Ho improvement for SBFD operation

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus are disclosed. A method in a user equipment (UE) for communicating with a network node via a cell supporting a subband full duplex (SBFD) operation is described. The method includes determining handover (HO) measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols and performing one or more actions based at least in part on the HO measurements.

Description

[0001] HO IMPROVEMENT FOR SBFD OPERATION

[0002] FIELD

[0003] The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to handover processes for subband full duplex (SBFD) operation.

[0004] BACKGROUND

[0005] The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile user equipments (UE), as well as communication between network nodes and between UEs. The 3GPP is also developing standards for Sixth Generation (6G) wireless communication networks.

[0006] FDD and TDD systems

[0007] Transmission and reception from a node, e.g., a terminal in a cellular system, may be multiplexed in the frequency domain or in the time domain (or combinations thereof). Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) as illustrated to the left in FIG. 1 implies that downlink and uplink transmission take place in different, sufficiently separated, frequency bands. Time Division Duplex (TDD), as illustrated to the right in FIG. 1, implies that downlink and uplink transmission take place in different, non-overlapping time slots. Thus, TDD may operate in unpaired spectrum, whereas FDD requires paired spectrum.

[0008] Typically, the structure of the transmitted signal in a communication system is organized in the form of a frame structure. In more detail, the following two information elements (IES) are defined in current specifications. The TDD pattern is typically configured with at least the first IE and optionally the second IE:

[0009] • TDD-DL-UL-ConfigCommon (cell-specific); and

[0010] • TDD-DL-UL-ConfigDedicated (UE-specific).

[0011] The first IE is cell specific (common to all UEs) and is provided by broadcast signaling. It provides the number of slots in the TDD pattern via a reference subcarrier spacing and a periodicity such that the S-slot pattern repeats every S slots. This IE allows for very flexible configuration of the pattern characterized as follows:

[0012] • A number of full downlink slots at the beginning of the pattern configured by the parameter nDownlinkSlots • A number of full uplink slots at the end of the pattern configured by the parameter nl plinkSlots

[0013] • A number of downlink ('D') symbols following the full downlink slots configured by the parameter nDownlinkSymbols

[0014] • A number of uplink ('U') symbols preceding the full downlink slots configured by the parameter nl plinkSlots

[0015] • If there is a gap between the last downlink symbol and the first uplink symbol, then all symbols in the gap are characterized as flexible ('F'). A symbol classified as 'F' may be used for downlink or uplink. A UE determines the direction in one of the following two ways: o Detecting a downlink control information (DCI) that schedules or triggers a downlink (DL) signal or channel, e.g., physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH), channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) or schedules or triggers an uplink (UL) signal or channel, e.g. physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), sounding reference signal (SRS), etc.; and o By dedicated (UE-specific) signaling of the IE TDD-DL-UL- ConfigDedicated. This parameter overrides some or all of the 'F' symbols in the pattern, thus providing a semi-static indication of whether a symbol is classified as 'D' or 'U'; and

[0016] • Optionally, a 2ndpattern that is concatenated to the first pattern may be configured as above. If a 2ndpattern is configured, the constraint is that the sum of the periodicities of the two patterns must evenly divide 20 ms.

[0017] FIG. 2 shows an example TDD DL / UL pattern configured by TDD-DL-UL- ConfigCommon. The example TDD DL / UL pattern includes S = 5 slots, i.e., three full 'D' slots, one full 'U' slot, with a mixed slot in between consisting of four 'D' symbols and three 'U' symbols. The remaining seven symbols in the mixed slot are classified as 'F.' TDD-DL-UL-ConfigCommon configures the cell-specific pattern, and TDD-DL-UL- ConfigDedicated (if provided) UE-specifically configures the direction for some or all of the 'F' symbols in the cell-specific pattern.

[0018] If a UE is not configured with TDD-DL-UL-ConfigDedicated, then the pattern at the top of the diagram is what the UE assumes. As stated above, the network may make use of the 'F' symbols flexibly, by scheduling or triggering either an uplink or a downlink signal or channel in a UE specific manner. This allows for very dynamic behavior: the direction is not known to the UE a priori; rather, the direction becomes known once the UE detects a DCI scheduling or triggering a particular DL or UL signal or channel.

[0019] In contrast, the DL / UL direction for some or all of the 'F' symbols in a particular slot may be provided to the UE in a semi-static manner by radio resource control (RRC) signaling that configures the UE with DD-DL-UL-ConfigDedicated. The lower part of FIG. 2 shows three example configurations for overriding 'F' symbols in Slot 3. If the IE indicates 'allDownlink' or 'allUplink' for a particular slot (or slots), then all 'F' symbols in the slot are converted to either 'D' or 'U,' respectively. If the IE indicates 'explicit,' then a number of symbols at the beginning of the slot and / or a number of symbols at the end of the slot are indicated as 'D' and 'U,' respectively. In the example of explicit indication, the first 7 and the last 5 are indicated as 'D' and 'U', which converts some of the 'F' symbols (but not all in this example) to 'D' and 'U.'

[0020] The key behavior in the above is that the UE-specific IE TDD-DL-UL- ConfigDedicated may only override (i.e., specify 'D' or 'U') for symbols that are configured as 'F' by the cell-specific IE TDD-DL-UL-ConfigCommon. In other words, a UE does not expect to have a 'D' symbol converted to 'U' or vice versa.

[0021] Subband full duplex

[0022] As described above, in a conventional TDD system, an entire carrier bandwidth (BW) or all carriers in the same frequency band use the same DL transmission or UL reception directions. This is further illustrated in the example of FIG. 3.

[0023] For the 3GPP Technical Release 18 (3GPP Rel-18) evolution of the NR system, 3 GPP has decided to study the technical feasibilities and potential benefits of subband full duplex (SBFD) systems:

[0024] • In such a system, a portion of a wide bandwidth carrier may be used for a different direction than that of the rest of the carrier. This is illustrated in the left-hand side of FIG. 4. That is, unlike a conventional TDD system as shown on the left-hand side of FIG. 3, where the entire bandwidth is used for DL transmission in the first three slots, the center portion of the SBFD carrier is used for UL reception while the rest of the carrier continues to be used for DL transmission as shown in the lefthand side of FIG. 4; and

[0025] • Similarly, instead of utilizing all carriers for the same DL or UL directions in a conventional TDD system as shown in the right-hand side of FIG. 3, some carriers in the SBFD system may be used for a different direction than that of the other carriers as shown in the right-hand side of FIG. 4. In the 3GPP Rel-18 study, the scope has been limited such that in SBFD operation, only gNBs transmit DL and receive UL simultaneously. An individual UE is scheduled in only one direction (DL or UL) at a time.

