Concurrent gaps In NR Release 17 (Rel-17), work is ongoing for introducing concurrent MGPs, i.e., support of at least two MGPs that are configured during the same period of time. FIGURE 2 illustrates
five scenarios for concurrent MGPs as identified by RAN4. Specifically, Scenario (a) of FIGURE 2 illustrates two fully non-overlapping MGPs. Although here, the measurement gap repetition periods (MGRP) are illustrated as being the same for both MGPs, this is not a requirement for the scenario to apply, and MGRPs can differ between the MGPs. For example, one MGRP may be 40ms and the other 40ms or 80ms. The scenario is fulfilled as long as measurement gaps in one MGP never overlap, either partially or fully, with a measurement gap in another MGP. In standardization discussions, Scenario (a) is referred to as the fully non-overlapping (FNO) scenario. Scenario (b) of FIGURE 2 illustrates two fully overlapping MGPs. In either case, one MGP is always contained within the other, and the MGRPs for the two MGPs are the same MGRP. In standardization discussions, Scenario (b) is referred to as a fully overlapping (FO) scenario. Scenario (c) of FIGURE 2 illustrates two MGPs that include measurement gaps that consistently partially overlap each other. The MGRPs are the same MGRP. In the standardization discussions, Scenario (c) is referred to as the fully-partial overlapped (FPO) scenario. Scenario (d) of FIGURE 2 illustrates two MGPs that at least occasionally fully overlap each other. For Scenario (d) to apply, the MGRPs have to be different such as, for example, where one MGRP is 40ms and the other MGRP is 80ms. In the standard, Scenario (d) is referred to as the partially-fully overlapped (PFO) scenario. Scenario (e) of FIGURE 2 illustrates two MGPs whose gaps at least occasionally partially overlap each other. For this scenario to apply, the MGRPs for the two measurement gap patterns have to be different such as, for example, where one MGRP is 40ms and the other MGRP is 80ms. In the standardization discussion, this scenario is referred to as the partially-partial overlapped (PPO) scenario. It has been agreed in RAN4 that radio resource management (RRM) requirements are to be defined at least for the FNO scenario. However, there currently exist certain challenge(s). For example, when concurrent gaps are introduced, the UE will support to perform measurements using multiple different MGPs. However, the UE needs to know the transition time for when the concurrent gaps will be configured, deconfigured, activated, and/or deactivated and when the related requirements for measurements performed during transition will be applied. It is recognized that concurrent gaps may also be referred to as concurrent measurement gaps, which may be shortened as MGs or Con-MGs, and the terms are used interchangeably throughout this document.
As an additional problem, the transition procedure before the UE is performing the measurements in Con-MGs needs to be defined. After the network configures the Con-MGs and indicates that some measurement objects (MOs) will be measured in the new MG (2
nd MG), both the network and the UE should have the same understanding on when these MOs measurement will be performed in the new MG and what requirements to fulfill for the remaining MOs during and after the transition period. Furthermore, the transition procedure after the UE performs the measurements in Con- MGs also needs to be defined. After the network de-configures one of the MGs in Con-MGs, all the MOs have to be measured using the remaining MG. Both the network and the UE should have the same understanding on when the MG will be disabled and the MOs measurement will be performed in remaining MG. Also, the network and the UE should have the same understanding as to what requirements are to be fulfilled for the MOs during and after the transition period. SUMMARY Certain aspects of the disclosure and their embodiments may provide solutions to these or other challenges. For example, methods and systems are provided that include measurement methods during transition period in a UE and the corresponding configuration in a network node. According to certain embodiments, a method by a UE for performing measurements during measurement gaps includes obtaining information indicating a transformation between concurrent MGPs. Based on the information and one or more rules, the UE transitions one or more measurements performed on at least one MO from a first MGP (MG1) to a second MGP (MG2) during a measurement time. According to certain embodiments, a UE for performing measurements during measurement gaps is adapted to obtain information indicating a transformation between concurrent MGPs. Based on the information and one or more rules, the UE is adapted to transition one or more measurements performed on at least one MO from a MG1 to a MG2 during a measurement time. According to certain embodiments, a method by a network node includes transmitting, to a UE, information indicating a transformation between concurrent measurement gap patterns to trigger the UE to transition, based on one or more rules, one or more measurements performed on at least one MO from a MG1 to a MG2 during a measurement time. According to certain embodiments, a network node is adapted to transmit, to a UE, information indicating a transformation between concurrent measurement gap patterns to trigger
the UE to transition, based on one or more rules, one or more measurements performed on at least one MO from a MG1 to a MG2 during a measurement time. Certain embodiments may provide one or more of the following technical advantage(s). For example, certain embodiments may provide a technical advantage of providing the network and the wireless device with a common understanding on Con-MGs for a duration. As another example, certain embodiments prevent the UE from missing any data scheduling. As still another example, a technical advantage of certain embodiments may be that the UE’s behaviour is clear when the network transforms a single gap configuration to Con-MGs or vice versa. Other advantages may be readily apparent to one having skill in the art. Certain embodiments may have none, some, or all of the recited advantages. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a more complete understanding of the disclosed embodiments and their features and advantages, reference is now made to the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIGURE 1 illustrates an example of MGP in NR; FIGURE 2 illustrates scenarios for concurrent measurement gaps as identified by RAN4; FIGURE 3 illustrates a general time flow for Con-MGs activation/deactivation, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 4 illustrates Scenario A for transforming from single MG to Con-MGs, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 5 illustrates Scenario B for transforming from single MG to Con-MGs, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 6 illustrates concurrent gap disabled after the transition measurement period, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 7 illustrates concurrent gap disabled after the measurement report, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 8 illustrates concurrent gap disabled immediately after Tapply, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 9 illustrates an example of a communication system, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 10 illustrates an example UE, according to certain embodiments;
FIGURE 11 illustrates an example network node, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 12 illustrate an example host, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 13 illustrates a virtualization environment in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 14 illustrates a communication diagram of a host communicating via a network node with a UE over a partially wireless connection, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 15 illustrates an example method for performing measurements during measurement gaps by a wireless device, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 16 illustrates an example method by a network node for configuring a wireless device for performing measurements during measurement gaps, according to certain embodiments; FIGURE 17 illustrates an example method for performing measurements during measurement gaps by a wireless device, according to certain embodiments; and FIGURE 18 illustrates an example method by a network node for configuring a wireless device for performing measurements during measurement gaps, according to certain embodiments. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Some of the embodiments contemplated herein will now be described more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings. Embodiments are provided by way of example to convey the scope of the subject matter to those skilled in the art. As used herein, the term node refers to a network node or a user equipment (UE). Examples of a network node include, but are not limited to, a NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB (eNB), gNodeB (gNB), Master eNB (MeNB), Secondary eNB (SeNB), location measurement unit (LMU), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g. in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, transmission reception point (TRP), Remote Radio Unit (RRU), Remote Radio Head (RRH), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g. Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME) etc.), Operations & Maintenance (O&M), Operations Support System (OSS), Self Organizing Network (SON), positioning node (e.g. Evolved Serving Mobile Location Center (E-SMLC), etc.).
The non-limiting term UE refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, machine type communications UE (MTC UE), or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), Unified Serial Bus (USB) dongles, etc. The term radio access technology (RAT) may refer to any RAT such as, for example, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved UTRA (E-UTRA), narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, New Radio (NR), 4
th Generation (4G), 5
th Generation (5G), etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the term node, network node, or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs. The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of downlink (DL) physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as Primary Synchronization Signal (PSS), Secondary Synchronization Signal (SSS), Channel State Information-Reference Signal (CSI-RS), Demodulation Reference Signal (DMRS) signals in Synchronization Signal (SS)/Physical Broadcast Channel block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), Cell Specific Reference Signal (CRS), Positioning Reference Signal (PRS), etc. RS may be periodic. For example, a RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity such as, for example, 20 ms, 40 ms, etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS and NR-Physical Broadcast Channel (NR-PBCH) in 4 successive symbols. One or multiple SSBs are transmitted in one SSB burst, which is repeated with certain periodicity such as, for example, 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms. The UE is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration comprising parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g. serving cell’s SFN), etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity such as, for example, 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms, and 160 ms. Examples of uplink (UL) physical signals are reference signal such as SRS, DMRS, etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information such as, for example, data, control, etc. Examples of physical channels are physical broadcast channel (PBCH), Narrowband PBCH (NPBCH), Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH), Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH), Physical Uplink Control
Channel (PUCCH), Short PDSCH (sPDSCH), Short PUCCH (sPUCCH), Short Physical Uplink Shared Channel (sPUSCH), MTC PDCCH (MPDCCH), Narrowband PDCCH (NPDCCH), Narrowband PDSCH (NPDSCH), Enhanced PDCCH (E-PDCCH), Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH), Narrowband PUSCH (NPUSCH), etc. As used herein, the term time resource may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, time slot, subframe, radio frame, Transmission Time Interval (TTI), interleaving time, slot, sub-slot, mini-slot, etc. According to certain embodiments, methods and systems are provided that include measurement methods during transition period in a UE and the corresponding configuration in a network node. For example, according to certain embodiments, when the network configures/activates Con-MGs, a method by a wireless device such as, for example, a UE may include transitioning the ongoing measurement on MO from a first measurement gap pattern (MG1) to a second measurement gap pattern (MG2) during one measurement period. The transition may be based on or more rules such as, for example: ● In a particular embodiment and one example of a rule, a UE that is performing a first measurement (M1) on a first MO (MO1) using MG1 and that becomes configured with Con-MGs may continue the ongoing measurement M1 using MG2 after the Con-MGs have been configured. In this case, in one example, the measurement delay of M1 (e.g., the cell identification and measurement period requirements) with the longer of the delays when measuring using MG1 and MG2 will be applied. ● In another particular embodiment and another example of a rule, a UE that is performing measurement M1 on MO1 using MG1 and becomes configured with Con-MGs may restart the ongoing measurement M1 and have M1 using MG2 after the Con-MGs have been configured. In this case and in one example, the measurement delay of M1 (e.g., the cell identification and measurement period requirements) may be the sum of the delays when measuring using MG1 and MG2. ● In another particular embodiment and another example of a rule, a UE that is performing measurement M1 on MO1 using MG1 and that becomes configured with Con-MGs may first complete the ongoing measurement, M1 using MG1. After the completion of M1, the UE configures the Con-MGs and, for example, the configuration of Con-MGs may be delayed until M1 is completed using MG1.
