Method executed by user equipment and user equipment

Abstract

The present invention provides a method executed by a user equipment and a user equipment. The method comprises: determining whether there are multiple beam measurement reports (BMRs) to be processed; when there are multiple BMRs to be processed, determining whether events associated with trigger causes of said multiple BMRs are the same; and if it is determined that the events associated with the trigger causes of said multiple BMRs are different, on the basis of a priority order set on the basis of the trigger causes, generating a medium access control-control element (MAC CE) to be sent to a base station and containing BMR report information, the priority order indicating the order of BMR report information contained in the MAC CE.

Description

Methods executed by user equipment and user equipment Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of wireless communication technology, and more particularly to a method performed by a user equipment and the user equipment itself. Background Technology

[0002] When a UE in RRC connected state moves from the coverage area of ​​one cell to the coverage area of ​​another, the base station or network side usually instructs the UE to perform a cell switch / cell handover operation to ensure service continuity. In existing technologies, handover is triggered by RRC signaling; that is, when the UE receives an RRC reconfiguration message carrying a synchronization identifier (here referred to as a Layer 3 handover command), it will synchronize to the target cell specified in that message. The time from receiving the Layer 3 handover command to completing synchronization with the target cell is called the handover delay. A significant proportion of this handover delay is the time it takes for the UE to initiate random access in the target cell to obtain uplink synchronization.

[0003] To shorten uplink synchronization time, a feasible method is to configure one or more candidate cells for the UE before the base station or network instructs the UE to perform cell handover. Before performing the handover operation, the UE can measure the beam of this or these candidate cells in advance and report the measurement results, which can be referred to as a beam measurement report (BMR). Based on the received BMR, the base station can instruct the UE to perform uplink synchronization in the appropriate beam direction of the candidate cell, thereby improving the success rate of uplink synchronization and shortening the handover latency. However, in the design, there are various events or situations that can prompt the UE to send beam measurement reports to the base station or network, and the size of each measurement report generated by the UE is limited by the uplink grant size obtained by the UE. Therefore, how to generate the corresponding measurement report for triggered beam measurement reports and how to ensure its transmission efficiency are problems that need to be solved. Summary of the Invention

[0004] To address the aforementioned problems, the present invention provides a method executed by a user equipment and a user equipment thereof.

[0005] According to one aspect of the present invention, a method performed by a user equipment is provided, comprising: determining whether there are multiple pending beam measurement reports (BMRs); when multiple pending BMRs exist, determining whether the events associated with the triggering causes of the multiple pending BMRs are the same; and if it is determined that the events associated with the triggering causes of the multiple pending BMRs are not the same, generating a Media Access Control Layer Control Element (MAC CE) containing BMR report information to be sent to a base station according to a priority order set based on the triggering causes, wherein the priority order indicates the order of the BMR report information contained in the MAC CE.

[0006] According to another aspect of the present invention, a user equipment is also provided, comprising: a processor; and a memory storing instructions, wherein the instructions, when executed by the processor, perform the method as described above.

[0007] Invention Effects

[0008] According to the present invention, an MR MAC CE containing BMR report information can be appropriately generated, thereby improving the transmission efficiency of BMR report information. Attached Figure Description

[0009] The above and other features of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

[0010] Figure 1 is a flowchart of the method executed by a user equipment according to the present invention.

[0011] Figure 2 is another flowchart of the method performed by a user equipment according to the present invention.

[0012] Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the user equipment involved in the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0013] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and specific embodiments. It should be noted that the present invention should not be limited to the specific embodiments described below. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity, detailed descriptions of well-known technologies not directly related to the present invention have been omitted to prevent confusion in understanding the present invention.

[0014] Before proceeding with the detailed description, the following explanation is provided for several terms mentioned in this invention. Unless otherwise specified, the terms used in this invention shall have the meanings described below. UE (User Equipment) RLF (Radio Link Failure) NR (New Radio) LTE (Long Term Evolution) eLTE (Enhanced Long Term Evolution) MAC (Medium Access Control) MAC CE (MAC Control Element) PHY (Physical Layer) PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) RRC (Radio Resource Control) MAC (Medium Access Control) PHY (Physical Layer) PDCCH (Physical Downlink Control Channel) PUSCH (Physical Uplink Shared Channel) PDSCH (Physical Downlink Shared Channel) RA (Random Access) PRACH (Physical Random Access Channel) SSB (Synchronization Signal Block) CSI-RS (Channel State Information Reference Signal) TCI (Transmission Configuration Indicator) RSRP (Reference Signal Received Power) Serving Cell: a PCell, a PSCell, or an SCell: Serving Cell, which can be PCell, PSCell, or SCell. SpCell: Special Cell, which can be PCell or PSCell.PCell: Primary Cell; PSCell: Primary SCG Cell; SCell: Secondary Cell; SCG: Secondary Cell Group; C-RNTI: Cell RNTI; RNTI: Radio Network Temporary Identifier; HARQ: Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request; SINR: Signal to Noise and Interference Ratio; TRP: Transmit / Receive Point; UL-CCCH: Uplink Common Control Channel; UL-SCH: Uplink Shared Channel; DL-SCH: Downlink Shared Channel; UCI: Uplink Control Information; MCG: Master Cell Group; SCG: Secondary Cell Group; SR: Scheduling Request; PHR: Power Heardroom Report; BSR: Buffer Status Report. DCI: Downlink Control Information (Active / Active Period / Inactive / Inactive Period)

[0015] The following description uses the NR mobile communication system and its subsequent evolutions as an example application environment, taking NR-supporting base stations and UE devices as examples, to specifically describe several embodiments according to the present invention. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, but is applicable to many other wireless communication systems, such as eLTE communication systems, and can be applied to other base stations and UE devices, such as eLTE-supporting base stations and UE devices.