[0026] Rel-18 PRACH Configuration An example physical random access channel (PRACH) configuration according to existing (3GPP Rel-17) specifications is described. The example is for frequency range 1 (FR1) for unpaired spectrum, and uses PRACH configuration index 118 from the existing (3GPP Rel-17) 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.211, as follows: Table 1. - Example PRACH configuration index.

[0027] FIG. 5 illustrates the example PRACH configuration assuming the PRACH subcarrier spacing (SCS) is 30 kHz. The value x = 1 in Table 1 above means that the PRACH configuration period is 2 radio frames (20 ms), and the value y = 1 means that the RACH occasions (ROs) occur in the 2ndframe of this period. Within this frame, the ROs occur in subframes 2, 3, 4, 7, 8 and 9. With 30 kHz SCS, there are two slots per subframe.

[0028] Since the number of PRACH slots within a subframe is equal to 1 for this example, the 2ndslot of the subframe contains the ROs according to current specifications. This means that the ROs are contained in slots 5, 6, 9, 14, 17, and 19. In this example PRACH format, A3 (6 symbol duration) is used. Hence, there are two back-to-back ROs per slot starting at symbol 0 of the slot.

[0029] For this example, the cell-specific (common) TDD UL / DL pattern may be assumed to be D-D-D-D-U, which is also shown in FIG. 5. In the existing 3GPP TS 38.213, the UE assumes that a RACH occasion is valid if it is within UL symbols according to the following: For unpaired spectrum: if a UE is not provided tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, a PRACH occasion in a PRACH slot is valid if it does not precede a synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) in the PRACH slot and starts at least Agap symbols after a last SS / PBCH block reception symbol. Agapis provided in 3GPP TS 38.213, Table 8.1-2 if channelAccessMode = "semiStatic" is provided, does not overlap with a set of consecutive symbols before the start of a next channel occupancy time where the UE does not transmit [3 GPP TS 37.213]; the candidate SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block corresponds to the SS / PBCH block index provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in system information block 1 (SIB1) or in ServingCellConfigCommon, as described in clause 4.1;

[0030] If a UE is provided tdd-UL-DL-ConfigurationCommon, a PRACH occasion in a PRACH slot is valid if: it is within UL symbols; or it does not precede a SS / PBCH block in the PRACH slot and starts at least Agapsymbols after a last downlink symbol and at least Agapsymbols after a last SS / PBCH block symbol. Agapis provided in Table 8.1-2, and if channelAccessMode = "semiStatic" is provided, does not overlap with a set of consecutive symbols before the start of a next channel occupancy time where there shall not be any transmissions, as described in [15, 3GPP TS 37.213]; and / or the candidate SS / PBCH block index of the SS / PBCH block corresponds to the SS / PBCH block index provided by ssb-PositionsInBurst in SIB1 or in ServingCellConfigCommon, as described in clause 4.1

[0031] With the D-D-D-D-U pattern, it turns out that only slots 9 and 19 contain valid ROs. The ROs in slots in 5, 7, 15, and 17 are invalidated, as indicated by the Xs in the example of FIG. 5.

[0032] In the current 3GPP TS 38.331, ROs are configured in the frequency domain via two parameters: msgl -FDM which indicates the number of ROs in the frequency domain (1, 2, 4, or 8) within an orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbol, and msgl -FrequencyStart which indicates the lowest indexed resource block (RB) in the active bandwidth part (BWP) of the first RO in the frequency domain.

[0033] RACH-ConfigGeneric information element

[0034] RACH-ConfigGeneric ::= SEQUENCE ) prach-Configurationlndex INTEGER (0..255), msgl -FDM ENUMERATED {one, two, four, eight}, msgl-FrequencyStart INTEGER

[0035] (0,.maxNrofPhysicalResourceBlocks-l), zeroCorrelationZoneConfig INTEGERfO..15), preambleReceivedTargetPower INTEGER (-202..-60),

[0036] }

[0037] Table 2. - RACH-ConfigGeneric field descriptions

[0038] For the subband full duplex (SBFD) work item (WI) in 3GPP Rel-19, RANI has made the below agreements regarding channel state information (CSI) reporting:

[0039] Agreement

[0040] For CSI report associated with periodic / semi-persistent CSI-RS, discuss and decide whether to support the following options:

[0041] Option A: For separate CSI reports on SBFD and non-SBFD, one CSI- ReportConfig is associated with CSI-RS(s) restricted to SBFD symbols only and the second CSI-ReportConfig i associated with CSI-RS(s) restricted to non-SBFD symbols only: o gNB configuration (i.e., network node configuration) may not ensure that the CSI-RS associated with each CSI-ReportConfig i confined to either SBFD symbols or non-SBFD symbols only:

[0042] ■ For the CSI-ReportConfig associated with CSI-RS(s) restricted to SBFD symbols only, only CSI-RS transmission occasions within SBFD symbols are used for CSI derivation. For the CSI- ReportConfig associated with CSI-RS(s) restricted to non-SBFD symbols only, only CSI-RS transmission occasions within non- SBFD symbols are used for CSI derivation; and - Option B: Enhance 3 GPP Release 18 (Rel-18) network emulation solutions (NES)

[0043] CSI reporting framework to support one CSI-ReportConfig x one subconfiguration associated with SBFD symbols and the other sub-configuration associated with non-SBFD

[0044] From the above agreement, it is observed that a SBFD aware UE may support separate CSI-RS monitoring and CSI report for SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols separately. This is based on the fact that the UE may experience different propagation and interference characteristics between SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols. Thus, the UE may apply different transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states / spatial filters, power control and UL timing alignment between SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols.

[0045] It is also reasonable to assume that the UE may perform handover measurements during both SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols. In this case, due to distinct measurement results and propagation characteristics between SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols, the UE may need to determine how to derive HO measurement results considering LI measurement results during SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols.

[0046] SUMMARY

[0047] Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for handover processes for subband full duplex (SBFD) operation.

