GB2636174A

GB2636174A - Radio measurements

Info

Publication number: GB2636174A
Application number: GB2318436.9A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Henneberg Rysgaard Bent; Cauduro Dias De Paiva Rafael; Hofmann Juergen; Nielsen Kim; Dalsgaard Lars
Original assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-12-01
Filing date: 2023-12-01
Publication date: 2025-06-11
Also published as: WO2025114926A1; GB202318436D0

Abstract

An apparatus, method and computer program is described comprising: sending a first message from an apparatus of a mobile communication system to an access node of the mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of a frequency of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using a serving cell or component carrier is prohibited, when the one or more measurement gaps are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before, and the second interruption occurs after, the corresponding measurement period; and performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with the measurement configuration.

Description

Radio Measurements

Field

The present specification relates to performing radio measurements in a mobile communication system.

Background

Radio measurements in a mobile communication system may be performed in accordance with a defined schedule. There remains a need for developments in this

field.

Summary

In a first aspect, this specification describes an apparatus (e.g. a user equipment (UE) of a mobile communication system) comprising: means for sending a first message to an access node of a mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; means for receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) of the at least two serving cells or component carriers (e.g. a set of a plurality of serving cells or component carriers) is prohibited, when the one or more measurement periods are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before (e.g. immediately before), and the second interruption occurs after (e.g. immediately after), a corresponding measurement period; and means for performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with the measurement configuration. The first and second interruption periods and the respective measurement period may form a measurement gap. Alternatively, the first and second interruption periods may be provided before and after measurement gap.

Some example embodiments further comprise means for preventing transmission or reception of data by the serving cell or component carrier during one or more measurement periods.

Some example embodiments further comprise means for retuning one or more radio frequency chains causing interruption for serving cell(s) or component carrier(s).

The measurement configuration may define serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) for which transmission or reception of data is prohibited during said one or more configured measurement gaps. Alternatively, or in addition, the measurement configuration may define serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) for which transmission or reception of data during said one or more interruption periods is prohibited.

The measurement configuration may define a duration of the one or more measurement period(s). Alternatively, or in addition, the measurement configuration may define a duration of the one or more interruption period(s).

The or each interruption period may be shorter than the or each corresponding measurement period.

The or each interruption period comprises a first interruption period and a second interruption period. When measurement gap(s) is/are needed, the first and the second interruption period may be shorter than the corresponding measurement period.

The first message may comprise a capability report for the apparatus.

The measurement configuration may form part of a radio resource control (RRC) message.

The measurement configuration may define a periodicity and offset of measurement periods and/or interruptions.

The means for sending said first message may send said first message in response to a request from the access node. The request from the access node may be a device capability request. The first message may be a device capability report (e.g. sent in response to a device capability message). Alternatively, or in addition, the request from the access node may a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration and the first message may be a radio resource reconfiguration (RRC) complete message.

In a second aspect, this specification describes a method comprising: sending a first message from an apparatus of a mobile communication system to an access node of the mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of a frequency of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using a serving cell or component carrier is prohibited, when the one or more measurement gaps are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before (e.g. immediately before), and the second interruption occurs after (e.g. immediately after), the corresponding measurement period; and performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with one or more defined measurement periods. The first and second interruption periods and the respective measurement period may form a measurement gap. Alternatively, the first and second interruption periods may be provided before and after measurement gap.

Some example embodiments further comprise preventing transmission or reception of data by the serving cell or component carrier during one or more measurement gaps.

Some example embodiments further comprise retuning one or more radio frequency chains causing interruption for serving cell(s) or component carrier(s).

When measurement gap(s) is/are needed, the first and the second interruption period may be shorter than the corresponding measurement period.

The first message may comprise a capability report.

The measurement configuration may define a periodicity and offset of measurement gaps and/or interruptions.

The first message may be sent in response to a request (e.g. a device capability request) from the access node. The first message may be a device capability report (e.g. sent in response to a device capability request). Alternatively, or in addition, the request from the access node may be a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration and the first message may be a radio resource reconfiguration (RRC) complete message.

In a third aspect, this specification describes computer-readable instructions which, when executed by a computing apparatus, cause the computing apparatus to perform (at least) any method as described herein (including the method of the second aspect described above).

In a fourth aspect, this specification describes a computer-readable medium (such as a non-transitory computer-readable medium) comprising program instructions stored thereon for performing (at least) any method as described herein (including the method of the second aspect described above).

