Priority for event-triggered layer 1 measurement report medium access control (MAC) control element (CE)

Abstract

A method is provided that includes making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (L1) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled, and preparing at least one L1 measurement report triggered by the determination. The method includes determining medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one L1 measurement report in an uplink grant. The MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an L1 measurement report has equal priority with one or more other MAC CEs. The method also includes multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU), and transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

Description

PRIORITY FOR EVENT-TRIGGERED LAYER 1 MEASUREMENT REPORT MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL (MAC) CONTROL ELEMENT (CE)TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to telecommunications and, in particular, to layer 1 measurement reporting in a telecommunications system.BACKGROUND

[0002] A telecommunications system can be seen as a facility that enables communication sessions between two or more entities such as user terminals, base stations and / or other nodes by providing carriers between the various entities involved in the communications path. A telecommunications system can be provided for example by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. The communication sessions may comprise, for example, communication of data for carrying communications such as voice, video, electronic mail (email), text message, multimedia and / or content data and so on. Non-limiting examples of services provided comprise two-way or multi-way calls, data communication or multimedia services and access to a data network system, such as the Internet.

[0003] In a wireless telecommunications system, at least a part of a communication session between at least two stations occurs over a wireless link. Examples of wireless telecommunications systems comprise public land mobile networks (PLMN), satellite based communication systems and different wireless local networks, for example wireless local area networks (WLAN). Some wireless systems can be divided into cells, and are therefore often referred to as cellular systems.

[0004] A user can access the telecommunications system by means of an appropriate communication device or terminal. A communication device of a user may be referred to as user equipment (UE) or user device. A communication device is provided with an appropriate signal receiving and transmitting apparatus for enabling communications, forexample enabling access to a communication network or communications directly with other users. The communication device may access a carrier provided by a station, for example a base station of a cell, and transmit and / or receive communications on the carrier.

[0005] The telecommunications system and associated devices typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the communication system are permitted to do and how operations should be achieved. Communication protocols and / or parameters which shall be used for connection of the various entities are also typically defined. One example of a telecommunications system is the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). Other examples of telecommunications systems are Long-Term Evolution (LTE), LTE Advanced and the so-called 5G or New Radio (NR) networks. NR is being standardized by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).BRIEF SUMMARY

[0006] Example implementations of the present disclosure are directed to telecommunications and, in particular, to layer 1 measurement reporting in a telecommunications system. The present disclosure includes, without limitation, the following example implementations.

[0007] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: make a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; prepare at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determine medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which at least one of a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR) with contention based random access (CBRA) is prioritized over a MAC CE for the LI measurement report, or priority of the MAC CE for the LI measurement report depends on an LTM reporting event type;multiplex the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmit the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

[0008] Some example implementations provide a method comprising: making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event- triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; preparing at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determining medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which at least one of a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR) with contention based random access (CBRA) is prioritized over a MAC CE for the LI measurement report, or priority of the MAC CE for the LI measurement report depends on an LTM reporting event type; multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

[0009] Some example implementations provide an apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: make a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; prepare at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determine medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an LI measurement report has equal priority with one or more other MAC CEs; multiplex the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmit the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

[0010] Some example implementations provide a method comprising: making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event- triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; preparing at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determining medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including theat least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an LI measurement report has equal priority with one or more other MAC CEs; multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

[0011] These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the present disclosure will be apparent from a reading of the following detailed description together with the accompanying figures, which are briefly described below. The present disclosure includes any combination of two, three, four or more features or elements set forth in this disclosure, regardless of whether such features or elements are expressly combined or otherwise recited in a specific example implementation described herein. The present disclosure is intended to be read holistically such that any separable features or elements of the disclosure, in any of its aspects and example implementations, should be viewed as combinable unless the context of the disclosure clearly dictates otherwise.

[0012] It will therefore be appreciated that this Brief Summary is provided merely for purposes of summarizing some example implementations so as to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the disclosure. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above described example implementations are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the disclosure in any way. Other example implementations, aspects and advantages will become apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of some described example implementations.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURE(S)

[0013] Having thus described example implementations of the disclosure in general terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying figures, which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

[0014] FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications system that includes one or more public land mobile networks (PLMNs) coupled to one or more external data networks, according to some example implementations of the present disclosure;

[0015] FIG. 2 illustrates a 5G deployment of a PLMN, according to some example implementations;

[0016] FIG. 3 is a signaling chart for a L1 / L2 -triggered mobility, also known as lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) procedure;

[0017] FIG. 4 is a signaling chart of a procedure for event-based reporting of LI measurements, according to some example implementations;

[0018] FIGS. 5 and 6 are flowcharts illustrating various steps in respective methods according to various example implementations; and

[0019] FIG. 7 illustrates an apparatus according to some example implementations.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0020] Some implementations of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying figures, in which some, but not all implementations of the disclosure are shown. Indeed, various implementations of the disclosure may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the implementations set forth herein; rather, these example implementations are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

[0021] Unless specified otherwise or clear from context, references to first, second or the like should not be construed to imply a particular order. A feature described as being above another feature (unless specified otherwise or clear from context) may instead be below, and vice versa; and similarly, features described as being to the left of another feature else may instead be to the right, and vice versa. Also, while reference may be made herein to quantitative measures, values, geometric relationships or the like, unless otherwise stated, any one or more if not all of these may be absolute or approximate to account for acceptable variations that may occur, such as those due to engineering tolerances or the like.