[0048] In some embodiments, the UE measurement behavior with regards to SBFD and non-SBFD symbols are described. The measurement behavior may include which type of symbols to use for measurements, and in case both types (of symbols) are used, how measurements are consolidated and reported among them. In some embodiments, signaling is introduced between serving cell and target cells on handover (HO) measurements with respect to SBFD operation.

[0049] One or more embodiments are beneficial at least because UE measurement behavior with regards to SBFD and non-SBFD becomes clearly defined. This allows the serving network node (gNB) (or UE such as in case of conditional handover) to make handover decisions based on representative measurements of the two symbol types.

[0050] According to one aspect, method in a user equipment, UE, for communicating with a network node via a cell supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation is provided. The method includes determining handover, HO, measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. The method also includes performing one or more actions based at least in part on the HO measurements.

[0051] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with only the SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with only the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving an indication from the network node as to whether the measurement results are to be associated with the SBFD symbols only, the non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting an indication to the network node indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting a measurement report to the network node, the measurement report including the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell and at least one neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the method includes including in the measurement report an indication for each cell of a plurality of cells indicating how the one or more measurement results of the cell are determined. In some embodiments, the method includes including in the measurement report an indication of how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non- SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the one or more actions are triggered by comparing HO measurements to a first threshold for SBFD symbols and to a second threshold for non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving from the network node an indication of whether a conditional handover, CHO, candidate target cell is SBFD capable. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving from the network node an indication of cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

[0052] According to another aspect, a user equipment, UE, for communicating with a network node via a cell supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation is provided. The UE includes processing circuitry configured to: determine handover, HO, measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols; and perform one or more actions based at least in part on the HO measurements.

[0053] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with only the SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with only the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to receive an indication from the network node as to whether the measurement results are to be associated with the SBFD symbols only, the non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of an indication to the network node indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of a measurement report to the network node, the measurement report including the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell and at least one neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to include in the measurement report an indication for each cell of a plurality of cells indicating how the one or more measurement results of the cell are determined. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to include in the measurement report an indication of how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the one or more actions are triggered by comparing HO measurements to a first threshold for SBFD symbols and to a second threshold for non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to receiver from the network node an indication of whether a conditional handover, CHO, candidate target cell is SBFD capable. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to receive from the network node an indication of cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

[0054] According to yet another aspect, a method in a network node for communicating with a user equipment, UE, via a cell supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation is provided. The method includes configuring the UE for determining handover, HO, measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with SBFD symbols only, non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

[0055] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes receiving an indication from the UE indicating a UE preference for one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving a measurement report that includes the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell and at least one neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the measurement report includes an indication of how the one or more measurement results are determined or differ. In some embodiments, the method includes indicating to the UE whether a target cell for handover is SBFD capable. In some embodiments, the method includes indicating to the UE cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes sending to a handover target cell an indication as to whether the UE is SBFD-aware. In some embodiments, the method includes indicating to a handover target cell a number of symbols to be used for uplink operation among the SBFD symbols.

[0056] According to one aspect, a network node for communicating with a user equipment, UE, via a cell supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation is provided. The network node includes processing circuitry configured to configure the UE for determining handover, HO, measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with SBFD symbols only, non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

[0057] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to receive an indication from the UE indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a measurement report that includes the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell and at least one neighbor cell. In some embodiments, the measurement report includes an indication of how the one or more measurement results are determined or differ. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate to the UE whether a target cell for handover is SBFD capable. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate to the UE cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to send to a handover target cell an indication as to whether the UE is SBFD- aware. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate to a handover target cell a number of symbols to be used for uplink operation among the SBFD symbols.

[0058] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0059] A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 shows examples of FDD, half-duplex FDD, and TDD;

[0060] FIG. 2 shows examples of TDD DL / UL patterns;

[0061] FIG. 3 shows examples of conventional TDD carrier or carrier systems;

[0062] FIG. 4 shows examples of subband full duplex systems;

[0063] FIG. 5 shows an example PRACH configuration;

[0064] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system according to principles disclosed herein;

[0065] FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a network node in communication with a user equipment over a wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0066] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0067] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0068] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of another example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0069] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of another example process in a user equipment according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0070] FIG. 12 is a signaling diagram of an example handover (HO) procedure according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0071] DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0072] Before describing in detail example embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to handover processes for subband full duplex (SBFD) operation. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.

[0073] As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0074] In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate, and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

[0075] In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and / or wireless connections.

[0076] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and / or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof.

[0077] The term “network node” used herein may be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi -cell / multicast coordination entity (MCE), relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a user equipment (UE) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

[0078] In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The UE herein may be any type of user equipment capable of communicating with a network node or another UE over radio signals, such as a wireless device (WD). The UE may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and / or low-complexity UE, a sensor equipped with UE, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device etc.

[0079] Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It may be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell / multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

[0080] Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and / or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

[0081] Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a user equipment or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of user equipments and / or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and user equipment described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, may be distributed among several physical devices.

[0082] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0083] Referring again to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 6 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3 GPP -type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and / or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). In some embodiments, coverage area 18 corresponds to a cell and may be referred to as cell 18, which may serve or be used for communication with other devices of system 10. In some embodiments, a cell may be referred to as cell 18 (which may provide one or more coverage areas as described herein). Further, a cell may be of one or more types, such as a serving cell, target cell, neighbor cell, etc. Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first user equipment (UE) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second UE 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of UEs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as user equipments 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole UE is in the coverage area or where a sole UE is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two UEs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more UEs 22 and network nodes 16.

[0084] Also, it is contemplated that a UE 22 may be in simultaneous communication and / or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a UE 22 may have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, UE 22 may be in communication with an eNB for LTE / E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR / NG-RAN.

[0085] A network node 16 (eNB or gNB) is configured to include a node management unit 24 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., network node functions, network node actions, etc. A user equipment 22 is configured to include a UE management unit 26 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., UE functions, UE actions, etc.

[0086] Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the UE 22 and network node 16 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 7.

[0087] The communication system 10 includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and includes hardware 28 enabling it to communicate with the UE 22. The hardware 28 may include a radio interface 30 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 32 with a UE 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 30 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 30 includes an array of antennas 34 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0088] In the embodiment shown, the hardware 28 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may include a processor 38 and a memory 40. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 36 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 38 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) the memory 40, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0089] Thus, the network node 16 further has software 42 stored internally in, for example, memory 40, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 42 may be executable by the processing circuitry 36. The processing circuitry 36 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 38 corresponds to one or more processors 38 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 40 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 42 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36, causes the processor 38 and / or processing circuitry 36 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 36 of the network node 16 may include node management unit 24 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., network node functions.