[0016] Beamforming can be used in conjunction with carrier aggregation (CA) technology. The base station can configure multiple carriers for the UE, with different carriers corresponding to different serving cells. Among the multiple cells configured for the UE, there is at least one primary cell (Pcell) and one or more secondary cells (Scells). Both the primary and secondary cells can employ beamforming technology. Accordingly, by measuring the configured beams of each serving cell, the UE can report the beam quality of each cell.

[0017] A UE operating in Dual Connection (DC) mode is configured with MCG and SCG. The primary cell of the MCG is called Pcell, and the primary cell of the SCG is called PScell. SPcell is usually used to refer to Pcell and PScell.

[0018] The following is a detailed description of some of the technical means and technical terms involved in this invention.

[0019] LTM (Layer 1 / Layer 2-triggered mobility) refers to mobility triggered by layer 1 or layer 2.

[0020] LTM refers to the UE performing mobility operations upon receiving Layer 1 / Layer 2 signaling. Here, Layer 1 / Layer 2 signaling refers to signaling used for cell handover, which carries or indicates information about the target cell. The UE changes its serving cell by applying or executing the target cell's configuration information.

[0021] Here, the target cell refers to the cell that will replace the current serving cell to provide service to the UE. The serving cell that provided service to the UE before receiving the handover signaling can be called the source cell. That is, after receiving the handover signaling, the UE will switch from the source cell to the target cell, and the target cell will continue to provide service to the UE. The movement of the UE causes a change in the serving cell, which is triggered by L1 or L2 command or information indication.

[0022] The handover and cell change discussed in this article mainly refer to the LTM-triggered handover and cell change mentioned above.

[0023] LTM Candidate Cell(s)

[0024] Before performing LTM, the UE will be configured with one or more candidate cells, referred to as LTM candidate cells. One of these candidate cells will become the target cell for LTM handover. The base station provides the UE with configuration information for these candidate cells, which can be in the form of cell group configuration information. These candidate cells are numbered or ordered, with each number or sequence corresponding to a candidate cell, or in other words, the configuration information for a single candidate cell can be determined. For each candidate cell, the configuration information may include at least the cell's identification information, such as the cell's Physical Cell ID (PCID) or cell ID, and may also include information from one or more SSBs or CSI-RS used to measure the cell's beam.

[0025] The beams of LTM candidate cells can be considered as candidate beams used for LTM. The UE can measure the candidate beams of the LTM candidate cells configured for the UE, based on instructions from the network side or base station side. Essentially, this involves measuring the SSB or CSI-RS corresponding to these beams.

[0026] The UE measures the SSB or CSI-RS corresponding to the configured candidate beam and uses the measured L1-RSRP (Layer one-RSRP) value as the measurement quantity of the corresponding beam. Alternatively, it can use the measured L1-SINR as the measurement quantity. Both L1-RSRP and L1-SINR can be regarded as the measurement results of beam measurement.

[0027] The UE can also be configured with one or more serving cells. Each serving cell can be configured with at least one SSB or CSI-RS. According to the instructions of the network side or the base station side, when the serving cell configured by the UE provides services, such as the serving cell being a Spcell or an active Scell, at least one SSB or CSI-RS can be referred to as the serving beam or the current working beam of this serving cell. By measuring the SSB or CSI-RS corresponding to the serving beam, the UE can use the measured L1-RSRP (Layer one-RSRP) value as the measurement quantity of the corresponding beam, or it can use the measured L1-SINR as the measurement quantity.

[0028] Based on the beam measurement results of the serving cell and candidate cells, the UE can determine whether one or more of the following events have occurred. If the UE determines that one or more of the following events have occurred, the UE can trigger or initiate a process or procedure to send the beam measurement results to the network side or base station. Therefore, the following events can be considered triggering events for sending a beam measurement report.

[0029] Event 1: The quality of the serving beam of the current serving cell is lower than a preset threshold.

[0030] The quality of a beam can be characterized by its measurement or measurement result. The current beam refers to the beam currently used for transmission, also called the working beam. When the measurement result of the current beam is lower than a predetermined threshold, event 1 can be considered to have occurred. The number of serving beams is not limited to one. If there is only one serving beam, the measurement result is characterized by the measurement of that serving beam and compared with the preset threshold to determine whether event 1 has occurred. This preset threshold can be an absolute value. If there are more than one serving beam, a measurement result can be obtained based on the measurement results of these serving beams and compared with the preset threshold. This can be achieved by averaging or weighted averaging the measurement results of multiple serving beams, or by using a specific algorithm for filtering; there are no restrictions on this.

[0031] Event 2: There exists at least one candidate cell whose at least one beam (referred to as the candidate beam) has a measurement value, such as L1-RSRP, that is higher than the measurement value of the currently operating beam by an offset value. Preferably, this offset value is a pre-configured absolute value. Event 2 is considered to have occurred when at least one candidate beam satisfies the aforementioned condition.

[0032] Event 3: There exists at least one candidate cell whose measurement value for at least one beam is higher than a pre-set threshold, which can be an absolute value. Event 3 can be considered to have occurred at this time.

[0033] Event 4: The quality (or measurement result) of the current serving beam is lower than the preset threshold 1 and there is at least one candidate cell whose quality (or measurement result) of at least one beam is higher than the preset threshold 2. Event 4 can be considered to have occurred.

[0034] In addition to the four events mentioned above, other triggering events may exist, which are not defined here. That is, any event that may cause the UE to trigger the BMR transmission process can be called a BMR triggering event.

[0035] In addition to the aforementioned triggering events, the UE may also trigger the BMR transmission process under the following circumstances:

[0036] Case 1: For a given triggering event, if one or more pre-defined or configured leaving conditions(s) are met, the UE can initiate or trigger the BMR transmission process. The UE can initiate BMR transmission if at least one leaving condition is met, or if all leaving conditions(s) are met.

