Scheduling event-triggered measurement reporting in layer 1 / layer 2 triggered mobility

Abstract

Methods for LTM event-triggered measurement reporting, are disclosed herein. Corresponding systems and apparatuses are also disclosed. The method performed by a UE comprises receiving, from a network node, a configuration for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, where the configuration comprises: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which L1 measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more L1 reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition. The method further comprises sending, to the network node, a measurement report comprising L1 measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, where the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.

Description

P112202W001 E1416-10065W0011SCHEDULING EVENT-TRIGGERED MEASUREMENT REPORTING IN LAYER 1 / LAYER 2 TRIGGERED MOBILITYFIELD

[0001] The present disclosure relates generally to communication systems, and more specifically to methods for handling the scheduling of event-triggered Layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting for L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility (LTM) in a wireless communication system.BACKGROUND(1) Dynamic Uplink Scheduling of Logical Channels in Fifth Generation New Radio (5GNR)

[0002] The process of dynamic uplink (UL) scheduling refers to the dynamic allocation of UL shared channel (UL-SCH) resources at the user equipment (UE) for carrying UL data. Each UL scheduling grant includes a set of time, frequency, and spatial resources to use for the UL- SCH and applies to a specific UL carrier of a device. The UL scheduling grant cannot be applied directly to specific logical channels, which carry data from higher layers, or Medium Access Control (MAC) control elements (MAC CEs), and the scheduling of logical channel data or MAC CEs on a given UL-SCH grant is controlled by a UE scheduler according to pre-defined rules.

[0003] When a UE receives an UL grant, it first determines the logical channels from which data can be transmitted with the given grant based on the sub-carrier spacing, physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) duration, and the set of UL carrier components (in the serving cell) associated with the given UL grant. If one or more logical channel(s) data is eligible to be transmitted on the given UL scheduling grant, the prioritization in the data transmission takes place according to the logical channel priority, Prioritized Bit Rate (PBR) and Bucket Size Durations (BSD). The logical channels are served in a decreasing priority order, based on requirements for a minimum number of bits to transmit, which is given as the product of PBR and BSD.

[0004] UEs which have a valid grant available but do not have a sufficient UL grant to send logical channel data can trigger buffer status reports (BSR). BSR procedure helps the network scheduler determine the UL-SCH resources that are required to be allocated per UE. The MAC entity determines the amount of UL data available for a logical channel according to the data volume calculation procedure and sends the BSR MAC CE report. For buffer status reporting, logical channels, as identified by their respective logical channel identifiers (LCIDs), are grouped into logical channel groups (LCGs) and the reporting is done per LCG. A BSR procedure may be triggered:P112202W001 E1416-10065W0012• When UL data for a logical channel in a LCG with a higher priority than UL data already in the transmission buffer arrives. The BSR is transmitted as Regular BSR.• When UL data for a logical channel arrives and no other logical channel in an LCG contains UL data. The BSR is again transmitted as Regular BSR.• Periodically as controlled by a timer. The BSR is transmitted as Periodic BSR.• Instead of padding. The BSR is transmitted as Padding BSR if the amount of padding required to fit the scheduled transport block size is larger than the BSR.• Upon the expiration of a retransmission BSR timer (retx-BSR timer) when there is still data available in the transmission buffer for the given LCG.

[0005] A MAC PDU shall contain at most one BSR MAC CE, even when multiple events have triggered a BSR. All triggered BSRs may be cancelled when the UL grant(s) can accommodate all pending data available.

[0006] When the UE does have UL grant available to send BSR MAC CE, it sends a scheduling request (SR), which is a flag transmitted on uplink control information (UCI) for requesting UL-SCH resources. The Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) resources for SR transmission are preconfigured at the UE using Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling and may be periodically reoccurring. SR may be triggered at the UE:• When data with higher priority than already exists at the transmission buffers arrives at the UE and there are no UL resources to send a BSR.• When a logicalChannelSR-DelayTimer (e.g., an optional parameter to define a delay before the UE sends an SR after it has data to transmit) expires (e.g., if the timer is running).• When the UL resources for a new transmission do not meet the logical channel priority mapping restrictions.

[0007] The UE initiates Random Access (RA) based on SR triggering when:• There is no valid PUCCH resource for the SR transmission.• When the maximum number of allowed SR transmissions (e.g., for the given SR) are exceeded.

[0008] The SR which is associated with the BSR procedure is cancelled, when (i) the UL scheduling grant is allocated for the UL data transmission, or (ii) the corresponding BSR MAC CE is transmitted. Each SR configuration is identified by its SR identifier (ID), which is mapped to the logical channel configuration associated with the logical channels carrying higher layer data. The SR ID also points to the PUCCH resources which carry the SR flag.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0013(2) Uplink Scheduling MAC CEs in 5GNR

[0009] 5G NR defined many different MAC CEs which carry LCID values for UL-SCH. The examples include the power headroom reporting (PHR) MAC CE, timing advance reporting (TAR) MAC CE, delay status reporting (DSR) MAC CE, beam failure recovery (BFR) MAC CE, MAC CE for positioning measurement gap activation / deactivation, MAC CE for consistent listen-before-talk (LBT) failure, and MAC CE for pre-emptive BSR.

[0010] In general cases, the transmission of MAC CEs does not trigger a BSR but does trigger an SR directly to request the UL-SCH resources for a given MAC CE transmission. Some of the MAC CEs have a “special” (dedicated) SR configuration to request a UL grant for a given MAC CE transmission, e.g., SCell BFR, LBT failure recovery, BFR of a beam failure detection reference signal (BFD-RS) in a serving cell, positioning measurement gap activation / deactivation, etc., while any SR configuration can be used to request UL-SCH resources for an SR triggered by a pre-emptive BSR and timing advance reporting. The reason behind the SR triggering directly is the usual fixed or predictable size of the MAC CEs which are to be transmitted.

[0011] Additionally, for a given UL scheduling grant, MAC CE transmission is prioritized over the logical channel data transmission. The priorities are listed below:• MAC CE for Cell Radio Network Temporary Identifier (C-RNTI), or data from UL- CCCH.• MAC CE for (Enhanced) BFR, or MAC CE for Configured Grant Confirmation, or MAC CE for Multiple Entry Configured Grant Confirmation.• MAC CE for Listen Before Talk (LBT) failure.• MAC CE for Timing Advance Report.• MAC CE for Delay Status Report.• MAC CE for (Extended) BSR, with exception of BSR included for padding.• MAC CE for (Enhanced) Single Entry 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.• MAC CE for Positioning Measurement Gap Activation / Deactivation Request.• MAC CE for (Extended) Pre-emptive BSR.• Data from any Logical Channel, except data from UL Common Control Channel (UL- CCCH).• MAC CE for B SR included for padding.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0014(3) LTM Measurement Report Scheduling in Rel-18

[0012] 5G NR defines L1 / L2 triggered mobility (LTM) to reduce the handover latency in the legacy L3 handover by leveraging lower layer signaling. In LTM, the UE is first configured with the Radio Resource Control (RRC) configuration for one or more LTM candidate cells. The UE then performs LI -reference signal received power (RSRP) measurements on the synchronization signal block (SSBs), i.e., beams, of the configured LTM candidate cells and reports the measurement over User Control Information (UCI) via PUCCH or PUSCH. The reduction in handover interruption is attained by means of early UL and downlink (DL) synchronization with the target cell before the transmission of an LTM cell switch MAC CE command. The DL pre-synchronization refers to the pre-activation of certain transmission configuration indicator (TCI) states in the LTM candidate cells before any of those cells becomes the target cell. The UL pre-synchronization corresponds to the early acquisition of an LTM candidate cell Timing Advance (TA) value before the UE switches to that cell. The early UL synchronization allows the UE to switch to the LTM candidate cell upon receiving the LTM cell switch indication, without any random-access (RA).

[0013] Rel-18 LTM defines four different types of measurement reporting related to the LTM procedures (e.g., early synchronization, LTM cell switch) provided in the LTM reporting configuration. In Rel-18 LTM, periodic reporting on PUCCH, semi -persistent reporting on PUCCH, semi-persistent reporting on PUSCH, and aperiodic reporting methods are mentioned. Each of these measurement reports are carried via UCI.

[0014] As indicated above, the periodic report in LTM can only be carried via PUCCH and the associated PUCCH resource configuration for report transmission, reporting periodicity, and offset are provided via the RRC configuration in the serving cell. The semi -persistent report in LTM can be carried via PUSCH or PUCCH, and the transmission of semi-persistent report is activated via MAC CE. An aperiodic report in LTM can only be carried via PUSCH and the transmission of the aperiodic LTM CSI report is polled via downlink control information (DCI).(4) Event Triggered Reporting in LTM Rel-19

[0015] The Rel-19 work item for LTM aims to remove the limitations in Rel-18 LTM. One of the objectives for the Rel. 19 WID “NR mobility enhancements Phase 4” is as below.• Measurements related enhancements for purpose of supporting LTM: [RAN2, RANI],• Measurement related enhancements are applicable to Intra-CU MCG / SCG LTM and Inter-CU MCG / SCG LTM.• Specify necessary components to support event triggered LI measurement reporting [RAN2, RANI],P112202W001 E1416-10065W0015• Specify support for CSI-RS measurements for LTM procedures and enable CSI-RS based beam management [RANI],• Specify CSI acquisition on candidate cell(s) based on CSI-RS before or during LTM cell switch [RANI],• As part of the “Measurements-related enhancements” in LTM, Rel-19 LTM defines “Event-triggered Ll-Reporting” in LTM to address the following issues:• Excessive energy consumption at the UE due to high reporting overhead in periodic and semi-persistent LI -report types in LTM.• Inefficient use of UL resources in periodic and semi -persistent LI -report types in LTM.• If the reporting interval in the periodic and semi-persistent Ll-reports is increased in LTM to enhance energy and UL resource efficiency, it may result in handover failures and / or radio link failures (RLF) due to delayed updates in the channel quality at the network.• Aperiodic Ll-report in LTM may result in RLF if the report is not requested by the network in a timely manner.SUMMARY

[0016] Various computer-implemented systems, methods, and articles of manufacture related to candidate cell reference signal measurements in wireless communication networks are described herein. In one embodiment, a method performed by a User Equipment, UE, for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting comprises receiving, from a network node, one or more configurations for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, wherein the one or more configurations for LTM comprise: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition. The method further comprises sending, to the network node, a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, where the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.

[0017] The method may further comprise, prior to sending the measurement report, sending, to the network node, at least one of a Scheduling Request, SR, indicating a request to schedule transmission of the measurement report; or a buffer status report, BSR, indicating a size of theP112202W001 E1416-10065W0016 measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation of resources for sending the measurement report based on at least one of the SR or BSR.

[0018] The method may further comprise sending, to the network node, a first SR including the first scheduling request identifier for requesting the UL grant for the data transmission and a second SR including the second scheduling request identifier for requesting the UL grant for the measurement report.

[0019] The method may further comprise prior to sending the measurement report, sending, to the network node, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size.

[0020] The method may further comprise prior to sending the measurement report, sending, to the network node, a special SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size and a BSR according to at least one BSR format.

[0021] The method may further comprise prior to sending the measurement report, sending, to the network node, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

[0022] The method may further comprise prior to sending the measurement report, sending, to the network node, a BSR with a Logical Channel Group, LCG, of a Logical Channel ID, LCID, which is associated with the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

[0023] The method may further comprise receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times after the network node receives the measurement report.

[0024] The method may further comprise receiving, from the network node, an allocation of a CG Type 2 UL grant in response to the network node receiving at least one of the following: the measurement report, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report, or a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report.

[0025] The method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), at least one pre-configured UL grant for transmitting the measurement report, and activating the at least one pre-configured UL grant upon receipt.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0017

[0026] The method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to deactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant.

[0027] The method may further comprise determining that the at least one pre-configured UL grant is not valid; and when LTM measurement reporting is triggered, transmitting, to the network node (800), an SR to request a UL grant.

[0028] The method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to reactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant.

[0029] The method may further comprise suspending the at least one pre-configured UL grant when an associated timer expires.

[0030] The method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to reactivate a pre-configured UL grant that has been suspended; and restarting a timer associated with the reactivated pre -configured UL grant.

[0031] The method may further comprise deleting the at least one pre-configured UL grant when an associated timer expires.

[0032] The method may further comprise starting a timer associated with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting, wherein the at least one preconfigured UL grant is considered valid for the timer duration.

[0033] The method may further comprise receiving, from the network node, an indication to activate the at least one pre-configured UL grant, wherein the network node comprises a C- DU that identifies the UE (700) as an incoming UE in an LTM cell switch, and determines the UE (700) is configured with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting.

[0034] In one embodiment, a method performed by a network node for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting comprises sending, to a User Equipment, UE, a configuration for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, where the configuration comprises: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition. The method further comprises receiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, where the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.

[0035] The method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, at least one of: a Scheduling Request, SR, indicating a request to schedule transmission of the measurementP112202W001 E1416-10065W0018 report; or a buffer status report, BSR, indicating a size of the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation of resources for sending the measurement report based on at least one of the SR or BSR.

[0036] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, the dedicated SR configuration to be used for configured LTM candidate cells and LTM events as part of at least one of the following: an LTM Configuration Information Element; an LTM CSI Report Configuration Information Element; an LTM event configuration; or an LTM event configuration for event-triggered LTM measurement reporting.

[0037] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, the dedicated SR configuration for an LTM event as part of at least one of the following: an LTM event configuration including LTM event parameters; or a MAC Cellgroup Information Element.

