTE wireless communications network.

[0039] In terms of broad top-level functionality, the core network 20 connected to the new RAT telecommunications system represented in Figure 2 may be broadly considered to correspond with the core network 2 represented in Figure 1, and the respective central units 40 and their associated distributed units / TRPs 10 may be broadly considered to provide functionality corresponding to the base stations 1 of Figure 1. The term network infrastructure equipment / access node may be used to encompass these elements and more conventional base station type elements of wireless telecommunications systems. Depending on the application at hand the responsibility for scheduling transmissions which are scheduled on the radio interface between the respective distributed units and the communications devices may lie with the controlling node / central unit and / or the distributed units / TRPs. A communications device 14 is represented in Figure 2 within the coverage area of the first communication cell 12. This communications device 14 may thus exchange signalling with the first central unit 40 in the first communication cell 12 via one of the distributed units / TRPs 10 associated with the first communication cell 12.

[0040] It will further be appreciated that Figure 2 represents merely one example of a proposed architecture for a new RAT based telecommunications system in which approaches in accordance with the principles described herein may be adopted, and the functionality disclosed herein may also be applied in respect of wireless telecommunications systems having different architectures. Thus, certain embodiments of the disclosure as discussed herein may be implemented in wireless telecommunication systems / networks according to various different architectures, such as the example architectures shown in Figures 1 and 2. It will thus be appreciated the specific wireless telecommunications architecture in any given implementation is not of primary significance to the principles described herein. In this regard, certain embodiments of the disclosure may be described generally in the context of communications between network infrastructure equipment / access nodes and a communications device, wherein the specific nature of the network infrastructure equipment / access node and the communications device will depend on the network infrastructure for the implementation at hand. For example, in some scenarios the network infrastructure equipment / access node may comprise a base station, such as an LTE-type base station 1 as shown in Figure 1 which is adapted to provide functionality in accordance with the principles described herein, and in other examples the network infrastructure equipment may comprise a control unit / controlling node 40 and / or a TRP 10 of the kind shown in Figure 2 which is adapted to provide functionality in accordance with the principles described herein.

[0041] A more detailed diagram of some of the components of the network shown in Figure 2 is provided by Figure 3. In Figure 3, a TRP 10 as shown in Figure 2 comprises, as a simplified representation, a wireless transmitter 30, a wireless receiver 32 and a controller or controlling processor 34 which may operate to control the transmitter 30 and the wireless receiver 32 to transmit and receive radio signals to one or more UEs 14 within a cell 12 formed by the TRP 10. As shown in Figure 3, an example UE 14 is shown to include a corresponding transmitter 49, a receiver 48 and a controller 44 which is configured to control the transmitter 49 and the receiver 48 to transmit signals representing uplink data to the wireless communications network via the wireless access interface formed by the TRP 10 and to receive downlink data as signals transmitted by the transmitter 30 and received by the receiver 48 in accordance with the conventional operation.

[0042] The transmitters 30, 49 and the receivers 32, 48 (as well as other transmitters, receivers and transceivers described in relation to examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may include radio frequency filters and amplifiers as well as signal processing components and devices in order to transmit and receive radio signals in accordance for example with the 5G / NR standard. The controllers 34, 44 (as well as other controllers described in relation to examples and embodiments of the present disclosure) may be, for example, a microprocessor, a CPU, or a dedicated chipset, etc., configured to carry out instructions which are stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-volatile memory. The processing steps described herein may be carried out by, for example, a microprocessor in conjunction with a random access memory, operating according to instructions stored on a computer readable medium. The transmitters, the receivers and the controllers are schematically shown in Figure 3 as separate elements for ease of representation. However, it will be appreciated that the functionality of these elements can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s), or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s) / circuitry / chip(s) / chipset(s). As will be appreciated the infrastructure equipment / TRP / base station as well as the UE / communications device will in general comprise various other elements associated with its operating functionality.

[0043] As shown in Figure 3, the TRP 10 also includes a network interface 50 which connects to the DU 42 via a physical interface 16. The network interface 50 therefore provides a communication link for data and signalling traffic from the TRP 10 via the DU 42 and the CU 40 to the core network 20.

[0044] The interface 46 between the DU 42 and the CU 40 is known as the F 1 interface which can be a physical or a logical interface. The Fl interface 46 between CU and DU may operate in accordance with 3GPP technical specifications [2] and [3], and may be formed from a fibre optic or other wired or wireless high bandwidth connection. In one example the connection 16 from the TRP 10 to the DU 42 is via fibre optic. The connection between a TRP 10 and the core network 20 can be generally referred to as a backhaul, which comprises the interface 16 from the network interface 50 of the TRP 10 to the DU 42 and the Fl interface 46 from the DU 42 to the CU 40.

[0045] As will be appreciated by those acquainted with 5G architecture, the CU 40 may be a logical node which hosts Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocols, Service Data Adaptation Protocols (SDAP), and Packet Data Convergence Protocols (PDCP) of a gNB. Alternatively, the CU 40 may be a logical node which hosts RRC and PDCP protocols of an en-gNB (which is a gNB that is able to connect with both EPC and eNBs and can be understood as being, for example, a secondary node (SgNB) used in dual connectivity scenarios). The CU 40 partly controls the operation of one or more DUs 40 and terminates the Fl interface 46 for the DUs that it controls. The DU 42 may be a logical node which hosts Radio Eink Control (RLC), Medium Access Control (MAC), and Physical (PHY) layers of a gNB or en-gNB. The operation of the DU 42 is partly controlled by the CU 40 for which the DU 42 terminates the F 1 interface 46.

[0046] Although not shown in Figures 2 or 3, it will be familiar to those acquainted with 5G architecture that the CU 40 may be further split into a CU-CP which performs the control plane functions of the CU 40 and a CU-UP which performs the user plane functions of the CU 40 (see for example, [4]). In more detail, the CU-CP may be a logical node hosting an RRC protocol and a control plane part of a PDCP protocol of the CU 40 for the gNB or en-gNB. The CU-CP terminates an El interface connected with the CU-UP and an Fl-C interface connected with the DU 42. As will be appreciated, the Fl-C interface carries control plane signalling of the Fl interface 46. The CU-UP may be a logical node which hosts a user plane part of a PDCP protocol of the CU 40 for an en-gNB. Alternatively, the CU-UP may be a logical node which hosts a user plane part of the PDCP protocol and an SDAP protocol of the CU 40 for a gNB. The CU-UP terminates an El interface connected with the CU-CP and an Fl-U interface connected with the DU 42. As will be appreciated, the Fl-U interface carries user plane signalling of the Fl interface 46.

[0047] In order to appreciate example embodiments, a protocol stack for forming a conventional F 1 interface shown in Figure 2 and 3 will be explained with reference to Figures 4A, 4B, and 4C. In respect of a protocol stack, Figures 4A, 4B, and 4C provide an illustration of processing performed by the elements shown in Figures 2 and 3 which form the packet data communications path 46 between the gNB-DU 42 and the gNB-CU 40 via the Fl interface 46. Control plane communications are considered separately to user plane data, although in practice they form the same interface and are processed and transmitted by the same hardware equipment.

[0048] As shown in Figure 4 A, communication is formed between the gNB DU 42 and a gNB CU 40 for the Fl interface 46. However, the control plane protocol stack to form this interface is shown in Figure 4B, and the user plane protocol stack for communicating the user data between the gNB-CU 40 and gNB-DU 42 is shown in Figure 4C. As shown in Figure 4B, at the radio network layer, the control plane is formed by Fl Application Protocols (FlAPs) 301a in the gNB-CU 40 and by Fl APs 301b in the gNB DU 42. As will be understood by those acquainted with the 5G Architecture, communication between a gNB-CU and a gNB DU is by IPv6 or IPv4 Internet protocols as specified in [5], This is shown in Figure 4B as an IP layer 302a in the gNB-CU 40 and an IP layer 302b in the gNB-DU 42, forming an IP communication interface 302c. A Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) layer of the protocol stack 304a, 304b, 304c controls end to end communication via the IP layer 302 including flow control and quality of service. The IP data is communicated between the gNB DU and gNB CU via logical data link layer 306a, 306b, 306c and the physical layer 308a, 308b, 308c. In the user plane, the radio network layer is formed by RLC layer 320a, 320b to form the Fl interface for communicating use plane data 46. The protocol stack in the transport layer comprises a General Packet Ratio Service (GPRS) Tunnelling Protocol for user plane data (GTP-U) 322a, 322b, 322c, which controls communication of user plane data for roaming and home subscribers via a UDP layer 324a, 324b, 324c which controls communication of user plane data via an IP layer 326a, 326b, 326c. As with the control plane, the IP data is communicated between the gNB DU and gNB CU via logical data link layer 328a, 328b, 328c and the physical layer 330a, 330b, 330c.