[0037] Case 2: For a certain triggering event, the corresponding measurement configuration or measurement report configuration contains indication information for periodic reporting or triggering. That is, the event is configured to be reported periodically. When a period ends or is about to end, if the UE determines that the fact corresponding to the event still exists, or that the departure condition for the event has not been met, the UE can trigger or start the BMR transmission process for the event again.

[0038] For scenario one, taking event 1 as an example, the measurement configuration or corresponding reporting configuration for event 1 can include the setting or configuration of departure conditions. For example, it can indicate that BMR can be performed when the departure conditions are met, and it can further indicate what the specific departure conditions are. When the measured signal value or level value of the working beam of the current serving cell is lower than the preset threshold value -1, it can be considered that event 1 has occurred, or that the initiation condition or admission condition of event 1 has been met. In this case, the UE can initiate or trigger the BMR transmission process. When the UE detects that the measured signal value or level value of the working beam of the current serving cell is not lower than or higher than the preset threshold value -1, it can be considered that the departure condition has been met. In this case, the UE can also initiate or trigger the BMR transmission process. Alternatively, the departure condition can be defined as follows: when the UE detects the working beam of the current serving cell, the measured signal value or level value is not lower than or higher than a preset threshold value -2 (the threshold value -2 can be higher than or lower than the threshold value -1, and the above situation applies when the two are equal); then when the UE detects the working beam of the current serving cell, the measured signal value or level value is not lower than or higher than the preset threshold value -2, it can be considered that the departure condition is met. In this case, the UE can also start or trigger the BMR transmission process.

[0039] For scenario two, taking event 2 as an example, the measurement configuration or corresponding reporting configuration for event 2 can indicate that the event is periodically reported. That is, after the event occurs, starting from the moment the BMR is first generated or triggered, after a predetermined period of time, as long as the facts corresponding to the event exist or the departure condition is not met, the UE can re-trigger or start the BMR for the event. This predetermined period of time can be controlled by a timer. For example, the timer can be started or restarted at the moment the BMR is generated or triggered, and the BMR can be triggered or started when the timer expires. If, during the timer's operation, the facts corresponding to the event no longer exist or the departure condition for the event is met (e.g., the measurement values ​​of all candidate beams in all candidate cells, such as L1-RSRP, are not higher than the measurement value of the currently working beam by a predetermined offset value), then the timer can be stopped. If a departure condition is set for event 2, then the timer can also be stopped when the departure condition is met.

[0040] The preset thresholds for the aforementioned events can be different and used to determine the corresponding events. Furthermore, if an event is configured with or indicates an exit condition, the preset thresholds included in the exit condition can be the same as or different from the thresholds set in the event.

[0041] In the process of the UE sending beam measurement results to the network or base station, the information containing the beam measurement results is called a beam measurement report (BMR) or a Layer 1 measurement report. Such a report can be generated when the aforementioned triggering event is detected, determined, or when the UE obtains resources for transmitting the BMR. Sending this report can also be referred to as reporting a beam measurement report to the network or base station. Therefore, when the UE detects or determines that at least one of the aforementioned events or one of the aforementioned conditions (case 1 or case 2) has occurred in a serving cell, a beam measurement report (BMR) can be considered triggered. The BMR may contain event information that triggered the BMR, such as an event identifier, and may also contain information about candidate beams in the corresponding event. For example, if event 2 occurs, the corresponding report may contain information about at least one candidate beam, such as identification information for the candidate beam, and may also include the measurement results of that beam.

[0042] The content or information reported by the UE in BMR may not be exactly the same for different triggering events. For example, the event identifier indicated in the reported content or information is different when event 1 occurs and when event 2 occurs. As another example, when event 1 occurs, the reported content or information may include the level value of the working beam of the current serving cell; when event 2 occurs, the reported content or information may include information about at least one candidate beam that meets the triggering conditions corresponding to event 2, such as the corresponding identifier information and the measured level value. Furthermore, in the event 1, the report content or information can indicate the corresponding event identifier and the indication that the leaving condition is met. For example, if a leaving condition is configured, a 1-bit information can be used to explicitly indicate that the leaving condition is met (i.e., based on this indication, the base station can know that the event no longer exists). If the UE is configured with more than one leaving condition, it can indicate which one or more leaving conditions are met. In addition, the leaving condition can also be implicitly indicated. For example, for event 1, when the quality of the serving beam of the current serving cell is no longer lower than a preset threshold, it can be considered that the leaving condition is met. Then, the corresponding report can include event identifier information and the level value of the serving beam of the current serving cell. By directly indicating the level value, it can be implicitly indicated that the leaving condition is met. It can be seen that for event 1, the content of the BMR reported by the UE can be different when the event is triggered and when the leaving condition is met.

[0043] Regarding case 2, even though the reporting is periodic, the content of each BMR report can be different. For example, for event 2, when it is configured as a periodically reported event, the initial report can include event identification information and one or more candidate cell / beam information. At the next reporting time, if the report content is exactly the same as the previous one, the report content can be simplified, including the event identification information and indicating information identical to the most recent report. If, at the next reporting time, the content to be reported has partially changed from the previous one, the current report can indicate information identical to the most recent report, and also include information different from the previous report. If, at the next reporting time, the content to be reported has completely changed from the previous one, the report content can include event identification information and one or more new candidate cell / beam information.

[0044] In this article, report information and report content can be used interchangeably.

[0045] Beam Measurement Reporting Process

[0046] If any triggering event occurs, or if either Case 1 or Case 2 corresponding to a certain event occurs, the UE may initiate or trigger a process of sending a beam measurement report containing beam measurement results to the network side or base station.

[0047] In one scenario, the beam measurement report is packaged or padded into a bitstream to generate a MAC CE, which is then assembled into a MAC PDU and sent to the base station. This MAC CE containing the beam measurement report can be called a Measurement Report MAC CE (MR MAC CE). This process of assembling the beam measurement report to generate a MAC CE can also be referred to as filling in the content or information contained in the MAC CE to generate the MAC CE.