[0038] The method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size.

[0039] The method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size and a BSR according to at least one BSR format.

[0040] The method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

[0041] The method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a BSR with a Logical Channel Group, LCG, of a Logical Channel ID, LCID, which is associated with the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

[0042] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times after receiving the measurement report.

[0043] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an allocation of a CG Type 2 UL grant in response to receiving at least one of the following: the measurement report, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report, or a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report.

[0044] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, at least one pre-configured UL grant for transmitting the measurement report.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0019

[0045] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication to deactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant.

[0046] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication to reactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant.

[0047] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication to reactivate a pre-configured UL grant that has been suspended.

[0048] The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication to activate the at least one pre-configured UL grant, wherein the network node comprises a C-DU that identifies the UE (700) as an incoming UE in an LTM cell switch, and determines the UE (700) is configured with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting.

[0049] In one embodiment, a User Equipment, UE, for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting comprises radio circuitry and processing circuitry configured to cause the UE to receive, from a network node, one or more configurations for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, where the one or more configurations for LTM comprise: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition. The UE is further caused to send, to the network node, a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, where the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.

[0050] In one embodiment, a network node for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting comprises radio circuitry and processing circuitry configured to cause the network node to send, to a UE, a configuration for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition. The network node is further caused to receive, from the UE, a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, wherein the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00110BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0051] The accompanying drawing figures incorporated in and forming a part of this specification illustrate several aspects of the disclosure, and together with the description serve to explain the principles of the disclosure.

[0052] Figure 1 illustrates an example of a communication system in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0053] Figure 2 illustrates an example of a table for calculating a Layer 1 (LI) measurement report Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC-CE) size in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0054] Figure 3 illustrates an example of a flowchart for sending a Buffer Status Report (BSR) and a Scheduling Request (SR) for event trigger LI reporting MAC-CE scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0055] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a flowchart for BSR and SR for event trigger LI reporting MAC-CE scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0056] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a flowchart for dedicated SR configuration for event trigger LI reporting MAC-CE scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0057] Figure 6 illustrates a message sequence chart of a method for providing event triggered LI measurement reporting, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0058] Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart showing a method performed by a UE for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0059] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart showing a method performed by a network node for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0060] Figure 9 illustrates a User Equipment device (UE) in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0061] Figure 10 illustrates a network node in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0062] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00111DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0063] The embodiments set forth below represent information to enable those skilled in the art to practice the embodiments and illustrate the best mode of practicing the embodiments. Upon reading the following description in light of the accompanying drawing figures, those skilled in the art will understand the concepts of the disclosure and will recognize applications of these concepts not particularly addressed herein. It should be understood that these concepts and applications fall within the scope of the disclosure.

[0064] Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art.

[0065] There currently exist certain challenges. According to the most recent agreements in Layer 1 (LI) / Layer 2 (L2) Triggered Mobility (LTM) Rel-19 “Measurement-related enhancements” WI, the Medium Access Control - Control Element (MAC CE) shall be used as the report container to carry event-triggered LI -reports in LTM as opposed to the uplink control information (UCI) reporting in LTM Rel-18. This type of MAC CE reporting shall be different from UCI reporting in the following ways:• With the MAC CE as the report container, the measurement report shall always be carried via uplink shared channel (UL-SCH) on Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).• The transmission of event-triggered Ll-report MAC CE in LTM shall require a dynamic UL resource allocation when an LTM event is triggered. In other words, the network cannot pro-actively assign the UL resources to the UE for report transmission, e.g., for the periodic, semi-persistent, and aperiodic report types in LTM.

[0066] Additionally, the event-triggered Ll-report in LTM is supposed to be flexible in size which means that there may not be a fixed size for the MAC CE which carries the Ll-report. For example, only few of the resources, e.g., Synchronization Signal / Physical Broadcast Channel (PBCH) Reference Signal (SSB-RS), from the LTM resource configuration fulfil the LTM event condition(s) so the MAC CE report only includes those resources and their related measurement quantities, e.g., Reference Signal Receive Power (RSRP). Also, different LTM event types may require a different amount of UL resources according to the Ll-report which is associated to the LTM event type. Therefore, simply using a dedicated or common Scheduling Request (SR) configuration (like in other MAC CEs) to request UL resources for event-triggered Ll-report transmission may not be enough in terms of flexible and efficient resource allocation. Moreover, the existing scheduling methods may not address the requirement of periodically transmitting anP112202W001 E1416-10065W00112 event-triggered Ll-report for a pre-defined number of times, i.e., report amount, upon the fulfilment of event condition. Additionally, it is not clear that how the UE utilizes the available UL-SCH resources for transmitting the LI measurement report MAC CE.

[0067] Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. Various embodiments provide for handling the scheduling of event- triggered Layer 1 (LI) measurement reporting in L1 / L2 Triggered Mobility (LTM). A method performed by a user equipment (UE) can include receiving, from a network node, a configuration for one or more LTM candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of an LTM measurement configuration indicating one or more reference signals on which measurements are to be performed, an LTM report configuration indicating LI reporting types, and an indication of at least one LTM event with one or more triggering conditions. The method can also include performing lower layer measurements on the one or more reference signals and in response to determining that a triggering event has occurred, transmitting a LI measurement report based on the LTM report configuration.

[0068] The method can also include:• A special / dedicated scheduling request (SR) configuration for LI event-triggered measurement report MAC CE.• Buffer status reporting (BSR) to indicate the LI event-triggered measurement report MAC CE size.• A provision of a pre-configured UL grant for transmitting the LI event-triggered measurement report MAC CE.• A prioritization of the LI event-triggered measurement report MAC CE among other MAC CE types and data from logical channels.

[0069] Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s):• Resource efficient scheduling for transmitting the LI event-triggered measurement report MAC CE.• Better utilization of UL-SCH resources.• Minimizing delay in the availability of UL-SCH resources for transmitting the LI event- triggered measurement report MAC CE.

[0070] The method disclosed is applicable for LTM, thus the present disclosure refers to the term “L1 / L2 based inter-cell mobility (LTM)” as defined in Release 18, though it interchangeably also uses the terms L1 / L2 mobility, Ll-mobility, LI based mobility, L1 / L2- centric inter-cell mobility, L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility Ll / L2-Triggered Mobility (LTM), Lower-P112202W001 E1416-10065W00113 layer triggered Mobility or simply LTM, as more widely used. The basic principle is that the UE receives a lower layer signaling from the network (e.g., a MAC Control Element - MAC CE) indicating to the UE a change (or switch or activation) of its serving cell (i.e., PCell or PSCell), wherein a lower layer signaling is a message / signaling carried via a lower layer protocol, which may be referred as a L1 / L2 inter-cell mobility execution command or LTM cell switch command. Before the UE receives the LTM cell switch command, the UE is configured by the network with one or more LTM candidate cell configurations (e.g., reception of an RRC Reconfiguration message, with at least one LTM candidate cell configuration). An LTM candidate cell configuration may include parameters in the IE CellGroupConfig per candidate cell and / or an embedded RRC Reconfiguration per LTM candidate cell. An LTM configuration may include one or multiple of the following type of elements where each element contains a configuration of one aspect of LTM, for example as follows:• LTM candidate cell configuration(s).• Inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration(s).• Lower layer information, such as a physical layer configuration, MAC layer configuration or RLC layer configuration, Cell Group configuration, or serving cell configuration.• Higher layer information, such as RRC protocol parameters, e.g., timer values, PDCP layer configuration, radio bearer configuration or a measurement configuration.• A configuration of measurements for LTM.• A configuration for measurement reports for LTM..• CSI resource configuration(s) for LTM• CSI report configuration for LTM.• Configurations of early synchronization procedures, such as o Configurations for DL pre-sync for LTM, such as configurations for early TCI state activation. o Configurations for UL pre-sync for LTM, such as configurations for reception of PDCCH ordered triggered preamble transmission and reception of TA.• Configurations for the execution of an LTM cell switch procedure for a given LTM candidate cell configuration or inter-CU LTM candidate cell configuration (e.g., whether to perform random access procedure, whether to perform RLC reestablishment, or MAC reset, or PDCP recovery), a timer value, configured UL grants, dedicated RA preambles.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00114• A configuration which the UE needs to start to operate accordingly when it performs an LTM cell switch procedure to an LTM candidate cell which is controlled by a different base station, e.g., gNB, from the current source base station, e.g., serving gNB of the UE.• Information to perform a security key refresh, e.g., the RRC IE MasterKeyUpdate or a RRC IE RadioBearerConfig that includes a security configuration, SecurityConfig, with S ecurity Algorithm Config .• An indication to perform a full configuration, e.g., the RRC field fullConfig.• An indication to perform L2 re-establishment, such as an indication to perform PDCP reestablishment for one or multiple bearers.

[0071] An LTM cell switch procedure or LTM execution procedure may be triggered in the UE by reception of an LTM cell switch command (e.g., LTM Cell Switch MAC CE), or alternatively, triggered in response to the detection of a failure (in case of LTM fast failure recovery). The present disclosure refers to an LTM candidate cell, which is a cell the UE is configured with when configured with Ll / L2-triggered mobility. An LTM candidate cell is a cell the UE can move to in an LTM cell switch procedure, upon reception of an LTM cell switch command. These cells may also be termed as candidate cell(s), candidates, candidate target cell, implied target cell, mobility candidates, non-serving cells, additional cells, deactivated cells, etc. An LTM candidate cell might also pertain to a candidate cell in a 5G Radio Access Technology like NR or a future 6G Radio Access Technology.

[0072] An LTM candidate cell is a cell for which the UE may be configured to perform lower layer measurements, such as Layer 1 (LI) reference signal received power (RSRP), on the synchronization signal block (SSB) and / or channel state information reference signal (CSLRS), e.g., LTM CSI measurements. Lower layer measurements are measurements reported to support lower layer procedures like beam management, TCI state activations / deactivations, early timing advance (TA) acquisition, and link adaptation. These measurements are not filtered based on Layer 3 (L3) parameters, though there may (or may not) be some filtering of these measurements based on lower layer parameters. The UE reports these measurements, and the network takes an educated decision on which beam (e.g., TCI state) and / or cell the UE is to be switched to. In the case of an LTM fast failure recovery, when a failure is detected, the UE selects a cell and when the cell is an LTM candidate cell the UE does not have to perform re-establishment, but instead performs an LTM cell switch towards the selected LTM candidate cell, e.g., by applying the LTM candidate cell configuration associated with the selected LTM candidate cell.

[0073] The reference signals on which lower layer measurements are performed are provided in the LTM CSLSSB Resource Set, under the LTM CSI Resource Configuration. AP112202W001 E1416-10065W00115“resource identifier” for a reference signal resource, such as a serving cell or an LTM candidate cell SSB-Index or CSI-RS-Resource ID, uniquely identifies the resource in the LTM configuration and among all the serving and LTM candidate cells. The resource identifier can be understood by both the UE and the serving gNB. In the context of LTM, the reference signal resource identifier is described by the field LTM-CSI-SSB-ResourceSet in TS 38.331 vl8.2.0 as follows:LTM-CSI-SSB-ResourceSet-rl8 ::= SEQUENCE { ltm-CSI-SSB-ResourceList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB-ResourcesPerSet- r!8 OF SSB-Index. ltm-CandidateIdList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (l..maxNrofLTM-CSI-SSB-ResourcesPerSet-rl8)) OF LTM-CandidateId-rl8,}

[0074] In the example, the ith position of the list in the field Itm-CSI-SSB-ResourceList indicates the SSB ID of the reference signal resource, while the same ith position of the list in the field Itm-CandidateldList indicates to which LTM candidate configuration index the SSB belongs.

[0075] An LI “event type” in LTM is a class of events, e.g. LTM2, LTM3, LTM4, LTM5. An LI “event” or “event instance” is an instance of an event type, e.g., an LTM3 event configured with certain parameters like offset, threshold, time-to-trigger, etc., and associated with an LTM resource configuration. An LI “event identifier” uniquely identifies an event instance and can be understood by both the UE and the serving gNB. The condition(s) defined in the LTM events are also referred to as triggering condition(s), event condition(s), event trigger condition(s) or simply trigger condition(s) in the present disclosure.

[0076] A “measurement quantity” refers to either:• Ll-RSRP from SS-RSRP or CSI-RSRP,• LI- signal-to-interference and noise ratio (SINR) from SS-SINR or CSI-SINR, or• LI - reference signal received quality (RSRQ) from SS-RSRQ or CSI-RSRQ.

[0077] The “measurement quantity value” refers to the value which the UE reports for the measurement quantity of an SSB or a CSLRS resource. In Rel-18 LTM Ll-reporting, the measurement quantity is primarily the SS-RSRP for the LTM measurement resource with the highest measurement and differential SS-RSRP value(s) with respect to the highest SS-RSRP measurement. A “triggering measurement quantity value” for an event is a measurement quantity value that meets the conditions for the event and hence triggers the UE to send the measurement report.

[0078] The present disclosure refers to LTM report configuration which contains information on different ways of measurement reporting to send the network lower layerP112202W001 E1416-10065W00116 measurements performed on the reference signals in the LTM CSI-SSB Resource Set. As per Rel-18 LTM, the different types of measurement reports in LTM include periodic reporting, semi-persistent reporting, and aperiodic reporting. However, Rel-19 also introduces the event- triggered report type in LTM which is transmitted upon the fulfilment of the associated event condition(s). The present disclosure uses different terms for LTM reports, which include lower layer report, lower layer measurement report, lower layer reporting, LI -report, LI measurement report, LI event triggered measurement report, LI -reporting, interchangeably without any loss of meaning. For the event-triggered LTM reports, the present disclosure uses the terms event- triggered LI -report, event-triggered LI measurement report, event-triggered lower layer measurement report, event-triggered lower layer reporting, event-triggered LI -reporting interchangeably.