In a fifth aspect, this specification describes an apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code which, when executed by the at least one processor, causes the apparatus to perform (at least) any method as described herein (including the method of the second aspect described above).

In a sixth aspect, this specification describes a computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: sending a first message (e.g. from an apparatus, such as a UE, of a mobile communication system) to an access node of the mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of a frequency of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using a serving cell or component carrier is prohibited, when the one or more measurement gaps are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before (e.g. immediately before), and the second interruption occurs after (e.g. immediately after), the corresponding measurement period; and performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with one or more defined measurement periods.

In a seventh aspect, this specification describes an apparatus comprising a first output (or some other means) for sending a first message from an apparatus of a mobile communication system to an access node of the mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; a first input (or some other means) for receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of a frequency of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using a serving cell or component carrier is prohibited, when the one or more measurement gaps are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before (e.g. immediately before), and the second interruption occurs after (e.g. immediately after), the corresponding measurement period; and a processor (or some other means) for performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with one or more defined measurement periods. The first and second interruption periods and the respective measurement period may form a measurement gap. Alternatively, the first and second interruption periods may be provided before and after measurement gap.

Brief description of the drawings

Example embodiments will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the following schematic drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system in which in the example embodiments described herein may be used; FIG. 2 is a message flow sequence in accordance with an example embodiment; FIG. 3 is a plot demonstrating aspects of an example embodiment; FIG. 4 is a message flow sequence in accordance with an example embodiment; FIG. 5 is a behaviour flow sequence in accordance with an example embodiment; FIG. 6 is a block diagram of components of a system in accordance with an example embodiment; and FIG. 7 shows an example of tangible media for storing computer-readable code which when run by a computer may perform methods according to example embodiments described above.

Detailed description

The scope of protection sought for various embodiments of the disclosure is set out by the independent claims. The embodiments and features, if any, described in the specification that do not fall under the scope of the independent claims are to be interpreted as examples useful for understanding various embodiments of the disclosure.

In the description and drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements 30 throughout.

Example embodiments described herein relate to configuring measurement gaps (MG) in New Radio (NR) or similar applications, for example in cases of dual connectivity and/or carrier aggregation (i.e. configuration of more than one serving cell or component carrier).

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a system, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, in which the example embodiments described herein may be used. In this example, the system 10 comprises one master cell group (MCG) and one secondary cell group (SCG) that are able to perform operations in parallel.

If the system 10 is able to perform a certain band combination to support a parallel connection of a Primary Cell (PCell) and a Secondary Cell (SCell), that capability can also be used for other operations, for example when a mobile device is connected to this system and is receiving/transmitting data using the PCell connection while performing measurements on a channel using the RF chain of the SCell for a CA/DC configurations or skipping one or more serving cell(s) to perform the measurement.

The system 10 may be used to enable a user equipment (UE) to request measurement gap (MG) configuration information. If there are more than one serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) (CCs), it may not be efficient if the same MG configuration is used for all serving cells/CCs. This is because if only a subset of radio frequency (RF) chains (each serving cell/CC has own RF chain in UE implementation, possibly also spare RF chain(s)) is retuned to perform frequency measurement during the measurement gap, this can result in poor resource utilization (e.g. no transmissions in any serving cell/component carrier during a particular measurement gap, when such transmissions might be possible due to the parallel nature of the hardware).

A device (e.g. a UE) can have measurement gaps configured per frequency range (FR), per CC, or per UE. The FR differentiation is typically for FR1 (e.g. 450MHz -7GHz) and FR2 (e.g. 24-52GHz). If more than one serving cell or Component Carrier (CC) in the same frequency range (e.g. a carrier aggregation combination in FR1) is configured for measurement gaps, then the configuration is typically the same for all serving cells or component carriers in that frequency range.

This scenario is expressed in Table 1 below, which shows an example of a mapping table between serving cells/CCs and the frequencies to be measured, where all of these frequencies to be measured are not required to be members of the same Frequency Range and/or band as described above (for example: FR1 Range [Freql band x, Freq2 band y], FR2 Range [Freq3 band z]). In this table, X marks the combination of a serving cell/CC and a frequency to be measured where a measurement gap is required. In table 1, a measurement gap is requested for the columns for Frequency 1 and Frequency 2. Note that Freql to 3 are not necessarily on the same frequencies or bands as the serving cells/CCs.

