Base station, radio communication method, and device

Abstract

A base station according to one aspect of the present disclosure comprises: a receiving unit that receives a measurement request indicating sample-based measurement and / or path-based measurement; and a control unit that controls measurement on the basis of the measurement request. This aspect of the present disclosure makes it possible for high-precision, high-efficiency, and low-complexity positioning to be suitably achieved.

Description

Base Station, Wireless Communication Method, and Device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a base station, a wireless communication method, and a device in a next-generation mobile communication system.

[0002] In a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) network, Long Term Evolution (LTE) was specified for the purpose of achieving higher data rates, lower latency, etc. (Non-Patent Document 1). Also, for the purpose of further increasing capacity and enhancing LTE (Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP (registered trademark)) Release (Rel.) 8, 9), LTE-Advanced (3GPP Rel. 10-14) was specified.

[0003] Successor systems to LTE (for example, also referred to as 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 5G+(plus), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), New Radio (NR), 3GPP Rel. 15 and later, etc.) are also being considered.

[0004] 3GPP TS 36.300 V8.12.0, "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA) and Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN); Overall description; Stage 2 (Release 8)", April 2010

[0005] In future wireless communication systems (Rel. 19 and later), it is being considered to perform positioning of terminals (which may also be called user terminals, user devices (UE), etc.) using Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning (AI / ML) technology (AI / ML-based positioning).

[0006] Regarding the AI / ML-based positioning described above, the introduction of sample-based and path-based measurements is being considered as input measurements for the model. Furthermore, it is being considered to notify whether sample-based or path-based measurement is expected using measurement requests.

[0007] However, the details of the above measurement requests have not yet been thoroughly considered. Furthermore, the procedures and expected behaviors when a UE / base station receives these measurement requests from the network have also not yet been thoroughly considered. If these are not properly defined, sample-based and path-based measurements may not be able to be performed correctly. In this case, for example, it may not be possible to achieve the high-precision, high-efficiency, and low-complexity positioning utilizing AI / ML technology, potentially hindering improvements in communication quality and throughput.

[0008] Therefore, one of the objectives of this disclosure is to provide a base station, wireless communication method, and apparatus that can suitably achieve high-precision, high-efficiency, and low-complexity positioning.

[0009] A base station according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a receiving unit that receives a measurement request indicating either a sample-based measurement or a path-based measurement or both, and a control unit that controls the measurement based on the measurement request.

[0010] According to one aspect of this disclosure, high-precision, high-efficiency, and low-complexity positioning can be suitably achieved.

[0011] Figures 1A and 1C show variations in positioning using DL signals. Figures 2A and 2B show variations in positioning using UL signals. Figure 3 shows an example of sample-based measurement. Figure 4 shows an example of a procedure for a measurement request / measurement report according to one embodiment of this disclosure. Figure 5 shows an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment. Figure 6 shows an example of a base station configuration according to one embodiment. Figure 7 shows an example of a user terminal configuration according to one embodiment. Figure 8 shows an example of a hardware configuration of a base station and user terminal according to one embodiment. Figure 9 shows an example of a vehicle according to one embodiment.

[0012] (Positioning Technology) Fingerprinting localization, which estimates the position of a wireless device using the propagation characteristics of wireless signals, is widely used in both Line of Sight (LOS) and Non-Line of Sight (NLOS) scenarios.

[0013] In this disclosure, LOS may mean that the UE and the base station are in a line of sight to each other (or there are no obstructions), and NLOS may mean that the UE and the base station are not in a line of sight to each other (or there are obstructions).

[0014] In fingerprint localization, the location of a UE may be estimated based on a database or other means, using fingerprints of the UE's multiple transmission paths (multipath).

[0015] Multipath information may also include, for example, information regarding the angle of arrival (AoA) and angle of departure (AoD) of signals in the optimal / candidate transmission path.

[0016] In this disclosure, AoA information may include, for example, information on at least one of the azimuth angles of arrival and the zenith angles of arrival. Similarly, AoD information may include, for example, information on at least one of the azimuth angles of departure and the zenith angles of departure.

[0017] 3GPP Rel. 16 NR supports the following positioning technologies: • Positioning based on DL / UL Time Difference Of Arrival (TDOA), • Positioning based on angle (DL AoD / UL AoA), • Positioning based on Multi-Round Trip Time (RTT), • Positioning based on Enhanced Cell ID (E-CID).

[0018] In DL / UL TDOA-based positioning, consider a case where, for example, multiple base stations (TRP#0-#2) are positioned around a UE. In this positioning method, the UE's position is estimated (measured) using the measured Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD). For example, the RSTD (T) for two specific base stations (TRP#i, #j (i,j are integers)) ｉ -T ｊ ) has a value (k ｉ，ｊ Connecting the points that take the shape of the hyperbola H ｉ，ｊ This can be drawn. The intersection of multiple such hyperbolas (in this example, H ０，１、 H １，２、 H ２，０ The intersection of the two points may be estimated as the location of the UE. In addition, the location of the UE may be estimated using the Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) of the reference signal.

[0019] In positioning methods based on DL AoD / UL AoA, the position of the UE is estimated using DL AoD measurements (e.g., θ or φ) or UL AoA measurements (e.g., θ or φ). Alternatively, the position of the UE may be estimated using RSRP.

[0020] In a multi-RTT-based positioning method, the location of the UE is estimated using multiple RTTs calculated from the Tx / Rx time difference of a reference signal (and additionally, RSRP, Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), etc.). For example, geometric circles based on RTTs can be drawn around each base station. The intersection of these multiple circles may be estimated as the location of the UE.

[0021] E-CID-based positioning: In this positioning method, the location of the UE is estimated based on the geometric position of the serving cell / neighbor cell and additional measurement results (Tx-Rx time difference, RSRP, RSRQ, etc.).

[0022] The positioning in DL (DL TDOA, DL AoD) described above may be performed on the UE side or the LMF side. For example, in UE-based positioning, the UE may calculate its own position based on various measurement results from the UE and assistance information from the LMF. Alternatively, in UE-assisted positioning, the UE may report various measurement results to the LMF, and the LMF may calculate the UE's position. The assistance information may be information to assist in the estimation of the UE's position.

[0023] The positioning in the above-mentioned UL (UL TDOA, UL AoA) may be performed on the LMF side. In this case, the base station may report the various measurement results to the LMF, and the LMF may calculate the position of the UE.

[0024] The positioning in DL and UL (Multi-RTT, E-CID) described above may be performed on the LMF side. In this case, the UE / base station may report various measurement results to the LMF, and the LMF may calculate the UE's position.

[0025] Furthermore, 3GPP Rel. 17 proposes a positioning method using assistance information to further improve positioning accuracy. Assistance information may be transmitted between the UE, base station, and LMF as measurement information for DL / UL-TDOA, DL-AoD / UL-AoA, multi-RTT, and E-CID as described above.

[0026] Assistance information may include information on at least one of the following: • Timing Error Group (TEG) • RSRPP (Path-Specific RSRP) • Expected angle • Adjacent beam information • TRP antenna / beam information • LOS / NLOS indicator • Additional path report.

[0027] TEG may indicate one or more PRS (Positioning Reference Signal) resources whose transmission / reception timing errors (Rx / Tx timing errors) are within a certain margin.

[0028] RSRPP may represent the measurement result of RSRP in the first pass.

[0029] In UL positioning, assistance information regarding the expected angle may indicate the expected UL-AoA / ZoA. This assistance information may be transmitted from the LMF to the base station. Furthermore, this assistance information may support at least one positioning from UL TDOA, UL AoA, and multi-RTT.

[0030] In DL positioning, assistance information regarding the expected angle may include information regarding the expected DL-AoA / ZoA or DL-AoD / ZoD. This assistance information may be transmitted from the LMF to the UE. Furthermore, this assistance information may support at least one positioning method from DL TDOA, DL AoA, and multi-RTT. This improves the accuracy of angle-based UE positioning and enables optimization of Rx beamforming of the UE or base station.

[0031] Furthermore, assistance information regarding the predicted angle may include not only the values ​​of AoA / ZoA / AoD / ZoD themselves as described above, but also information indicating the uncertainty range of these values.

[0032] As additional beam information, adjacent beam information may include a subset of DL-PRS resources for prioritizing DL-AoD reports (Option 1), or information regarding the boresight direction of each DL-PRS resource (Option 2). This enables optimization of UE's Rx beam sweeping and DL-AoD measurements.

[0033] Additionally, the assistance information may include PRS beam pattern information as additional beam information. This PRS beam pattern information may include information on the relative power between DL-PRS resources for each angle for each TRP.

[0034] The LOS / NLOS indicator may display information regarding Line of Sight (LOS) and Non-Line of Sight (NLOS).

[0035] Furthermore, in order to improve the positioning delay of the UE, pre-set measurement gaps (MG), MG activation via lower layers, MG-less position, PRS Rx / Tx in RRC_INACTIVE state, or on-demand PRS may be set for the UE (or used by the UE).

[0036] In 3GPP Rel. 17 NR, it is agreed that UEs should measure and report the RSRP of adjacent beams in order to improve the accuracy of UE position estimation. For example, in the UE-assisted DL-AoD positioning method, the LMF may indicate that at least one of the following options 1-2 is included in the assistance information.

[0037] Option 1: A subset of PRS resources for the purpose of prioritizing DL-AOD reporting. This subset may be set for each PRS resource depending on the UE's capabilities. The UE may include the PRS measurements required for a subset of PRS in the additional measurements for DL-AoD if the PRS measurements required for the relevant PRS are reported. The required PRS measurements may be DL PRS RSRP / path PRS RSRP. The UE may report PRS measurements only for a subset of PRS resources. The subset related to a PRS resource may reside in the same / different PRS resource set as the PRS resource in question. Option 2: Information regarding boresight direction set for each PRS resource depending on the UE's capabilities.

[0038] In 3GPP Rel. 16 NR, it is agreed that the expected RSTD and its uncertainty range should be provided from the LMF to the UE. Furthermore, in Rel. 17, it is agreed that the expected angle and its uncertainty range should be provided from the LMF to the UE in order to reduce errors and complexities in AoA / AoD measurements.

[0039] In 3GPP Rel. 17 NR, regarding positioning, the introduction of a Positioning Reference Unit (PRU) is being considered. The PRU is being discussed as a reference device with a known position in order to mitigate the transmission and reception timing errors of the UE / gNB. The PRU may be read as a UE / gNB / TRP (transmission reception point) / TP (transmission point).

[0040] For example, the PRU may support at least one of the following: Measuring DL PRS and reporting related measurement values (e.g., RSTD / transmission and reception time difference / RSRP) to the LMF. Transmitting SRS and enabling the TRP to measure and report to the LMF measurement values related to the reference device (e.g., Relative Time of Arrival (RTOA) / transmission and reception time difference / AOA). Operations, measurements, various parameters (transmission and reception timing delay, enhancement of AoD and AOA, and parameters related to calibration of measurement values). Reporting the position coordinate information of the reference device to the LMF when the LMF does not have the position coordinate information. The reference device with a known position being a UE / gNB. The accuracy with which the position of the reference device can be known.

[0041] (AI / ML-based Positioning) Regarding future wireless communication technologies, it is being considered to utilize AI technologies such as Machine Learning (ML) for network / device control, management, etc.

[0042] There are, for example, two use cases for positioning using an AI model (AI / ML-based): Direct AI / ML positioning. AI / ML-assisted positioning.

[0043] According to direct AI / ML positioning, for example, UE positioning (UE position) is output. According to AI / ML assisted positioning, for example, an intermediate feature is output. The intermediate feature may be input into the AI / ML model again.

[0044] As an output example of the above-mentioned AI / ML assisted positioning, at least one of the following may be included: ・ Identification of LOS / NLOS (probability of LOS / NLOS), ・ ToA (arrival time of PRS / SRS), ・ Rx-Tx (transmission / reception) time difference, ・ AoA / AoD, ・ Number of waves, Rx-Tx (transmission / reception) phase difference (phase measurement in Rel. 18), ・ DL RSTD / UL TDOA, ・ DL-PRS / UL-SRS, RSRPs / RSRPPs, ・ Likelihood of the above values (e.g., probability of ToA).