[0048] The UE typically generates an MR MAC CE when it receives an uplink pre-grant (UL grant). The UL grant corresponds to the available uplink shared channel resources (UL-SCH resources) allocated to the UE for uplink transmission, often simply referred to as uplink resources. The UE can assemble the generated MR MAC CE into a MAC PDU by combining it with other types of MAC CEs or data, or it can assemble the MR MAC CE into a separate MAC PDU. This MAC PDU is then transmitted on the uplink resources corresponding to the uplink pre-grant. Therefore, the size of an MR MAC CE is limited by the size of the corresponding available uplink resources; that is, the total number of bytes / bits of the MR MAC CE will not exceed the number of bytes / bits that the uplink resource can transmit (considering other information such as the PDU header, it should be less than the number of bytes that the uplink resource can transmit). Considering that BMR can be triggered under various circumstances, when a UE obtains uplink resources for transmitting BMR, there may be multiple events or situations that need to be reported. However, the size of the MR MAC CE is limited by the size of the uplink resources. Therefore, when the UE generates the MAC CE, it is necessary to solve the problem of how the UE should generate the MR MAC CE, which event or situation reports should be placed at the beginning of the MAC CE content, which event or situation reports should be placed at the end of the MAC CE generation, and which events should be given priority or considered first.

[0049] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0050] Figure 1 is a flowchart of the method executed by a user equipment according to the present invention.

[0051] As shown in Figure 1, in S101, it is determined whether there are multiple unprocessed beam measurement reports (BMRs).

[0052] When there are multiple pending BMRs, in S102, it is determined whether the events associated with the triggering causes of the multiple pending BMRs are the same.

[0053] The triggering reason can be one of the aforementioned events, such as Event 1 or Event 2 (specifically, the fulfillment of a triggering condition for an event), or it can be one of the aforementioned cases, such as Case 1 or Case 2. For example, if the triggering reason is Event 1, then the event associated with the triggering reason is Event 1. Similarly, if the triggering reason is Case 1, which is triggered because the departure condition of Event 1 is met, then the event associated with the triggering reason is also Event 1. Furthermore, if a reporting cycle is set for Event 2, i.e., periodic reporting is set for Event 2, then when the triggering reason is BMR (i.e., Case 2 associated with Event 2) triggered because the periodic reporting condition of Event 2 is met, the event associated with the triggering reason is Event 2.

[0054] If the triggering causes of multiple pending BMRs are determined to be associated with different events, then in S104, a MAC CE containing BMR report information is generated and sent to the base station according to the priority order set based on the triggering causes. The priority order indicates the order of the BMR report information contained in the MAC CE.

[0055] The situation where multiple pending BMRs are associated with the same event due to their triggering causes can include: multiple pending BMRs being triggered due to one of the following triggering causes: being triggered by meeting the triggering condition of a specific event; being triggered by satisfying the departure condition of the specific event after meeting the triggering condition of the specific event; or, if a reporting period is set for the specific event, being triggered because the departure condition of leaving the specific event has not been met after each of the reporting periods following the meeting of the triggering condition of the specific event. If, among the multiple pending BMRs, some of the pending BMRs are triggered by one of the above causes, while others are triggered by other events, then the events associated with the triggering causes of the multiple pending BMRs are not the same.

[0056] Optionally, the priority order may include a first priority order based on the event that triggers the BMR, and / or a second priority order based on at least one of the following scenarios: scenario one, triggered because the departure condition for leaving the event is met after the trigger condition for a certain event is met; scenario two, if a reporting period is set for a certain event, triggered because the departure condition for leaving the event has not been met after each of the reporting periods following the meeting of the trigger condition for the event.

[0057] The first priority order can be specified by sorting the events associated with the triggering cause, or by sorting the measurement configuration identifiers corresponding to the events. This will be explained in detail in the following embodiments.

[0058] The second priority order may include at least one of the following: Case 1 has a higher priority than a triggering cause that is not Case 1, or a triggering cause that is not Case 1 has a higher priority than Case 1; Case 2 has a higher priority than a triggering cause that is not Case 2, or a triggering cause that is not Case 2 has a higher priority than Case 2; Case 1 has a higher priority than Case 2 and Case 2 has a higher priority than other triggering causes, or Case 2 has a higher priority than Case 1 and Case 1 has a higher priority than other triggering causes; other triggering causes have a higher priority than both Case 1 and Case 2.

[0059] Optionally, when the priority order includes both a first priority order and a second priority order, the order in which multiple pending BMRs are written into the BMR report information can be determined first according to the second priority order; and after the order in which the BMR report information is written is determined according to the second priority order, the order in which at least a portion of the multiple pending BMRs are written into the BMR report information can be determined according to the first priority order.

[0060] For example, if the second priority order prioritizes Case 1 over triggering causes that are not Case 1, applying the second priority order determines that pending BMRs whose triggering causes are not Case 1 should be written to the BMR report information first. Then, for pending BMRs in Case 1, the writing order is determined by the first priority order. Finally, for the other pending BMRs, the first priority order is applied to determine their writing order. As another example, if the second priority order prioritizes triggering causes that are not Case 2 over Case 2, applying the second priority order determines that pending BMRs whose triggering causes are not Case 2 should be written first. In this case, for pending BMRs whose triggering causes are not Case 2, their priorities can be determined based on the events associated with their triggering causes. After writing these pending BMRs to the BMR report information, pending BMRs whose triggering causes are Case 2 should be written next.

[0061] Furthermore, when the priority order includes the first priority order, a MAC CE containing BMR report information can also be generated according to the process shown in Figure 2. Figure 2 is another flowchart of the method performed by the user equipment according to the present invention.

