WO2024179566A1

WO2024179566A1 - Method and apparatus for handling operations related to global navigation satellite system measurement

Info

Publication number: WO2024179566A1
Application number: PCT/CN2024/079539
Authority: WO
Inventors: Wen Tang; Gilles Charbit; Yaohua CAI; Abhishek Roy
Original assignee: MediaTek Singapore Pte Ltd
Current assignee: MediaTek Singapore Pte Ltd
Priority date: 2023-03-01
Filing date: 2024-03-01
Publication date: 2024-09-06
Anticipated expiration: 2025-09-01
Also published as: WO2024178674A1; CN120770198A

Abstract

Various solutions for handling operations related to global navigation satellite system (GNSS) measurement are described. An apparatus may connect to a network node of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) to operate in a connected mode. The apparatus may also receive a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) from the network node. The MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. The apparatus may further perform a GNSS measurement using the GNSS measurement gap with the length.

Description

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING OPERATIONS RELATED TO GLOBAL NAVIGATION SATELLITE SYSTEM MEASUREMENT

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATION (S)

The present disclosure is part of a non-provisional application claiming the priority benefit of PCT Application No. PCT/CN2023/079030, filed 1 March 2023, the content of which herein being incorporated by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure is generally related to mobile communications and, more particularly, to handling operations related to global navigation satellite system (GNSS) measurement.

BACKGROUND

Unless otherwise indicated herein, approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims listed below and are not admitted as prior art by inclusion in this section.

In 3^rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Release 17, non-terrestrial network (NTN) is introduced as a terminal-satellite direct communication technology based on the new radio (NR) interface. With the integration of satellite network and ground cellular network (e.g., 5^th generation (5G) network) , NTN may provide ubiquitous coverage without being restricted by terrain and landform. As NTN continues to evolve in the 5G-Advanced stage, it has become an important part of 3GPP Release 18 work plan. Currently, NTN may include two workgroups: Internet-of-Things (IoT) NTN and New Radio (NR) NTN. IoT NTN focuses on satellite IoT services that support low-complexity enhanced machine-type communication (eMTC) and narrowband Internet-of-things (NB-IoT) UEs. NR NTN uses the 5G NR framework to enable direct connection between satellites and smartphones to provide voice and data services.

In scenarios with large transmission delay, such as the IoT NTN, to ensure normal system operation, the UE in an IoT NTN network may need a valid GNSS position fix, which is used to determine the UE's location. For short sporadic data transmissions, the UE may acquire the GNSS position fix in radio resource control (RRC) idle (also called RRC_IDLE) state. For large data transmissions in long connection time, the UE may need to re-acquire a valid GNSS position fix. However, details of how to re-acquire GNSS position fix in RRC connected (also called RRC_CONNECTED) state have not been fully discussed yet and some issues need to be solved. For example, some issues relate to how to handle operations related to GNSS measurement, including GNSS measurement triggering and measurement gap related procedures.

Therefore, there is a need to provide proper schemes to address these issues.

SUMMARY

The following summary is illustrative only and is not intended to be limiting in any way. That is, the following summary is provided to introduce concepts, highlights, benefits and advantages of the novel and non-obvious techniques described herein. Select implementations are further described below in the detailed description. Thus, the following summary is not intended to identify essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended for use in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

An objective of the present disclosure is to propose solutions or schemes that address the aforementioned issues pertaining to handling operations related to GNSS measurement.

In one aspect, a method may involve an apparatus connecting to a network node of an NTN to operate in a connected mode. The method may also involve the apparatus receiving a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) from the network node, wherein the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. The method may further involve the apparatus performing a GNSS measurement using the GNSS measurement gap with the length.

In one aspect, an apparatus may comprise a transceiver which, during operation, wirelessly communicates with a network node of an NTN. The apparatus may also comprise a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver. The processor, during operation, may perform operations comprising connecting, via the transceiver, to the network node to operate in a connected state. The processor may also perform operations comprising receiving, via the transceiver, a MAC CE from the network node, wherein the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. The processor may further perform operations comprising performing, via the transceiver, a GNSS measurement using the GNSS measurement gap with the length.

In one aspect, a method may involve a network node forming an NTN serving cell for wireless communication with an apparatus operating in a connected mode. The method may also involve the network node transmitting a MAC CE to the apparatus, wherein the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. The method may further involve the network node determining whether to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus according to whether a HARQ feedback associated with the MAC CE is received from the apparatus or not.