[0045] In the positioning of Rel. 18, sidelink positioning based on the Sidelink Positioning Protocol (SLPP) is introduced. For example, SL-RTT, SL-AoA, SL-TDOA, and SL-ToA are introduced. For example, the sidelink reference signal used for position calculation is called SL-PRS. As measurements based on SL-PRS, at least one of SL PRS-RSRP, SL PRS-RSRPP, SL RTOA, SL AoA, sidelink reception-transmission (Rx-Tx) time difference, SL RSTD, SL PRS-RSSI, SL PRS-channel occupancy ratio (CR), and SL PRS-channel busy ratio (CBR) may be used. Also, as measurements related to the carrier phase positioning method, at least one of UL / DL reference signal carrier phase (RSCP) and DL reference signal carrier phase difference (RSCPD) may be used.

[0046] (Use cases for AI-based positioning) Typical use cases for AI / ML-based positioning can be classified as follows, depending on which entity's (or which entity's) model is used and whether the measurement results of either DL signals or UL signals are used for position prediction.

[0047] Figures 1A and 1C show variations in positioning using DL signals. Figures 2A and 2B show variations in positioning using UL signals.

[0048] • Case 1 (Figure 1A): UE-based positioning using the UE model (direct AI / ML positioning, or AI / ML-assisted positioning). • Case 2a (Figure 1B): UE-assisted / LMF-based positioning using the UE model (AI / ML-assisted positioning). • Case 2b (Figure 1C): UE-assisted / LMF-based positioning using the LMF model (direct AI / ML positioning). • Case 3a (Figure 2A): NG-RAN node-assisted positioning using the gNB model (AI / ML-assisted positioning). • Case 3b (Figure 2B): NG-RAN node-assisted positioning using the LMF model (direct AI / ML positioning).

[0049] <Case 1> Case 1 is an example of positioning using a UE-side model and DL signals / channels (see Figure 1A). In Case 1, the UE receives (necessary) assistance information related to positioning (position prediction) from the NW (gNB / LMF). The UE-side model calculates (measures / predicts) the UE position or intermediate value based on the assistance information and DL signals / channels from the NW. The UE transmits the UE position or intermediate value to the NW (LMF).

[0050] <Case 2a> Case 2a is an example of positioning using a UE-side model and DL signals / channels (see Figure 1B). In Case 2a, the UE receives (necessary) assistance information related to positioning (location prediction) from the NW (gNB / LMF). The UE-side model calculates (measures / predicts) intermediate values ​​based on the assistance information and DL signals / channels from the NW. The UE transmits these intermediate values ​​to the NW (LMF).

[0051] <Case 2b> Case 2b is an example of positioning using an LMF-side model and DL signals / channels (see Figure 1C). In Case 2b, the UE transmits the measurement results of the DL signal (a specific signal / channel (e.g., RS)) from the NW to the NW (gNB / LMF). The UE also receives instructions from the NW to collect (necessary) data related to positioning (position prediction). The LMF-side model calculates (measures / predicts) the UE's position based on the measurement results of the DL signal.

[0052] <Case 3a> Case 3a is an example of positioning using a gNB-side model and UL signals / channels (see Figure 2A). In Case 3a, the gNB receives (necessary) assistance information related to positioning (position prediction) from the LMF. The gNB-side model calculates (measures / predicts) intermediate values ​​based on the assistance information and the UL signals / channels from the UE. The gNB transmits these intermediate values ​​to the LMF.

[0053] <Case 3b> Case 3b is an example of positioning using an LMF-side model and UL signals / channels (see Figure 2B). In Case 3b, the gNB transmits the measurement results of the UL signal (a specific signal / channel (e.g., RS)) from the UE to the LMF. The gNB also receives (necessary) assistance information related to positioning (position prediction) from the LMF. The LMF-side model calculates (measures / predicts) the UE position based on the measurement results of the UL signal.

[0054] In this disclosure, the intermediate value may be a value / information that can be used to determine location information (for example, the difference in arrival times of multiple signals (RS), or the round-trip time (RTT) of a particular signal (RS)).

[0055] (Sample-based positioning / Path-based positioning) In AI / ML-based positioning in future wireless communication systems (e.g., Rel. 19 and later), the introduction of sample-based and path-based measurements as inputs to the model is being considered.

[0056] <Sample-Based Measurement> A sample-based measurement may consist of Nt' samples of the estimated channel response in the time domain. The Nt' samples may be selected from Nt samples.

[0057] Timing information for Nt' samples may be measured / reported using the timing measurement particle size T.

[0058] T may also be determined based on the timing reporting granularity factor k and the basic time unit Tc in NR, where T = 2 ｋ *Tc is also acceptable.

[0059] The corresponding measurement (e.g., power) may correspond to the measurement values ​​of the Nt' samples reported.

[0060] The values ​​of Nt, Nt', and k may be determined based on notifications from the LMF to the base station / UE using higher-layer signaling (e.g., NRPPa / LPP).

[0061] Timing information may be defined as a relative value from the reference time.

[0062] The timing report granularity factor k may be notified, for example, using the upper-level parameter timingReportingGranularityFactor.

[0063] A negative value for T may mean that the corresponding specific path is earlier (in the past) in time than the detection path of the reference (time).

[0064] Figure 3 shows an example of sample-based measurement. In the example shown in Figure 3, Nt' samples are selected and measured from Nt samples.

[0065] <Path-Based Measurement> Path-based measurement may include measurement reports in existing specifications (e.g., up to Rel. 18). In other words, path-based measurement may correspond to measurement in existing specifications (e.g., up to Rel. 18).

[0066] Timing information related to path-based measurement may be measured and reported by timing measurement particle size T.

[0067] T may be determined based on at least the timing reporting granularity factor k.

[0068] The path definition may be determined based on the UE / NW implementation.

[0069] The recommended value for k may be communicated from the LMF to the base station / UE using higher-layer signaling (e.g., NRPPa / LPP).

[0070] (Analysis) For future wireless communication systems (e.g., Rel. 19 and beyond), it is being considered that the LMF should notify the gNB, using a measurement request, whether sample-based or path-based measurement is expected. This measurement request is being considered for use not only in case 3b, but also in case 2b (UE side) and other cases (such as case 1).

[0071] However, the details of the above measurement request have not yet been considered. Furthermore, the procedures and expected behavior when the UE / gNB receives the above measurement request from the LMF have also not yet been considered. If these are not properly defined, sample-based / path-based measurements may not be performed correctly. In this case, for example, it may not be possible to achieve the high-precision / high-efficiency / low-complexity positioning utilizing AI / ML technology, and improvements in communication quality / communication throughput may be suppressed.

[0072] Therefore, the inventors conceived of details, procedures, and expected operations related to the measurement request.

[0073] The embodiments of this disclosure will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Each wireless communication method according to the embodiments may be applied individually or in combination.

[0074] (Various substitutions) In this disclosure, words enclosed in parentheses () may indicate an explanation of the preceding word (e.g., an explanation of spelling), a paraphrase, a specific example, or supplementary explanation. Also, in this disclosure, words enclosed in square brackets [] may be interpreted as part of the overall meaning of the text, or they may be interpreted as being excluded (ignored). Note that parentheses () and square brackets [] may be used for purposes / meanings other than those described above.

[0075] In this disclosure, "A / B" and "at least one of A and B" may be interpreted as mutually exclusive. In this disclosure, "A / B / C" may mean "at least one of A, B, and C".

[0076] In this disclosure, terms such as notice, activate, deactivate, indicate (or specify), select, configure, update, and determine may be interpreted interchangeably. In this disclosure, terms such as support, control, controllable, operate, and capable of operating may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0077] In this disclosure, Radio Resource Control (RRC), RRC parameters, RRC messages, higher-layer parameters, fields, Information Elements (IE), settings, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably. In this disclosure, Medium Access Control elements (MAC Control Elements (CE)), update commands, activation / deactivation commands, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0078] In this disclosure, the upper layer signaling may be any or a combination thereof, such as Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling, broadcast information, and other messages (e.g., messages from the core network, such as positioning protocol messages (e.g., NR Positioning Protocol A (NRPPPa) / LTE Positioning Protocol (LPP)) messages).

[0079] In this disclosure, MAC signaling may include, for example, MAC Control Elements (MAC CEs) and MAC Protocol Data Units (PDUs). Broadcast information may include, for example, Master Information Blocks (MIBs), System Information Blocks (SIBs), Remaining Minimum System Information (RMSIs), and Other System Information (OSIs).

[0080] In this disclosure, physical layer signaling may include, for example, Downlink Control Information (DCI) and Uplink Control Information (UCI).

[0081] In this disclosure, terms such as drop, suspend, cancel, puncture, rate match, postpone, and not send may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0082] In this disclosure, estimation, prediction, and inference may be interpreted interchangeably. Also, in this disclosure, estimate, predict, and infer may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0083] In this disclosure, positioning may be interpreted as location determination, location estimation, location prediction, positioning method, measurement, reporting, etc.

[0084] In the following embodiments, the relevant entities are UE / gNB / LMFs to illustrate an AI model relating to communication between UEs / gNBs / LMFs, but the application of each embodiment of the Disclosure is not limited thereto. For example, for communication between other entities (e.g., UE-UE communication), the UE / gNB / LMFs in the embodiments below may be read as a first UE, a second UE, a third, and so on. In other words, any UE / gNB / LMF in the Disclosure may be read as any UE / gNB / LMF.

[0085] In this disclosure, antenna port, subband, angle, and delay may be interpreted interchangeably. In this disclosure, NW, base station (BS), gNB, and LMF may be interpreted interchangeably. LMF may be interpreted interchangeably with the device that implements the LMF (such as a server), or it may simply be called a network node. In this disclosure, LMF may be interpreted interchangeably with any network function (NF).

[0086] In this disclosure, timing, time, duration, time instance, slot, subslot, symbol, subframe, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0087] In this disclosure, DL [positioning] and UL [positioning] may be interpreted as mutually interchangeable.

[0088] In this disclosure, measuring RS, PRS, SRS, DL-PRS, UL-PRS, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably. Furthermore, PRS, DL-PRS, etc., may be used for DL ​​positioning, and SRS, UL-PRS, etc., may be used for UL positioning.

[0089] In this disclosure, gNB, LMF, Radio Access Network (RAN), Next Generation (NG)-RAN, [NG-RAN] node, [Network] node, [Network] device, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably. LMF is defined as one of the network functions (NFs) provided in the core network and performs communication control related to location information. LMF may be installed in any device on the core network. Furthermore, the LMF-side model may be an AI / ML model installed in a device on the core network. Furthermore, LMF-based positioning may be any method of deriving location information using the LMF-side model.

[0090] In this disclosure, the terms measurement, measurements, RRM measurement, measured value, measurement result, measurement information, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0091] In this disclosure, the terms "prediction," "predicted value," "prediction result," "prediction information," "predicted measurements," and "predicted RRM measurements" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0092] In this disclosure, AI / ML-based positioning, AI / ML-based positioning, and AI / ML-based positioning may be interpreted interchangeably. In this disclosure, AI, ML, AI / ML, [AI / ML] model, function, features, functionality, method, and the like may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0093] In this disclosure, functionality may mean UE features / functions based on settings [with AI-enabled features].

[0094] In this disclosure, terms such as outcome, result, and output may be interpreted interchangeably. For example, monitoring outcome may be interpreted interchangeably with monitoring result, monitoring output, etc.