[0062] As shown in Figure 2, in S201, it is determined whether the space required to report multiple pending BMRs is greater than the available uplink resource space.

[0063] When the required space is no greater than the uplink resource space, in S205, BMR report information is generated and reported to the base station according to the priority order.

[0064] When the required space is greater than the uplink resource space, in S202, it is determined whether the space required by all pending BMRs (all high-priority BMRs) triggered based on the first event with higher priority is greater than the uplink resource space. If the determination result in S202 is "yes", then in S203, it is determined whether the space required by all pending BMRs triggered based on the second event with lower priority than the first event is greater than the uplink resource space. If the determination result in S202 is "no", then proceed to S205.

[0065] If the determination result in S203 is "No", then in S204, all pending BMRs triggered based on the second event (all BMRs with low priority) will be written into the BMR report information first.

[0066] In the case shown in Figure 2, the BMR report information may include information indicating that there is content or event to be reported, or that there is content about a certain event that has not been fully reported.

[0067] Furthermore, in practical applications, there may be instances where pending BMRs exist, but no available uplink transmission resources exist for reporting these BMRs. In this case, if pending BMRs exist and no available uplink transmission resources exist, a scheduling request is triggered. Additionally, it can be determined whether the PUCCH resource used to transmit the scheduling request coincides with a measurement gap; if the PUCCH resource does not coincide with a measurement gap, the scheduling request is transmitted with priority.

[0068] If the PUCCH resource used to transmit the scheduling request coincides with a measurement gap and that measurement gap is indicated to be skipped, the scheduling request can be transmitted over the skipped measurement gap. Alternatively, if the PUCCH resource used to transmit the scheduling request coincides with a measurement gap and that measurement gap is not indicated to be skipped, the transmission of the scheduling request can be cancelled.

[0069] The present invention will be described in more detail below through specific embodiments.

[0070] Example

[0071] First, the UE obtains an uplink shared channel resource (UL-SCH resource) that can be used for transmission. For an uplink shared channel resource that can be used for transmission, if the resource can accommodate an MR MAC CE, then the UE can instruct the multiplexing and assembly procedure to generate the MR MAC CE.

[0072] During the generation of MR MAC CE, the UE can perform the following operations:

[0073] The UE determines whether there are at least one pending BMR, and if there are more than one pending BMR, whether their triggering conditions (e.g., triggering events or triggering situations) are the same. This determination can be made before or simultaneously with the UE obtaining an uplink shared channel resource that can be used for transmission; this does not affect the implementation effect of the scheme.

[0074] - If the UE determines that there is only one pending BMR, then the UE can include the event identifier information that triggered the BMR in the MR MAC CE, as well as optional beam information, such as beam identifier, cell to which it belongs (current serving cell or candidate message), measured level value or measurement value, etc.

[0075] - If the UE determines that there are more than one pending BMRs, but their triggering events are the same, for example, there are two BMRs, both triggered by event 1, one triggered when event 1 occurs, and the other when the departure condition of event 1 is met (case 1 occurs). Or, there are two BMRs, both triggered by event 2, one triggered when candidate beam X meets event 2, and the other triggered when candidate beam Y meets event 2. In the case of multiple pending BMRs with the same triggering event, when generating the MR MAC CE, the UE can at least include the event identifier information that triggered the BMR, and fill in the corresponding beam information based on the latest or most recent report information from a lower layer, such as the physical layer.

[0076] - If the UE determines that there are more than one pending BMR, and their triggering events are different, then the UE may perform one or more of the following operations:

[0077] (1) When the triggering events corresponding to the BMR to be processed are different, the content or information that these events need to be reported can always be filled in or arranged in a specific order, that is, which event reports are placed at the front of the MAC CE content, which event reports are placed at the back of the generated MAC CE, or which events need to be reported first or prioritized:

[0078] For example, the UE always fills in the report information corresponding to event 1 first. If there are still uplink resources available, it continues to fill in the report information corresponding to event 2. After filling in the report information for events 1 and 2, if there are still uplink resources available, it can fill in the report information corresponding to event 3. After filling in the report information for events 1 and 2, if there are still uplink resources available, it can fill in the report information corresponding to event 4. If there are still resources available and other events exist, it can continue to fill in the report information, and so on.

[0079] For example, if event 1 does not exist, then first fill in the report information corresponding to event 2. Then, if there are still uplink resources remaining, if event 3 exists, then continue to fill in the report information corresponding to event 3. Then, if there are still uplink resources remaining, you can fill in the report information corresponding to event 4. If event 3 does not exist, and there are still uplink resources remaining, you can fill in the report information corresponding to event 4.

[0080] It is evident that for events that do not exist, the event can be skipped, and the next event in the sorting can be filled in.

[0081] The example above demonstrates how to fill in the information contained in the MR MAC CE in the order of <Event 1, Event 2, Event 3, Event 4, Other> to generate the MR MAC CE. The UE can also process it in other orders, such as <Event 1, Event 3, Event 2, Event 4, Other>, or <Event 2, Event 1, Event 4, Event 3, ...>. This method essentially requires processing or arranging the MR MAC CE content based on the priority or order of the triggering events during the MR MAC CE generation process.

[0082] In one scenario, these events can be associated with a corresponding measurement report configuration or measurement configuration. In this case, the corresponding report configuration identifier or measurement configuration identifier can be used to characterize the event or its identifier information. For example, if the measurement report configuration identifier 1 corresponds to the measurement configuration information for event 1, then a variation of the above scheme could be: the UE generates an MR MAC CE according to a specific measurement report configuration identifier.