[0022] As used herein, unless specified otherwise or clear from context, the “or” of a set of operands is the “inclusive or” and thereby true if and only if one or more of the operands is true, as opposed to the “exclusive or” which is false when all of the operandsare true. Thus, for example, “[A] or [B]” is true if [A] is true, or if [B] is true, or if both [A] and [B] are true. Further, the articles “a” and “an” mean “one or more,” unless specified otherwise or clear from context to be directed to a singular form. Furthermore, it should be understood that unless otherwise specified, the terms “data,” “content,” “digital content,” “information,” and similar terms may be at times used interchangeably. The term “network” may refer to a group of interconnected computers including clients and servers; and within a network, these computers may be interconnected directly or indirectly by various means including via one or more switches, routers, gateways, access points or the like.

[0023] Reference may be made herein to terms specific to a particular system, architecture or the like, but it should be understood that example implementations of the present disclosure may be equally applicable to any of a number of systems, architectures and the like. For example, reference may be made to 3 GPP technologies such as Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, 5GNR, 5G Advanced and 6G; however, it should be understood that example implementations of the present disclosure may be equally applicable to non-3GPP technologies such as IEEE 802, Bluetooth and Bluetooth Low Energy.

[0024] Further, as used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry); (b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and (ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions); or (c) hardware circuit(s) and / or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0025] The above definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their)accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates a telecommunications system 100 according to various example implementations of the present disclosure. The telecommunications system generally includes one or more telecommunications networks. As shown, for example, the system includes one or more PLMNs 102 coupled to one or more other external data networks 104 - notably including a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. Each of the PLMNs includes a core network (CN) 106 backbone such as the Evolved Packet Core (EPC) of LTE, the 5G core network (5GC) or the like; and each of the core networks and the Internet are coupled to one or more RANs 108, air interfaces or the like that implement one or more radio access technologies (RATs). As used herein, a “network device” refers to any suitable device at a network side of a telecommunications network. Examples of suitable network devices are described in greater detail below.

[0027] In addition, the system includes one or more radio units that may be varyingly known as user equipment (UE) 110, terminal device, terminal equipment, mobile station or the like. The UE is generally a device configured to communicate with a network device or a further UE in a telecommunications network. The UE may be a portable computer (e.g., laptop, notebook, tablet computer), mobile phone (e.g., cell phone, smartphone), wearable computer (e.g., smartwatch), or the like. In other examples, the UE may be an Internet of things (loT) device, an industrial loT (IIoT device), a vehicle equipped with a vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication technology, or the like. In some examples, as referenced by 3 GPP, the UE may be a narrowband loT (NB-IoT) device, an enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) device, a reduced capability (RedCap) device, an ambient loT device, or the like.

[0028] In operation, these UEs 110 may be configured to connect to one or more of the RANs 108 according to their particular radio access technologies to thereby access a particular CN 106 of a PLMN 102, or to access one or more of the external data networks 104 (e.g., the Internet). The external data network may be configured to provide Internet access, operator services, 3rd party services, etc. For example, the InternationalTelecommunication Union (ITU) has classified 5G mobile network services into three categories: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra- reliable and low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications (mMTC) or massive internet of things (MIoT).

[0029] Examples of radio access technologies include 3 GPP radio access technologies such as GSM, UMTS, LTE, LTE Advanced, 5GNR, 5G Advanced, and 6G. Other examples of radio access technologies include IEEE 802 technologies such as IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.15 (including 802.15.1 (WPAN / Bluetooth), 802.15.4 (Zigbee) and 802.15.6 (WBAN)), Bluetooth, Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), ultra wideband (UWB), and the like. Generally, a radio access technology may refer to any 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G or higher generation mobile communication technology and their different versions, as well as to any other wireless radio access technology that may be arranged to interwork with such a mobile communication technology to provide access to the CN 106 of a mobile network operator (MNO).

[0030] In various examples, a RAN 108 may be configured as one or more macrocells, microcells, picocells, femtocells or the like. The RAN may generally include one or more radio access nodes that are configured to interact with UEs 110. In various examples, a radio access node may be referred to as a base station (BS), access point (AP), base transceiver station (BTS), Node B (NB), evolved NB (eNB), macro BS, NB (MNB) or eNB (MeNB), home BS, NB (HNB) or eNB (HeNB), next generation NB (gNB), enhanced gNB (en-gNB), next generation eNB (ng-eNB), or the like. The RAN may include some type of network controlling / governing entity responsible for control of the radio access nodes. The network controlling / governing entity and radio access node may be separate or integrated into a single apparatus. The network controlling / governing entity may include processing circuity configured to carry out various management functions, etc. The processing circuity may be associated with a memory, computer- readable storage medium or database for maintaining information required in the management functions.

[0031] A RAN 108 may be centralized or distributed. In various examples, components of a RAN may be interconnected by Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet, Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), optical fiber, dark fiber, passive wavelengthdivision multiplexing (WDM), WDM passive optical network (WDM-PON), optical transport network (OTN), time sensitive networking (TSN) and / or any other data link layer network, possibly including radio links. The RAN may be connected to a CN 106 through one or more gateways, network functions or the like.

[0032] As will be appreciated, a PLMN 102 may be deployed in a number of different manners. In a 4GLTE deployment, the EPC is the CN 106, and the evolved UMTS terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) is the RAN 108; and the E-UTRAN includes one or more eNBs (radio access nodes) configured to connect UEs 110 to the E- UTRAN to thereby access the EPC. As shown in FIG. 2, in a 5G deployment 200, the 5GC 202 is the CN, and the next generation (NG) radio access network (NG-RAN) 204 is the RAN; and the NG-RAN includes one or more gNBs 206 (radio access nodes) configured to connect UEs 110 to the NG-RAN to thereby access the 5GC (at times referred to as the NGC). The term ‘gNB’ in 5G may correspond to the eNB in 4G LTE.