[0095] In this disclosure, "sample-based," "per sample," etc., may be interpreted interchangeably. In this disclosure, "sample," "sampling," etc., may be interpreted interchangeably. "Path-based," "per path," etc., may be interpreted interchangeably. In this disclosure, "path" and "additional path" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0096] In this disclosure, sample-based measurement, Rel. 19 enhanced measurement, enhanced path-based measurement, measurement in which an Nt' sample is selected from an Nt sample of particle size k, type B measurement, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0097] In this disclosure, path-based measurement, legacy measurement, measurement in Rel. 18, Rel. 18 measurement, measurement [as defined up to] Rel. 18, non-sample-based measurement, type A measurement, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0098] (Wireless Communication Method) In this disclosure, positioning is the primary example of a use case for AI models. Positioning in the following embodiments may mean AI / ML-based positioning. Embodiments of this disclosure are applicable to any use case of positioning (DL positioning / UL positioning, UE / gNB / LMF-based positioning, and at least one of the above cases (cases 1 to 3b)). Embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to other use cases by paraphrasing use case-specific terminology (e.g., terminology specific to positioning).

[0099] The UE / NW (base station (gNB) / LMF) may perform positioning and various related operations (measurement / prediction / reporting / transmission / reception) by applying the embodiments shown below.

[0100] The UE / NW (base station) may receive various settings for positioning / measurement / reporting. Furthermore, the UE / NW (base station) may report / transmit the corresponding prediction (positioning) results to the NW (LMF).

[0101] The network (base station / LMF) may transmit various settings for positioning / measurement / reporting to the user environment (UE) / base station. Furthermore, the network may receive corresponding prediction results (reports) from the user environment (UE) / base station. For example, the LMF may transmit instructions to the user environment (UE) / base station requesting inferred location information / intermediate values.

[0102] The UE / NW (base station / LMF) may control various positioning operations (transmission and reception of related information) by applying the embodiments of this disclosure and the various provisions described above. Furthermore, the UE / NW (base station / LMF) may perform information exchange among multiple entities to realize these various operations.

[0103] In this disclosure, communication between the UE and the LMF may be transmitted via a base station.

[0104] In this disclosure, either positioning using an AI / ML model on the UE side or positioning using an AI / ML model on the NW / LMF side may be performed.

[0105] Furthermore, positioning may be performed using both the UE-side AI / ML model and the NW / LMF-side AI / ML model in this disclosure. In this case, for example, the positioning by the UE-side model described in this disclosure may be performed based on the output of the NW / LMF-side model.

[0106] Figure 4 shows an example of a procedure for a measurement request / measurement report according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0107] In step S101, the UE / gNB may receive a measurement request from the NW (e.g., LMF) indicating that either a sample-based measurement or a path-based measurement, or both, are expected. The measurement request may be sent using a first message, for example, an LPP message to the UE and an NRPPa message to the gNB.

[0108] In this disclosure, the expectation of a measurement may be interpreted as specifying (indicating) the performance of a measurement. Similarly, in this disclosure, the terms "receive," "expect to receive," etc., may be interpreted as mutually exclusive.

[0109] In step S102, the UE / gNB may send a measurement report [corresponding to the above measurement request] to the NW (e.g., LMF). The measurement report may also be sent using a second message, for example, using an LPP message from the UE and an NRPPa message from the gNB.

[0110] In this disclosure, LPP messages may be interpreted as any message exchanged between the UE and the LMF. Also, in this disclosure, NRPPa messages may be interpreted as any message exchanged between the gNB and the LMF.

[0111] <First Embodiment> The first embodiment relates to the measurement request in step S101 described above. In this disclosure, the terms "measurement request," "request," etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0112] A UE / gNB may receive the above measurement request from the NW based on its own capabilities (e.g., UE capability) (e.g., when reporting / supporting a certain capability). This capability may be reported by the NW to the UE / gNB or reported (sent) by the UE / gNB to the NW before the above measurement request is sent.

[0113] The above measurement request may include parameters indicating whether to perform sample-based measurement, path-based measurement, or both.

[0114] The above measurement request may also request a measurement method. In other words, the above measurement request may include parameters relating to the measurement method (e.g., DL-TDOA, UL-AoA, etc.). In this disclosure, the parameters relating to the above measurement method may include parameters used for measurement (e.g., parameters indicating measurement resources, measurement timing, etc.), and these may be interchangeable.

[0115] In this disclosure, sample-based measurement and path-based measurement may be associated with AI / ML-based positioning or with conventional positioning (non-AI / ML-based positioning, e.g., DL-TDOA, DL-AoD, UL-AoA, etc.).

[0116] The parameters for the above measurement method may be, for example, at least one of the Information Elements (IEs) for positioning methods as defined in 6.5 Positioning Method IEs of 3GPP TS 37.355 (or parameters included in at least one of these), or at least one of the messages / IEs for measurement requests as defined in 9.1.4.1 MEASUREMENT REQUEST of 3GPP TS 38.455 (or parameters included in at least one of these).

[0117] The IE for the above positioning method may be at least one of the IEs relating to a location information request (e.g., 6.5.10.5 NR-DL-TDOA-RequestLocationInformation in 3GPP TS 37.355) or an IE indicating the measurement [quantity] (or type of measurement [metric]) included in a measurement request as defined in 9.1.4.1 MEASUREMENT REQUEST in 3GPP TS 38.455 (e.g., TRP Measurement Type).

[0118] The parameters indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement, or both, and the parameters regarding the measurement method may be different or the same. In other words, either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement, or both, and the corresponding measurement method may be specified simultaneously by a parameter included in the measurement request. The measurement method may include both sample-based and path-based measurement.

[0119] The above measurement request may be independent of the measurement method (e.g., sample-based measurement, path-based measurement) or may include parameters common to multiple measurement methods. Common parameters may include at least one of the following: timing granularity (timing measurement granularity, timing report granularity, etc.), k, reference time, number of passes to report, and the length of the time window to measure. By using common parameters, it becomes possible to perform measurements using the same timing granularity and time window regardless of the measurement method, which is expected to reduce the processing load on UE / gNB.

[0120] The above measurement request may include parameters specific to one or more measurement methods (e.g., sample-based measurement, path-based measurement). These individual parameters may include, for example, Nt / Nt' / k in sample-based measurement, k in path-based measurement, etc. The above measurement request may set k for sample-based measurement and k for path-based measurement to different values.

[0121] The above measurement request may simultaneously request multiple combinations of measurement methods and parameters (including multiple such combinations). Priorities among multiple combinations may be predetermined in the standard or set by the above measurement request. For example, a parameter indicating the priority of each combination may be included (or associated with it), and a parameter indicating the priority of each measurement method / parameter may be included (or associated with it).

[0122] When a measurement request sets up measurements based on multiple measurement methods / parameters at the same time, the UE / gNB may determine which measurement method / parameter to actually use for the measurement based on the priority order. For example, the UE / gNB may perform a measurement at a certain time using a measurement method / parameter with a higher priority. In this disclosure, priority, priority value, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0123] Furthermore, the priority of a particular measurement method / parameter may be determined based on at least one of the following: - settings notified by specific signaling (LPP / NRPPa / RRC signaling), - specifications, or - applicable combinations provided (configured) by the network (e.g., LMF).

[0124] According to the first embodiment described above, the UE / gNB can appropriately perform at least one of sample-based measurement and path-based measurement based on a measurement request.

[0125] <Second Embodiment> The second embodiment relates to the measurement report in step S102 described above. In this disclosure, the terms "measurement report," "report," etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0126] The UE / gNB may, based on instructions from the NW, perform either or both sample-based and path-based measurements and report the corresponding measurement results [by measurement report]. The instructions from the NW may, for example, be the measurement request in step S101 above, and may include parameters indicating either or both sample-based and path-based measurements, parameters regarding the measurement method, etc.

[0127] UE / gNB may be measured based on parameters indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement, or both, parameters related to the measurement method, etc.

[0128] UE / gNB may perform measurements based on measurement methods / parameters not specified by the NW (which may also be called other measurement methods / parameters, different measurement methods / parameters, measurement methods / parameters that do not conform to the measurement request, etc.) and report the corresponding measurement results [by measurement report]. For example, UE / gNB may perform additional measurements using measurement methods / parameters that it has determined [to be more appropriate] in addition to or instead of the measurements instructed by the NW (e.g., LMF), and report the measurement report.

[0129] In this disclosure, measurements based on measurement methods / parameters not specified by NW may be referred to as autonomous measurements, non-required measurements, etc.

[0130] The above measurement report may include information showing the measurement results. In the case of sample-based measurement, the above measurement report may include information showing the measurement results for each sample. In the case of pass-based measurement, the above measurement report may include information showing the measurement results for each pass.

[0131] The above measurement report may include information indicating the measurement method / parameters used to measure the above measurement result. This information may include, for example, information indicating that the measurement method / parameters indicated by the measurement request were used [as is] (e.g., indicators). It is also possible that the above measurement report implicitly indicates that the measurement method / parameters indicated by the measurement request were used [as is] by showing only the measurement result (in other words, by not including information that explicitly indicates the measurement method / parameters).

[0132] The UE / gNB may report, in addition to the requested measurement results (e.g., measurement results from measurements using the parameters specified in the measurement request), measurement results based on other measurement methods / parameters (e.g., measurement results from measurements using measurement methods / parameters not specified by the NW), using the same or different measurement reports as the requested measurement results. The UE / gNB may report measurement results based on other measurement methods / parameters only if there are specific instructions from the NW (e.g., LMF), such as instructions to enable reporting of measurement results based on the other measurement methods / parameters.

[0133] A UE / gNB reporting / supporting a certain capability may perform measurements using multiple measurement methods (e.g., sample-based and path-based measurements) simultaneously, and may report the results of these measurements simultaneously. This capability may also relate to the ability to perform measurements using multiple measurement methods simultaneously (or report the results of these measurements simultaneously). This capability may also indicate the measurement method to be used preferentially for measurement / reporting when simultaneous measurement / reporting is not possible, and may be specified, for example, by an enumerated value such as {sample-based, path-based, both}. Here, "sample-based" may indicate that sample-based measurement is prioritized for performance / reporting, "path-based" may indicate that path-based measurement is prioritized for performance / reporting, and "both" may indicate that both sample-based and path-based measurements can be performed / reported.

[0134] A UE / gNB reporting / supporting a certain capability may simultaneously perform measurements based on multiple different parameters (e.g., measurements of specified and unspecified parameters) and simultaneously report the results of these measurements. This capability may also relate to the ability to simultaneously perform (or simultaneously report) measurements based on these multiple different parameters. This capability may also indicate which parameter should be prioritized for measurement / reporting when simultaneous measurement / reporting is not possible, and may be identified, for example, by an enumeration of {specified parameter, different parameter, both}. Here, “specified parameter” may indicate priority given to performing / reporting measurements based on the specified parameter, “different parameter” may indicate priority given to performing / reporting measurements based on parameters different from the specified parameter, and “both” may indicate the ability to perform / report both measurements based on the specified parameter and measurements based on parameters different from the specified parameter.

[0135] The UE / gNB may report to the NW (e.g., LMF) [by measurement report] the reasons for not complying with the measurement request (reasons for reporting a measurement based on other measurement methods / parameters). The reasons may include, for example, at least one of the following: - The UE / gNB's capabilities are not met; - The UE / gNB's applicability is not met; - The UE / gNB does not support the measurement method specified in the request; - The UE / gNB does not support measurements using the parameters specified in the request; - The UE / gNB has determined that there are more appropriate measurement methods / parameters than those specified in the request.

[0136] The UE / gNB may report information indicating recommended measurement methods / parameters to the NW (e.g., LMF) [by measurement report]. In this disclosure, the terms recommend, request, and provide may be interpreted interchangeably. In this case, the UE / gNB may not immediately report the measurement results of measurements using the other measurement methods / parameters (measurement methods / parameters not specified by the NW), but rather recommend the other measurement methods / parameters to the NW and then perform the measurement report after formally receiving a measurement request for those other measurement methods / parameters from the NW.

[0137] According to the second embodiment described above, UE / gNB can report an appropriate measurement report.

[0138] <Third Embodiment> The third embodiment relates to fallback processing.

