WO2024168661A1

WO2024168661A1 - Measurement configuration and execution condition handling in selective scg activation

Info

Publication number: WO2024168661A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/076388
Authority: WO
Inventors: Yuqin Chen; Fangli Xu; Sethuraman Gurumoorthy; Haijing Hu; Peng Cheng; Alexander Sirotkin; Ralf ROSSBACH; Naveen Kumar R. PALLE VENKATA
Original assignee: Apple Inc
Current assignee: Apple Inc
Priority date: 2023-02-16
Filing date: 2023-02-16
Publication date: 2024-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 2025-08-16
Also published as: EP4646875A1; CN120770183A

Abstract

The disclosure relates to measurement configuration and execution condition handling in selective Secondary Cell Group (SCG) activation. There is provided there is provided a base station (BS), comprising: one or more antenna; one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and a processor coupled to the one or more radio. The BS is configured to perform operations comprising: receiving, from a source secondary base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and sending, to a user equipment (UE), global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station associated with the base station.

Description

MEASUREMENT CONFIGURATION AND EXECUTION CONDITION HANDLING IN SELECTIVE SCG ACTIVATION

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates generally to wireless communication systems, including user equipments (UEs) , base stations (BSs) , methods, apparatus, and medium for measurement configuration and execution condition handling in a selective Secondary Cell Group (SCG) activation.

BACKGROUND

Wireless mobile communication technology uses various standards and protocols to transmit data between a base station and a wireless communication device. Wireless communication system standards and protocols can include, for example, 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE) (e.g., 4G) , 3GPP new radio (NR) (e.g., 5G) , and IEEE 802.11 standard for wireless local area networks (WLAN) (commonly known to industry groups as) .

As contemplated by the 3GPP, different wireless communication systems standards and protocols can use various radio access networks (RANs) for communicating between a base station of the RAN (which may also sometimes be referred to generally as a RAN node, a network node, or simply a node) and a wireless communication device known as a user equipment (UE) . 3GPP RANs can include, for example, global system for mobile communications (GSM) , enhanced data rates for GSM evolution (EDGE) RAN (GERAN) , Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN) , Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) , and/or Next-Generation Radio Access Network (NG-RAN) .

Each RAN may use one or more radio access technologies (RATs) to perform communication between the base station and the UE. For example, the GERAN implements GSM and/or EDGE RAT, the UTRAN implements universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) RAT or other 3GPP RAT, the E-UTRAN implements LTE RAT (sometimes simply referred to as LTE) , and NG-RAN implements NR RAT (sometimes referred to herein as 5G RAT, 5G NR RAT, or simply NR) . In certain deployments, the E-UTRAN may also implement NR RAT. In certain deployments, NG-RAN may also implement LTE RAT.

A base station used by a RAN may correspond to that RAN. One example of an E-UTRAN base station is an Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) Node B (also commonly denoted as evolved Node B, enhanced Node B, eNodeB, or eNB) . One example of an NG-RAN base station is a next generation Node B (also sometimes referred to as a or g Node B or gNB) .

A RAN provides its communication services with external entities through its connection to a core network (CN) . For example, E-UTRAN may utilize an Evolved Packet Core (EPC) , while NG-RAN may utilize a 5G Core Network (5GC) .

SUMMARY

Embodiments relate to user equipments, base stations, methods, apparatus, and medium for measurement configuration and execution condition handling in a selective SCG activation.

In some embodiments, there is provided a base station (BS) , comprising: one or more antenna; one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and a processor coupled to the one or more radio. The BS is configured to perform operations comprising: receiving, from a source secondary base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and sending, to a user equipment (UE) , global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station associated with the base station.

In some embodiments, there is provided a method, comprising: by a base station (BS) , receiving, from a source secondary base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and sending, to a user equipment (UE) , global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station associated with the base station.

In some embodiments, there is provided a base station (BS) , comprising: one or more antenna; one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and a processor coupled to the one or more radio. The BS is configured to perform operations comprising: generating global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with a master base station; and providing, to a user equipment (UE) , the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes via the master base station.

In some embodiments, there is provided a method, comprising: by a base station (BS) , generating global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with a master base station; and providing, to a user equipment (UE) , the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes via the master base station.

In some embodiments, there is provided a base station (BS) , comprising one or more antenna, one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna, and a processor coupled to the one or more radio. The BS is configured to perform operations comprising receiving, from a master base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and sending, to the master base station, a conditional configuration list at the base station, wherein the conditional configuration list is used to generate global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes among a source secondary base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station, the one or more target secondary base stations include the base station, and the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the source secondary base station and the one or more target secondary base stations.

In some embodiments, there is provided a method, comprising: by a base station (BS) , receiving, from a master base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and sending, to the master base station, a conditional configuration list at the base station, wherein the conditional configuration list is used to generate global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes among a source secondary base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station, the one or more target secondary base stations include the base station, and the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the source secondary base station and the one or more target secondary base stations.

In some embodiments, there is provided an apparatus for operating a base station (BS) , comprising: a processor configured to cause the BS to perform any method as previously recited.

In some embodiments, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions which, when executed at a base station (BS) , cause the BS to perform any method as previously recited.

In some embodiments, there is provided a user equipment (UE) , comprising: one or more antenna; one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and a processor coupled to the one or more radio. The UE is configured to perform operations comprising: receiving, from a master base station, global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from a source secondary base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station; and performing measurements based on the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.

In some embodiments, there is provided an apparatus for operating a user equipment (UE) , comprising: a processor configured to cause the UE to perform any method as recited previously.

In some embodiments, there is provided a non-transitory computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions which, when executed at a user equipment (UE) , cause the UE to perform any method as recited previously.

This Summary is intended to provide a brief overview of some of the subject matter described in this document. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the above-described features are merely examples and should not be construed to narrow the scope or spirit of the subject matter described herein in any way. Other features, aspects, and advantages of the subject matter described herein will become apparent from the following Detailed Description, Figures, and Claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

To easily identify the discussion of any particular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in a reference number refer to the figure number in which that element is first introduced.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system for performing signaling between a wireless device and a network device, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example CHO procedure according to the related art.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example SN initiated inter-SN CPC procedure according to the related art.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example scenario for consecutive cell group changes.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example scenario with a MN being associated with two SNs, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example flowchart of a method based on local execution conditions, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example flowchart of a method based on local execution conditions, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example flowchart of a method based on global execution conditions, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example flowchart of a method performed by a base station, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example flowchart of a method performed by a base station, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example flowchart of a method performed by a base station, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example flowchart of a method performed by a user equipment (UE) , according to embodiments disclosed herein.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Various embodiments are described with regard to a UE. However, reference to a UE is merely provided for illustrative purposes. The example embodiments may be utilized with any electronic component that may establish a connection to a network and is configured with the hardware, software, and/or firmware to exchange information and data with the network. Therefore, the UE as described herein is used to represent any appropriate electronic component.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example architecture of a wireless communication system 100, according to embodiments disclosed herein. The following description is provided for an example wireless communication system 100 that operates in conjunction with the LTE system standards and/or 5G or NR system standards as provided by 3GPP technical specifications.

As shown by FIG. 1, the wireless communication system 100 includes UE 102 and UE 104 (although any number of UEs may be used) . In this example, the UE 102 and the UE 104 are illustrated as smartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devices connectable to one or more cellular networks) but may also comprise any mobile or non-mobile computing device configured for wireless communication.