[0049] CU-DU Split Functions

[0050] As indicated above, the CU 40 and DU 42 are configured to execute gNB functionality. The allocation or splitting of gNB functions between the CU 40 and the DU 42 is discussed in [6] . Such gNB functions include:

[0051] • Functions for Radio Resource Management: Radio Bearer Control, Radio Admission Control, Connection Mobility Control, Dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink and downlink (scheduling);

[0052] • IP and Ethernet header compression, encryption and integrity protection of data;

[0053] • Selection of an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF) at UE attachment when no routing to an AMF can be determined from the information provided by the UE;

[0054] • Routing of User Plane data towards User Plane Functions (UPFs);

[0055] • Routing of Control Plane information towards AMF;

[0056] • Connection setup and release;

[0057] • Scheduling and transmission of paging messages;

[0058] • Scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (originated from the AMF or 0AM);

[0059] • Measurement and measurement reporting configuration for mobility and scheduling;

[0060] • Transport level packet marking in the uplink;

[0061] • Session Management;

[0062] • Support of Network Slicing;

[0063] • QoS Flow management and mapping to data radio bearers;

[0064] • Support of UEs in RRC INACTIVE state;

[0065] • Distribution function for NAS messages;

[0066] • Radio access network sharing;

[0067] • Dual Connectivity;

[0068] • Tight interworking between NR and E-UTRA; and

[0069] • Maintain security and radio configuration for User Plane Cellular Internet of Things (CIoT) 5GS Optimisation, as defined in [7] (ng-eNB only).

[0070] All functions listed above, except for the final function, can be performed by gNBs and ng-eNBs while the final function relating to the maintenance of security and radio configurations is performed by ng- eNBs only. As those skilled in the art would understand, an ng-eNB is an eNB which connects 5G UEs to the 5G core network using 4G LTE air interface. Furthermore, bandwidth reduced low complexity (BL) UEs or UEs in enhanced coverage are only supported by ng-eNBs (see, for example, [8]). Additionally, NB-IoT UE is only supported by ng-eNBs (see, for example, [8]).

[0071] As will be appreciated, 5G networks are currently deployed in millimetre wave band. However, due to the higher communication bandwidths that can be achieved at higher frequencies, there is an increased demand for wireless communications at higher frequencies in 5G networks. The use of higher frequencies in wireless communications leads to increased path loss and therefore smaller cell sizes than if lower frequencies were used. As a result, in order to achieve suitable coverage, a dense deployment of networks may be required.

[0072] A dense deployment of networks creates a number of technical challenges for the current 5G architecture as explained with reference to Figures 2 and 3. For example, as mentioned previously, the DU 42 and the CU 40 may be connected over a wired connection 46 such as fibre optic. Therefore, a dense deployment of networks may increase the number of required wired connections which may not always be possible. Furthermore, the use of wired connections 46 between the CU 40 and the DU may lead to increased latency due to current topology designs. For example, as will be appreciated from Figure 2, two DUs 41, 42 are connected to the CU 40 via wired connections 46 in a “tree topology”. Therefore, if any direct signalling is required between two cells 12 (for example, one cell provided by DU 41 and one cell provided by DU 42) then such signalling must propagate via the CU 40. This can lead to congestion and increased latency, especially when a large number of cells are deployed in close proximity, such as in dense deployment scenarios.

[0073] Furthermore, as will be explained in more detail with reference to Figure 5, a higher cell density creates technical challenges in providing cell mobility and interference management. Figure 5 illustrates a split of gNB functionality between a CU-CP 40a, CU-UP 40b and the DU 42 according to current 5G architectures. The CU-CP 40a and CU-UP 40b are logical nodes which perform the functions of the CU 40 described with reference to Figures 2, 3, and 4. As shown in Figure 5, the CU-CP 40a is configured to perform radio resource management (RRM) functions 402, Radio Resource Control (RRC) functions 403, Packet Data Convergence Protocol Control Plane (PDCP-CP) functions 404, Security functions 406, Non-Access Stratum (NAS) functions 408, user equipment (UE) context functions 410, and Quality of Service (QoS) functions 412. The CU-UP 40b is configured to perform Packet Data Convergent Protocol User Plane (PDCP-UP) functions 414. The DU 42 is configured to perform REC functions 416, MAC functions 418, PHY functions 420. As will be appreciated, a scheduler in the DU 42 may be implemented based on the guidelines as mentioned in section 10 of [6],

[0074] Conventional Handover (HO)

[0075] A detailed illustration of a wireless communications network in which a handover may be performed is shown in Figure 6. As will be appreciated from Figure 6, a communications device 502 is handed over from a source cell provided by a source infrastructure equipment 504 to a target cell provided by the target infrastructure equipment 506. The source and target cells are not shown in Figure 6 for clarity, although it will be appreciated that the source and target cells may broadly correspond to cells 3, 12 as discussed in relation to Figures 1 and 2 above. The source infrastructure equipment 504 and target infrastructure equipment 506 form part of a radio access network to a core network 508. As will be appreciated the communications device 502 is an example of a communications device such as the MT 4 of Figure 1 or the UE 14 of Figures 2 and 3.

[0076] Before the handover, the communications device 502 transmits signals on an uplink UL and receives signals on a downlink DL from a source infrastructure equipment 504. The source infrastructure equipment 504 and the target infrastructure equipment 506 may each be thought of as a gNB 101 or a combination of a controlling node 221 and TRP 211. Before the handover, the communications device 502 is shown to transmit uplink data to the source infrastructure equipment 504 via uplink resources UL of a wireless access interface as illustrated generally by dashed arrow 574b to the source infrastructure equipment 504. The communications device 502 may similarly be configured to receive downlink data transmitted by the source infrastructure equipment 504 via downlink resources DL as indicated by dashed arrow 588b from the source infrastructure equipment 504 to the communications device 502. After the handover, the communications device 502 is shown to transmit uplink data to the target infrastructure equipment 506 via uplink resources UL of a wireless access interface as illustrated generally by solid arrow 588a to the target infrastructure equipment 506. The communications device 502 may similarly be configured to receive downlink data transmitted by the target infrastructure equipment 506 via downlink resources DL as indicated by solid arrow 574a from the target infrastructure equipment 506 to the communications device 502.

[0077] In Figure 6, the source and target infrastructure equipment 504, 506 are each connected to a core network 508 via interfaces 578, 579 to a controller 504c, 506c of the respective infrastructure equipment 504. The source and target infrastructure equipment 504, 506 each include a receiver 504b, 506b connected to an antenna 504d, 506d and a transmitter 504a, 506a connected to the antenna 504d, 506d. Correspondingly, the communications device 502 includes a controller 502c connected to a receiver 502b which receives signals from an antenna 502d and a transmitter 502a also connected to the antenna 502d.

[0078] The controllers 504c, 506c are configured to control the source and target infrastructure equipment 504, 506 respectively and may comprise processor circuitry which may in turn comprise various sub-units / sub-circuits for providing functionality as explained further herein. These sub-units may be implemented as discrete hardware elements or as appropriately configured functions of the processor circuitry. Thus, the controllers 504c, 506c may comprise circuitry which is suitably configured / programmed to provide the desired functionality using conventional programming / configuration techniques for equipment in wireless telecommunications systems. The transmitters 504a, 506a and the receivers 504b, 506b may comprise signal processing and radio frequency filters, amplifiers and circuitry in accordance with conventional arrangements. The transmitters 504a, 506a the receivers 504b, 506b and the controllers 504c, 506c are schematically shown in Figure 6 as separate elements for ease of representation. However, it will be appreciated that the functionality of these elements can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s), or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s) / circuitry / chip(s) / chipset(s). As will be appreciated the infrastructure equipment 504 will in general comprise various other elements associated with its operating functionality.

[0079] Correspondingly, the controller 502c of the communications device 502 is configured to control the transmitter 502a and the receiver 502b and may comprise processor circuitry which may in turn comprise various sub-units / sub-circuits for providing functionality as explained further herein. These sub-units may be implemented as discrete hardware elements or as appropriately configured functions of the processor circuitry. Thus the controller 502c may comprise circuitry which is suitably configured / programmed to provide the desired functionality using conventional programming / configuration techniques for equipment in wireless telecommunications systems. Likewise, the transmitter 502a and the receiver 502b may comprise signal processing and radio frequency filters, amplifiers and circuitry in accordance with conventional arrangements. The transmitters 502a, receivers 502b, and controllers 502c are schematically shown in Figure 6 as separate elements for ease of representation. However, it will be appreciated that the functionality of these elements can be provided in various different ways, for example using one or more suitably programmed programmable computer(s), or one or more suitably configured application-specific integrated circuit(s) / circuitry / chip(s) / chipset(s). As will be appreciated the communications device 502 will in general comprise various other elements associated with its operating functionality, for example a power source, user interface, and so forth, but these are not shown in Figure 6 in the interests of simplicity. The controllers 504c, 502c may be configured to carry out instructions which are stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non-volatile memory. The processing steps described herein may be carried out by, for example, a microprocessor in conjunction with a random access memory, operating according to instructions stored on a computer readable medium.