[0139] The UE / gNB may perform a fallback procedure based on instructions from the NW (e.g., LMF). This fallback procedure may involve abandoning (not performing) a measurement / report using a certain measurement method / parameter and instead performing a measurement / report using a different measurement method / parameter. In this disclosure, fallback may be interpreted interchangeably with alternative, option, backup, etc.

[0140] The above instructions from the network may also be instructions regarding fallback. The UE / gNB may assume that it will receive the above fallback instructions from the network in certain cases.

[0141] The above fallback instructions may also relate to the measurement method, and may, for example, indicate at least one of the following: - An instruction to perform a path-based measurement if the sample-based measurement fails; - An instruction to perform a sample-based measurement if the path-based measurement fails.

[0142] The above instructions regarding fallback may also apply to positioning methods (e.g., AI / ML-based positioning, non-AI / ML-based positioning), for example, "If sample-based measurement fails, perform non-AI / ML-based positioning by path-based measurement."

[0143] The above instructions regarding fallback may also refer to parameters, or they may indicate the value / range of the parameter to which the fallback should be applied. For example, if the above instructions regarding fallback indicate a single value for a parameter, the UE / gNB may perform the fallback measurement using that single value as the parameter. If the above instructions regarding fallback indicate multiple values ​​for a parameter, the UE / gNB may perform the fallback measurement using one value selected from those multiple values ​​as the parameter.

[0144] The above fallback instructions may include parameters indicating the priority of the measurement method and parameter combination, or each of the measurement method / parameters. As described in the first embodiment, the UE / gNB may perform priority-based determination of the measurement method / parameter.

[0145] The values / ranges of the above fallback parameters may be smaller / larger than the values ​​that cause the measurement to fail (the values ​​at which it fails). Depending on the instructions regarding the fallback, for example, values ​​smaller / larger than the values ​​at which it failed may be specified for Nt and Nt', or values ​​smaller / larger than the values ​​at which it failed may be specified for k.

[0146] The values / ranges of the above fallback parameters may be expressed as absolute values ​​or as relative values ​​(for example, relative values ​​relative to the value that fails to measure).

[0147] The above instructions regarding fallback may include information regarding combinations of measurement methods, positioning methods, parameters, etc.

[0148] According to the third embodiment described above, the UE / gNB can appropriately perform fallback processing.

[0149] <Supplement> <<Notification of Information to UE>> In the embodiments described above, notification of any information from the Network (NW) (e.g., Base Station (BS)) to the UE (in other words, reception of any information from the BS at the UE) may be performed using physical layer signaling (e.g., DCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), specific signals / channels (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, reference signal), or a combination thereof.

[0150] If the above notification is made by a MAC CE, the MAC CE may be identified by the inclusion of a new Logical Channel ID (LCID) not defined in existing standards in the MAC subheader.

[0151] If the above notification is made by DCI, the notification may be made by a specific field of the DCI, a Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RNTI) used to scramble the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) bits assigned to the DCI, or the format of the DCI.

[0152] In the embodiments described above, information from the network may be set / instructed by the following methods: - Common to multiple UEs, or individual to a UE. - Cell-specific, or common to multiple cells. - Per UE / Per CC / Per BWP / Per band / Per cell / Per cell group (CG).

[0153] <<Notification of Information from UE>> Notification of any information from the UE to the NW in the embodiments described above (in other words, transmission / reporting of any information from the UE to the BS) may be performed using physical layer signaling (e.g., UCI), higher layer signaling (e.g., RRC signaling, MAC CE), specific signals / channels (e.g., PUCCH, PUSCH, PRACH, reference signals), or a combination thereof.

[0154] If the above notification is made by a MAC CE, the MAC CE may be identified by including a new LCID, not specified in existing standards, in the MAC subheader.

[0155] If the above notice is made by the UCI, the notice may be transmitted using PUCCH or PUSCH.

[0156] Furthermore, the notification of any information from the UE in the above-described embodiment may be periodic, semi-persistent (triggered by instructions from the UE or gNB), or aperiodic (triggered by instructions from the UE or gNB).

[0157] <<Regarding the application of each embodiment>> In a UE / BS (NW / gNB / LMF / NG-RAN), specific (one or more) processes / operations / controls / assumptions / information for at least one of the embodiments described above may be applied (or used) if any or more of the following conditions are met: - A higher-layer parameter indicating the specific process / operation / control / assumption / information is set; - The specific process / operation / control / assumption / information is determined based on the relevant higher-layer parameter; - The specific process / operation / control / assumption / information is designated / activated / triggered by MAC CE / DCI / UCI / resource / channel / RS; - A specific UE capability indicating (or related to) the specific process / operation / control / assumption / information is reported or supported; - The application of the specific process / operation / control / assumption / information is determined based on specific conditions.

[0158] The above-mentioned specific UE capabilities may indicate at least one of the following: - Supporting the above-mentioned specific processing / operation / control / assumment / information; - Supporting AI / ML-based positioning; - Supporting which case of AI / ML-based positioning (e.g., case 1); - Supporting sample-based measurement; - Supporting simultaneous execution (or simultaneous reporting of the results of) measurements using multiple measurement methods (e.g., sample-based measurement and path-based measurement); - Supporting simultaneous execution (or simultaneous reporting of the results of) measurements based on multiple different parameters (e.g., measurement of specified parameters and unspecified parameters).

[0159] Furthermore, the above-mentioned specific UE capability may be a capability that applies across all frequencies (commonly regardless of frequency), a capability per frequency (e.g., one or a combination thereof, such as cell, band, band combination, BWP, component carrier, etc.), a capability per frequency range (e.g., Frequency Range 1 (FR1), FR2, FR3, FR4, FR5, FR2-1, FR2-2), a capability per subcarrier spacing (SCS), or a capability per feature set (FS) or feature set per component-carrier (FSPC).

[0160] Furthermore, the specific UE capabilities described above may be capabilities that apply across all duplexing schemes (common to all duplexing schemes regardless of the duplexing scheme), or they may be capabilities specific to each duplexing scheme (e.g., Time Division Duplex (TDD), Frequency Division Duplex (FDD)).

[0161] If the above conditions are not met, UE / BS may follow the behavior specified in existing 3GPP releases.

[0162] Information on whether one or more of the above embodiments / options / choices / examples apply / are used, or which of the above embodiments / options / choices / examples apply / are used, may be based on several of the following methods: • The information is set by one or more higher-layer parameters / RRC IEs. • The information is determined by one or more relevant higher-layer parameters / RRC IEs. • The information is indicated by MAC CE / DCI. • The information is based on one or more UE capabilities. • The information is described / defined in the specification. • The information is based on conditions described / defined in the specification. • The information is determined by a combination of several of the above methods. For example, the information is determined by the setting / indication of higher-layer parameters / MAC CE / DCIs and reported by UE capabilities.

[0163] The above multiple embodiments / options / choices may be combined into a single embodiment / option / choice.

[0164] (Note) The following inventions are added with respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Note 1] A terminal (e.g., UE) having a receiving unit for receiving a measurement request indicating either a sample-based measurement or a path-based measurement or both, and a control unit for controlling a measurement based on the measurement request. [Note 2] The terminal according to Note 1, wherein the measurement request includes parameters common to the sample-based measurement and the path-based measurement. [Note 3] The terminal according to Note 1 or Note 2, having a transmitting unit for reporting the results of the measurement. [Note 4] The terminal according to any one of Notes 1 to 3, wherein the control unit controls the performance of a measurement not specified by the measurement request. [Note 5] A wireless communication method for a terminal having the steps of: receiving a measurement request indicating either a sample-based measurement or a path-based measurement or both; and controlling a measurement based on the measurement request. [Note 6] An apparatus (e.g., LMF, gNB) having a transmitting unit that transmits a measurement request to a terminal indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement or both, and a receiving unit that receives the results of a measurement controlled based on the measurement request from the terminal.

[0165] (Notes) The following inventions are noted with respect to one embodiment of the present disclosure. [Note 1] A base station (e.g., gNB) having a receiving unit that receives a measurement request indicating either or both a sample-based measurement and a path-based measurement, and a control unit that controls a measurement based on the measurement request. [Note 2] The base station according to Note 1, wherein the measurement request includes parameters common to the sample-based measurement and the path-based measurement. [Note 3] The base station according to Note 1 or Note 2, having a transmitting unit that reports the results of the measurement. [Note 4] The base station according to any one of Notes 1 to 3, wherein the control unit controls the implementation of a measurement not specified by the measurement request. [Note 5] A wireless communication method for a base station, comprising the steps of: receiving a measurement request indicating either or both a sample-based measurement and a path-based measurement, and controlling a measurement based on the measurement request. [Note 6] An apparatus (e.g., LMF) having a transmitting unit that transmits a measurement request indicating either or both a sample-based measurement and a path-based measurement to a base station, and a receiving unit that receives the results of a measurement controlled based on the measurement request from the base station.

[0166] (Wireless Communication System) The configuration of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment of this disclosure will be described below. In this wireless communication system, communication is performed using any of the wireless communication methods according to the above embodiments of this disclosure, or a combination thereof.

[0167] Figure 5 shows an example of a schematic configuration of a wireless communication system according to one embodiment. The wireless communication system 1 (which may also be simply called system 1) may be a system that realizes communication using Long Term Evolution (LTE), 5th generation mobile communication system New Radio (5G NR), etc., as specified by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP).

[0168] Furthermore, the wireless communication system 1 may support dual connectivity between multiple Radio Access Technologies (RATs) (Multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC)). MR-DC may include dual connectivity between LTE (Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA)) and NR (E-UTRA-NR Dual Connectivity (EN-DC)), dual connectivity between NR and LTE (NR-E-UTRA Dual Connectivity (NE-DC)), and the like.

[0169] In EN-DC, the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the Master Node (MN), and the NR base station (gNB) is the Secondary Node (SN). In NE-DC, the NR base station (gNB) is the MN, and the LTE (E-UTRA) base station (eNB) is the SN.

[0170] The wireless communication system 1 may support dual connectivity between multiple base stations within the same RAT (for example, dual connectivity where both MN and SN are NR base stations (gNB) (NR-NR Dual Connectivity (NN-DC))).

[0171] The wireless communication system 1 may include a base station 11 that forms a macrocell C1 with relatively wide coverage, and base stations 12 (12a-12c) located within the macrocell C1 that form a small cell C2 that is narrower than the macrocell C1. User terminals 20 may be located within at least one cell. The arrangement, number, shape, size, etc., of each cell and user terminal 20 are not limited to the configuration shown in the figure. Hereinafter, when base stations 11 and 12 are not distinguished, they will be collectively referred to as base station 10.

[0172] The wireless communication system 1 may utilize Multi Input Multi Output (MIMO). For example, one cell may be formed by one antenna / base station 10, or by multiple antennas / base stations 10. One [virtual] cell (which may be called a supercell, for example) may be composed of multiple [virtual] cells (which may be called subcells, for example). A supercell may correspond to a cell with a fixed physical range, and a subcell may correspond to a cell whose physical range fluctuates quasi-statically / dynamically. In this case, the wireless communication system 1 may be called a cell-free system.

[0173] The user terminal 20 may be connected to at least one of the multiple base stations 10. The user terminal 20 may utilize at least one of Carrier Aggregation (CA) using multiple Component Carriers (CC) and Dual Connectivity (DC).

[0174] Each CC may be included in at least one of the first frequency band (Frequency Range 1 (FR1)) and the second frequency band (Frequency Range 2 (FR2)). A macrocell C1 may be included in FR1, and a small cell C2 may be included in FR2. For example, FR1 may be a frequency band of 6 GHz or less (sub-6 GHz), and FR2 may be a frequency band above 24 GHz. Note that the frequency bands and definitions of FR1 and FR2 are not limited to these, and for example, FR1 may be in a frequency band higher than FR2.

[0175] Furthermore, the user terminal 20 may communicate in each CC using at least one of Time Division Duplex (TDD) and Frequency Division Duplex (FDD).