The UE 102 and UE 104 may be configured to communicatively couple with a RAN 106. In embodiments, the RAN 106 may be NG-RAN, E-UTRAN, etc. The UE 102 and UE 104 utilize connections (or channels) (shown as connection 108 and connection 110, respectively) with the RAN 106, each of which comprises a physical communications interface. The RAN 106 can include one or more base stations, such as base station 112 and base station 114, that enable the connection 108 and connection 110.

In this example, the connection 108 and connection 110 are air interfaces to enable such communicative coupling and may be consistent with RAT (s) used by the RAN 106, such as, for example, an LTE and/or NR. In a case that the RAN 106 is an NTN-based NG-RAN architecture, the connection 108 and connection 110 are NR Uu interfaces.

In some embodiments, the UE 102 and UE 104 may also directly exchange communication data via a sidelink interface 116. The UE 104 is shown to be configured to access an access point (shown as AP 118) via connection 120. By way of example, the connection 120 can comprise a local wireless connection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11 protocol, wherein the AP 118 may comprise a router. In this example, the AP 118 may be connected to another network (for example, the Internet) without going through a CN 124.

In embodiments, the UE 102 and UE 104 can be configured to communicate using orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with the base station 112 and/or the base station 114 over a multicarrier communication channel in accordance with various communication techniques, such as, but not limited to, an orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a single carrier frequency division multiple access (SC-FDMA) communication technique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications) , although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some embodiments, all or parts of the base station 112 or base station 114 may be implemented as one or more software entities running on server computers as part of a virtual network. In addition, or in other embodiments, the base station 112 or base station 114 may be configured to communicate with one another via interface 122. In embodiments where the wireless communication system 100 is an LTE system (e.g., when the CN 124 is an EPC) , the interface 122 may be an X2 interface. The X2 interface may be defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more eNBs and the like) that connect to an EPC, and/or between two eNBs connecting to the EPC. In embodiments where the wireless communication system 100 is an NR system (e.g., when CN 124 is a 5GC) , the interface 122 may be an Xn interface. The Xn interface is defined between two or more base stations (e.g., two or more gNBs and the like) that connect to 5GC, between a base station 112 (e.g., a gNB) connecting to 5GC and an eNB, and/or between two eNBs connecting to 5GC (e.g., CN 124) .

The RAN 106 is shown to be communicatively coupled to the CN 124. The CN 124 may comprise one or more network elements 126, which are configured to offer various data and telecommunications services to customers/subscribers (e.g., users of UE 102 and UE 104) who are connected to the CN 124 via the RAN 106. The components of the CN 124 may be implemented in one physical device or separate physical devices including components to read and execute instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) .

In embodiments, the CN 124 may be an EPC, and the RAN 106 may be connected with the CN 124 via an S1 interface 128. In embodiments, the S1 interface 128 may be split into two parts, an S1 user plane (S1-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the base station 112 or base station 114 and a serving gateway (S-GW) , and the S1-MME interface, which is a signaling interface between the base station 112 or base station 114 and mobility management entities (MMEs) .

In embodiments, the CN 124 may be a 5GC, and the RAN 106 may be connected with the CN 124 via an NG interface 128. In embodiments, the NG interface 128 may be split into two parts, an NG user plane (NG-U) interface, which carries traffic data between the base station 112 or base station 114 and a user plane function (UPF) , and the S1 control plane (NG- C) interface, which is a signaling interface between the base station 112 or base station 114 and access and mobility management functions (AMFs) .

Generally, an application server 130 may be an element offering applications that use internet protocol (IP) bearer resources with the CN 124 (e.g., packet switched data services) . The application server 130 can also be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g., VoIP sessions, group communication sessions, etc. ) for the UE 102 and UE 104 via the CN 124. The application server 130 may communicate with the CN 124 through an IP communications interface 132.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system 200 for performing signaling 234 between a wireless device 202 and a network device 218, according to embodiments disclosed herein. The system 200 may be a portion of a wireless communications system as herein described. The wireless device 202 may be, for example, a UE of a wireless communication system. The network device 218 may be, for example, a base station (e.g., an eNB or a gNB) of a wireless communication system.

The wireless device 202 may include one or more processor (s) 204. The processor (s) 204 may execute instructions such that various operations of the wireless device 202 are performed, as described herein. The processor (s) 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a central processing unit (CPU) , a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a controller, a field programmable gate array (FPGA) device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

The wireless device 202 may include a memory 206. The memory 206 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 208 (which may include, for example, the instructions being executed by the processor (s) 204) . The instructions 208 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 206 may also store data used by, and results computed by, the processor (s) 204.

The wireless device 202 may include one or more transceiver (s) 210 that may include radio frequency (RF) transmitter and/or receiver circuitry that use the antenna (s) 212 of the wireless device 202 to facilitate signaling (e.g., the signaling 234) to and/or from the wireless device 202 with other devices (e.g., the network device 218) according to corresponding RATs.

The wireless device 202 may include one or more antenna (s) 212 (e.g., one, two, four, or more) . For embodiments with multiple antenna (s) 212, the wireless device 202 may leverage the spatial diversity of such multiple antenna (s) 212 to send and/or receive multiple different data streams on the same time and frequency resources. This behavior may be referred to as, for example, multiple input multiple output (MIMO) behavior (referring to the multiple antennas used at each of a transmitting device and a receiving device that enable this aspect) . MIMO transmissions by the wireless device 202 may be accomplished according to precoding (or digital beamforming) that is applied at the wireless device 202 that multiplexes the data streams across the antenna (s) 212 according to known or assumed channel characteristics such that each data stream is received with an appropriate signal strength relative to other streams and at a desired location in the spatial domain (e.g., the location of a receiver associated with that data stream) . Certain embodiments may use single user MIMO (SU-MIMO) methods (where the data streams are all directed to a single receiver) and/or multiuser MIMO (MU-MIMO) methods (where individual data streams may be directed to individual (different) receivers in different locations in the spatial domain) .

In certain embodiments having multiple antennas, the wireless device 202 may implement analog beamforming techniques, whereby phases of the signals sent by the antenna (s) 212 are relatively adjusted such that the (joint) transmission of the antenna (s) 212 can be directed (this is sometimes referred to as beam steering) .

The wireless device 202 may include one or more interface (s) 214. The interface (s) 214 may be used to provide input to or output from the wireless device 202. For example, a wireless device 202 that is a UE may include interface (s) 214 such as microphones, speakers, a touchscreen, buttons, and the like to allow for input and/or output to the UE by a user of the UE.Other interfaces of such a UE may be made up of made up of transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry (e.g., other than the transceiver (s) 210/antenna (s) 212 already described) that allow for communication between the UE and other devices and may operate according to known protocols (e.g., and the like) .

The network device 218 may include one or more processor (s) 220. The processor (s) 220 may execute instructions such that various operations of the network device 218 are performed, as described herein. The processor (s) 204 may include one or more baseband processors implemented using, for example, a CPU, a DSP, an ASIC, a controller, an FPGA device, another hardware device, a firmware device, or any combination thereof configured to perform the operations described herein.

The network device 218 may include a memory 222. The memory 222 may be a non-transitory computer-readable storage medium that stores instructions 224 (which may include, for example, the instructions being executed by the processor (s) 220) . The instructions 224 may also be referred to as program code or a computer program. The memory 222 may also store data used by, and results computed by, the processor (s) 220.