[0033] Some deployments of 4G LTE and 5G in particular are considered standalone (SA) deployments. Other deployments combine 4G LTE and 5G technologies, and are referred to as non-standalone (NSA) deployments. In some deployments, the E-UTRAN includes one or more ng-eNBs that are configured to communicate with the 5GC, and that may also be configured to communicate with one or more gNBs. Similarly, in another deployment, the NG-RAN may include one or more en-gNBs that are configured to communicate with the EPC, and that may also be configured to communicate with one or more eNBs. In various instances, a single UE 110, a dual-mode or multimode UE, may support multiple (two or more) RANs — thereby being configured to connect to multiple RANs, such as 4G LTE and 5G.

[0034] In various instances, a single UE 110 (dual-mode or multimode UE) may support carrier aggregation (CA), dual-connectivity (DC) or multi-connectivity (MC). In this regard, CA allows the UE to simultaneously connect to cells on multiple carriers, enabling the UE to reach higher throughputs, as well as fast-time-scale load-balancing across multiple carriers. AUE will generally have a primary cell, known as a PCell, which is typically the cell through which the UE first connects to the NG-RAN 204. The RAN (typically via the PCell) may provide the UE additional configuration informationto enable it to simultaneously connect to additional cells on carriers other than the PCell, which are known as the UE’s secondary cells or SCells.

[0035] The PCell radio access node may be referred to as a master node (MN), and the SCell radio access node may be referred to as a secondary node (SN). Relatedly, a master cell group (MCG) refers to a group of serving cells associated with the MN, and the MCG includes PCell). A secondary cell group (SCG) refers to a group of serving cells associated with the SN, and the SCG includes a primary cell referred to as the primary secondary cell (PSCell). A special cell (SpCell) refers to the PCell of the MCG or the PSCell of the SCG

[0036] In some deployments, operations of a gNB 206 or other radio access node may be distributed or functionally split into components including one or more remote radio head (RRHs) or radio units (RUs) 208, and a baseband unit (BBU); and in some architectures, the BBU may be split into a distributed unit (DU) 210 and a central / centralized unit (CU) 212, such as a server, host or node. In some architectures, the RRH / RU and DU may be co-located. It is also possible that node operations may be distributed among a plurality of servers, hosts or nodes. It should also be understood that the distribution of work between CN operations and radio access node operations may vary depending on implementation.

[0037] As shown and described, for example, some 5G deployments may be based on a so-called CU-DU split including one or more DUs 210 and a CU 212. One gNB-CU (central node) may control one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-CU may control a plurality of spatially separated gNB-DUs, acting at least as transmit / receive (Tx / Rx) nodes. In some example implementations, however, the gNB-DUs (also called DU) may include, for example, a radio link control (RLC), medium access control (MAC) layer and a physical (PHY) layer, whereas the gNB-CU (also called a CU) may include the layers above the RLC layer, such as a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, a radio resource control (RRC), and an internet protocol (IP) layer. Other functional splits are also possible. It is considered that a skilled person is familiar with the open systems interconnection (OSI) model and the functionalities within each layer.

[0038] In some example implementations, the server or CU 212 may generate a virtual network through which the server communicates with the radio node. In general,virtual networking may involve a process of combining hardware and software network resources and network functionality into a single, software-based administrative entity, a virtual network. Such virtual network may provide flexible distribution of operations between the server and the radio head / node. In practice, any digital signal processing task may be performed in either the CU or the DU 210, and the boundary where the responsibility is shifted between the CU and the DU may be selected according to implementation.

[0039] Currently in 3 GPP, mainstream mobility has been conducted using higher layer (L3 or RRC controlled) mobility. In this regard, L3 handover based mobility is a well-known and proven method for ensuring a robust way of handing over the UE 110 from one serving cell (source cell) of a radio access node 202 to a new serving cell (target cell) of the same or another radio access node. The method has been used at least since GSM and is still in use in 5GNR. It is expected that L3 mobility (legacy handover) will also be commonly used in the future.

[0040] L1 / L2 -triggered mobility, or lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) moves the execution of the ‘handover’ from one cell to another from higher layers (L3), such as RRC, to lower layers. These lower layers may be either PHY (or LI) or MAC (or L2). LTM may reduce latency, overhead and interruption time when compared to L3 handover based mobility. In a CU-DU split architecture, LTM may support one or more of intra- DU mobility, intra-CU inter-DU mobility, or inter-CU inter-DU mobility.

[0041] FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling chart 300 for an LTM procedure of a UE 110 in a RRC connected state with a gNB 206, which has been proposed. During LTM preparation, as shown at step 301, the UE sends a L3 measurement report to the gNB, which decides to use LTM and initiate LTM candidate preparation. The gNB at step 302 transmits a RRC reconfiguration message to the UE, including the configuration of one or more candidate cells. The RRC reconfiguration message may also include a configuration of LI measurement reporting for LTM execution. The UE stores the configurations, and the UE at step 303 transmits a RRC reconfiguration complete message to the gNB.

[0042] An early synchronization of the UE 110 with the candidate cell(s) follows LTM preparation. As shown at step 304, the UE 110 performs downlink (DL) and may perform uplink (UL) synchronization with the candidate cell(s). For DL synchronization,the gNB 206 may perform an early activation of configured transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states for the candidate cell(s), such as via a MAC control element (MAC CE). The UE may receive this TCI state activation MAC CE, and begin monitoring configured DL reference signal (RS) resources associated with the activate TCI states to synchronize with the candidate cell(s).

[0043] During early UL synchronization, the UE 110 may acquire a timing advance (TA) of respective one or more of the candidate cell(s). In this regard, the gNB 206 may request that the UE to perform early TA acquisition for example via contention free random access (CFRA) triggered by a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) order (using downlink control information (DCI) format 1 0) or other TA acquisition command, following which the UE 110 sends a random access channel (RACH) preamble on the physical random access channel (PRACH) towards an indicated candidate cell. In 3 GPP, the random access (RA) or RACH preamble is sent as a first message (msgl) as part of a RA or RACH procedure; and accordingly, the RA or RACH preamble may at times be referred to as msgl. In order to minimize the data interruption of the gNB due to CFRA towards the candidate cell(s), the UE may not receive a random access response (RAR) from the network (from the candidate cell) for the purpose of TA value acquisition, and the TA value to be used when accessing the candidate cell may be indicated in a subsequent cell switch command.