It is noteworthy that, although description provided herein may be in the context of certain radio access technologies, networks and network topologies such as Long-Term Evolution (LTE) , LTE-Advanced, LTE-Advanced Pro, 5th Generation (5G) , New Radio (NR) , Internet-of-Things (IoT) and Narrow Band Internet of Things (NB-IoT) , Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT) , beyond 5G (B5G) , and 6th Generation (6G) , the proposed concepts, schemes and any variation (s) /derivative (s) thereof may be implemented in, for and by other types of radio access technologies, networks and network topologies. Thus, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the examples described herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the disclosure and are incorporated in and constitute a part of the present disclosure. The drawings illustrate implementations of the disclosure and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the disclosure. It is appreciable that the drawings are not necessarily in scale as some components may be shown to be out of proportion than the size in actual implementation in order to clearly illustrate the concept of the present disclosure.

FIG. 1 is a diagram depicting an example scenario of a communication environment in which various solutions and schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may be implemented.

FIG. 2 is a diagram depicting example scenarios of the MAC CE for triggering GNSS measurement in accordance with different implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a diagram depicting example scenarios of mappings between index and GNSS measurement gap length in accordance with different implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a diagram depicting example scenarios of mappings between index and GNSS measurement gap offset in accordance with different implementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a diagram depicting an example scenario of GNSS measurement in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a diagram depicting an example scenario of GNSS measurement in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a diagram depicting an example scenario of GNSS measurement under the first proposed scheme in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a diagram depicting an example scenario of the start of a GNSS measurement gap in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of an example communication system in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an example process in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of another example process in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED IMPLEMENTATIONS

Detailed embodiments and implementations of the claimed subject matters are disclosed herein. However, it shall be understood that the disclosed embodiments and implementations are merely illustrative of the claimed subject matters which may be embodied in various forms. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the exemplary embodiments and implementations set forth herein. Rather, these exemplary embodiments and implementations are provided so that description of the present disclosure is thorough and complete and will fully convey the scope of the present disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the description below, details of well-known features and techniques may be omitted to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the presented embodiments and implementations.

Overview

Implementations in accordance with the present disclosure relate to various techniques, methods, schemes and/or solutions pertaining to handling operations related to GNSS measurement. According to the present disclosure, a number of possible solutions may be implemented separately or jointly. That is, although these possible solutions may be described below separately, two or more of these possible solutions may be implemented in one combination or another.

In the present disclosure, NTN refers to a network that uses radio frequency (RF) and information processing resources carried on high, medium and low orbit satellites or other high-altitude communication platforms to provide communication services for UEs. According to the load capacity on the satellite, there are two typical scenarios, namely: transparent payload and regenerative payload. In transparent payload mode, the satellite does not process the signal and waveform in the communication service but, rather, only functions as an RF amplifier to forward data. In regenerative payload mode, the satellite, other than RF amplification, also has the processing capabilities of modulation/demodulation, coding/decoding, switching, routing and so on.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example scenario 100 of a communication environment in which various solutions and schemes in accordance with the present disclosure may be implemented. Scenario 100 involves a UE 110 in wireless communication with a network 120 (e.g., a wireless network including an NTN and a TN) via a terrestrial network node 125 (e.g., an evolved Node-B (eNB) , a Next Generation Node-B (gNB) , or a transmission/reception point (TRP) ) and/or a non-terrestrial network node 128 (e.g., a satellite) . For example, the non-terrestrial network node 128 may form an NTN serving cell for wireless communication with the UE 110. In some implementations, the UE 110 may be an IoT device such as an NB-IoT UE or an eMTC UE (e.g., a bandwidth reduced low complexity (BL) UE or a coverage enhancement (CE) UE) . In such communication environment, the UE 110, the network 120, the terrestrial network node 125, and the non-terrestrial network node 128 may implement various schemes pertaining to handling operations related to GNSS measurement in accordance with the present disclosure, as described below. It is noteworthy that, while the various proposed schemes may be individually or separately described below, in actual implementations some or all of the proposed schemes may be utilized or otherwise implemented jointly. Of course, each of the proposed schemes may be utilized or otherwise implemented individually or separately.

In general, an IoT system is mainly divided into NB-IoT and eMTC based on differences in system bandwidth and coverage. Typically, the bandwidth used in NB-IoT is about 200 kilo-hertz (KHz) and supports the transmission of low traffic data at a rate below 100 kilobits per second (Kbps) . Conversely, eMTC technology typically utilizes 1.4 mega-hertz (MHz) bandwidth and the maximum data transmission rate is 1 megabits per second (Mbps) .