[0083] For example, the UE always generates MR MAC CEs in the order of <Measurement Report Configuration Identifier 1, Measurement Report Configuration Identifier 2, Measurement Report Configuration Identifier 3, Measurement Report Configuration Identifier 4, Others>. In other words, the MR MAC CE content needs to be processed or arranged based on the measurement report configuration during the generation process. The specific processing method is similar to the above. For example, among the existing pending events, the report information corresponding to the event with measurement report configuration identifier 1 is filled in first, and then the report information corresponding to the event with measurement report configuration identifier 2 is processed. Preferably, the measurement report configuration identifier and the event do not need to have a fixed correspondence. When configuring the UE, the base station can arrange the priority of event reporting according to the actual situation. For example, for a certain UE, if the base station requires it to report event 2 information first when multiple events occur, then the report configuration with measurement report configuration identifier 1 can be configured to correspond to the report of event 2. In the case of multiple events, the UE will always fill in the event information corresponding to measurement report configuration identifier 1 first, i.e., event 2. For another UE, if the base station requires it to report event 1 information first when multiple events occur, then the report configuration with measurement report configuration identifier 1 can be configured to correspond to the report of event 1. In the case of multiple events, the UE will always fill in the event information corresponding to report configuration identifier 1 first, i.e., event 1. This allows each UE to handle the priority order of events that need to be reported more flexibly.

[0084] Since measurement configurations can correspond to different events, in the above scheme, "measurement report configuration" can be replaced by "measurement configuration," and "measurement report configuration identifier" can be replaced by "measurement configuration identifier." Further details are omitted here.

[0085] If the uplink resource space obtained by the UE is large enough (e.g., large enough to accommodate all the report content), the UE can arrange the measurement report content according to the specific order of events as described above. If the space required for the report content is greater than the uplink resource space, the UE can also perform the following special processing during the generation of MR MAC CE, based on the available uplink resource space, to improve transmission efficiency:

[0086] For example, if both events X and Y exist simultaneously, and the UE fills in the report content corresponding to event X in the available uplink resources according to a predetermined order, such as event X taking precedence over event Y, the UE may find that even if all the available uplink resources are used to transmit the report content for event X, only a portion of the total report content can be included. That is, the available uplink resources cannot fully accommodate all the report content corresponding to event X, but the same amount of resources can accommodate all the report content corresponding to event Y. In this case, the UE can first arrange the report content corresponding to event Y. Alternatively, the available uplink resources can accommodate a portion of the report content corresponding to event X and all the report content corresponding to event Y. In this case, the UE can select only a portion of the report content corresponding to event X for reporting, and then arrange the report content corresponding to event Y, thereby generating the MR MAC CE content.

[0087] Preferably, the UE can indicate information in the MR MAC CE to indicate the existence of content or events to be reported, or that a certain event has content that has not been fully reported.

[0088] Such indication information can be associated with event identification information to indicate that the content to be reported or the content that is not fully reported is related to this event: if the event identification information and the corresponding report content associated with this indication are already included in the current MR MAC CE, then this indication can be understood as indicating that there is incomplete or remaining content that needs to be reported for this event; if this indication is only associated with event identification information, then this indication can be understood as indicating that there is an event to be reported. Furthermore, such indication information can also be unassociated with event identification information to indicate that there are other events that need to be reported. These "other events" are those not included in or reported in the current MR MAC CE. Typically, when space is insufficient, such simple indication information can be used. Based on this information, the base station can reallocate uplink resources to the UE for transmitting MR MAC CE.

[0089] It should be noted that the above-mentioned events may be the first occurrence of an event, or events that fall under the circumstances described in case 1 or case 2.

[0090] As mentioned earlier, the UE can also trigger BMR in two situations, thus creating pending BMRs.

[0091] Case 1: When a certain triggering event meets the previously set or configured leaving condition, the UE can start or trigger the BMR transmission process.

[0092] Case 2: For a certain triggering event, the corresponding measurement configuration or reporting configuration contains information on periodic reporting or triggering. That is, the event is configured to be reported periodically. When a period ends or is about to end, if the UE determines that the fact corresponding to the event still exists or the departure condition has not been met, the UE can trigger or start the BMR transmission process for the event again.

[0093] There are cases where, among the multiple BMRs to be processed, there are BMRs that are triggered under case two, and there are also BMRs whose corresponding triggering events are not configured to be periodically triggered (i.e., BMRs that are triggered when an event that is triggered only once occurs, or BMRs that are not triggered under case two).

[0094] (2) Among the multiple BMRs to be processed, there are BMRs triggered under case two, and there are also BMRs whose corresponding triggering events are not configured to be periodically triggered. Then, the UE can perform the following operations when generating MR MAC CE:

[0095] For example, the UE can always first fill in the report information corresponding to the BM trigger event triggered by case two, and if there are still uplink resources remaining, continue to fill in the report information corresponding to the BM trigger event not triggered by case two.

[0096] Alternatively, first fill in the report information corresponding to the BMR trigger event that is not triggered by case two, and if there are still uplink resources available, continue to fill in the report information corresponding to the BMR trigger event that is triggered by case two.

[0097] When the triggering events of the pending BMRs are different, the UE can first select the BMR triggered by case two. If there are multiple such BMRs, the operation can be carried out according to the scheme described in (1), or the UE can decide on its own based on the size of the uplink resources. After all the event information corresponding to the BMRs triggered by case two is filled in, if there is still space left in the uplink resources, the BMRs triggered by non-case two can be filled in. If there are multiple such BMRs, the operation can also be carried out according to the scheme described in (1), or the UE can decide on its own based on the size of the uplink resources.

[0098] For example, when the triggering events of the BMRs to be processed are different, the UE can first select the BMR that was triggered due to non-case two. If there are multiple such BMRs, the operation can be carried out according to the scheme described in (1), or the UE can decide on its own based on the size of the uplink resources. After all the event information corresponding to the BMRs triggered due to non-case two has been filled in, if there is still space left in the uplink resources, the BMRs triggered due to case two can be filled in. If there are multiple such BMRs, the operation can also be carried out according to the scheme described in (1), or the UE can decide on its own based on the size of the uplink resources.

