WO2024065845A1

WO2024065845A1 - Cell reselection control

Info

Publication number: WO2024065845A1
Application number: PCT/CN2022/123648
Authority: WO
Inventors: Chunli Wu; Jarkko Tuomo Koskela; Tao Tao; Samuli Heikki TURTINEN; Jussi-Pekka Koskinen
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2022-09-30
Filing date: 2022-09-30
Publication date: 2024-04-04
Anticipated expiration: 2025-03-30
Also published as: CN119999254A; EP4595493A1

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to devices, methods, apparatuses and computer readable storage media of cell selection. A first device receives, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list. The first device determines, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following: one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature. As such, separate cell reselection control for devices supporting and not supporting new feature (s) is provided.

Description

CELL RESELECTION CONTROL

FIELD

Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for backward compatible cell list (s) control for cell reselection.

BACKGROUND

A few new features are under discussion in Release (Rel) -18, e.g., Low power Wake Up signaling (LP-WUS) , Network Energy Saving (NES) , etc. A legacy use equipment (UE) not supporting those new features might not be able to access those cells. Currently, it is possible to configure allowed/excluded cell list for intra-frequency and inter-frequency neighboring cells.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to perform: receiving, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list; and determining, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following: one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to perform: determining a cell list associated with a feature; transmitting, to a first device, an indication of the cell list associated with the feature.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: at a first device, receiving, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list; and determining, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following: one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method. The method comprises: at a second device, determining a cell list associated with a feature; transmitting, to a first device, an indication of the cell list associated with the feature.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list; and means for determining, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following: one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for determining a cell list associated with a feature; means for transmitting, to a first device, an indication of the cell list associated with the feature.

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

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

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

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

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

FIG. 2 illustrates an example signaling diagram of a cell list configuration procedure according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates an example diagram of separate cell lists according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a first device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of a method implemented at a second device according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the same or similar element.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As used in this application, the term “circuitry” may refer to one or more or all of the following:

(a) hardware-only circuit implementations (such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry) and

(b) combinations of hardware circuits and software, such as (as applicable) :

(i) a combination of analog and/or digital hardware circuit (s) with software/firmware and

(ii) any portions of hardware processor (s) with software (including digital signal processor (s) ) , software, and memory (ies) that work together to cause an apparatus, such as a mobile phone or server, to perform various functions) and

(c) hardware circuit (s) and or processor (s) , such as a microprocessor (s) or a portion of a microprocessor (s) , that requires software (e.g., firmware) for operation, but the software may not be present when it is not needed for operation.

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

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

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

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

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

As discussed above, currently, allowed/excluded cell list may be configured for intra-and inter-frequency neighboring cells. However, when a cell is applying new features that some UEs does not support, e.g., LP-WUS or NES mode (e.g., with some of the solutions under discussion, e.g., System Information Block (SIB) -less or adaptive Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) /SIB etc) , the legacy UEs might not be able to camp on/access the cell, while the UEs supporting the feature can.

The network can configure the cells with new features in the excluded list when it does not intend legacy UEs to camp on it. However, those cells should still be possible to be accessible for UEs supporting NES. While if the network configures them as allowed list, the legacy UEs will reselect to those cells. When the legacy UE only notices the cell bar in Master Information Block (MIB) the UE may reselect to another cell which has negative impact to legacy UEs.

Therefore, there is a need for solutions supporting backward compatible cell reselection cell list control, in order to ensure no unnecessary reselection to the cells operates new features that UEs not supporting while still allow the UEs supporting the new feature to reselect to those cells. Some solutions propose the possibility to prioritize or deprioritize NES cells during cell selection/reselection, but the selection/reselection result is still undesirable.

To solve the above and other potential problems, embodiments of the present disclosure propose a solution in which the network may provide a cell list associated with the new feature (s) including one or more cells supporting the new feature (s) . The UE supporting the new feature (s) could determine one or more allowed cells by considering one or more cell in an allowed cell list and the one or more cells supporting the new feature (s) , i.e., in the cell list associated with the new feature and/or determine one or more excluded cells by considering one or more cell in an excluded cell list and the one or more cells supporting the new feature (s) , i.e., in the cell list associated with the new feature (s) .