● In another particular embodiment and another example of a rule, a UE that is performing measurement M1 on MO1 using MG1 and that becomes configured with Con-MGs, may perform measurement M1 on MO1 using default MG once the network doesn’t configure the clear association between MGs and MOs. ● In another particular embodiment, measurements for MO(s) which cannot be measured in MG1 but can be measured in MG2 will be performed immediately after the Con-MGs configuration has been applied. The cell identification time and measurement period requirements based on the updated Con-MGs’ configuration will be applied. According to certain embodiments, when a network de-configures/de-activates Con-MGs, a method by a wireless device such as, for example, a UE, includes transitioning the ongoing measurement on MO(s) from MG2 to MG1 during one measurement period. The transition may be based on or more rules such as for example: ● In a particular embodiment and one example of a rule, while performing measurement (M2) on second MO (MO2) using MG2, the UE is deconfigured with Con-MGs and may continue the ongoing measurement, M2, using MG1 after the Con-MGs are deconfigured. ● In another particular embodiment and another example of a rule, while performing M2 on MO2 using MG2, the UE is deconfigured with Con-MGs and may restart the ongoing measurement, M2, using MG1 after the Con-MGs are deconfigured. ● In another particular embodiment and another example of a rule, while performing M2 on MO2 using MG2, the UE is configured with Con-MGs and may first complete the ongoing measurement, M2, using MG2. After the completion of M2, the UE deconfigures the Con-MGs. For example, the deconfiguration of Con-MGs may be delayed until M2 is completed using MG2. This rule may apply for MOs (e.g. MO2) that are indicated to be measured using the MG2. The UE will continue measuring using MG2 until UE finishes this transient measurement period. After the transient measurement period, the network will schedule the data on the disabled measurement gap’s occasions such as, for example, measurements gaps of MG2. ● In another particular embodiment and another example of a rule, while performing M2 on MO2 using MG2, the UE is configured with Con-MGs and may drop the ongoing measurement immediately.
According to certain embodiments, when Con-MGs (or concurrent measurement gap pattern) are configured, the UE is configured with at least two MGPs that the UE may use for measurements during overlapping time (e.g., a first MGP (MG1) and a second MGP (MG2)). The UE may be configured with Con-MGs (e.g. MG1, MG2, etc.) at the same time or in tandem. Thus, the UE may be configured first with MG1, and then later, the UE may be additionally configured with MG2 while MG1 is still configured, in a particular embodiment. According to certain embodiments, deconfiguration of Con-MGs (or concurrent measurement gap pattern) includes deconfiguring at least one of the configured Con-MGs. For example, the UE may deconfigure MG2 while MG1 remains configured (or vice versa). In a particular embodiment, when the network configures or activates Con-MGs, the Con- MGs configuration will be applied after UE RRC processing and at the earliest measurement gap occasion among Con-MGs after the RRC processing time. In a particular embodiment, the measurement on MO(s) will transform from MG1 to MG2 during a measurement period. During this transition measurement period, all MOs being measured will keep the measurement based on the scheduling before. In a particular embodiment, for the MOs that are new or cannot be measured in MG1, the UE will perform the measurements in MG2 immediately after Con-MGs have been applied. After this transition measurement period, all the MOs which can be measured in MG1 or MG2 will perform measurement based on the update Con-MGs configuration. In a particular embodiment, all the MO(s) will perform measurement in a default MG once the network doesn’t configure the clear association between MGs and MOs. In a particular embodiment, when the network de-configures or deactivates Con-MGs, the network will transmit signalling to disable concurrent gap function or disable either of the MGs by explicit indication. In a particular embodiment, the Con-MGs configuration will be de-configured or deactivated after UE RRC processing and at the earliest measurement gap occasion for the remaining MG(s). In a particular embodiment, all the MO(s) will transit to remaining enabled MG during a measurement period. If the MO(s) cannot be measured in remaining enabled MG, UE will drop the measurement for the MO(s). In a particular embodiment, during this transition measurement period, for all MOs being measured, the UE will keep the measurement based on the prior scheduling. The scheduling
opportunity will still depend on the disabled measurement gap pattern (MG2) during this measurement period. In a particular embodiment, after this transition measurement period, all the MOs which can be measured in MG1 will perform measurement based on the MG1 with update Carrier- Specific Scaling Factor (CSSF). The network will schedule the data for the occasions associated with the disabled measurement gap(s). Example Scenario Description and Example General Procedure According to certain embodiments, the UE is configured with at least a first and a second MGP. Each of the MPGs is characterized by a MGL, a MGRP, a measurement gap offset (MGO) relating the MG (e.g., to the frame border of system frame number (SFN) 0), and a measurement gap timing advance (MGTA), which may shift the position of the MG by 0, 0.25, or 0.5ms relative to the MG starting point given by MGO. FIGURE 3 illustrates a general time flow 100 for Con-MGs activation/deactivation, according to certain embodiments. Generally, the network configures the legacy MG in the beginning such as, for example, during a first MGP, which may be referred to herein as MG1. After a while or after triggered by one or more events, such as the UE requesting the network to configure certain gaps (e.g. with gap ID#24) for positioning measurement, the network will configure the Con-MGs. Thus, the network may configure the second MGP, which h may be referred to herein as MG2. A concurrent MGP comprises at least two MGPs configured during at least certain overlapping time period (e.g. MG1 and MG2 configured during time period, Tc). The concurrent MGP may also be called as Con- MGs, concurrent gap pattern, parallel gaps, parallel gap pattern, etc. Additionally, it is recognized that while the acronyms MG1 and MG2 are used herein to refer to first and second MGPs, respectively, it may also be understood that a UE may be configured with a first MGP (MG1) and/or a second MGP (MG2) and may then perform at least one measurement according to first MGP (MG1) in a first measurement gap and at least one measurement according to a second MGP (MG2) in a second measurement gap. One or more parameters of individual MG parameters within the current gaps (e.g. MG1 and MG2) may differ. For example, MG1 may comprise MG parameters MGL1, MGRP1, MGO1, etc., while MG2 may comprise MG parameters MGL2, MGRP2, MGO2, etc. In one example, MGL1≠MGL2, MGRP1≠MGRP2, MGO1≠MGPO2. In another example, MGL1≠MGL2, MGRP1=MGRP2, MGO1=MGPO2. In another example, MGL1=MGL2, MGRP1≠MGRP2,
MGO1=MGPO2. In another example, MGL1=MGL2, MGRP1=MGRP2, MGO1≠MGPO2, and so on. When the network configures concurrent gap as enabled or disabled, the concurrent gap application time will be Tapply 102. After that, the UE will perform a transition period measurement (T
trans) 104 because the measurement gap may be different before and after the concurrent gap applies (Tapply). Finally, the UE will perform measurement (Tmeas) 106 based on the latest Con- MGs’ configuration after the transition period. In a particular embodiment, the transition period measurement (Ttrans) 104 can be defined as one measurement period that includes the time occasion of concurrent gap configuration/deconfiguration for each MO. In another particular embodiment, the transition period measurement (Ttrans) 104 can be defined as the time duration after the concurrent gap configuration/deconfiguration application time to the UE finishing one measurement period. Alternatively, the network can configure the Con-MGs at the same time and only activate MG1 in the beginning. After a while or triggering by some events, such as UE requesting the network to configure certain gaps for positioning measurement, the network can further activate MG2 by signaling. The signalling can be transmitted by RRC, MAC, or DCI. Scenario A: Transform from single MG to Con-MGs FIGURE 4 illustrates an example scenario 200 for the transformation from a single MG to concurrent MGs, according to certain embodiments. Hereinafter, the example scenario depicted in FIGURE 4 will be referred to as Scenario A. In Scenario A, when UE is performing the measurements based on a first measurement gap pattern (MG1) 202, the network configures the Con-MGs, a second measurement gap pattern (MG2) 204. When UE receives the RRC configuration 206 for configuring MG2, the UE needs some RRC processing time, Tproc, 208. Thus, the UE still needs to wait for some additional delay (e.g., Tapply) for applying the Con-MGs. This delay, Tapply, will at least include RRC message decoding and parsing duration. Tdiff 210 is defined by the transition duration between the UE receiving the RRC configuration time and the earliest MG occasion among Con-MGs after receiving the RRC configuration. For example, the earliest MG ON occasion for MG1 in FIGURE 4. Alternatively, in a particular embodiment, Tdiff 210 is defined by the transition duration between the UE receiving the RRC configuration time and the earliest MG occasion among Con-
MGs after RRC processing time. For example, the earliest MG ON occasion for MG2 in FIGURE 4. Alternatively, in a particular embodiment, T
diff 210 is defined by the transition duration between the UE receiving the RRC configuration time and the earliest MG occasion for the MG being activated (MG2) after RRC processing time. The overall time Tapply required to apply or start using the Con-MGs from the moment the Con-MGs are configured (e.g. when MG2 is configured or activated) is expressed by general function as follows: Tapply = f1(k1, Tproc, k2, Tdiff) where k1 and k2 are scaling factors. In one example, k1=1 and k2=1. Examples of functions are maximum, average, sum, product, minimum, ceil, floor, etc., and also combinations of such functions. In one specific example, Tapply can be expressed as follows: T
apply = max{k1*T
proc, k2*T
diff} In another specific example, Tapply can be expressed as follows assuming k1=k2=1: T
apply = max{T
proc ,T
diff} Alternatively, Tapply = Tproc. Example Embodiment # 1: Measurement requirement applies the longer delay, CSSF applies the longer CSSF in transition measurement period When the measurement on one MO transitions from measurements performed within MG1 to measurements performed within MG2 during one measurement period (i.e. while the measurement is ongoing), then the UE will perform and complete the measurement on a MO based on one or more rules. The UE may further be informed (e.g. via RRC or MAC) for which MO the UE is required to transition from MG1 to MG2 when Con-MGs are configured. A MO may comprise one or more carriers on which the UE may be configured to perform measurements e.g. cell identification, Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP), Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ), etc. Examples of measurement rules are: ● In one example of the rule, if the UE has been performing measurement (M1) (e.g. RSRP) on a first MO (MO1) using MG1 while Con-MGs are being configured, then the UE continues and completes the ongoing measurement, M1, using MG2 after the Con-MGs are configured. In this case, the UE may combine measurement samples obtained using MG1 before Con-MGs are configured and measurement
samples obtained using MG2 to obtain the measurement results for M1. This may be called as maximum rule. ● In another example of the rule, if the UE has been performing measurement M1 on MO1 using MG1 while Con-MGs are being configured, then the UE restarts the ongoing measurement after the Con-MGs are configured and performs the measurement, M1, only using MG2. In this case, the UE may discard measurement samples obtained using MG1 before Con-MGs are configured and uses only measurement samples obtained using MG2 to obtain the measurement results for M1. This may be called as sum or addition or summation rule. Regardless of the rules, the UE performs measurement M1 on MO1 over certain measurement time (Tm1) which can be expressed as function of Tm1 and Tm2 as follows: Tm1 = f2(Tm11, Tm12, a, Tapply, k) Examples of functions are maximum, average, sum, product, minimum, ceil, floor, etc., and also combinations of such functions, where: ● Tm11 is time required to perform a measurement (M1) using MG1 before the transition ● Tm12 is time required to perform the same measurement, M1, using MG2 after the transition ● a is a margin ● T
apply time required to apply or start using Con-MGs (e.g. MG2) as described in previous section, ● k is a scaling factor In a particular embodiment, Tm1 can be expressed as follows for max rule: Tm1 = MAX (Tm11, Tm12) + a + k*Tapply In another particular embodiment, Tm, can be expressed as follows for sum rule: Tm1 = Tm11 + Tm12 + a + k*Tapply In a particular embodiment, a=0. In another example a> 0. In one example, k=0. In another example, k = 1. Measurement time is an example of a measurement requirement for a measurement such as, for example, RSRP, RSRQ, Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR), Layer 1- RSRP (L1- RSRP), Layer 1-SINR (L1-SINR), etc. Examples of measurement time are cell identification period, measurement period, evaluation period, etc. This is further elaborated with specific examples described below.