[0080] Conventional Conditional Handover (CHO)

[0081] Aspects of NR are concerned with mobility enhancements and in particular with increasing mobility robustness for new services which require low latency and high reliability performance (such as URLLC). Situations may arise where a cell currently serving a UE may no longer be suitable or a radio link between the UE and a source gNB providing coverage in the cell is degraded. In such situations, it is generally desirable for the UE to switch to being served by a cell of a target gNB. One way of configuring a handover of a UE from a source gNB to a target gNB is referred to as a “conditional handover”.

[0082] An example of a conditional handover (CHO) is illustrated in Figure 7 which is reproduced from [6], the contents of which are incorporated by reference in their entirety. Figure 7 schematically represents communications in a wireless communications network between the communications device 502, the source infrastructure equipment 504, the target infrastructure equipment 506, other potential target infrastructure equipment 511, an Access Mobility and Mobility Management Function (AMF) 512 and a User Plane Function (UPF) 514. In Figure 7, the source infrastructure equipment 504, the target infrastructure equipment 506, other potential target infrastructure equipment 511 are depicted as “gNBs”, although it will be appreciated that other infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network could be used (such as eNBs for example). The AMF 512 and UPF 514 are functions in a core network of the wireless communications network (such as core network 508).

[0083] As shown in Figure 7, before a handover, the communications device 502 communicates user plane data with the AMF 512 and UPF 514 via the source infrastructure equipment 504. In step 0, the AMF 512 provides mobility control information to the source infrastructure equipment 504. In step 1, the communications device 502 reports measurements to the source infrastructure equipment 504. Such measurements may include measurements performed by the communications device 502 such as a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) and / or a Signal- to-Interference Ratio (SINR) of reference signals from the source infrastructure equipment 504, the target infrastructure equipment 506 and / or the other potential target infrastructure equipment 511. In step 2, the source infrastructure equipment 504 determines to configure the communications device 502 for a conditional handover. In step 3, the source infrastructure equipment 504 transmits a handover request to the target infrastructure equipment 506 and the other potential target infrastructure equipment 511. In response, in step 4, the target infrastructure equipment 506 and the other potential target infrastructure equipment 511 perform admission control. Then, in step 5, the target infrastructure equipment 506 and the other potential target infrastructure equipment 511 transmit a handover request acknowledgement to the source infrastructure equipment 504.

[0084] In response to receiving the handover request acknowledgement, the source infrastructure equipment 504 transmits, in step 6, a conditional handover configuration message to the communications device 502. The conditional handover configuration message may be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration message. The conditional handover configuration message includes one or more conditions for triggering a handover of the communications device 502 from a source cell provided by the source infrastructure equipment 504. For example, the one or more conditions in the conditional handover configuration message may include one or more conditions to be met for triggering a handover to target cell provided by the target infrastructure equipment 506 and one or more other conditions to be met for triggering a handover to the other target cells provided by other potential target infrastructure equipment 511. The conditions included in the conditional handover configuration message are explained in more detail below. After receiving the conditional handover configuration message, the communications device 502 transmits an RRC reconfiguration complete message to the source infrastructure equipment 504. After receiving the conditional handover configuration message, the communications device 502 may continuously or periodically evaluate the conditions included in the handover configuration message for triggering the handover to determine whether the conditions for triggering the handover have been met.

[0085] When the communications device 502 determines that conditions for triggering the handover have been met, the communications device 502 initiates the handover. For example, the communications device 502 detaches from the source cell provided by the source infrastructure equipment 504 and attaches to the target cell provided by the target infrastructure equipment 506. In the example shown in Figure 7, the communications device 502 determines that the conditions for triggering a handover to the target infrastructure equipment 506 are met. While the communications device 502 is evaluating the conditions, the source infrastructure equipment 604 transmits an early status transfer to the other potential target infrastructure equipment in step 7a, and subsequent user data from the UPF 514 is routed to the other potential target infrastructure equipment 511 via the source infrastructure equipment 504. In step 8, the target infrastructure equipment 506 determines that the handover of the communications device 502 from the source cell provided by the source infrastructure equipment 504 to the target cell provided by the target infrastructure equipment 506 has been successful.

[0086] In response, the target infrastructure equipment 506 transmits a handover success message to the source infrastructure equipment 504 in step 8a. In step 8b, the source infrastructure equipment 504 transmits an SN status transfer message to the target infrastructure equipment 506. Subsequent user data from the UPF 514 to the source infrastructure equipment is routed to the target infrastructure equipment 506. In step 8c, a handover cancel message is transmitted from the source infrastructure equipment 504 to the target infrastructure equipment and the other potential target infrastructure equipment 511.

[0087] As mentioned above in step 6 of Figure 7, the source infrastructure equipment 504 may transmit a conditional handover configuration message to the communications device 502 including one or more conditions for triggering the handover.

[0088] An example of a condition to be met for triggering a handover of the communications device 502 is “event A3” based on Layer 3 (L3) measurement. The condition defined by event A3 is met if a signal quality of a cell provided by a neighbouring infrastructure equipment (for example, the target infrastructure equipment 506 or the other potential target infrastructure equipment 511) becomes a predefined offset higher than the signal quality of a cell provided by the source infrastructure equipment 504. Another example of a condition to be met for triggering a handover of the communications device 502 is “event A4” based on L3 measurement. The condition defined by event A4 is met if the signal quality of the cell provided by the neighbouring infrastructure equipment is greater than an absolute threshold. Another example of a condition to be met for triggering a handover of the communications device 502 is “event A5” based on L3 measurement. The condition defined by event A5 is met if the signal quality of the cell provided by the source infrastructure equipment 504 is less than an absolute threshold and the signal quality of the neighbouring infrastructure equipment is greater than an absolute threshold.

[0089] The “signal quality” mentioned above in respect of the definitions of events A3, A4 and A5 may be measured by the communications device 502 using one or more signal quality parameters such as RSRP, RSRQ and SINR. For example, the communications device 502 may determine that condition outlined in event A3 may be met if a measured RSRP of the cell provided by the neighbouring infrastructure equipment becomes a pre-defined offset higher than the measured RSRP for the cell provided by the source infrastructure equipment 504. In another example, may determine that condition outlined in event A3 is met if a measured RSRP and RSRQ of the cell provided by the neighbouring infrastructure equipment each respectively become a pre-defined offset higher than the measured RSRP and RSRQ for the cell provided by the source infrastructure equipment 504. In Release-16 of standards of the 3GPP group, only one reference signal type and measurements of at most two signal quality parameters are supported in determining whether event A3, A4 and / or A5 are met.

[0090] Each of events A3, A4 and A5 therefore each represent a condition for triggering a handover of the communications device 502 from the source infrastructure equipment 504. In order to trigger the handover, it may be sufficient that only one condition included in the conditional handover configuration message is met, or the triggering of the handover may require more than one or all of the conditions in the conditional handover configuration message to be met. In one example, only event A3 is included as a condition and the handover is triggered if event A3 is met. In another example, both events A3 and A4 are included as conditions and the handover is triggered if either event A3 or A4 is met. In another example, both events A3 and A4 are included as conditions and the handover is triggered if both events A3 or A4 are met.

[0091] Layer 1 / Layer 2 Triggered Mobility (LTM)

[0092] Release 18 of the 3GPP standards specified intra-CU - both intra-DU and inter-DU - Ll / 2 Triggered Mobility (LTM). LTM may alternatively stand for “Lower-layer Triggered Mobility”. The operation of LTM itself will be described in more detail in the paragraphs below, but in simplistic terms, as would be well understood by those skilled in the art, LTM refers to UE mobility which is controlled entirely by layer 1 (i.e. the physical layer) and layer 2 (i.e. the data link layer, or more specifically, MAC layer) of the 5G protocol stack. Both intra-DU and inter-DU LTM (both intra-CU) can be understood with reference to Figure 8. As can be seen in the example of Figure 8, two DUs 82, 83 are connected to a single CU 81. Each DU 82, 83 supports two cells, with DU 82 supporting cells 84 and 85, and DU 83 supporting cells 86 and 87. In intra-CU LTM a UE is handed over between a source and target cell which are both under control (via the same or separate DUs) of the same CU, such as CU 81 of Figure 8. For intra-DU LTM, handover may be triggered and controlled by layers 1 and 2 for a UE between cells 84 and 85 (controlled by the same DU 82) or cells 86 and 87 (controlled by the same DU 83). For inter-DU LTM, handover may be triggered and controlled by layers 1 and 2 for a UE between one of cells 84 and 85 (controlled by DU 82) and one of cells 86 and 87 (controlled by DU 83) - e.g., inter-DU LTM may involve the UE handing over from cell 87 to cell 84. Inter-CU LTM is not yet specified in the 3GPP standards at the priority date of the present disclosure, but is expected to be specified in Release 19 of the 3 GPP standards.