[0044] This early synchronization may reduce interruption during LTM execution, as compared to L3 handover based mobility. In this regard, the TA may be used to control the timing of uplink transmissions of a UE toward the candidate cell(s). The UE may likewise have an acquired TA of the cell of the gNB to control the timing of uplink transmissions toward the gNB.

[0045] During LTM execution, the UE 110 performs LI measurements on the configured candidate cell(s), and the UE at step 305 transmits LI measurement reports to the gNB 206. The gNB decides to execute a cell switch, and selects one of the candidate cell(s) as a target cell for the cell switch. The gNB then at step 306 transmits a cell switch command, such as a MAC CE, to trigger cell switch. The UE switches to the configuration of the target cell; and if the TA of the target cell (from step 304) is no longer available (or otherwise not acquired), the UE at step 307 initiates a RACHprocedure with the target cell to acquire the TA of the target cell. In some cases, the cell switch command may include CFRA RACH related parameters for the UE to perform the RACH procedure. The UE then at step 308 indicates successful completion of the cell switch.

[0046] A number of enhancements are under discussion, including enhancements to LTM with event-triggered LI measurement reporting. As described herein, the terms event-triggered, event-driven, event-based and the like may be used interchangeably. For example, agreement has been made on a number of LTM events based on beam specific quality of the serving cell and candidate cells as LI measurement events. These LTM events include LTM-2 (beam of serving cell becomes worse than absolute threshold), LTM-3 (beam of candidate cell becomes amount of offset better than beam of serving cell), LTM-4 (beam of candidate cell becomes better than absolute threshold), and LTM- 5 (beam of serving cell becomes worse than a first absolute threshold and beam of candidate cell becomes better than another, second absolute threshold).

[0047] The above agreed LTM events are based on the beam specific quality of a serving cell and candidate cell to trigger a measurement event. The beam specific quality may be indicated in a number of different manners, some of which may be based on a reference signal (RS), such as synchronization signal (SS) / physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) or a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS). For example, beam specific quality may be indicated by RS received power (RSRP), RS received quality (RSRQ), signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR), or the like.

[0048] When the event is fulfilled, the UE 110 may be configured indicate the event to the radio access node 202, and typically report measurements to the radio access node on one or more RSs (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS) that fulfilled the event. In LTM-3, which may be referred to as relative threshold event, a beam of a serving cell is referred as the reference resource / beam. In LTM-4, which may be referred to as absolute threshold event, the beam of a candidate cell may be any of the candidate cell RSs that are configured for measurement.

[0049] Based on current agreement for LTM event- triggered LI measurement reporting, event-triggered LI measurements may be reported by the UE 110 to the network via a MAC control element (MAC CE). In this regard, MAC CEs may carrycontrol information transmitted by the UE to the network, such as to the radio access node 202 serving the UE. A MAC CE carrying a LI measurement report may be included with other MAC CEs in an available UL grant (uplink resource allocated by the network) in a certain priority order. Typically control MAC CEs are prioritized over data transmission and the certain relative priority is defined for the control MAC CEs that are multiplexed on the available UL grant.

[0050] As currently specified in 3 GPP, MAC CEs may be prioritized in the following order (highest priority listed first:MAC CE for cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNU), or data from uplink common control channel (UL-CCCH);MAC CE for (enhanced) beam failure recovery (BFR), or MAC CE for configured grant confirmation, or MAC CE for multiple entry configured grant confirmation;MAC CE for sidelink configured grant confirmation;MAC CE for listen before talk (LBT) failure;MAC CE for sidelink (SL) LBT failure;MAC CE for timing advance report;MAC CE for delay status report;MAC CE for SL- buffer status report (BSR) prioritized;MAC CE for (extended) BSR, with exception of BSR included for padding;MAC CE for (enhanced) single entry power headroom report (PHR), or MAC CE for (enhanced) multiple entry PHR or MAC CE for single entry PHR with assumed physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH), or MAC CE for multiple entry PHR with assumed PUSCH, or MAC CE for enhanced single entry PHR for multiple transmission-reception point (TRP) or MAC CE for enhanced multiple entry PHR for multiple TRP, or MAC CE for enhanced single entry PHR for multiple TRP simultaneous transmission and reception with two power amplifiers (STx2P) or MAC CE for enhanced multiple entry PHR for multiple TRP STx2P;MAC CE for positioning measurement gap activation / deactivation request;MAC CE for the number of desired guard symbols;MAC CE for case-6 timing request;MAC CE for (extended) pre-emptive BSR;MAC CE for SL-BSR, with exception of certion SL-BSR that are prioritized and SL-BSR included for padding;MAC CE for integrated access backhaul mobile termination (IAB-MT) recommended beam indication, or MAC CE for desired IAB-MT power spectral density (PSD) range, or MAC CE for desired DL Tx power adjustment; data from any logical channel, except data from UL-CCCH;MAC CE for recommended bit rate query;MAC CE for BSR included for padding; and MAC CE for SL-BSR included for padding.In this order, prioritization among MAC CEs of same priority may be up to implementation of the UE 110.

[0051] In view of the foregoing, example implementations of the present disclosure provide a solution in which MAC CEs to carry control information including at least one LI measurement report in a UL grant are determined according to a specified priority order. Some example implementations provides a method / rules for the UE to determine priority for a MAC CE carrying a LI measurement report and other MAC CEs, and the relative priority between MAC CEs carrying LI measurement reports.