[0176] Multiple base stations 10 may be connected by wire (e.g., optical fiber compliant with Common Public Radio Interface (CPRI), X2 / Xn interface, etc.) or wireless (e.g., NR communication). For example, when NR communication is used as a backhaul between base stations 11 and 12, base station 11, which is the upstream station, may be called an Integrated Access Backhaul (IAB) donor, and base station 12, which is the relay station, may be called an IAB node.

[0177] Base station 10 may be connected to the core network 30 via other base stations 10 or directly. The core network 30 may include at least one of the following: Evolved Packet Core (EPC), 5G Core Network (5GCN), Next Generation Core (NGC), etc.

[0178] The core network 30 may include network functions (NF) such as User Plane Function (UPF), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Application Function (AF), Data Network (DN), Location Management Function (LMF), and Operation, Administration and Maintenance (Management) (OAM). Multiple functions may be provided by a single network node. Furthermore, communication with an external network (e.g., the Internet) may occur via the DN.

[0179] The user terminal 20 may be a terminal that supports at least one of the following communication methods: LTE, LTE-A, 5G, etc.

[0180] In the wireless communication system 1, an orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM)-based wireless access scheme may be used. For example, Cyclic Prefix OFDM (CP-OFDM), Discrete Fourier Transform Spread OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM), Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA), Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-OFDM), etc., may be used in at least one of the downlink (DL) and uplink (UL).

[0181] The wireless access method may also be called a waveform. In wireless communication system 1, other wireless access methods (for example, other single-carrier transmission methods, other multi-carrier transmission methods) may be used for the UL and DL wireless access methods.

[0182] In the wireless communication system 1, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), a Broadcast Channel (PBCH), or a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) may be used as the downlink channel, which is shared by each user terminal 20.

[0183] Furthermore, in the wireless communication system 1, the uplink channel may include a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH), a Physical Random Access Channel (PRACH), or the like, all of which are shared by each user terminal 20.

[0184] User data, higher-layer control information, and System Information Blocks (SIBs) are transmitted via PDSCH. User data and higher-layer control information may also be transmitted via PUSCH. Furthermore, Master Information Blocks (MIBs) may be transmitted via PBCH.

[0185] Lower-layer control information may be transmitted by PDCCH. The lower-layer control information may include, for example, Downlink Control Information (DCI) which includes scheduling information for at least one of PDSCH and PUSCH.

[0186] Furthermore, the DCI that schedules PDSCH may be called DL assignment, DL DCI, etc., and the DCI that schedules PUSCH may be called UL grant, UL DCI, etc. Furthermore, PDSCH may be read as DL data, and PUSCH may be read as UL data.

[0187] PDCCH detection may utilize a Control Resource Set (CORESET) and a search space. A CORESET corresponds to the resources used to search for DCIs. A search space corresponds to the search area and search method for PDCCH candidates. A single CORESET may be associated with one or more search spaces. A UE may monitor CORESETs associated with a given search space based on the search space configuration.

[0188] A single search space may correspond to one or more PDCCH candidates corresponding to aggregation levels. One or more search spaces may be referred to as a search space set. In this disclosure, "search space," "search space set," "search space configuration," "search space set configuration," "CORESET," and "CORESET configuration" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0189] PUCCH may transmit uplink control information (UCI) including at least one of channel state information (CSI), delivery acknowledgment information (for example, Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest ACKnowledgement (HARQ-ACK), ACK / NACK, etc.), and scheduling request (SR). PRACH may transmit a random access preamble for establishing a connection with the cell.

[0190] In this disclosure, downlinks, uplinks, etc., may be expressed without the prefix "link." Also, the prefix "physical" may be omitted from the names of various channels.

[0191] In the wireless communication system 1, a synchronization signal (SS), a downlink reference signal (DL-RS), etc., may be transmitted. In the wireless communication system 1, the DL-RS may include a cell-specific reference signal (CRS), a channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), a positioning reference signal (PRS), a phase tracking reference signal (PTRS), etc.

[0192] The synchronization signal may be, for example, at least one of a Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS) and a Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS). A signal block including SS (PSS, SSS) and PBCH (and DMRS for PBCH) may be called an SS / PBCH block, SS Block (SSB), etc. Note that SS, SSB, etc. may also be called reference signals.

[0193] Furthermore, in the wireless communication system 1, the uplink reference signal (UL-RS) may include a sounding reference signal (SRS), a demodulation reference signal (DMRS), etc. The DMRS may also be called a user-specific reference signal (UE-specific Reference Signal).

[0194] (Base Station) Figure 6 shows an example of the configuration of a base station according to one embodiment. The base station 10 includes a control unit 110, a transmitting / receiving unit 120, a transmitting / receiving antenna 130, and a transmission line interface 140. Note that one or more of the control unit 110, the transmitting / receiving unit 120, the transmitting / receiving antenna 130, and the transmission line interface 140 may be provided.

[0195] In this example, the functional blocks of the characteristic parts of this embodiment are mainly shown, and it may be assumed that the base station 10 also has other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each part described below may be omitted.

[0196] The control unit 110 controls the entire base station 10. The control unit 110 can be composed of a controller, control circuit, etc., as described based on common understanding in the technical field related to this disclosure.

[0197] The control unit 110 may control signal generation, scheduling (e.g., resource allocation, mapping), etc. The control unit 110 may also control transmission and reception, measurement, etc., using the transmitting / receiving unit 120, transmitting / receiving antenna 130, and transmission path interface 140. The control unit 110 may generate data to be transmitted as signals, control information, sequences, etc., and transfer them to the transmitting / receiving unit 120. The control unit 110 may also perform call processing of communication channels (setting, releasing, etc.), status management of the base station 10, management of wireless resources, etc.

[0198] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may include a baseband unit 121, a radio frequency (RF) unit 122, and a measurement unit 123. The baseband unit 121 may include a transmission processing unit 1211 and a reception processing unit 1212. The transmitting / receiving unit 120 can be composed of a transmitter / receiver, RF circuit, baseband circuit, filter, phase shifter, measurement circuit, transmitting / receiving circuit, etc., as described based on common understanding in the art relating to this disclosure.

[0199] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may be configured as an integrated transmitting / receiving unit, or it may be composed of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit may consist of a transmitting processing unit 1211 and an RF unit 122. The receiving unit may consist of a receiving processing unit 1212, an RF unit 122 and a measuring unit 123.

[0200] The transmitting and receiving antenna 130 can be composed of an antenna described based on common understanding in the art relating to this disclosure, such as an array antenna.

[0201] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may transmit the downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may also receive the uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

[0202] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may use digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), analog beamforming (e.g., phase rotation), or the like to form at least one of the transmitting beam and the receiving beam.

[0203] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 (transmission processing unit 1211) may perform processing on data and control information acquired from the control unit 110, for example, at the Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer, the Radio Link Control (RLC) layer (e.g., RLC retransmission control), and the Medium Access Control (MAC) layer (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), to generate a bit sequence to be transmitted.

[0204] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 (transmission processing unit 1211) may perform transmission processing on the bit sequence to be transmitted, such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, discrete Fourier transform (DFT) processing (if necessary), inverse fast Fourier transform (IFFT) processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion, and output a baseband signal.

[0205] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform modulation, filtering, amplification, etc., of the baseband signal to the radio frequency band and transmit the signal in the radio frequency band via the transmitting / receiving antenna 130.

[0206] On the other hand, the transmitting / receiving unit 120 (RF unit 122) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc., on the radio frequency band signal received by the transmitting / receiving antenna 130.

[0207] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 (receiving processing unit 1212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) processing, Inverse Discrete Fourier Transform (IDFT) processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal to acquire user data, etc.

[0208] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 (measurement unit 123) may perform measurements related to the received signal. For example, the measurement unit 123 may perform Radio Resource Management (RRM) measurements, Channel State Information (CSI) measurements, etc., based on the received signal. The measurement unit 123 may also measure received power (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)), reception quality (e.g., Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), Signal to Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR), Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR)), signal strength (e.g., Received Signal Strength Indicator (RSSI)), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 110.

[0209] The transmission path interface 140 may send and receive signals (backhaul signaling) with devices included in the core network 30 (e.g., network nodes that provide NF), other base stations 10, etc., and may acquire and transmit user data (user plane data), control plane data, etc. for the user terminal 20.

[0210] In this disclosure, the transmitting and receiving units of the base station 10 may consist of at least one of a transmitting / receiving unit 120, a transmitting / receiving antenna 130, and a transmission path interface 140.

[0211] The base station 10 may be separated into three elements: a Radio Unit (RU), a Distributed Unit (DU), and a Central Unit (CU). For example, the RU may implement RF processing (digital beamforming, digital-to-analog conversion, analog beamforming, etc.) and lower-level physical layer functions (precoding, IFFT, FFT, etc.). The DU may implement higher-level physical layer functions (coding to resource element mapping, etc.), MAC layer functions, and RLC layer functions. The CU may implement PDCP layer, Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer, and RRC layer functions.

[0212] In this disclosure, base station 10 may include a single device that implements all the functions of RU, DU, and CU, or it may include multiple devices that each implement some of the functions of RU, DU, and CU and are connected to each other. In this disclosure, base station 10 may be interpreted as RU / DU / CU.

[0213] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may receive a measurement request indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement, or both. The control unit 110 may control the measurement based on the measurement request.

[0214] The measurement request may include parameters common to both the sample-based measurement and the path-based measurement.

[0215] The transmitting / receiving unit 120 may report the results of the measurement.

[0216] The control unit 110 may perform control to carry out measurements not specified in the measurement request.

[0217] Furthermore, in this disclosure, a network device having any of the above-described NF functions (for example, a node of an LMF) may be a device that has the same configuration as the base station 10 (for example, a control unit 110 and a transceiver unit 120) as in Figure 6. In other words, in the description relating to Figure 6, the configuration of a network device according to one embodiment may be covered by replacing the base station with a network device.

[0218] For example, the transmitting / receiving unit 120 of a network device (e.g., a node of an LMF) may transmit a measurement request indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement, or both, to a user terminal 20 or base station 10. The transmitting / receiving unit 120 of the network device (e.g., a node of an LMF) may receive the results of a measurement controlled based on the measurement request from the user terminal 20 or base station 10.

[0219] (User Terminal) Figure 7 shows an example of the configuration of a user terminal according to one embodiment. The user terminal 20 includes a control unit 210, a transmitting / receiving unit 220, and a transmitting / receiving antenna 230. Note that one or more of the control unit 210, the transmitting / receiving unit 220, and the transmitting / receiving antenna 230 may be provided.

[0220] In this example, the functional blocks of the characteristic parts of this embodiment are mainly shown, and it may be assumed that the user terminal 20 also has other functional blocks necessary for wireless communication. Some of the processing of each part described below may be omitted.

[0221] The control unit 210 controls the entire user terminal 20. The control unit 210 can be composed of a controller, control circuit, etc., as described based on common understanding in the technical field related to this disclosure.

[0222] The control unit 210 may control signal generation, mapping, etc. The control unit 210 may also control transmission and reception, measurement, etc., using the transmitting / receiving unit 220 and the transmitting / receiving antenna 230. The control unit 210 may generate data to be transmitted as signals, control information, sequences, etc., and transfer them to the transmitting / receiving unit 220.

[0223] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may include a baseband unit 221, an RF unit 222, and a measurement unit 223. The baseband unit 221 may include a transmission processing unit 2211 and a reception processing unit 2212. The transmitting / receiving unit 220 can be composed of a transmitter / receiver, RF circuit, baseband circuit, filter, phase shifter, measurement circuit, transmitting / receiving circuit, etc., as described based on common understanding in the art relating to this disclosure.

[0224] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may be configured as an integrated transmitting / receiving unit, or it may be composed of a transmitting unit and a receiving unit. The transmitting unit may consist of a transmitting processing unit 2211 and an RF unit 222. The receiving unit may consist of a receiving processing unit 2212, an RF unit 222 and a measuring unit 223.