[0079] The present disclosure uses the term “cell” to identify a location (or coverage) on which the UE is located. However, the term “cell” can also be exchanged without any loss of meaning with the terms “radio resources”, “beams”, “TCI state”, or “tracking reference signal (TRS)”. This is just to clarify that the present disclosure does not target specifically a scenario where there is a cell, but rather when a UE uses a set of source radio resources and need to switch to a target set of radio resources. In such a case, radio resource can also identify a set of configurations, field, parameters, or ASN.l structures or IES.

[0080] Figure 1 shows an example of a communication system 100 in accordance with some embodiments.

[0081] In the example, the communication system 100 includes a telecommunication network 102 that includes an access network 104, such as a Radio Access Network (RAN), and a core network 106, which includes one or more core network nodes 108. The access network 104 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 110A and HOB (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 110), or any other similar Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access nodes or non-3GPP Access Points (APs). Moreover, as will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, a network node is not necessarily limited to an implementation in which a radio portion and a baseband portion are supplied and integrated by a single vendor. Thus, it will be understood that network nodes include disaggregated implementations or portions thereof. For example, in some embodiments, the telecommunication network 102 includes one or more Open-RAN (ORAN) network nodes. An ORAN network node is a node in the telecommunication network 102 that supports an ORAN specification (e.g., a specification published by the O-RAN Alliance, or any similar organization) and may operate alone or together with other nodes to implement one or moreP112202W001 E1416-10065W00117 functionalities of any node in the telecommunication network 102, including one or more network nodes 110 and / or core network nodes 108.

[0082] Examples of an ORAN network node include an Open Radio Unit (O-RU), an Open Distributed Unit (O-DU), an Open Central Unit (O-CU), including an O-CU Control Plane (O- CU-CP) or an O-CU User Plane (O-CU-UP), a RAN intelligent controller (near-real time or non- real time) hosting software or software plug-ins, such as a near-real time control application (e.g., xApp) or a non-real time control application (e.g., rApp), or any combination thereof (the adjective “open” designating support of an ORAN specification). The network node may support a specification by, for example, supporting an interface defined by the ORAN specification, such as an Al, Fl, Wl, El, E2, X2, Xn interface, an open fronthaul user plane interface, or an open fronthaul management plane interface. Moreover, an ORAN access node may be a logical node in a physical node. Furthermore, an ORAN network node may be implemented in a virtualization environment (described further below) in which one or more network functions are virtualized. For example, the virtualization environment may include an O-Cloud computing platform orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface defined by the 0-RAN Alliance or comparable technologies. The network nodes 110 facilitate direct or indirect connection of User Equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 112A, 112B, 112C, and 112D (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 112) to the core network 106 over one or more wireless connections.

[0083] Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and / or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and / or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 100 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and / or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and / or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 100 may include and / or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and / or other similar type of system.

[0084] The UEs 112 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes 110 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 110 are arranged, capable, configured, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 112 and / or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 102P112202W001 E1416-10065W00118 to enable and / or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and / or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 102.

[0085] In the depicted example, the core network 106 connects the network nodes 110 to one or more hosts, such as host 116. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 106 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 108) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and / or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 108. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-Concealing Function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and / or a User Plane Function (UPF).

[0086] The host 116 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 104 and / or the telecommunication network 102, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 116 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio / video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server.

[0087] As a whole, the communication system 100 of Figure 1 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system 100 may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and / or other suitable Second, Third, Fourth, or Fifth Generation (2G, 3G, 4G, or 5G) standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., Sixth Generation (6G)); Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 standards (WiFi); and / or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such asP112202W001 E1416-10065W00119 the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and / or any Low Power Wide Area Network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox.

[0088] In some examples, the telecommunication network 102 is a cellular network that implements 3 GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunication network 102 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 102. For example, the telecommunication network 102 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and / or massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC) / massive Internet of Things (loT) services to yet further UEs.

[0089] In some examples, the UEs 112 are configured to transmit and / or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 104 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 104. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-Radio Access Technology (RAT) or multi -standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of WiFi, New Radio (NR), and LTE, i.e. being configured for Multi-Radio Dual Connectivity (MR-DC), such as Evolved UMTS Terrestrial RAN (E-UTRAN) NR - Dual Connectivity (EN-DC).

[0090] In the example, a hub 114 communicates with the access network 104 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 112C and / or 112D) and network nodes (e.g., network node 110B). In some examples, the hub 114 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 114 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 106 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 114 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 110, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 114. As another example, the hub 114 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 114 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a Virtual Reality (VR) headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 114 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 114 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and / or after adding additional local content. In stillP112202W001 E1416-10065W00120 another example, the hub 114 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular if one or more of the UEs are low energy loT devices.

[0091] The hub 114 may have a constant / persistent or intermittent connection to the network node HOB. The hub 114 may also allow for a different communication scheme and / or schedule between the hub 114 and UEs (e.g., UE 112C and / or 112D), and between the hub 114 and the core network 106. In other examples, the hub 114 is connected to the core network 106 and / or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 114 may be configured to connect to a Machine-to-Machine (M2M) service provider over the access network 104 and / or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 110 while still connected via the hub 114 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 114 may be a dedicated hub - that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to / from the UEs from / to the network node 110B. In other embodiments, the hub 114 may be a non-dedicated hub - that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and the network node HOB, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and / or end point for certain data channels.

[0092] The present disclosure describes solutions at a user equipment (UE) for triggering the transmission of lower layer measurement report when certain event conditions are fulfilled to enable LTM use-cases, e.g., early UL synchronization, early DL synchronization and LTM cell switch. The solution comprises receiving from a network an LTM candidate configuration which comprises one or more of:• An LTM measurement configuration, having one or more LTM CSI-RS or SSB Resource Set(s), i.e., the set of reference signals in one or more LTM candidate cell(s) and (optionally) serving cell, on which the lower layer measurements are performed.• An LTM report configuration which comprises the LI reporting types, i.e., the ways in which the measurement reports are transmitted after the UE performs the lower layer measurements on the indicated reference signals (e.g., SSB or CSI-RS) in LTM CSI Resource Set, e.g., periodic reporting, semi-persistent reporting, or aperiodic reporting.• At least one LTM event with one or more triggering condition(s) which are configured as part of the LTM configuration. The LTM event configuration may also include additional information on other parameters associated to the LTM event, e.g., time-to-trigger, hysteresis, report-on-leave, reportAmount (i.e., the number of times the event-triggered Ll-report is transmitted after the fulfilment of event condition), etc.

[0093] The method also includes performing lower layer measurements on the reference signals which are provided in the LTM CSI Resource Configuration. Upon the fulfilment of oneP112202W001 E1416-10065W00121 or more trigger condition(s) as determined by the configured LTM event, the method further includes transmitting the LI measurement report in the available UL-SCH resources. If the UL- SCH resources are not available or enough for the LI measurement report transmission, the method further includes transmitting a request / indication to the network to acquire radio resource to be used to transmit a LI measurement report and in response receiving one or more UL radio resources. The method further includes transmitting the LI measurement report to the network according to the received one or more UL radio resources. In one example, the LI measurement report is sent via a MAC CE.

[0094] In the first embodiment of the proposed solution, the event-triggered LI -report MAC CE is assigned the highest or the second highest priority among the other MAC CEs (excluding the MAC CE for C-RNTI, data from UL-CCCH) as well as the logical channels carrying higher layer data or signaling, according to the logical channel prioritization framework. Therefore, once the triggering conditions are fulfilled and the UE has event -triggered LI -report MAC CE to transmit on the available UL-SCH resources or UL grant, UE prioritizes the transmission of event-triggered LI -report MAC CE over the other types of MAC CEs and the data / signaling from higher layers on the available UL-SCH resources or UL grant. An example on how this could be implemented in TS 38.321 is shown below as underlined.Logical channels shall be prioritised in accordance with the following order (highest priority listed first):- MAC CE for C-RNTI, or data from UL-CCCH;- <MAC CE for L 1 measurement reporting;>- MAC CE for (Enhanced) 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 LBT failure;- MAC CE for SL LBT failure according to clause 5.31.2;- MAC CE for Timing Advance Report;- MAC CE for Delay Status Report;- MAC CE for SL-BSR prioritized according to clause 5.22.1.6;- MAC CE for (Extended) BSR, with exception of BSR included for padding;- MAC CE for (Enhanced) Single Entry PHR, or MAC CE for (Enhanced) Multiple Entry PHR or MAC CE for Single Entry PHR with assumed PUS CH, or MAC CE for Multiple Entry PHR with assumed PUSCH, or MAC CE for Enhanced Single Entry PHR for multiple TRP or MAC CE for Enhanced Multiple Entry PHR for multiple TRP, or MAC CE for Enhanced Single Entry PHR for multiple TRP 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;P112202W001 E1416-10065W00122- MAC CE for (Extended) Pre-emptive BSR;- MAC CE for SL-BSR, with exception of SL-BSR prioritized according to clause 5.22.1.6 and SL-BSR included for padding;- MAC CE for IAB-MT Recommended Beam Indication, or MAC CE for Desired IAB-MT 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;- MAC CE for SL-BSR included for padding.NOTE 2: Prioritization among MAC CEs of same priority is up to UE implementation.The MAC entity shall prioritize any MAC CE listed in a higher order than 'data from any Logical Channel, except data from UL-CCCH' over NR sidelink transmission.

[0095] In one alternative of this solution, if the UE has a LI measurement report to send over a MAC CE, the UE sends a trigger of an SR request to the network and, after the SR request, also sends a BSR request for requesting radio resources according to the size of the LI measurement report MAC CE that the UE needs to send. In this case, differently from the legacy behavior, the UE is allowed to send a dedicated SR request (e.g., a special or exceptional SR request related to an LI measurement report) to the network for sending the LI measurement report MAC CE, even if the UE has no UE originated data to be sent (currently, if the UE has no data to transmit, the UE cannot send an SR and BSR to the network to request radio resources). With this option, when the UE sends the BSR to the network, the size of the LI measurement report MAC CE is determined, e.g., according to the number of LTM candidate cells or according to the number of reference signals that are included in the report (and related measurement quantity for each included reference signal). In other words, the UE performs a “data volume calculation mechanism” to calculate the LI measurement report size according to the LTM event (which triggered the LI meausrement report) and the number of LTM candidate cell(s) and beam(s) which are included in the LI measurement report. An example for calculating the LI Measurement report MAC CE size to send the BSR is shown in Figure 2. For example, the LI Measurement report MAC CE size may be calculated based on a number of factors including, for example, one or more of the type of LTM event 210 (e.g., LTM2, LTM3, LTM4, LTM5, etc.), a number of reported cells 220 per LTM event, a number of reported beams per cell 230, or other factors to determine an LI measurement report MAC CE size (e.g., in bytes).

[0096] In some other examples, the BSR size may be specified as a fixed number when UE has a LI event-triggered reporting to be sent.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00123

[0097] In another alternative of this solution, if the UE has a LI measurement report to be sent over a MAC CE, the UE sends an SR request to the network. In this case, when the network receives the SR, the network assigns a minimum number of resources that the UE is able to transmit at least one reference signal (and related measurement quantity) for one LTM candidate cell. In this case, the included LTM candidate cell in the report can either be the LTM candidate cell which triggered the report or another one which anyway fulfilled the condition for sending a LI measurement report via MAC CE.

[0098] In one embodiment, the network configures a preferred order of cells and / or beams for the UE to include in the allocated grant, for the case where the grant cannot fit the entire measurement report. The configuration could be sent through one of the following:• Dedicated signaling, either: o through RRC in the LTM Candidate configuration o by an implicit or explicit indication in the grant message• System Information.

[0099] In the dependent step of the previous embodiment, the UE includes candidate cells and / or measured beams according to the priority previously configured by the network, in a way that fits the allocated grant. The inclusion of the resource could be in any configured order by the network.

[0100] Figure 3 illustrates an example of a flowchart 300 for sending a Buffer Status Report (BSR) and a Scheduling Request (SR) for event trigger LI reporting MAC-CE scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. At block 310, upon the fulfilment of triggering conditions associated to an LTM event, the UE determs at block 320 that it does not have enough UL-SCH resources to send an event-triggered Ll-report MAC CE at block 330. At block 340, the UE checks the available UL-SCH to send regular buffer status reporting (BSR) to inform the network about the amount of the data available in the UE transmission buffers, i.e., the size of the event-triggered Ll-report MAC CE including MAC headers. If the available UL grant only fits the BSR MAC CE in any of the possible BSR formats at block 340, i.e., short BSR format, extended short BSR format, long BSR format, truncated BSR formats etc., the UE sends the BSR to inform the network about the size of the event-triggered Ll-report MAC CE at block 350. However, if the available UL grant does not fit the BSR MAC CE in the required BSR format at block 340 (according to the size of the event-triggered Ll-report MAC CE to carry lower layer measurements), the UE triggers a scheduling request (SR) according to the available SR configuration to request UL-SCH resources or UL grant from the network at block 360.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00124

[0101] Figure 4 illustrates an example of a flowchart 400 for BSR and SR for event trigger LI reporting MAC-CE scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. At block 410, the UE sends, to the network node, an SR transmission to request UL- SCH for a MAC CE transmission. If an SR prohibit timer is running at decision block 420, the SR transmission is not sent, e.g., before SR prohibit timer expiry at block 430. If the SR prohibit timer is not running at decision block 420, and the SR counter is not less than SR- TRANSMAX (e.g., the SR counter has exceeded a timer duration) at block 440, a random access channel procedure (RACH) is initiated at block 450. However, if the SR prohibit timer is not running at decision block 420, and the SR counter is less than SR- TRANSMAX (e.g., the SR counter has not exceeded a timer duration) at block 440, the SR counter is incremented, and the SR prohibit timer is started at block 460.