The proposed solution enables separate cell reselection control for UEs not supporting the new feature (s) and UEs supporting the new feature (s) . It also enables backward compatible cell reselection control to ensure legacy UEs does not reselect to a cell operating with a feature that the UE does not support while still allow the UEs supporting the feature to reselect those cells.

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

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. In the communication environment 100, a plurality of communication devices, including a first device 110 and a second device 120, can communicate with each other.

In the example of FIG. 1, the first device 110 may include a terminal device and the second device 120 may include a network device serving the terminal device. The serving area of the second device 120 may be called a cell 102.

It is to be understood that the number of devices and their connections shown in FIG. 1 are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitation. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable number of devices configured to implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. Although not shown, it would be appreciated that one or more additional devices may be located in the cell 102, and one or more additional cells may be deployed in the communication environment 100. It is noted that although illustrated as a network device, the second device 120 may be another device than a network device. Although illustrated as a terminal device, the first device 110 may be other device than a terminal device.

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

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

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

FIG. 2 shows an example signaling diagram of a cell list configuration procedure 200 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purposes of discussion, the diagram 200 will be discussed with reference to FIG. 1, for example, by using the first device 110 and the second device 120.

In some example embodiments of the present disclosure, the second device 120 may provide separate cell lists comprising, for example, a cell list associated with the new feature (s) including one or more cells supporting the new feature (s) , an allowed cell list comprising one or more cells to which the UE is allowed to access and/or an excluded cell list comprising one or more cells to which the UE is unallowed to access. The new feature may be related to a functionality. For example, the new feature may be related to a LP-WUS, NAS, and/or the like. For example, the new feature may be initiated at the second device 120 and/or any other network nodes.

The second device 120 may configure separate cell lists as shown in FIG. 3, which illustrates an example diagram 300 of separate cell lists according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 3, the separate cell lists configured by the network device 120 may include, for example, but not limited to, an allowed cell list 310, an exclude cell list 320, and a new cell list 330 for the cells operating with the new feature (s) , i.e., the cell list associated with the new feature (s) .

The allowed cell list 310 may be, for example, a legacy allowed cell list. The exclude cell list 320 may be a legacy excluded cell list. The new cell list 330 may be a new cell list for cells operating with the new feature (s) . Such a cell list associated with the new feature (s) is also referred to as “feature-associated cell list” 330 for brevity.

The feature-associated cell list 330 may be implemented in various ways. In some embodiments, it may be the same for a plurality of new features. That is, a feature-associated cell list 330 may be shared by a part of or all of the new features. Alternatively, the feature-associated cell list 330 may be defined per feature. In other words, if there are a plurality of new features, each new feature may have a corresponding feature-associated cell list 330.

In some example embodiments, the new feature may be related to a functionality. For example, the new feature may be related to a LP-WUS, NES, and/or the like.

In the cell list configuration procedure 200, the second device 120 determines (210) a cell list associated with a feature, for example, the feature-associated cell list 330. For example, the second device 120 may find one or more devices/cells that are going to operate with a new feature. The cell list may indicate one or more cells to be operated with the new feature. Then, the second device 120 transmit (220) an indication of the feature-associated cell list 330 to the first device 110.

Additionally, in some embodiments, the second device 120 may coordinate, with one or more other devices, an indication that the feature is to be applied by the at least one third device, for example, via an Xn-AP signalling.

In some embodiments, the first device 110 may be a terminal device, for example, a UE, and the second device 120 may be a network device, for example gNB. In this case, the third device may be for instance another network device, e.g., a gNB. As such, it may be coordinated between gNBs whether the neighbouring cells are applying or intend to apply the new features. For instance, a new signalling over Xn-AP may be introduced to indicate to neighbouring gNB (s) about the application /intend to apply the new feature (s) in which case the neighbour gNBs may configure the allowed cell lists for UEs supporting the new feature (s) . It is to be understood that the Xn-AP signalling is discussed for illustration, rather than suggest any limitation. The coordination may be performed via other suitable message (s) or ways.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the procedure 200, the first device 110 receives (230) from the second device 120, an indication of the feature-associated cell list 330 and at least one of an allowed cell list (for example, the allowed cell list 310) or an excluded cell list (for example, the excluded cell list 320) . Based on at least one capability of the first device 110, the first device 110 determines (240) one or more allowed cells for the first device 110 based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list list (for example, the allowed cell list 310) and one or more cells in the feature-associated cell list 330, and/or one or more excluded cells for the first device 110 based on one or more cells in the excluded cell list (for example, the excluded cell list 320) and one or more cells in the feature-associated cell list 330.

