Measurement gap skipping determination

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to measurement gap (MG) skipping determination. A method comprises obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

Description

MEASUREMENT GAP SKIPPING DETERMINATIONFIELDS

[0001] Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for measurement gap (MG) skipping determination.BACKGROUND

[0002] Enhancements to MGs and scheduling restrictions for more efficient data transmission / reception, especially with extended Reality (XR) traffic has been studied.SUMMARY

[0003] In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: obtain, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receive, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on the measurement gap configuration, the measurement gap cancellation window and granted resources.

[0004] In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmit, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and transmit to the first apparatus, at least one downlink control information (DCI) indicating granted resources.

[0005] In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: obtain, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receive, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0006] In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmit, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and transmit to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0007] In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: obtain, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receive, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI exceeds a threshold, perform the measurement gap skipping determination by a comparison of a time period required to transmit the data and a sum of the measurement gap cancellation window and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0008] In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatusat least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmit, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and transmit to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0009] In a seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to: receive, from a second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; in accordance with a determination that one or more transport block sizes are obtained from at least one DCI received from a second apparatus, record the one or more transport block sizes to a data volume tracking buffer; and in accordance with a determination that a further DCI, received from a second apparatus, falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, perform a measurement gap skipping determination by considering an amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer.

[0010] In an eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the measurement gap configuration, the measurement gap cancellation window and granted resources.

[0011] In a ninth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0012] In a tenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receiving, from the second apparatus, aconfiguration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0013] In an eleventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0014] In a twelfth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI exceeds a threshold, performing the measurement gap skipping determination by a comparison of a time period required to transmit the data and a sum of the measurement gap cancellation window and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0015] In a thirteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0016] In a fourteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: receiving, from a second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; in accordance with a determination that one or more transport block sizes are obtained from at least one DCI received from a second apparatus, recording the one or more transportblock sizes to a data volume tracking buffer; and in accordance with a determination that a further DCI, received from a second apparatus, falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, performing a measurement gap skipping determination by considering an amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer.

[0017] In a fifteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and means for performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the measurement gap configuration, the measurement gap cancellation window and granted resources.

[0018] In a sixteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and means for transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0019] In a seventeenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0020] In an eighteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an averagedata rate; and means for transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0021] In a nineteenth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI exceeds a threshold, performing the measurement gap skipping determination by a comparison of a time period required to transmit the data and a sum of the measurement gap cancellation window and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0022] In a twentieth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0023] In a twenty -first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided an apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; means for in accordance with a determination that one or more transport block sizes are obtained from at least one DCI received from a second apparatus, recording the one or more transport block sizes to a data volume tracking buffer; and means for in accordance with a determination that a further DCI, received from a second apparatus, falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, performing a measurement gap skipping determination by considering an amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer.

[0024] In a twenty-second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the eighth aspect.

[0025] In a twenty-third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the ninth aspect.

[0026] In a twenty -fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the tenth aspect.

[0027] In a twenty-fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the eleventh aspect.

[0028] In a twenty-sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the twelfth aspect.

[0029] In a twenty-seventh aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the thirteenth aspect.

[0030] In a twenty-eighth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a computer readable medium. The computer readable medium comprises instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus to perform at least the method according to the fourteenth aspect.

[0031] It is to be understood that the Summary section is not intended to identify key or essential features of embodiments of the present disclosure, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the present disclosure. Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible through the following description.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] Some example embodiments will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, where:

[0033] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;

[0034] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of implicit scheduling during the MG;

[0035] FIG. 3 A illustrates a signaling chart of communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0036] FIG. 3B illustrates a signaling chart of communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0037] FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate examples for MG skipping / no skipping decision according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0038] FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0039] FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0040] FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0041] FIG. 8 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0042] FIG. 9 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0043] FIG. 10 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0044] FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

[0045] FIG. 12 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

[0046] FIG. 13 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0047] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some example embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the present disclosure, without suggesting any limitation as to the scope of the disclosure. Embodiments described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones described below.

[0049] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.

[0050] References in the present disclosure to “one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “an example embodiment,” and the like indicate that the embodiment described may include a particular feature, structure, or characteristic, but it is not necessary that every embodiment includes the particular feature, structure, or characteristic. Moreover, such phrases are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment. Further, when a particular feature, structure, or characteristic is described in connection with an embodiment, it is submitted that it is within the knowledge of one skilled in the art to affect such feature, structure, or characteristic in connection with other embodiments whether or not explicitly described.

[0051] It shall be understood that although the terms “first,” “second,”..., etc. in front of noun(s) and the like may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another and they do not limit the order of the noun(s). For example, a first element could be termed a second element, and similarly, a second element could be termed a first element, without departing from the scope of example embodiments. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the listed terms.

[0052] As used herein, “at least one of the following: ” and “at least one of ” and similar wording, where the list of two or more elements are joined by “and” or “or”, mean at least any one of the elements, or at least any two or more of the elements, or at least all the elements.

[0053] As used herein, unless stated explicitly, performing a step “in response to A” does not necessarily indicate that the step is performed immediately after “A” occurs and one or more intervening steps may be included.

[0054] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of example embodiments. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises”, “comprising”, “has”, “having”, “includes” and / or “including”, when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, elements, and / or components etc., but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, elements, components and / or combinations thereof.

[0055] As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and / or digital circuitry) and(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable):(i) a combination of analog and / or digital hardware circuit(s) with software / firmware and(ii) any portions of hardware processor(s) with software (including digital signal processor(s)), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and(c) hardware circuit(s) and or processor(s), such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor(s), that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

[0056] This definition of circuitry applies to all uses of this term in this application, including in any claims. As a further example, as used in this application, the term circuitry also covers an implementation of merely a hardware circuit or processor (or multiple processors) or portion of a hardware circuit or processor and its (or their) accompanying software and / or firmware. The term circuitry also covers, for example and if applicable to the particular claim element, a baseband integrated circuit or processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in server, a cellular network device, or other computing or network device.