Considering the problem of large transmission delay in an IoT NTN, to ensure normal system operation, the UE in an IoT NTN network may need a valid GNSS position fix, which is used to determine the UE's location. For short sporadic data transmissions, the UE may acquire the GNSS position fix in RRC_IDLE state. For large data transmissions in long connection time, the UE may need to re-acquire a valid GNSS position fix. However, based on current 3GPP Release 18 standards, details of how to re-acquire GNSS position fix in RRC_CONNECTED state have not been fully discussed yet and issues regarding how to handle operations related to GNSS measurement remain unsolved. Accordingly, various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure aim to provide techniques on handling operations related to GNSS measurement, including GNSS measurement triggering and measurement gap related procedures.

Under a first proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, for NB-IoT UEs or eMTC UEs (e.g., BL/CE UEs) that are connected to NTN, GNSS measurement may be triggered aperiodically by a specific MAC CE for triggering GNSS measurement (e.g., called a GNSS measurement gap trigger MAC CE or a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE) , or triggered by the UE autonomously if enabled by the network, or triggered by the UE using available idle periods. In the case of network-triggered or UE-autonomous GNSS measurement, the UE may perform GNSS measurement using the measurement gap with a gap length indicated in the MAC CE.

In some implementations, the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE may be identified by a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) subheader with a (extended) logical channel identifier (LCID) indicating GNSS measurement command. For example, the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE may have a fixed size of a single octet, and may include at least one of: (i) one or more reserved bits which are set to 0, (ii) a first field (e.g., named “GNSS measurement gap length” ) indicating the index of different GNSS measurement gap lengths, (iii) a second field (e.g., named “GNSS measurement gap offset” ) indicating the index of different GNSS measurement gap offsets, each of which denotes an offset duration between the HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) associated with the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE and the start of the GNSS measurement gap.

In some implementations, the length of each of the “GNSS measurement gap length” field and the “GNSS measurement gap offset” field may be fixed bits, e.g., 2 bits, 3 bits, or 4 bits.

FIG. 2 illustrates example scenarios 210-240 of the MAC CE for triggering GNSS measurement in accordance with different implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 210 depicts a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE consisting of two reserved bits set to 0 and a 6-bits “GNSS measurement gap length” field. Scenario 220 depicts a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE consisting of two reserved bits set to 0, a 3-bits “GNSS measurement gap length” field, and a 3-bits “GNSS measurement gap offset” field. Scenario 230 depicts a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE consisting of a 4-bits “GNSS measurement gap length” field and a 4-bits “GNSS measurement gap offset” field. Scenario 240 depicts a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE consisting of a reserved bit set to 0, a 4-bits “GNSS measurement gap length” field, and a 3-bits “GNSS measurement gap offset” field.

FIG. 3 illustrates example scenarios 310-330 of mappings between index and GNSS measurement gap length (unit=second) in accordance with different implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 310 depicts a table with mappings of (index=0, length=1) , (index=1, length=1.5) , (index=2, length=2) , and (index=3, length=2.5) , where the spacing of gap lengths between two adjacent pairs is constant. Scenario 320 depicts a table with mappings of (index=0, length=1) , (index=1, length=2) , (index=2, length=3) , and (index=3, length=4) , …, and (index=7, length=8) , where the spacing of gap lengths between two adjacent pairs is constant. Scenario 330 depicts a table with mappings of (index=0, length=1) , (index=1, length=1.5) , (index=2, length=2) , (index=3, length=2.5) , (index=4, length=3) , (index=5, length=4) , …, (index=11, length=10) , (index=12, length=15) , …, (index=15, length=30) , where the spacing of gap lengths between two adjacent pairs is constant only within a certain index range.

FIG. 4 illustrates example scenarios 410-430 of mappings between index and GNSS measurement gap offset (unit=subframe/slot) in accordance with different implementations of the present disclosure. Scenario 410 depicts a table with mappings of (index=0, offset=26) , (index=1, offset=42) , (index=2, offset=187) , and (index=3, offset=542) , where the spacing of gap offsets between two adjacent pairs varies. Scenario 420 depicts a table with mappings of (index=0, offset=0) , (index=1, offset=5) , …, (index=4, offset=40) , (index=5, offset=100) , (index=6, offset=200) , and (index=7, offset=540) , where the spacing of gap offsets between two adjacent pairs varies (e.g., doubles in each index increment within a certain index range) . Scenario 430 depicts a table with mappings of (index=0, offset=0) , (index=1, offset=5) , (index=2, offset=10) , (index=3, offset=20) , (index=4, offset=40) , (index=5, offset=60) , (index=6, offset=100) , (index=7, offset=150) , …, (index=14, offset=500) , and (index=15, offset=540) , where the spacing of gap offsets between two adjacent pairs is constant only within a certain index range.