The capability of the first device 110 may be related to power saving matters, for example, LP-WUS, NES, and/or the like. In some implementations, when determining the allowed cell list and the excluded cell list, the first device 110 (for example, a terminal device) takes both the broadcasted cell lists and its capability into account, e.g., whether it supports LP-WUS, NES etc.

In some example embodiment, the first device 110 may determine whether the new feature is supported by the first device based on its capability. If yes, the first device 110 may further determine the one or more allowed cells for the first device by including the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature with the one or more cells in the allowed cell list, or the one or more excluded cells for the first device by excluding the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature from the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.

For instance, the first device 110 may derive its allowed cell list and excluded cell list based on configured lists and whether it supports the new feature (s) . For example, if the first device 110 determines based on its capability that the new feature is supported by the first device, the first device 110 may determine its allowed cell (s) by considering one or more cells in the allowed cell list 310 and the one or more cells in the feature-associated cell list 330. Meanwhile, the first device 110 may also its excluded cells by considering one or more cells in the excluded cell list 320 and the one or more cells in the feature-associated cell list 330.

Alternatively, if the first device 110 determines based on its capability that the new feature is supported by the first device, it may further determine whether at least one cell in included in the excluded cell list, for example, the excluded cell list 320, belongs to the feature-associated cell list 330. If yes, the first device 110 determines that the at least one cell is to be included as the one or more allowed cells.

It is also possible that the first device 110 may determine a new allowed cell list based on the feature-associated cell list 330 and ignoring the one or more cells in allowed cell list 310 and/or determine a new excluded cell list based on the feature-associated cell list 330 and ignoring the one or more cells in excluded cell list 320. That is, one or more cells excluded from the feature-associated cell list 330 may be considered as belonging to the new excluded cell list.

In this way, the one or more allowed cells for the first device and/or the one or more excluded cells for the first device may be determined for a cell selection/reselection. The UE supporting the new feature (s) may consider the cells provided in cell list as supporting the new feature (s) and operates accordingly when selecting/reselecting to those cells.

There may be a variety of implementations for example embodiments of the present disclosure. One possible implementation may comprise configuring the cells operating with the new feature (s) as new allowed cell list for terminal devices supporting the feature (s) , for example, the feature-associated cell list 330, in addition to the allowed cell list, for example, the allowed cell list 310.

The terminal devices supporting the feature may not consider the cells in cell list as excluded cells. Instead, they may only consider the excluded cell list 320 minus cells in the feature-associated cell list 330 as excluded cell list.

An implementation is discussed below with reference to Table 1. Table 1 shows an example of a configuration for the new feature-associated cell list. The configuration may be included in SIB3 information element (IE) and SIB4 information element (IE) . SIB3 contains neighboring cell related information relevant only for intra-frequency cell re-selection. The IE may include cells with specific re-selection parameters as well as exclude-listed cells. SIB4 contains information relevant for inter-frequency cell re-selection (i.e., information about other NR frequencies and inter-frequency neighbouring cells relevant for cell re-selection) , which can also be used for NR idle/inactive measurements. The IE includes cell re-selection parameters common for a frequency as well as cell specific re-selection parameters.

Table 1: an example of configuration for the new feature-associated cell list

With the example embodiments of the present disclosure, it is possible to provide separate cell reselection control for a terminal device not supporting new feature (s) and another terminal device supporting the new feature (s) . Meanwhile, it enables backward compatible cell reselection control. This ensures that a terminal device does not select/reselect to a cell operating with a feature that the terminal device does not support; at the same time, another terminal device supporting that feature is still allowed to select/reselect that cell operating with the feature. In this way, different cell selection ways may be applied to terminal devices according to whether they support the new feature (s) . As such, flexibility and diversity can be achieved for cell selection/reselection.

FIG. 4 shows a flowchart of an example method 400 implemented at a first device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 400 will be described from the perspective of the first device 110 in FIG. 1.