[0057] As used herein, the term “communication network” refers to a network following any suitable communication standards, such as New Radio (NR), Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), High-Speed Packet Access (HSPA), Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) and so on. Furthermore, the communications between a terminal device and a network device in the communication network may be performed according to any suitable generation communication protocols, including, but not limited to, the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), 2.5G, 2.75G, the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), 4.5G, the fifth generation (5G), 5.5G, the sixth generation (6G) communication protocols, and / or any other protocols either currently known or to be developed in the future. Embodiments of the present disclosure may be applied in various communication systems. Given the rapid development in communications, there will of course also be future type communication technologies and systems with which the present disclosure may be embodied. It should not be seen as limiting the scope of the present disclosure to only the aforementioned system.

[0058] As used herein, the term “network device” refers to a node in a communication network via which a terminal device accesses the network and receives services therefrom. The network device may refer to a base station (BS) or an access point (AP), for example, a node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB), an NR NB (also referred to as a gNB), a Remote Radio Unit (RRU), a radio header (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a relay, an Integrated Access and Backhaul (IAB) node, a low power node such as a femto, a pico, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) or non-ground network device such as a satellite network device, a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite and a geosynchronous earth orbit (GEO) satellite, an aircraft network device, and so forth, depending on the applied terminology and technology. In some example embodiments, radio access network (RAN) split architecture comprises a Centralized Unit (CU) and a Distributed Unit (DU) at an IAB donor node. An IAB node comprises a Mobile Terminal (IAB-MT) part that behaves like a UE toward the parent node, and a DU part of an IAB node behaves like a base station toward the next-hop IAB node.

[0059] The term “terminal device” refers to any end device that may be capable of wireless communication. By way of example rather than limitation, a terminal device may also be referred to as a communication device, user equipment (UE), a Subscriber Station (SS), a Portable Subscriber Station, a Mobile Station (MS), or an Access Terminal (AT).The terminal device may include, but not limited to, a mobile phone, a cellular phone, a smart phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phones, wireless local loop phones, a tablet, a wearable terminal device, a personal digital assistant (PDA), portable computers, desktop computer, image capture terminal devices such as digital cameras, gaming terminal devices, music storage and playback appliances, vehicle-mounted wireless terminal devices, wireless endpoints, mobile stations, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, smart devices, wireless customer-premises equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, a watch or other wearable, a head-mounted display (HMD), a vehicle, a drone, a medical device and applications (e.g., remote surgery), an industrial device and applications (e.g., a robot and / or other wireless devices operating in an industrial and / or an automated processing chain contexts), a consumer electronics device, a device operating on commercial and / or industrial wireless networks, and the like. The terminal device may also correspond to a Mobile Termination (MT) part of an IAB node (e.g., a relay node). In the following description, the terms “terminal device”, “communication device”, “terminal”, “user equipment” and “UE” may be used interchangeably.

[0060] As used herein, the term “resource,” “transmission resource,” “resource block,” “physical resource block” (PRB), “uplink resource,” or “downlink resource” may refer to any resource for performing a communication, for example, a communication between a terminal device and a network device, such as a resource in time domain, a resource in frequency domain, a resource in space domain, a resource in code domain, or any other combination of the time, frequency, space and / or code domain resource enabling a communication, and the like. In the following, unless explicitly stated, a resource in both frequency domain and time domain will be used as an example of a transmission resource for describing some example embodiments of the present disclosure. It is noted that example embodiments of the present disclosure are equally applicable to other resources in other domains.

[0061] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0062] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication network 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1, the communication network 100 may comprise a first apparatus 110 which may be, for example, a terminal device. In some example embodiments, the terminal device may alsobe discussed as a UE.

[0063] The communication network 100 may further comprise a second apparatus 120, which may be, for example, a network device. In some example embodiments, the network device may be discussed as a BS, a gNB, or an eNB.

[0064] A serving area provided by the second apparatus 120 is called a cell. The first apparatus 110 may communicate with the second apparatus 120 within the cell 102. The cell currently serving the first apparatus 110 may be considered as a serving cell 102.

[0065] In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 operating as a network device. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other device, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other device.

[0066] In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a terminal device and second apparatus 120 is a network device, a link from the second apparatus 120 to first apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL), while a link from the first apparatus 110 to second apparatus 120 is referred to as an uplink (UL). In DL, the second apparatus 120 is a transmitting (TX) apparatus (or a transmitter) and the first apparatus 110 is a receiving (RX) apparatus (or a receiver). In UL, the first apparatus 110 is a TX apparatus (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 is a RX apparatus (or a receiver).

[0067] It is to be understood that the number of network devices and terminal devices shown in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of network devices and terminal devices.

[0068] Communications in the communication environment 100 may be implemented according to any proper communication protocol(s), comprising, but not limited to, cellular communication protocols of the first generation (1G), the second generation (2G), the third generation (3G), the fourth generation (4G), the fifth generation (5G), the sixth generation (6G), and the like, wireless local network communication protocols such as Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11 and the like, and / or any other protocols currently known or to be developed in the future. Moreover, thecommunication may utilize any proper wireless communication technology, comprising but not limited to: Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), Frequency Division Multiple Access (FDMA), Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD), Time Division Duplex (TDD), Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple (OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) and / or any other technologies currently known or to be developed in the future.

[0069] Enhancements to measurements gaps and scheduling restrictions for more efficient data transmission / reception with XR traffic has been included as one of the objectives of a discussio on XR.

[0070] This discussion aims to realize system capacity gains by enabling transmission / reception in gaps / restrictions that are caused by radio resource management (RRM) measurements, while keeping impact to mobility performance limited.

[0071] The Rel-19 XR ph3 objectives are as follows:• Specify enhancements to enable transmission / reception in gaps / restrictions that are caused by RRM measurements (from inter-frequency RRM measurement gaps, or intra-frequency measurements, or other scheduling restrictions etc).• Specify the corresponding measurement gap and scheduling restriction to enable the identified enhancements with RRM performance impact taken into consideration, work being triggered by LS.