[0090] The communication system 10 further includes the UE 22 already referred to. The UE 22 may have hardware 44 that may include a radio interface 46 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 32 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the UE 22 is currently located. The radio interface 46 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and / or one or more RF transceivers. The radio interface 46 includes an array of antennas 48 to radiate and receive signal(s) carrying electromagnetic waves.

[0091] The hardware 44 of the UE 22 further includes processing circuitry 50. The processing circuitry 50 may include a processor 52 and memory 54. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 50 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and / or control, e.g., one or more processors and / or processor cores and / or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and / or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 52 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and / or read from) memory 54, which may comprise any kind of volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and / or buffer memory and / or RAM (Random Access Memory) and / or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and / or optical memory and / or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

[0092] Thus, the UE 22 may further comprise software 56, which is stored in, for example, memory 54 at the UE 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the UE 22. The software 56 may be executable by the processing circuitry 50. The software 56 may include a client application 58. The client application 58 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the UE 22.

[0093] The processing circuitry 50 may be configured to control any of the methods and / or processes described herein and / or to cause such methods, and / or processes to be performed, e.g., by UE 22. The processor 52 corresponds to one or more processors 52 for performing UE 22 functions described herein. The UE 22 includes memory 54 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and / or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 56 and / or the client application 58 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50, causes the processor 52 and / or processing circuitry 50 to perform the processes described herein with respect to UE 22. For example, the processing circuitry 50 of the user equipment 22 may include UE management unit 26 which is configured to perform any step and / or task and / or process and / or method and / or feature described in the present disclosure, e.g., UE functions.

[0094] In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16 and UE 22 may be as shown in FIG. 7 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 6.

[0095] The wireless connection 32 between the UE 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and / or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc. In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve.

[0096] Although FIGS. 6 and 7 show various “units” such as node management unit 24 and UE management unit 26 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

[0097] FIG. 8 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of user equipment 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 50 (including the UE management unit 26), processor 52, and / or radio interface 46. User equipment 22 such as via processing circuitry 50 and / or processor 52 and / or radio interface 46 is configured to determine (Block SI 00) handover (HO) measurements in the cell 18 supporting the SBFD operation based on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols and perform (Block SI 02) one or more actions based on the HO measurements. In some embodiments, the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated only with the SBFD symbols (e.g., optionally when the UE 22 performs more transmissions and / or receptions in the SBFD symbols than transmissions and / or receptions in the non SBFD symbols).

[0098] In some embodiments, the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated only with the non-SBFD symbols (e.g., optionally when the UE 22 performs more transmissions and / or receptions in the non-SBFD symbols than transmissions and / or receptions in the SBFD symbols).

[0099] In some embodiments, the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols (e.g., optionally when the UE 22 performs transmissions and / or receptions in the SBFD symbols equal in quantity to or within a differential threshold of transmissions and / or receptions in the non-SBFD symbols).

[0100] In some embodiments, the HO measurements are further determined based on a configuration received from the network node 16 and / or the method further includes transmitting an indication to the network node 16 indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and / or the non-SBFD symbols.

[0101] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting a measurement report message to the network node 16, the measurement report message including one or more measurement results of one or more serving cells and one or more neighbor cells.

[0102] In some embodiments, a method includes including in the measurement report another indication or indicator for each cell 18 indicating how one or more measurement results of the cell 18 are derived and / or measured. In some embodiments, an indicator is based on or indicates the one or more measurement results in one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, a method includes providing information in the measurement report indicating how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

[0103] FIG. 9 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the node management unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. Network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 is configured to configure (Block SI 04) the UE 22 with a configuration for the UE 22 to determine handover (HO) measurements in the cell 18 supporting the SBFD operation based on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols and perform (Block SI 06) one or more actions based on the configuration.

[0104] In some embodiments, the method further includes receiving an indication from the UE 22 indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and / or the non-SBFD symbols.

[0105] In some embodiments, the configuration indicates one or more of: (A) whether a serving cell 18 and / or as neighbor cell 18 are SBFD operation capable; (B) multiple serving cell measurement resources, where at least one serving cell measurement resource occurs in the SBFD symbols and at least one other cell measurement resource occurs in non-SBFD symbols; and (C) whether to use the measurement results associated with one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols to determine the HO measurement results for the serving cell 18 and / or neighbor cell 18.

[0106] In some embodiments, a method includes, upon determining that a UE 22 needs to handover from a serving cell 18 to a target cell 18, sending signaling to the target cell 18 including information indicating whether the UE 22 is SBFD aware. The information is usable by another network node 16 associated with the target cell 18 to determine whether the UE 22 is allowed to handover to this the target cell 18 and / or, if the UE 22 is allowed to handover to this target cell 18, allocate resources to the UE 22 for subsequent transmissions towards the target cell 18 if the UE 22 is SBFD aware.

[0107] In some embodiments, the method further includes transmitting the configuration to the UE 22 including information associated with conditional handover (CHO) target cells. In some embodiments, the information includes one or both of: (a) whether each target cell 18 is SBFD operation capable; and (b) multiple CHO candidate cell measurement resources. At least one CHO candidate cell measurement resource occurs in the SBFD symbols, and at least one other CHO candidate cell measurement resource occurs in the non-SBFD symbols.

[0108] In some embodiments, the network node 16 is a serving gNB.

[0109] FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 36 (including the node management unit 24), processor 38, and / or radio interface 30. Network node 16 such as via processing circuitry 36 and / or processor 38 and / or radio interface 30 is configured to configure the UE for determining handover, HO, measurements in the cell 18 supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with SBFD symbols only, non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols (Block SI 08).

[0110] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the method further includes receiving an indication from the UE 22 indicating a UE preference for one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving a measurement report that includes the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell 18 and at least one neighbor cell 18. In some embodiments, the measurement report includes an indication of how the one or more measurement results are determined or differ. In some embodiments, the method includes indicating to the UE 22 whether a target cell 18 for handover is SBFD capable. In some embodiments, the method includes indicating to the UE cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes sending to a handover target cell 18 an indication as to whether the UE 22 is SBFD-aware. In some embodiments, the method includes indicating to a handover target cell 18 a number of symbols to be used for uplink operation among the SBFD symbols.