FIG. 5 illustrates an example scenario 500 of GNSS measurement in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 5, a UE 510 in RRC_CONNECTED state wirelessly communicates with a network node 520 with the first proposed scheme on GNSS measurement triggering. At 501, the network node 520 transmits a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE to the UE 510 on the physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) . Specifically, the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE includes a GNSS measurement gap length. At 502, the UE 510 successfully decodes the PDCCH and the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. At 503, in an event that HARQ feedback is enabled for the MAC CE, the UE 510 transmits a HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) to the network node 520, to acknowledge safe receipt of the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. At 504, the UE 510 performs GNSS measurement using the measurement gap with the gap length indicated in the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example scenario 600 of GNSS measurement in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 6, at 601, the network node 620 triggers GNSS measurement by transmitting a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE to the UE 610 in RRC_CONNECTED state. Specifically, the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE includes a GNSS measurement gap length. At 602, the UE 610 successfully decodes the PDCCH but does not successfully decode the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. At 603, in an event that HARQ feedback is enabled for the MAC CE, the UE 610 transmits a HARQ non-acknowledgement (NACK) to the network node 620, to indicate failed receipt of the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. At 604, in response to receiving the HARQ NACK, the network node 620 re-transmits the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE to the UE 610. This time, at 605, the UE 610 successfully decodes the PDCCH and the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. Next, at 606, the UE 610 transmits a HARQ ACK to the network node 620, to acknowledge safe receipt of the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. At 607, the UE 610 performs GNSS measurement using the measurement gap with the gap length indicated in the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example scenario 700 of GNSS measurement under the first proposed scheme in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Similar to FIG. 6, at 701, the GNSS measurement triggered by the network node 720 fails at the first attempt, but at 702, the UE 710 does not successfully decode the PDCCH, which means failed delivery of the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. In response to not successfully decoding the PDCCH, the UE 710 does not transmit any response to the network node 720. After a while (e.g., defined by a guard timer started at the network node 720 upon transmission of the MAC CE) , at 703, the network node 720 re-transmits the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE to the UE 710. This time, at 704, the UE 710 successfully decodes the PDCCH and the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. Next, at 705, the UE 710 transmits a HARQ ACK to the network node 720, to acknowledge safe receipt of the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. At 706, the UE 710 performs GNSS measurement using the measurement gap with the gap length indicated in the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE.

Under a second proposed scheme in accordance with the present disclosure, procedures (e.g., called GNSS measurement gap related procedures) are defined to determine the starting time of the GNSS measurement gap in different scenarios. For example, the determination rules for the case of enabled HARQ feedback may be different from the determination rules for the case of disabled HARQ feedback. Additionally, or optionally, the determination rules for NB-IoT UEs may be different from the determination rules for eMTC UEs (e.g., BL/CE UEs) .

In some implementations, when HARQ feedback is disabled (i.e., no HARQ feedback is transmitted for the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE that is successfully decoded) , the GNSS measurement gap of a network-triggered GNSS measurement may start at a first offset (e.g., x1 milliseconds (ms) ) subsequent to the end of reception of the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE. Alternatively, when HARQ feedback is enabled (i.e., a HARQ feedback is transmitted for the GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE that is successfully decoded) , the GNSS measurement gap may start immediately at the end of HARQ ACK transmission or at the expiry of GNSS validity duration (in the case of UE-autonomous GNSS measurement) , or at a second offset (e.g., x2 ms) subsequent to the end of HARQ ACK transmission (in the case of network-triggered GNSS measurement) .

FIG. 8 illustrates an example scenario 800 of the start of a GNSS measurement gap in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. As shown in FIG. 8, a UE (e.g., the UE 110) receives a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE at time n (or subframe/slot n) , and optionally transmits a HARQ ACK at time k (or subframe/slot k) if HARQ feedback is enabled for the MAC CE. Then, the UE may start the GNSS measurement gap at time n+x1 if HARQ ACK is disabled, or at time k+x2 if HARQ ACK is enabled. In one example, the value of x1 may be 12 for NB-IoT UEs, or 5 for eMTC UEs. In one example, the value of x2 may be 2 for both NB-IoT UEs and eMTC UEs.

Illustrative Implementations

FIG. 9 illustrates an example communication system 900 having an example communication apparatus 910 and an example network apparatus 920 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Each of communication apparatus 910 and network apparatus 920 may perform various functions to implement schemes, techniques, processes and methods described herein pertaining to handling operations related to GNSS measurement, including scenarios/schemes described above as well as processes 1000 and 1100 described below.