[0072] Additionally, the measurement-related enhancements are discussed and following agreement are made:• For solutions based on triggering / enabling by network signaling to enable Tx / Rx in gaps / restrictions that are caused by RRM measurements consider the following alternatives or combinations for further down-selection:• Alt. 1 : Dynamic indication to enable Tx / Rx in particular gap(s) / restriction(s) that are caused by RRM measurements.FFS: Alt 1-1: Explicit indication by DCI to skip a particular gap(s) / restriction(s);FFS: Alt 1-2: Explicit indication by DCI to indicate a time window where toskip a particular gap(s) / restriction(s);FFS: Alt 1-3: Implicit indication by DCI scheduling a transmi ssion / reception overlapping with a gap(s) / restriction(s) to skip the gap(s) / restriction(s);FFS: DCI format, DCI content, DCI bit-field size;FFS: Whether indication is for one or more occasions;FFS: How to consider time offset between the end of received dynamic indication and start of gap(s) / restriction(s) occasion that is going to be skipped.Alt. 2: Semi-persistent solution to enable Tx / Rx in gaps / restrictions that are caused by RRM measurements.FFS: Alt 2-1: gNB sends a skipping activation command, UE will skip gaps / restrictions until de-activation command is received.FFS: Alt 2-la: gNB sends an activation command to enable pre-configured gap(s) / restriction(s), UE will skip gap(s) / restriction(s) after de-activation command is received.FFS: Alt 2-2: RRM measurement adaptation is applied to all MG configurations / scheduling restrictions due to all SS / PBCH Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) configurations, or is applied to selected MG configuration(s) and / or scheduling restrictions due to selected SMTC configuration(s) and is conducted in a time-window, and timewindows are derived from a semi-persistent configuration activation for their periodicity, offset and duration.FFS: Alt 2-3: Activate / de-activate one or more of pre-configured pattern(s) via MAC-CE to indicate occasions where Tx / Rx is prioritized over gap(s) / restriction(s);FFS: Details of activation / deactivation MAC-CE commandFFS: How to consider time offset between activation / deactivation command and start of gap(s) / restriction(s) occasion that is going to be skipped.Alt. 3: Semi-static solution to enable TX / RX in gaps / restrictions that are caused byRRM measurements.

[0073] In the Alt. 1-3 from above, implicit DCI means that no extra DCI bits are required leading to reduction in signaling and significantly reduced standardization effort and UE implementation. Yet to determine that any given DCI should cancel a MG, the grant must be within the MG duration.

[0074] FIG. 2 illustrates an example of implicit scheduling during the MG. As shown in FIG. 2, frame k-1 is fragmented into two PDUs that enters the gNB 202’ s scheduler buffer at different time instants. The first PDU of frame k-1 enters the buffer before the UE 201 retuning deadline. Therefore, DCI1 arrives before the UE 201 retuning deadline and grants the resources defined as TB1 during the MG. This implicitly cancels the MG so that DCI2 may grant TB2 after the UE 201 re-tuning deadline because the MG was already cancelled on time by DCI1. The possibility of granting resources during the MG to TB2, which carries the second PDU of frame k-1, allows to fulfill the PDU Set Delay Budget (PSDB) of the frame k-1 (i.e., the delay budget from first PDU entering the buffer to the last PDU being successfully delivered). However, Alt 1-3 forces to delay the transmission of the first PDU, thus increasing the overall latency to deliver all fragments.

[0075] This solution presents an issue for XR traffic due to the tight Packet Delay Budget (PDB). Typical value for the duration of the MG (TMG) is 6 ms, while currently discussed TRTis anywhere from 1 to about 5 ms. For typical XR traffic PDB of 10-15ms, a 6ms gap is an issue but so is any delay in scheduling before the gap.

[0076] Alt. 1-3 requiring DCI l’s timing information for TB1 scheduling to be within the gap can lead to significant scheduling delays as seen in FIG. 2, where there are at least 3 DL slots before the MG that are not utilized. Thus, the expectation is that the gNB 202 can estimate the number of transmissions required based on the volume of data, UE channel conditions and the gNB 202 load (and potentially other inputs) and predict that the remaining transmit occasions before the MG are not sufficient. In other words, the gNB 202 is expected to foresee the necessity to cancel the gap by some algorithm. In Alt. 1-1, for example, the action taken is to start scheduling right away but do so with a special explicit DCI field cancelling the MG, in anticipation of additional scheduling required later on.

[0077] The issue from the Alt. 1-3 where there is no such explicit DCI indication may be addressed. However, there is a question that how does the gNB implicitly signal theUE to skip a MG without delaying traffic until the MG.

[0078] In accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure, there is provided a solution for measurement gap (MG) skipping determination. The first apparatus 110 may obtain, from a second apparatus 120, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap. After receiving a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window, the first apparatus 110 may perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on the measurement gap configuration, the measurement gap cancellation window and granted resources.

[0079] Example embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0080] Reference is now made to FIG. 3A, which shows a signaling chart 300A for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3A, the signaling chart 300A involves a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. 1 to describe the signaling chart 300 A .

[0081] As shown in FIG. 3 A, the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 may establish (302) Packet Data Unit (PDU) sessions, to obtain knowledge of the expected traffic patterns.

[0082] The second apparatus 120 may configure MGs as the conditions require. In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may send a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap to the first apparatus 110.

[0083] The second apparatus 120 may configure a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination and send (306) this configuration to the first apparatus 110. For example, the configuration may be sent via a new types of configuration message (RRC / MAC CE etc.) to the first apparatus 110, to configure an algorithm for MG gap skipping determination

[0084] For example, the configuration for the measurement gap skipping determination may include a measurement gap cancellation window, which may be considered as a new MG conditional cancellation window that is from XR data burst arrival to the MG. The measurement gap cancellation window may be denoted as Tcancei.