[0111] FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example process in a user equipment 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of user equipment 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 50 (including the UE management unit 26), processor 52, and / or radio interface 46. User equipment 22 such as via processing circuitry 50 and / or processor 52 and / or radio interface 46 is configured to determine handover, HO, measurements in the cell 18 supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols (Block SI 10). The method also includes performing one or more actions based at least in part on the HO measurements (Block SI 12).

[0112] According to this aspect, in some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with only the SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with only the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the measurement results are associated with the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving an indication from the network node as to whether the measurement results are to be associated with the SBFD symbols only, the non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting an indication to the network node indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes transmitting a measurement report to the network node, the measurement report including the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell 18 and at least one neighbor cell 18. In some embodiments, the method includes including in the measurement report an indication for each cell 18 of a plurality of cells indicating how the one or more measurement results of the cell 18 are determined. In some embodiments, the method includes including in the measurement report an indication of how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the one or more actions are triggered by comparing HO measurements to a first threshold for SBFD symbols and to a second threshold for non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving from the network node an indication of whether a conditional handover, CHO, candidate target cell 18 is SBFD capable. In some embodiments, the method includes receiving from the network node an indication of cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

[0113] Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for handover processes for subband full duplex (SBFD) operation.

[0114] In some embodiments, the term “SBFD aware UE” is used and may refer to a UE 22 which is capable of operating in a cell 18 configured with SBFD feature, i.e., the cell 18 / the network node 16 transmits DL and receive UL simultaneously in SBFD slots and symbols. The UE 22 may be aware of SBFD configurations so that the UE 22 knows or determines which slots / symbols are SBFD capable, which are also referred to as SBFD slots / symbols. In some embodiments, the UE does not need to support a predetermined operation (e.g., full duplex operation) while being SBFD aware. That is, UE 22 may or may not support the predetermined operation.

[0115] In some embodiments, the term “SFFD aware UE” is used and may refer to same frequency full duplex aware UE which is capable of operating in a cell 18 configured with the SFFD feature. The UE 22 may be aware of SFFD configurations so that the UE 22 knows or determines time and frequency locations for SFFD operation. That is, UE 22 may know or determine which slots / symbols are SFFD capable, which are also referred to as SFFD slots / symbols. In some embodiments, the UE 22 does not need to support a predetermined operation (e.g., full duplex operation) while being SFFD aware. Although embodiments describe the UE 22 as an SBFD aware UE, the present disclosure is not limited as such, and the UE 22 may be an SFFD aware UE, any other UE 22 that is aware of another predetermined operation, or any other UE 22.

[0116] In some embodiments, network node 16 is configured with one or more cells 18, where the network node 16 may communicate with other devices such as UE 22 using cells 18. In some other embodiments, cells 18 are serving cells 18, target cells 18, etc. In some embodiments, the term “serving network node” may refer to a serving cell 18, and the term “target network node” may refer to a target cell 18. In some other embodiments, the term “serving network node” may refer to serving gNB, and the “term target network node” may refer to target gNB.

[0117] Some embodiments are applicable to SBFD aware UEs 22. The embodiments may be applicable to a CSI-RS measurement based HO procedure and / or an SSB measurement based HO procedure.

[0118] In embodiments, a UE 22 derives HO measurements in a cell 18 configured with SBFD operation, considering measurement results in SBFD symbols and / or measurement results in non SBFD symbols, according to one of the following options:

[0119] Option 1 : only consider measurement results in SBFD symbols;

[0120] Option 2: only consider measurement results in non SBFD symbols; and / or

[0121] Option 3: consider measurement results in both SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols.

[0122] Option 1 may be applicable in cases where the UE 22 is heavily performing transmissions and / or receptions in SBFD symbols rather than non SBFD symbols. For example, the UE 22 may be aiming for exploiting the benefits / merits (e.g., delay reduction and / or coverage enhancement) from SBFD operation as much as possible. This may be due to the UE 22 employing or applying services, traffic types or applications which are delay critical or have a high coverage requirement. This may also be due to the UE 22 being associated with a UE category requiring low latency and / or a high coverage requirement. It may also be due to a relatively higher load on the non-SBFD (UL) symbols, making it preferable for the network to schedule the UE 22 in SBFD symbols, or vice versa.

[0123] Option 2, in contrast to Option 1, may be applicable in cases where the UE 22 is heavily performing transmissions and / or receptions in no SBFD symbols rather than SBFD symbols. This may be due to the UE 22 employing, or applying services, traffic types or applications which are delay insensitive or have a low coverage requirement. This may also be due to the UE 22 being associated with a UE category not requiring low latency and / or a high coverage requirement.

[0124] Option 3 may be applicable in cases where the UE 22 is equally (or comparable equal) involved with transmissions and / or receptions in both SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols. How to consolidate measurements in both SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols may be configured by the network node 16 to the UE 22 via e.g., RRC signaling or system information. Alternatively, the UE 22 may be configured to determine HO measurements considering measurement results in both SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, how to derive HO measurements considering measurements results in both SBFD symbols and non SBFD symbols is captured in specifications in a hard-coded fashion. In some embodiments, the UE 22 may calculate an average value between measurements in SBFD symbols and measurements in non SBFD symbols and may use the averaged measurements as HO measurement results. In some embodiments, the UE 22 may determine HO measurement results as values output by a mathematic function which uses measurement results in SFBD symbols and measurements in non SBFD symbols as inputs. In some embodiments, the UE 22 may indicate if a certain measurement is related to SBFD or non-SBFD symbols, possibly with an implicit understanding that this is the preferred option for the UE 22. This information may also be forwarded to the target cell 18 (or target network node 16). In some embodiments, the consolidation of measurement results per measurement resource from LI filter(s) is performed separately for SBFD and non-SBFD symbols. That is, one consolidated value may be derived for each symbol type.

[0125] UE 22 may be configured via RRC signaling from the network node 16 to use an option. That is, UE 22 may be RRC configured (from network node 16) with which option to use. In some embodiments, the UE 22 is configured to choose one option to determine HO measurement results.

[0126] In some embodiments, the UE 22 may indicate any one or combination of the above options from the UE’s preference perspective to the network node 16, so the network node 16 may determine if the UE preferred option is acceptable to the network node 16.