[0052] Some example implementations provide a UE 110 configured to make a determination that at least one LTM reporting event of an event- triggered LI measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled. The UE may prepare at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination. The UE may determine MAC CEs to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order. The UE may multiplex the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU). And the UE may transmit the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

[0053] In some examples, a MAC CE for the LI measurement report (referred to at times as a LTM report MAC CE) may include a number of different types of information. The LTM report MAC CE may include, for example, an LI (e.g., RSRP) measurementfor LTM, a RS index / resource indication for which the LI measurement may be reported, a candidate cell identifier for which the LI measurement may be reported, and / or a LTM reporting event identifier (e.g., LTM-3, LTM-5).

[0054] In some examples, the specified priority order may indicate priority between the LTM report MAC CE and MAC CEs that carry other control information (other MAC CEs). In some of these examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR with contention based random access (CBRA) may be prioritized over LTM report MAC CE. In some of these examples, the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR with CBRA may be for beam failure recovery for the serving cell. In some of these examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR with contention based random access (CBRA) indicating recovery for the primary cell (PCell, or SpCell) may be prioritized over LTM report MAC CE. In some of these examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR with indicating recovery for the cells other than or not including primary cell (PCell, or SpCell) may be down prioritized over LTM report MAC CE.

[0055] In some examples, the MAC CE for C-RNTI or data from UL-CCCH may be prioritized over LTM report MAC CE. Additionally or alternatively, in some examples, the LTM report MAC CE may be prioritized over a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR, or the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR or other MAC CEs having equal priority as the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR. Alternatively, in some examples, the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR or other MAC CEs having equal priority as MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR are prioritized over LTM report MAC CE. Or the LTM report MAC CE may have equal priority with a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR or other MAC CEs having equal priority as the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR.

[0056] In some examples, in the specified priority order, priority of the LTM report MAC CE depends on an LTM reporting event type. The specified priority order may indicate priority between the LTM report MAC CE of a certain LTM reporting event type and other MAC CEs, or between LTM report MAC CEs for different LTM reporting event types. In some of these examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for C- RNTI or from UL-CCCH may be prioritized over the LTM report MAC CE for at leastone of LTM-3 or LTM-5 (LTM reporting event type(s) associated with LI measurements of the serving cell and one or more candidate cells).

[0057] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM-5 may be prioritized over a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR. Likewise, in some examples, the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM-5 may be prioritized over a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR and other MAC CEs having equal priority with the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR.

[0058] In some examples, the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM-5 may have equal priority with a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR for PCell (SpCell ) recovery.

[0059] In some examples, the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM-5 may have higher priority over a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR for secondary cells (i.e., not recovering a primary cell).

[0060] In some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR may be prioritized over the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM- 5. Alternatively, in some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR has equal priority with the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM-5.

[0061] In some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR may be prioritized over the LTM report MAC CE for a LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of only the serving cell (e.g., LTM- 2). Similarly, in some examples, a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR may be prioritized over the LTM report MAC CE for a LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of only one or more candidate cells (e.g., LTM-4).

[0062] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM-5 may be prioritized over the LTM report MAC CE for other LTM reporting event types.

[0063] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the LTM report MAC CE for LTM-3 (LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell) may be prioritized over the LTM report MAC CE for other LTM reporting event types.

[0064] According to some example implementations, the UE 110 may determine the MAC CEs to multiplex in the same uplink grant according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an LI measurement report has equal priority with other MAC CE(s). In some examples, in the specified priority order, the LTM report MAC CE for LTM-3 has equal priority with the LTM report MAC CE for other LTM reporting event types (e.g., LTM-2, LTM-4, LTM- 5). In some of these examples, the UE may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE for LTM-3 over the LTM report MAC CE for one or more if not all of the other LTM reporting event types. In some more specific examples, the UE may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE for LTM-3 over the LTM report MAC CE for LTM- 5 (LI measurements of the serving cell becomes worse than a threshold and the LI measurements of the candidate cell becomes better than another threshold).

[0065] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM-3 or LTM- 5 has equal priority with a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR. In some of these examples, the UE 110 may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR. In some further examples, the UE may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR that does not report a failure of the serving cell of a specific type (e.g., PCell or SCell).

[0066] In some examples in which the LTM report MAC CE has equal priority with a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR in the specified priority order, and UE 110 may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE over the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR (e.g., the UE may priorize the specified equal priority MAC CEs so the LTM report is prioritized over MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR).

[0067] In some examples in which the LTM report MAC CE for at least one of LTM- 3 or LTM-5 has equal priority with a MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR in the specified priority order, the UE 110 may prioritize the MAC CE for (enhanced) BFR over the LTM report MAC CE for the at least one LTM reporting event type.

[0068] In some examples, the UE 110 may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state over the one or more other MAC CEs.

[0069] In some examples, the UE 110 may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell for which a timing advance (TA) has been acquired over the one or more other MAC CEs.

[0070] In some examples, the UE 110 may prioritize the LTM report MAC CE including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated TCI state, and for which a TA has been acquired, over the one or more other MAC CEs.

[0071] FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling chart 400 of a procedure for event- based reporting of LI measurements, according to some example implementations. In some examples, the procedure may be carried out during an LTM procedure, such as shown in FIG. 3. In this regard, the procedure may be carried out to determine when to send an LI measurement report, and send the LI measurement report, as indicated at step 305 of FIG. 3.

[0072] As shown in FIG. 4, a serving cell 408 (provided by a serving gNB 206) may at step 401 send, to the UE 110, a LTM configuration (measurement RS configuration) and a reporting configuration (event-triggered reporting configuration). As shown in FIG.3, the configurations may be sent by the serving gNB to the UE as part of an LTM candidate configuration at step 302. The UE may at step 402 perform LI measurements on the serving cell and / or one or more candidate cells 410. The UE may perform an evaluation of reporting event(s) based on the LI measurements; and the UE may at step 403 determine that a reporting event has been fulfilled (triggered) based on the evaluation. The UE may then prepare a LI measurement report triggered by the determination.