[0085] In some example embodiments, Tcanceimay include some time before the retuning offset (RT) and / or MG and may also include the RT and / or MG partially or entirely.

[0086] In some example embodiments, XR data bursts arrive in a periodic manner (with some jitter) but that periodicity may also be significantly different from the MG periodicity so realistically the start of the Tcanceiis some pre-configured (for example RRC signaling) time before the RT and / or MG.

[0087] In addition, the configuration for the measurement gap skipping determination may include relevant parameters such as transport block (TB) size threshold, e.g., denoted as TBthreshoid, and / or an average data rate, e.g., denoted as Davg. It is to be understood that some parameters mentioned above may also be indicated by the second apparatus 120 to the first apparatus 110 dynamically, for example, via other suitable signaling(s).

[0088] Then the second apparatus 120 may grant resources the first apparatus 110, e.g. by sending at least one DCI. As an example, the second apparatus 120 may send (308), to the first apparatus 110, at least one DCI with corresponding TB sizes for respective time points 110.

[0089] As an option, a DCI granting resources which fall into the Tcanceiperiod is first checked against the provided conditions. For example, based on the at least one received DCI, the first apparatus 110 may determine whether a data burst arrival or DCI granting resources fall into the measurement gap cancellation window. If so, the first apparatus 110 may perform the measurement gap skipping determination.

[0090] In this case, the first apparatus 110 may calculate (312) a time until a start of a measurement gap, which may be denoted as T^Gin the following. For example, the time until the start of the MG T^Gmay be defined in number of slots. Then the decision to skip or not the MG can be taken at the first burst detection.

[0091] It is to be understood that DCI grant may contain detailed physical resource block (PRB) allocation along with MCS allowing to TB size calculation, exact timing of said allocation, the MCS providing indication of the gNB’s evaluation of UE link conditions and / or the number of PRBs providing indication of the gNB’s load.

[0092] With the above in mind, a DCI grant of certain size expressed as number of bytes in the TB, relative to the MG timing and expected average XR traffic load, may be usedto make predictions on the necessity of MG gap cancellation. With the assumption of TTI duration of one slot, the expected average data rate may be denoted as Davgin bytes and the transport block size may be denoted as TB also in bytes. In many cases Davgmay be known at both ends of the link, but in case it is not, it can easily be configured over the existing methods like RRC or MAC CE at the time of feature enablement.

[0093] According to the transport block size threshold TBthreshoidthat is obtained from the second apparatus 120, if the first apparatus 110 determines, based on the at least one received DCI, a TB size corresponding to data exceeds the TB threshold TBthreshoid, the first apparatus 110 may perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on the TB size, an average data rate Davg, the calculated T^G. The TBThreshc dused herein may be defined so that the following calculations are performed only if the TB exceed certain size, a mechanism serving as a periodic burst detection.

[0094] In some example embodiments, an algorithm for the measurement gap skipping determination is expressed as:

[0095] The calculationmay yield the number of slots required to transmit the expected data given a certain TB size. Here a is a scaling factor allowing for the second apparatus 120 to configure more or less conservative predictions. That is, whether to skip the MG may be determined by comparing the time period required to transmit the dataDavaXaandatime until a start of a measurement gap T^G.

[0096] If the first apparatus 110 determines that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, the first apparatus 110 may determine (314) that the measurement gap is to be skipped. If the first apparatus 110 determines that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, the first apparatus 110 may determine (314) that the measurement gap is to be kept.

[0097] As another option, the first apparatus 110 may not first determine whether the data burst arrival or DCI granting resources fall into the measurement gap cancellation window. In this case, if the first apparatus 110 determines, based on the at least one received DCI, a TB size corresponding to data exceeds the TB threshold TBthreshoid, thefirst apparatus 110 may perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on the TB size, an average data rate Davg, the calculated T^Gand the measurement gap cancellation window.

[0098] In some example embodiments, an algorithm for the measurement gap skipping determination is expressed as:Davgx a_TS _T> n 1 D1MG1cancel —u

[0099] The calculationmay yield the number of slots required to transmit the expected data given a certain TB size. Here a is a scaling factor allowing for the second apparatus 120 to configure more or less conservative predictions. That is, whether to skip the MG may be determined by comparing the time period required to transmit the dataa sum ofatime until a start of a measurement gap T^Gand the measurement gap cancellation window Tcancei.

[0100] If the first apparatus 110 determines that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than a sum of a time until a start of a measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, the first apparatus 110 may determine (314) that the measurement gap is to be skipped. If the first apparatus 110 determines that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, the first apparatus 110 may determine (314) that the measurement gap is to be kept.

[0101] It is to be understood that the above calculation to decide whether skipping is needed may be also applied in the case of Alt. 1-1. Davgis then changed to exact frame size Dframe. In that case, the second apparatus 110 may make a decision to send skipping command or not.

[0102] In some embodiments, the above calculation may be executed for all configured measurement gaps or only for a subset of measurement gaps fulfilling the MG is associated to a cell that the first apparatus 110 is going to measure and / or the first apparatus 110 has fulfilled the measurement requirements in terms of number of measurements, accuracy, and duration.

[0103] At NW side, after sending the at least one DCI to the first apparatus 110, the second apparatus may also be aware of the decision of MG skipping made by the firstapparatus 110, because the second apparatus 120 knows the algorithm for the measurement gap skipping determination, as described above, as well. That is, after granting resources for the first apparatus 110, as shown in FIG. 3 A, the second apparatus 120 may know (310) the first apparatus 110 will skip or not. It is worth noting that this is available at the time of the grant in a scheduler of the second apparatus 120, which is even before the DCI is sent.

[0104] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 may share (316) knowledge to skip or not skip. After both the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 are aware of the MG skip / no skip decision, they may proceed accordingly.

[0105] Embodiments of MG skipping / no skipping decision will be further described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4A-4C. In the description above, the method discussed only timing to the gap. In the following examples, the frame structure will be accounted for.