The network device 218 may include one or more transceiver (s) 226 that may include RF transmitter and/or receiver circuitry that use the antenna (s) 228 of the network device 218 to facilitate signaling (e.g., the signaling 234) to and/or from the network device 218 with other devices (e.g., the wireless device 202) according to corresponding RATs.

The network device 218 may include one or more antenna (s) 228 (e.g., one, two, four, or more) . In embodiments having multiple antenna (s) 228, the network device 218 may perform MIMO, digital beamforming, analog beamforming, beam steering, etc., as has been described.

The network device 218 may include one or more interface (s) 230. The interface (s) 230 may be used to provide input to or output from the network device 218. For example, a network device 218 that is a base station may include interface (s) 230 made up of transmitters, receivers, and other circuitry (e.g., other than the transceiver (s) 226/antenna (s) 228 already described) that enables the base station to communicate with other equipment in a core network, and/or that enables the base station to communicate with external networks, computers, databases, and the like for purposes of operations, administration, and maintenance of the base station or other equipment operably connected thereto.

Satellites maximize the inherent value of 5G networks by solving coverage problems and providing difficult use-cases that ground-based infrastructure alone cannot address. 5G standards make Non-Terrestrial Networks (NTNs) -including satellite segments –a recognized part of 5G connectivity infrastructure.

NTN is used to deliver 5G/NR service via space (satellite) or air (airborne platform) to those places where it is technically very difficult or cost too much to deliver with a terrestrial network (TN) . Some examples of those places would be a remote area like deep forest that would be too costly with terrestrial delivery, or far islands or ships that would be technically almost forbidden in terrestrial connection.

In 3GPP, one basic principle about measConfig handling was made in Rel-15. The network uses explicit RRC signalling to remove the measId associated to reportConfig which is no longer valid to be measured (e.g., measId associated to reportConfig concerning an event involving a serving cell while the concerned serving cell is not configured) . If the network doesn't do this, the UE’s behavior may be not specified/expected.

When the PCell is changed, the measConfig, especially the measId, measObject, and measReport, should be updated accordingly by the network especially when the measurement report event is A3. A3 event involves a comparison between the PCell and its neighbor cell. When the PCell is changed, the old A3 event becomes invalid naturally.

MeasConfig can be provisioned by both a Mater Node (MN) and a Secondary Node (SN) .

The same principle above is applied to an SCG change.

In Rel-16, Conditional Handover (CHO) and intra-SN Conditional PSCell Change (CPC) were introduced for mobility enhancement.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example CHO procedure according to the related art.

FIG. 3 shows a UE, an source base station S-gNB and a target base station T-gNB 1 (corresponding to cell-1) . It should be understood that there may be several T-gNBs, and only the T-gNB 1 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 3, after the CHO preparation, the S-gNB, which acts as the source MN, sends, to the UE, RRCReconfiguration including a CHO configuration list at the S-gNB. The CHO configuration list may comprise CHO configurations associated with one or more target cells (e.g., cell 1 as shown) . Each CHO configuration may comprise CHO configuration ID, CHO conditions (refers to MeasIDs) and CHO RRC configuration including a corresponding target cell configuration. MeasID is associated with ReportConfig indicating event (s) .

In response to the receipt of the RRCReconfiguration, the UE decodes the source configuration and CHO conditions, and stores CHO RRC configurations for target cell (s) . The UE performs a CHO measurement to handover to a cell fulfilling a CHO condition (e.g., cell-2 if it is found that the cell-2’s quality fulfils the CHO condition) .

In Rel 16, the execution conditions are determined and only known by the initiated node. For example, for CHO, the execution conditions are determined and only known by the source MN. For intra-SN CPC, the execution conditions are determined and only known by the initiated SN.

In Rel-17, Conditional PSCell Addition (CPA) and inter-SN CPC (including MN initiated inter-SN CPC and SN initiated inter-SN CPC) were introduced for mobility enhancement.

In Rel-17, execution conditions are determined and only known by the initiated node. For example, for CPA, execution conditions are determined and only known by the MN. For MN initiated inter-SN CPC, execution conditions are determined and only known by the MN. For SN initiated inter-SN CPC, execution conditions are determined and only known by the source SN.

As shown in FIG. 4, the procedure involves communications among a UE 4001, a master node MN 4002, a source secondary node S-SN 4003 and a target secondary node T-SN 4004. It should be understood that there may be more than one target secondary node but only the target secondary node T-SN 4004 is shown.

As shown in FIG. 4, at a step 401, the S-SN 4003 sends to the MN 4002 an SN change Required message, which may include its execution condition, a list of proposed PSCell candidates, and its SCG configuration for delta configuration.

At a step 402, the MN 4002 sends the list of proposed PSCell candidates to the T-SN 4004 in an SN Addition Request message. The T-SN 4004 may select or accept one or more PSCell candidates in the list of proposed PSCell candidates and at the step 403, the T-SN 4004 sends, to the MN 4002, an SN Addition Request Acknowledge message containing e.g., CG-CandidateList indicating the selected/accepted one or more PSCell candidates.

At a step 404, the MN 4002 provides the candidate PSCell list accepted by the T-SN 4004 (as indicated in CG-CandidateList) to the S-SN 4003. Accordingly, the S-SN 4003 updates the measurement configuration based on the candidate PSCell list accepted by the T-SN 4004 and at a step 405, the S-SN 4003 provides the updated measurement configuration to the MN 4002.

The steps 404 and 405 may be optional. For example, if T-SN 4004 accepts all the proposed PSCell candidates, then steps 404 and 405 may be omitted.

At a step 406, the MN 4002 sends to the UE 4001 an RRCReconfiguration message including the CPC configuration, i.e., a list of RRCReconfiguration*messages and associated execution conditions, in which each RRCReconfiguration*message contains the SCG configuration in the RRCReconfiguration**message received from T-SN 4004 at step 403 and possibly an MCG configuration. Besides, the RRCReconfiguration*message can also include an updated MCG configuration, as well as the RRCReconfigComplete***generated by the source SN, i.e., S-SN 4003, e.g., to configure the required conditional measurements.

As shown in FIG. 4, the RRCReconfiguration message may comprise currently updated MCG configuration, currently updated source SCG configuration, and a list of conditional configurations. The RRCReconfiguration message may comprise CondReconfigToAddMod (cell-1) , CondReconfigToAddMod (cell-2) , etc. As shown, CondReconfigToAddMod (cell-1) may comprise condReconfigId, condExecutionCond (which are measurement configurations from a corresponding SN) and condRRCReconfig in MN RRCReconfig* (MCG config (sk counter, etc. ) + Target SN RRCReconfig**with SecondaryCellGroup including reconfigurationWithSync) .

At a step 407, the UE 4001 sends a RRCReconfigComplete message to the MN 4002. The RRCReconfigComplete message may contain embedded SN RRCReconfigComplete***for the current SCG. That is, the UE 4001 acknowledges to the MN 4002 the receipt of the above information sent by the MN 4002 at the step 406.

The UE 4001 may perform a CPC measurement based on the RRCReconfiguration message received at the step 406, find T-PSCell (e.g., cell-1 corresponding to the T-SN 4004 in FIG. 4) fulfilling the CPC condition, and performs the PSCell change.

At a step 408, the UE 4001 sends a RRCReconfigComplete*message with embedded SN RRCReconfigComplete**. That is, the UE 4001 indicates to the MN 4002 that it is to handover from the S-SN 4003 to the T-SN 4004.