[0093] A proposed message sequence for LTM is as shown in Figure 9, which is reproduced from [6] in which it is included as Figure 9.2.3.5.2-1. The detailed procedure for LTM, as shown in Figure 9, is described in [6], and the description of Figure 9 in the paragraph below is based on that description in [6] and included herein for the purpose of aiding a better understanding of LTM.

[0094] In step 1, the UE 91 (while in RRC_CONNECTED mode) sends a MeasurementReport message based on L3 measurement to the gNB 92. The gNB 92 decides to use LTM and initiates candidate cell(s) preparation. In step 2, the gNB 92 transmits an RRCReconfiguration message to the UE 91 including the LTM candidate cell configurations of one or multiple candidate cells. In step 3, the UE 91 stores the LTM candidate cell configurations and transmits a RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the gNB 92. In step 4a, the UE 91 may perform DL synchronisation with candidate cell(s) before receiving the cell switch command, and in step 4b, the UE 91 may perform early timing advance (TA) acquisition with candidate cell(s) before receiving the cell switch command. This is done via Contention Free Random Access (CFRA) triggered by a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) order from the source cell, following which the UE 91 sends a preamble towards a candidate cell. The information that identifies the allocated CFRA resource can be indicated in the PDCCH order to enable shared preamble resource among multiple UEs 91. In order to minimize the data interruption of the source cell due to CFRA towards the candidate cell(s), the UE 91 either receives a Random Access Response (RAR) from the source cell instead of the candidate cell or doesn’t receive a RAR at all. Whether a RAR needs to be received is configured by the network and specific per each candidate cell. If RAR is not needed, the TA value of the candidate cell is indicated in the cell switch command.

[0095] In step 5, the UE 91 performs LI measurements on the configured candidate cell(s), and transmits lower- layer measurement reports to the gNB 92. Then, in step 6, the gNB 92 decides to execute cell switch to a target cell, and transmits a MAC control element (CE) triggering cell switch by including the candidate configuration index of the target cell. The UE 91 switches to the configuration of the target cell. In step 7, the UE 91 performs a random-access procedure towards the target cell, if the cell switch needs to include the performance of such a random-access procedure. Finally, in step 8, the UE 91 completes the LTM cell switch procedure by sending an RRCReconfigurationComplete message to the target cell. For random access (RACH)-based LTM, the UE 91 considers that LTM execution procedure is successfully completed when the random-access procedure itself is successfully completed. For RACH-less LTM, the UE 91 considers that LTM execution procedure is successfully completed when the UE 91 determines that the network has successfully received its first UL data. The UE 91 can perform steps 4 to 8 as shown in Figure 9 multiple times for subsequent LTM cell switch based on the configuration provided in step 2.

[0096] The measurement report message transmitted in step 1 is typically periodically transmitted. Periodic transmission of the report message leads to a high signalling overhead. For example, several successive transmissions of the measurement report message may indicate only small or no differences in the measurements contained in the measurement report. Consequently, periodic transmission of the measurement report message may lead to a decrease in communications efficiency.

[0097] To reduce signalling overhead, one of the objectives in the Release 19 mobility WID (

[0010] ) is to specify support for event triggered LI measurement reporting. The followings are the LTM events being considered in event trigger-based measurement report in LTM:

[0098] Event LTM2: Beam of serving cell becomes worse than absolute threshold;

[0099] Event LTM3: Beam of candidate cell becomes amount of offset better than beam of serving cell;

[0100] Event LTM4: Beam of candidate cell becomes better than absolute threshold;

[0101] Event LTM5: Beam of serving cell becomes worse than absolute thresholdl AND Beam of candidate cell becomes better than another absolute threshold2.

[0102] UE-initiated beam management

[0103] In the Release 19 MIMO Work Item Description (WID) ([9]), 3GPP agreed the following objective for RAN 1:

[0104] Specify enhancement to facilitate UE-initiated / event-driven beam management for reducing overhead and / or latency, assuming the unified TCI while leveraging (as much as possible) legacy CSI measurement and reporting configuration frameworks, targeting FR2 and sTRP with intra- and inter-cell beam management a. UL signaling content(s) (and procedure(s) as required) for UE-initiated / event-driven beam reporting facilitating fast beam switching b. UL signaling medium / container considering the UE-initiated / event-driven nature of the UL transmission, designed primarily for the purpose of beam reporting In conventional NR systems, beam management is typically initiated by gNB. In Release 19, to reduce latency for beam management as well as signalling overhead, UE-initiated beam management is being specified. Two types of UE-initiated beam management (mode A and mode B) are being considered.

[0105] Figure 10 is a flow diagram illustrating mode A UE-initiated beam management.

[0106] In step SI 02, a gNB of a wireless communications network transmits a UE-initiated beam management configuration to a UE. The UE-initiated beam management configuration indicates one event (alternatively referred to as a “beam quality condition”) for the UE to evaluate.

[0107] The event may be any one of events 1-9 below:

[0108] Event- 1 : Quality of the current beam is worse than a certain threshold.

[0109] Event-2: Quality of at least one candidate beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the current beam.

[0110] Event-3 : Quality of a candidate beam is better than a certain threshold.

[0111] Event-4: Quality of the current beam is worse than a threshold 1, and quality of at least one candidate beam is better than a threshold 2.

[0112] Event-5 : Absolute value of the difference between the quality of the current beam and the quality of at least one candidate beam is lower than a threshold.

[0113] Event-6: When the current beam is not in the best K>1 beams (out of configured beams for measurement and reporting).

[0114] Event-7a: Quality of at least one candidate beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the RS derived from the activated TCI state with the worst quality.

[0115] Event-7b: Quality of at least one new beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the reference signal derived from the activated TCI state with the best quality. Event-8: Quality of M>1 candidate beams, such as Ll-RSRP, become a threshold value better than the current beam.

[0116] Event-9: Quality of at least one candidate beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the configured reference signal (can be SSB or CSI-RS).

[0117] In step SI 04, the UE evaluates the event and determines that the event is satisfied.

[0118] In step SI 06, the UE transmits, to the gNB, an event evaluation report to the gNB indicating that the event was satisfied. The event evaluation report may be transmitted in a PUCCH, for example (e.g. a one- bit or multi-bit PUCCH). In mode A, the event evaluation report also comprises a request for an allocation of uplink resources for transmitting a measurement report. In some examples, the event evaluation report may be transmitted only when at least one of the events is satisfied and is not transmitted when none of the events are satisfied. In other examples, the event evaluation report may be always periodically transmitted regardless of whether any event is satisfied.

[0119] The event evaluation report may also be referred to as a “condition evaluation report”.

[0120] In step SI 07, the gNB transmits, to the UE, an indication of the uplink resources allocated for transmitting the measurement report. For example, the gNB may transmit a DCI indicating the uplink resources for transmitting the measurement report. The measurement report comprises beam information regarding the beams used in evaluating the event. For example, the beam information may comprise one or more of: Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, CSI-RS resource set index (CRI), and SSB index (SSBI) for the current beam being used by the UE and / or a candidate beam.

[0121] In step SI 08, the UE determines the allocated uplink resources from the indication received from the gNB in step SI 07, and the UE transmits the measurement report to the gNB in the allocated uplink resources.

[0122] In step SI 10, based on the measurement report, the gNB determines to switch the beam the UE is using to communicate with wireless communications network. In step SI 12, the gNB transmits an indication of the beam switch to the UE. For example, the gNB an identification of the new beam which the UE should use for communicating with the wireless communications network.

[0123] In step SI 14, the UE switches the beam which it uses for communicating with the wireless communications network to the new beam.

[0124] In step SI 16, the UE transmits an acknowledgement to the gNB that the UE received the beam switch indication transmitted in step SI 12.

[0125] Figure 11 is a flow diagram illustrating mode B UE-initiated beam management. Mode B is largely the same as mode A, except that, in step SI 06, the UE does not comprise a request for an allocation of uplink resources for transmitting a measurement report. Accordingly, in mode B, the measurement reported in step S 108 is transmitted using uplink resources determined by the UE rather than uplink resources allocated by the gNB.