[0102] In an embodiment, the UE uses an available SR configuration to send a SR when the UE does not have an available UL grant to send event-triggered LI -report MAC CE and the BSR MAC CE in the required BSR format.

[0103] In an embodiment, the UE is provided a dedicated SR configuration to send a SR when the UE does not have an available UL grant to send an event-triggered LI -report MAC CE and the BSR MAC CE in the required BSR format. When the network receives SR according to the dedicated SR configuration, it assumes that the given SR is triggered by the UE requesting the UL-SCH resources which is configured with LTM, and event-triggered LI -reporting configuration, and is requesting the UL grant to send the event-triggered LI -report. Therefore, the network allocates the resources accordingly. The allocation of dedicated SR configuration ensures that the network prioritizes the UL-SCH resources allocation to the UE for the given SR.

[0104] In one option of the above example, the dedicated SR configuration to request a UL grant for the transmission of event-triggered LI -report MAC CE, as identified by its SchedulingRequestld, is common to all the configured LTM candidate cells and the LTM events and is provided as part of the LTM-Config IE, as shown in the dedicated SR Configuration ID in LTM-Config Information Element below with the new matter underlined:- ASN1 START- TAG-LTM-CONFIG-STARTLTM-Config-rl8 ::= SEQUENCE { Itm-ReferenceConfiguration-rl 8 SetupRelease {ReferenceConfiguration-rl 8 }OPTIONAL, - Need M ltm-CandidateToReleaseList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLTM-Configs-rl8)) OF LTM- Candidateld-rl8 OPTIONAL, - Need N ltm-CandidateToAddModList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLTM-Configs-rl8)) OF LTM- Candidate-rl8 OPTIONAL, - Need NP112202W001 E1416-10065W00125 ltm-ServingCellNoResetID-rl8 INTEGER (l..maxNrofLTM-Configs-plusl-rl8)OPTIONAL, - Need N ltm-CSI-ResourceConfigToAddModList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLTM-CSI- ResourceConfigurations-rl8)) OF LTM-CSI-ResourceConfig-rl8 OPTIONAL, - Need N ltm-CSI-ResourceConfigToReleaseList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLTM-CSI- ResourceConfigurations-rl8)) OF LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId-rl8 OPTIONAL, - Need N attemptLTM-Switch-rl8 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, -- Cond LTM-MCGItm-ServingCellUE-MeasuredTA-ID-rl 8 INTEGER (1..maxNrofLTM-Configs-plus 1 -rl 8) OPTIONAL, - Need NItm-schedulingRequestlD-EventTriggered SchedulingRequestld }- TAG-LTM-CONFIG-STOP- ASN1STOP

[0105] In another option of the above example, the dedicated SR configuration to request a UL grant for the transmission of an event-triggered LI -report MAC CE, as identified by its SchedulingRequestld, is common to all the configured LTM candidate cells and the LTM events and is provided as part of the LTM-CSI-ReportConfig IE shown below, along with the Itm- ReportConfigType and Itm-ReportContent with the new matter underlined.- ASN1 START- TAG-LTM-CSI-REPORTCONFIG-STARTLTM-CSI-ReportConfig-rl8 ::= SEQUENCE ltm-CSI-ReportConfigId-rl8 LTM-CSI-ReportConfigId-rl8, ltm-ResourcesForChannelMeasurement-rl8 LTM-CSI-ResourceConfigId-rl8, ltm-ReportConfigType-rl8 CHOICE { periodic-rl8 SEQUENCE { reportSlotConfig-rl 8 CSI-ReportPeriodicily AndOffset, pucch-CSI-ResourceList-rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofBWPs)) OF PUCCH-CSI-Resource}, semiPersistentOnPUCCH-rl8 SEQUENCE { reportSlotConfig-rl 8 CSI-ReportPeriodicily AndOffset, pucch-CSI-ResourceList-rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofBWPs)) OF PUCCH-CSI- Resource}, semiPersistentOnPUSCH-rl8 SEQUENCE { reportSlotConfig-rl 8 CSI-ReportPeriodicily AndOffset, reportSlotOffsetList-rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (L. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl6)) OF INTEGER (0..128),P112202W001 E1416-10065W00126 reportSlotOffsetListDCI-O-2-rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNrofUL-Allocations-rl6)) OF INTEGER (0..128), reportSlotOffsetListDCI-O- 1 -rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNroIUL-Allocations-rl6)) OF INTEGER (0..128), pOalpha PO-PUSCH-AlphaSetld}, aperiodic-rl8 SEQUENCE { reportSlotOffsetList-rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNroIUL-Allocations-rl6)) OF INTEGER (0..128), reportSlotOffsetListDCI-O-2-rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNroIUL-Allocations-rl6)) OF INTEGER (0..128), reportSlotOffsetListDCI-O- 1 -rl 8SEQUENCE (SIZE (1.. maxNroIUL-Allocations-rl6)) OF INTEGER (0..128)},},Itm-ReportContent-rl 8 LTM-ReportContent-rl 8, event-triggered-r!9 LTM-EventConfig-rl9}LTM-EventConfig-rl9::= SEQUENCE I configl _ Configl _ OPTIONAL, -Need R config2 Config2 OPTIONAL. -Need R events SEQUENCE ( SIZE ( 1 ... maxNrofLTMevents-rl 9)) OF LTM-Events-rl9_ Itm-schedulingRequestlD-EventTriggered SchedulingRequestld }

[0106] In yet another option of the above example, the dedicated SR configuration to request a UL grant for the transmission of event-triggered LI -report MAC CE, as identified by its SchedulingRequestld, is common to all the configured LTM candidate cells and the LTM events and is provided as part of the LTM event configuration (LTM- EventConfig IE) for event- triggered LTM reporting, as shown in the Dedicated SR Configuration ID in the IE related to LTM event configuration above.

[0107] In another option of the above example, each of the LTM events has its own dedicated SR configuration, which may be common to the other LTM events or different from the other LTM events. The SR configuration for the given event is provided as part of the given LTM event configuration along with the other LTM event parameters, as depicted in the Information Element below. The dedicated SR configuration provided for the given LTM event configuration may also signal to the network that report amount (i.e., the event-triggered Ll- report is to be transmitted a pre-defined number of times upon the fulfilment of triggeringP112202W001 E1416-10065W001 conditions) is configured for the given LTM event and the network ensures to repeatedly allocate the UL grant according to the report amount.- ASN1 START- TAG-MAC-CELLGROUPCONFIG-STARTMAC-CellGroupConfig ::= SEQUENCE { drx-Config SetupRelease { DRX-Config } OPTIONAL, - Need M schedulingRequestConfig SchedulingRequestConfig OPTIONAL, -Need M bsr-Config BSR-Config OPTIONAL, - Need M tag-Config TAG-Config OPTIONAL, - Need M phr-Config SetupRelease { PHR-Config } OPTIONAL, - Need M skipUplinkTxDynamic BOOLEAN,• • •>11 csi-Mask BOOLEAN OPTIONAL, - Need M datalnactivily T imer SetupRelease { Datalnactivily Timer } OPTIONAL -Cond MCG-Only]],11 usePreBSR-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL, - NeedR schedulingRequestID-LBT-SCell-rl6 SchedulingRequestld OPTIONAL, - Need R lch-BasedPrioritization-rl6 ENUMERATED {enabled} OPTIONAL, - Need R schedulingRequestID-BFR-SCell-rl6 SchedulingRequestld OPTIONAL, - Need R drx-ConfigSecondaryGroup-rl6 SetupRelease { DRX-ConfigSecondaryGroup-rl6 } OPTIONAL - Need M]],11 enhancedSkipUplinkTxDynamic-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL,- Need R enhancedSkipUplinkTxConfigured-rl6 ENUMERATED {true} OPTIONAL- Need R]],11 intraCG-Prioritization-rl7 ENUMERATED {enabled} OPTIONAL, - Cond LCH-Prio WithReTxTimer drx-ConfigSL-rl7 SetupRelease { DRX-ConfigSL-rl7 } OPTIONAL, - Need M drx-ConfigExt-vl700 SetupRelease { DRX-ConfigExt-vl700 } OPTIONAL, - Need M schedulingRequestID-BFR-rl7 SchedulingRequestld OPTIONAL, - Need R schedulingRequestID-BFR2-rl7 SchedulingRequestld OPTIONAL, - Need R schedulingRequestConfig-v 1700 SchedulingRequestConfig-v 1700 OPTIONAL, - Need M tar-Config-rl7 SetupRelease { TAR-Config-rl7 } OPTIONAL, - NeedM g-RNTI-ConfigToAddModList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxG-RNTI-rl7)) OF MBS-RNTI- SpecificConfig-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need N g-RNTI-ConfigToReleaseList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxG-RNTI-rl7)) OF MBS-RNTI- SpecificConfigId-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need N g-CS-RNTI-ConfigToAddModList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxG-CS-RNTI-rl7)) OF MBS-RNTI- SpecificConfig-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need N g-CS-RNTI-ConfigToReleaseList-rl7 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxG-CS-RNTI-rl7)) OF MBS-RNTI-SpecificConfigId-rl7 OPTIONAL, - Need N allowCSI-SRS-Tx-MulticastDRX-Active-rl7 BOOLEANOPTIONAL - Need M]],11P112202W001 E1416-10065W00128 schedulingRequestID-PosMG-Request-rl7 SchedulingRequestldOPTIONAL, - Need R drx-LastTransmissionUL-rl7 ENUMERATED {enabled}OPTIONAL - Need R]],11 posMG-Request-rl7 ENUMERATED {enabled} OPTIONAL- Need R]],11 drx-ConfigExt2-vl800 SetupRelease { DRX-ConfigExt2-vl800 }OPTIONAL, - Need M additionalB S-Table Allowed-rl 8 BIT STRING (SIZE (maxNrofLCGs-rl 8))OPTIONAL, - Need R dsr-ConfigToAddModList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLCGs-rl8)) OF LCG-DSR-Config- rl8 OPTIONAL, - Need N dsr-ConfigToReleaseList-rl8 SEQUENCE (SIZE (L.maxNrofLCGs-rl8)) OF LCG-Id-rl8 OPTIONAL, - Need N tar-Config-rl8 SetupRelease { TAR-Config-rl8 } OPTIONALNeed MItm-schedulingRequestID-EventTriggered SchedulingRequestldDatalnactivityTimer ::= ENUMERATED {si, s2, s3, s5, s7, slO, sl5, s20, s40, s50, s60, s80, slOO,S120, S150, sl80}MBS-RNTI-SpecificConfig-rl7 ::= SEQUENCE { mbs-RNTI-SpecificConfig!d-rl7 MBS-RNTI-SpecificConfigId-rl7, groupConunon-RNTI-rl7 CHOICE { g-RNTI RNTI-Value, g-CS-RNTI RNTI-Value}, drx-ConfigPTM-rl 7 SetupRelease { DRX-ConfigPTM-rl7 } OPTIONAL, - Need M harq-FeedbackEnablerMulticast-rl7 ENUMERATED {dci-enabler, enabled} OPTIONAL, - Need S harq-FeedbackOptionMulticast-rl7 ENUMERATED {ack-nack, nack-only} OPTIONAL, - Cond HARQFeedback pdsch-AggregationFactor-rl7 ENUMERATED {n2, n4, n8} OPTIONAL -Cond G-RNTIMBS-RNTI-SpecificConfigId-rl7 ::= INTEGER (O..maxG-RNTI-l-rl7)LCG-DSR-Config-rl8 ::= SEQUENCE { lcg-Id-rl8 LCG-Id-rl8, remainingTimeThreshold-rl 8 INTEGER ( 1..64),LCG-Id-rl8 ::= INTEGER (O..maxLCG-ID)- TAG-MAC-CELLGROUPCONFIG-STOP- ASN1STOP

[0108] In another option of the above example, the special / dedicated SR configuration is included in the MAC-Cellgroup IE, so when the UE applies the MAC entity configuration itP112202W001 E1416-10065W00129 would already know which SR configuration to use for sending the LI measurement report via MAC CE.

[0109] In another option of the example with a special / dedicated SR configuration, upon receiving the special / dedicated SR associated with the LI measurement report MAC CE, the network allocates the UL grant which is sufficient to accommodate the maximum possible size of the LI measurement report MAC CE for LTM.

[0110] In one embodiment of the solution, upon the fulfilment of triggering conditions associated to an LTM event, and upon not having enough UL-SCH resources to send event- triggered LI -report MAC CE, the UE directly triggers the SR according to the available SR configuration to request UL-SCH resources or a UL grant from the network. The proposed method is depicted in Figure 5.

[0111] Figure 5 illustrates an example of a flowchart for dedicated SR configuration for event trigger LI reporting MAC CE scheduling, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. At block 510, event conditions are fulfilled for generating a MAC CE measurement report. If an SR prohibit timer is running at decision block 520, a MAC CE report for LTM is sent at block 530. If an SR prohibit timer is not running at decision block 520, an SR transmission is sent to request UL-SCH for a MAC CE transmission at block 540. After the SR transmission, if an SR prohibit timer is running at decision block 550, the SR transmission is not sent, e.g., before SR prohibit timer expiry at block 560. If the SR prohibit timer is not running at decision block 550, and the SR counter is not less than SR-TRANSMAX (e.g., the SR counter has exceeded a timer duration) at block 570, a random access channel procedure (RACH) is initiated at block 580. However, if the SR counter is less than SR-TRANSMAX (e.g., the SR counter has not exceeded a timer duration) at block 570, the SR counter is incremented, and the SR prohibit timer is started at block 590.