For example, the network configures Mos f1, f2, f3 to be measured, and configures MG1 in the beginning as shown in FIGURE 4. After some time, the network configures/activates the Con-MGs (MG1 and MG2) and indicates f2, f3 to be measured in MG2. The measurement requirements before transition for f3 will be: T
f3 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRP
MG1, SMTC
f3)) x CSSF
MG1 The measurement requirements after transition for f3 will be: Tf3 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG2, SMTCf3)) x CSSFMG2+ k x Tapply The CSSF(carrier-specific scaling factor) that applies to the other impacted MOs will also apply based on the longer measurement or cell identification delay before or after the transition. For example, f1 in the figure. The measurement requirements before transition for f1 will be: Tf1 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG1, SMTCf1)) x CSSFMG1 The measurement requirements after transition for f1 will be: Tf1 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG1, SMTCf1)) x CSSFMG1_update+ k x Tapply Where: CSSF
MG1 = 2 is the CSSF for MG1 before concurrent gap configuration; CSSF
MG1_update = 1 is the CSSF for MG1 after concurrent gap configuration; CSSFMG2 = 2 is the CSSF for MG2 after concurrent gap configuration. And where, k=0. When the measurement on one MO could not be performed within MG1 but can be within MG2, the measurement will be performed within MG2 immediately after the concurrent gap configuration containing MG2 has been applied, i.e. after Tapply. For this case, the following applies: ● The cell identification and measurement period requirements will be applied with MG2 configuration. ● The CSSF will apply based on the updated CSSF for MG2 which will also apply based on the MO(s) transitions from measurements performed MG1 to measurements performed within MG2. For example, f2 in FIGURE 4. The measurement requirements after transition for f2 will be: Tf2 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG2, SMTCf2)) x CSSFMG2 After this measurement period, the cell identification and measurement period requirements on each MO are corresponding to the Con-MGs’ configuration after transition. The carrier-specific scaling factor(s) are corresponding to the Con-MGs after transition.
For example, f1 in FIGURE 4. After this measurement period during transition, the cell identification and measurement period requirements will apply based on the latest Con-MGs’ configuration as follows: Tf1 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG1, SMTCf1)) x CSSFMG1_update Example Embodiment # 2: Measurement requirement applies the shorter delay, CSSF applies the shorter CSSF for the MOs which didn’t performed measurement during the legacy MG in transition measurement period According to certain other embodiments, when the measurement on one MO transitions from measurements performed MG1 to measurements performed within MG2 during one measurement period, the cell identification and measurement for this MO will continue to be performed in MG1 during this measurement period. The cell identification and measurement period requirements will be applied based on MG1. An examples of measurement rule is: ● If the UE has been performing measurement M1 on MO1 using MG1 while Con-MGs are being configured, then the UE first continues and complete the ongoing measurement, M1, using MG1. In this case, the UE may use all the measurement samples obtained using MG1 to obtain the measurement results for M1. The UE may further be configured to start performing subsequent M1 on MO1 using MG2 after the Con-MGs are configured and after the previous M1 using MG1 is completed. The UE may also delay the configuration of the Con-MGs, in particular embodiments. ● In one example of the rule, the UE may configure the Con-MGs without any further delay even if the UE is performing M1 on MO1 using MG1. ● In another example of the rule, the UE may delay the configuration of the Con-MGs until the UE has completed M1 on MO1 using MG1. The UE may further be informed (e.g. via RRC or MAC) for which MO the UE is required to transition from MG1 to MG2 when Con-MGs are configured and after the ongoing measurement using MG1 is completed. A MO may comprise one or more carriers on which the UE may be configured to perform measurements such as, for example, cell identification, RSRP, RSRQ, etc. This is further described with examples below. For example, the network configures MOs (f1, f2, f3) to be measured and configures MG1 in the beginning as shown in FIGURE 4. After some time, the network configures/activates the Con-MGs (MG1 and MG2) and indicates f2, f3 to be measured in MG2.
The measurement requirements before and after transition for f1, and f3 will be the same as: T
f3 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRP
MG1, SMTC
f3)) x CSSF
MG1 Tf1 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG1, SMTCf1)) x CSSFMG1 Measurements on one or more MO(s) that have not been possible to carry out within MG1 but can be carried out within MG2 will be performed within MG2 immediately after the Tapply. Due to all the remaining MOs will keep the measurements in legacy MG(MG1) during the transition, the MO(s) that hasn’t performed within MG1 will apply for the MG2 independently. Thus, the CSSF for MG2 in transition period will only consider the MOs which weren’t measured in MG1. An example is f2 in FIGURE 4. The measurement requirements after transition for f2 will be: T
f2 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRP
MG2, SMTC
f2)) x CSSF
MG2 where CSSFMG2 = 1. Embodiment # 3: Default MG in Con-MGs When the network configures Con-MGs but there is no clear association indication between MOs and MGs, both the network and UE may have different understanding on the associations. Thus, a default MG is defined. The UE shall perform measurements only in the default MG once no clear association indicated. In a particular embodiment, the network directly configures Con-MGs, but the network doesn’t configure the MOs’ association. When the network configures multiple gaps, the network shall explicitly indicate which gap is the default gap. Otherwise, the gap with smallest gap index in gap list will be the default gap. UE will perform all MOs’ measurements in default MG until the network configures clear association indication between MGs and MOs. In another example embodiment, the network configures only one MG in the beginning, and UE is performing the measurements in this MG. After a while, when the network configures Con-MGs, the network doesn’t configure the association between MGs and MOs. UE will keep the measurements in legacy MG only until the network configures clear association indication between MGs and MOs. The default MG is implicitly indicated to legacy MG. Scenario B: Transform from Con-MGs to single MG In a second scenario, Scenario B, a UE is performing the concurrent gap measurements based on MG1 and MG2. After a while or upon the triggering of event or requests, such as UE
requests to disable the gaps for positioning measurements, the network may deconfigure, deactivate, disable, remove, or cancel at least one of the Con-MGs. For example, the network may send the deconfiguration/deactivation RRC message to the UE requesting the UE to deconfigure at least one of the Con-MGs. Concurrent gap disable/deconfiguration/deactivation In a particular embodiment, concurrent gap configuration/deconfiguration indicator signalling can be as indicated in the following text. Specifically, the network can remove the configured concurrent MG from concurrent gap list as follows:
Alternatively, the network signalling can just indicate to enable/disable the Con-MGs. After the disable indication, UE will perform measurements in the legacy MG and disable the new gap implicitly. ConcurrengGapInd BOOLEAN, Concurrent gap deconfiguration time FIGURE 5 illustrates Scenario B 300, according to certain embodiments. According to certain embodiments, when UE receives the concurrent gap de-configuration command, UE needs some RRC processing time T
proc2302. Tdiff2 304 is defined by the transition duration between UE receiving the RRC deconfiguration time and the earliest MG occasion for remaining activated gap after RRC processing time. For example, MG1306 in FIGURE 5. Alternatively, T
diff is defined by the transition duration between UE receiving the RRC configuration time and the earliest MG occasion among Con-MGs after receiving the RRC configuration. For example, the earliest MG ON occasion for MG1 in FIGURE 5. The overall time required to stop (Tapply2) using the Con-MGs from the moment the Con-MGs are deconfigured (e.g,. when MG2 is deconfigured or deactivated) is expressed by general function as follows: Tapply2 = f3(k3, Tproc, k4, Tdiff) where k3 and k4 are scaling factors. In one example, k3=1 and k3=1. Examples of functions are maximum, average, sum, product, minimum, ceil, floor, etc., and any combinations of such functions. In a particular embodiment, T
apply2 can be expressed as follows: Tapply = max{k3*Tproc2, k4*Tdiff2} In one specific example T
apply2 can be expressed as follows assuming k3=k4=1: Tapply2 = max{Tproc2 ,Tdiff2}. Measurement requirement for deconfiguration Con-MGs When the measurement on one MO transitions from measurements performed MG2 to measurements performed within MG1 during one measurement period, then the UE will perform and complete the measurement on a MO based on one or more rules. In one specific example of the rule, the cell identification and measurement period requirements with the longer delay will be applied. The CSSF(carrier-specific scaling factor) that
applies to the other impacted MOs will also apply based on the longer measurement or cell identification delay before or after the transition. The UE may further be informed by, for example, RRC or MAC, for which MO the UE is required to transition from MG2 to MG1 when Con-MGs are deconfigured. In one example, all MOs configuring during Con-MGs can be transition to MG1 for measurements after the Con-MGs are deconfigured (e.g., MG2 is deconfigured). A MO may comprise one or more carriers on which the UE may be configured to perform measurements such as, for example, cell identification, RSRP, RSRQ, etc. Examples of measurement rules are: ● In one example of the rule, if the UE has been performing measurement (M2) (e.g., RSRP) on a second MO (MO2) using MG2 while Con-MGs are being deconfigured, then the UE continues and complete the ongoing measurement, M2, using MG1 after the Con-MGs are deconfigured (e.g., MG2 is deconfigured). In this case, the UE may combine measurement samples obtained using MG2 before Con-MGs are deconfigured and measurement samples obtained using MG1 after Con-MGs are deconfigured to obtain the measurement results for M2. This may be called as maximum rule. ● In another example of the rule, if the UE has been performing measurement M2 on MO2 using MG2 while Con-MGs are being deconfigured, then the UE restarts the ongoing measurement after the Con-MGs are deconfigured and performs the measurement, M2, only using MG1. In this case, the UE may discard measurement samples obtained using MG2 before Con-MGs are deconfigured and uses only measurement samples obtained using MG1 to obtain the measurement results for M2. This may be called as sum or addition or summation rule. ● In another example, if UE has been performing measurement M2 on MO2 using MG2 while Con-MGs are being deconfigured, then the UE first continues and complete the ongoing measurement, M2, using MG2. In this case, the UE may use all the measurement samples obtained using MG2 to obtain the measurement results for M2. The UE may further be configured to start performing subsequent M2 on MO2 using MG1 after the Con-MGs are deconfigured and after the previous M2 using MG2 is completed. The UE may also delay the deconfiguration of the Con-MGs as follows, for example: o In one example of the rule, the UE may deconfigure the Con-MGs without any further delay even if the UE is performing M2 on MO2 using MG2.