At a step 409, the MN 4002 sends an SN RRCReconfigComplete message to the T-SN 4004 to establish a tunnel for data communications. Then, at a step 410, a RACH procedure is performed between the UE 4001 and the T-SN 4004.

In Rel-17, for the SN initiated CPC, SN (s) decide on the conditions. Only Signalling Radio Bearers 1 (SRB1) is supported. A new execution condition, i.e., condExecutionCondSCG which is associated with SCG configured measConfig, has been introduced.

In Rel-18, a subsequent cell group change (at least for SCG) after changing cell group (CG) without reconfiguration and re-initiation of CPC/CPA is considered. It is understood that the MN should not be changed during the subsequent cell group change procedure. Otherwise, RRCReconfig is needed to reconfigure parameters like security key, etc.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example scenario for consecutive cell group changes.

As shown in FIG. 5, there are three SNs, i.e., SN#1, SN#2 and SN#3, associated with a same MN.

To allow consecutive SCG changes, the UE may be provided with an execution condition for each conditional configuration. For example, the UE may be provided with a list of conditional SCG configurations including: PSCell#1 in SN#1; PSCell#2 in SN#1; PSCell#1 in SN#2; and PSCell#1 in SN#3.

For a MN initiated procedure, MeasConfig (measId, report event, etc) and the execution condition come from the MN. Execution conditions agreed in Rel-17 MN initiated CPC are A4 (Neighbor becomes better than threshold) /B1 (Inter RAT neighbor becomes better than threshold) . It may be workable since A4 does not involve the serving cell.

However, for an SN initiated procedure, there may be several issues.

First, the Source SN can only configure the execution conditions for all candidate SN (s) for the Source SN (e.g., those candidate SNs nearby the source SN) . The configured execution conditions may not be suitable when the UE moves to another SN because the serving cell has been changed.

Second, an execution condition refers to measId which corresponds to measObject (i.e., target cell frequency) . The related art fails to consider how to differentiate the source cell frequencies since the condition should be naturally different for e.g., an intra-freq SCG change and an inter-freq SCG change. In other words, if the consecutive SCG changes involve the same target cell frequency, how to differentiate respective source cell frequencies has not been considered. For example, how to differentiate different source frequency-target frequency combinations has not been considered.

Third, after an SCG change, the target SN does not know the execution conditions and the association between the conditional configuration list and the execution conditions (measIds) . Thus, the target SN cannot update its measConfig to the UE.

Fourth, at the UE side, after an SCG change, the measConfig from the source SN becomes invalid when PSCell has been changed.

Execution conditions agreed in Rel-17 SN initiated CPC are A3 (Neighbor becomes offset better than SpCell) /A5 (SpCell becomes worse than threshold1 and neighbor becomes better than threshold2) .

In Rel-18, consecutive CHO in NTN is also considered. For the consecutive CHO in NTN, the same problems as above exist.

Solutions based on local execution conditions

According to some embodiments, there are provided a plurality of methods for providing global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes based on local execution conditions. With the obtained global configuration information, subsequent cell group changes without reconfiguration and re-initiation of CPC/CPA can be realized.

In some embodiments, a Source SN provides its local execution condition (applicable to cases from the source SN to another SN) and MeasConfig to a UE. Upon an SCG change from the Source SN to a target SN, the target SN updates its local execution condition and MeasConfig to the UE. The target SN may transmit the local execution condition and MeasConfig via either SRB1 or SRB3.

As shown in FIG. 6, the MN is associated with SN#1 at F1 and SN#2 at F1/F2. It is assumed that the SN#1 is currently the serving cell for a UE and acts as a source SN.

A global conditional configuration list may be provided to the UE, and a local execution condition list at SN#1 may be provided to the UE.

In such a scenario, a local execution condition list at SN#1 may be as below Table 1.

Table 1

The global conditional configuration list may be as below Table 2. The global conditional configuration list may be based on conditional configurations at the SN#1 and the SN#2.

Table 2

Upon the SCG change and when UE accesses target SN#2 at e.g., F1, SN#2 may provide a local execution condition list at SN#2 to UE as below Table 3.

Table 3

As can be seen, each MeasId may be specific to a source-target PSCell pair.

Each MeasId is associated with a conditional configuration.

For example, for Table 1, we may obtain Table 4 as below by mapping the MeasId to a conditional configuration.

Table 4

For example, for Table 3, we may obtain Table 5 as below by mapping the MeasId to a conditional configuration.

Table 5

In some other embodiments, the Source SN or the MN can provide a full set of the local execution conditions and local MeasConfig provisioned by different SN (s) to the UE.

For example, in FIG. 6, SN#2 may provide its local execution condition and MeasConfig to the source SN#1 (or the MN) , so that the source SN#1 (or the MN) can provide a full set of local execution conditions and MeasConfig to the UE. For example, the source SN#1 (or the MN) may generate a full list of local execution condition lists based on all local execution condition lists from all SNs (i.e., SN#1 and SN#2 in FIG. 6) .

FIG. 7 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 700 based on local execution conditions, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

As shown in Fig. 7, the method may comprise a step 701 where an S-SN 7003 sends, to an MN 7002, an SN Change Required message including a candidate conditional configuration enquiry.

In some embodiments, the S-SN 7003 may provide its local execution condition list and its conditional configuration list at this step.

At a step 702, the MN 7002 sends to the T-SN 1 7004 and the T-SN 2 7005 an SN Addition Request message including the candidate conditional configuration enquiry.

There can be more than one T-SN associated with the same MN 7002, although FIG. 7 shows the T-SN 1 7004 and the T-SN 2 7005.

At a step 703, each of the T-SN 1 7004 and the T-SN 2 7005 sends to the MN 7002 an SN Addition Request Acknowledge including a respective conditional configuration list.

In some embodiments, after the T-SN 1 7004 and the T-SN 2 7005 returns respective conditional configuration lists, the MN 7002 generates the global conditional configuration list and sends the global conditional configuration list to the UE 7001. The global conditional configuration list may be generated based on all conditional configuration lists from the S-SN 7003, the T-SN 1 7004 and the T-SN 2 7005.

At a step 704, the MN 7002 sends, to the UE 7001, a RRCReconfiguration message including a local execution condition list from the S-SN 7003 and a global conditional configuration list.

In the local execution condition list, each MeasId may be specific to a source-target PSCell pair.

At a step 705, the UE 7001 sends to the MN 7002 a RRCReconfigComplete message. The UE 7001 performs a CPC measurement based on the received information.

At a step 706, the UE 7001 sends to the MN 7002 a RRCReconfigComplete*message with embedded SN RRCReconfigComplete**.

At a step 707, the MN 7002 sends to the T-SN 1 7004 an SgNB Reconfiguration Complete message.

At a step 708, a RACH Procedure is performed between the UE 7001 and the T-SN 1 7004.

At a step 709, the T-SN 1 7004 sends to the UE a RRCReconfiguration message including its local execution condition list and measurement configuration. In such a case, the local execution condition may be sent to the UE via SRB 1 or SRB 3. That is, the local execution condition list may be sent to the UE via the MN 7002 (not shown) , or, the local execution condition list may be sent to the UE directly (as shown in FIG. 7) .