[0112] When the network receives SR according to the dedicated SR configuration, it assumes that given SR is triggered by the UE requesting the UL-SCH resources which is configured with LTM, and event-triggered Ll-reporting configuration, and is requesting the UL grant to send the event-triggered LI -report. Therefore, the network allocates the resources accordingly. The allocation of dedicated SR configuration ensures that the network prioritizes the UL-SCH resources allocation to the UE for the given SR.

[0113] In one example of the above embodiment, the dedicated SR configuration to request UL grant for the transmission of event-triggered LI -report MAC CE, as identified by its SchedulingRequestld, is common to all the configured LTM candidate cells and the LTM events and is provided as part of the LTM-Config IE.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00130

[0114] In another example of the embodiment, the dedicated SR configuration to request a UL grant for the transmission of event-triggered LI -report MAC CE, as identified by its SchedulingRequestld, is common to all the configured LTM candidate cells and the LTM events and is provided as part of the LTM-CSI-ReportConfig IE, along with the Itm-ReportConfigType and Itm-ReportContent.

[0115] In yet another example, the dedicated SR configuration to request UL grant for the transmission of event-triggered Ll-report MAC CE, as identified by its SchedulingRequestld, is common to all the configured LTM candidate cells and the LTM events and is provided as part of the LTM event configuration (LTM- EventConfig IE) for event-triggered LTM reporting.

[0116] In another example of the embodiment, each of the LTM events has its own dedicated SR configuration, which may be common to the other LTM events or different from the other LTM events. The SR configuration for the given event is provided as part of the given LTM event configuration along with the other LTM event parameters, as depicted in Figure 5. The dedicated SR configuration provided for the given LTM event configuration may also signal to the network that report amount (i.e., the event-triggered Ll-report is to be transmitted a predefined number of times upon the fulfilment of triggering conditions) is configured for the given LTM event and the network ensures to repeatedly allocate the UL grant according to the report amount.

[0117] In another option of the above example, the special / dedicated SR configuration is included in the MAC-Cellgroup IE, so when the UE applies the MAC entity configuration it would already know which SR configuration to use for sending the LI measurement report via a MAC CE.

[0118] In another option of the example with special / dedicated SR configuration, upon receiving the special / dedicated SR associated to the LI measurement report MAC CE, the network allocates the UL grant which is sufficient to accommodate the maximum possible size of the LI measurement report MAC CE for LTM.

[0119] In some embodiments, the UE retransmits the SR until it receives an UL grant to transmit the event-triggered Ll-report MAC CE. In other embodiments, the UE only retransmits the SR as long as the triggering condition is fulfilled. Once the UE has performed the maximum number of transmissions for the SR configuration, the UE may initiate a random access (RA) procedure. In some embodiments, there may be a different SR-Prohibit-Timer allocated to dedicated SchedulingRequestld. In some embodiments there may be single SR-Prohibit-Timer across all the SchedulingRequestlds which are allocated for the purpose of sending special / dedicated SR to request UL-SCH resources to transmit LI measurement report(s).P112202W001 E1416-10065W00131

[0120] In some embodiments, when UE is allocated with different SchedulingRequestld for data and LI event triggered measurement report(s), and has both data and an event-triggered measurement report, one or more of the following behaviors maybe specified:• The UE sends two SRs with different scheduling request identifiers, SchedulingRequestld, one which is dedicated to requesting a UL grant for the LI event-triggered measurement report and the other for requesting a UL grant for the data transmission.• The UE prioritizes the SchedulingRequestld which is dedicated for requesting the UL grant for the LI event-triggered measurement report and send the SR with dedicated SchedulingRequestld for LI event-triggered reporting.• The UE sends two SRs with different SchedulingRequestld, one which is dedicated to requesting the UL grant for the LI event-triggered measurement report and the other for requesting the UL grant for data transmission. In this scenario, UE starts a different SR- Prohibit-Timer for data and LI event-triggered reporting.• When there is only one SR-Prohibit-Timer allocated to all the SchedulingRequestld(s) allocated to the UE, the UE prioritizes the SchedulingRequestld, which is dedicated for requesting the UL grant for the LI event-triggered measurement report and starts the SR prohibit timer.• When one SR-Prohibit-Timer is allocated to all the SchedulingRequestld(s), and if the SR prohibit timer is running, the UE resets the Prohibit timer and sends the SR with dedicated SchedulingRequestld and restarts the timer.

[0121] In some embodiments, the SR prohibit timer length is different based on whether the LI event-triggered measurement report triggered the SR or the UL data transmission triggered the SR.• In some examples, when there is only one SR prohibit timer allocated per UE, the length of the timer varies as per the application (e.g., LI event triggered measurement report or UL data).• In some other examples, when there are different SR prohibit timers allocated per UE, each prohibit timer may be configured with a different timer length.

[0122] In an embodiment, the UE is configured with one or more pre-configured UL grant(s) for transmitting LTM measurement reports.

[0123] In an embodiment, these pre-configured UL grants are activated from the moment they are received by the UE. In other words, the UE assumes these pre-configured UL grants are valid when they are configured.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00132

[0124] In one sub-option, the UE may receive a command (e.g., a MAC CE) to indicate that one or more previously pre-configured UL grant(s) are to be deactivated, upon which:• the UE assumes they are not valid and, if a report is triggered, the UE relies on an SR according to one or more of the embodiments above.• the UE does not delete the pre-configured UL resource grants, but suspends them. The UE may further receive a command to re-activate these pre-configured UL resource grant(s).

[0125] In an embodiment, the received pre-configured UL grants are associated with a timer (and a timer value) so that when the UE receives the pre-configured UL grants for the LTM measurement reports, the UE starts the timer and the pre-configured UL grants are considered valid while the timer is running, i.e., when an event-triggered LTM report is triggered while the timer is running, the UE can use the pre-configured UL grant(s) to transmit the report.

[0126] In an embodiment , when the timer expires the UE suspends the pre-configured UL grants.

[0127] The pre-configured UL grants may be later re-activated, e.g., by an explicit command from the network; when the UE receives such a command the timer is re-started (with similar initial value as before). In some examples, a different timer value may be indicated in the MAC CE.

[0128] In an embodiment, when the timer expires, the UE deletes the pre-configured UL grants.

[0129] In an embodiment, when an event is triggered, i.e., the UE needs to transmit the LTM measurement report MAC CE and the pre-configured UL grants are not available (e.g., because they were not configured, or they were deactivated due to an explicit signaling, or when the validity timer has expired) the UE transmits a SR according to one or more of the embodiments disclosed above.

[0130] In an embodiment, the time-domain resources in which the UL pre-configured grant(s) are configured (e.g., radio frames, sub-frames, time slots) are associated to the occasions (or multiples of the occasions) in which one or more RS(s), e.g., SSBs and / or CSLRS, to be measured by the UE and to be used as input to event-entering conditions for triggering the LTM measurement reports.

[0131] In an embodiment, when the UE performs an LTM cell switch, the pre-configured UL grant(s) for LTM measurement reports are considered deactivated since they are associated to a source PCell the UE is leaving.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00133

[0132] In an embodiment, the UE performs an LTM cell switch to an LTM candidate cell associated to a Candidate Cell gNB-DU (C-DU), wherein the Candidate Cell gNB-DU may have configured pre-configured UL grants for LTM measurement reports for subsequent LTM.

[0133] In one sub-option, after the LTM CS, the UE considers the pre-configured UL grants for LTM measurement reports as valid.

[0134] In one sub-sub-option, the UE starts a timer and the pre-configured UL grants for LTM measurement reports is / are considered valid as long as the timer is running; when the timer expires the pre-configured UL grants for LTM measurement reports are considered not valid.

[0135] According to the method, the C-DU identifies the incoming UE in the LTM CS and determines that this is a UE with pre-configured UL grants for LTM measurement reports, so that it activates these resources. In other words, these resources were pre-configured, but these could be used while the UE is not there yet i.e. it is fine to configure them for sub-sequent LTM, as they could eventually be deactivated after the UE accesses the cell in an LTM CS.

[0136] In one sub-option, after the LTM CS the UE considers the pre-configured UL grants for LTM measurement reports as deactivated, so that the candidate DU may activate them after the LTM CS.

[0137] In one option, pre-configured UL grants may be configured as Type-1 CG-PUSCH or Type-2 CG-PUSCH or some other type of pre-configured grants.

[0138] Figure 6 shows a message sequence chart of a method for providing event triggered LI measurement reporting, in accordance with some embodiments.

[0139] The method begins at step 602, where the UE 700 receives from the network node 800 a configuration for one or more LI, Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM candidate cells. The configuration can comprise one or more LTM measurement configurations indicating on one or more reference signals on which measurements are to be performed; an LTM report configuration indicating LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event with one or more triggering conditions.

[0140] At step 604, the UE 700 performs lower layer measurements on the one or more reference signals.

[0141] At step 606, the method includes transmitting a Scheduling Request, SR, to the network node indicating an LI measurement report.

[0142] At step 608, the method includes transmitting a buffer status report, BSR, indicating a size of the LI measurement report.

[0143] At step 610, the method includes receiving an allocation of resources on which to transmit the LI measurement report.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00134

[0144] At step 612, the UE transmitting a LI measurement report based on the LTM report configuration in response to determining that a triggering event has occurred.

[0145] Figure 7 illustrates a flowchart showing a method performed by a UE for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. At step 710, a method performed by a UE 700, for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting comprises receiving, from a network node, one or more configurations for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, where the one or more configurations for LTM comprise: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition. At step 720, The method further comprises sending, to the network node 800, a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, where the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event. For example, the measurement report comprises a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE. In some embodiments, the measurement report may be prioritized over sending one or more MAC CEs or logical channels carrying higher-layer data or signaling and / or include a listing of candidate cells in a prioritization order, e.g., a prioritization order received from the network node (800).

[0146] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), at least one of a Scheduling Request, SR, indicating a request to schedule transmission of the measurement report; or a buffer status report, BSR, indicating a size of the measurement report; and receiving (610), from the network node (800), an allocation of resources for sending the measurement report based on at least one of the SR or BSR. For example, the size of the measurement report may be based on at least one of the following: a number (an amount) of LTM candidate cells; a number (an amount) of reference signals that are included in the measurement report, or an LTM event type. For example, the BSR may be sent to the network node when insufficient uplink, UL, resources (e.g., in response to there not being enough UL resources to transmit) are available for sending the measurement report in a MAC CE. Likewise, the SR may be sent to the network node when insufficient UL resources are available for sending the measurement report. For example, the SR may be in an SR configuration available to the UE (700) when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format. In some examples, the SR may be sent to the network node using a “special” dedicated SRP112202W001 E1416-10065W00135 configuration when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the B SR in a required BSR MAC CE format. The dedicated SR configuration may be used for LTM candidate cells and LTM events (e.g., a dedicated SR may be common to LTM candidate cells / events) and may be provided to the UE (700) as part of at least one of the following: an LTM Configuration Information Element; an LTM CSI Report Configuration Information Element; an LTM event configuration; or an LTM event configuration for event-triggered LTM measurement reporting. Further, the dedicated SR configuration for an LTM event may be provided to the UE (700) as part of at least one of the following: an LTM event configuration including LTM event parameters; or a MAC Cellgroup Information Element.

[0147] In some embodiments, the SR may be re-sent to the network node (800) until a UL grant is received. The SR may be re-sent to the network node (800) until a triggering condition is no longer fulfilled.

[0148] In some embodiments, a first SR prohibit timer may be configured to correspond to an individual scheduling request identifier, e.g., a timer allocated to a particular SchedulingRequestld. For example, the first SR prohibit timer may be configured to correspond to a plurality of scheduling request identifiers allocated for dedicated SRs for UL-scheduling, UL-SCH, resources to be used to send the measurement report.

[0149] In some embodiments, the UE (700) may be configured to use the first SR prohibit timer for measurement reports and a second SR prohibit timer for a data transmission.

[0150] In some embodiments, the UE (700) may be configured to use a third SR prohibit timer for a data transmission and the measurement report and, if the third SR prohibit timer is running, the method may further comprise resetting the third SR prohibit timer prior to sending a dedicated SR, and restarting the third SR prohibit timer after transmitting the dedicated SR.

[0151] In some embodiments, a fourth SR prohibit timer may be allocated to the UE and may have a first timer duration when the measurement report triggers an SR and a second timer duration when a data transmission triggers an SR.

[0152] In some embodiments, a fifth SR prohibit timer may be allocated to the UE and may be configured to vary in timer duration based on a type of data transmission associated with a SR. Further, individual SR prohibit timers allocated to the UE may be configured with different timer durations.

[0153] In some embodiments, the UE (700) may be configured to use a first scheduling request identifier for requesting a UL grant for a data transmission and a second scheduling request identifier for requesting a UL grant for the measurement report. For example, the method may further comprise sending, to the network node, a first SR including the first scheduling requestP112202W001 E1416-10065W00136 identifier for requesting the UL grant for the data transmission and a second SR including the second scheduling request identifier for requesting the UL grant for the measurement report. For example, the sending may include prioritizing transmission of the second SR including the second scheduling request identifier for requesting the UL grant for the measurement report over transmission of the first SR. In some embodiments, the UE (700) may be configured to use a third scheduling request identifier for requesting UL grants for a data transmission and the measurement report.