[0225] The transmitting and receiving antenna 230 can be composed of an antenna described based on common understanding in the art relating to this disclosure, such as an array antenna.

[0226] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may receive the downlink channel, synchronization signal, downlink reference signal, etc. The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may also transmit the uplink channel, uplink reference signal, etc.

[0227] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may use digital beamforming (e.g., precoding), analog beamforming (e.g., phase rotation), or the like to form at least one of the transmitting beam and the receiving beam.

[0228] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 (transmission processing unit 2211) may perform PDCP layer processing, RLC layer processing (e.g., RLC retransmission control), MAC layer processing (e.g., HARQ retransmission control), etc., on data and control information acquired from the control unit 210 to generate a bit sequence to be transmitted.

[0229] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 (transmission processing unit 2211) may perform transmission processing on the bit sequence to be transmitted, such as channel coding (which may include error correction coding), modulation, mapping, filtering, DFT processing (if necessary), IFFT processing, precoding, and digital-to-analog conversion, and output a baseband signal.

[0230] Whether or not to apply DFT processing may be based on the transform precoding settings. The transmitting / receiving unit 220 (transmission processing unit 2211) may perform DFT processing as part of the transmission process to transmit a channel (for example, PUSCH) using a DFT-s-OFDM waveform if transform precoding is enabled for that channel, or it may not perform DFT processing as part of the transmission process if transform precoding is not enabled for that channel.

[0231] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform modulation, filtering, amplification, etc., of the baseband signal to the radio frequency band and transmit the signal in the radio frequency band via the transmitting / receiving antenna 230.

[0232] On the other hand, the transmitting / receiving unit 220 (RF unit 222) may perform amplification, filtering, demodulation to a baseband signal, etc., on the radio frequency band signal received by the transmitting / receiving antenna 230.

[0233] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 (receiving processing unit 2212) may apply reception processing such as analog-to-digital conversion, FFT processing, IDFT processing (if necessary), filtering, demapping, demodulation, decoding (may include error correction decoding), MAC layer processing, RLC layer processing, and PDCP layer processing to the acquired baseband signal to acquire user data, etc.

[0234] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 (measuring unit 223) may perform measurements related to the received signal. For example, the measuring unit 223 may perform RRM measurement, CSI measurement, etc., based on the received signal. The measuring unit 223 may also measure received power (e.g., RSRP), received quality (e.g., RSRQ, SINR, SNR), signal strength (e.g., RSSI), propagation path information (e.g., CSI), etc. The measurement results may be output to the control unit 210.

[0235] The measurement unit 223 may derive channel measurements for CSI calculation based on channel measurement resources. Channel measurement resources may be, for example, Non Zero Power (NZP) CSI-RS resources. The measurement unit 223 may also derive interference measurements for CSI calculation based on interference measurement resources. Interference measurement resources may be at least one of the following: NZP CSI-RS resources for interference measurement, CSI-Interference Measurement (IM) resources, etc. CSI-IM may also be called CSI-Interference Management (IM), and may be interpreted interchangeably with Zero Power (ZP) CSI-RS. In this disclosure, CSI-RS, NZP CSI-RS, ZP CSI-RS, CSI-IM, CSI-SSB, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0236] In this disclosure, the transmitting unit and receiving unit of the user terminal 20 may be composed of at least one of a transmitting / receiving unit 220 and a transmitting / receiving antenna 230.

[0237] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may receive a measurement request indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement, or both. The control unit 210 may control the measurement based on the measurement request.

[0238] The measurement request may include parameters common to both the sample-based measurement and the path-based measurement.

[0239] The transmitting / receiving unit 220 may report the results of the measurement.

[0240] The control unit 210 may perform control to carry out measurements not specified in the measurement request.

[0241] (Hardware Configuration) The block diagram used in the description of the above embodiment shows functional units. These functional blocks (components) are realized by any combination of at least one of hardware and software. Furthermore, the method of realizing each functional block is not particularly limited. That is, each functional block may be realized using one device that is physically or logically coupled, or it may be realized using two or more physically or logically separated devices that are directly or indirectly connected (for example, using wired or wireless connections). A functional block may also be realized by combining the above one device or the above multiple devices with software.

[0242] Here, functions include, but are not limited to, judgment, decision, determination, calculation, calculation, processing, derivation, investigation, exploration, confirmation, reception, transmission, output, access, resolution, selection, selection, establishment, comparison, assumption, expectation, consideration, broadcasting, notifying, communicating, forwarding, configuring, reconfiguring, allocating (mapping), and assigning. For example, a functional block (configuration part) that enables transmission may be called a transmitting unit or transmitter. In all cases, as mentioned above, the method of implementation is not particularly limited.

[0243] For example, a base station, user terminal, etc. in one embodiment of the present disclosure may function as a computer that processes the wireless communication method of the present disclosure. Figure 8 is a diagram showing an example of the hardware configuration of a base station and user terminal according to one embodiment. The base station 10 and user terminal 20 described above may be physically configured as a computer device including a processor 1001, memory 1002, storage 1003, communication device 1004, input device 1005, output device 1006, bus 1007, etc.

[0244] In this disclosure, terms such as apparatus, circuit, device, section, and unit are interchangeable. The hardware configuration of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may include one or more of the devices shown in the figure, or it may be configured without some of the devices.

[0245] For example, although only one processor 1001 is shown in the diagram, there may be multiple processors. Furthermore, the processing may be performed by one processor, or it may be performed by two or more processors simultaneously, sequentially, or by other means. Note that the processor 1001 may be implemented using one or more chips.

[0246] Each function in the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 is realized, for example, by loading predetermined software (programs) onto hardware such as the processor 1001 and memory 1002, which allows the processor 1001 to perform calculations and control communication via the communication device 1004, or control at least one of reading and writing data in the memory 1002 and storage 1003.

[0247] The processor 1001 controls the entire computer, for example, by running an operating system. The processor 1001 may be composed of a central processing unit (CPU) that includes interfaces with peripheral devices, control devices, arithmetic units, registers, etc. For example, at least a part of the control unit 110 (210) and the transmitting / receiving unit 120 (220) described above may be implemented by the processor 1001.

[0248] Furthermore, the processor 1001 reads programs (program code), software modules, data, etc., from at least one of the storage 1003 and the communication device 1004 into the memory 1002 and executes various processes accordingly. The program used is one that causes the computer to execute at least a part of the operations described in the above embodiment. For example, the control unit 110 (210) may be implemented by a control program stored in the memory 1002 and running on the processor 1001, and other functional blocks may be implemented similarly.

[0249] The memory 1002 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: Read Only Memory (ROM), Erasable Programmable ROM (EPROM), Electrically EPROM (EEPROM), Random Access Memory (RAM), or other suitable storage medium. The memory 1002 may also be called a register, cache, or main memory. The memory 1002 can store executable programs (program code), software modules, etc., for carrying out a wireless communication method according to one embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0250] The storage 1003 is a computer-readable recording medium and may consist of at least one of the following: a flexible disk, a floppy disk, a magneto-optical disk (e.g., a Compact Disk (Compact Disc ROM (CD-ROM)), a Digital Use Disk, a Blu-ray (registered trademark) disk), a removable disk, a hard disk drive, a smart card, a flash memory device (e.g., a card, stick, key drive), a magnetic stripe, a database, a server, or other suitable storage medium. The storage 1003 may also be called an auxiliary storage device.

[0251] The communication device 1004 is hardware (transmitting / receiving device) for communicating between computers via at least one of a wired network and a wireless network, and is also referred to as a network device, network controller, network card, communication module, etc. The communication device 1004 may be configured to include, for example, a high-frequency switch, duplexer, filter, frequency synthesizer, etc., in order to implement at least one of frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). For example, the above-mentioned transmitting / receiving unit 120 (220), transmitting / receiving antenna 130 (230), etc., may be implemented by the communication device 1004. The transmitting / receiving unit 120 (220) may be implemented with physically or logically separated transmitting unit 120a (220a) and receiving unit 120b (220b).

[0252] The input device 1005 is an input device that accepts input from an external source (e.g., a keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, etc.). The output device 1006 is an output device that outputs to an external source (e.g., a display, speaker, light-emitting diode (LED) lamp, etc.). The input device 1005 and the output device 1006 may be configured as an integrated unit (e.g., a touch panel).

[0253] Furthermore, each device, such as the processor 1001 and the memory 1002, is connected by a bus 1007 for communicating information. The bus 1007 may be configured using a single bus, or different buses may be configured for each device.

[0254] Furthermore, the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 may be configured to include hardware such as a microprocessor, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a programmable logic device (PLD), and a field programmable gate array (FPGA), and some or all of each functional block may be implemented using such hardware. For example, the processor 1001 may be implemented using at least one of these hardware components.

[0255] Furthermore, devices included in the core network 30 (for example, network nodes that provide NF) may also be implemented using the functional block / hardware configuration described above.

[0256] (Variations) Terms used in this disclosure and terms necessary for understanding this disclosure may be replaced with terms having the same or similar meanings. For example, channel, symbol and signal (signal or signaling) may be used interchangeably. Also, a signal may be a message. A reference signal may be abbreviated as RS and may be called a pilot, pilot signal, etc., depending on the applicable standard. Also, a component carrier (CC) may be called a cell, frequency carrier, carrier frequency, etc.

[0257] A wireless frame may consist of one or more periods (frames) in the time domain. Each of these periods (frames) constituting a wireless frame may be called a subframe. Furthermore, a subframe may consist of one or more slots in the time domain. A subframe may have a fixed time length (e.g., 1 ms) that is independent of numerology.

[0258] Here, the neurology may be communication parameters applied to at least one of the transmission and reception of a signal or channel. The neurology may be, for example, at least one of the following: subcarrier spacing (SCS), bandwidth, symbol length, cyclic prefix length, transmission time interval (TTI), number of symbols per TTI, radio frame configuration, specific filtering processes performed by the transceiver in the frequency domain, and specific windowing processes performed by the transceiver in the time domain.

[0259] A slot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain (such as Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) symbols or Single Carrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) symbols). Alternatively, a slot may be a time unit based on neurology.

[0260] A slot may include multiple minislots. Each minislot may consist of one or more symbols in the time domain. Minislots may also be called subslots. Minislots may consist of fewer symbols than a slot. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted in a time unit larger than a minislot may be called a PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type A. A PDSCH (or PUSCH) transmitted using minislots may be called a PDSCH (PUSCH) mapping type B.

[0261] Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols all represent units of time when transmitting a signal. Wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols may each be referred to by different names. Furthermore, the units of time such as frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols in this disclosure may be interpreted as interchangeable.

[0262] For example, one subframe may be called a TTI, multiple consecutive subframes may be called a TTI, and one slot or one mini-slot may be called a TTI. In other words, at least one of a subframe and a TTI may be a subframe in existing LTE (1 ms), a period shorter than 1 ms (e.g., 1-13 symbols), or a period longer than 1 ms. Note that the unit representing a TTI may be called a slot, mini-slot, etc., instead of a subframe.

[0263] Here, TTI refers to, for example, the smallest time unit for scheduling in wireless communication. For example, in an LTE system, the base station schedules each user terminal to allocate wireless resources (such as the frequency bandwidth and transmission power available to each user terminal) in TTI units. However, the definition of TTI is not limited to this.

[0264] TTI may be a transmission time unit for channel-encoded data packets (transport blocks), code blocks, code words, etc., or it may be a processing unit for scheduling, link adaptation, etc. When a TTI is given, the actual time interval (e.g., number of symbols) in which the transport block, code block, code word, etc. are mapped may be shorter than the TTI.

[0265] Furthermore, if one slot or one mini-slot is referred to as a TTI, then one or more TTIs (i.e., one or more slots or one or more mini-slots) may constitute the minimum time unit for scheduling. In addition, the number of slots (number of mini-slots) that constitute this minimum time unit for scheduling may be controlled.