Freq 1 Freq 2 Freq 3 -8 -UE PCell X X SCe111 X X SCell2 X X

Table 1

The scenario shown in Table 1 is an example of "perFR" measurement gap configuration where PCell, SCell 1 and SCell2 are in same FR. As can be seen, Freql and Freq 2 are given as frequencies to create gaps, but that is across all serving cell/CCs. In other words, the configuration is the same for all component carriers/serving cells of a UE in a particular FR. This is typically inefficient.

As discussed further below, in typical UE architectures, bands belong to a band-group, which is a design term. Band-groups may be portions of frequency ranges inside FR1 or FR2. For example, Low Band (LB) may be between from about 600MHz to about 900MHz, mid-band (MB) may be between about 1.5GHz and 2.1GHz, High Band (HB) may be between about 2.3GHz and 2.6GHz, ultra-high band (UHB) may be between about 3.3GHz and 5Ghz and millimeter wave band (mmWave) may be about 24GHz and above.

An alternative to the "per FR" configuration shown in table 1 is a "Per CC" configuration. This scenario is expressed in Table 2 below, which is a mapping table between serving cells/CCs and the frequencies to be measured (Freq 1, Freq 2, Freq 3).

Freq 1 Freq 2 Freq 3 UE PCell SCelll X X X SCell2

Table 2

In the "per CC" configuration shown in Table 2, all frequencies measured will create a gap on SCe111. Again, this is typically inefficient (if, for example, a UE only requires a gap for only one of the three frequencies e.g. Freq. 1).

It is noted that since the UE would need to retune a RF chain of a serving cell or component carrier to a new frequency before performing measurement and retune it back to the frequency of the serving cell or component carrier after performing the measurement, it will not be able to receive DL signals or transmit UL signals on the serving cell or component carrier served by the RF chain used for the measurement during the time interval of retuning. Moreover, when retuning a RF chain of the UE, either a RF chain of a serving cell or component carrier, or a RF chain not used by any serving cell or component, to perform a measurement, it may cause interference/glitches on other RF chain(s) such that the transmission/reception of the interfered RF chain is interrupted. In other words, during the time interval of the interruption, the communication on some serving cell(s) may be impacted and an interruption in the communication will be experienced.

FIG. 2 is a message flow sequence, indicated generally by the reference numeral 20, in accordance with an example embodiment. The message flow sequence 20 shows messages between a device 21 (e.g. a UE) and an access node of a mobile communication system (e.g. a gNB or similar node). The device 21 is configured with at least two serving cells (or component carriers). Note that in this description, the term "serving cell" is used to cover both carrier aggregation and dual connectivity use cases. The term "serving cell" is generally used as an example of the more general "component carrier".

The sequence 20 starts with a request 24 being sent from the access node 22 to the device 21. Note that the request 24 is shown in dotted form as it may be omitted in some example embodiments. The request 24 may be a device capability request (in response to which a UE capability report from the device 21 is expected). Alternatively, the request may be a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message (in response to which a radio resource reconfiguration complete message from the device 21 is expected).

A first message 25 is sent from the device 21 to the access node 22. The first message 25 defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement gap(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells. The first message may be device/UE capability report (e.g. in response to a device capability request). Alternatively, the request may be a radio resource reconfiguration complete message (e.g. in response to a radio resource control (RRC) reconfiguration message).

A measurement configuration 26 is received, from the access node 22, in response to the first message 25. The measurement configuration 26 may form part of a radio resource control message. In an example embodiment, the measurement configuration 26 may define: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of a frequency of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using a serving cell of the at least two serving cells -10 -is prohibited, when measurement gap(s) is/are needed for the serving cell; and one or more interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of serving cells is prohibited even though no measurement is performed. In an example embodiment, the gap configuration in the measurement configuration 26 may include a list of frequencies to be measured. In some example embodiments, all serving cells may be interrupted during the interruption period but this is not a requirement of all example embodiments.

In an example embodiment, the measurement configuration 26 may define serving cell(s) for which transmission or reception of data is prohibited during the configured measurement period(s) while the measurement is performed. Alternatively, or in addition, the measurement configuration may define serving cell(s) for which transmission or reception of data during said one or more interruption periods is prohibited. In some example embodiments, all serving cells (or component carriers) are unable to transmit or receive data during the interruption periods.

In some example embodiments, a measurement period combined with interruption periods before/after it may be defined as a measurement gap.