[0154] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size.

[0155] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), a “special” dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size and a BSR according to at least one BSR format.

[0156] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node (800), an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times, e.g., for the number of times an LI event-triggered measurement report is to be transmitted periodically.

[0157] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise, prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), a BSR with a Logical Channel Group, LCG, of a Logical Channel ID, LCID, which is associated with the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

[0158] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times after the network node receives the measurement report.

[0159] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an allocation of a CG Type 2 UL grant (e.g., via a DCI or MAC CE) in response to the network node (800) receiving at least one of the following: the measurement report, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report, or a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report. For example, the CG Type 2 UL grant may beP112202W001 E1416-10065W00137 valid until deactivated by the network node, e.g., deactivated by sending a lower layer signal, and / or for a duration of an associated timer value, e.g., which may be pre-configured or indicated separately via lower layer signaling.

[0160] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), at least one pre-configured UL grant for transmitting the measurement report, and, e.g., activating the at least one pre-configured UL grant upon receipt, upon sending a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report, upon sending a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report, and / or upon sending the measurement report for an individual LTM event.

[0161] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an indication (e.g., a command via a MAC CE) to deactivate the at least one preconfigured UL grant.

[0162] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise determining that the at least one pre-configured UL grant is not valid; and when LTM measurement reporting is triggered, sending, to the network node (800), an SR to request a UL grant.

[0163] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to reactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant, e.g., where the UE (700) does not delete the pre-configured UL resource grants, but suspends the resource grants. For example, the at least one pre-configured UL grant may be associated with a timer or a timer value (e.g., indicated in a MAC CE). In some embodiments, the method may further comprise suspending the at least one pre-configured UL grant when an associated timer expires. In some embodiments, the method may further comprise deleting the at least one pre-configured UL grant when an associated timer expires.

[0164] The UE (700) may further receive a command to re-activate these pre-configured UL resource grant(s). For example, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to reactivate a pre-configured UL grant that has been suspended; and restarting a timer associated with the reactivated pre-configured UL grant (e.g., with a similar initial value as before).

[0165] Time-domain resources related to the at least one pre-configured UL grant may be associated with instances (e.g., occasions or multiples of the occasions) in which one or more reference signals are to be measured to determine whether the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event has been satisfied.

[0166] In some embodiments, the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting may be considered to be deactivated after the UE (700) performs an LTM switch toP112202W001 E1416-10065W00138 another cell. For example, the at least one pre-configured UL grant may be configured by a Candidate Cell gNB-DU, C-DU, for LTM measurement reporting, and the at least one preconfigured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting may be considered to be valid (or invalid) after the UE (700) performs an LTM switch to another cell.

[0167] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise starting a timer associated with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is considered valid for the timer duration.

[0168] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the network node, an indication to activate the at least one pre-configured UL grant, where the network node comprises a C-DU that identifies the UE (700) as an incoming UE in an LTM cell switch, and determines the UE (700) is configured with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting. For example, the at least one pre-configured UL grant may comprise at least one of the following: a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, a Type-2 CG-PUSCH, or another type of preconfigured UL grant.

[0169] Figure 8 illustrates a flowchart showing a method performed by a network node for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure. At step 810, a method performed by a network node for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting comprises sending, to a User Equipment, UE, (700), a configuration for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition. At step 820, the method further comprises receiving, from the UE, a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, where the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event. For example, the measurement report may comprise a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE, and / or include a listing of candidate cells in a prioritization order, e.g., a prioritization order sent to the UE (700).

[0170] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, at least one of: a Scheduling Request, SR, indicating a request to schedule transmission of the measurement report; or a buffer status report, BSR, indicating a size of the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation of resources for sending the measurement report based onP112202W001 E1416-10065W00139 at least one of the SR or BSR. For example, the size of the measurement report is based on at least one of the following: a number of LTM candidate cells; a number of reference signals that are included in the measurement report or based on an LTM event type. For example, the BSR may be sent by the UE when insufficient uplink, UL, resources are available (e.g., in response to there not being enough UL resources to transmit) for sending the measurement report in a MAC CE, while the SR may be sent by the UE when insufficient UL resources are available for sending the measurement report. In some embodiments, the SR may be in an SR configuration available to the UE (700) when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format. The SR may be sent by the UE using a dedicated SR configuration when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format.

[0171] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, the dedicated SR configuration to be used for configured LTM candidate cells and LTM events (e.g., a dedicated SR is common to LTM candidate cells / events) as part of at least one of the following: an LTM Configuration Information Element; an LTM CSI Report Configuration Information Element; an LTM event configuration; or an LTM event configuration for event- triggered LTM measurement reporting.

[0172] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, the dedicated SR configuration for an LTM event as part of at least one of the following: an LTM event configuration including LTM event parameters; or a MAC Cellgroup Information Element.

[0173] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size.

[0174] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size and a BSR according to at least one BSR format.

[0175] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times, e.g., for the number of times an LI event-triggered measurement report is to be transmitted periodically.

[0176] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise receiving, from the UE, a BSR with a Logical Channel Group, LCG, of a Logical Channel ID, LCID, which is associatedP112202W001 E1416-10065W00140 with the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

[0177] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times after receiving the measurement report.

[0178] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an allocation of a CG Type 2 UL grant (e.g., a DCI or MAC CE) in response to receiving at least one of the following: the measurement report, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report, or a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report. For example, the CG Type 2 UL grant may be valid until deactivated by the network node, e.g., deactivated by sending a lower layer signal. In another example, the CG Type 2 UL grant may be valid for a duration of an associated timer value e.g., which may be preconfigured or indicated separately via lower layer signaling.

[0179] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, at least one pre-configured UL grant for transmitting the measurement report.

[0180] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication / command, (e.g., via a MAC CE) to deactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant.

[0181] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication to reactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant, where the UE (700) does not delete the pre-configured UL resource grants, but suspends the resource grants. For example, the at least one pre-configured UL grant may be associated with a timer or a timer value (e.g., indicated in a MAC CE) and may be suspended when the associated timer or the timer value expires. For example, time-domain resources related to the at least one pre-configured UL grant may be associated with instances (e.g., occasions or multiples of the occasions) in which one or more reference signals are to be measured to determine whether the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event has been satisfied. The method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication to reactivate a pre-configured UL grant that has been suspended.

[0182] In some examples, the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting may be considered to be deactivated after the UE (700) performs an LTM switch to another cell. For example, the at least one pre-configured UL grant may be configured by a Candidate Cell gNB-DU, C-DU, for LTM measurement reporting. In other examples, the at leastP112202W001 E1416-10065W00141 one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting may be considered to be valid after the UE (700) performs an LTM switch to another cell.

[0183] In some embodiments, the method may further comprise sending, to the UE, an indication to activate the at least one pre-configured UL grant, where the network node comprises a C-DU that identifies the UE (700) as an incoming UE in an LTM cell switch, and determines the UE (700) is configured with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting. For example, the at least one pre-configured UL grant may comprise at least one of the following: a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, a Type-2 CG-PUSCH, or another type of preconfigured UL grant.

[0184] Figure 9 shows a UE 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and / or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), wireless camera, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, Laptop Embedded Equipment (LEE), Laptop Mounted Equipment (LME), smart device, wireless Customer Premise Equipment (CPE), vehicle, vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded / integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3GPP, including a Narrowband Internet of Things (NB-IoT) UE, a Machine Type Communication (MTC) UE, and / or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE.

[0185] A UE may support Device-to-Device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure (V2I), or Vehicle- to-Everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and / or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter).

[0186] The UE 900 includes processing circuitry 902 that is operatively coupled via a bus 904 to an input / output interface 906, a power source 908, memory 910, a communication interface 912, and / or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in Figure 9. The level of integration between the components may varyP112202W001 E1416-10065W00142 from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc.

[0187] The processing circuitry 902 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 910. The processing circuitry 902 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or Digital Signal Processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 902 may include multiple Central Processing Units (CPUs).

[0188] In the example, the input / output interface 906 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and / or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 900. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device.

[0189] In some embodiments, the power source 908 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 908 may further include power circuitry for delivering power from the power source 908 itself, and / or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 900 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 908. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 908 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 900 to which power is supplied.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00143

[0190] The memory 910 may be or be configured to include memory such as Random Access Memory (RAM), Read Only Memory (ROM), Programmable ROM (PROM), Erasable PROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 910 includes one or more application programs 914, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 916. The memory 910 may store, for use by the UE 900, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems.

[0191] The memory 910 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, High Density Digital Versatile Disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, Holographic Digital Data Storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini Dual In-line Memory Module (DIMM), Synchronous Dynamic RAM (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as a tamper resistant module in the form of a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) including one or more Subscriber Identity Modules (SIMs), such as a Universal SIM (USIM) and / or Internet Protocol Multimedia Services Identity Module (ISIM), other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as a ‘SIM card.’ The memory 910 may allow the UE 900 to access instructions, application programs, and the like stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system, may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 910, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium.

[0192] The processing circuitry 902 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 912. The communication interface 912 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 922. The communication interface 912 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 918 and / or a receiver 920 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 918 and receiver 920 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., the antenna 922) and may share circuit components, software, or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00144

[0193] In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 912 may include cellular communication, WiFi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short- range communications such as Bluetooth, NFC, location -based communication such as the use of the Global Positioning System (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented according to one or more communication protocols and / or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband CDMA (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, NR, UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, Transmission Control Protocol / Intemet Protocol (TCP / IP), Synchronous Optical Networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Quick User Datagram Protocol Internet Connection (QUIC), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth.

[0194] Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 912, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected, an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient).

[0195] As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input.

[0196] A UE, when in the form of an loT device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application, and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an loT device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a television, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door / window sensor, a flood / moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or VR, a wearable for tactileP112202W001 E1416-10065W00145 augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item-tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an loT device comprises circuitry and / or software in dependence of the intended application of the loT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 900 shown in Figure 9.

[0197] As yet another specific example, in an loT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and / or measurements and transmits the results of such monitoring and / or measurements to another UE and / or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship, an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and / or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation.

[0198] In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g., by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and / or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators.

[0199] Figure 10 shows a network node 1000 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged, and / or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and / or with other network nodes or equipment in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, APs (e.g., radio APs), Base Stations (BSs) (e.g., radio BSs, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs), NR Node Bs (gNBs)), and 0-RAN nodes or components of an 0-RAN node (e.g., 0-RU, 0-DU, O-CU).

[0200] Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units, distributed units (e.g., in an 0-RAN access node), and / or Remote RadioP112202W001 E1416-10065W00146Units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such RRUs may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a Distributed Antenna System (DAS).

[0201] Other examples of network nodes include multiple Transmission Point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, Multi -Standard Radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as Radio Network Controllers (RNCs) or BS Controllers (BSCs), Base Transceiver Stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, Multi-Cell / Multicast Coordination Entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and / or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs).

[0202] The network node 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002, memory 1004, a communication interface 1006, and a power source 1008. The network node 1000 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and an RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 1000 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 1000 may be configured to support multiple RATs. In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 1004 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 1010 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 1000 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 1000, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN), Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within the network node 1000.

[0203] The processing circuitry 1002 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, CPU, DSP, ASIC, FPGA, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software, and / or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 1000 components, such as the memory 1004, to provide network node 1000 functionality.

[0204] In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes a System on a Chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 includes one or more of RadioP112202W001 E1416-10065W00147Frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 1012 and baseband processing circuitry 1014. In some embodiments, the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 and the baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 and the baseband processing circuitry 1014 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units.

[0205] The memory 1004 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer- readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, RAM, ROM, mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD), or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and / or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device- readable, and / or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and / or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 1002. The memory 1004 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and / or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 1002 and utilized by the network node 1000. The memory 1004 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 1002 and / or any data received via the communication interface 1006. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 1002 and the memory 1004 are integrated.

[0206] The communication interface 1006 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and / or data between a network node, access network, and / or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 1006 comprises port(s) / terminal(s) 1016 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 1006 also includes radio front-end circuitry 1018 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 1010. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 comprises filters 1020 and amplifiers 1022. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may be connected to the antenna 1010 and the processing circuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may be configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna 1010 and the processing circuitry 1002. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 1018 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of the filters 1020 and / or the amplifiers 1022. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 1010. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 1010 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 1018. The digital data may be passedP112202W001 E1416-10065W00148 to the processing circuitry 1002. In other embodiments, the communication interface 1006 may comprise different components and / or different combinations of components.

[0207] In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 1000 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 1018; instead, the processing circuitry 1002 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 1010. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 is part of the communication interface 1006. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 1006 includes the one or more ports or terminals 1016, the radio front-end circuitry 1018, and the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 1006 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 1014, which is part of a digital unit (not shown).

[0208] The antenna 1010 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and / or receive wireless signals. The antenna 1010 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 1018 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and / or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 1010 is separate from the network node 800 and connectable to the network node 1000 through an interface or port.

[0209] The antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and / or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1000. Any information, data, and / or signals may be received from a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 1010, the communication interface 1006, and / or the processing circuitry 1002 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node 1000. Any information, data, and / or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node, and / or any other network equipment.

[0210] The power source 1008 provides power to the various components of the network node 1000 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 1008 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 1000 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid or an electricity outlet) via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 1008. As a further example, the power source 808 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00149

[0211] Embodiments of the network node 1000 may include additional components beyond those shown in Figure 10 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and / or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 1000 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 1000 and to allow output of information from the network node 1000. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 1000. In some embodiments providing a core network node, such as core network node 108 of Figure 1, some components, such as the radio front-end circuitry 1018 and the RF transceiver circuitry 1012 may be omitted.