o In another example of the rule, the UE may delay the deconfiguration of the Con-MGs until the UE has completed M2 on MO2 using MG2. Regardless of the rules, the UE performs, M2 on MO2 over certain measurement time (Tm2) which can be expressed as function of Tm21 and Tm22 as follows: Tm2 = f4(Tm21, Tm22, b, T
apply2, T
report) Examples of functions are maximum, average, sum, product, minimum, ceil, floor, etc., and any combination of such functions, where: ● Tm21 is time required to perform a measurement (M2) using MG2 before the transition ● Tm22 is time required to perform the same measurement, M2, using MG1 after the transition ● b is a margin ● T
apply2 is time required to stop using Con-MGs (e.g. MG2) as described in previous section, ● Treport is time between the time occasion when UE receives the concurrent gap deconfiguration command and the time occasion when UE sends the valid measurement report for the MOs using the deconfigured MG. In a particular example embodiment, Tm2, can be expressed as follows for max rule: Tm2= MAX (Tm21, Tm22) + b + Tapply2 In another specific example, Tm2, can be expressed as follows for sum rule: Tm2 = Tm21 + Tm22 + b + Tapply2 In another specific example, Tm2, can be expressed as follows: Tm2 = T
report + b In one example, b=0. In another example b> 0. In one example, T
apply2=0. In another example T
apply2> 0. The above rules are further elaborated with specific examples below. For example, the network configures MOs f1, f2, f3 to be measured and configures MG1 and MG2 as shown in FIGURE 5. When enable the Con-MGs, the network configures f1 to be measured in MG1 and f2, f3 to be measured in MG2. In one example, MG1 is equal to 40ms and MG2 is equal to 80ms. After some time, the network de-configures/de-activates the Con-MGs (MG1 and MG2) and disable the MG2. The measurement requirements before transition for f1 will be:
T
f1 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRP
MG1, SMTC
f1)) x CSSF
MG1 The measurement requirements after transition for f1 will be: T
f1 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRP
MG1, SMTC
f1)) x CSSF
MG1_update + Tapply The measurement requirements before transition for f3 will be: T
f3 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRP
MG2, SMTC
f3)) x CSSF
MG2 The measurement requirements after transition for f3 will be: Tf3 = max{ max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG1, SMTCf3)) x CSSFMG1_update , max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG2, SMTCf3)) x CSSFMG2 } = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG2, SMTCf3)) x CSSFMG2 + Tapply Where: CSSFMG2 = 1 is the CSSF for MG1 before concurrent deconfiguration; CSSFMG1_update = 2 is the CSSF for MG1 after concurrent deconfiguration; CSSF
MG2 = 2 is the CSSF for MG2 before concurrent deconfiguration and where, Tapply = 0. When the measurement on one MO which won’t be performed within MG1 will be disabled after the transition measurement period. The measurement requirements after transition for f2 will be: Tf2 = max(200ms, 5 x max(MGRPMG2, SMTCf2)) x CSSFMG2 After this measurement period, all the MOs’ measurement will be transformed to remaining measurement gap (MG1). The cell identification and measurement period requirements on each MO are corresponding to the remaining gap (MG1)’s configuration after transition. The carrier-specific scaling factor(s) are corresponding to the remaining gap’s configuration after transition. After this measurement period, if MO is configured but cannot be measured in remaining measurement gap(MG1), the measurement for this MO(f2) will be disabled. The scheduling opportunity will still depend on the disabled measurement gap pattern(MG2) during transition measurement period (Tm2). The network will continue to un- schedule data in disabled MG(MG2) during the transition measurement period (Tm2). After this measurement period, the network will schedule the data on the disabled MG’s time occasions. FIGURE 6 illustrates an example 400 of concurrent gap being disabled after the transition measurement period (Tm2) 402, according to certain embodiments. In an embodiment, the transition measurement period (Tm2) 402 after concurrent gap RRC deconfiguration applied time can be the longest measurement period for all the MOs measured in disabled MG (MG2), such as Tm2 = max{Tf2, Tf3}.
Alternatively, the transition measurement period (Tm2) 402 can be the duration between concurrent gap RRC deconfiguration applied time and the measurement report. After UE transmits the measurement report or measurement gap release indication, the network will schedule the data on the disabled MG’s time occasions. FIGURE 7 illustrates an example 500 of concurrent gap being disabled after the measurement report 502, according to certain embodiments. Alternatively, when the network has received the measurement report or measurement gap release indication or has further considered the related measurement on MG2 can be stopped, the network will transmit the concurrent gap deconfiguration command. Thus, after concurrent gap deconfiguration applied time occasion, UE will cease the measurement on MG2 immediately. the network will schedule the data on the disabled MG’s time occasions after concurrent gap deconfiguration applied time immediately. FIGURE 8 illustrates an example 600 of concurrent gap being disabled immediately after Tapply 602, according to certain embodiments. FIGURE 9 shows an example of a communication system 700 in accordance with some embodiments. In the example, the communication system 700 includes a telecommunication network 702 that includes an access network 704, such as a radio access network (RAN), and a core network 706, which includes one or more core network nodes 708. The access network 704 includes one or more access network nodes, such as network nodes 710a and 710b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as network nodes 710), or any other similar 3
rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) access node or non-3GPP access point. The network nodes 710 facilitate direct or indirect connection of user equipment (UE), such as by connecting UEs 712a, 712b, 712c, and 712d (one or more of which may be generally referred to as UEs 712) to the core network 706 over one or more wireless connections. Example wireless communications over a wireless connection include transmitting and/or receiving wireless signals using electromagnetic waves, radio waves, infrared waves, and/or other types of signals suitable for conveying information without the use of wires, cables, or other material conductors. Moreover, in different embodiments, the communication system 700 may include any number of wired or wireless networks, network nodes, UEs, and/or any other components or systems that may facilitate or participate in the communication of data and/or signals whether via wired or wireless connections. The communication system 700 may include and/or interface with any type of communication, telecommunication, data, cellular, radio network, and/or other similar type of system. The UEs 712 may be any of a wide variety of communication devices, including wireless devices arranged, configured, and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with the network nodes
710 and other communication devices. Similarly, the network nodes 710 are arranged, capable, configured, and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with the UEs 712 and/or with other network nodes or equipment in the telecommunication network 702 to enable and/or provide network access, such as wireless network access, and/or to perform other functions, such as administration in the telecommunication network 702. In the depicted example, the core network 706 connects the network nodes 710 to one or more hosts, such as host 716. These connections may be direct or indirect via one or more intermediary networks or devices. In other examples, network nodes may be directly coupled to hosts. The core network 706 includes one more core network nodes (e.g., core network node 708) that are structured with hardware and software components. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the UEs, network nodes, and/or hosts, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of the core network node 708. Example core network nodes include functions of one or more of a Mobile Switching Center (MSC), Mobility Management Entity (MME), Home Subscriber Server (HSS), Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), Session Management Function (SMF), Authentication Server Function (AUSF), Subscription Identifier De-concealing function (SIDF), Unified Data Management (UDM), Security Edge Protection Proxy (SEPP), Network Exposure Function (NEF), and/or a User Plane Function (UPF). The host 716 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider other than an operator or provider of the access network 704 and/or the telecommunication network 702, and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The host 716 may host a variety of applications to provide one or more service. Examples of such applications include live and pre-recorded audio/video content, data collection services such as retrieving and compiling data on various ambient conditions detected by a plurality of UEs, analytics functionality, social media, functions for controlling or otherwise interacting with remote devices, functions for an alarm and surveillance center, or any other such function performed by a server. As a whole, the communication system 700 of FIGURE 9 enables connectivity between the UEs, network nodes, and hosts. In that sense, the communication system may be configured to operate according to predefined rules or procedures, such as specific standards that include, but are not limited to: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM); Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS); Long Term Evolution (LTE), and/or other suitable 2G, 3G, 4G, 5G standards, or any applicable future generation standard (e.g., 6G); wireless local area network (WLAN) standards, such as the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
802.11 standards (WiFi); and/or any other appropriate wireless communication standard, such as the Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Bluetooth, Z-Wave, Near Field Communication (NFC) ZigBee, LiFi, and/or any low-power wide-area network (LPWAN) standards such as LoRa and Sigfox. In some examples, the telecommunication network 702 is a cellular network that implements 3GPP standardized features. Accordingly, the telecommunications network 702 may support network slicing to provide different logical networks to different devices that are connected to the telecommunication network 702. For example, the telecommunications network 702 may provide Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC) services to some UEs, while providing Enhanced Mobile Broadband (eMBB) services to other UEs, and/or Massive Machine Type Communication (mMTC)/Massive IoT services to yet further UEs. In some examples, the UEs 712 are configured to transmit and/or receive information without direct human interaction. For instance, a UE may be designed to transmit information to the access network 704 on a predetermined schedule, when triggered by an internal or external event, or in response to requests from the access network 704. Additionally, a UE may be configured for operating in single- or multi-RAT or multi-standard mode. For example, a UE may operate with any one or combination of Wi-Fi, NR (New Radio) and LTE, i.e. being configured for multi-radio dual connectivity (MR-DC), such as E-UTRAN (Evolved-UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network) New Radio – Dual Connectivity (EN-DC). In the example, the hub 714 communicates with the access network 704 to facilitate indirect communication between one or more UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d) and network nodes (e.g., network node 710b). In some examples, the hub 714 may be a controller, router, content source and analytics, or any of the other communication devices described herein regarding UEs. For example, the hub 714 may be a broadband router enabling access to the core network 706 for the UEs. As another example, the hub 714 may be a controller that sends commands or instructions to one or more actuators in the UEs. Commands or instructions may be received from the UEs, network nodes 710, or by executable code, script, process, or other instructions in the hub 714. As another example, the hub 714 may be a data collector that acts as temporary storage for UE data and, in some embodiments, may perform analysis or other processing of the data. As another example, the hub 714 may be a content source. For example, for a UE that is a VR headset, display, loudspeaker or other media delivery device, the hub 714 may retrieve VR assets, video, audio, or other media or data related to sensory information via a network node, which the hub 714 then provides to the UE either directly, after performing local processing, and/or after adding additional
local content. In still another example, the hub 714 acts as a proxy server or orchestrator for the UEs, in particular in if one or more of the UEs are low energy IoT devices. The hub 714 may have a constant/persistent or intermittent connection to the network node 710b. The hub 714 may also allow for a different communication scheme and/or schedule between the hub 714 and UEs (e.g., UE 712c and/or 712d), and between the hub 714 and the core network 706. In other examples, the hub 714 is connected to the core network 706 and/or one or more UEs via a wired connection. Moreover, the hub 714 may be configured to connect to an M2M service provider over the access network 704 and/or to another UE over a direct connection. In some scenarios, UEs may establish a wireless connection with the network nodes 710 while still connected via the hub 714 via a wired or wireless connection. In some embodiments, the hub 714 may be a dedicated hub – that is, a hub whose primary function is to route communications to/from the UEs from/to the network node 710b. In other embodiments, the hub 714 may be a non- dedicated hub – that is, a device which is capable of operating to route communications between the UEs and network node 710b, but which is additionally capable of operating as a communication start and/or end point for certain data channels. FIGURE 10 shows a UE 800 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, a UE refers to a device capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate wirelessly with network nodes and/or other UEs. Examples of a UE include, but are not limited to, a smart phone, mobile phone, cell phone, voice over IP (VoIP) phone, wireless local loop phone, desktop computer, personal digital assistant (PDA), wireless cameras, gaming console or device, music storage device, playback appliance, wearable terminal device, wireless endpoint, mobile station, tablet, laptop, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), smart device, wireless customer-premise equipment (CPE), vehicle-mounted or vehicle embedded/integrated wireless device, etc. Other examples include any UE identified by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP), including a narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT) UE, a machine type communication (MTC) UE, and/or an enhanced MTC (eMTC) UE. A UE may support device-to-device (D2D) communication, for example by implementing a 3GPP standard for sidelink communication, Dedicated Short-Range Communication (DSRC), vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V), vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I), or vehicle-to-everything (V2X). In other examples, a UE may not necessarily have a user in the sense of a human user who owns and/or operates the relevant device. Instead, a UE may represent a device that is intended for sale to, or operation by, a human user but which may not, or which may not initially, be associated with a specific human user (e.g., a smart sprinkler controller). Alternatively, a UE may represent a device