[0073] The serving cell 408 may at step 405 provide the UE 110 with a UL resource allocation that includes an UL grant. The UE may at step 405 determine MAC CEs to carry control information including the LI measurement report in the uplink grant, and the MAC CEs may be determined according to a specified priority order. The UE may multiplex the MAC CEs in a MAC packet PDU, and the UE may at step 406 transmit the MAC PDU to the serving cell on an UL-SCH in the uplink grant. Although shown after the UE determines that the reporting event has been triggered, the UL resource allocationmay be provided to the UE at any time before the MAC CEs for the uplink grant are determined.

[0074] FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating various steps in a method 500 according to various example implementations. The method includes making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled, as shown at block 502 of FIG. 5 A. The method includes preparing at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination, as shown at block 504. The method includes determining medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, as shown at block 506. The MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which at least one of a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR) with contention based random access (CBRA) is prioritized over a MAC CE for the LI measurement report, or priority of the MAC CE for the LI measurement report depends on an LTM reporting event type. The method includes multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU), as shown at block 508. And the method includes transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant, as shown at block 510.

[0075] In some examples, the MAC for BFR with CBRA is for beam failure recovery for the serving cell.

[0076] In some examples, the MAC for BFR with CBRA is for beam failure recovery for the serving cell that is a primary cell.

[0077] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report has equal priority with a MAC CE for BFR or other MAC CEs having equal priority with the MAC CE for BFR.

[0078] In some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) or from uplink common control channel (UL- CCCH) is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells.

[0079] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LImeasurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells is prioritized over a MAC CE for BFR or other MAC CEs having equal priority with the MAC CE for BFR.

[0080] In some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells.

[0081] In some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells.

[0082] In some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for a LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of only a serving cell.

[0083] In some examples, in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for a LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of only one or more candidate cells.

[0084] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types.

[0085] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for a LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types.

[0086] FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating various steps in a method 600 according to various example implementations. The method includes making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled, as shown at block 602. The method includes preparing at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination, as shown at block 604. The method includes determining medium accesscontrol (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, as shown at block 606. The MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an LI measurement report has equal priority with one or more other MAC CEs. The method includes multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU), as shown at block 608. And the method includes transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant, as shown at block 610.

[0087] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types. In some of these examples, determining the MAC CEs at block 606 includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one of the other LTM reporting event types.

[0088] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for another LTM reporting event type in which the LI measurements of the serving cell becomes worse than a threshold and the LI measurements of the candidate cell becomes better than another threshold. In some of these examples, determining the MAC CEs at block 606 includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the other LTM reporting event type.

[0089] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BLR). In some of these examples, determining the MAC CEs at block 606 includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BLR.

[0090] In some examples, determining the MAC CEs at block 606 includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BFR that does not report a failure of the serving cell.

[0091] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR). In some of these examples, determining the MAC CEs at block 606 includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report over the MAC CE for BFR.

[0092] In some examples, in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR). In some of these examples, determining the MAC CEs at block 606 includes prioritizing the MAC CE for BFR over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type.

[0093] In some examples, determining the MAC CEs at block 606 includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state over the one or more other MAC CEs.

[0094] According to example implementations of the present disclosure, a telecommunications system 100 or PLMN 102, and its components such as a UE 110, gNB 206, serving cell 408 and / or candidate cell 410, may be implemented by various means. Means for implementing the system and its components may include hardware, firmware, software, or combinations thereof. In some examples, one or more apparatuses may be configured to function as or otherwise implement the system and its components shown and described herein. In examples involving more than one apparatus, the respective apparatuses may be connected to or otherwise in communication with one another in a number of different manners, such as directly or indirectly via a wired or wireless network or the like.

[0095] According to some example implementations, at least some of the method 500 described with respect to FIG. 5 may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for performing functions corresponding steps of the method. Similarly, at least some ofthe method 600 described with respect to FIG. 6 may be carried out by an apparatus comprising means for performing functions corresponding steps of the method. Examples of a suitable apparatus may include a user equipment, user device, user terminal or the like.

[0096] FIG. 7 illustrates an apparatus 700 in which means for performing various functions includes hardware, alone or under direction of one or more computer programs from a computer-readable storage medium or other memory, such as computer memory, according to some example implementations of the present disclosure. Generally, an apparatus of example implementations of the present disclosure may comprise, include or be embodied in one or more fixed or portable electronic devices. Examples of suitable electronic devices include a wearable computer, mobile phone, portable computer, desktop computer, workstation computer, server (server computer) or the like. The apparatus may include one or more of each of a number of components such as, for example, processing circuitry 702 connected to computer- readable storage medium or other memory 704.

[0097] The processing circuitry 702 may be composed of one or more processors alone or in combination with one or more computer-readable storage media. The processing circuitry is generally any piece of computer hardware that is capable of processing information such as, for example, data, computer programs and / or other suitable electronic information. The processing circuitry is composed of a collection of electronic circuits some of which may be packaged as an integrated circuit or multiple interconnected integrated circuits (an integrated circuit at times more commonly referred to as a “chip”). The processing circuitry may be configured to execute computer programs, which may be stored onboard the processing circuitry or otherwise stored in the memory 704 (of the same or another apparatus).