In some embodiments, the measIDs may be global. A common pool of measIDs applicable for all involved SN (s) may be preconfigured. For example, there may be six measIDs 1-6 preconfigured for three SN (s) 1-3 under the same MN, wherein measIDs 1-2 are assigned to SN 1, measIDs 3-4 are assigned to SN 2 and measIDs 5-6 are assigned to SN 3. Each measID may be associated to a respective conditional configuration. In such a case, when the UE access an SN after a SCG change, there is no need to reconfigure an association between each measID and its respective conditional configuration. For example, at step 709, the T-SN 1 7004 does not need to reconfigure associations between its measIDs and respective conditional configurations, as the association does not change.

In some other embodiments, the measIDs may be local. For example, the same measIDs 1-2 are assigned to SN 1, SN 2 and SN 3, respectively, however, a same measID (e.g., the same measID 1) is associated with different conditional configurations with respect to different SNs. In such a case, when the UE access an SN after a SCG change, there may be a need to reconfigure/refresh an association between each measID and its respective conditional configuration, otherwise, the measID may be still associated with the previous conditional configuration relevant to the previous serving cell. For example, at step 709, the T-SN 1 7004 may need to reconfigure associations between its measIDs and respective conditional configurations and send the associations to the UE 7001.

FIG. 8 illustrates another example flowchart of a method 800 based on local execution conditions, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

As shown in Fig. 8, the method 800 comprise a step 801 where an S-SN 8003 sends, to an MN 8002, an SN Change Required message including a candidate conditional configuration enquiry and a local execution condition enquiry. In some embodiments, the S-SN 8003 may provide its conditional configuration list at this step.

At a step 802, the MN 8002 sends to the T-SN 1 8004 and the T-SN 2 8005 an SN Addition Request message including the candidate conditional configuration enquiry and the local execution condition enquiry. There can be more than one T-SN associated with the same MN 8002, although FIG. 8 shows the T-SN 1 8004 and the T-SN 2 8005.

At a step 803, each of the T-SN 1 8004 and the T-SN 2 8005 sends to the MN 8002 an SN Addition Request Acknowledge including a respective local execution condition list and a respective conditional configuration list.

In some embodiments, after the T-SN 1 8004 and the T-SN 2 8005 returns respective conditional configuration lists, the MN 8002 generates the global conditional configuration list and sends the global conditional configuration list to the UE 8001. The global conditional configuration list may be generated based on all conditional configuration lists from the S-SN 8003, the T-SN 1 8004 and the T-SN 2 8005. In addition, after the T-SN 1 8004 and the T-SN 2 8005 returns respective local execution condition lists, the MN 8002 generates a full list of local execution condition lists and sends the full list to the UE 8001. The full list of local execution condition lists may incorporate all local execution condition lists from the S-SN 8003, the T-SN 1 8004, and the T-SN 2 8005. In such a case, the S-SN 8003 may provide its local execution condition list previously e.g., at the step 801.

In some other embodiments, after the T-SN 1 8004 and the T-SN 2 8005 returns respective conditional configuration lists and the respective local execution condition lists, the MN 8003 may send the respective conditional configuration lists and the respective local execution condition lists to the S-SN 8003. The S-SN 8003 generates the global conditional configuration list and the full list of local execution condition lists, and then sends the generated global conditional configuration list and the generated full list of local execution condition lists to the MN 8002.

At a step 804, the MN 8002 sends, to the UE 8001, a RRCReconfiguration message including a global conditional configuration list and a full list of local execution condition lists.

At a step 805, the UE 8001 sends to the MN 8002 a RRCReconfigComplete message.

The UE 8001 performs CPC measurement based on the received information.

At a step 806, the UE 8001 sends to the MN 8002 a RRCReconfigComplete*message with embedded SN RRCReconfigComplete**.

At a step 807, the MN 8002 sends to the T-SN 1 8004 an SgNB Reconfiguration Complete message.

At a step 808, a RACH Procedure is performed between the UE 8001 and the T-SN 1 8004.

At a step 809, the T-SN 1 8004 sends to the UE a RRCReconfiguration message. In such a case, the T-SN 1 8004 does not need to send its local execution condition list again as the UE has obtained the global conditional configuration list and the full list of local execution condition lists.

Solutions based on global execution conditions

According to some embodiments, there are provided a plurality of methods for providing global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes based on global execution conditions. With the obtained global configuration information, subsequent cell group changes without reconfiguration and re-initiation of CPC/CPA can be realized.

In some embodiments, a source SN provides a global execution condition list. In some other embodiments, a MN provides a global execution condition list.

With reference to the scenario shown in FIG. 6, the coordination procedure on the execution conditions may comprise the following steps: Step 1, the source SN#1 inquiries candidate SN (s) (e.g., SN#2 in FIG. 6) via the MN about the execution conditions for possible source-target pair; Step 2, the candidate SN (s) may respond with explicit execution conditions for each source-target pair (e.g., SN#2 provides explicit execution conditions for {SN#2 at F1 -> SN#1 at F1, SN#2 at F2 -> SN#1 at F1} ; and Step 3, the source SN#1 provides a set of execution conditions, along with a list of conditional configurations to the UE; and Step 4, the source SN#1 transmits (via the MN) the execution conditions to all candidate SN (s) , so that the candidate SN (s) can configure measConfig accordingly. Step 3 and step 4 can be swapped.

There are different approaches for the source SN to configure execution conditions and corresponding MeasConfig to UE.

In some embodiments, there can be configured a list of explicit execution conditions for all source-target pairs. This approach may require high signaling overhead.

Table 6 shows an example list of explicit execution conditions and corresponding MeasConfig for all source-target pairs. The global conditional configuration list is the same as Table 2.

Table 6

In some embodiments, for each source frequency-target frequency combination, one execution condition can be configured.

Table 7 shows an example list for such a configuration.

Table 7

In some embodiments, for each target frequency, one execution condition is configured.

Table 8 shows an example list for such configuration.

Table 8

In some embodiments, the mapping between execution condition and conditional configuration at the UE may be provided by the network explicitly. In some embodiments, the UE may do the mapping between execution conditions and conditional configurations by itself.

In some embodiments, the source SN should configure a full set of measurements for F1 and F2. At the UE side, UE may maintain the MeasConfig received from the source cell when moving around to other SN (s) . The target cell does not need to update the MeasConfig merely for this execution condition configuration. But the target cell may update the MeasConfig for other purpose, e.g., measGap.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 900 based on global execution conditions, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

As shown in Fig. 9, the method 900 comprise a step 901, where an S-SN 9003 sends, to an MN 9002, an SN Change Required message including a candidate conditional configuration enquiry and a local execution condition enquiry. In some embodiments, the S-SN 9003 may provide its conditional configuration list and/or its local execution condition list at this step.

At a step 902, the MN 9002 sends to the T-SN 1 9004 and the T-SN 2 9005 an SN Addition Request message including the candidate conditional configuration enquiry and the local execution condition enquiry. There can be more than one T-SN associated with the same MN 9002, although FIG. 9 shows the T-SN 1 and the T-SN 2.

At a step 903, each of the T-SN 1 9004 and the T-SN 2 9005 sends to the MN 8002 an SN Addition Request Acknowledge including a respective local execution condition list and a respective conditional configuration list. In each local execution condition list, each MeasId may be specific to a source-target PSCell pair.

At a step 904, the MN 9001 sends an SgNB Modification Request message to the S-SN 6003 to request the S-SN 9003 to generate a global execution condition list. The MN 9001 may forward all the respective local execution condition lists and respective conditional configuration lists to the S-SN 9003.