In an example embodiment, the measurement configuration 26 may comprise a measurement gap configuration and may define (as discussed in detail below) one or more of: * A measurement period/gap; * One or more interruption periods (e.g. at the beginning and/or in the end of the measurement gap, or before and/or after the measurement period); * The periodicity and/or offset of the measurement period/gap and/or the interruption period.

At operation 28, radio measurements of one or more frequencies are performed in accordance with one or more defined measurement periods (as indicated in the measurement configuration 26). Measurements may include intra-frequency, inter-frequency and inter-radio technology measurements, for example. As discussed further below, example measurements include centre frequencies of neighbouring cells; for example, such centre frequencies may be different than the centre frequencies of serving cells. By performing radio measurement in accordance with the measurement configuration 26, the UE may temporarily stop data transmissions in those cells which would be interfered by the device retuning one RF chain to perform measurements. As a result, the need for the device to stop data transmissions/receptions in the interfered cells for the entire measurement period/gap can be avoided.

FIG. 3 is a plot, indicated generally by the reference numeral 30, demonstrating aspects of an example embodiment. The plot 30 shows measurements being performed by a UE in accordance with an example measurement configuration 26 of the message sequence 20.

The plot 30 is implemented by an example UE configured with a Primary Cell (PCell), a first Secondary Cell (SCelll) and a second Secondary Cell (SCell2) implemented using three separate RF chains (RF chain 1, RF chain 2 and RF chain 3 respectively). The RF chains operate in parallel and can each transmit uplink (UL) data and receive downlink (DL) data, as shown.

The plot 30 shows an example of a UE configured with carrier aggregation or dual connectivity, where one RF chain (RF chain 2 in this example) is used for performing a measurement. If we assume that the UE does not have any further (spare) RF chains, and if the UE is to perform a measurement of an inter-frequency measurement, the UE is forced to interrupt at least one of the active RF chains while performing the measurement.

The plot 30 defines a measurement gap pattern (sometimes referred to as in H-gap due to the shape of the gap pattern as shown in the plot 30). The gap pattern 30 is for per serving cell/CC gaps including interruptions.

The gap pattern of the plot 30, is divided into 3 time-intervals: * In a first time interval (T1), all the serving cells (PCell, SCelll and SCe112 in this example) are interrupted by the gap pattern, and the UE is not receiving downlink (DL) data nor transmitting uplink (UL) data. The interval T1 relates to an interruption period before a measurement period (or at the beginning of a measurement gap).

* In a second time internal (T2), only a subset of serving cells is interrupted (SCelll in this example) to perform measurements (and is therefore the measurement period of the measurement gap). The network may configure interruption during the measurement period to be applicable to one or more serving cells. In one example, a UE may use two of its RF receivers in order to perform two separate measurements. As a result, the serving cells served by those two RF receivers are interrupted during the measurement period.

-12 - * In a third time interval (T3), all of the serving cells (PCell, Scelll and SCelll in this example) are interrupted by the gap pattern, and the UE is not receiving DL data nor transmitting UL data. The interval T3 relates to an interruption after a measurement period (or at the end of the measurement gap).

As noted above, when measurement gap(s) is needed, each measurement period (T2) combined with corresponding interruption period(s) (T1 and T3) may be referred to as a "measurement gap". Thus, the measurement gap may include a "re-tuning" period before a measurement period, the measurement itself, and a further re-tuning period after the measurement period. In an alternative configuration, the measurement period is defined as not including interruption/re-tuning periods; such interruption periods may be provided before (e.g. immediately before) and after (e.g. immediately after) the corresponding measurement period.

The measurement configuration 26 of the message sequence 20 can be used to define a duration of respective measurement period(s) and/or the duration of respective interruption period(s).

As shown in the plot 30, the or each interruption period may be shorter than the or each corresponding measurement period, although this is not necessary to all example embodiments.

The measurement gap pattern shown in the plot 30 allows interruptions and gaps to be configured independently for different cells. In particular, a limited number of cells are interrupted while the UE performs measurements. When using this gap type, a UE may use one of its RF chains for performing measurements where: * A first set of serving cells/component carriers is made unavailable for data transmission/reception while the UE is performing measurements; and * A second set of serving cells/component carriers is made unavailable before and after the actual measurements and allow for retuning of the one or more RF chains.