[0126] In both LTM, and UE-initiated beam management, it has been proposed to trigger measurement report once a single event is satisfied. However, there are limitations to using a single event to trigger a measurement report. For example, the use of a single event has limited flexibility, or may lead to poor beam switching or cell switching decisions (for example, in cases were the event is only associated with the quality of the current beam or only associated with the quality of a candidate beam), which may cause latency for beam switching or cell switching. Moreover, large latency for beam switching or cell switching may further cause beam failure or radio link failure.

[0127] There is therefore a need for improved methods, communications devices, and infrastructure equipment which can help address or mitigate the above issues.

[0128] In view of the above, there is provided a method of operating a communications device as illustrated in Figure 12. The method starts in step SI.

[0129] In step S2, the method comprises evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device.

[0130] Each of the plurality of beam quality conditions is associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure.

[0131] The beam quality conditions may be associated with a quality of one or more beams in the sense that the quality of one or more beams is used to evaluate an associated beam quality condition. For example, one of the beam quality conditions may be event 2 which, as mentioned above, requires that: Quality of at least one candidate beam, such as Ll-RSRP, becomes a threshold value better than the current beam. Accordingly, since the evaluation of event 2 requires a quality of a current beam and a candidate beam, event 2 may be said to be associated with the current beam and the candidate beam. As another example, one of the beam quality conditions may be event 1 which, as mentioned above, requires that: Quality of the current beam is worse than a certain threshold. Accordingly, since the evaluation of event 1 requires a quality of the current beam, event 1 may be said to be associated with the current beam.

[0132] In some embodiments, each of the beams provide a respective cell of the wireless communications network. In some embodiments, a particular cell is provided collectively by a plurality of the beams.

[0133] The infrastructure equipment may be a gNB, for example. In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment may comprise a plurality of apparatus such as gNBs, or a plurality of TRPs, and each of the plurality of apparatus provide a respective one of the beams. In some embodiments, the same apparatus (such as the same gNB) may provide a plurality of the beams. In some embodiments, where the infrastructure equipment provides a plurality of beams, the plurality of beams may comprise a current beam used by the communications cell for communicating with the infrastructure equipment and one or more candidate beams which are candidates to be used by the communications device for communicating with the infrastructure equipment.

[0134] In step S3, in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, the method comprises transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0135] In some embodiments, the measured quality of a beam comprises one or more of: Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, CSI-RS resource set index (CRI), and SSB index (SSBI) for the beam. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the beam information comprises one or more of: Ll-RSRP, Ll-SINR, CRI, and SSB index (SSBI) for one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions (e.g. the current beam and / or candidate beam).

[0136] The communications device may perform measurements on the one or more beams associated with the one or more evaluated beam quality conditions in order to determine the measured quality of the one or more beams in order to evaluate those beam quality conditions.

[0137] The measurement report may be transmitted in response to one of the evaluated beam quality conditions beam satisfied, some of the beam quality conditions being satisfied, or all of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied.

[0138] The method ends in step S4.

[0139] By configuring a plurality of beam quality conditions for the communications device, a greater amount of flexibility can be provided and better beam switching decisions can be made as will be appreciated from an understanding of the following detailed description.

[0140] Configuring a plurality of beam quality conditions

[0141] The plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device may comprise two or more events for UE-initiated beam management. For example, the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device may comprise two or more of events 1-9 discussed above in relation to UE-initiated beam management. Alternatively, or additionally, the plurality of beam quality conditions may comprise two or more events for LTM. For example, the plurality of beam quality conditions may comprise two or more of LTM2-LTM5 discussed above. Accordingly, the beam quality conditions configured for the communications device may alternatively be referred to as a number of events configured for the communications device.

[0142] In some embodiments, the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a plurality of beam quality conditions of the same type. For example, the same type of beam quality condition may be a beam quality condition which differs only in respect of the measurement quality threshold used in the beam quality condition. For example, two beam quality conditions may each comprise event-2. However, the threshold value used for each of the beam quality conditions of the same type is different.

[0143] In some embodiments, the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a plurality of beam quality conditions of different types. For example, one beam quality condition may comprise event-2 whereas another beam quality condition may comprise event 7a or event 7b.

[0144] In some embodiments, the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a plurality of beam quality conditions associated with a different type of measured quality. For example, one or more of the beam quality conditions may be associated with an RSRP, one or more others of the beam quality conditions may be associated with an RSRQ and one or more others of the beam quality conditions may be associated with SINR.

[0145] In some embodiments, the plurality of beam quality conditions may be a predetermined number (Nevent). The pre-determined number of beam quality conditions may be configured for the communications device by receiving an indication of the pre-determined number from the infrastructure equipment (for example, via RRC signalling) or the communications device may be preconfigured know the predetermined number of events (e.g. the predetermined number of events is fixed in specifications).

[0146] In some embodiments, the communications device is configured with a plurality of beam quality conditions only if the communications device is configured to communicate with multiple cells (e.g. a PCell, an SCell, and a PSCell).

[0147] Multiple Event Evaluation

[0148] In some embodiments, the communications device evaluates two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device. In some such embodiments, the communications device may evaluate all of the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device.

[0149] In some embodiments, the measurement report is transmitted in response to two or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied. In such embodiments, the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions. For example, if event 1 and event 2 are satisfied, the communications device may indicate a measured quality of the current beam and the candidate beam.

[0150] In some embodiments, the measurement report is transmitted in response to two or more satisfied beam quality conditions being satisfied at the same time.

[0151] In some embodiments, each of the plurality of beam quality conditions is associated with an evaluation priority. In such embodiments, the evaluated beam quality conditions are evaluated in order from the highest evaluation priority to the lowest evaluation priority.

[0152] In some embodiments, the communications device stops evaluating beam quality conditions once a predefined number of the evaluated beam quality conditions is satisfied. In such embodiments, the measurement report is transmitted in response to the predefined number of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates the measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the predefined number (Ntrigger) of satisfied beam quality conditions. Ntrigger may be one or more.

[0153] For example, if the communications device is configured with conditions A, B and C, with condition A having the highest priority and condition B having a higher priority than condition C, the communications device evaluates condition A first. If condition A is met and Ntrigger =1, then the communications device does not evaluate conditions B and C. If condition A is met and Ntrigger =2, then the communications device proceeds to evaluate condition B. If condition B is met, then the communications device does not evaluate condition C because 2 conditions have already been satisfied.

[0154] Duration of evaluation of beam quality conditions In some embodiments, at least one of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions is evaluated for a specified duration. The infrastructure equipment may transmit an indication of the specified duration to the communications device.

[0155] In some embodiments, the specified duration is specified in terms of: an absolute time, an absolute number of radio frames, or a system frame number (SFN). For example, where the specified duration is 10 msec, the specified duration may be specified in terms of the absolute time 10msec or in terms of 1 radio frame (which has a duration of 1ms, as will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art).

[0156] In some embodiments, the specified duration is the duration between a time at which one of the satisfied beam quality conditions is satisfied and the next uplink resource occasion. The uplink resource occasion may be a PUCCH occasion, for example. The next uplink resource occasion may be the next uplink resource occasion for transmitting the measurement report, or for transmitting a condition evaluation report, for example. Alternatively, the specified duration may be the duration between the time at which one of the satisfied beam quality condition is satisfied and a predetermined time before the next uplink occasion (e.g. a predefined number of symbols, or slots, or radio frames before the next uplink occasion).

[0157] In some embodiments, the specified duration is the time between successive Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) transmissions, or successive synchronisation signal block (SSB) transmissions, by the infrastructure equipment. The CSI-RSs, or SSBs, may be used for beam management, for example. In some embodiments, the specified duration is the time between a first time period used for CSI-RS (or SSB transmission) and a second time period used for CSI-RS (or SSB) transmission, where there are M time periods used for CSI-RS, or SSB, transmission between the first and the second time periods and M is an integer greater than or equal to 1. A CSI-RS time period may be 10 msec for example.

[0158] In some embodiments, at least two of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions are each evaluated for a respective specified duration, and the respective specified duration is different for each of the at least two of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions.

[0159] Condition Evaluation Report

[0160] In some embodiments, in response to the one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied and before the measurement report is transmitted, transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, a condition evaluation report comprising condition evaluation information indicating that the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions have been satisfied. The condition evaluation report may be transmitted in PUCCH resources, for example.

[0161] In some embodiments, the condition evaluation information comprises a bitmap indicating which of the evaluated conditions have been satisfied and which of the evaluated conditions have not been satisfied. For example, assume the communications device is configured with three conditions A, B and C. The condition evaluation information may comprise three bits indicating whether conditions A, B and C are satisfied or not. For example, if conditions A and C are satisfied, whilst condition B is not satisfied, then the condition evaluation information may indicate the following bitmap: “1 0 1”.