[0099] In special cases, there are multiple BMRs to be processed that are triggered in case 2. Different BMRs have different triggering events. Therefore, the corresponding report information can be filled in according to the scheme in (1) based on the specific triggering event order or the configuration report order.

[0100] (3) If there is a BMR in the pending BMR that is triggered in case one, then the UE can perform the following operations when generating MR MAC CE:

[0101] For example, always fill in the report information corresponding to the triggering event of the BMR triggered by Case 1 first. If there are still uplink resources remaining, according to the corresponding triggering event or case (whether it is Case 2) of the BMR to be processed, continue to fill in the report information corresponding to the triggering event of the BMR triggered by Case 2 according to the scheme in (1) or (2).

[0102] Alternatively, following the scheme in (1) or (2), first fill in the report information corresponding to the BMR triggered by situation two and the BMR triggered by the event, and then, if there are still uplink resources remaining, continue to fill in the report information corresponding to the triggering event of the BMR triggered by situation one.

[0103] Alternatively, first fill in the report information corresponding to the BMR triggered by the event according to the scheme in (1), and then, if there are still uplink resources remaining, continue to fill in the report information corresponding to the triggering event of the BMR triggered by Case 1. Then, if there are still uplink resources remaining, and there is a BMR triggered by Case 2, then fill in the report information corresponding to the triggering event of the BMR triggered by Case 2.

[0104] In special cases, there may be multiple BMRs that are triggered in case one. Different BMRs have different triggering events. In this case, the corresponding report information can be filled in according to the scheme in (1) based on the specific triggering event order or the configuration report order.

[0105] Through the above operations, the UE generates an MR MAC CE. Such an MR MAC CE can be included in a MAC PDU and handed over to the lower layer (e.g., the physical layer) for transmission, thereby being sent to the base station.

[0106] In one scenario, when BMR is triggered, the UE has no uplink resources available for transmission. In this case, the UE can trigger or initiate a scheduling request (SR). Such an SR can be transmitted on dedicated resources, which may be scheduling request resources used for BMR. For such a scheduling request, the UE determines whether the PUCCH resource used for the scheduling request transmission overlaps with a measurement gap(s). Preferably, the measurement gap(s) refers to the measurement gap(s) indicated as skipped, or preferably, the measurement gap(s) indicated as not skipped.

[0107] If the UE determines that the PUCCH resource does not coincide with a measurement gap, then the UE considers the SR transmission as a prioritized SR transmission. Alternatively, if the UE determines that the PUCCH resource coincides with a measurement gap, but that measurement gap is an indicated skipped measurement gap (i.e., the PUCCH resource coincides with a measurement gap indicated as "skipped"), then the UE can also consider the SR transmission as a prioritized SR transmission. The UE can then instruct the physical layer to signal the SR on the PUCCH resource.

[0108] If the UE determines that the PUCCH resource coincides with a measurement gap and that the measurement gap has not been indicated to be skipped, then the UE considers the SR transmission as a de-prioritized SR transmission. Alternatively, if the UE determines that the PUCCH resource coincides with a measurement gap and that the measurement gap is indicated as "not to be skipped" (i.e., the PUCCH resource coincides with a measurement gap, but not with a measurement gap indicated as "skipped"), the UE may consider the SR transmission as a canceled SR transmission.

[0109] The aforementioned measurement gaps indicated as "skipped" differ from typical measurement gaps. In typical measurement gaps, the UE does not perform the transmission of the Scheduler (SR) or receive the Downlink Shared Channel (DL-SCH). However, if a measurement gap is indicated as "skipped," the UE can perform the transmission of the Scheduler (SR) during this or these skipped measurement gaps, and optionally, can also receive the DL-SCH. Typically, such a "skip" indication is included in the Data Interpretation Message (DCI), which is usually sent to the UE by the base station before the start time of the measurement gap. Upon receiving such a DCI containing the "skip" indication, the UE can assume that the most recent one or more measurement gaps will be skipped, and during these or these skipped measurement gaps, the UE can perform the transmission of the Scheduler (SR) and optionally, can also receive the DL-SCH. DCI can also include a "do not skip" instruction. After receiving a DCI containing such an instruction, the UE can assume that the most recent measurement gaps or more measurement gaps have not been skipped. On these measurement gaps or more that have not been skipped, the UE will not perform the transmission of the scheduling request and may optionally not receive the downlink shared channel, or assume that these measurement gaps or more are just general measurement gaps.

[0110] The UE may also trigger SR under other circumstances. The above scheme is also independently applicable to determining whether a triggered SR should be prioritized or canceled.

[0111] Furthermore, since SR is typically triggered at the MAC layer, while DCI reception is handled by the PHY (physical layer), in order for the MAC layer to determine or become aware of the status of a measurement gap, the UE needs to promptly indicate to upper layers, such as the MAC layer, upon receiving a DCI indicating that the measurement gap is skipped. For example, after the physical layer receives the skip indication information, it indicates to upper layers, such as the MAC layer. After receiving this indication information, the MAC layer can determine that the corresponding measurement gap has been indicated as skipped. There are no restrictions on how the corresponding measurement gap is determined; a simple method is to consider the nearest upcoming measurement gap to the UE when it receives the indication as the corresponding measurement gap.

[0112] After receiving a UL grant, the UE can transmit a MAC PDU containing the aforementioned MR MAC CE. To generate a transmission, the UE's HARQ process also needs to determine whether this transmission coincides with one or more measurement gaps, i.e., whether there are measurement gaps during the transmission. Such transmissions can be used to transmit MAC PDUs containing the aforementioned MR MAC CE, or MAC PDUs containing data and / or other MAC CEs.

[0113] If the UE determines that there is no measurement gap during the transmission, then the UE can instruct the physical layer to generate a transmission according to the uplink grant.