Measurement configurations, such as the measurement configuration 26 described above offer flexibility. For example, at the following scenarios can be handled: * Measurements on one or more frequencies causing interruptions on one or more serving cells/CCs; * Measurements on one or more frequencies causing gaps on one or more serving cells/CCs; -13 - * Gapless measurements on one or more frequencies; * Any combination of the above.

An example of a combination of the above gaps and interruptions is shown in Table 3 below.

Frey 1 Freq 2 Freq 3 Serving PCell Interruption Interruption Cells: SCe111 Gap Interruption SCell2 Interruption Interruption

Table 3

Looking at Error! Reference source not found., in order to measure frequency 1, the UE can use a gap on SCell 1, but will cause interruptions on the PCell and SCell 2.

The UE may perform measurement on frequency 2 without gaps, but the measurement on frequency 2 will cause interruptions on all serving cells in this example. Finally, measuring frequency 3 can be performed without gaps and will not cause interruptions on any serving cells. This is the case if the UE has an RF architecture that allows full independent operation of frequency 3 compared to PCell, SCell 1 and SCell 2. For example, if all but frequency 3 is on FR1 and frequency 3 itself is on FR2, there are architectures where that would allow independent operation.

An alternative example scenario is shown in Table 4 below.

Freq 1 Freq 2 Freq 3 Serving PCell Interruption Interruption Gap Cells: SCelll Gap Interruption Gap SCell2

Table 4

In the scenario shown in Table 4, SCell 2 can be handled independently from any of the frequencies being measured; thus, there are no hardware resource conflicts between SCell 2 and any of the frequencies to measure. Also notice that in this example, there is no combination of frequency 3 to measure and PCell and SCell 1 that allows parallel operation and therefore gaps are created.

-14 -Signalling for configuring measurement gaps (such as the message sequence 20) can be based on mapping between serving cells and frequency to measure. The measurement configuration 26 described above may include some or all of the following attributes: * Frequency list: o Frequencies measured during the second time interval (T2) shown in the plot 30. Here, one or more serving cells may be interrupted to perform measurements. A UE may measure more than one frequency, depending on UE capabilities.

* Cell list 1 o Includes a list of cells that are interrupted while the UE is performing measurements during the second time interval. Other cells may operate as normal.

* Cell list 2 o Includes all the cells that are interrupted during, for example, the first and third intervals (T1 and T3) of the plot 30 (e.g. before and after the measurement duration).

o This list may be defined using one of the alternatives: * Cell list 2 includes all the active serving cells of the UE.

Cell list 2 is configured as PerFR, or per UE depending on a UE capability.

Cell list 2 includes individual cells as per the multi carrier configuration, active or in-active serving cells.

* Measurement gap repetition period o Period between consecutive instances of the gap/interruption pattern.

* Measurement gap duration, and pre-post measurement duration o Parameters indicating duration of the respective time internals (e.g. T1, T2 and T3) Note that measurements performed without a measurement gap configuration may be mandated to be performed without gaps and/or interruptions.

FIG. 4 is a message flow sequence, indicated generally by the reference numeral 40, in accordance with an example embodiment. The message flow sequence shows messages being transferred between a UE 41 (such as the device 21 described above) and a network element 42 (such as the access node 22 (E.g. a gNB) described above) that enable the measurement gap configuration information to be exchanged.

-15 -The sequence 40 starts with the network 42 sending a message 44 to the UE 41 requesting gap information (referred to herein as H-gap information) from the UE. The message 44 may include a list of frequencies to measure. The message 44 is an example implementation of the message 24 of the message sequence described above.

This information may be requested using one of the following approaches: * Option 1, in which the network 42 sends a UE capability request, including the request 44 (i.e. a UE capability request that includes the request to provide H-gap information amongst other requests).

* Option 2, in which no request is sent. In the scenario, the request 44 is omitted from the message sequence 40 and the UE 41 is expected to send the information (e.g. as a UE capabilities report) in the event that the H-gap configuration described herein is supported by the UE.

* Option 3, in which the network 42 sends a RRC message requesting the H-gap information. This option may be more dynamic than options 1 and 2, since the UE 41 might make decisions on H-gap support of certain serving cells/CCs depending on the CA/DC configuration.

The UE 41 sends a message 45 to the network 42 (possibly in response to the message 44). The message includes the H-gap information. The message 45 is an example implementation of the message 25 of the message sequence 20 described above.