[0266] A TTI with a time length of 1 ms may be called a normal TTI, long TTI, normal subframe, long subframe, slot, etc. A TTI shorter than a normal TTI may be called a shortened TTI, short TTI, partial or fractional TTI, shortened subframe, short subframe, mini slot, sub slot, slot, etc.

[0267] Furthermore, long TTIs (e.g., normal TTIs, subframes, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a time length exceeding 1 ms, and short TTIs (e.g., shortened TTIs, etc.) may be interpreted as TTIs with a TTI length less than that of a long TTI but 1 ms or more.

[0268] A Resource Block (RB) is a resource allocation unit in the time domain and frequency domain, and in the frequency domain, it may contain one or more consecutive subcarriers. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be the same regardless of the neurology, for example, 12. The number of subcarriers in an RB may be determined based on the neurology.

[0269] Furthermore, an RB may contain one or more symbols in the time domain and may have the length of one slot, one minislot, one subframe, or one TTI. One TTI, one subframe, etc., may each consist of one or more resource blocks.

[0270] One or more RBs may also be called Physical RBs (PRBs), Sub-Carrier Groups (SCGs), Resource Element Groups (REGs), PRB pairs, RB pairs, etc.

[0271] Furthermore, a resource block may consist of one or more resource elements (REs). For example, one RE may be a radio resource area comprising one subcarrier and one symbol.

[0272] A Bandwidth Part (BWP), also known as a partial bandwidth, may represent a subset of consecutive common resource blocks (RBs) for a given neurology in a given carrier. These common RBs may be identified by an index of the RBs relative to a common reference point of the carrier. The PRBs may be defined and numbered within a given BWP.

[0273] A BWP may include UL BWP (BWP for UL) and DL BWP (BWP for DL). One or more BWPs may be configured within a single carrier for a UE.

[0274] At least one of the configured BWPs may be active, and the UE does not need to assume that it will transmit or receive a predetermined signal / channel outside of the active BWP. In this disclosure, terms such as "cell" and "carrier" may be read as "BWP".

[0275] The structures of wireless frames, subframes, slots, minislots, and symbols described above are merely examples. For example, the number of subframes included in a wireless frame, the number of slots per subframe or wireless frame, the number of minislots included in a slot, the number of symbols and RBs included in a slot or minislot, the number of subcarriers included in an RB, and the number of symbols, symbol length, and cyclic prefix (CP) length within the TTI can be varied in various ways.

[0276] Furthermore, the information, parameters, etc., described in this disclosure may be expressed using absolute values, relative values ​​from a predetermined value, or corresponding other information. For example, wireless resources may be indicated by a predetermined index.

[0277] The names used for parameters and other elements in this disclosure are not restrictive in any way. Furthermore, mathematical formulas and other elements using these parameters may differ from those expressly disclosed in this disclosure. Various channels (PUCCH, PDCCH, etc.) and information elements can be identified by any suitable name, and therefore, the various names assigned to these various channels and information elements are not restrictive in any way.

[0278] The information, signals, etc. described in this disclosure may be represented using any of the various different techniques. For example, the data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, chips, etc. that may be referred to throughout the above description may be represented by voltage, current, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or magnetic particles, optical fields or photons, or any combination thereof.

[0279] Furthermore, information, signals, etc., can be output from upper layers to lower layers and from lower layers to upper layers, or to at least one of the two. Information, signals, etc., may also be input and output via multiple network nodes.

[0280] Input and output information and signals may be stored in a specific location (e.g., memory) or managed using a management table. Input and output information and signals may be overwritten, updated, or appended to. Output information and signals may be deleted. Input information and signals may be transmitted to other devices.

[0281] Any information described in this disclosure (e.g., variables, constants, parameters) may be communicated from any first device (e.g., UE / base station) to any second device (e.g., base station / UE) that indicates / specifies (or relates to) the value of such any information, even if not specifically stated in the embodiments described above.

[0282] Information notification is not limited to the embodiments described herein and may be carried out by other means. For example, information notification in this disclosure may be carried out by physical layer signaling (e.g., Downlink Control Information (DCI), Uplink Control Information (UCI)), higher layer signaling (e.g., Radio Resource Control (RRC) signaling, broadcast information (Master Information Block (MIB), System Information Block (SIB)), Medium Access Control (MAC) signaling), other signals, or a combination thereof.

[0283] Physical layer signaling may also be called Layer 1 / Layer 2 (L1 / L2) control information (L1 / L2 control signals), L1 control information (L1 control signals), etc. RRC signaling may also be called RRC messages, for example, RRC Connection Setup messages, RRC Connection Reconfiguration messages, etc. MAC signaling may also be communicated using, for example, MAC Control Elements (CEs).

[0284] Furthermore, notification of the specified information (for example, notification that "X is the case") is not limited to explicit notification, but may also be made implicitly (for example, by not notifying the specified information or by notifying other information).

[0285] The determination may be made by a value represented by one bit (0 or 1), by a boolean value represented as true or false, or by a numerical comparison (for example, a comparison with a predetermined value).

[0286] Software should be broadly interpreted to mean instructions, instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs, subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications, software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executable files, execution threads, procedures, functions, and so on, whether they are called software, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware description languages, or by any other name.

[0287] Furthermore, software, instructions, information, etc., may be transmitted and received via a transmission medium. For example, if software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using at least one of wired technology (such as coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)) and wireless technology (such as infrared or microwave), then at least one of these wired and wireless technologies is included in the definition of a transmission medium.

[0288] The terms “system” and “network” as used in this disclosure may be used interchangeably. “Network” may also mean the equipment included in the network (e.g., base stations).

[0289] In this disclosure, terms such as “precoding,” “precoder,” “weight (precoding weight),” “quasi-co-location (QCL),” “transmission configuration indication state (TCI state),” “spatial relation,” “spatial domain filter,” “transmit power,” “phase rotation,” “antenna port,” “layer,” “number of layers,” “rank,” “resource,” “resource set,” “beam,” “beam width,” “beam angle,” “antenna,” “antenna element,” “panel,” “UE panel,” “transmitting entity,” and “receiving entity” may be used interchangeably.

[0290] In this disclosure, "antenna port" may be interpreted interchangeably with "antenna port for any signal / channel" (e.g., a Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) port). In this disclosure, "resource" may be interpreted interchangeably with "resource for any signal / channel" (e.g., a reference signal resource, an SRS resource, etc.). Resources may include time / frequency / code / spatial / power resources. Furthermore, a spatial domain transmit filter may include at least one of a spatial domain transmit filter and a spatial domain receive filter.

[0291] The above group may include, for example, at least one of the following: a spatial relationship group, a code division multiplexing (CDM) group, a reference signal (RS) group, a control resource set (CORESET) group, a PUCCH group, an antenna port group (e.g., a DMRS port group), a layer group, a resource group, a beam group, an antenna group, or a panel group.

[0292] Furthermore, in this disclosure, terms such as beam, SRS Resource Indicator (SRI), CORESET, CORESET pool, PDSCH, PUSCH, Codeword (CW), Transport Block (TB), and RS may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0293] Furthermore, in this disclosure, TCI state, downlink TCI state (DL TCI state), uplink TCI state (UL TCI state), unified TCI state, common TCI state, joint TCI state, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0294] Furthermore, in this disclosure, terms such as "QCL," "QCL assumption," "QCL relationship," "QCL type information," "QCL property / properties," "specific QCL type (e.g., Type A, Type D) properties," and "specific QCL type (e.g., Type A, Type D)" may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0295] In this disclosure, terms such as index, identifier (ID), indicator, indication, and resource ID may be interpreted interchangeably. In this disclosure, terms such as sequence, list, set, group, cluster, subset may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0296] Furthermore, the spatial relationship information Identifier (ID) (TCI state ID) and spatial relationship information (TCI state) may be interpreted as mutually exclusive. "Spatial relationship information (TCI state)" may be interpreted as mutually exclusive as "a set of spatial relationship information (TCI state)," "one or more pieces of spatial relationship information," etc. TCI state and TCI may be interpreted as mutually exclusive. Spatial relationship information and spatial relationship may be interpreted as mutually exclusive.

[0297] In this disclosure, terms such as “Base Station (BS),” “wireless base station,” “fixed station,” “NodeB,” “eNB (eNodeB),” “gNB (gNodeB),” “access point,” “Transmission Point (TP),” “Reception Point (RP),” “Transmission / Reception Point (TRP),” “panel,” “cell,” “sector,” “cell group,” “carrier,” and “component carrier” may be used interchangeably. Base stations may also be referred to by terms such as macrocell, small cell, femtocell, and picocell.

[0298] A base station may house one or more (e.g., three) cells. If a base station houses multiple cells, the entire coverage area of ​​the base station may be divided into several smaller areas, each of which may also be provided with communication services by a base station subsystem (e.g., a small indoor base station (Remote Radio Head (RRH))). The terms “cell” or “sector” refer to part or all of the coverage area of ​​at least one of the base station and / or base station subsystems that provide communication services in that coverage.

[0299] In this disclosure, the transmission of information by a base station to a terminal may be interpreted as the base station instructing the terminal to perform a control / operation based on said information.

[0300] In this disclosure, terms such as "Mobile Station (MS)," "user terminal," "User Equipment (UE)," and "terminal" may be used interchangeably.

[0301] A mobile station may also be called a subscriber station, mobile unit, subscriber unit, wireless unit, remote unit, mobile device, wireless device, wireless communication device, remote device, mobile subscriber station, access terminal, mobile terminal, wireless terminal, remote terminal, handset, user agent, mobile client, client, or some other appropriate term.

[0302] At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be called a transmitting device, a receiving device, a wireless communication device, etc. At least one of the base station and the mobile station may also be a device mounted on a moving object, the moving object itself, etc.

[0303] The term "mobile object" refers to any movable object, regardless of its speed, and naturally includes cases where the mobile object is stationary. Examples of such mobile objects include, but are not limited to, vehicles, transport vehicles, automobiles, motorcycles, bicycles, connected cars, excavators, bulldozers, wheel loaders, dump trucks, forklifts, trains, buses, handcarts, rickshaws, ships and other watercraft, airplanes, rockets, satellites, drones, multicopters, quadcopters, balloons, and items carried on them. Furthermore, such mobile objects may be autonomously driven objects operating based on operational commands.

[0304] The mobile entity may be a vehicle (e.g., a car, an airplane), an unmanned mobile entity (e.g., a drone, an autonomous vehicle), or a robot (manned or unmanned). At least one of the base station and the mobile station may be a device that does not necessarily move during communication operations. For example, at least one of the base station and the mobile station may be an Internet of Things (IoT) device such as a sensor.

[0305] Figure 9 shows an example of a vehicle according to one embodiment. The vehicle 40 includes a drive unit 41, a steering unit 42, an accelerator pedal 43, a brake pedal 44, a shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, an axle 48, an electronic control unit 49, various sensors (including a current sensor 50, a rotation speed sensor 51, a pneumatic pressure sensor 52, a vehicle speed sensor 53, an acceleration sensor 54, an accelerator pedal sensor 55, a brake pedal sensor 56, a shift lever sensor 57, and an object detection sensor 58), an information service unit 59, and a communication module 60.

[0306] The drive unit 41 consists of, for example, at least one of an engine, a motor, or an engine-motor hybrid. The steering unit 42 includes at least a steering wheel (also called a handle) and is configured to steer at least one of the front wheels 46 and the rear wheels 47 based on the operation of the steering wheel operated by the user.

[0307] The electronic control unit 49 consists of a microprocessor 61, memory (ROM, RAM) 62, and communication ports (e.g., input / output (IO) ports) 63. Signals from various sensors 50-58 installed in the vehicle are input to the electronic control unit 49. The electronic control unit 49 may also be called an Electronic Control Unit (ECU).