that is not intended for sale to, or operation by, an end user but which may be associated with or operated for the benefit of a user (e.g., a smart power meter). The UE 800 includes processing circuitry 802 that is operatively coupled via a bus 804 to an input/output interface 806, a power source 808, a memory 810, a communication interface 812, and/or any other component, or any combination thereof. Certain UEs may utilize all or a subset of the components shown in FIGURE 10. The level of integration between the components may vary from one UE to another UE. Further, certain UEs may contain multiple instances of a component, such as multiple processors, memories, transceivers, transmitters, receivers, etc. The processing circuitry 802 is configured to process instructions and data and may be configured to implement any sequential state machine operative to execute instructions stored as machine-readable computer programs in the memory 810. The processing circuitry 802 may be implemented as one or more hardware-implemented state machines (e.g., in discrete logic, field- programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), etc.); programmable logic together with appropriate firmware; one or more stored computer programs, general-purpose processors, such as a microprocessor or digital signal processor (DSP), together with appropriate software; or any combination of the above. For example, the processing circuitry 802 may include multiple central processing units (CPUs). In the example, the input/output interface 806 may be configured to provide an interface or interfaces to an input device, output device, or one or more input and/or output devices. Examples of an output device include a speaker, a sound card, a video card, a display, a monitor, a printer, an actuator, an emitter, a smartcard, another output device, or any combination thereof. An input device may allow a user to capture information into the UE 800. Examples of an input device include a touch-sensitive or presence-sensitive display, a camera (e.g., a digital camera, a digital video camera, a web camera, etc.), a microphone, a sensor, a mouse, a trackball, a directional pad, a trackpad, a scroll wheel, a smartcard, and the like. The presence-sensitive display may include a capacitive or resistive touch sensor to sense input from a user. A sensor may be, for instance, an accelerometer, a gyroscope, a tilt sensor, a force sensor, a magnetometer, an optical sensor, a proximity sensor, a biometric sensor, etc., or any combination thereof. An output device may use the same type of interface port as an input device. For example, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port may be used to provide an input device and an output device. In some embodiments, the power source 808 is structured as a battery or battery pack. Other types of power sources, such as an external power source (e.g., an electricity outlet), photovoltaic device, or power cell, may be used. The power source 808 may further include power
circuitry for delivering power from the power source 808 itself, and/or an external power source, to the various parts of the UE 800 via input circuitry or an interface such as an electrical power cable. Delivering power may be, for example, for charging of the power source 808. Power circuitry may perform any formatting, converting, or other modification to the power from the power source 808 to make the power suitable for the respective components of the UE 800 to which power is supplied. The memory 810 may be or be configured to include memory such as random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), programmable read-only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), magnetic disks, optical disks, hard disks, removable cartridges, flash drives, and so forth. In one example, the memory 810 includes one or more application programs 814, such as an operating system, web browser application, a widget, gadget engine, or other application, and corresponding data 816. The memory 810 may store, for use by the UE 800, any of a variety of various operating systems or combinations of operating systems. The memory 810 may be configured to include a number of physical drive units, such as redundant array of independent disks (RAID), flash memory, USB flash drive, external hard disk drive, thumb drive, pen drive, key drive, high-density digital versatile disc (HD-DVD) optical disc drive, internal hard disk drive, Blu-Ray optical disc drive, holographic digital data storage (HDDS) optical disc drive, external mini-dual in-line memory module (DIMM), synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM), external micro-DIMM SDRAM, smartcard memory such as tamper resistant module in the form of a universal integrated circuit card (UICC) including one or more subscriber identity modules (SIMs), such as a USIM and/or ISIM, other memory, or any combination thereof. The UICC may for example be an embedded UICC (eUICC), integrated UICC (iUICC) or a removable UICC commonly known as ‘SIM card.’ The memory 810 may allow the UE 800 to access instructions, application programs and the like, stored on transitory or non-transitory memory media, to off-load data, or to upload data. An article of manufacture, such as one utilizing a communication system may be tangibly embodied as or in the memory 810, which may be or comprise a device-readable storage medium. The processing circuitry 802 may be configured to communicate with an access network or other network using the communication interface 812. The communication interface 812 may comprise one or more communication subsystems and may include or be communicatively coupled to an antenna 822. The communication interface 812 may include one or more transceivers used to communicate, such as by communicating with one or more remote transceivers of another
device capable of wireless communication (e.g., another UE or a network node in an access network). Each transceiver may include a transmitter 818 and/or a receiver 820 appropriate to provide network communications (e.g., optical, electrical, frequency allocations, and so forth). Moreover, the transmitter 818 and receiver 820 may be coupled to one or more antennas (e.g., antenna 822) and may share circuit components, software or firmware, or alternatively be implemented separately. In the illustrated embodiment, communication functions of the communication interface 812 may include cellular communication, Wi-Fi communication, LPWAN communication, data communication, voice communication, multimedia communication, short-range communications such as Bluetooth, near-field communication, location-based communication such as the use of the global positioning system (GPS) to determine a location, another like communication function, or any combination thereof. Communications may be implemented in according to one or more communication protocols and/or standards, such as IEEE 802.11, Code Division Multiplexing Access (CDMA), Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), GSM, LTE, New Radio (NR), UMTS, WiMax, Ethernet, transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), synchronous optical networking (SONET), Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), QUIC, Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), and so forth. Regardless of the type of sensor, a UE may provide an output of data captured by its sensors, through its communication interface 812, via a wireless connection to a network node. Data captured by sensors of a UE can be communicated through a wireless connection to a network node via another UE. The output may be periodic (e.g., once every 15 minutes if it reports the sensed temperature), random (e.g., to even out the load from reporting from several sensors), in response to a triggering event (e.g., when moisture is detected an alert is sent), in response to a request (e.g., a user initiated request), or a continuous stream (e.g., a live video feed of a patient). As another example, a UE comprises an actuator, a motor, or a switch, related to a communication interface configured to receive wireless input from a network node via a wireless connection. In response to the received wireless input the states of the actuator, the motor, or the switch may change. For example, the UE may comprise a motor that adjusts the control surfaces or rotors of a drone in flight according to the received input or to a robotic arm performing a medical procedure according to the received input. A UE, when in the form of an Internet of Things (IoT) device, may be a device for use in one or more application domains, these domains comprising, but not limited to, city wearable technology, extended industrial application and healthcare. Non-limiting examples of such an IoT
device are a device which is or which is embedded in: a connected refrigerator or freezer, a TV, a connected lighting device, an electricity meter, a robot vacuum cleaner, a voice controlled smart speaker, a home security camera, a motion detector, a thermostat, a smoke detector, a door/window sensor, a flood/moisture sensor, an electrical door lock, a connected doorbell, an air conditioning system like a heat pump, an autonomous vehicle, a surveillance system, a weather monitoring device, a vehicle parking monitoring device, an electric vehicle charging station, a smart watch, a fitness tracker, a head-mounted display for Augmented Reality (AR) or Virtual Reality (VR), a wearable for tactile augmentation or sensory enhancement, a water sprinkler, an animal- or item- tracking device, a sensor for monitoring a plant or animal, an industrial robot, an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and any kind of medical device, like a heart rate monitor or a remote controlled surgical robot. A UE in the form of an IoT device comprises circuitry and/or software in dependence of the intended application of the IoT device in addition to other components as described in relation to the UE 800 shown in FIGURE 10. As yet another specific example, in an IoT scenario, a UE may represent a machine or other device that performs monitoring and/or measurements, and transmits the results of such monitoring and/or measurements to another UE and/or a network node. The UE may in this case be an M2M device, which may in a 3GPP context be referred to as an MTC device. As one particular example, the UE may implement the 3GPP NB-IoT standard. In other scenarios, a UE may represent a vehicle, such as a car, a bus, a truck, a ship and an airplane, or other equipment that is capable of monitoring and/or reporting on its operational status or other functions associated with its operation. In practice, any number of UEs may be used together with respect to a single use case. For example, a first UE might be or be integrated in a drone and provide the drone’s speed information (obtained through a speed sensor) to a second UE that is a remote controller operating the drone. When the user makes changes from the remote controller, the first UE may adjust the throttle on the drone (e.g. by controlling an actuator) to increase or decrease the drone’s speed. The first and/or the second UE can also include more than one of the functionalities described above. For example, a UE might comprise the sensor and the actuator, and handle communication of data for both the speed sensor and the actuators. FIGURE 11 shows a network node 900 in accordance with some embodiments. As used herein, network node refers to equipment capable, configured, arranged and/or operable to communicate directly or indirectly with a UE and/or with other network nodes or equipment, in a telecommunication network. Examples of network nodes include, but are not limited to, access
points (APs) (e.g., radio access points), base stations (BSs) (e.g., radio base stations, Node Bs, evolved Node Bs (eNBs) and NR NodeBs (gNBs)). Base stations may be categorized based on the amount of coverage they provide (or, stated differently, their transmit power level) and so, depending on the provided amount of coverage, may be referred to as femto base stations, pico base stations, micro base stations, or macro base stations. A base station may be a relay node or a relay donor node controlling a relay. A network node may also include one or more (or all) parts of a distributed radio base station such as centralized digital units and/or remote radio units (RRUs), sometimes referred to as Remote Radio Heads (RRHs). Such remote radio units may or may not be integrated with an antenna as an antenna integrated radio. Parts of a distributed radio base station may also be referred to as nodes in a distributed antenna system (DAS). Other examples of network nodes include multiple transmission point (multi-TRP) 5G access nodes, multi-standard radio (MSR) equipment such as MSR BSs, network controllers such as radio network controllers (RNCs) or base station controllers (BSCs), base transceiver stations (BTSs), transmission points, transmission nodes, multi-cell/multicast coordination entities (MCEs), Operation and Maintenance (O&M) nodes, Operations Support System (OSS) nodes, Self-Organizing Network (SON) nodes, positioning nodes (e.g., Evolved Serving Mobile Location Centers (E-SMLCs)), and/or Minimization of Drive Tests (MDTs). The network node 900 includes a processing circuitry 902, a memory 904, a communication interface 906, and a power source 908. The network node 900 may be composed of multiple physically separate components (e.g., a NodeB component and a RNC component, or a BTS component and a BSC component, etc.), which may each have their own respective components. In certain scenarios in which the network node 900 comprises multiple separate components (e.g., BTS and BSC components), one or more of the separate components may be shared among several network nodes. For example, a single RNC may control multiple NodeBs. In such a scenario, each unique NodeB and RNC pair, may in some instances be considered a single separate network node. In some embodiments, the network node 900 may be configured to support multiple radio access technologies (RATs). In such embodiments, some components may be duplicated (e.g., separate memory 904 for different RATs) and some components may be reused (e.g., a same antenna 910 may be shared by different RATs). The network node 900 may also include multiple sets of the various illustrated components for different wireless technologies integrated into network node 900, for example GSM, WCDMA, LTE, NR, WiFi, Zigbee, Z-wave, LoRaWAN, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or Bluetooth wireless technologies. These