[0127] When event-triggered reporting is configured, it may be beneficial to trigger the measurement events using different thresholds for SBFD and non-SBFD symbols. For example, the network node 16 may want the UE 22 to trigger Events Al (Serving cell 18 becomes better than threshold) and trigger Events A2 (Serving cell 18 becomes worse than threshold) at lower reference signal received power (RSRP) or signal-to-interference-plus- noise ratio (SINR) level in SBFD symbols compared to non-SBFD symbols. In this way, cell coverage may be extended in SBFD operation. In some embodiments, different event triggering thresholds may be indicated to the UE 22 to be applied to measurements on SBFD and non-SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the event triggering threshold for measurement in SBFD symbols is determined as the event triggering threshold in non- SBFD plus an additional offset indicated by the network node 16.

[0128] In some embodiments, for a serving cell 18, the serving network node 16 configures the UE 22 by configuring and / or indicating one or more of:

[0129] 1) whether the serving cell 18 is SBFD operation capable;

[0130] 2) multiple serving cell 18 measurement resources, some of which occur in SBFD symbols while some others in non-SBFD symbols; and / or

[0131] 3) which option as described in the first embodiment that the UE 22 may apply to derive HO measurement results for the serving cell 18.

[0132] The serving network node 16 may indicate which serving cell 18 measurement resources are located in SBFD symbols, and which are located in non-SBFD symbols.

[0133] The serving network node 16 may send the measurement configuration (on options for deriving HO measurement results) to the UE 22 via dedicated RRC signaling or system information.

[0134] In some embodiments, for a neighbor cell 18, the serving network node 16 configures the UE 22 by configuring and / or indicating one or more of:

[0135] 1) whether the neighbor cell 18 is SFBD operation capable. This may be explicit or implicit by providing the cell’s SBFD configuration parameters;

[0136] 2) multiple neighbor cell measurement resources, some of which occur in SBFD symbols while some others in non-SBFD symbols; and / or

[0137] 3) which option the UE 22 may apply to derive HO measurement results for the neighbor cell 18.

[0138] The serving network node 16 may indicate which neighbor cell measurement resources are located in SBFD symbols, and which are located in non-SBFD symbols.

[0139] The serving network node 16 may send the configuration (on options for deriving HO measurement results) to the UE 22 via dedicated RRC signaling or system information.

[0140] In some embodiments, the UE 22 sends a measurement report message to the network node 16 containing measurement results of its serving cell(s) 18 and one or multiple neighbour cells 18. In addition, the UE 22 may include an indicator for each cell 18 indicating how the measurement results of this cell 18 are derived or measured, i.e., considering measurement results in SBFD symbols, and / or non SBFD symbols. In some embodiments, the UE 22 provides information in the measurement report of how the measured quantities differ in SBFD and non-SBFD symbols. For example, in case of SINR, the UE 22 may indicate by how much the SINR in SBFD and non-SBFD symbols differ. It may be expected that the SINR in SBFD symbols is lower due to cross link interference.

[0141] In some embodiments, upon determination that a UE 22 needs to handover from a serving cell 18 to a target cell 18, the serving network node 16 sends signalling (e.g., handover request message) to the selected target cell 18 including information or indicators indicating whether the UE 22 is SBFD aware. After receiving the signalling, the target cell 18 may perform one or more of:

[0142] 1) Decide whether the UE 22 is allowed to handover to this target cell 18; and / or

[0143] 2) If the UE 22 is allowed to handover to this target cell 18, the target cell 18 also allocate resources (e.g., RACH resources and / or PUSCH resources in UL subbands during SBFD symbols) to the UE 22 for its subsequent transmissions towards the target cell 18 if the UE 22 is SBFD aware. The target cell 18 may also provide UE-specific configurations, based on the received measurements, e.g., indicating the number of symbols or slots that may be used for UL operation among the SBFD symbols. To assist the target cell 18 and / or network node 16, the serving cell 18 / network node 16 may forward the UE’s HO measurement results to the target cell 18 and / or network node 16 via e.g., HO request message. Alternatively, the serving cell 18 and / or network node 16 may provide its measurement results (e.g., cross link interference (CLI) related measurements) to the target cell 18 and / or network node 16 via e.g., HO request message.

[0144] The target cell 18 may further send a reply message to the serving cell 18 containing the information based on the above actions. The serving cell 18 may further forward the information received from the target cell 18 to the UE 22, via RRC signalling (i.e., HO command). Upon reception of the RRC signalling, the UE 22 performs handover towards the target cell 18.

[0145] In some embodiments, in case of conditional handover (CHO), the serving network node 16 provides the UE 22 with configuration on CHO candidate target cells 18 via RRC signalling, wherein, in addition to HO configuration for each candidate cell 18, the configuration comprises (or indicates) one or more of

[0146] 1) Whether each target cell 18 is SBFD operation capable;

[0147] 2) Multiple CHO candidate cell 18 measurement resources, some of which occur in SBFD symbols while some others in non-SBFD symbols; and / or

[0148] 3) Which option, as described above the UE 22 may apply to derive HO measurements for each target cell 18

[0149] Based on the above configuration for each target cell 18, the UE 22 may derive HO measurement results. When the measurement results of a target cell 18 meet the configured HO trigger thresholds, the UE 22 may perform handover towards to the target cell 18. An example of a HO procedure in accordance with some embodiments, is illustrated in the signaling diagram of FIG. 12. At step S200, UE 22 connects to a serving cell 18 (e.g., network node 16a (gNB / serving cell 18). At step S202, the serving cell 18 signals or indicates to UE 22, for each cell 18, whether each cell 18 (serving or target) is SBFD operation capable. The serving cell 18 may also indicate multiple serving cell measurement resources, some of which occur in SBFD symbols while some others in non- SBFD symbols. The serving cell 18 may also indicate how UE 22 derives HO measurements for each cell 18 (i.e., considering measurements in SBFD symbols and / or measurements in non SBFD symbols. At step S204, UE 22 measures serving cell(s) 18 and neighbor / target cells 18 according to the signaling / configuration. At step S206, UE 22 sends a measurement report to the serving network node 16a (serving cell 18 / gNB). At step S208, network node 16a may select the target cell 18 for handover, and at step S210, network node 16a may send an HO request to the target cell 18 where the HO request includes information on whether the UE 22 is SBFD operation aware. At step S212, network node 16b (target cell 18) admits (or accepts) the HO request and assigns resources to the UE 22 considering whether the UE 22 is SBFD operation aware. At step S214, network node 16a may transmit RRC signaling (e.g., HO command), and at step S216, UE 22 may perform HO towards network node 16a (target cell 18).