Communication apparatus 910 may be a part of an electronic apparatus, which may be a UE such as a portable or mobile apparatus, a wearable apparatus, a wireless communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. For instance, communication apparatus 910 may be implemented in a smartphone, a smartwatch, a personal digital assistant, an electronic control unit (ECU) in a vehicle, a digital camera, or a computing equipment such as a tablet computer, a laptop computer or a notebook computer. Communication apparatus 910 may also be a part of a machine type apparatus, which may be an IoT, NB-IoT, IIoT, BL, or CE UE such as an immobile or a stationary apparatus, a home apparatus, a roadside unit (RSU) , a wire communication apparatus or a computing apparatus. For instance, communication apparatus 910 may be implemented in a smart thermostat, a smart fridge, a smart door lock, a wireless speaker or a home control center. Alternatively, communication apparatus 910 may be implemented in the form of one or more integrated-circuit (IC) chips such as, for example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, one or more reduced-instruction set computing (RISC) processors, or one or more complex-instruction-set-computing (CISC) processors. Communication apparatus 910 may include at least some of those components shown in FIG. 9 such as a processor 912, for example. Communication apparatus 910 may further include one or more other components not pertinent to the proposed scheme of the present disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device and/or user interface device) , and, thus, such component (s) of communication apparatus 910 are neither shown in FIG. 9 nor described below in the interest of simplicity and brevity.

Network apparatus 920 may be a part of an electronic apparatus, which may be a network node such as a satellite, a BS, a small cell, a router or a gateway of an NTN. For instance, network apparatus 920 may be implemented in a satellite or gNB/TRP in a 5G, NR, IoT, NB-IoT or IIoT network. Alternatively, network apparatus 920 may be implemented in the form of one or more IC chips such as, for example and without limitation, one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more RISC or CISC processors. Network apparatus 920 may include at least some of those components shown in FIG. 9 such as a processor 922, for example. Network apparatus 920 may further include one or more other components not pertinent to the proposed scheme of the present disclosure (e.g., internal power supply, display device and/or user interface device) , and, thus, such component (s) of network apparatus 920 are neither shown in FIG. 9 nor described below in the interest of simplicity and brevity.

In one aspect, each of processor 912 and processor 922 may be implemented in the form of one or more single-core processors, one or more multi-core processors, or one or more CISC processors. That is, even though a singular term “a processor” is used herein to refer to processor 912 and processor 922, each of processor 912 and processor 922 may include multiple processors in some implementations and a single processor in other implementations in accordance with the present disclosure. In another aspect, each of processor 912 and processor 922 may be implemented in the form of hardware (and, optionally, firmware) with electronic components including, for example and without limitation, one or more transistors, one or more diodes, one or more capacitors, one or more resistors, one or more inductors, one or more memristors and/or one or more varactors that are configured and arranged to achieve specific purposes in accordance with the present disclosure. In other words, in at least some implementations, each of processor 912 and processor 922 is a special-purpose machine specifically designed, arranged and configured to perform specific tasks, including handling operations related to GNSS measurement, in a device (e.g., as represented by communication apparatus 910) and a network node (e.g., as represented by network apparatus 920) in accordance with various implementations of the present disclosure.

In some implementations, communication apparatus 910 may also include a transceiver 916 coupled to processor 912 and capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, transceiver 916 may be capable of wirelessly communicating with different types of UEs and/or wireless networks of different radio access technologies (RATs) . In some implementations, transceiver 916 may be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown) such as, for example, four antenna ports. That is, transceiver 916 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) wireless communications. In some implementations, network apparatus 920 may also include a transceiver 926 coupled to processor 922. Transceiver 926 may include a transceiver capable of wirelessly transmitting and receiving data. In some implementations, transceiver 926 may be capable of wirelessly communicating with different types of UEs of different RATs. In some implementations, transceiver 926 may be equipped with a plurality of antenna ports (not shown) such as, for example, four antenna ports. That is, transceiver 926 may be equipped with multiple transmit antennas and multiple receive antennas for MIMO wireless communications.

In some implementations, communication apparatus 910 may further include a memory 914 coupled to processor 912 and capable of being accessed by processor 912 and storing data therein. In some implementations, network apparatus 920 may further include a memory 924 coupled to processor 922 and capable of being accessed by processor 922 and storing data therein. Each of memory 914 and memory 924 may include a type of random-access memory (RAM) such as dynamic RAM (DRAM) , static RAM (SRAM) , thyristor RAM (T-RAM) and/or zero-capacitor RAM (Z-RAM) . Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 914 and memory 924 may include a type of read-only memory (ROM) such as mask ROM, programmable ROM (PROM) , erasable programmable ROM (EPROM) and/or electrically erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM) . Alternatively, or additionally, each of memory 914 and memory 924 may include a type of non-volatile random-access memory (NVRAM) such as flash memory, solid-state memory, ferroelectric RAM (FeRAM) , magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) and/or phase-change memory.

Each of communication apparatus 910 and network apparatus 920 may be a communication entity capable of communicating with each other using various proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure. For illustrative purposes and without limitation, a description of capabilities of communication apparatus 910, as a UE (NB-IoT UE or BL/CE UE) , and network apparatus 920, as a network node (e.g., satellite or BS) , is provided below.