As part of the message 45, the UE may send an H-gap report containing a list of possible H-gaps configurations that the UE supports. Each reported H-gap entry in the list may contain one or more of: * A Frequency list (e.g. frequencies to be measured with this measurement gap pattern); * A servingCellld (e.g. the ID of a cell that can be configured with H-gaps); * A ListOflnterruptedCells (e.g. a list of cells that are interrupted in case a H-gap is configured for servingCellld).

The network 42 sends a message 46 to the UE 41 configuring a list of H-gaps. The message 46 may therefore implement the measurement configuration message 26 of the message sequence 20 described above.

-16 -Each entry of the list provided in the message 46 may include a different H-gap pattern, where each H-gap pattern contains one or more of the following: * gapId: identification of the gap; * mgrp and gapOffSet: parameters indicating the periodicity of the measurement gap/interruptions and the offset; * mgl: the length of the measurement gap. The mgl parameter may include: T2 only; T1+T2+T3; or T1/T3 only if it is a gapless measurement. In certain example embodiment, Tl and T3 may be provided by an additional configuration, or a fixed value in the specification; * Frequencies to be measured with this measurement gap; * CeIlListl (a List of serving cells not available during the entire measurement gap duration, i.e., T1+T2+T3); * CeIlList2 (a list of serving cells interrupted during T1 and T3).

FIG. 5 is a behaviour flow sequence, indicated generally by the reference numeral 50, in accordance with an example embodiment. The behaviour flow sequence 50 illustrates UE and network behaviour during measurement gap/interruption across multiple serving cells and RF chains.

The behaviour sequence 50 shows UE and network behaviour during an example H-gap. In this diagram a UE 51 is served by Celli 52 using RFchainl 53, which is configured to be in CellListl, and the UE 51 is configured to be served by other serving cells 54 included in Cellist2. The UE 51 is also configured to perform measurements on "neighbor cells", indicated schematically by the reference numeral 55. The steps of the diagram as described as follow: In step 1 of the behaviour sequence 50, downlink (DL) and uplink (UL) data is transmitted between the UE 51 and all the serving cells 52, 54.

The box 57 in the diagram illustrates the behaviour of UE and network during the duration of the H-gap.

After the start of time interval Tl (step 3), cells in CeIlListl and Cellist2 are interrupted for performing measurements.

In steps 4 and 5, the RF chainl 53 stops data transmission/reception. The RF chainl 53 then retunes its centre frequency to the centre frequency related to neighbour cells -17 - 55. Since this operation may cause interference in other RF chains 56, during Tl the other RF chains 56 are also not being scheduled (see steps 6 and 8 below).

At step 6, monitoring on other serving cells is stopped. At this point, the other RF chains 56 which are used for communication on serving cells included in the Cellist2 are interrupted.

At this stage, the Celli 52 is aware that the UE 51 is starting the H-gap, and that no scheduling should be performed using this cell until the end of the H-gap pattern after T3. Thus, at step 7, scheduling is stopped at Celli 52.

Similarly, at step 8, scheduling is stopped at other serving cells 54 included in the CellUst2.

Period T2 starts at step 9. In this time interval, scheduling is interrupted for cells in CellListl and resumed for cells in CeilList2.

At the start of T2 (Step 10), the RFchainl 53 of the UE 51 is already tuned to the neighbour cell 55 and is monitoring SS/PBCH Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) from the neighbour cell(s) 55.

At step 11, other RF chains 56 which are used for communication with serving cells in CellUst2 resume the data communication. This includes monitoring scheduling commands from the serving cells 54.

At step 12, the other serving cells 54 resume scheduling. The serving cells in the CellUst2 can thus be used for data/control communication between the network and the UE.

At step 13, gNB from neighbour cells send reference signals contained in the SMTC (step 13). Note that all gNBs on this frequency may be sending SMTC signals. The UE can then separate the signal from several gNBs if they use different orthogonal sequences.

At step 14, data transfer (UL/DL) between the UE 51 and serving cells 54 contained in CellUst2 is resumed.

-18 -Period T3 starts at step 15. In this time interval, scheduling in interrupted for all the cells included in CellListl and Cellist2.

At step 16, the UE 51 can retune the RF chainl 53 to the center frequency of Celli.

Since this operation may cause interference in other RF chains, during T3 the other RF chains are also not being scheduled.

At step 17, the other RF chains which are used for communication on serving cells included in the CeIlList2 are interrupted (i.e. monitoring of other serving cells 54 is stopped).