[0150] Some embodiments may include one or more of the following:

[0151] Example Al . A method in a user equipment (UE) for communicating with a network node via a cell supporting a subband full duplex (SBFD) operation, the method comprising: determining handover (HO) measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols; and performing one or more actions based on the HO measurements.

[0152] Example A2. The method of Example Al, wherein the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated only with the SBFD symbols.

[0153] Example A3. The method of Example Al, wherein the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated only with the non- SBFD symbols.

[0154] Example A4. The method of Example Al, wherein the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

[0155] Example A5. The method of Examples A1-A4, wherein one or both of: the HO measurements are further determined based on a configuration received from the network node; and the method further includes transmitting an indication to the network node indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and / or the non- SBFD symbols.

[0156] Example A6. The method of Examples A1-A5, wherein the method further includes: transmitting a measurement report message to the network node, the measurement report message including one or more measurement results of one or more serving cells and one or more neighbor cells.

[0157] Example A7. The method of Example A6, wherein one or more of: the method further includes including, in the measurement report, another indication or indicator for each cell indicating how one or more measurement results of the cell are derived and / or measured; the other indicator is based on or indicating the one or more measurement results in one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non SBFD symbols; and the method further includes providing information, in the measurement report, informing how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols. Example Bl. A user equipment (UE) for communicating with a network node via a cell supporting a subband full duplex (SBFD) operation, the UE configured to, and / or including a radio interface and / or including processing circuitry configured to: determine handover (HO) measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols; and perform one or more actions based on the HO measurements.

[0158] Example B2. The UE of Example Bl, wherein the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated only with the SBFD symbols.

[0159] Example B3. The UE of Example Bl, wherein the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated only with the non- SBFD symbols.

[0160] Example B4. The UE of Example Bl, wherein the HO measurements are determined based on the one or more measurement results associated both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

[0161] Example B5. The UE of Examples B1-B4, wherein one or both of: the HO measurements are further determined based on a configuration received from the network node; and the UE is further configured to transmit an indication to the network node indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and / or the non- SBFD symbols.

[0162] Example B6. The UE of Examples B1-B5, wherein the UE is further configured to: transmit a measurement report message to the network node, the measurement report message including one or more measurement results of one or more serving cells and one or more neighbor cells.

[0163] Example B7. The UE of Example B6, wherein one or more of: the UE is further configured to include, in the measurement report, another indication or indicator for each cell indicating how one or more measurement results of the cell are derived and / or measured; the other indicator is based on or indicating the one or more measurement results in one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non SBFD symbols; and the UE is further configured to provide information, in the measurement report, informing how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

[0164] Example Cl . A method in a network node for communicating with a user equipment (UE) via a cell supporting a subband full duplex (SBFD) operation, the method comprising: configuring the UE with a configuration for the UE to determine handover (HO) measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols; and performing one or more actions based on the configuration.

[0165] Example C2. The method of Example Cl, wherein the method further includes: receiving an indication from the UE indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and / or the non-SBFD symbols.

[0166] Example C3. The method of any one of Examples Cl and C2, wherein the configuration indicates one or more of: whether a serving cell and / or as neighbor cell are SBFD operation capable; multiple serving cell measurement resources, at least one serving cell measurement resource occurring in the SBFD symbols, at least one other cell measurement resource occurring in non-SBFD symbols; and whether to use the measurement results associated with one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols to determine the HO measurement results for the serving cell and / or neighbor cell.

[0167] Example C4. The method of any one of Examples C1-C3, wherein the method further includes: upon determining that a UE needs to handover from a serving cell to a target cell, sending signaling to the target cell including information indicating whether the UE is SBFD aware, the information being usable by another network node associated with the target cell to one or both of: determine whether the UE is allowed to handover to this the target cell; and if the UE is allowed to handover to this target cell, allocate resources to the UE for subsequent transmissions towards the target cell if the UE is SBFD aware.

[0168] Example C5. The method of any one of Examples C1-C4, wherein one or both of: the method further includes transmitting the configuration to the UE including information associated with conditional handover (CHO) target cells; and the information further includes one or both of: whether each target cell is SBFD operation capable; and multiple CHO candidate cell measurement resources, at least one CHO candidate cell measurement resource occurring in the SBFD symbols, and at least one other CHO candidate cell measurement resource occurring in the non-SBFD symbols.

[0169] Example C6. The method of any one of Examples C1-C5, wherein the network node is a serving gNB.

[0170] Example DI . A network node for communicating with a user equipment (UE) via a cell supporting a subband full duplex (SBFD) operation, the network node configured to, and / or including a radio interface and / or including processing circuitry configured to: configure the UE with a configuration for the UE to determine handover (HO) measurements in the cell supporting the SBFD operation based on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols; and perform one or more actions based on the configuration.

[0171] Example D2. The network node of Example DI, wherein the network node is further configured to: receive an indication from the UE indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and / or the non-SBFD symbols.

[0172] Example D3. The network node of any one of Examples DI and D2, wherein the configuration indicates one or more of: whether a serving cell and / or as neighbor cell are SBFD operation capable; multiple serving cell measurement resources, at least one serving cell measurement resource occurring in the SBFD symbols, at least one other cell measurement resource occurring in non-SBFD symbols; and whether to use the measurement results associated with one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols to determine the HO measurement results for the serving cell and / or neighbor cell.

[0173] Example D4. The network node of any one of Examples D1-D3, wherein the network node is further configured to: upon determining that a UE needs to handover from a serving cell to a target cell, send signaling to the target cell including information indicating whether the UE is SBFD aware, the information being usable by another network node associated with the target cell to one or both of: determine whether the UE is allowed to handover to this the target cell; and if the UE is allowed to handover to this target cell, allocate resources to the UE for subsequent transmissions towards the target cell if the UE is SBFD aware.

[0174] Example D5. The network node of any one of Examples D1-D4, wherein one or both of: the network node is further configured to transmit the configuration to the UE including information associated with conditional handover (CHO) target cells; and the information further includes one or both of: whether each target cell is SBFD operation capable; and multiple CHO candidate cell measurement resources, at least one CHO candidate cell measurement resource occurring in the SBFD symbols, and at least one other CHO candidate cell measurement resource occurring in the non-SBFD symbols.