Under certain proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to handling operations related to GNSS measurement, processor 912 of communication apparatus 910 may connect, via transceiver 916, to network apparatus 920 of an NTN to operate in a connected mode (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED state) . Then, processor 912 may receive, via transceiver 916, a MAC CE (e.g., a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE) from network apparatus 920. Specifically, the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. Also, processor 912 may perform, via transceiver 916, a GNSS measurement using the GNSS measurement gap with the length.

In some implementations, the GNSS measurement may be a network-triggered GNSS measurement or a UE-autonomous GNSS measurement.

In some implementations, processor 912 may also transmit, via transceiver 916, a HARQ feedback associated with the MAC CE to the network node.

In some implementations, the HARQ feedback may include a HARQ ACK in an event that the MAC CE is successfully decoded, or a HARQ non-NACK in an event that the MAC CE is not successfully decoded.

In some implementations, processor 912 may also determine that the GNSS measurement gap of the network-triggered GNSS measurement starts at: (i) a first offset subsequent to the reception of the MAC CE in an event that no HARQ ACK is transmitted for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded, or (ii) a second offset subsequent to a transmission of a HARQ ACK for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded. Alternatively, processor 912 may determine that the GNSS measurement gap of the UE-autonomous GNSS measurement starts from a GNSS validity duration expiry (e.g., if gnss-AutonomousEnabled is configured with stored gap length from the reception of the MAC CE that is successfully decoded, and the T field of the MAC CE set to "1" indicating that the GNSS measurement gap length configured in this MAC CE needs to be stored and used for subsequent UE-autonomous GNSS measurement) .

In some implementations, the first offset may be configured with a first value in a case that communication apparatus 910 is an NB-IoT UE, or may be configured with a second value in a case that communication apparatus 910 is a BL UE or a CE UE.

In some implementations, the MAC CE may be identified by a MAC PDU subheader with a (e) LCID.

In some implementations, the MAC CE may have a fixed size of one octet.

In some implementations, the MAC CE may include at least one of the following: (i) one or more reserved bits which are set to 0; (ii) a first field indicating the length of the GNSS measurement gap; and (iii) a second field indicating an offset (e.g., the abovementioned second offset) to a start of the GNSS measurement gap.

In some implementations, the first field may include 4 bits (i.e., the length of the first field is 4 bits) .

Under certain proposed schemes in accordance with the present disclosure with respect to handling operations related to GNSS measurement, processor 922 of network apparatus 920 may form, via transceiver 926, an NTN serving cell for wireless communication with communication apparatus 910 operating in a connected mode (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED state) . Then, processor 922 may transmit, via transceiver 926, a MAC CE (e.g., a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE) to communication apparatus 910. Specifically, the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. Also, processor 922 may determine whether to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus according to whether a HARQ feedback associated with the MAC CE is received from communication apparatus 910 or not.

In some implementations, the determining of whether to re-transmit the MAC CE to communication apparatus 910 may include: determining to re-transmit the MAC CE to communication apparatus 910 in an event that a HARQ NACK associated with the MAC CE is received from communication apparatus 910 or no HARQ feedback associated with the MAC CE is received from communication apparatus 910; or determining not to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus in an event that a HARQ ACK associated with the MAC CE is received from communication apparatus 910.

In some implementations, the MAC CE may have a fixed size of one octet.

In some implementations, the first field may include 4 bits.

Illustrative Processes

FIG. 10 illustrates an example process 1000 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 1000 may be an example implementation of above scenarios/schemes, whether partially or completely, with respect to handling operations related to GNSS measurement. Process 1000 may represent an aspect of implementation of features of communication apparatus 910. Process 1000 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 1010 to 1030. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 1000 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks of process 1000 may be executed in the order shown in FIG. 10 or, alternatively, in a different order. Process 1000 may be implemented by or in communication apparatus 910 or any suitable UE or machine type devices. Solely for illustrative purposes and without limitation, process 1000 is described below in the context of communication apparatus 910. Process 1000 may begin at block 1010.

At 1010, process 1000 may involve processor 912 of communication apparatus 910 connecting, via transceiver 916, to network apparatus 920 of an NTN to operate in a connected mode (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED state) . Process 1000 may proceed from 1010 to 1020.

At 1020, process 1000 may involve processor 912 receiving, via transceiver 916, a MAC CE (e.g., a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE) from network apparatus 920. Specifically, the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. Process 1000 may proceed from 1020 to 1030.

At 1030, process 1000 may involve processor 912 performing a GNSS measurement using the GNSS measurement gap with the length.