At step 18, other serving cells 54 included in the CeIlList2 stop scheduling to the UE 51.

The period T3 ends at step 19. This is the end of the H-gap 57. At this point the UE 51 and the network can resume scheduling using all configured serving cells.

At step 20, monitoring of Celli is resumed. Thus, after the end of the H-gap, RF chainl 53, which is used for communication with serving cells in CellListl, resumes data communication. This includes monitoring scheduling commands from the serving cell 52.

At step 21, monitoring of other serving cells 54 is resumed. Thus, after the end of the H-gap, other RF chains which are used for communication with serving cells in CellUst2 resume the data communication. This includes monitoring scheduling commands from the serving cells 54.

At step 22, the serving cells in the CellListl can be used for data/control communication between the network and the UE. Scheduling of these serving cells is therefore resumed.

At step 23, the serving cells in the CellUst2 can be used for data/control communication between the network and the UE. Scheduling of these serving cells in therefore also resumed.

At step 24, data transmission (DL/UL transmission) between the UE and all the serving cells can take place (after the end of the H-gap).

-19 -The measurement configurations described herein seek to provide flexible and efficient use of measurement gaps. For example, in some embodiments, communications can continue while the UE is performing the measurement with one RF chain.

For completeness, FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of components of one or more of the example embodiments described previously, which hereafter are referred to generically as a processing system 300. The processing system 300 may, for example, be the apparatus referred to in the claims below.

The processing system 300 may have a processor 302, a memory 304 closely coupled to the processor and comprised of a RAM 314 and a ROM 312, and, optionally, a user input 310 and a display 318. The processing system 300 may comprise one or more network/apparatus interfaces 308 for connection to a network/apparatus, e.g. a modem which may be wired or wireless. The network/apparatus interface 308 may also operate as a connection to other apparatus such as device/apparatus which is not network side apparatus. Thus, direct connection between devices/apparatus without network participation is possible.

The processor 302 is connected to each of the other components in order to control operation thereof.

The memory 304 may comprise a non-volatile memory, such as a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD). The ROM 312 of the memory 304 stores, amongst other things, an operating system 315 and may store software applications 316. The RAM 314 of the memory 304 is used by the processor 302 for the temporary storage of data. The operating system 315 may contain code which, when executed by the processor implements aspects of the algorithms and message/behaviour sequences 20, 40 and 50 described above. Note that in the case of small device/apparatus the memory can be most suitable for small size usage i.e. not always a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid state drive (SSD) is used.

The processor 302 may take any suitable form. For instance, it may be a microcontroller, a plurality of microcontrollers, a processor, or a plurality of processors.

The processing system 300 may be a standalone computer, a server, a console, or a network thereof. The processing system 300 and needed structural parts may be all -20 -inside device/apparatus such as IoT device/apparatus i.e. embedded to very small size.

In some example embodiments, the processing system 300 may also be associated with external software applications. These may be applications stored on a remote server device/apparatus and may run partly or exclusively on the remote server device/apparatus. These applications may be termed cloud-hosted applications. The processing system 300 may be in communication with the remote server device/apparatus in order to utilize the software application stored there.

FIG. 7 shows a tangible media, in the form of a removable memory unit 365, storing computer-readable code which when run by a computer may perform methods according to example embodiments described above. The removable memory unit 365 may be a memory stick, e.g. a USB memory stick, having internal memory 366 storing the computer-readable code. The internal memory 366 may be accessed by a computer system via a connector 367. Of course, other forms of tangible storage media may be used, as will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skilled in the art. Tangible media can be any device/apparatus capable of storing data/information which data/information can be exchanged between devices/apparatus/network.

Embodiments of the present invention may be implemented in software, hardware, application logic or a combination of software, hardware and application logic. The software, application logic and/or hardware may reside on memory, or any computer media. In an example embodiment, the application logic, software or an instruction set is maintained on any one of various conventional computer-readable media. In the context of this document, a "memory" or "computer-readable medium" may be any non-transitory media or means that can contain, store, communicate, propagate or transport the instructions for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device, such as a computer.