At block 410, the first device 110 receives, from a second device 120, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list.

At block 420, based on a capability of the first device, the first device 110 determines: one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, and/or one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.

In some example embodiments, the feature may relate to a functionality comprising at least one of the following: a low power wake up signalling, or network energy saving.

In some example embodiments, one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature are to be operated with the feature.

In some example embodiments, it is determined that the feature is supported by the first device based on the capability of the first device, the one or more allowed cells for the first device comprises including the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature with the one or more cells in the allowed cell list; and/or the one or more excluded cells for the first device comprises excluding the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature from the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may further determine, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device. If the feature is supported by the first device and at least one cell in the excluded cell list belongs to the cell list associated with the feature, the first device 110 may determine the at least one cell is to be included as the one or more allowed cells.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may further determine, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device. If the feature is supported by the first device, the first device 110 may determine the one or more allowed cells based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the allowed cell list, or the one or more excluded cells for the first device based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.

In some example embodiments, at least one of the one or more allowed cells for the first device or the one or more excluded cells for the first device may be determined for a cell selection or a cell reselection.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may comprise a terminal device, and the second device 120 may comprise a network device.

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a second device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the second device 120 in FIG. 1.

At block 510, the second device 120 determines a cell list associated with a feature.

At block 520, the second device 120 transmits an indication of the cell list associated with the feature to the first device110.

In some example embodiments, the cell list associated with the feature may indicate one or more cells to be operated with the feature.

Additionally, in some example embodiments, the second device 120 may coordinate, with at least one third device, an indication that the feature is to be applied by the at least one third device.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may coordinate with at least one third device via an Xn-AP signalling.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may comprise a terminal device and the second device 120 may comprise a network device.

In some example embodiments, the third device may comprise a network device.

In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing any of the method 400 (for example, the first device 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 400. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first device 110 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list; and means for determining, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following: one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.

In some example embodiments, the feature relates to a functionality comprising at least one of the following: a low power wake up signalling, or network energy saving.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may further comprise: means for determining, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device; means for in accordance with a determination that the feature is supported by the first device and at least one cell in the excluded cell list belongs to the cell list associated with the feature, determining the at least one cell is to be included as the one or more allowed cells.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus may further comprise: means for determining, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device; means for in accordance with a determination that the feature is supported by the first device, determining the one or more allowed cells based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the allowed cell list, or the one or more excluded cells for the first device based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.

In some example embodiments, at least one of the one or more allowed cells for the first device or the one or more excluded cells for the first device is determined for a cell selection or a cell reselection.

In some example embodiments, the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 400 or the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 500 (for example, the second device 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second device 120 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for determining a cell list associated with a feature; and means for transmitting, to a first device, an indication of the cell list associated with the feature.

In some example embodiments, the cell list associated with the feature indicates one or more cells to be operated with the feature.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus may further comprise: means for coordinating, with at least one third device, an indication that the feature is to be applied by the at least one third device.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus may further comprise: means for coordinating with at least one third device via an Xn-AP signalling.

In some example embodiments, the third device comprises a network device.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 500 or the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the second apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a simplified block diagram of a device 600 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 600 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first device 110 or the second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 600 includes one or more processors 610, one or more memories 620 coupled to the processor 610, and one or more communication modules 640 coupled to the processor 610.

The communication module 640 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 640 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 640 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 610 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 600 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 620 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 624, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 622 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 630 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 610. The instructions of the program 630 may include instructions for performing operations/acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 630 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 624. The processor 610 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 630 into the RAM 622.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 630 so that the device 600 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 2 to FIG. 5. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 630 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 600 (such as in the memory 620) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 600. The device 600 may load the program 630 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 622 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

FIG. 7 shows an example of the computer readable medium 700 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 700 has the program 630 stored thereon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims

A first device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to:

receive, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list; and

determine, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following:

one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or

one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.
The first device of claim 1, wherein the feature relates to a functionality comprising at least one of the following:

a low power wake up signalling, or

network energy saving.
The first device of claim 1 or 2, wherein one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature are to be operated with the feature.
The first device of any of claims 1-3, wherein it is determined that the feature is supported by the first device based on the capability of the first device; and wherein

the one or more allowed cells for the first device comprises including the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature with the one or more cells in the allowed cell list; and/or

the one or more excluded cells for the first device comprises excluding the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature from the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.
The first device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the first device is caused to:

determine, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device; and

in accordance with a determination that the feature is supported by the first device and at least one cell in the excluded cell list belongs to the cell list associated with the feature, determine the at least one cell is to be included as the one or more allowed cells.
The first device of any of claims 1-3, wherein the first device is caused to:

determine, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device; and

in accordance with a determination that the feature is supported by the first device, determine at least one of the following:

the one or more allowed cells based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the allowed cell list, or

the one or more excluded cells for the first device based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.
The first device of any of claims 1-6, wherein at least one of the one or more allowed cells for the first device or the one or more excluded cells for the first device is determined for a cell selection or a cell reselection.
The first device of any of claims 1-7, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.
A second device comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to:

determine a cell list associated with a feature;

transmit, to a first device, an indication of the cell list associated with the feature.
The second device of claim 9, wherein the feature relates to a functionality comprising at least one of the following:

a low power wake up signalling, or

network energy saving.
The second device of claim 9 or 10, wherein the cell list associated with the feature indicates one or more cells to be operated with the feature.
The second device of any of claims 9-11, wherein the second device is caused to:

coordinate, with at least one third device, an indication that the feature is to be applied by the at least one third device.
The second device of claim 12, wherein the second device is caused to:

coordinate with at least one third device via an Xn-AP signalling.
The second device of any of claims 9-13, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.
The second device of claim 12 or 13, wherein the third device comprises a network device.
A method comprising:

at a first device, receiving, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list; and

determining, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following:

one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or

one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.
The method of claim 16, wherein the feature relates to a functionality comprising at least one of the following:

a low power wake up signalling, or

network energy saving.
The method of claim 16 or 17, wherein one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature are to be operated with the feature.
The method of any of claims 16-18, wherein it is determined that the feature is supported by the first device based on the capability of the first device; and wherein

the one or more allowed cells for the first device comprises including the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature with the one or more cells in the allowed cell list; and/or

the one or more excluded cells for the first device comprises excluding the one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature from the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.
The method of any of claims 16-18, further comprising:

determining, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device; and

in accordance with a determination that the feature is supported by the first device and at least one cell in the excluded cell list belongs to the cell list associated with the feature, determining the at least one cell is to be included as the one or more allowed cells.
The method of any of claims 16-18, further comprising:

determining, based on the capability of the first device, whether the feature is supported by the first device; and

in accordance with a determination that the feature is supported by the first device, determining at least one of the following:

the one or more allowed cells based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the allowed cell list, or

the one or more excluded cells for the first device based on the cell list associated with the feature and ignoring the one or more cells in the excluded cell list.
The method of any of claims 16-21, wherein at least one of the one or more allowed cells for the first device or the one or more excluded cells for the first device is determined for a cell selection or a cell reselection.
The method of any of claims 16-22, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.
A method comprising:

at a second device, determining a cell list associated with a feature; and

transmitting, to a first device, an indication of the cell list associated with the feature.
The method of claim 24, wherein the feature relates to a functionality comprising at least one of the following:

a low power wake up signalling, or

network energy saving.
The method of claim 24 or 25, wherein the cell list associated with the feature indicates one or more cells to be operated with the feature.
The method of any of claims 24-26, further comprising:

coordinating, with at least one third device, an indication that the feature is to be applied by the at least one third device.
The method of claim 27, further comprising:

coordinating with at least one third device via an Xn-AP signalling.
The method of any of claims 24-28, wherein the first device comprises a terminal device and the second device comprises a network device.
The method of claim 27 or 28, wherein the third device comprises a network device.
A first apparatus comprising:

means for receiving, from a second device, an indication of a cell list associated with a feature and at least one of an allowed cell list or an excluded cell list; and

means for determining, based on a capability of the first device, at least one of the following:

one or more allowed cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the allowed cell list and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature, or

one or more excluded cells for the first device based on one or more cells in the excluded cell and one or more cells in the cell list associated with the feature.
A second apparatus comprising:

means for determining a cell list associated with a feature; and

means for transmitting, to a first device, an indication of the cell list associated with the feature.
A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of any of claims 16-23 or the method of any of claims 24-30.