In some implementations, process 1000 may further involve processor 912 transmitting, via transceiver 916, a HARQ feedback associated with the MAC CE to the network node.

In some implementations, process 1000 may further involve processor 912 determining that the GNSS measurement gap starts at: (i) a first offset subsequent to the reception of the MAC CE in an event that no HARQ ACK is transmitted for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded, or (ii) a second offset subsequent to a transmission of a HARQ ACK for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded. Alternatively, process 1000 may involve processor 912 determining that the GNSS measurement gap of the UE-autonomous GNSS measurement starts from a GNSS validity duration expiry (e.g., if gnss-AutonomousEnabled is configured with stored gap length from the reception of the MAC CE that is successfully decoded, and the T field of the MAC CE set to "1" indicating that the GNSS measurement gap length configured in this MAC CE needs to be stored and used for subsequent UE-autonomous GNSS measurement) .

In some implementations, the MAC CE may have a fixed size of one octet.

In some implementations, the first field may include 4 bits.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example process 1100 in accordance with an implementation of the present disclosure. Process 1100 may be an example implementation of above scenarios/schemes, whether partially or completely, with respect to handling operations related to GNSS measurement. Process 1100 may represent an aspect of implementation of features of network apparatus 920. Process 1100 may include one or more operations, actions, or functions as illustrated by one or more of blocks 1110 to 1130. Although illustrated as discrete blocks, various blocks of process 1100 may be divided into additional blocks, combined into fewer blocks, or eliminated, depending on the desired implementation. Moreover, the blocks of process 1100 may be executed in the order shown in FIG. 11 or, alternatively, in a different order. Process 1100 may be implemented by or in network apparatus 920 as well as any variations thereof. Solely for illustrative purposes and without limitation, process 1100 is described below in the context of network apparatus 920. Process 1100 may begin at block 1110.

At 1110, process 1100 may involve processor 922 of network apparatus 920 forming, via transceiver 926, an NTN serving cell for wireless communication with communication apparatus 910 operating in a connected mode (e.g., RRC_CONNECTED state) . Process 1100 may proceed from 1110 to 1120.

At 1120, process 1100 may involve processor 922 transmitting, via transceiver 926, a MAC CE (e.g., a GNSS Measurement Command MAC CE) to communication apparatus 910. Specifically, the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap. Process 1100 may proceed from 1120 to 1130.

At 1130, process 1100 may involve processor 922 determining whether to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus according to whether a HARQ feedback associated with the MAC CE is received from communication apparatus 910 or not.

In some implementations, the MAC CE may have a fixed size of one octet.

In some implementations, the first field may include 4 bits.

Additional Notes

The herein-described subject matter sometimes illustrates different components contained within, or connected with, different other components. It is to be understood that such depicted architectures are merely examples, and that in fact many other architectures can be implemented which achieve the same functionality. In a conceptual sense, any arrangement of components to achieve the same functionality is effectively "associated" such that the desired functionality is achieved. Hence, any two components herein combined to achieve a particular functionality can be seen as "associated with" each other such that the desired functionality is achieved, irrespective of architectures or intermedial components. Likewise, any two components so associated can also be viewed as being "operably connected" , or "operably coupled" , to each other to achieve the desired functionality, and any two components capable of being so associated can also be viewed as being "operably couplable" , to each other to achieve the desired functionality. Specific examples of operably couplable include but are not limited to physically mateable and/or physically interacting components and/or wirelessly interactable and/or wirelessly interacting components and/or logically interacting and/or logically interactable components.

Further, with respect to the use of substantially any plural and/or singular terms herein, those having skill in the art can translate from the plural to the singular and/or from the singular to the plural as is appropriate to the context and/or application. The various singular/plural permutations may be expressly set forth herein for sake of clarity.

Moreover, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that, in general, terms used herein, and especially in the appended claims, e.g., bodies of the appended claims, are generally intended as “open” terms, e.g., the term “including” should be interpreted as “including but not limited to, ” the term “having” should be interpreted as “having at least, ” the term “includes” should be interpreted as “includes but is not limited to, ” etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is intended, such an intent will be explicitly recited in the claim, and in the absence of such recitation no such intent is present. For example, as an aid to understanding, the following appended claims may contain usage of the introductory phrases "at least one" and "one or more" to introduce claim recitations. However, the use of such phrases should not be construed to imply that the introduction of a claim recitation by the indefinite articles "a" or "an" limits any particular claim containing such introduced claim recitation to implementations containing only one such recitation, even when the same claim includes the introductory phrases "one or more" or "at least one" and indefinite articles such as "a" or "an, " e.g., “a” and/or “an” should be interpreted to mean “at least one” or “one or more; ” the same holds true for the use of definite articles used to introduce claim recitations. In addition, even if a specific number of an introduced claim recitation is explicitly recited, those skilled in the art will recognize that such recitation should be interpreted to mean at least the recited number, e.g., the bare recitation of "two recitations, " without other modifiers, means at least two recitations, or two or more recitations. Furthermore, in those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, and C, etc. ” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, and C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc. In those instances where a convention analogous to “at least one of A, B, or C, etc. ” is used, in general such a construction is intended in the sense one having skill in the art would understand the convention, e.g., “a system having at least one of A, B, or C” would include but not be limited to systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and C together, etc. It will be further understood by those within the art that virtually any disjunctive word and/or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” will be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B. ”