[0175] Example D6. The network node of any one of Examples D1-D5, wherein the network node is a serving gNB.

[0176] As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and / or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and / or functionality described herein may be performed by, and / or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and / or firmware and / or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that may be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

[0177] Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and / or block diagrams, may be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0178] These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that may direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function / act specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0179] The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions / acts specified in the flowchart and / or block diagram block or blocks.

[0180] It is to be understood that the functions / acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality / acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

[0181] Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

[0182] Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments may be combined in any way and / or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

[0183] It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings without departing from the scope of the following claims.

Claims

What is claimed is:

1. A method in a user equipment, UE (22), for communicating with a network node (16) via a cell (18) supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation, the method comprising: determining (SI 10) handover, HO, measurements in the cell (18) supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols; and performing (SI 12) one or more actions based at least in part on the HO measurements.

2. The method of Claim 1, wherein the measurement results are associated with only the SBFD symbols.

3. The method of Claim 1, wherein the measurement results are associated with only the non-SBFD symbols.

4. The method of Claim 1, wherein the measurement results are associated with the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

5. The method any of Claims 1-4, further comprising receiving an indication from the network node (16) as to whether the measurement results are to be associated with the SBFD symbols only, the non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

6. The method of Claims 1-5, further comprising transmitting an indication to the network node (16) indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

7. The method of Claims 1-6, further comprising transmitting a measurement report to the network node (16), the measurement report including the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell (18) and at least one neighbor cell8. The method of Claim 7, further comprising including in the measurement report an indication for each cell (18) of a plurality of cells indicating how the one or more measurement results of the cell (18) are determined.

9. The method of any of Claims 7 and 8, further comprising including in the measurement report an indication of how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

10. The method of any of Claims 1-9, wherein the one or more actions are triggered by comparing HO measurements to a first threshold for SBFD symbols and to a second threshold for non-SBFD symbols.

11. The method of any of Claims 1-10, further comprising receiving from the network node (16) an indication of whether a conditional handover, CHO, candidate target cell (18) is SBFD capable.

12. The method of any of Claims 1-11, further comprising receiving from the network node (16) an indication of cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

13. A user equipment, UE (22), for communicating with a network node (16) via a cell (18) supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation, the UE (22) including processing circuitry configured to: determine handover, HO, measurements in the cell (18) supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with one or both of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols; and perform one or more actions based at least in part on the HO measurements.

14. The UE (22) of Claim 13, wherein the measurement results are associated with only the SBFD symbols.

15. The UE (22) of Claim 13, wherein the measurement results are associated with only the non-SBFD symbols.

16. The UE (22) of Claim 13, wherein the measurement results are associated with the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

17. The UE (22) any of Claims 13-16, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive an indication from the network node (16) as to whether the measurement results are to be associated with the SBFD symbols only, the non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

18. The UE (22) of Claims 13-17, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of an indication to the network node (16) indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

19. The UE (22) of Claims 13-18, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of a measurement report to the network node (16), the measurement report including the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell (18) and at least one neighbor cell (18).

20. The UE (22) of Claim 19, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to include in the measurement report an indication for each cell (18) of a plurality of cells indicating how the one or more measurement results of the cell (18) are determined.

21. The UE (22) of any of Claims 19 and 20, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to include in the measurement report an indication of how measured quantities differ in the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

22. The UE (22) of any of Claims 13-21, wherein the one or more actions are triggered by comparing HO measurements to a first threshold for SBFD symbols and to a second threshold for non-SBFD symbols.

23. The UE (22) of any of Claims 13-22, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receiver from the network node (16) an indication of whether a conditional handover, CHO, candidate target cell (18) is SBFD capable.

24. The UE (22) of any of Claims 13-23, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive from the network node (16) an indication of cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

25. A method in a network node (16) for communicating with a user equipment, UE (22), via a cell (18) supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation, the method comprising: configuring (SI 08) the UE (22) for determining handover, HO, measurements in the cell (18) supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with SBFD symbols only, non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

26. The method of Claim 25, wherein the method further includes receiving an indication from the UE (22) indicating a UE preference for one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

27. The method of any of Claims 25 and 26, further comprising receiving a measurement report that includes the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell (18) and at least one neighbor cell (18).

28. The method of Claim 27, wherein the measurement report includes an indication of how the one or more measurement results are determined or differ.

29. The method of any of Claims 25-28, further comprising indicating to the UE (22) whether a target cell (18) for handover is SBFD capable.

30. The method of any of Claims 25-29, further comprising indicating to the UE cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

31. The method of any of Claims 25-30, further comprising sending to a handover target cell (18) an indication as to whether the UE (22) is SBFD-aware.

32. The method of any of Claims 25-31, further comprising receiving from a handover target cell (18) a number of symbols to be used for uplink operation among the SBFD symbols.

33. A network node (16) for communicating with a user equipment, UE (22), via a cell (18) supporting a subband full duplex, SBFD, operation, the network node (16) including processing circuitry configured to: configure the UE (22) for determining handover, HO, measurements in the cell (18) supporting the SBFD operation based at least in part on one or more measurement results associated with SBFD symbols only, non-SBFD symbols only, or both SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

34. The network node (16) of Claim 33, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive an indication from the UE (22) indicating a UE preference regarding one or both of the SBFD symbols and the non-SBFD symbols.

35. The network node (16) of any of Claims 33 and 34, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to receive a measurement report that includes the one or more measurement results for each of at least one serving cell (18) and at least one neighbor cell (18).

36. The network node (16) of Claim 35, wherein the measurement report includes an indication of how the one or more measurement results are determined or differ.

37. The network node (16) of any of Claims 33-36, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate to the UE (22) whether a target cell (18) for handover is SBFD capable.

38. The network node (16) of any of Claims 33-37, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate to the UE cell measurement resources for at least one of SBFD symbols and non-SBFD symbols.

39. The network node (16) of any of Claims 33-38, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to send to a handover target cell (18) an indication as to whether the UE (22) is SBFD-aware.

40. The network node (16) of any of Claims 33-39, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to indicate to the UE (22) a number of symbols to be used for uplink operation among the SBFD symbols.

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