wireless technologies may be integrated into the same or different chip or set of chips and other components within network node 900. The processing circuitry 902 may comprise a combination of one or more of a microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, central processing unit, digital signal processor, application-specific integrated circuit, field programmable gate array, or any other suitable computing device, resource, or combination of hardware, software and/or encoded logic operable to provide, either alone or in conjunction with other network node 900 components, such as the memory 904, to provide network node 900 functionality. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes a system on a chip (SOC). In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 includes one or more of radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914. In some embodiments, the radio frequency (RF) transceiver circuitry 912 and the baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on separate chips (or sets of chips), boards, or units, such as radio units and digital units. In alternative embodiments, part or all of RF transceiver circuitry 912 and baseband processing circuitry 914 may be on the same chip or set of chips, boards, or units. The memory 904 may comprise any form of volatile or non-volatile computer-readable memory including, without limitation, persistent storage, solid-state memory, remotely mounted memory, magnetic media, optical media, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), mass storage media (for example, a hard disk), removable storage media (for example, a flash drive, a Compact Disk (CD) or a Digital Video Disk (DVD)), and/or any other volatile or non-volatile, non-transitory device-readable and/or computer-executable memory devices that store information, data, and/or instructions that may be used by the processing circuitry 902. The memory 904 may store any suitable instructions, data, or information, including a computer program, software, an application including one or more of logic, rules, code, tables, and/or other instructions capable of being executed by the processing circuitry 902 and utilized by the network node 900. The memory 904 may be used to store any calculations made by the processing circuitry 902 and/or any data received via the communication interface 906. In some embodiments, the processing circuitry 902 and memory 904 is integrated. The communication interface 906 is used in wired or wireless communication of signaling and/or data between a network node, access network, and/or UE. As illustrated, the communication interface 906 comprises port(s)/terminal(s) 916 to send and receive data, for example to and from a network over a wired connection. The communication interface 906 also includes radio front- end circuitry 918 that may be coupled to, or in certain embodiments a part of, the antenna 910.
Radio front-end circuitry 918 comprises filters 920 and amplifiers 922. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may be connected to an antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front- end circuitry may be configured to condition signals communicated between antenna 910 and processing circuitry 902. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may receive digital data that is to be sent out to other network nodes or UEs via a wireless connection. The radio front-end circuitry 918 may convert the digital data into a radio signal having the appropriate channel and bandwidth parameters using a combination of filters 920 and/or amplifiers 922. The radio signal may then be transmitted via the antenna 910. Similarly, when receiving data, the antenna 910 may collect radio signals which are then converted into digital data by the radio front-end circuitry 918. The digital data may be passed to the processing circuitry 902. In other embodiments, the communication interface may comprise different components and/or different combinations of components. In certain alternative embodiments, the network node 900 does not include separate radio front-end circuitry 918, instead, the processing circuitry 902 includes radio front-end circuitry and is connected to the antenna 910. Similarly, in some embodiments, all or some of the RF transceiver circuitry 912 is part of the communication interface 906. In still other embodiments, the communication interface 906 includes one or more ports or terminals 916, the radio front-end circuitry 918, and the RF transceiver circuitry 912, as part of a radio unit (not shown), and the communication interface 906 communicates with the baseband processing circuitry 914, which is part of a digital unit (not shown). The antenna 910 may include one or more antennas, or antenna arrays, configured to send and/or receive wireless signals. The antenna 910 may be coupled to the radio front-end circuitry 918 and may be any type of antenna capable of transmitting and receiving data and/or signals wirelessly. In certain embodiments, the antenna 910 is separate from the network node 900 and connectable to the network node 900 through an interface or port. The antenna 910, communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any receiving operations and/or certain obtaining operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be received from a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment. Similarly, the antenna 910, the communication interface 906, and/or the processing circuitry 902 may be configured to perform any transmitting operations described herein as being performed by the network node. Any information, data and/or signals may be transmitted to a UE, another network node and/or any other network equipment.
The power source 908 provides power to the various components of network node 900 in a form suitable for the respective components (e.g., at a voltage and current level needed for each respective component). The power source 908 may further comprise, or be coupled to, power management circuitry to supply the components of the network node 900 with power for performing the functionality described herein. For example, the network node 900 may be connectable to an external power source (e.g., the power grid, an electricity outlet) via an input circuitry or interface such as an electrical cable, whereby the external power source supplies power to power circuitry of the power source 908. As a further example, the power source 908 may comprise a source of power in the form of a battery or battery pack which is connected to, or integrated in, power circuitry. The battery may provide backup power should the external power source fail. Embodiments of the network node 900 may include additional components beyond those shown in FIGURE 11 for providing certain aspects of the network node’s functionality, including any of the functionality described herein and/or any functionality necessary to support the subject matter described herein. For example, the network node 900 may include user interface equipment to allow input of information into the network node 900 and to allow output of information from the network node 900. This may allow a user to perform diagnostic, maintenance, repair, and other administrative functions for the network node 900. FIGURE 12 is a block diagram of a host 1000, which may be an embodiment of the host 716 of FIGURE 9, in accordance with various aspects described herein. As used herein, the host 1000 may be or comprise various combinations hardware and/or software, including a standalone server, a blade server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server, a virtual machine, container, or processing resources in a server farm. The host 1000 may provide one or more services to one or more UEs. The host 1000 includes processing circuitry 1002 that is operatively coupled via a bus 1004 to an input/output interface 1006, a network interface 1008, a power source 1010, and a memory 1012. Other components may be included in other embodiments. Features of these components may be substantially similar to those described with respect to the devices of previous figures, such as Figures 8 and 9, such that the descriptions thereof are generally applicable to the corresponding components of host 1000. The memory 1012 may include one or more computer programs including one or more host application programs 1014 and data 1016, which may include user data, e.g., data generated by a UE for the host 1000 or data generated by the host 1000 for a UE. Embodiments of the host
1000 may utilize only a subset or all of the components shown. The host application programs 1014 may be implemented in a container-based architecture and may provide support for video codecs (e.g., Versatile Video Coding (VVC), High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC), Advanced Video Coding (AVC), MPEG, VP9) and audio codecs (e.g., FLAC, Advanced Audio Coding (AAC), MPEG, G.711), including transcoding for multiple different classes, types, or implementations of UEs (e.g., handsets, desktop computers, wearable display systems, heads-up display systems). The host application programs 1014 may also provide for user authentication and licensing checks and may periodically report health, routes, and content availability to a central node, such as a device in or on the edge of a core network. Accordingly, the host 1000 may select and/or indicate a different host for over-the-top services for a UE. The host application programs 1014 may support various protocols, such as the HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) protocol, Real-Time Messaging Protocol (RTMP), Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP), Dynamic Adaptive Streaming over HTTP (MPEG-DASH), etc. FIGURE 13 is a block diagram illustrating a virtualization environment 1100 in which functions implemented by some embodiments may be virtualized. In the present context, virtualizing means creating virtual versions of apparatuses or devices which may include virtualizing hardware platforms, storage devices and networking resources. As used herein, virtualization can be applied to any device described herein, or components thereof, and relates to an implementation in which at least a portion of the functionality is implemented as one or more virtual components. Some or all of the functions described herein may be implemented as virtual components executed by one or more virtual machines (VMs) implemented in one or more virtual environments 1100 hosted by one or more of hardware nodes, such as a hardware computing device that operates as a network node, UE, core network node, or host. Further, in embodiments in which the virtual node does not require radio connectivity (e.g., a core network node or host), then the node may be entirely virtualized. Applications 1102 (which may alternatively be called software instances, virtual appliances, network functions, virtual nodes, virtual network functions, etc.) are run in the virtualization environment 1100 to implement some of the features, functions, and/or benefits of some of the embodiments disclosed herein. Hardware 1104 includes processing circuitry, memory that stores software and/or instructions executable by hardware processing circuitry, and/or other hardware devices as described herein, such as a network interface, input/output interface, and so forth. Software may be executed by the processing circuitry to instantiate one or more virtualization layers 1106 (also
referred to as hypervisors or virtual machine monitors (VMMs)), provide VMs 1108a and 1108b (one or more of which may be generally referred to as VMs 1108), and/or perform any of the functions, features and/or benefits described in relation with some embodiments described herein. The virtualization layer 1106 may present a virtual operating platform that appears like networking hardware to the VMs 1108. The VMs 1108 comprise virtual processing, virtual memory, virtual networking or interface and virtual storage, and may be run by a corresponding virtualization layer 1106. Different embodiments of the instance of a virtual appliance 1102 may be implemented on one or more of VMs 1108, and the implementations may be made in different ways. Virtualization of the hardware is in some contexts referred to as network function virtualization (NFV). NFV may be used to consolidate many network equipment types onto industry standard high volume server hardware, physical switches, and physical storage, which can be located in data centers, and customer premise equipment. In the context of NFV, a VM 1108 may be a software implementation of a physical machine that runs programs as if they were executing on a physical, non-virtualized machine. Each of the VMs 1108, and that part of hardware 1104 that executes that VM, be it hardware dedicated to that VM and/or hardware shared by that VM with others of the VMs, forms separate virtual network elements. Still in the context of NFV, a virtual network function is responsible for handling specific network functions that run in one or more VMs 1108 on top of the hardware 1104 and corresponds to the application 1102. Hardware 1104 may be implemented in a standalone network node with generic or specific components. Hardware 1104 may implement some functions via virtualization. Alternatively, hardware 1104 may be part of a larger cluster of hardware (e.g. such as in a data center or CPE) where many hardware nodes work together and are managed via management and orchestration 1110, which, among others, oversees lifecycle management of applications 1102. In some embodiments, hardware 1104 is coupled to one or more radio units that each include one or more transmitters and one or more receivers that may be coupled to one or more antennas. Radio units may communicate directly with other hardware nodes via one or more appropriate network interfaces and may be used in combination with the virtual components to provide a virtual node with radio capabilities, such as a radio access node or a base station. In some embodiments, some signaling can be provided with the use of a control system 1112 which may alternatively be used for communication between hardware nodes and radio units.