[0098] The processing circuitry 702 may be a number of processors, a multi-core processor or some other type of processor, depending on the particular implementation. Further, the processing circuitry may be implemented using a number of heterogeneous processor systems in which a main processor is present with one or more secondary processors on a single chip. As another illustrative example, the processing circuitry may be a symmetric multi-processor system containing multiple processors of the same type.In yet another example, the processing circuitry may be embodied as or otherwise include one or more ASICs, FPGAs or the like. Thus, although the processing circuitry may be capable of executing a computer program to perform one or more functions, the processing circuitry of various examples may be capable of performing one or more functions without the aid of a computer program. In either instance, the processing circuitry may be appropriately programmed to perform functions or operations according to example implementations of the present disclosure.

[0099] The memory 704 is generally any piece of computer hardware that is capable of storing information such as, for example, data, computer programs, instructions 706 (e.g., computer-readable program code) and / or other suitable information either on a temporary basis and / or a permanent basis. The memory may include volatile and / or nonvolatile memory, and may be fixed or removable. Examples of suitable memory include recording media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard drive, a flash memory, a thumb drive, a removable computer diskette, an optical disk or some combination thereof.

[0100] The memory 704 is a non-transitory device capable of storing information. One example of a suitable memory is a computer-readable storage medium, which is distinguishable from a computer-readable transmission medium capable of carrying information from one location to another. Examples of suitable computer-readable transmission media comprise electronic carrier signals, telecommunications signals, or some combination thereof. As used herein, the term “non-transitory” is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM versus ROM). A computer-readable medium as described herein generally refers to a computer-readable storage medium or computer-readable transmission medium. A computer-readable medium is any entity or device capable in which information, such as one or more computer programs or portions thereof, may be stored and carried.

[0101] In addition to the memory 704 (e.g., computer-readable storage medium), the processing circuitry 702 may also be connected to one or more interfaces for displaying, transmitting and / or receiving information. The interfaces may include a communications interface 708 and / or one or more user interfaces. The communications interface may beconfigured to transmit and / or receive information, such as to and / or from other apparatus(es), network(s) or the like. The communications interface may be configured to transmit and / or receive information by physical (wired) and / or wireless communications links. Examples of suitable communication interfaces include a network interface controller (NIC), wireless NIC (WNIC) or the like.

[0102] The user interfaces may include a display 710 and / or one or more user input interfaces 712. The display may be configured to present or otherwise display information to a user, suitable examples of which include a liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED) display, organic LED (OLED) display, active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) or the like. The user input interfaces may be wired or wireless, and may be configured to receive information from a user into the apparatus, such as for processing, storage and / or display. Suitable examples of user input interfaces include a microphone, image or video capture device, keyboard or keypad, joystick, touch-sensitive surface (separate from or integrated into a touchscreen), biometric sensor or the like. The user interfaces may further include one or more interfaces for communicating with peripherals such as printers, scanners or the like.

[0103] Execution of the instructions 706 by the processing circuitry 702, or storage of the instructions in the memory 704, supports combinations of operations for implementing example implementations of the present disclosure. In this manner, an apparatus 700 may comprise at least one processing circuitry and at least one memory coupled to the at least one processing circuitry, where the at least one processing circuitry is configured to execute instructions stored in the at least one memory. It will also be understood that one or more functions, and combinations of functions, may be implemented by special purpose hardware-based computer systems and / or processing circuitry which perform the specified functions, or combinations of special purpose hardware and program code instructions.

[0104] Some example implementations of the present disclosure may also be carried out in the form of a computer process defined by one or more computer programs or portions thereof. Example implementations of the present disclosure may be carried out by executing at least one portion of a computer program comprising instructions. The computer program may be in source code form, object code form, or in someintermediate form. The computer program may be stored in a computer-readable medium that is readable by a computer, processing circuitry or other suitable apparatus. As indicated above, for example, the computer program may be stored in a memory, such as a computer-readable storage medium. Additionally or alternatively, for example, the computer program may be stored in a computer-readable transmission medium. The coding of software for carrying out example implementations of the present disclosure is well within the scope of a person of ordinary skill in the art.

[0105] As will be appreciated, any suitable instructions may be loaded onto a computer, a processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus from a memory or a computer-readable medium (e.g., computer-readable storage medium, computer-readable transmission medium) to produce a particular machine, such that the particular machine becomes a means for implementing the functions specified herein. The instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer, a processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner to thereby generate a particular machine or particular article of manufacture. In some examples, the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium may produce an article of manufacture, where the article of manufacture becomes a means for implementing functions described herein. The instructions may be retrieved from a computer-readable medium and loaded into a computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to configure the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus to execute operations to be performed on or by the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus.

[0106] Retrieval, loading and execution of instructions comprising program code instructions may be performed sequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loaded and executed at a time. In some example implementations, retrieval, loading and / or execution may be performed in parallel such that multiple instructions are retrieved, loaded, and / or executed together. Execution of the program code instructions may produce a computer-implemented process such that the instructions executed by the computer, processing circuitry or other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementing functions described herein.

[0107] As explained above and reiterated below, the present disclosure includes, without limitation, the following example implementations.

[0108] Clause 1. A method comprising: making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; preparing at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determining medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which at least one of a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR) with contention based random access (CBRA) is prioritized over a MAC CE for the LI measurement report, or priority of the MAC CE for the LI measurement report depends on an LTM reporting event type; multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

[0109] Clause 2. The method of clause 1, wherein the MAC for BFR with CBRA is for beam failure recovery for the serving cell of a specific type.

[0110] Clause 3. The method of clause 1 or clause 2, wherein the MAC for BFR with CBRA is for beam failure recovery for a primary cell.[OHl] Clause 4. The method of any of clauses 1 to 3, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report has equal priority with a MAC CE for BFR or other MAC CEs having equal priority with the MAC CE for BFR.

[0112] Clause 5. The method of any of clauses 1 to 4, wherein in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for cell radio network temporary identifier (C-RNTI) or from uplink common control channel (UL-CCCH) is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells.