[0106] FIGS. 4A-4C illustrate examples for MG skipping / no skipping decision according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

[0107] According to frame structure diagram 400 A shown in FIG. 4 A, all TBs are transmitted before the TRT401 and there is no cancellation. Only DCI 4 for TB 4 is evaluated for cancellation as it is the only one falling into Tcancei.

[0108] According to frame structure diagram 400B shown in FIG. 4B, all TBs are transmitted before the MG 410. The last transmission is within the TRT420 but are judged to be “safe” and the MG 410 is not skipped.

[0109] According to frame structure diagram 400C shown in FIG. 4C, the TBs end up in the MG 422 and at least part of the MG 422 may be skipped.

[0110] In some example embodiments, the TBthreshoidburst detection may also be achieved by UE modem keeping of timing, for example, or any other traffic awareness signaled or inferred.

[0111] In some example embodiments, a more capable algorithm for scaling the TBtheshoidmay be used, for example the MCS may be used to scale the TBtheshoidso that TB size limitations due to channel conditions can be accounted for.

[0112] In some example embodiments, the XR data may be considered as beingdominant so that a TB size is roughly equal to the XR data. Both the gNB and the UE would be able to separate the XR data into a specific LCH and track that data volume instead. So everywhere TB size indicating the XR data volume is written, the XR data volume can be substituted under the assumption that all evaluations are done on data extracted from the TB for a specific XR LCH.

[0113] The UE implementation of such feature requires a bit more consideration. Consider the example shown in FIG. 4A where the expected join decision is not to skip the MG, the NW applying the proposed calculation may resolve that no skip is required, because it has received the XR burst in its entirety, and it is laying out the downlink sending allocations. At the UE side, however, the first 3 allocations are outside Tcanceiso they won’t even be considered for potential skipping. Only allocation 4 is within Tcanceiand the calculation may be performed. In this example, there are 4 DL slots until the gap, so the first apparatus 110 may conclude not to skip even only looking at allocation 4.

[0114] In the example shown in FIG. 4B where the XR burst is closer to the MG this is not the case. The evaluation by the first apparatus 110 of DCI 1 and 2 may result in a no skip decision but performing the same independent calculations at DCIs 3 and 4 may result in the first apparatus 110 to decide to skip, this may not break the link but with diverging decisions. The first apparatus 110 may not measure and miss on measurement accuracy for no XR gain as the second apparatus 120 may have assumed using the MG and may not schedule the first apparatus 110.

[0115] This potential ambiguity is also the main drawback of Alt. 1-3 vs Alt. 1-1 of the proposed solutions. It is clearly undesired behavior and some UE centric tracking of the recent XR bursts is desired so that the first apparatus 110 may identify that DCI 4 from the example shown in FIG. 4B is just the last one of a series of allocations.

[0116] As an example, the second apparatus 120 may simply consider this limitation and make sure to reduce the size of TBs 3 and 4 from the example shown in FIG. 4B, below the threshold so the evaluation is not triggered at the first apparatus 110. This may not always work as sometimes those sizes need to be bigger to fit the data. In those cases, the second apparatus 120 may adjust the TB threshold by, for example, a DL MAC CE in the TB 1 or 2 of the transmission. This is additional signaling but not in the scarce Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) but in the less restrictive Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH).

[0117] In some example embodiments, a UE implementation capable of tracking the burst volume across multiple allocations is a more desirable option requiring less NW signaling or compromises. This may be reported as a UE capability for example so that if such capability is enabled, the second apparatus 120 need not consider this ambiguity.

[0118] As an example, a way to implement the feature on the UE side is to consider a data volume tracking buffer (DVTB). Under the assumption that XR is the major data component, a DCI for a TB above the TBThreshoidmay trigger an add of this TB size to the buffer. Once a DCI is within the Tcanceiperiod, the evaluation can be done by first subtracting the already accumulated data from the DVTB.

[0119] Reference is now made to FIG. 3B, which shows a signaling chart 300B for communication according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3B, the signaling chart 300B involves a first apparatus 110 and a second apparatus 120. For the purpose of discussion, reference is made to FIG. 1 to describe the signaling chart 300B.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 3B, the second apparatus 120 may send (320) a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap to the first apparatus 110.

[0121] The second apparatus 120 may configure a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination and send (322) this configuration to the first apparatus 110.

[0122] Then the second apparatus 120 may send (324), to the first apparatus 110, at least one DCI with corresponding TB sizes. If one or more TB sizes associated with the at least one DCI are above the TBThreshoid, the first apparatus 110 may record / add (326) the one or more TB sizes to a data volume tracking buffer.

[0123] If the first apparatus 110 determines that a DCI falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, the first apparatus 110 may perform (328) a measurement gap skipping determination by considering an amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer.

[0124] For the example shown in FIG. 4B, TBs 1 and 2 may be first added, so that at the time of evaluating DCI 3, the first apparatus 110 may useTB3DVTB = TB1 + TB2 yielding a lower number of slots required considering some of the data was already sent.

[0125] As another example, the first apparatus 110 may anticipate the XR burst based on its periodicity and fill the DVTB with any grant around the expected burst arrival time considering jitter even if the TB is below the threshold. This is possible if the XR data is dominant. The XR traffic periodicity and jitter may be signaled or tracked / estimated by the UE.

[0126] In both examples, the DVTB reset is required when the first apparatus 110 judges the burst over. This can be done on TB below the threshold in the example shown in FIG. 4 A or the time expiring beyond the expected burst arrival time + jitter in the example shown in FIG. 4B.

[0127] Based on the solution of the present disclosure, the gNB may implicitly signal the UE to skip a MG without delaying traffic until the MG

[0128] FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0129] At block 510, the first apparatus 110 obtains, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap.

[0130] At block 520, the first apparatus 110 receives, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window.

[0131] At block 530, the first apparatus 110 performs the measurement gap skipping determination based on the measurement gap configuration, the measurement gap cancellation window and granted resources.