[0212] Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1100 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices, and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more Virtual Machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtualization environments 1100 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. In some embodiments, the virtualization environment 1100 includes components defined by the O-RAN Alliance, such as an O-Cloud environment orchestrated by a Service Management and Orchestration Framework via an O-2 interface. Virtualization may facilitate distributed implementations of a network node, a UE, a core network node, or a host.

[0213] Applications 1102 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1100 to implement some of the features, functions, and / or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein.

[0214] Hardware 1104 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and / or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and / or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, an input / output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1106P112202W001 E1416-10065W00150(also referred to as hypervisors or Virtual Machine Monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1108 A and 1108B (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1108), and / or perform any of the functions, features, and / or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1106 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1108.

[0215] The VMs 1108 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking, or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1106. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1102 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1108, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as Network Function Virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers and customer premise equipment.

[0216] In the context of NFV, a VM 1108 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1108, and that part of the hardware 1104 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and / or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1108 on top of the hardware 1104 and corresponds to the application 1102.

[0217] The hardware 1104 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. The hardware 1104 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, the hardware 1104 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g., such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1110, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of the applications 1102. In some embodiments, the hardware 1104 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1112 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.

[0218] Additional embodiments are described below.EMBODIMENTSP112202W001 E1416-10065W00151Group A Embodiments1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (700) for providing event triggered Layer 1, LI, measurement reporting, the method comprising: receiving (602), from a network node (800), a configuration for one or more LI, Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of an LTM measurement configuration indicating on one or more reference signals on which measurements are to be performed; an LTM report configuration indicating LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event with one or more triggering conditions; performing (604) lower layer measurements on the one or more reference signals; and in response to determining that a triggering event has occurred, transmitting (612) a LI measurement report based on the LTM report configuration.2. The method of embodiment 1, wherein the LI measurement report is transmitted as a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE.3. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 2, wherein the LI measurement report is prioritized over other MAC CEs or logical channels carrying higher layer data or signaling.4. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 3, further comprising: transmitting (606) a Scheduling Request, SR, to the network node (800) indicating an LI measurement report; transmitting (608) a buffer status report, BSR, indicating a size of the LI measurement report; and receiving (610) an allocation of resources on which to transmit the LI measurement report.5. The method of embodiment 4, wherein the size of the LI measurement report is based on a number of LTM candidate cells or a number of reference signals that are included in the LI measurement report or based on an LTM event type.6. The method of embodiment 4, wherein the BSR is transmitted in response to there not being enough uplink, UL, resources to transmit the LI measurement report in a MAC CE.P112202W001 E1416-10065W001527. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 6, wherein the LI measurement report includes LTM candidate cells in a prioritization order received from the network node (800).8. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 7, wherein the SR is in any available SR configuration when the UE (700) does not have an available UL grant to send the LI measurement report and / or the B SR in a required BSR MAC CE format.9. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 7, wherein the SR is in a special SR configuration when the UE (700) does not have an available UL grant to send the LI measurement report and / or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format.10. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 9, wherein the UE (700) sends the SR when there are insufficient UL resources to send the LI measurement report.11. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the SR is in any available SR configuration when the UE (700) does not have an available UL grant to send the LI measurement report.12. The method of embodiment 10, wherein the SR is in a special SR configuration when the UE (700) does not have an available UL grant to send the LI measurement report.13. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 12, wherein a special SR configuration is common to all configured LTM candidate cells and LTM events and is provided as part of an LTM Configuration Information Element.14. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 13, wherein a special SR configuration is common to all the configured LTM candidate cells and LTM events and is provided as part of an LTM CSI Report Configuration Information Element.15. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 14, wherein a special SR configuration is common to all configured LTM candidate cells and LTM events and is provided as part of an LTM event configuration.16. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 15, wherein a special SR configuration may beP112202W001 E1416-10065W00153 common to or different for the configured LTM candidate cells and LTM events and is provided as part of an LTM event configuration for event triggered LTM measurement reporting.17. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 16, wherein a special SR configuration for a given event is provided as part of a given LTM event configuration along with LTM event parameters.18. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 17, wherein the special SR configuration is included in a MAC Cellgroup Information Element.19. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 18, wherein the SR is retransmitted until a UL grant is received.20. The method of any of embodiments 4 to 18, wherein the SR is retransmitted until a triggering condition remains fulfilled.21. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 20, wherein a different SR-Prohibit-Timer is allocated to a special SchedulingRequestld.22. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 21, wherein similar SR-Prohibit-Timer is configured across all the SchedulingRequestlds which are allocated for the purpose of sending special SR to request UL-SCH resources to transmit the LI measurement report.23. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 22, wherein the UE (700) is allocated with different SchedulingRequestlds for data and LI event triggered measurement report(s).24. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 23, wherein the UE (700) sends two SRs with different SchedulingRequestlds, one which is dedicated to requesting the UL grant for LI event triggered measurement report and the other for requesting the UL grant for data transmission.25. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 24, wherein the UE (700) prioritizes the SchedulingRequestld, which is dedicated to requesting the UL grant for the LI event triggered measurement report and sends the SR with dedicated SchedulingRequestld for the LI eventP112202W001 E1416-10065W00154 triggered reporting.26. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 25, wherein the UE (700) starts a different SR prohibit timer for data and LI event triggered reporting.27. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 26, wherein one SR-Prohibit-Timer is allocated to all the SchedulingRequestld(s), and if the SR prohibit timer is running, the UE (700) resets the prohibit timer and sends the SR with special SchedulingRequestld and restarts the timer.28. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 27, wherein the UE (700) is allocated with same SchedulingRequestld for data and LI event triggered measurement report(s).29. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 28, wherein SR prohibit timer length is different based on whether the LI event triggered measurement report triggered the SR or UL data transmission triggered the SR.30. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 29, wherein there is only one SR prohibit timer allocated per UE, the length of the timer varies as per the application (e.g., LI event triggered measurement report or UL data).31. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 30, wherein there are different SR prohibit timers allocated per UE, each prohibit timer maybe configured with different timer length.32. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 31, wherein the network receives the special SR to request UL grant for sending the LI measurement report and allocates the UL grant which is sufficient to fit a maximum possible LI measurement report size.33. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 32, wherein the network receives the special SR to request UL grant for sending the LI measurement report and allocates the UL grant which is sufficient to fit the maximum possible LI measurement report size and BSR in any given BSR format.34. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 33, wherein the network receives the specialP112202W001 E1416-10065W00155SR to request UL grant for sending the LI measurement report and keeps allocating the UL grant for a pre-defined number of times, e.g., for the number of times an LI event -triggered measurement report is to be transmitted periodically.35. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 34, wherein the network receives a BSR with LCG of LCID which is associated to the LI measurement report and keeps allocating the UL grant for the pre-defined number of times e.g., for the number of times an LI event -triggered measurement report is to be transmitted periodically.36. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 35, wherein the network receives the first LI event-triggered measurement report for a given LTM event and keeps allocating the UL grant for a pre-defined number of times e.g., for the number of times an LI event -triggered measurement report is to be transmitted periodically.37. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 36, wherein the network receives any of the first LI measurement report for a given LTM event, or the special SR to request UL grant for sending the LI measurement report, or a BSR with the LCG of the LCID which is associated to the LI measurement report and allocates a CG Type 2 UL grant.38. The method of embodiment 37, wherein the network allocates the CG Type 2 UL grant until the network deactivates the UL grant by sending a lower layer signaling, e.g., a DCI or MAC CE.39. The method of embodiment 38, wherein the network allocates the CG Type 2 UL grant is valid for an associated “timer value”, which may be pre-configured or indicated separately via lower layer signaling.40. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 39, wherein the UE (700) is configured with one or more pre-configured UL grant(s) for transmitting LTM measurement reports.41. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 40, wherein the pre-configured UL grants are activated from the moment they are received by the UE.42. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 41, wherein the pre-configured UL grants areP112202W001 E1416-10065W00156 activated upon receiving the special SR to request UL grant for sending the LI measurement report.43. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 42, wherein the pre-configured UL grants are activated upon receiving the BSR with the LCG of the LCID which is associated to the LI measurement report.44. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 43, wherein the pre-configured UL grants are activated upon receiving the first LI event -triggered measurement report for a given LTM event.45. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 44, wherein the UE (700) receives a command (e.g. a MAC CE) to indicate that one or more previously pre -configured UL grant(s) are to be deactivated.46. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 45, wherein the UE (700) assumes UL grants are not valid and, if a report is triggered, the UE (700) relies on an SR to request UL grant.47. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 46, wherein the UE (700) does not delete the pre-configured UL resource grants, but just suspends the resource grants and the UE (700) may further receive a command to re-activate these pre-configured UL resource grant(s).48. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 47, wherein the received pre -configured UL grants are associated to a timer (and a timer value).49. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 48, wherein the suspends the pre -configured UL resources when the timer expires.50. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 49, wherein the suspended pre -configured UL resources are re-activated e.g. by an explicit command from the network; when the UE (700) receives such a command the timer is re-started (with similar initial value as before).51. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 50, wherein a different timer value may be indicated in the MAC CE.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0015752. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 51, wherein the UE (700) deletes the preconfigured UL resources when the timer expires.53. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 52, wherein the time-domain resources related to the pre-configured UL grant(s) are associated to the occasions (or multiples of the occasions) in which one or more reference signals to be measured by the UE (700) and to be used as input to event entering conditions for triggering the LTM measurement reports.54. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 53, wherein the pre-configured UL grant(s) for the LTM measurement reports are considered deactivated when the UE (700) performs an LTM cell switch.55. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 54, wherein the C-DU may have configured the pre-configured UL grants for the LI event triggered measurement reports, for sub -sequent LTM.56. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 55, wherein the UE (700) considers the preconfigured UL grants for the LTM measurement reports as valid after the LTM cell switch.57. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 56, wherein the UE (700) starts a timer and the pre-configured UL grants for the LTM measurement reports is / are considered valid if the timer is running.58. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 57, wherein the C-DU identifies the incoming UE (700) in the LTM cell switch and determines that this is a UE (700) with pre-configured UL grants for LTM measurement reports, so that it activates the pre-configured UL resources.59. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 58, wherein the UE (700) considers the preconfigured UL grants for the LTM measurement reports as deactivated after the LTM cell switch to another cell.60. The method of any of embodiments 1 to 59, wherein the pre-configured UL grants may be configured as Type-1 CG-PUSCH or Type-2 CG-PUSCH or some other type of pre-P112202W001 E1416-10065W00158 configured grants.61. A User Equipment, UE, (700) that is configured to provide event triggered Layer 1, LI, measurement reporting, the UE (700) comprising radio circuitry and processing circuitry configured to cause the UE (700) to: receive (602), from a network node (800), a configuration for one or more LI, Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of an LTM measurement configuration indicating on one or more reference signals on which measurements are to be performed; an LTM report configuration indicating LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event with one or more triggering events; perform (604) lower layer measurements on the one or more reference signals; and in response to determining that a triggering event has occurred, transmit (612) a LI measurement report based on the LTM report configuration.62. The UE (700) of embodiment 61, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause the UE (700) to perform any of embodiments 2 to 60.63 A method performed by a network node (800) for facilitating event triggered Layer 1, LI, measurement reporting, the method comprising: providing (602), to a User Equipment, UE, (700) a configuration for one or more LI, Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of: an LTM measurement configuration indicating on one or more reference signals on which measurements are to be performed; an LTM report configuration indicating LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event with one or more triggering events; receiving (612) an LI measurement report based on the LTM report configuration.64. A network node (800) that is configured to facilitate event triggered Layer 1, LI, measurement reporting, the network comprising processing circuitry configured to cause the network node (800) to provide (602), to a User Equipment, UE, (700) a configuration for one or more LI, LayerP112202W001 E1416-10065W001592, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises one or more of: an LTM measurement configuration indicating on one or more reference signals on which measurements are to be performed; an LTM report configuration indicating LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event with one or more triggering events; receive (612) an LI measurement report based on the LTM report configuration.

[0219] Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and / or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions, and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining, or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and / or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and / or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware.

[0220] In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer- readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the describedP112202W001 E1416-10065W00160 functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and / or by end users and a wireless network generally.

[0221] Those skilled in the art will recognize improvements and modifications to the embodiments of the present disclosure. All such improvements and modifications are considered within the scope of the concepts disclosed herein.P112202W001 E1416-10065W00161REFERENCES1. 3GPP TS 38.321, V18.0.0 (2023-12); 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol specification (Release 18). 2. 3GPP TS 38.331, V18.0.0, (2023-12); 3rd Generation Partnership Project; TechnicalSpecification Group Radio Access Network; NR; Radio Resource Control (RRC) protocol specification (Release 18).3. 3GPP TS 38.300, V18.0.0 (2023-12); 3rd Generation Partnership Project; Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network; NR; NR and NG-RAN Overall Description; Stage 2 (Release 18).4. RP-241515, New WID: NR mobility enhancements Phase 4, 3GPP TSG RAN Meeting #104, Shanghai, China, June 17-20, 2024.

Claims

P112202W001 E1416-10065W00162CLAIMS1. A method performed by a User Equipment, UE, (700) for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting, the method comprising: receiving (710), from a network node (800), one or more configurations for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, wherein the one or more configurations for LTM comprise: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition; and sending (720), to the network node (800), a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, wherein the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement report comprises a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE.