[0162] In some embodiments, the condition evaluation information comprises an index for each of the satisfied beam quality conditions. For example, if condition assume the communications device is configured with three conditions A, B and C which are associated with indexes 1, 2 and 3 respectively. If condition B is met, the condition evaluation information may indicate “1 0” which indicates an index of 2, thereby indicating that condition B has been satisfied.

[0163] In some embodiments, the condition evaluation report comprises a plurality of condition evaluation subreports. Each condition evaluation sub-report is transmitted in different uplink resources (such as different PUCCH resources). Two or more of the condition evaluation sub-reports indicate that a different one of the satisfied beam quality conditions has been satisfied. For example, assume the communications device is configured with three conditions A, B and C. The communications device may transmit a condition evaluation sub-report for condition A in a first set of uplink resources (e.g. “PUCCH A”), the communications device may transmit a condition evaluation sub-report for condition B in a second set of uplink resources (e.g. “PUCCH B”), and the communications device may transmit a condition evaluation sub-report for condition C in a third set of uplink resources (e.g. “PUCCH C”). Each condition evaluation sub-report may comprise one bit indicating whether or not the respective condition was satisfied. For example, the condition evaluation sub-report for condition A may indicate “1”, indicating that condition A was satisfied and the condition evaluation sub-report for condition B may indicate “0” indicating that condition B was not satisfied.

[0164] In some embodiments, the condition evaluation sub-report for A may not explicitly indicate that condition A was satisfied by indicating “1”. Instead, the transmission of the condition evaluation report for A in the first set of uplink resources is an implicit indication that condition A was satisfied. Similarly, the condition evaluation sub-report for B may not explicitly indicate that condition B was not satisfied by indicating “0”. Instead, the transmission of the condition evaluation report for B in the second set of uplink resources is an implicit indication that condition B was not satisfied. In other words, the set of uplink resources in which the condition evaluation sub-report for a condition is transmitted may implicitly indicate whether or not the condition was satisfied.

[0165] In some embodiments, one or more of the condition evaluation sub-reports may indicate whether or not a plurality of conditions have been satisfied. For example, assume the communications device is configured with three conditions A, B and C. A first set of uplink resources may be used for transmitting a condition evaluation sub-report for condition A and a second set of uplink resources may be used for transmitting a joint condition evaluation sub-report for condition B and C. For example, the condition evaluation subreport for condition A may comprise one bit indicating whether or not condition A was satisfied whereas the joint condition evaluation sub-report for condition B and C may comprise two bits indicating whether or not conditions B and / or C were satisfied.

[0166] Measurement Report

[0167] In some embodiments, at least one beam is associated two or more of the satisfied beam quality conditions. For example, the current beam used by the communications device for communicating with the infrastructure equipment may be associated with event 1 and event 2.

[0168] In some embodiments, the indication of the measured beam quality of the at least one beam comprises an indication of every measurement of the quality of the beam used for evaluating the two or more beam quality conditions. For example, in the evaluation of event 1, the communications device may determine the measured quality of the current beam in order to determine that the quality of the beam is below the threshold defined in event 1 and, in the evaluation of event 2, the communications device may determine the measured quality of the current beam and a candidate beam in order to determine that the quality of the candidate beam is a threshold amount (as defined in event 2) better than the quality of the current beam. In such embodiments, the communications device may report the measured quality of the current beam used to evaluate event 2 and the measured quality of the current beam used to evaluate beam 2 in addition to the measured quality of the candidate beam used to evaluated event 2.

[0169] In some embodiments, where the at least one beam is associated with two or more of the satisfied beam quality conditions, the indication of the measured beam quality of the at least one beam is transmitted only once in the measurement report. In other words, the communications device removes redundant information from the measurement report to reduce signalling overhead. For example, using the example provided above, the communications device may transmit the measured quality of the current beam in the measurement report only once (in addition to the measured quality of the candidate beam), even though the measured quality of the current beam is used for evaluating both event 1 and event 2.

[0170] In some embodiments, the measurement report comprises a plurality of measurement sub-reports. Each measurement sub-report may be transmitted in different uplink resources. One of the measurement subreports comprises an indication of a measured quality of one or more beams associated with one of the satisfied beam quality conditions and another of the measurement sub-reports comprises an indication of a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with a different one of the satisfied beam quality conditions. Alternatively, only one measurement is transmitted in one set of uplink resources, and the measurement report comprises beam information for all of the satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0171] In some embodiments (for example, where the communications device operates according to mode A UE initiated beam management), the infrastructure equipment may transmit information to the communications device indicating which uplink resources should be used for transmitting which measurement sub-report. In some embodiments (for example, where the communications device operates according to mode B UE initiated beam management), the infrastructure equipment may transmit information to the communications device indicating which uplink resources should be used for transmitting which measurement sub-report and which uplink resources should be used for transmitting a condition evaluation sub-report.

[0172] In some embodiments, the measurement report (and / or condition evaluation report) is transmitted in response to two or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied. The two or more satisfied beam quality conditions are satisfied at different times, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with a first of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions, and the measurement report does not indicate a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the other satisfied beam quality conditions. In such embodiments, the first satisfied beam quality condition is the one of the at two or more satisfied beam quality conditions which was satisfied at the earliest time.

[0173] In some embodiments, at least two of the evaluated two or more beam quality conditions are associated with a reporting priority, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with a first of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions, and the measurement report does not indicate a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the other satisfied beam quality conditions. In such embodiments, the first satisfied beam quality condition is the one of the at two or more satisfied beam quality conditions which has the highest reporting priority.

[0174] The reporting priority of the evaluated beam conditions may be known to the communications device because it is fixed in specifications, or the infrastructure equipment may transmit an indication of the reporting priority of the evaluated beam conditions to the communications device (for example, via RRC signalling). In some embodiments, the infrastructure equipment may transmit, to the communications device, an indication of one or more beam quality conditions for which associated beam information should be transmitted. For example, if the infrastructure equipment indicates to transmit beam information for event 2, then the communications device determines to transmit a measured quality of the current beam used by the communications for communicating with the infrastructure equipment and a candidate beam. If the communications device is operating according to mode A of UE-initiated beam management, then the DCI scheduling the uplink resources for transmitting the measurement report (for example, SI 028 in Figure 10) may comprise the indication of the one or more beam quality conditions for which associated beam information should be transmitted. If the communications device is operating according to mode B of UE-initiated beam management, the indication of one or more beam quality conditions for which associated beam information should be transmitted to the communications deice via a group-common DCI, for example.

[0175] In some embodiments, the method comprises commencing a reporting timer once the measurement report has been transmitted. The communications device determines that the reporting timer has expired without the communications device having received an indication to transmit a second measurement report. In response, the communications device determines not to report a measured quality of one or more beams associated with one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions which were not satisfied.

[0176] In some embodiments, the communications device measures a beam quality of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions and identifies a sub-set (Nbeam) of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions which have a higher measured beam quality than the others of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions. In such embodiments, beam information indicates the measured quality of the subset of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions. In other words, the communications device only reports measured quality of the best beams.

[0177] The number of beams in the subset (Nbeam) may be known to the communications device because it is fixed in specifications, or the infrastructure equipment may transmit an indication of Nbeam to the communications device (for example, via RRC signalling).

[0178] Applicability to LTM or UE-initiated beam management

[0179] In some embodiments, the method described in Figure 12 is performed as part of a beam management procedure initiated by the communications device. In such embodiments, the communications device may transmit a measurement report and a condition evaluation report. In such embodiments, the beam management may involve switching between beams within a cell.

[0180] In some embodiments, the measurement report is an LTM measurement report transmitted as part of an LTM mobility procedure. In such embodiments, each beam may provide a difference cell and the cell which the communications device uses to communicate with the infrastructure equipment may be switched as part of the LTM mobility procedure.

[0181] Those skilled in the art would further appreciate that such infrastructure equipment and / or communications devices as herein defined may be further defined in accordance with the various arrangements and embodiments discussed in the preceding paragraphs. It would be further appreciated by those skilled in the art that such infrastructure equipment and communications devices as herein defined and described may form part of communications systems other than those defined by the present disclosure. The following numbered paragraphs provide further example aspects and features of the present technique:

[0182] Paragraph 1. A method of operating a communications device, the method comprising evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, each of the plurality of beam quality conditions being associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure equipment, and, in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0183] Paragraph 2. A method according to paragraph 1, wherein the evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprises evaluating two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device.

[0184] Paragraph 3. A method according to paragraph 2, wherein the measurement report is transmitted in response to two or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0185] Paragraph 4. A method according to paragraph 3, wherein the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions are satisfied at the same time.