[0132] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: receiving, from the second apparatus, the configuration for the measurement gap skipping determination via a radio resource control message or a medium access control -control element.

[0133] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap,or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

[0134] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: receiving at least one DCI from the second apparatus; determining, based on the at least one DCI, whether a data burst arrival or DCI granting resources fall into the measurement gap cancellation window; and in accordance with a determination that the data burst arrival or DCI granting resources fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination.

[0135] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: determining an average data rate from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data exceeds a threshold, determining a time period required to transmit the data; and comparing the time period required to transmit the data and a time until a start of a measurement gap; and in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, skipping the measurement gap.

[0136] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, keeping the measurement gap.

[0137] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: obtaining an average data rate from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data exceeds a threshold, determining a time period required to transmit the data; and in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than a sum of a time until a start of a measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, skipping the measurement gap.

[0138] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, keeping the measurement gap.

[0139] In some example embodiments, the method 500 further comprises: performingthe measurement gap skipping determination for one or more measurement gaps in the at least one measurement gap indicated in the measurement gap configuration, the one or more measurement gaps fulfilling a condition comprising at least one of the following: thing one or more measurement gaps are associated to a cell that the first apparatus is going to measure; or thing first apparatus fulfills measurement requirements in terms of number of measurements, accuracy, and duration.

[0140] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0141] FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0142] At block 610, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap.

[0143] At block 620, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the first apparatus 110, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window.

[0144] At block 630, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the first apparatus 110, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0145] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: transmitting, to the first apparatus, the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination via a radio resource control message or a medium access control -control element.

[0146] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

[0147] In some example embodiments, the method 600 further comprises: determining whether a measurement gap is to be skipped or not based on the configuration for the measurement gap skipping determination and the granted resources.

[0148] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0149] FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0150] At block 710, the first apparatus 110 obtains, from a second apparatus 120, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap.

[0151] At block 720, the first apparatus 110 receives, from the second apparatus 120, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate.

[0152] At block 730, in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, the first apparatus 110 performs the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0153] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: obtaining a threshold from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; and in accordance with a determination that the transport block size exceeds the threshold, determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size; and performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on a comparison of the time period required to transmit the data and the time until the start of the measurement gap.

[0154] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, skipping the measurement gap.

[0155] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, keeping the measurement gap.

[0156] In some example embodiments, the method 700 further comprises: determining the time until the start of the measurement gap based on time-domain locations ofresources granted by the at least one DCI and a configuration of the measurement gap obtained from the measurement gap configuration.

[0157] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

[0158] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0159] FIG. 8 shows a flowchart of an example method 800 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 800 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0160] At block 810, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus 110, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap.

[0161] At block 820, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the first apparatus 110, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate.

[0162] At block 830, the second apparatus 120 transmits to the first apparatus 110, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0163] In some example embodiments, the method 800 further comprises: determining whether a measurement gap is to be skipped or not by the first apparatus based on the average data rate, a transport block size indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0164] In some example embodiments, the method 800 further comprises: determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size; in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, determining measurement gap is to be skipped by the first apparatus.

[0165] In some example embodiments, the method 800 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, determining measurement gap is to be kept by the first apparatus.

[0166] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0167] FIG. 9 shows a flowchart of an example method 900 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 900 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0168] At block 910, the first apparatus 110 obtains, from a second apparatus 120, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap.

[0169] At block 920, the first apparatus 110 receives, from the second apparatus 120, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate.

[0170] At block 930, in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI exceeds a threshold, at block 940, the first apparatus 110 performs the measurement gap skipping determination by a comparison of a time period required to transmit the data and a sum of the measurement gap cancellation window and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0171] In some example embodiments, the method 900 further comprises: obtaining a threshold from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination.

[0172] In some example embodiments, the method 900 further comprises: determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size.

[0173] In some example embodiments, the method 900 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, skipping the measurement gap.

[0174] In some example embodiments, the method 900 further comprises: in accordancewith a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, keeping the measurement gap.

[0175] In some example embodiments, the method 900 further comprises: determining the time until the start of the measurement gap based on time-domain locations of resources granted by the at least one DCI and a configuration of the measurement gap obtained from the measurement gap configuration.

[0176] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

[0177] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 comprises a network node.

[0178] FIG. 10 shows a flowchart of an example method 1000 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1000 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0179] At block 1010, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to a first apparatus 110, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap.

[0180] At block 1020, the second apparatus 120 transmits, to the first apparatus 110, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate.

[0181] At block 1030, the second apparatus 120 transmits to the first apparatus 110, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0182] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 further comprises: determining whether a measurement gap is to be skipped or not by the first apparatus based on the average data rate, a transport block size indicated by the at least one DCI, a time until a start of a measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window.

[0183] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 further comprises: determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size; and in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than a sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, determining the measurement gap is to be skipped by the first apparatus.

[0184] In some example embodiments, the method 1000 further comprises: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, determining the measurement gap is to be kept by the first apparatus.

[0185] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0186] FIG. 11 shows a flowchart of an example method 1100 implemented at an apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 1100 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0187] At block 1110, the first apparatus 110 receives, from a second apparatus 120, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window.

[0188] At block 1120, in accordance with a determination that one or more transport block sizes are obtained from at least one downlink control information, DCI received from a second apparatus 120, at block 1130, the first apparatus 110 records the one or more transport block sizes to a data volume tracking buffer.

[0189] At block 1140, in accordance with a determination that a further DCI, received from a second apparatus 120, falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, at block 1150, the first apparatus 110 performs a measurement gap skipping determination by considering an amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer.

[0190] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: obtain a threshold from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; in accordance witha determination that a transport block size obtained from DCI exceeds the threshold, record the transport block size to the data volume tracking buffer.

[0191] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: in accordance with a determination that a grant obtained from DCI associated with a data burst associated with a specific data type, record a transport block size corresponding to the grant to the data volume tracking buffer.