FIGURE 14 shows a communication diagram of a host 1202 communicating via a network node 1204 with a UE 1206 over a partially wireless connection in accordance with some embodiments. Example implementations, in accordance with various embodiments, of the UE (such as a UE 712a of FIGURE 9 and/or UE 800 of FIGURE 10), network node (such as network node 710a of FIGURE 9 and/or network node 900 of FIGURE 11), and host (such as host 716 of FIGURE 9 and/or host 1000 of FIGURE 12) discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIGURE 14. Like host 1000, embodiments of host 1202 include hardware, such as a communication interface, processing circuitry, and memory. The host 1202 also includes software, which is stored in or accessible by the host 1202 and executable by the processing circuitry. The software includes a host application that may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as the UE 1206 connecting via an over-the-top (OTT) connection 1250 extending between the UE 1206 and host 1202. In providing the service to the remote user, a host application may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 1250. The network node 1204 includes hardware enabling it to communicate with the host 1202 and UE 1206. The connection 1260 may be direct or pass through a core network (like core network 706 of FIGURE 9) and/or one or more other intermediate networks, such as one or more public, private, or hosted networks. For example, an intermediate network may be a backbone network or the Internet. The UE 1206 includes hardware and software, which is stored in or accessible by UE 1206 and executable by the UE’s processing circuitry. The software includes a client application, such as a web browser or operator-specific “app” that may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via UE 1206 with the support of the host 1202. In the host 1202, an executing host application may communicate with the executing client application via the OTT connection 1250 terminating at the UE 1206 and host 1202. In providing the service to the user, the UE's client application may receive request data from the host's host application and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 1250 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The UE's client application may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides to the host application through the OTT connection 1250. The OTT connection 1250 may extend via a connection 1260 between the host 1202 and the network node 1204 and via a wireless connection 1270 between the network node 1204 and the UE 1206 to provide the connection between the host 1202 and the UE 1206. The connection
1260 and wireless connection 1270, over which the OTT connection 1250 may be provided, have been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host 1202 and the UE 1206 via the network node 1204, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. As an example of transmitting data via the OTT connection 1250, in step 1208, the host 1202 provides user data, which may be performed by executing a host application. In some embodiments, the user data is associated with a particular human user interacting with the UE 1206. In other embodiments, the user data is associated with a UE 1206 that shares data with the host 1202 without explicit human interaction. In step 1210, the host 1202 initiates a transmission carrying the user data towards the UE 1206. The host 1202 may initiate the transmission responsive to a request transmitted by the UE 1206. The request may be caused by human interaction with the UE 1206 or by operation of the client application executing on the UE 1206. The transmission may pass via the network node 1204, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. Accordingly, in step 1212, the network node 1204 transmits to the UE 1206 the user data that was carried in the transmission that the host 1202 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In step 1214, the UE 1206 receives the user data carried in the transmission, which may be performed by a client application executed on the UE 1206 associated with the host application executed by the host 1202. In some examples, the UE 1206 executes a client application which provides user data to the host 1202. The user data may be provided in reaction or response to the data received from the host 1202. Accordingly, in step 1216, the UE 1206 may provide user data, which may be performed by executing the client application. In providing the user data, the client application may further consider user input received from the user via an input/output interface of the UE 1206. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the UE 1206 initiates, in step 1218, transmission of the user data towards the host 1202 via the network node 1204. In step 1220, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 1204 receives user data from the UE 1206 and initiates transmission of the received user data towards the host 1202. In step 1222, the host 1202 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the UE 1206. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the UE 1206 using the OTT connection 1250, in which the wireless connection 1270 forms the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of these embodiments may improve one or
more of, for example, data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and, thereby, provide benefits such as, for example, reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, improved content resolution, better responsiveness, and/or extended battery lifetime. In an example scenario, factory status information may be collected and analyzed by the host 1202. As another example, the host 1202 may process audio and video data which may have been retrieved from a UE for use in creating maps. As another example, the host 1202 may collect and analyze real-time data to assist in controlling vehicle congestion (e.g., controlling traffic lights). As another example, the host 1202 may store surveillance video uploaded by a UE. As another example, the host 1202 may store or control access to media content such as video, audio, VR or AR which it can broadcast, multicast or unicast to UEs. As other examples, the host 1202 may be used for energy pricing, remote control of non-time critical electrical load to balance power generation needs, location services, presentation services (such as compiling diagrams etc. from data collected from remote devices), or any other function of collecting, retrieving, storing, analyzing and/or transmitting data. In some examples, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 1250 between the host 1202 and UE 1206, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection may be implemented in software and hardware of the host 1202 and/or UE 1206. In some embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with other devices through which the OTT connection 1250 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 1250 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not directly alter the operation of the network node 1204. Such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary UE signaling that facilitates measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like, by the host 1202. The measurements may be implemented in that software causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 1250 while monitoring propagation times, errors, etc.
FIGURE 15 illustrates an example method 1300 for performing measurements during measurement gaps by a wireless device, which may include a UE, according to certain embodiments. The method begins at step 1302 when the wireless device obtains information that concurrent measurement gaps has been configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated. Based on the information that concurrent measurement gaps being configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated, the wireless device transitions measurements performed on at least one MO from a first measurement gap pattern (MG1) to a second measurement gap pattern (MG2) during a measurement period, at step 1304. In a particular embodiment, the wireless device determines that concurrent measurement gaps is configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated and transitions from MG1 to MG2 in response to obtaining information that the concurrent measurement gaps is configured and/or activated. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the wireless device continues the first measurement of the measurements using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. In a further particular embodiment, a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and the wireless device applies a longer one of the first delay and the second delay. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the wireless device restarts the first measurement of the measurements using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. In a further particular embodiment, a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and a total delay is the sum of MG1 and MG2. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the wireless device completes the first measurement using MG1 prior to transitioning to MG2. In a further particular embodiment, a configuration of Con-MGs is delayed until the first measurement is completed using MG1. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the wireless device performs the first measurement using a default measurement gap pattern.
In a particular embodiment, the wireless device performs at least one measurement of the measurements that cannot be measured using MG1 and performing the at least one measurement of the measurements using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. In a particular embodiment, the wireless device provides user data and forwards the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node. FIGURE 16 illustrates a method 1400 by a network node for configuring a wireless device for performing measurements during measurement gaps, according to certain embodiments. The method begins at step 1402 when the network node transmits, to a wireless device, information indicating that concurrent measurement gaps has been configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated to trigger the wireless device to transition measurements performed on at least one MO from a first measurement gap pattern (MG1) to a second measurement gap pattern (MG2) during a measurement period. In a particular embodiment, the network node receives, from the wireless device, a measurement report comprising the measurements performed on the at least one MO. In a further particular embodiment, the measurement report comprises a first measurement performed on the at least one MO according to both MG1 and MG2. In a further particular embodiment, a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and a longer one of the first delay and the second delay is applied. In a further particular embodiment, the measurement report comprises a first measurement performed on the at least one MO according to both MG1 and MG2. In a further particular embodiment, a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and a total delay is the sum of MG1 and MG2. In a particular embodiment, the measurement report comprises a first measurement performed on the at least one MO according to MG1. In a further particular embodiment, a configuration of Con-MGs is delayed until the first measurement is completed using MG1. In a particular embodiment, the network node obtains user data and forwards the user data to a host or a user equipment. FIGURE 17 illustrates a method 1500 by a UE 712 for performing measurements during measurement gaps, according to certain embodiments. The method begins at step 1502 when the UE 712 obtains information indicating a transformation between concurrent measurement gap patterns. Based on the information and one or more rules, the UE 712 transitions one or more
measurements performed on at least one measurement object from a first measurement gap pattern (MG1) to a second measurement gap pattern (MG2) during a measurement time, at step 1504. In a particular embodiment, the information indicating the transformation between the concurrent measurement gap patterns indicates that MG1 in the concurrent measurement gap patterns has been configured, deconfigured, activated, or deactivated. In a particular embodiment, the UE 712 receives the one or more rules from a network node 710. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the one or more measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the one or more rules comprises continuing the first measurement using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement time is associated with MG1 and a second measurement time is associated with MG2, and the rule further comprises applying a longer one of the first measurement time and the second measurement time when performing the first measurement. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the one or more measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the one or more rules comprises restarting the first measurement using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement time is associated with MG1 and a second measurement time is associated with MG2, and a total measurement time for performing the first measurement is the sum of the first measurement time and the second measurement time. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the one or more measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the one or more rules comprises completing the first measurement using MG1 prior to transitioning to MG2. In a particular embodiment, the one or more rules further comprises delaying a configuration of concurrent gaps until the first measurement is completed using MG1. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement of the one or more measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the one or more rules comprises performing the first measurement using a default measurement gap pattern. In a particular embodiment, the UE determines at least one measurement of the one or more measurements that cannot be measured using MG1 and performing the at least one measurement using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. In a particular embodiment, when obtaining the information indicating the transformation between the concurrent measurement gap patterns, the UE 712 receives the information that
concurrent measurement gap patterns have been configured, deconfigured, activated, or deactivated from a network node. In a particular embodiment, the UE 712 transmits, to a network node 710, a measurement report comprising a result of the one or more measurements performed on the at least one measurement object FIGURE 18 illustrates a method 1600 by a network node 710, according to certain embodiments. The method begins at step 1602 when the network node 710 transmits, to a UE 712, information indicating a transformation between concurrent measurement gap patterns to trigger the UE to transition, based on one or more rules, one or more measurements performed on at least one measurement object from a first measurement gap pattern (MG1) to a second measurement gap pattern (MG2) during a measurement time. In a particular embodiment, the information indicating the transformation between the concurrent measurement gap patterns indicates that MG1 in the concurrent measurement gap patterns has been configured, deconfigured, activated, or deactivated. In a particular embodiment, the network node 710 receives, from the UE 712, a measurement report comprising a result of the one or more measurements performed on the at least one measurement object. In a particular embodiment, the network node 710 transmits, to the UE 712, the one or more rules. In a particular embodiment, the one or more rules comprises that the UE 712 is to continue the first measurement using MG2 after transitioning from MB1 to MG2, and the measurement report comprising a result of a first measurement performed on the at least one measurement object according to both MG1 and MG2. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement time is associated with MG1 and a second measurement time is associated with MG2, and the method comprises applying a longer one of the first measurement time and the second measurement time. In a particular embodiment, the one or more rules comprises that the UE is to restart the first measurement using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and the measurement report comprises a result of a first measurement performed on the at least one measurement object according to both MG1 and MG2. In a particular embodiment, a first measurement time is associated with MG1 and a second measurement time is associated with MG2, and a total measurement time is the sum of the first measurement time and the second measurement time.