[0113] Clause 6. The method of any of clauses 1 to 5, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells is prioritized over a MAC CE for BFR or other MAC CEs having equal priority with the MAC CE for BFR.

[0114] Clause 7. The method of any of clauses 1 to 6, wherein in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells.

[0115] Clause 8. The method of any of clauses 1 to 7, wherein in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells.

[0116] Clause 9. The method of any of clauses 1 to 8, wherein in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for a LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of only a serving cell.

[0117] Clause 10. The method of any of clauses 1 to 9, wherein in the specified priority order, a MAC CE for BFR is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for a LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of only one or more candidate cells.

[0118] Clause 11. The method of any of clauses 1 to 10, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types.

[0119] Clause 12. The method of any of clauses 1 to 11, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for a LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell is prioritized over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types.

[0120] Clause 13. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 1 to 12.

[0121] Clause 14. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 12.

[0122] Clause 15. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 12.

[0123] Clause 16. A computer program comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 1 to 12.

[0124] Clause 17. A method comprising: making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; preparing at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determining medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an LI measurement report has equal priority with one or more other MAC CEs; multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

[0125] Clause 18. The method of clause 17, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types, and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one of the other LTM reporting event types.

[0126] Clause 19. The method of clause 17 or clause 18, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for another LTM reporting event type in which the LI measurements of the serving cell becomes worse than a threshold and the LI measurements of the candidate cell becomes better than another threshold, and wherein determining the MACCEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the other LTM reporting event type.

[0127] Clause 20. The method of any of clauses 17 to 19, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BFR.

[0128] Clause 21. The method of clause 20, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BFR that does not report a failure of the serving cell.

[0129] Clause 22. The method of any of clauses 17 to 21, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report over the MAC CE for BFR.

[0130] Clause 23. The method of any of clauses 17 to 22, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for BFR over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type.

[0131] Clause 24. The method of any of clauses 17 to 23, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state over the one or more other MAC CEs.

[0132] Clause 25. The method of any of clauses 17 to 24, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LImeasurements of a reference signal associated with a cell for which a timing advance (TA) has been acquired over the one or more other MAC CEs.

[0133] Clause 26. The method of any of clauses 17 to 25, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, and for which a timing advance (TA) has been acquired, over the one or more other MAC CEs.

[0134] Clause 27. An apparatus comprising means for performing the method of any of clauses 17 to 26.

[0135] Clause 28. A computer-readable medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 17 to 26.

[0136] Clause 29. A computer-readable storage medium comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 17 to 26.

[0137] Clause 30. A computer program comprising instructions that, in response to execution by at least one processing circuitry, causes an apparatus to perform the method of any of clauses 17 to 26.

[0138] Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forth herein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in the foregoing description and the associated figures. Therefore, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specific implementations disclosed and that modifications and other implementations are intended to be included within the scope of the appended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing description and the associated figures describe example implementations in the context of certain example combinations of elements and / or functions, it should be appreciated that different combinations of elements and / or functions may be provided by alternative implementations without departing from the scope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, different combinations of elements and / or functions than those explicitly described above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one memory configured to store instructions; and at least one processing circuitry configured to access the at least one memory, and execute the instructions to cause the apparatus to at least: make a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; prepare at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determine medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant, wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an LI measurement report has equal priority with one or more other MAC CEs; multiplex the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmit the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types, and wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one of the other LTM reporting event types.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for-34-another LTM reporting event type in which the LI measurements of the serving cell becomes worse than a threshold and the LI measurements of the candidate cell becomes better than another threshold, and wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the other LTM reporting event type.

4. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BFR.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BFR that does not report a failure of the serving cell.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report over the MAC CE for BFR.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associatedwith LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for BFR over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state over the one or more other MAC CEs.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell for which a timing advance (TA) has been acquired over the one or more other MAC CEs.

10. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the apparatus caused to determine the MAC CEs includes the apparatus caused to prioritize the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, and for which a timing advance (TA) has been acquired, over the one or more other MAC CEs.

11. A method comprising: making a determination that at least one lower-layer triggered mobility (LTM) reporting event of an event-triggered layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting configuration is fulfilled; preparing at least one LI measurement report triggered by the determination; determining medium access control (MAC) control elements (CEs) to carry control information including the at least one LI measurement report in an uplink grant,wherein the MAC CEs are determined according to a specified priority order in which a MAC CE for an LI measurement report has equal priority with one or more other MAC CEs; multiplexing the MAC CEs in a MAC packet data unit (PDU); and transmitting the MAC PDU on an uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) in the uplink grant.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for other LTM reporting event types, and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one of the other LTM reporting event types.

13. The method of claim 11 , wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for one LTM reporting event type in which LI measurements of a candidate cell become an offset amount better than LI measurements of a serving cell has equal priority with the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for another LTM reporting event type in which the LI measurements of the serving cell becomes worse than a threshold and the LI measurements of the candidate cell becomes better than another threshold, and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the other LTM reporting event type.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BLR), andwherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BFR.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type over the MAC CE for BFR that does not report a failure of the serving cell.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report over the MAC CE for BFR.

17. The method of claim 11, wherein in the specified priority order, the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for at least one LTM reporting event type associated with LI measurements of a serving cell and one or more candidate cells has equal priority with a MAC CE for beam failure recovery (BFR), and wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for BFR over the MAC CE for the LI measurement report for the at least one LTM reporting event type.

18. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state over the one or more other MAC CEs.

19. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of areference signal associated with a cell for which a timing advance (TA) has been acquired over the one or more other MAC CEs.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein determining the MAC CEs includes prioritizing the MAC CE for the LI measurement report including LI measurements of a reference signal associated with a cell having an activated transmission configuration indicator (TCI) state, and for which a timing advance (TA) has been acquired, over the one or more other MAC CEs.-39-

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