3. The method of any of claims 1-2, wherein sending the measurement report is prioritized over sending one or more MAC CEs or logical channels carrying higher-layer data or signaling.

4. The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein the measurement report includes a listing of candidate cells in a prioritization order.

5. The method of any of claims 1-4, further comprising: prior to sending the measurement report, sending, to the network node (800), at least one of: a Scheduling Request, SR, (606) indicating a request to schedule transmission of the measurement report; or a buffer status report, BSR, (608) indicating a size of the measurement report; and receiving (610), from the network node (800), an allocation of resources for sending the measurement report based on at least one of the SR or BSR.P112202W001 E1416-10065W001636. The method of claim 5, wherein the size of the measurement report is based on at least one of the following: a number of LTM candidate cells; a number of reference signals that are included in the measurement report; or an LTM event type.

7. The method of any of claims 5-6, wherein the BSR is sent to the network node when insufficient uplink, UL, resources are available for sending the measurement report in a MAC CE.

8. The method of any of claims 5-7, wherein the SR is sent to the network node when insufficient UL resources are available for sending the measurement report.

9. The method of any of claims 5-8, wherein the SR is in an SR configuration available to the UE (700) when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format.

10. The method of any of claims 5-9, wherein the SR is sent to the network node using a dedicated SR configuration when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the dedicated SR configuration is to be used for LTM candidate cells and LTM events and is provided to the UE (700) as part of at least one of the following: an LTM Configuration Information Element; an LTM CSI Report Configuration Information Element; an LTM event configuration; or an LTM event configuration for event-triggered LTM measurement reporting.

12. The method of any of claims 10-11, wherein the dedicated SR configuration for an LTM event is provided to the UE (700) as part of at least one of the following: an LTM event configuration including LTM event parameters; or a MAC Cellgroup Information Element.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0016413. The method of any of claims 5-12, wherein the SR is re-sent to the network node (800) until a UL grant is received.

14. The method of any of claims 5-13, wherein the SR is re-sent to the network node (800) until a triggering condition is no longer fulfilled.

15. The method of any of claims 5-14, wherein a first SR prohibit timer is configured to correspond to an individual scheduling request identifier.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the first SR prohibit timer is configured to correspond to a plurality of scheduling request identifiers allocated for dedicated SRs for UL-scheduling, UL-SCH, resources to be used to send the measurement report.

17. The method of any of claims 15-16, wherein the UE (700) is configured to use the first SR prohibit timer for measurement reports and a second SR prohibit timer for a data transmission.

18. The method of any of claims 5-17, wherein the UE (700) is configured to use a third SR prohibit timer for a data transmission and the measurement report and, if the third SR prohibit timer is running, the method further comprising: resetting the third SR prohibit timer prior to sending a dedicated SR, and restarting the third SR prohibit timer after transmitting the dedicated SR.

19. The method of any of claims 5-18, wherein a fourth SR prohibit timer allocated to the UE has a first timer duration when the measurement report triggers an SR and a second timer duration when a data transmission triggers an SR.

20. The method of any of claims 5-19, wherein a fifth SR prohibit timer allocated to the UE is configured to vary in timer duration based on a type of data transmission associated with a SR.

21. The method of any of claims 5-20, wherein individual SR prohibit timers allocated to the UE are configured with different timer durations.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0016522. The method of any of claims 5-21, wherein the UE (700) is configured to use a first scheduling request identifier for requesting a UL grant for a data transmission and a second scheduling request identifier for requesting a UL grant for the measurement report.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising: sending, to the network node, a first SR including the first scheduling request identifier for requesting the UL grant for the data transmission and a second SR including the second scheduling request identifier for requesting the UL grant for the measurement report.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the sending includes prioritizing transmission of the second SR including the second scheduling request identifier for requesting the UL grant for the measurement report over transmission of the first SR.

25. The method of any of claims 5-24, wherein the UE (700) is configured to use a third scheduling request identifier for requesting UL grants for a data transmission and the measurement report.

26. The method of any of claims 1-25, further comprising: prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size.

27. The method of any of claims 1-26, further comprising: prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size and a BSR according to at least one BSR format.

28. The method of any of claims 1-27, further comprising: prior to sending the measurement report, sending (606), to the network node (800), a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; andP112202W001 E1416-10065W00166 receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

29. The method of any of claims 1-28, further comprising: prior to sending the measurement report, sending (608), to the network node (800), a BSR with a Logical Channel Group, LCG, of a Logical Channel ID, LCID, which is associated with the measurement report; and receiving, from the network node, an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

30. The method of any of claims 1-29, further comprising: receiving, from the network node (800), an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times after the network node receives the measurement report.

31. The method of any of claims 1-30, further comprising: receiving, from the network node (800), an allocation of a CG Type 2 UL grant in response to the network node (800) receiving at least one of the following: the measurement report, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report, or a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report.

32. The method of claim 31, wherein the CG Type 2 UL grant is valid until deactivated by the network node.

33. The method of any of claims 31-32, wherein the CG Type 2 UL grant is valid for a duration of an associated timer value.

34. The method of any of claims 1-33, further comprising: receiving, from the network node (800), at least one pre-configured UL grant for transmitting the measurement report.

35. The method of claim 34, further comprising: activating the at least one pre-configured UL grant upon receipt.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0016736. The method of any of claims 34-35, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is activated upon sending a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report.

37. The method of any of claims 34-36, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is activated upon sending a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report.

38. The method of any of claims 34-37, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is activated upon sending the measurement report for an individual LTM event.

39. The method of any of claims 34-38, further comprising: receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to deactivate the at least one preconfigured UL grant.

40. The method of any of claims 34-39, further comprising: determining that the at least one pre-configured UL grant is not valid; and when LTM measurement reporting is triggered, sending, to the network node (800), an SR to request a UL grant.

41. The method of any of claims 34-40, further comprising: receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to reactivate the at least one preconfigured UL grant.

42. The method of any of claims 34-41, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is associated with a timer or a timer value.

43. The method of claim 42, further comprising: suspending the at least one pre-configured UL grant when an associated timer expires.

44. The method of any of claims 42-43, further comprising: receiving, from the network node (800), an indication to reactivate a pre-configured UL grant that has been suspended; and restarting a timer associated with the reactivated pre-configured UL grant.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0016845. The method of any of claims 42-44, wherein the timer value is indicated in a MAC CE.

46. The method of any of claims 42-45, further comprising: deleting the at least one pre-configured UL grant when an associated timer expires.

47. The method of any of claims 34-46, wherein time-domain resources related to the at least one pre-configured UL grant are associated with instances in which one or more reference signals are to be measured to determine whether the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event has been satisfied.

48. The method of any of claims 34-47, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting is considered to be deactivated after the UE (700) performs an LTM switch to another cell.

49. The method of any of claims 34-48, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is configured by a Candidate Cell gNB-DU, C-DU, for LTM measurement reporting.

50. The method of any of claims 34-49, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting is considered to be valid after the UE (700) performs an LTM switch to another cell.

51. The method of any of claims 34-50, further comprising: starting a timer associated with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is considered valid for the timer duration.

52. The method of any of claims 34-51, further comprising: receiving, from the network node, an indication to activate the at least one preconfigured UL grant, wherein the network node comprises a C-DU that identifies the UE (700) as an incoming UE in an LTM cell switch, and determines the UE (700) is configured with the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting.

53. The method of any of claims 34-52, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grantP112202W001 E1416-10065W00169 comprises at least one of the following: a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, a Type-2 CG-PUSCH, or another type of pre-configured UL grant.

54. A method performed by a network node (800) for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting, the method comprising: sending (810), to a User Equipment, UE, (700), a configuration for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition; and receiving (820), from the UE (700), a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, wherein the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.

55. The method of claim 54, wherein the measurement report comprises a Medium Access Control, MAC, Control Element, CE.

56. The method of any of claims 54-55, wherein the measurement report includes a listing of candidate cells in a prioritization order.

57. The method of any of claims 54-56, further comprising: receiving, from the UE, at least one of: a Scheduling Request, SR, indicating a request to schedule transmission of the measurement report; or a buffer status report, BSR, indicating a size of the measurement report; and sending, to the UE, an allocation of resources for sending the measurement report based on at least one of the SR or BSR.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the size of the measurement report is based on at least one of the following: a number of LTM candidate cells;P112202W001 E1416-10065W00170 a number of reference signals that are included in the measurement report; or an LTM event type.

59. The method of any of claims 57-58, wherein the BSR is sent by the UE when insufficient uplink, UL, resources are available for sending the measurement report in a MAC CE.

60. The method of any of claims 57-59, wherein the SR is sent by the UE when insufficient UL resources are available for sending the measurement report.

61. The method of any of claims 57-60, wherein the SR is in an SR configuration available to the UE (700) when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format.

62. The method of any of claims 57-61, wherein the SR is sent by the UE using a dedicated SR configuration when the UE (700) does not have a UL grant available to transmit the measurement report or the BSR in a required BSR MAC CE format.

63. The method of claim 62, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), the dedicated SR configuration to be used for LTM candidate cells and LTM events as part of at least one of the following: an LTM Configuration Information Element; an LTM CSI Report Configuration Information Element; an LTM event configuration; or an LTM event configuration for event-triggered LTM measurement reporting.

64. The method of any of claims 62-63, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), the dedicated SR configuration for an LTM event as part of at least one of the following: an LTM event configuration including LTM event parameters; or a MAC Cellgroup Information Element.

65. The method of any of claims 54-64, further comprising: receiving, from the UE (700), a dedicated SR (606) to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; andP112202W001 E1416-10065W00171 sending, to the UE (700), an allocation (610) for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size.

66. The method of any of claims 54-65, further comprising: receiving, from the UE (700), a dedicated SR (606) to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE (700), an allocation (610) for a UL grant which is sufficient to fit a determined maximum measurement report size and a BSR according to at least one BSR format.

67. The method of any of claims 54-66, further comprising: receiving, from the UE (700), a dedicated SR (606) to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report; and sending, to the UE (700), an allocation (610) for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

68. The method of any of claims 54-28, further comprising: receiving, from the UE (700), a BSR (608) with a Logical Channel Group, LCG, of a Logical Channel ID, LCID, which is associated with the measurement report; and sending, to the UE (700), an allocation (610) for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times.

69. The method of any of claims 54-68, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), an allocation for a UL grant periodically for a determined number of times after receiving the measurement report.

70. The method of any of claims 54-69, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), an allocation of a CG Type 2 UL grant in response to receiving at least one of the following: the measurement report, a dedicated SR to request a UL grant for sending the measurement report, or a BSR with a LCG of a LCID which is associated with the measurement report.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the CG Type 2 UL grant is valid until deactivated byP112202W001 E1416-10065W00172 the network node.

72. The method of any of claims 70-71, wherein the CG Type 2 UL grant is valid for a duration of an associated timer value.

73. The method of any of claims 54-72, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), at least one pre-configured UL grant for transmitting the measurement report.

74. The method of claim 73, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), an indication to deactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant.

75. The method of any of claims 73-74, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), an indication to reactivate the at least one pre-configured UL grant.

76. The method of any of claims 73-75, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is associated with a timer or a timer value and is suspended when the associated timer or the timer value expires.

77. The method of claim 76, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), an indication to reactivate a pre-configured UL grant that has been suspended.

78. The method of any of claims 76-77, wherein the timer value is indicated in a MAC CE.

79. The method of any of claims 73-78, wherein time-domain resources related to the at least one pre-configured UL grant are associated with instances in which one or more reference signals are to be measured to determine whether the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event has been satisfied.

80. The method of any of claims 73-79, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting is considered to be deactivated after the UE (700) performs anP112202W001 E1416-10065W00173LTM switch to another cell.

81. The method of any of claims 73-80, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant is configured by a Candidate Cell gNB-DU, C-DU, for LTM measurement reporting.

82. The method of any of claims 73-81, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting is considered to be valid after the UE (700) performs an LTM switch to another cell.

83. The method of any of claims 73-82, further comprising: sending, to the UE (700), an indication to activate the at least one pre-configured UL grant, wherein the network node comprises a C-DU that identifies the UE (700) as an incoming UE in an LTM cell switch, and determines the UE (700) is configured with the at least one preconfigured UL grant for LTM measurement reporting.

84. The method of any of claims 73-83, wherein the at least one pre-configured UL grant comprises at least one of the following: a Type-1 CG-PUSCH, a Type-2 CG-PUSCH, or another type of pre-configured UL grant.

85. A User Equipment, UE, (700) for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event-triggered measurement reporting, the UE (700) comprising radio circuitry and processing circuitry configured to cause the UE (700) to: receive (710), from a network node (800), one or more configurations for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, wherein the one or more configurations for LTM comprise: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition; and send (720), to the network node (800), a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, wherein the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.P112202W001 E1416-10065W0017486. A network node (800) for Layer 1, LI, / Layer 2, L2, Triggered Mobility, LTM, event- triggered measurement reporting, the network node (800) comprising radio circuitry and processing circuitry configured to cause the network node (800) to: send (810), to a User Equipment, UE, (700), a configuration for LTM corresponding to one or more candidate cells, wherein the configuration comprises: a configuration for LTM measurements indicating one or more reference signals on which LI measurements are to be performed; a configuration for LTM reports indicating one or more LI reporting types; and an indication of at least one LTM event having at least one triggering condition; and receive (820), from the UE (700), a measurement report comprising LI measurements on the one or more reference signals according to the configuration for LTM reports, wherein the measurement report is triggered in response to an occurrence of the at least one triggering condition for the at least one LTM event.

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