The global execution condition list may be merged from all the execution conditions and conditional configurations of all SNs (S-SN 9003, T-SN 1 9004 and T-SN 2 9005) associated with the MN.

In some embodiments, the global execution condition list may only contain all global execution conditions and the mapping between each global execution condition and a corresponding conditional configuration may be performed by the UE or the network based on e.g., the global conditional configuration list as recited above.

In some embodiments, the global execution condition list may be a merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list, wherein each global execution condition is configured with one conditional configuration. The merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list may be as shown in Table 6-8. In such a case, the mapping between each global execution condition and a corresponding conditional configuration may be performed by the network and indicated by the network.

At a step 905, the S-SN 9003 provides the generated global execution condition list to the MN 9002.

At a step 906, the MN 9002 provides the generated global execution condition list to the T-SN 1 9004 and the T-SN 2 9005.

In some other embodiments, the MN 9002 may generate such a global execution condition list. In such a case, steps 904 and 905 may be omitted, and the MN 9002 may also provide the generated global execution condition list to the S-SN 9003 at the step 906.

At a step 907, the MN 9002 sends, to the UE 9001, a RRCReconfiguration message including the global execution condition list.

At a step 908, the UE 9001 sends to the MN 9002 a RRCReconfigComplete message. The UE 9001 performs CPC measurement based on the received information.

At a step 909, the UE 9001 sends to the MN 9002 a RRCReconfigComplete*message with embedded SN RRCReconfigComplete**.

At a step 910, the MN 9002 sends to the T-SN 1 9004 an SgNB Reconfiguration Complete message.

At a step 911, a RACH Procedure is performed between the UE 9001 and the T-SN 1 9004.

Those skilled in the art may understand that if the measIDs are local, more than one local execution condition lists in the full list may contain at least one same measID with different conditional configurations with respect to different SNs. These local execution condition lists (more particularly, these same measIDs) may be differentiated by additional information such as identifications of SNs etc. In other words, in such a case, when the UE connects at one serving cell, only these measIDs relevant to the serving cell are valid. Other measIDs (no matter whether appearing the same) relevant to other cells are not measured by the UE.

If the measIDs are global, which means there is no same measID for different SNs under the same MN, when the UE connects at one serving cell, only measID (s) relevant to the serving cell are valid and other measID (s) are only placeholders which do not require the UE to perform measurement (as those frequencies may be not available or nearby) . When the PSCell changes, different measID (s) become valid.

FIG. 10 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 1000 performed by a base station, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

The base station may be a master node, e.g., the MN 7002, the MN 8002, or the MN 9002.

As shown in FIG. 10, the method 1000 may comprise an operation 1001, where the base station receives, from a source secondary base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry. The source secondary base station may be e.g., the S-SN 7003, the S-SN 8003, or the S-SN 9003.

The method 1000 may comprise an operation 1003, where the base station sends, to a user equipment (UE) , global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes. The global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may be generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station associated with the base station.

The one or more target secondary base stations may be e.g., the T-SN 1 7004 and/or the T-SN 1 7005, the T-SN 1 8004 and/or the T-SN 1 8005, and/or the T-SN 1 9004 and/or the T-SN 1 9005.

Although not shown, the method 1000 may further comprise an operation where the base station sends the candidate conditional configuration enquiry to each of one or more target secondary base stations associated with the base station.

Although not shown, the method 1000 may further comprise an operation where the base station receives a respective conditional configuration list from each of the one or more target secondary base stations. That is, each target secondary base station sends to the base station its conditional configuration list in response to the received candidate conditional configuration enquiry.

In some embodiments, the base station may receive from the source secondary base station, both a local execution condition enquiry and the candidate conditional configuration enquiry. In such a case, the base station may send both the local execution condition enquiry and the candidate conditional configuration enquiry to each of the one or more target secondary base stations; and then, the base station may receive a respective local execution condition list and the respective conditional configuration list from each of the one or more target secondary base stations. That is, each target secondary base station sends to the base station its conditional configuration list in response to the received candidate conditional configuration enquiry and its local execution condition list in response to the received local execution condition enquiry. Each target secondary base station’s local execution condition list includes the execution condition (s) only applicable to a handover from the target secondary base station itself to its neighbor secondary base station.

In some embodiments, the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may be generated based on both all respective conditional configuration lists and all respective local execution condition lists from the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station.

In some embodiments, the generated global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may comprise a global conditional configuration list, which may be generated based on all respective conditional configuration lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station. After an SCG change from a source secondary target base station to a target secondary base station, the target secondary base station may send its local execution condition list in the related RRCReconfiguration message (without need to send its conditional configuration list) as shown in FIG. 7, and the UE may refer to the global conditional configuration list to determine the mapped conditional configuration.

In some embodiments, the generated global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may comprise the global conditional configuration list and a full list of all the respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station. The full list of all the respective local execution condition lists just lists the respective local execution condition lists with no further merging or processing. After an SCG change from a source secondary target base station to a target secondary base station, the UE refers to a local execution condition list in the full list, which is related with the target secondary base station, and the target secondary base station does not need to send its local execution condition list in the related RRCReconfiguration message, as shown in FIG. 8.

In some embodiments, the generated global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may comprise the global conditional configuration list and a global execution condition list, wherein the global execution condition list may be generated based on all respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station. The global execution condition list merges all execution conditions from all the related secondary base station under the same master base station. The global execution condition list is applicable globally to all handovers among the secondary base stations. Upon receipt of the global conditional configuration list and a global execution condition list, the UE may perform mapping between each execution condition and a respective conditional configuration according to the two lists.

In some embodiments, the global execution condition list may be a merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list with a respective conditional configuration being mapped to each execution condition. In such a case, the network may perform mapping between each execution condition and a respective conditional configuration when generating the merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list. In some embodiments, the global execution condition list may comprise a list of execution conditions for all source-target PSCell pairs, as shown in e.g., Table 6.

In some embodiments, the global execution condition list may comprise a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each source frequency-target frequency pair, as shown in e.g., Table 7.

In some embodiments, the global execution condition list may comprise a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each target frequency, as shown in e.g., Table 8.

The global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may be generated by the master base station. In such a case, the method 1000 may further comprise an operation where the base station may generate the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes. The base station may receive a local execution condition list and a conditional configuration list from the source secondary base station.

In some embodiments, the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may be generated by the source secondary base station, and the master base station just acts as a transfer node for forwarding information. In such a case, the method 1000 may further comprise an operation where the base station may send, to the source secondary base station, a request requesting the source secondary base station to generate the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, and receive, from the source secondary base station, the generated global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes. In such cases, along with the request or separately, the base station may send conditional configuration lists and/or execution condition lists received from the target secondary base stations to the source secondary base station.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 1100 performed by a base station, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

The base station may be a source secondary node, e.g., the S-SN 7003, the S-SN 8003, or the S-SN 9003.

As shown in FIG. 11, the method 1100 may comprise an operation 1101, where the base station generates global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the base station and one or more target secondary base stations (e.g., the T-SN 1 7004 and/or the T-SN 1 7005, the T-SN 1 8004 and/or the T-SN 1 8005, and/or the T-SN 1 9004 and/or the T-SN 1 9005) associated with a master base station (e.g., the MN 7002, the MN 8002, or the MN 9002) .