[0186] Paragraph 5. A method according to any of paragraphs 2 to 4, wherein each of the plurality of beam quality conditions is associated with an evaluation priority, and the evaluated beam quality conditions are evaluated in order from the highest evaluation priority to the lowest evaluation priority.

[0187] Paragraph 6. A method according to paragraph 5, wherein the communications device stops evaluating beam quality conditions once a predefined number of the evaluated beam quality conditions is satisfied, wherein the measurement report is transmitted in response to the predefined number of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates the measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the predefined number of satisfied beam quality conditions. Paragraph 7. A method according to any of paragraphs 2 to 6, wherein at least one of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions is evaluated for a specified duration.

[0188] Paragraph 8. A method according to paragraph 7, wherein the specified duration is specified in terms of: an absolute time, an absolute number of radio frames, or a system frame number.

[0189] Paragraph 9. A method according to paragraph 7 or paragraph 8, wherein the specified duration is the duration between a time at which one of the satisfied beam quality conditions is satisfied and the next uplink resource occasion.

[0190] Paragraph 10. A method according to previous paragraph 7 or paragraph 8, wherein the specified duration is the time between successive Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) transmissions, or successive synchronisation signal block transmissions, by the infrastructure equipment. Paragraph 11. A method according to paragraph 7 or paragraph 8, wherein the specified duration is specified in terms of a time relative to a time at which one of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions is satisfied.

[0191] Paragraph 12. A method according to any of paragraphs 7 to 11, wherein at least two of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions are each evaluated for a respective specified duration, and the respective specified duration is different for each of the at least two of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions.

[0192] Paragraph 13. A method according to any of paragraphs 3 to 12, wherein at least one beam is associated with two or more of the satisfied beam quality conditions, and the beam information indicates the measured beam quality of the at least one beam only once in the measurement report. Paragraph 14. A method according to any of paragraphs 3 to 12, wherein at least one beam is associated with two or more of the satisfied beam quality conditions, and the beam information indicates every measurement of the measured beam quality of the at least one beam used for evaluating the two or more beam quality conditions.

[0193] Paragraph 15. A method according to any of paragraphs 3 to 12, wherein the measurement report comprises a plurality of measurement sub-reports, each measurement sub-report being transmitted in different uplink resources, wherein one of the measurement sub-reports comprises beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more beams associated with one of the satisfied beam quality conditions and another of the measurement sub-reports comprises beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with a different one of the satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0194] Paragraph 16. A method according to any of paragraphs 3 to 15, wherein the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions are satisfied at different times, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with a first of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions, and the measurement report does not indicate a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the other satisfied beam quality conditions, wherein the first satisfied beam quality condition is the one of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions which was satisfied at the earliest time. Paragraph 17. A method according to any of paragraphs 2 to 15, wherein at least two of the evaluated two or more beam quality conditions are associated with a reporting priority, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with a first of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions, and the measurement report does not indicate a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the other satisfied beam quality conditions, wherein the first satisfied beam quality condition is the one of the at two or more satisfied beam quality conditions which has the highest reporting priority.

[0195] Paragraph 18. A method according to any of paragraphs 2 to 17, wherein the method comprises commencing a reporting timer once the measurement report has been transmitted, determining that the reporting timer has expired without the communications device having received an indication to transmit a second measurement report, and in response, determining not to report a measured quality of one or more beams associated with one or more of the evaluated beam quality events which were not satisfied.

[0196] Paragraph 19. A method according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the method comprises measuring a beam quality of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions, identifying a sub-set of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions which have a higher measured beam quality than the others of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions, wherein the beam information indicates the measured quality of the subset of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0197] Paragraph 20. A method according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the measurement report is an LTM measurement report.

[0198] Paragraph 21. A method according to any of paragraphs 1 to 19, wherein the method comprises, in response to the one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied and before the measurement report is transmitted, transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, a condition evaluation report comprising condition evaluation information indicating that the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions have been satisfied.

[0199] Paragraph 22. A method according to paragraph 21, wherein at least one of the evaluated beam quality conditions is not satisfied, and the condition evaluation information indicates that at least one of the evaluated beam quality conditions is not satisfied. Paragraph 23. A method according to paragraph 21 or paragraph 22, wherein the condition evaluation information comprises a bitmap indicating which of the evaluated conditions have been satisfied and which of the evaluated conditions have not been satisfied.

[0200] Paragraph 24. A method according to any of paragraphs 21 to 23, wherein the evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprises evaluating two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, and the condition evaluation report is transmitted in response to two or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being met and before the measurement report is transmitted, and the condition evaluation information indicates that the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions have been satisfied.

[0201] Paragraph 25. A method according to paragraph 24, wherein the condition evaluation report comprises a plurality of condition evaluation sub-reports, each condition evaluation sub-report being transmitted in different uplink resources, and two or more of the condition evaluation sub-reports indicating that a different one of the satisfied beam quality conditions has been satisfied.

[0202] Paragraph 26. A method according to paragraph 25, wherein at least one of the condition evaluation sub-reports indicates that at least one of the evaluated conditions has not been satisfied.

[0203] Paragraph 27. A method according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the method is performed as part of a beam management procedure initiated by the communications device.

[0204] Paragraph 28. A method according to any preceding paragraph, comprising receiving, from the infrastructure equipment, an indication of the plurality of beam quality conditions.

[0205] Paragraph 29. A method according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a plurality of beam quality conditions of the same type, wherein each of the plurality of beam quality conditions of the same type have a different measurement quality threshold.

[0206] Paragraph 30. A method according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a plurality of beam quality conditions of different types.

[0207] Paragraph 31. A method according to any preceding paragraph, wherein the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a condition that a quality of one of the beams provided by the infrastructure equipment is a predetermined amount greater than a quality of a current beam used by the communications device for communicating with the infrastructure equipment.

[0208] Paragraph 32. A method of operating infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the method comprising receiving, from a communications device, a measurement report comprising beam information, wherein the communications device is configured with a plurality of beam quality conditions, each of the beam quality conditions are associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by the infrastructure equipment for communicating with the communications device, the communications device evaluates one or more of the plurality of beam conditions configured for the communications device, the measurement report is transmitted in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0209] Paragraph 33. A communications device comprising a transmitter configured to transmit signals, a receiver configured to receive signals, and a controller configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to evaluate one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, each of the plurality of beam quality conditions being associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure equipment, and, in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0210] Paragraph 34. Infrastructure equipment for a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising a transmitter configured to transmit signals, a receiver configured to receive signals, and a controller configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to receive, from a communications device, a measurement report comprising beam information, wherein the communications device is configured with a plurality of beam quality conditions, each of the beam quality conditions are associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by the infrastructure equipment for communicating with the communications device, the communications device evaluates one or more of the plurality of beam conditions configured for the communications device, the measurement report is transmitted in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0211] Paragraph 35. Circuitry for a communications device, the circuitry comprising transmitter circuitry configured to transmit signals, receiver circuitry configured to receive signals, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to evaluate one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, each of the plurality of beam quality conditions being associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure equipment, and, in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0212] Paragraph 36. Circuitry for infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising transmitter circuitry configured to transmit signals, receiver circuitry configured to receive signals, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to receive, from a communications device, a measurement report comprising beam information, wherein the communications device is configured with a plurality of beam quality conditions, each of the beam quality conditions are associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by the infrastructure equipment for communicating with the communications device, the communications device evaluates one or more of the plurality of beam conditions configured for the communications device, the measurement report is transmitted in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

[0213] Paragraph 37. A computer program which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of any of paragraphs 1 to 32.

[0214] Paragraph 38. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to paragraph 37.

[0215] It will be appreciated that the above description for clarity has described embodiments with reference to different functional units, circuitry and / or processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, circuitry and / or processors may be used without detracting from the embodiments.

[0216] Described embodiments may be implemented in any suitable form including hardware, software, firmware or any combination of these. Described embodiments may optionally be implemented at least partly as computer software running on one or more data processors and / or digital signal processors. The elements and components of any embodiment may be physically, functionally and logically implemented in any suitable way. Indeed, the functionality may be implemented in a single unit, in a plurality of units or as part of other functional units. As such, the disclosed embodiments may be implemented in a single unit or may be physically and functionally distributed between different units, circuitry and / or processors.

[0217] Although the present disclosure has been described in connection with some embodiments, it is not intended to be limited to the specific form set forth herein. Additionally, although a feature may appear to be described in connection with particular embodiments, one skilled in the art would recognise that various features of the described embodiments may be combined in any manner suitable to implement the technique.

[0218] References

[0219] [1] Holma H. and Toskala A, “LTE for UMTS OFDMA and SC-FDMA based radio access”, John Wiley and Sons, 2009.

[0220] [2] TS 38.470, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; Fl general aspects and principles (Release 17)”, 3GPP, V17.4.0, March 2023.