[0114] If the UE determines that there is one or more measurement gaps during this transmission, but the measurement gaps are indicated as "skipped" (if there are multiple gaps, they are all indicated as skipped), then preferably, the UE can still instruct the physical layer to generate the transmission according to the UL grant;

[0115] If the UE determines that there is one or more measurement gaps during this transmission, but at least one measurement gap is not indicated as "skipped", then the UE will not perform the above operation, that is, it will not indicate the generation of transmission to the physical layer.

[0116] [Variation Example]

[0117] Figure 3 is a block diagram schematically illustrating the user equipment involved in the present invention.

[0118] As shown in Figure 3, the user equipment 300 includes at least a processor 301 and a memory 302. The processor 301 may include, for example, a microprocessor, a microcontroller, an embedded processor, etc. The memory 302 may include, for example, volatile memory (such as random access memory, RAM), a hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory systems. Program instructions are stored on the memory 302. When executed by the processor 301, these instructions can perform one or more steps of the processing method of the UE disclosed herein.

[0119] The methods and related apparatus of this disclosure have been described above in conjunction with preferred embodiments. Those skilled in the art will understand that the methods shown above are merely exemplary, and the various embodiments described above can be combined with each other without contradiction. The methods of the present invention are not limited to the steps and order shown above.

[0120] In the embodiments of this disclosure, when multiple operations are included, the execution order of each operation is exemplarily listed. Embodiments obtained by changing the execution order of each operation are also within the scope of protection of this disclosure. Furthermore, when multiple judgment conditions are included, embodiments obtained by changing the execution order of each judgment condition are also within the scope of protection of this disclosure. In addition, unless otherwise specified, the meaning of a field defined in one embodiment can also be applied to corresponding fields involved in other embodiments. Furthermore, in the embodiments of this disclosure, "if...", "when...", "when...", "in...", "satisfies...", or "satisfies..." conditions can be replaced with "in the case of...".

[0121] The user equipment shown above may include more modules, such as modules that can be developed or will be developed in the future for use with base stations, MMEs, or UEs, etc. The various identifiers shown above are merely exemplary and not limiting, and this disclosure is not limited to the specific information elements exemplified by these identifiers. Many variations and modifications can be made by those skilled in the art based on the teachings of the illustrated embodiments.

[0122] It should be understood that the above embodiments of this disclosure can be implemented by software, hardware, or a combination of both. For example, the various components inside the base station and user equipment in the above embodiments can be implemented by a variety of devices, including but not limited to: analog circuit devices, digital circuit devices, digital signal processing (DSP) circuits, programmable processors, application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and so on.

[0123] Furthermore, the program running on the device according to the invention can be a program that enables the computer to perform the functions of embodiments of the invention by controlling the central processing unit (CPU). The program, or the information processed by the program, can be temporarily stored in volatile memory (such as random access memory, RAM), hard disk drive (HDD), non-volatile memory (such as flash memory), or other memory systems. Furthermore, the program can also be transmitted, distributed, and downloaded via the Internet in the form of signals.

[0124] Programs used to implement the functions of the various embodiments of the present invention can be recorded on a computer-readable recording medium. The corresponding functions can be implemented by causing a computer system to read and execute the programs recorded on the recording medium. The term "computer system" here can refer to a computer system embedded in the device, and may include an operating system or hardware (such as peripheral devices). "Computer-readable recording medium" can be a semiconductor recording medium, an optical recording medium, a magnetic recording medium, a short-time dynamic storage program recording medium, or any other computer-readable recording medium.

[0125] Various features or functional modules of the devices used in the above embodiments can be implemented or executed by circuits (e.g., monolithic or multi-chip integrated circuits). Circuits designed to perform the functions described in this specification may include general-purpose processors, digital signal processors (DSPs), application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), or other programmable logic devices, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination of the above devices. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, or any existing processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. The above circuits may be digital circuits or analog circuits. In cases where advancements in semiconductor technology have led to new integrated circuit technologies that replace existing integrated circuits, one or more embodiments of the present invention may also be implemented using these new integrated circuit technologies.

[0126] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above. Although various examples of the embodiments have been described, the present invention is not limited thereto. Fixed or non-mobile electronic devices installed indoors or outdoors can be used as UE devices or communication devices, such as AV devices, kitchen equipment, cleaning equipment, air conditioners, office equipment, vending machines, and other household appliances.

[0127] As described above, embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, the specific structure is not limited to the above embodiments, and the present invention also includes any design modifications that do not depart from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various modifications can be made to the present invention within the scope of the claims, and embodiments obtained by appropriately combining the technical means disclosed in different embodiments are also included within the technical scope of the present invention. In addition, components with the same effects described in the above embodiments can be substituted for each other.

Claims

1. A method executed by a user equipment, comprising: Determine whether an uplink shared channel exists that can accommodate a Measurement Report Media Access Control (MAC) CE control element; If the existence of the uplink shared channel is determined, the multiplexing and combining entity is instructed to generate the measurement report MAC CE. as well as The measurement report MAC CE is generated based on a priority order, where the priority order represents the order of the measurement report information contained in the MAC CE. and If it is determined that the uplink shared channel does not exist, a scheduling request is triggered, which uses dedicated scheduling request resources for measurement reporting.

2. The method according to claim 1, further comprising: Determine whether a measurement interval overlaps with a PUCCH resource used for the scheduling request, wherein the measurement interval is indicated as a non-skipped measurement interval; as well as For the measurement interval indicated as non-skipped, no transmission of the scheduling request is performed on the measurement interval, and no downlink shared channel is received; If it is determined that there is no overlap between the PUCCH resource and the measurement interval, the transmission of the scheduling request is considered a priority transmission, and the physical layer is instructed to send the scheduling request on the PUCCH resource.

3. A user equipment, comprising: processor; as well as Memory, which stores instructions The instructions are executed by the processor according to any one of claims 1 to 2.

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