[0308] Signals from various sensors 50-58 include current signals from current sensor 50 for sensing motor current, rotational speed signals of front wheels 46 / rear wheels 47 acquired by rotational speed sensor 51, air pressure signals of front wheels 46 / rear wheels 47 acquired by air pressure sensor 52, vehicle speed signals acquired by vehicle speed sensor 53, acceleration signals acquired by acceleration sensor 54, accelerator pedal depression amount signals acquired by accelerator pedal sensor 55, brake pedal depression amount signals acquired by brake pedal sensor 56, operation signals of shift lever 45 acquired by shift lever sensor 57, and detection signals acquired by object detection sensor 58 for detecting obstacles, vehicles, pedestrians, etc.

[0309] The information service unit 59 consists of various devices for providing (outputting) various types of information such as driving information, traffic information, and entertainment information, including a car navigation system, audio system, speakers, display, television, and radio, and one or more ECUs that control these devices. The information service unit 59 uses information acquired from external devices via a communication module 60 or the like to provide various types of information / services (for example, multimedia information / multimedia services) to the occupants of the vehicle 40.

[0310] The information service unit 59 may include input devices that accept input from the outside (e.g., keyboard, mouse, microphone, switch, button, sensor, touch panel, etc.) or output devices that perform output to the outside (e.g., display, speaker, LED lamp, touch panel, etc.).

[0311] The driver assistance system unit 64 consists of various devices that provide functions to prevent accidents or reduce the driver's workload, such as millimeter-wave radar, Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR), cameras, positioning locators (e.g., Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)), map information (e.g., High Definition (HD) maps, Autonomous Vehicle (AV) maps), gyro systems (e.g., Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), Inertial Navigation System (INS)), artificial intelligence (AI) chips, and AI processors, as well as one or more ECUs that control these devices. The driver assistance system unit 64 also transmits and receives various information via the communication module 60 to realize driver assistance functions or autonomous driving functions.

[0312] The communication module 60 can communicate with the microprocessor 61 and components of the vehicle 40 via the communication port 63. For example, the communication module 60 sends and receives data (information) via the communication port 63 to the drive unit 41, steering unit 42, accelerator pedal 43, brake pedal 44, shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, axle 48, the microprocessor 61 and memory (ROM, RAM) 62 in the electronic control unit 49, and various sensors 50-58 provided in the vehicle 40.

[0313] The communication module 60 is a communication device that can be controlled by the microprocessor 61 of the electronic control unit 49 and can communicate with external devices. For example, it can send and receive various types of information to and from external devices via wireless communication. The communication module 60 may be located either inside or outside the electronic control unit 49. The external device may be, for example, the base station 10 or the user terminal 20 described above. Alternatively, the communication module 60 may be, for example, at least one of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20 (it may function as at least one of the base station 10 and the user terminal 20).

[0314] The communication module 60 may transmit at least one of the following to an external device via wireless communication: signals from the various sensors 50-58 input to the electronic control unit 49, information obtained based on said signals, and information based on input from an external source (user) obtained via the information service unit 59. The electronic control unit 49, the various sensors 50-58, the information service unit 59, etc., may also be called input units that accept input. For example, the PUSCH transmitted by the communication module 60 may include the information based on the above input.

[0315] The communication module 60 receives various information (traffic information, signal information, inter-vehicle information, etc.) transmitted from an external device and displays it on the information service unit 59 installed in the vehicle. The information service unit 59 may also be called an output unit, which outputs information (for example, it outputs information to devices such as displays and speakers based on the PDSCH (or data / information decoded from the PDSCH) received by the communication module 60).

[0316] Furthermore, the communication module 60 stores various information received from external devices in a memory 62 that can be used by the microprocessor 61. Based on the information stored in the memory 62, the microprocessor 61 may control the drive unit 41, steering unit 42, accelerator pedal 43, brake pedal 44, shift lever 45, left and right front wheels 46, left and right rear wheels 47, axle 48, various sensors 50-58, etc., which are provided in the vehicle 40.

[0317] Furthermore, the term "base station" in this disclosure may be interpreted as "user terminal." For example, the various aspects / embodiments of this disclosure may be applied to a configuration in which communication between a base station and a user terminal is replaced with communication between multiple user terminals (which may be called, for example, Device-to-Device (D2D), Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X)). In this case, the user terminal 20 may have the functions of the base station 10 described above. Also, terms such as "uplink" and "downlink" may be interpreted as terms corresponding to terminal-to-terminal communication (for example, "sidelink"). For example, uplink channel, downlink channel, etc., may be interpreted as sidelink channel.

[0318] Similarly, the term "user terminal" in this disclosure may be replaced with "base station." In this case, the base station 10 may be configured to have the same functions as the user terminal 20 described above.

[0319] In this disclosure, operations performed by a base station may, in some cases, be performed by its upper node. In a network including one or more network nodes having base stations, it is clear that various operations performed for communication with terminals may be performed by the base station, one or more network nodes other than the base station (for example, a Mobility Management Entity (MME), a Serving Gateway (S-GW), etc., but not limited to these), or a combination thereof.

[0320] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be used individually, in combination, or switched between as needed during execution. Furthermore, the processing procedures, sequences, flowcharts, etc., of each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure may be rearranged in order, provided they are consistent. For example, the methods described in this disclosure present various step elements using exemplary order and are not limited to the specific order presented.

[0321] Each aspect / embodiment described in this disclosure is Long Term Evolution (LTE), LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Beyond (LTE-B), SUPER 3G, IMT-Advanced, 4th generation mobile communication system (4G), 5th generation mobile communication system (5G), 6th generation mobile communication system (6G), xth generation mobile communication system (xG (where x is, for example, an integer or decimal)), Future Radio Access (FRA), New-Radio Access Technology (RAT), New Radio (NR), New radio access (NX), Future generation radio access (FX), Global System for Mobile communications (GSM®), CDMA2000, Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB), IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi®), IEEE 802.16 (WiMAX®), IEEE 802.20, systems utilizing Ultra-WideBand (UWB), Bluetooth®, or other appropriate wireless communication methods, and next-generation systems extended, modified, created, or defined based thereon may also be applied. Furthermore, multiple systems may be applied in combination (for example, a combination of LTE or LTE-A and 5G).

[0322] In this disclosure, the phrase "based on" does not mean "based solely on" unless otherwise specified. In other words, the phrase "based on" means both "based solely on" and "based at least on."

[0323] Any reference to elements using the designations “first,” “second,” etc., as used in this disclosure does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. These designations may be used in this disclosure as a convenient way to distinguish between two or more elements. Accordingly, the references to the first and second elements do not imply that only two elements may be employed or that the first element must precede the second element in any way.

[0324] The term “determining” as used in this disclosure may encompass a wide variety of actions. For example, “determining” may be considered to mean judging, calculating, computing, processing, deriving, investigating, looking up, searching, or inquiring (e.g., searching in tables, databases, or other data structures), ascertaining, etc.

[0325] Furthermore, "judgment (decision)" may be considered as "judging (deciding)" things like receiving (e.g., receiving information), transmitting (e.g., sending information), input, output, accessing (e.g., accessing data in memory).

[0326] Furthermore, “judgment (decision)” may be considered as “judgment (decision)” of resolving, selecting, choosing, establishing, comparing, etc. In other words, “judgment (decision)” may be considered as “judgment (decision)” of some action. In this disclosure, “judgment (decision)” may be interpreted as mutually interchangeable with the actions described above.

[0327] Furthermore, in this disclosure, “determine / determining” may be interpreted as “assume / assuming,” “expect / expecting,” or “consider / considering.” In addition, in this disclosure, “not expecting to do…” may be interpreted as “expecting not to do….”

[0328] In this disclosure, "expect" may be rephrased as "be expected." For example, "expect(s) ..." (where "..." may be expressed as a that clause, an infinitive, etc.) may be rephrased as "be expected ..." or "do (the verb without "to" if "..." is an infinitive)." Similarly, "does not expect ..." may be rephrased as "be not expected ..." or "do not (the verb without "to" if "..." is an infinitive)." Furthermore, "An apparatus A is not expected ..." may be rephrased as "An apparatus B other than apparatus A does not expect ... from apparatus A" (for example, if apparatus A is a UE, apparatus B may be a base station).

[0329] The term "maximum transmit power" as used in this disclosure may mean the maximum transmit power, the nominal UE maximum transmit power, or the rated UE maximum transmit power.

[0330] As used in this disclosure, the terms “connected,” “coupled,” and any variations thereof mean any direct or indirect connection or coupling between two or more elements, and may include one or more intermediate elements between two elements that are “connected” or “coupled” with each other. The coupling or connection between elements may be physical, logical, or a combination thereof. For example, “connection” may be replaced with “access.”

[0331] In this disclosure, when two elements are connected, they can be considered to be "connected" or "coupled" to each other using one or more wires, cables, printed electrical connections, etc., and, in some non-exclusive and non-exclusive examples, electromagnetic energy having wavelengths in the radio frequency domain, microwave domain, and optical (both visible and invisible) domain.

[0332] In this disclosure, the term "A and B are different" may mean "A and B are different from each other." The term may also mean "A and B are each different from C." Terms such as "separate" and "combine" may be interpreted similarly to "different."

[0333] Where the terms “include,” “including,” and variations thereof are used in this disclosure, these terms are intended to be inclusive, as is the term “comprising.” Furthermore, the term “or” as used in this disclosure is not intended to mean exclusive OR.

[0334] In this disclosure, if articles are added by translation, such as a, an, and the in English, this disclosure may include the fact that the noun following these articles is plural.

[0335] In this disclosure, "less than or equal to," "less than," "greater than or equal to," "more than," and "equal to" may be interpreted interchangeably. In addition, in this disclosure, words meaning "good," "bad," "big," "small," "high," "low," "early," "slow," "wide," and "narrow" may be interpreted interchangeably, not limited to the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees. In addition, in this disclosure, words meaning "good," "bad," "big," "small," "high," "low," "early," "slow," "wide," and "narrow" may be interpreted interchangeably, not limited to the positive, comparative, and superlative degrees, by adding "i-th" (where i is any integer) to the expression (for example, "highest" may be interpreted interchangeably with "i-th highest").

[0336] In this disclosure, "of," "for," "regarding," "related to," and "associated with" may be interpreted as being interchangeable.

[0337] In this disclosure, phrases such as "when A, B", "if A, then B", "B upon A", "B in response to A", "B based on A", "B during / while A", "B before A", "B at (the same time as) / on A", "B after A", "B since A", and "B until A" may be interchangeable. Furthermore, A, B, etc., may be replaced with appropriate expressions such as nouns, gerunds, or regular sentences depending on the context. The time difference between A and B may be approximately zero (immediately after or immediately before). Additionally, a time offset may be applied to the time when A occurs. For example, "A" may be interpreted as "before / after the time offset when A occurs". The time offset (e.g., one or more symbols / slots) may be predetermined or determined by the UE based on notified information.

[0338] In this disclosure, timing, time, duration, time instance, any unit of time (e.g., slot, subslot, symbol, subframe), period, occasion, resource, etc., may be interpreted interchangeably.

[0339] Although the invention described herein has been explained in detail above, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the invention described herein is not limited to the embodiments described herein. The descriptions herein are illustrative and not intended to be restrictive in any way to the invention described herein.

[0340] This application is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2025-025935, filed on February 20, 2025. All of its contents are included herein.

Claims

1. A base station having a receiving unit that receives a measurement request indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement or both, and a control unit that controls the measurement based on the measurement request.

2. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the measurement request includes parameters common to the sample-based measurement and the path-based measurement.

3. The base station according to claim 1, further comprising a transmitting unit for reporting the results of the measurement.

4. The base station according to claim 1, wherein the control unit performs control to carry out a measurement not specified by the measurement request.

5. A wireless communication method for a base station, comprising the steps of: receiving a measurement request indicating either a sample-based measurement or a path-based measurement or both; and controlling a measurement based on the measurement request.

6. A device comprising: a transmitting unit that transmits a measurement request to a base station indicating either sample-based measurement or path-based measurement or both; and a receiving unit that receives the results of a measurement controlled based on the measurement request from the base station.

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