The method 1100 may comprise an operation 1103, where the base station provides, to a user equipment (e.g., the UE 7001, 8001 or 9001) , the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes via the master base station.

Although not shown, the method 1100 may further comprise an operation where the base station sends, to a master base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry, wherein the candidate conditional configuration enquiry is sent by the master base station to each of one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station.

Although not shown, the method 1100 may further comprise an operation where the base station may receive, from the master base station, all respective conditional configuration lists from the one or more target secondary base stations in response to the candidate conditional configuration enquiry.

In some embodiments, the base station may send, to the master base station, a local execution condition enquiry in addition to the candidate conditional configuration enquiry, wherein the local execution condition enquiry is also sent by the master base station to each of the one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station. In such a case, the method 1100 may further comprise an operation where the base station may receive, from the master base station, both all respective conditional configuration lists and all respective local execution condition lists from the one or more target secondary base stations in response to both the local execution condition enquiry and the candidate conditional configuration enquiry.

In some embodiments, the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may be generated based on at least both all respective conditional configuration lists and all respective local execution condition lists from the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station.

In some embodiments, the method 1100 may further comprise operations where the base station may receive, from the master base station, a request requesting the base station to generate the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes and send, to the master base station, the generated global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.

As discussed above, the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes may comprises one of the following: (i) a global conditional configuration list, which is generated based on all respective conditional configuration lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the base station; (ii) the global conditional configuration list and a full list of all the respective conditional configuration lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the base station; (iii) the global conditional configuration list and a global execution condition list, wherein the global execution condition list is generated based on all respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the base station; and (iv) a merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list with each execution condition being configured with one conditional configuration, i.e., a respective conditional configuration is mapped to each execution condition.

As discussed above, the global execution condition list and the merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list each may comprise one of the following: (i) a list of execution conditions for all source-target PSCell pairs; (ii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each source frequency-target frequency pair; and (iii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each target frequency.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 1200 performed by a base station, according to embodiments disclosed herein.

The base station may be a target secondary node, e.g., any one of the T-SNs 7004-7005, the T-SNs 8004-8005, or the T-SNs 9004-9005.

As shown in FIG. 12, the method 1200 may comprise an operation 1201, where the base station receives, from a master base station (e.g., the MN 7002, the MN 8002, or the MN 9002) , a candidate conditional configuration enquiry.

The method 1200 may further comprise an operation 1203, where the base station may send, to the master base station, a conditional configuration list at the base station in response to the candidate conditional configuration enquiry. The conditional configuration list may be used to generate global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes among a source secondary base station (e.g., the S-SN 7003, the S-SN 8003, or the S-SN 9003) and one or more target secondary base stations (e.g., the T-SNs 7004-7005, the T-SNs 8004-8005, or the T-SNs 9004-9005) associated with the master base station, the one or more target secondary base stations include the base station, and the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the source secondary base station and the one or more target secondary base stations.

In some embodiments, at operation 1201, the base station may receive a local execution condition enquiry in addition to the candidate conditional configuration enquiry. In such a case, at operation 1203, the base station may also send, to the master base station, its local execution condition list in response to the local execution condition enquiry. In some embodiments, the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists and local execution condition lists from the source secondary base station and the one or more target secondary base stations.

In some embodiments, when a UE accesses the BS after an SCG change, the base station may send, to the UE, its local execution condition list and measurement configuration at the base station, via SRB 1 or SRB 3.

In some embodiments, the base station may receiving the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes via the master base station or from the source secondary base station.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example flowchart of a method 1300 performed by a user equipment (UE) , according to embodiments disclosed herein.

The UE may be a UE is changing its SCG, e.g., the UE 7001, 8001, or 9001.

As shown in FIG. 13, the method 1300 may comprise an operation 1301, where the base station may receive, from a master base station (e.g., the MN 7002, the MN 8002, or the MN 9002) , global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes. The global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from a source secondary base station (e.g., the S-SN 7003, 8003, or 9003) and one or more target secondary base stations (e.g., the T-SNs 7004-7005, the T-SNs 8004-8005, or the T-SNs 9004-9005) associated with the master base station.

The method 1300 may further comprise an operation 1302, where the UE may perform measurements (e.g., CPC measurements shown in FIGs. 7-9, CHO measurements, etc. ) based on the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.

In some embodiments, although not shown, the method may further comprise an operation, where when the UE accesses a target secondary base station of the one or more target secondary base stations upon an SCG change, the UE may receive, from the target secondary base stations, its local execution condition list and its measurement configuration.

Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of the method 1300. This apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of the method 1300. This non-transitory computer-readable media may be, for example, a memory of a UE (such as a memory 206 of a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of the method 1300. This apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of the method 1300. This apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a UE (such as a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or related to one or more elements of the method 1300.

Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processor is to cause the processor to carry out one or more elements of the method 1300. The processor may be a processor of a UE (such as a processor (s) 204 of a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein) . These instructions may be, for example, located in the processor and/or on a memory of the UE (such as a memory 206 of a wireless device 202 that is a UE, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of the method 1000, 1100, and 1200. This apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of the method 1000, 1100, and 1200. This non-transitory computer-readable media may be, for example, a memory of a base station (such as a memory 222 of a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, or circuitry to perform one or more elements of the method 1000, 1100, and 1200. This apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform one or more elements of the method 1000, 1100, and 1200. This apparatus may be, for example, an apparatus of a base station (such as a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein) .

Embodiments contemplated herein include a signal as described in or related to one or more elements of the method 1000, 1100, and 1200.

Embodiments contemplated herein include a computer program or computer program product comprising instructions, wherein execution of the program by a processing element is to cause the processing element to carry out one or more elements of the method 1000, 1100, and 1200. The processor may be a processor of a base station (such as a processor (s) 220 of a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein) . These instructions may be, for example, located in the processor and/or on a memory of the UE (such as a memory 222 of a network device 218 that is a base station, as described herein) .

For one or more embodiments, at least one of the components set forth in one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to perform one or more operations, techniques, processes, and/or methods as set forth herein. For example, a baseband processor as described herein in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth herein. For another example, circuitry associated with a UE, base station, network element, etc. as described above in connection with one or more of the preceding figures may be configured to operate in accordance with one or more of the examples set forth herein.

Any of the above-described embodiments may be combined with any other embodiment (or combination of embodiments) , unless explicitly stated otherwise. The foregoing description of one or more implementations provides illustration and description but is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the scope of embodiments to the precise form disclosed. Modifications and variations are possible considering the above teachings or may be acquired from practice of various embodiments.

Embodiments and implementations of the systems and methods described herein may include various operations, which may be embodied in machine-executable instructions to be executed by a computer system. A computer system may include one or more general-purpose or special-purpose computers (or other electronic devices) . The computer system may include hardware components that include specific logic for performing the operations or may include a combination of hardware, software, and/or firmware.

It should be recognized that the systems described herein include descriptions of specific embodiments. These embodiments can be combined into single systems, partially combined into other systems, split into multiple systems or divided or combined in other ways. In addition, it is contemplated that parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of one embodiment can be used in another embodiment. The parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. are merely described in one or more embodiments for clarity, and it is recognized that the parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. can be combined with or substituted for parameters, attributes, aspects, etc. of another embodiment unless specifically disclaimed herein.