[0192] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: obtain an average data rate from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; and in accordance with a determination that the further DCI falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, determine a time period required to transmit data indicated by the further DCI based on the average data rate, the amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer and a transport block size obtained from the further DCI; and perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on a comparison of the time period required to transmit the data and a time until the start of a measurement gap.

[0193] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, skip the measurement gap.

[0194] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, keep the measurement gap.

[0195] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a terminal device and the second apparatus is a network node.

[0196] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0197] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 comprises means for obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at leastone measurement gap; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and means for performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the measurement gap configuration, the measurement gap cancellation window and granted resources.

[0198] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the second apparatus, the configuration for the measurement gap skipping determination via a radio resource control message or a medium access control -control element.

[0199] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

[0200] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving at least one DCI from the second apparatus; means for determining, based on the at least one DCI, whether a data burst arrival or DCI granting resources fall into the measurement gap cancellation window; and means for in accordance with a determination that the data burst arrival or DCI granting resources fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination.

[0201] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for determining an average data rate from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; means for in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data exceeds a threshold, determining a time period required to transmit the data; and means for comparing the time period required to transmit the data and a time until a start of a measurement gap; and means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, skipping the measurement gap.

[0202] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, keeping the measurement gap.

[0203] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for obtaining an average data rate from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; means for in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data exceeds a threshold, determining a time period required to transmit the data; and means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than a sum of a time until a start of a measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, skipping the measurement gap.

[0204] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, keeping the measurement gap.

[0205] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for performing the measurement gap skipping determination for one or more measurement gaps in the at least one measurement gap indicated in the measurement gap configuration, the one or more measurement gaps fulfilling a condition comprising at least one of the following: means for thing one or more measurement gaps are associated to a cell that the first apparatus is going to measure; or means for thing first apparatus fulfills measurement requirements in terms of number of measurements, accuracy, and duration.

[0206] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0207] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 600 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0208] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; and means for transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0209] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination via a radio resource control message or a medium access control -control element.

[0210] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.[021 l]In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for determining whether a measurement gap is to be skipped or not by the first apparatus based on the configuration for the measurement gap skipping determination and the granted resources.

[0212] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0213] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 700 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0214] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0215] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for obtaining a threshold from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; and means for in accordance with a determination that the transport block size exceeds the threshold, determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size; and means for performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on a comparison of the time period required to transmit the data and the time until the start of the measurement gap.

[0216] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, skipping the measurement gap.

[0217] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, keeping the measurement gap.

[0218] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining the time until the start of the measurement gap based on time-domain locations of resources granted by the at least one DCI and a configuration of the measurement gap obtained from the measurement gap configuration.

[0219] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

[0220] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0221] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 800 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 800. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0222] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0223] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for determining whether a measurement gap is to be skipped or not by the first apparatus based on the average data rate, a transport block size indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0224] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size; means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, determining measurement gap is to be skipped by the first apparatus.

[0225] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, determining measurement gap is to be kept by the first apparatus.

[0226] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0227] In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 900 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 900. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0228] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gapcancellation window and an average data rate; and means for in accordance with a determination that a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI exceeds a threshold, performing the measurement gap skipping determination by a comparison of a time period required to transmit the data and a sum of the measurement gap cancellation window and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

[0229] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for obtaining a threshold from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination.

[0230] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size.

[0231] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, skipping the measurement gap.

[0232] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, keeping the measurement gap.

[0233] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for determining the time until the start of the measurement gap based on time-domain locations of resources granted by the at least one DCI and a configuration of the measurement gap obtained from the measurement gap configuration.

[0234] In some example embodiments, the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

[0235] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0236] In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing anyof the method 1000 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1000. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

[0237] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for transmitting to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

[0238] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for determining whether a measurement gap is to be skipped or not by the first apparatus based on the average data rate, a transport block size indicated by the at least one DCI, a time until a start of a measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window.

[0239] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for determining a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size; and means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than a sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, determining the measurement gap is to be skipped by the first apparatus.

[0240] In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the sum of the time until the start of the measurement gap and the measurement gap cancellation window, determining the measurement gap is to be kept by the first apparatus.[024 l]In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

[0242] In some example embodiments, an apparatus capable of performing any operations of the method 1100 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 1100. The meansmay be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

[0243] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window; means for in accordance with a determination that one or more transport block sizes are obtained from at least one downlink control information, DCI received from a second apparatus, recording the one or more transport block sizes to a data volume tracking buffer; and means for in accordance with a determination that a further DCI, received from a second apparatus, falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, performing a measurement gap skipping determination by considering an amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer.

[0244] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for obtaining a threshold from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; and means for, in accordance with a determination that a transport block size obtained from DCI exceeds the threshold, recording the transport block size to the data volume tracking buffer.

[0245] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for, in accordance with a determination that a grant obtained from DCI associated with a data burst associated with a specific data type, recording a transport block size corresponding to the grant to the data volume tracking buffer.

[0246] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for obtaining an average data rate from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; and means for, in accordance with a determination that the further DCI falls within the measurement gap cancellation window, determining a time period required to transmit data indicated by the further DCI based on the average data rate, the amount of transport block sizes buffered in the data volume tracking buffer and a transport block size obtained from the further DCI; and means for performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on a comparison of the time period required to transmit the data and a time until the start of a measurement gap.

[0247] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for, inaccordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, skipping the measurement gap.

[0248] In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for, in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, keeping the measurement gap.

[0249] In some example embodiments, the apparatus is a terminal device and the second apparatus is a network node.

[0250] FIG. 12 is a simplified block diagram of a device 1200 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 1200 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 1200 includes one or more processors 1210, one or more memories 1220 coupled to the processor 1210, and one or more communication modules 1240 coupled to the processor 1210.

[0251] The communication module 1240 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 1240 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 1240 may include at least one antenna.