[0221] [3] TS 38.473, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; Fl application protocol (F1AP) (Release 17)”, 3GPP, V17.4.1, April 2023.

[0222] [4] TS 38.401, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; Architecture description (Release 17)”, 3GPP, V17.4.0, March 2023.

[0223] [5] TS 38 472, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NG-RAN; Fl signalling transport (Release 15)”, 3GPP, V15.2.0, September 2018.

[0224] [6] TS 38.300, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; NR and NG-RAN Overall Description; Stage 2 (Release 17)”, 3GPP, V18.0.0, January 2024.

[0225] [7] TS 23.501, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Services and System Aspects; System architecture for the 5G System (5GS); Stage 2 (Release 18)”, 3GPP, V18.2.0, June 2023.

[0226] [8] TS 36.300, “3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 17)”, 3GPP, V18.1.0.

[0227] [9] RP -234007, “New WID: NR MIMO Phase 5,” 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #102, Edinburgh,

[0228] Scotland, December 11-15, 2023.

[0010] RP -241515, “Revised Work Item: NR mobility enhancements Phase 4,” 3GPP TSG RAN meeting #104, Shanghai, China, June 17-20, 2024.

Claims

CLAIMSWhat is claimed is:

1. A method of operating a communications device, the method comprising evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, each of the plurality of beam quality conditions being associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure equipment, and, in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprises evaluating two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device.

3. A method according to claim 2, wherein the measurement report is transmitted in response to two or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

4. A method according to claim 3, wherein the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions are satisfied at the same time.

5. A method according to claim 2, wherein each of the plurality of beam quality conditions is associated with an evaluation priority, and the evaluated beam quality conditions are evaluated in order from the highest evaluation priority to the lowest evaluation priority.

6. A method according to claim 5, wherein the communications device stops evaluating beam quality conditions once a predefined number of the evaluated beam quality conditions is satisfied, wherein the measurement report is transmitted in response to the predefined number of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates the measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the predefined number of satisfied beam quality conditions.

7. A method according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions is evaluated for a specified duration.

8. A method according to claim 7, wherein the specified duration is specified in terms of: an absolute time, an absolute number of radio frames, or a system frame number.

9. A method according to claim 7, wherein the specified duration is the duration between a time at which one of the satisfied beam quality conditions is satisfied and the next uplink resource occasion.

10. A method according to previous claim 7, wherein the specified duration is the time between successive Channel State Information Reference Signal (CSI-RS) transmissions, or successive synchronisation signal block transmissions, by the infrastructure equipment.

11. A method according to claim 7, wherein the specified duration is specified in terms of a time relative to a time at which one of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions is satisfied.

12. A method according to claim 7, wherein at least two of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions are each evaluated for a respective specified duration, and the respective specified duration is different for each of the at least two of the evaluated two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions.

13. A method according to claim 3, wherein at least one beam is associated with two or more of the satisfied beam quality conditions, and the beam information indicates the measured beam quality of the at least one beam only once in the measurement report.

14. A method according to claim 3, wherein at least one beam is associated with two or more of the satisfied beam quality conditions, and the beam information indicates every measurement of the measured beam quality of the at least one beam used for evaluating the two or more beam quality conditions.

15. A method according to claim 3, wherein the measurement report comprises a plurality of measurement sub-reports, each measurement sub-report being transmitted in different uplink resources, wherein one of the measurement sub-reports comprises beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more beams associated with one of the satisfied beam quality conditions and another of the measurement sub-reports comprises beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with a different one of the satisfied beam quality conditions.

16. A method according to claim 3, wherein the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions are satisfied at different times, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with a first of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions, and the measurement report does not indicate a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the other satisfied beam quality conditions, wherein the first satisfied beam quality condition is the one of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions which was satisfied at the earliest time.

17. A method according to claim 2, wherein at least two of the evaluated two or more beam quality conditions are associated with a reporting priority, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with a first of the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions, and the measurement report does not indicate a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the other satisfied beam quality conditions, wherein the first satisfied beam quality condition is the one of the at two or more satisfied beam quality conditions which has the highest reporting priority.

18. A method according to claim 2, wherein the method comprises commencing a reporting timer once the measurement report has been transmitted, determining that the reporting timer has expired without the communications device having received an indication to transmit a second measurement report, and in response, determining not to report a measured quality of one or more beams associated with one or more of the evaluated beam quality events which were not satisfied.

19. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises measuring a beam quality of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions,identifying a sub-set of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions which have a higher measured beam quality than the others of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions, wherein the beam information indicates the measured quality of the subset of the one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

20. A method according to claim 1, wherein the measurement report is an LTM measurement report.

21. A method according to claim 1 , wherein the method comprises, in response to the one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied and before the measurement report is transmitted, transmitting, to the infrastructure equipment, a condition evaluation report comprising condition evaluation information indicating that the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions have been satisfied.

22. A method according to claim 21, wherein at least one of the evaluated beam quality conditions is not satisfied, and the condition evaluation information indicates that at least one of the evaluated beam quality conditions is not satisfied.

23. A method according to claim 21, wherein the condition evaluation information comprises a bitmap indicating which of the evaluated conditions have been satisfied and which of the evaluated conditions have not been satisfied.

24. A method according to claim 21, wherein the evaluating one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprises evaluating two or more of the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, and the condition evaluation report is transmitted in response to two or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being met and before the measurement report is transmitted, and the condition evaluation information indicates that the two or more satisfied beam quality conditions have been satisfied.

25. A method according to claim 24, wherein the condition evaluation report comprises a plurality of condition evaluation sub-reports, each condition evaluation sub-report being transmitted in different uplink resources, and two or more of the condition evaluation sub-reports indicating that a different one of the satisfied beam quality conditions has been satisfied.

26. A method according to claim 25, wherein at least one of the condition evaluation sub-reports indicates that at least one of the evaluated conditions has not been satisfied.

27. A method according to claim 1, wherein the method is performed as part of a beam management procedure initiated by the communications device.

28. A method according to claim 1, comprising receiving, from the infrastructure equipment, an indication of the plurality of beam quality conditions.

29. A method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a plurality of beam quality conditions of the same type, wherein each of the plurality of beam quality conditions of the same type have a different measurement quality threshold.

30. A method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a plurality of beam quality conditions of different types.

31. A method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device comprise a condition that a quality of one of the beams provided by the infrastructure equipment is a predetermined amount greater than a quality of a current beam used by the communications device for communicating with the infrastructure equipment.

32. A method of operating infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the method comprising receiving, from a communications device, a measurement report comprising beam information, wherein the communications device is configured with a plurality of beam quality conditions, each of the beam quality conditions are associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by the infrastructure equipment for communicating with the communications device, the communications device evaluates one or more of the plurality of beam conditions configured for the communications device, the measurement report is transmitted in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

33. A communications device comprising a transmitter configured to transmit signals, a receiver configured to receive signals, and a controller configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to evaluate one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, each of the plurality of beam quality conditions being associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure equipment, and, in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

34. Infrastructure equipment for a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising a transmitter configured to transmit signals, a receiver configured to receive signals, and a controller configured in combination with the transmitter and the receiver to receive, from a communications device, a measurement report comprising beam information, wherein the communications device is configured with a plurality of beam quality conditions, each of the beam quality conditions are associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by the infrastructure equipment for communicating with the communications device,the communications device evaluates one or more of the plurality of beam conditions configured for the communications device, the measurement report is transmitted in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

35. Circuitry for a communications device, the circuitry comprising transmitter circuitry configured to transmit signals, receiver circuitry configured to receive signals, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to evaluate one or more of a plurality of beam quality conditions configured for the communications device, each of the plurality of beam quality conditions being associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network for communicating with the infrastructure equipment, and, in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, transmit, to the infrastructure equipment, a measurement report comprising beam information, the beam information indicating a measured quality of one or more of the beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

36. Circuitry for infrastructure equipment of a wireless communications network, the infrastructure equipment comprising transmitter circuitry configured to transmit signals, receiver circuitry configured to receive signals, and controller circuitry configured in combination with the transmitter circuitry and the receiver circuitry to receive, from a communications device, a measurement report comprising beam information, wherein the communications device is configured with a plurality of beam quality conditions, each of the beam quality conditions are associated with a quality of one or more beams provided by the infrastructure equipment for communicating with the communications device, the communications device evaluates one or more of the plurality of beam conditions configured for the communications device, the measurement report is transmitted in response to one or more of the evaluated beam quality conditions being satisfied, and the beam information indicates a measured quality of one or more beams associated with the one or more satisfied beam quality conditions.

37. A computer program which, when the program is executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of claim 1.

38. A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program according to claim 37.

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