It is well understood that the use of personally identifiable information should follow privacy policies and practices that are generally recognized as meeting or exceeding industry or governmental requirements for maintaining the privacy of users. In particular, personally identifiable information data should be managed and handled so as to minimize risks of unintentional or unauthorized access or use, and the nature of authorized use should be clearly indicated to users.

Although the foregoing has been described in some detail for purposes of clarity, it will be apparent that certain changes and modifications may be made without departing from the principles thereof. It should be noted that there are many alternative ways of implementing both the processes and apparatuses described herein. Accordingly, the present embodiments are to be considered illustrative and not restrictive, and the description is not to be limited to the details given herein but may be modified within the scope and equivalents of the appended claims.

Claims

A base station (BS) , comprising:

one or more antenna;

one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and

a processor coupled to the one or more radio;

the BS is configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a source secondary base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and

sending, to a user equipment (UE) , global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station associated with the base station.
The BS of claim 1, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

sending the candidate conditional configuration enquiry to each of the one or more target secondary base stations associated with the base station; and

receiving a respective conditional configuration list from each of the one or more target secondary base stations.
The BS of claim 2, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

receiving, from the source secondary base station, both a local execution condition enquiry and the candidate conditional configuration enquiry;

sending both the local execution condition enquiry and the candidate conditional configuration enquiry to each of the one or more target secondary base stations;

receiving a respective local execution condition list and the respective conditional configuration list from each of the one or more target secondary base stations.
The BS of claim 3, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes comprises one of the following:

(i) a global conditional configuration list, which is generated based on all respective conditional configuration lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station;

(ii) the global conditional configuration list and a full list of all the respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station;

(iii) the global conditional configuration list and a global execution condition list, wherein the global execution condition list is generated based on all respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station; and

(iv) a merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list with each execution condition being configured with one conditional configuration.
The BS of claim 4, wherein the global execution condition list and the merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list each comprises one of the following:

(i) a list of execution conditions for all source-target PSCell pairs;

(ii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each source frequency-target frequency pair; and

(iii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each target frequency.
The BS of claim 1 or 3, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

generating the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.
The BS of claim 6, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

receiving a local execution condition list and a conditional configuration list from the source secondary base station.
The BS of claim 1 or 3, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

sending, to the source secondary base station, a request requesting the source secondary base station to generate the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes; and

receiving, from the source secondary base station, the generated global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.
A method, comprising:

by a base station (BS) ,

receiving, from a source secondary base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and

sending, to a user equipment (UE) , global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from one or more target secondary base stations and the source base station associated with the base station.
A base station (BS) , comprising:

one or more antenna;

one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and

a processor coupled to the one or more radio;

the BS is configured to perform operations comprising:

generating global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with a master base station; and

providing, to a user equipment (UE) , the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes via the master base station.
The BS of claim 10, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

sending, to the master base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry, wherein the candidate conditional configuration enquiry is sent by the master base station to each of the one or more target secondary base stations; and

receiving, from the master base station, all respective conditional configuration lists from the one or more target secondary base stations in response to the candidate conditional configuration enquiry.
The BS of claim 11, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

sending, to the master base station, a local execution condition enquiry and the candidate conditional configuration enquiry, wherein the local execution condition enquiry is sent by the master base station to each of the one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station; and

receiving, from the master base station, both all respective conditional configuration lists and all respective local execution condition lists from the one or more target secondary base stations in response to both the local execution condition enquiry and the candidate conditional configuration enquiry.
The BS of claim 12,

wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes comprises one of the following:

(i) a global conditional configuration list, which is generated based on all respective conditional configuration lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the base station;

(ii) the global conditional configuration list and a full list of all the respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the base station;

(iii) the global conditional configuration list and a global execution condition list, wherein the global execution condition list is generated based on all respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the base station; and

(iv) a merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list with each execution condition being configured with one conditional configuration.
The BS of claim 13, wherein the global execution condition list and the merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list each comprises one of the following:

(i) a list of execution conditions for all source-target PSCell pairs;

(ii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each source frequency-target frequency pair; and

(iii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each target frequency.
The BS of claim 10, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

receiving, from the master base station, a request requesting the base station to generate the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes; and

sending, to the master base station, the generated global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.
A method, comprising:

by a base station (BS) ,

generating global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with a master base station; and

providing, to a user equipment (UE) , the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes via the master base station.
A base station (BS) , comprising:

one or more antenna;

one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and

a processor coupled to the one or more radio;

the BS is configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a master base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and

sending, to the master base station, a conditional configuration list at the base station,

wherein the conditional configuration list is used to generate global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes among a source secondary base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station, the one or more target secondary base stations include the base station, and the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the source secondary base station and the one or more target secondary base stations.
The BS of claim 17, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

receiving, from the master base station, a local execution condition enquiry; and

sending, to the master base station, a local execution condition list at the base station,

wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists and local execution condition lists from the source secondary base station and the one or more target secondary base stations.
The BS of claim 17, wherein when a UE accesses the BS after an SCG change, the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

sending, to the UE, its local execution condition list and its measurement configuration.
The BS of claim 17, wherein the BS is configured to perform operations further comprising:

receiving the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.
A method, comprising:

by a base station (BS) ,

receiving, from a master base station, a candidate conditional configuration enquiry; and

sending, to the master base station, a conditional configuration list at the base station,

wherein the conditional configuration list is used to generate global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes among a source secondary base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station, the one or more target secondary base stations include the base station, and the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from the source secondary base station and the one or more target secondary base stations.
An apparatus for operating a base station (BS) , comprising:

a processor configured to cause the BS to perform a method of any of claim 9, 16 and 21.
A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions which, when executed at a base station (BS) , cause the BS to perform a method of any of claim 9, 16 and 21.
A user equipment (UE) , comprising:

one or more antenna;

one or more radio coupled to the one or more antenna; and

a processor coupled to the one or more radio;

wherein the UE is configured to perform operations comprising:

receiving, from a master base station, global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from a source secondary base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station; and

performing measurements based on the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.
The UE of claim 24, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes comprises one of the following:

(i) a global conditional configuration list, which is generated based on all respective conditional configuration lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station;

(ii) the global conditional configuration list and a full list of all the respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station;

(iii) the global conditional configuration list and a global execution condition list, wherein the global execution condition list is generated based on all respective local execution condition lists from all of the one or more target secondary base stations and the source secondary base station; and

(iv) a merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list with each execution condition being configured with one conditional configuration.
The UE of claim 25, wherein the global execution condition list and the merged global execution condition and conditional configuration list each comprises one of the following:

(i) a list of execution conditions for all source-target PSCell pairs;

(ii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each source frequency-target frequency pair; and

(iii) a list of execution conditions with one execution condition being configured for each target frequency.
The UE of claim 25, wherein the UE is further configured to perform operations comprising:

when the UE accesses a target secondary base station of the one or more target secondary base stations upon an SCG change, receiving, from the target secondary base station, a local execution condition list and a measurement configuration.
A method, comprising:

by user equipment (UE) :

receiving, from a master base station, global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes, wherein the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes is generated based on at least conditional configuration lists from a source secondary base station and one or more target secondary base stations associated with the master base station; and

performing measurements based on the global configuration information for consecutive cell group changes.
An apparatus for operating a user equipment (UE) , comprising:

a processor configured to cause the UE to perform a method of any of claim 28.
A non-transitory computer-readable memory medium storing program instructions which, when executed at a user equipment (UE) , cause the UE to perform a method of claim 28.