In a particular embodiment, the one or more rules comprises that the UE is to delay a configuration of concurrent gaps until the first measurement is completed using MG1, and the measurement report comprises a result of a first measurement performed on the at least one measurement object according to MG1. Although the computing devices described herein (e.g., UEs, network nodes, hosts) may include the illustrated combination of hardware components, other embodiments may comprise computing devices with different combinations of components. It is to be understood that these computing devices may comprise any suitable combination of hardware and/or software needed to perform the tasks, features, functions and methods disclosed herein. Determining, calculating, obtaining or similar operations described herein may be performed by processing circuitry, which may process information by, for example, converting the obtained information into other information, comparing the obtained information or converted information to information stored in the network node, and/or performing one or more operations based on the obtained information or converted information, and as a result of said processing making a determination. Moreover, while components are depicted as single boxes located within a larger box, or nested within multiple boxes, in practice, computing devices may comprise multiple different physical components that make up a single illustrated component, and functionality may be partitioned between separate components. For example, a communication interface may be configured to include any of the components described herein, and/or the functionality of the components may be partitioned between the processing circuitry and the communication interface. In another example, non-computationally intensive functions of any of such components may be implemented in software or firmware and computationally intensive functions may be implemented in hardware. In certain embodiments, some or all of the functionality described herein may be provided by processing circuitry executing instructions stored on in memory, which in certain embodiments may be a computer program product in the form of a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium. In alternative embodiments, some or all of the functionality may be provided by the processing circuitry without executing instructions stored on a separate or discrete device-readable storage medium, such as in a hard-wired manner. In any of those particular embodiments, whether executing instructions stored on a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium or not, the processing circuitry can be configured to perform the described functionality. The benefits provided by such functionality are not limited to the processing circuitry alone or to other
components of the computing device, but are enjoyed by the computing device as a whole, and/or by end users and a wireless network generally. EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTS Group A Example Embodiments Example Embodiment A1. A method by a user equipment for performing measurements during measurement gaps, the method comprising: any of the user equipment steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above. Example Embodiment A2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional user equipment steps, features or functions described above. Example Embodiment A3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host computer via the transmission to the network node. Group B Example Embodiments Example Embodiment B1. A method performed by a network node, the method comprising: any of the network node steps, features, or functions described above, either alone or in combination with other steps, features, or functions described above. Example Embodiment B2. The method of the previous embodiment, further comprising one or more additional network node steps, features or functions described above. Example Embodiment B3. The method of any of the previous embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment. Group C Example Embodiments Example Embodiment C1. A method by a user equipment (UE) for performing measurements during measurement gaps, the method comprising: obtaining information that concurrent measurement gaps has been configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated; and based on the concurrent measurement gaps being configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated, transitioning measurements performed on at least one MO from a first measurement gap pattern (MG1) to a second measurement gap pattern (MG2) during a measurement period.
Example Embodiment C2. The method of Example Embodiment C1, further comprising: determining that concurrent measurement gaps is configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated; and transitioning from MG1 to MG2 in response to obtaining information that the concurrent measurement gaps is configured and/or activated. Example Embodiment C3. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C1 to C2, wherein a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and wherein the method further comprises continuing the first measurement of the measurements using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. Example Embodiment C4. The method of Example Embodiment C3, wherein a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and the method comprises applying a longer one of the first delay and the second delay. Example Embodiment C5. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C1 to C2, wherein a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and wherein the method further comprises restarting the first measurement of the measurements using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2. Example Embodiment C6. The method of Example Embodiment C5, wherein a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and a total delay is the sum of MG1 and MG2. Example Embodiment C7. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C1 to C2, wherein a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and wherein the method further comprises completing the first measurement using MG1 prior to transitioning to MG2. Example Embodiment C8. The method of Example Embodiment C7, wherein a configuration of Con-MGs is delayed until the first measurement is completed using MG1. Example Embodiment C9. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C1 to C2, wherein a first measurement of the measurements is being performed according to MG1 prior to transitioning from MG1 to MG2, and wherein the method further comprises performing the first measurement using a default measurement gap pattern. Example Embodiment C10. The method of any one of Example Embodiments C1 to C9, further comprising determining at least one measurement of the measurements that cannot be measured using MG1 and performing the at least one measurement of the measurements using MG2 after transitioning from MG1 to MG2.
Example Embodiment C11. The method of Example Embodiments C1 to C10, further comprising: providing user data; and forwarding the user data to a host via the transmission to the network node. Example Embodiment C12. A user equipment comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments C1 to C12. Example Embodiment C13. A wireless device comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments C1 to C12. Example Embodiment C14. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments C1 to C12. Example Embodiment C15. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments C1 to C12. Example Embodiment C16. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments C1 to C12. Group D Example Embodiments Example Embodiment D1. A method by a network node, the method comprising: transmitting, to a wireless device, information indicating that concurrent measurement gaps has been configured/activated or deconfigured/deactivated to trigger the wireless device to transition measurements performed on at least one MO from a MG1 to a MG2 during a measurement period. Example Embodiment D2. The method of Example Embodiment D1, further comprising receiving, from the wireless device, a measurement report comprising the measurements performed on the at least one MO. Example Embodiment D3. The method of Example Embodiment D2, wherein the measurement report comprises a first measurement performed on the at least one MO according to both MG1 and MG2. Example Embodiment D4. The method of Example Embodiment D3, wherein a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and the method comprises applying a longer one of the first delay and the second delay. Example Embodiment D5. The method of Example Embodiment D2, wherein the measurement report comprises a first measurement performed on the at least one MO according to both MG1 and MG2.
Example Embodiment D6. The method of Example Embodiment C5, wherein a first delay is associated with MG1 and a second delay is associated with MG2, and a total delay is the sum of MG1 and MG2. Example Embodiment D7. The method of Example Embodiment D2, wherein the measurement report comprises a first measurement performed on the at least one MO according to MG1. Example Embodiment D8. The method of Example Embodiment D7, wherein a configuration of Con-MGs is delayed until the first measurement is completed using MG1. Example Embodiment D9. The method of any of the previous Example Embodiments, further comprising: obtaining user data; and forwarding the user data to a host or a user equipment. Example Embodiment D10. A network node comprising processing circuitry configured to perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments D1 to D9. Example Embodiment D11. A computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments D1 to D9. Example Embodiment D12. A computer program product comprising computer program, the computer program comprising instructions which when executed on a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments D1 to D9. Example Embodiment D13. A non-transitory computer readable medium storing instructions which when executed by a computer perform any of the methods of Example Embodiments D1 to D9. Group E Example Embodiments Example Embodiment E1. A user equipment comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments; and power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. Example Embodiment E2. A network node comprising: processing circuitry configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments; power supply circuitry configured to supply power to the processing circuitry. Example Embodiment E3. A user equipment (UE) comprising: an antenna configured to send and receive wireless signals; radio front-end circuitry connected to the antenna and to processing circuitry, and configured to condition signals communicated between the antenna and the processing circuitry; the processing circuitry being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments; an input interface connected to the processing
circuitry and configured to allow input of information into the UE to be processed by the processing circuitry; an output interface connected to the processing circuitry and configured to output information from the UE that has been processed by the processing circuitry; and a battery connected to the processing circuitry and configured to supply power to the UE. Example Embodiment E4. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments to receive the user data from the host. Example Embodiment E5. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data to the UE from the host. Example Embodiment E6. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. Example Embodiment E7. A method implemented by a host operating in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the UE performs any of the operations of any of the Group A embodiments to receive the user data from the host. Example Emboidment E8. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE. Example Embodiment E9. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application. Example Emboidment E10. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a
cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), wherein the UE comprises a communication interface and processing circuitry, the communication interface and processing circuitry of the UE being configured to perform any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments to transmit the user data to the host. Example Emboidment E11. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein the cellular network further includes a network node configured to communicate with the UE to transmit the user data from the UE to the host. Example Embodiment E12. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. Example Embodiment E13. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, receiving user data transmitted to the host via the network node by the UE, wherein the UE performs any of the steps of any of the Group A and C Example Embodiments to transmit the user data to the host. Example Embodiment E14. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, executing a host application associated with a client application executing on the UE to receive the user data from the UE. Example Embodiment E15. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: at the host, transmitting input data to the client application executing on the UE, the input data being provided by executing the host application, wherein the user data is provided by the client application in response to the input data from the host application. Example Embodiment E16. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data to a network node in a cellular network for transmission to a user equipment (UE), the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. Example Embodiment E17. The host of the previous Example Embodiment, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application that provides the user data; and the UE comprises processing circuitry configured to execute a client application
associated with the host application to receive the transmission of user data from the host. Example Embodiment E18. A method implemented in a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: providing user data for the UE; and initiating a transmission carrying the user data to the UE via a cellular network comprising the network node, wherein the network node performs any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. Example Embodiment E19. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising, at the network node, transmitting the user data provided by the host for the UE. Example Emboidment E20. The method of any of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein the user data is provided at the host by executing a host application that interacts with a client application executing on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. Example Embodiment E21. A communication system configured to provide an over-the- top service, the communication system comprising: a host comprising: processing circuitry configured to provide user data for a user equipment (UE), the user data being associated with the over-the-top service; and a network interface configured to initiate transmission of the user data toward a cellular network node for transmission to the UE, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to transmit the user data from the host to the UE. Example Embodiment E22. The communication system of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising: the network node; and/or the user equipment. Example Embodiment E23. A host configured to operate in a communication system to provide an over-the-top (OTT) service, the host comprising: processing circuitry configured to initiate receipt of user data; and a network interface configured to receive the user data from a network node in a cellular network, the network node having a communication interface and processing circuitry, the processing circuitry of the network node configured to perform any of the operations of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to receive the user data from a user equipment (UE) for the host. Example Embodiment E24. The host of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein: the processing circuitry of the host is configured to execute a host application, thereby providing the user data; and the host application is configured to interact with a client application executing
on the UE, the client application being associated with the host application. Example Embodiment E25. The host of the any of the previous 2 Example Embodiments, wherein the initiating receipt of the user data comprises requesting the user data. Example Embodiment E26. A method implemented by a host configured to operate in a communication system that further includes a network node and a user equipment (UE), the method comprising: at the host, initiating receipt of user data from the UE, the user data originating from a transmission which the network node has received from the UE, wherein the network node performs any of the steps of any of the Group B and D Example Embodiments to receive the user data from the UE for the host. Example Embodiment E27. The method of the previous Example Embodiment, further comprising at the network node, transmitting the received user data to the host.