Reference to, where relevant, "computer-readable medium", "computer program product", "tangibly embodied computer program" etc., or a "processor" or "processing circuitry" etc. should be understood to encompass not only computers having differing architectures such as single/multi-processor architectures and sequencers/parallel architectures, but also specialised circuits such as field programmable gate arrays FPGA, application specify circuits ASIC, signal processing devices/apparatus and other devices/apparatus. References to computer program, instructions, code etc. should be understood to express software for a programmable processor firmware such as the -21 -programmable content of a hardware device/apparatus as instructions for a processor or configured or configuration settings for a fixed function device/apparatus, gate array, programmable logic device/apparatus, etc. If desired, the different functions discussed herein may be performed in a different order and/or concurrently with each other. Furthermore, if desired, one or more of the above-described functions may be optional or may be combined. Similarly, it will also be appreciated that the flow diagrams and sequences of Figures 2, 4 and 5 are examples only and that various operations depicted therein may be omitted, reordered and/or combined.

It will be appreciated that the above-described example embodiments are purely illustrative and are not limiting on the scope of the invention. Other variations and modifications will be apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reading the present

specification.

Moreover, the disclosure of the present application should be understood to include any novel features or any novel combination of features either explicitly or implicitly disclosed herein or any generalization thereof and during the prosecution of the present application or of any application derived therefrom, new claims may be formulated to cover any such features and/or combination of such features.

Although various aspects of the invention are set out in the independent claims, other aspects of the invention comprise other combinations of features from the described example embodiments and/or the dependent claims with the features of the independent claims, and not solely the combinations explicitly set out in the claims.

It is also noted herein that while the above describes various examples, these descriptions should not be viewed in a limiting sense. Rather, there are several variations and modifications which may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

-22 -Claims 1. An apparatus comprising: means for sending a first message to an access node of a mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; means for receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) of the at least two serving cells or component carriers is prohibited, when the one or more measurement periods are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before, and the second interruption occurs after, a corresponding measurement period; and means for performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with the measurement configuration.
2. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising means for preventing transmission or reception of data by the respective serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) during the one or more measurement periods.
3. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the measurement configuration defines serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) for which transmission or reception of data is prohibited during said one or more configured measurement periods.
4. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement configuration defines serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) for which transmission or reception of data during said one or more interruption periods is prohibited.
5. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement configuration defines a duration of the one or more measurement period(s).
-23 - 6. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement configuration defines a duration of respective interruption period(s).
7. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein each interruption period is shorter than the or each corresponding measurement period.
8. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first interruption period occurs immediately before, and the second interruption occurs immediately after, the corresponding measurement period.
9. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first and second interruption periods and the respective measurement period form a measurement gap.
10. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the first message comprises a capability report for the apparatus.
11. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement configuration forms part of a radio resource control message.
12. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the measurement configuration defines a periodicity and offset of measurement periods and/or interruptions.
13. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the means for sending said first message sends said first message in response to a request from the access node.
14. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13, wherein the request from the access node is a device capability request and the first message is a device capability report.
15. An apparatus as claimed in claim 13 or claim 14, wherein the request from the access node is a radio resource control reconfiguration and the first message is a radio resource reconfiguration complete message.
16. An apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the apparatus is a user equipment.
-24 - 17. A method comprising: sending a first message from an apparatus of a mobile communication system to an access node of the mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of a frequency of the one or more frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using a serving cell or component carrier is prohibited, when the one or more measurement gaps are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before, and the second interruption occurs after, the corresponding measurement period; and performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with one or more defined measurement periods.
18. A method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the first interruption period occurs immediately before, and the second interruption period occurs immediately after, the associated measurement period.
19. A method as claimed in claim 17 or claim 18, wherein the first and second interruption periods and the respective measurement period form a measurement gap.
20. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: sending a first message to an access node of the mobile communication system, wherein the apparatus has at least two serving cells or component carriers and wherein the first message defines one or more frequencies to be measured and respective needs for measurement periods(s) and/or interruption(s) for the at least two serving cells or component carriers; receiving, from the access node, a measurement configuration in response to the first message, wherein the measurement configuration defines: one or more measurement periods during which measurement of a frequency of the one or more -25 -frequencies is performed and transmission and reception of data using a serving cell or component carrier is prohibited, when the one or more measurement gaps are needed for the serving cell or component carrier; and first and second interruption periods during which transmission and reception of data on a set of one or more serving cell(s) or component carrier(s) is prohibited, wherein the first interruption period occurs before, and the second interruption occurs after, the corresponding measurement period; and performing radio measurements of the one or more frequencies in accordance with one or more defined measurement periods.