[0252] The processor 1210 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 1200 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

[0253] The memory 1220 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 1224, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM), a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD), a digital video disk (DVD), an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and / or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random-accessmemory (RAM) 1222 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration. The memory 1120 may be configured to store instructions, such as for example, a computer program 1230.

[0254] The computer program 1230 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 1210. The instructions of the program 1230 may include instructions for performing operations / acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 1230 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 1224. The processor 1210 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 1230 into the RAM 1222.

[0255] The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 1230 so that the device 1200 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 11. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

[0256] In some example embodiments, the program 1230 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 1200 (such as in the memory 1220) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 1200. The device 1200 may load the program 1230 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 1222 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory,” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM).

[0257] FIG. 13 shows an example of the computer readable medium 1300 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 1300 has the program 1230 stored thereon.

[0258] Generally, various embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects may be implemented in hardware, and other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device. Although various aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure are illustrated and described as block diagrams, flowcharts, or using some other pictorialrepresentations, it is to be understood that the block, apparatus, system, technique or method described herein may be implemented in, as non-limiting examples, hardware, software, firmware, special purpose circuits or logic, general purpose hardware or controller or other computing devices, or some combination thereof.

[0259] Some example embodiments of the present disclosure also provide at least one computer program product tangibly stored on a computer readable medium, such as a non- transitory computer readable medium. The computer program product includes computerexecutable instructions, such as those included in program modules, being executed in a device on a target physical or virtual processor, to carry out any of the methods as described above. Generally, program modules include routines, programs, libraries, objects, classes, components, data structures, or the like that perform particular tasks or implement particular abstract data types. The functionality of the program modules may be combined or split between program modules as desired in various embodiments. Machine-executable instructions for program modules may be executed within a local or distributed device. In a distributed device, program modules may be located in both local and remote storage media.

[0260] Program code for carrying out methods of the present disclosure may be written in any combination of one or more programming languages. The program code may be provided to a processor or controller of a general-purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus, such that the program code, when executed by the processor or controller, cause the functions / operations specified in the flowcharts and / or block diagrams to be implemented. The program code may execute entirely on a machine, partly on the machine, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the machine and partly on a remote machine or entirely on the remote machine or server.

[0261] In the context of the present disclosure, the computer program code or related data may be carried by any suitable carrier to enable the device, apparatus or processor to perform various processes and operations as described above. Examples of the carrier include a signal, computer readable medium, and the like.

[0262] The computer readable medium may be a computer readable signal medium or a computer readable storage medium. A computer readable medium may include but not limited to an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. More specificexamples of the computer readable storage medium would include an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer diskette, a hard disk, a random-access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flash memory), an optical fiber, a portable compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing.

[0263] Further, although operations are depicted in a particular order, this should not be understood as requiring that such operations be performed in the particular order shown or in sequential order, or that all illustrated operations be performed, to achieve desirable results. In certain circumstances, multitasking and parallel processing may be advantageous. Likewise, although several specific implementation details are contained in the above discussions, these should not be construed as limitations on the scope of the present disclosure, but rather as descriptions of features that may be specific to particular embodiments. Unless explicitly stated, certain features that are described in the context of separate embodiments may also be implemented in combination in a single embodiment. Conversely, unless explicitly stated, various features that are described in the context of a single embodiment may also be implemented in a plurality of embodiments separately or in any suitable sub-combination.

[0264] Although the present disclosure has been described in languages specific to structural features and / or methodological acts, it is to be understood that the present disclosure defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example forms of implementing the claims.

Claims

45WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A first apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to: obtain, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receive, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

2. The first apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: obtain a threshold from the configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination; and in accordance with a determination that the transport block size exceeds the threshold, determine a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and the transport block size; and perform the measurement gap skipping determination based on a comparison of the time period required to transmit the data and the time until the start of the measurement gap.

3. The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, skip the measurement gap.

4. The first apparatus of claim 2, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, keep the measurement gap.

465. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-4, wherein the first apparatus is caused to: determine the time until the start of the measurement gap based on time-domain locations of resources granted by the at least one DCI and a configuration of the measurement gap obtained from the measurement gap configuration.

6. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-5, wherein the measurement gap cancellation window includes one of the following: a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap, a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and portion of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap, or a time period before a retuning offset of the first apparatus and / or a measurement gap and the entire of the retuning offset and / or the measurement gap.

7. The first apparatus of any of claims 1-6, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

8. A second apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to: transmit, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmit, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and transmit, to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

9. The second apparatus of claim 8, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: determine whether a measurement gap is to be skipped or not by the first apparatus based on the average data rate, a transport block size indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

10. The second apparatus of claim 9, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: determine a time period required to transmit the data based on the average data rate and47 the transport block size; in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is larger than the time until the start of the measurement gap, determine measurement gap is to be skipped by the first apparatus.

11. The second apparatus of claim 10, wherein the second apparatus is caused to: in accordance with a determination that the time period required to transmit the data is shorter than the time until the start of the measurement gap, determine measurement gap is to be kept by the first apparatus.

12. The second apparatus of any of claims 8-11, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device and the second apparatus comprises a network node.

13. A method comprising: obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

14. A method comprising: transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and transmitting, to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

15. A first apparatus comprising: means for obtaining, from a second apparatus, a measurement gap configurationindicating at least one measurement gap; means for receiving, from the second apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for in accordance with a determination that resources granted by at least one DCI fall into the measurement gap cancellation window, performing the measurement gap skipping determination based on the average data rate, a transport block size corresponding to data indicated by the at least one DCI and a time until a start of a measurement gap.

16. A second apparatus comprising: means for transmitting, to a first apparatus, a measurement gap configuration indicating at least one measurement gap; means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, a configuration for a measurement gap skipping determination at least including a measurement gap cancellation window and an average data rate; and means for transmitting, to the first apparatus, at least one DCI indicating granted resources.

17. A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of claim 13 or the method of claim 14.

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