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that various implementations of the present disclosure have been described herein for purposes of illustration, and that various modifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit of the present disclosure. Accordingly, the various implementations disclosed herein are not intended to be limiting, with the true scope and spirit being indicated by the following claims.

Claims

A method, comprising:

connecting, by a processor of an apparatus, to a network node of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) to operate in a connected mode;

receiving, by the processor, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) from the network node, wherein the MAC CE indicates a length of a global navigation satellite system (GNSS) measurement gap; and

performing, by the processor, a GNSS measurement using the GNSS measurement gap with the length.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the GNSS measurement is a network-triggered GNSS measurement or a UE-autonomous GNSS measurement.
The method of Claim 1, further comprising:

transmitting, by the processor, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the MAC CE to the network node;

wherein the HARQ feedback comprises a HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) in an event that the MAC CE is successfully decoded, or a HARQ non-acknowledgement (NACK) in an event that the MAC CE is not successfully decoded.
The method of Claim 2, further comprising:

determining, by the processor, that the GNSS measurement gap of the network-triggered GNSS measurement starts at:

a first offset subsequent to the reception of the MAC CE in an event that no HARQ ACK is transmitted for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded, or

a second offset subsequent to a transmission of a HARQ ACK for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded; or

determining, by the processor, that the GNSS measurement gap of the UE-autonomous GNSS measurement starts from a GNSS validity duration expiry.
The method of Claim 4, wherein the first offset is configured with a first value in a case that the apparatus is a narrowband Internet-of-things (NB-IoT) user equipment (UE) , or is configured with a second value in a case that the apparatus is a bandwidth reduced low complexity (BL) UE or a coverage enhancement (CE) UE.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the MAC CE is identified by a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) subheader with a logical channel identifier (LCID) , and the MAC CE has a fixed size of one octet.
The method of Claim 1, wherein the MAC CE comprises at least one of the following:

one or more reserved bits which are set to 0;

a first field indicating the length of the GNSS measurement gap; and

a second field indicating an offset to a start of the GNSS measurement gap.
The method of Claim 7, wherein the first field comprises 4 bits.
An apparatus, comprising:

a transceiver which, during operation, wirelessly communicates with a network node of a non-terrestrial network (NTN) ; and

a processor communicatively coupled to the transceiver such that, during operation, the processor performs operations comprising:

connecting, via the transceiver, to the network node to operate in a connected state;

receiving, via the transceiver, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) from the network node, wherein the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap; and

performing, via the transceiver, a GNSS measurement using the GNSS measurement gap with the length.
The apparatus of Claim 9, wherein the GNSS measurement is a network-triggered GNSS measurement or a UE-autonomous GNSS measurement.
The apparatus of Claim 9, wherein, during operation, the processor further performs operations comprising:

transmitting, via the transceiver, a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the MAC CE to the network node; and

wherein the HARQ feedback comprises a HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) in an event that the MAC CE is successfully decoded, or a HARQ non-acknowledgement (NACK) in an event that the MAC CE is not successfully decoded.
The apparatus of Claim 10, wherein, during operation, the processor further performs operations comprising:

determining that the GNSS measurement gap of the network-triggered GNSS measurement starts at:

a first offset subsequent to the reception of the MAC CE in an event that no HARQ feedback is transmitted for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded, or

a second offset subsequent to a transmission of a HARQ ACK for the MAC CE that is successfully decoded; or

determining that the GNSS measurement gap of the UE-autonomous GNSS measurement starts from a GNSS validity duration expiry.
The apparatus of Claim 12, wherein the first offset is configured with a first value in a case that the apparatus is a narrowband Internet-of-things (NB-IoT) user equipment (UE) , or is configured with a second value in a case that the apparatus is a bandwidth reduced low complexity (BL) UE or a coverage enhancement (CE) UE.
The apparatus of Claim 9, wherein the MAC CE is identified by a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) subheader with a logical channel identifier (LCID) , and the MAC CE has a fixed size of one octet.
The apparatus of Claim 9, wherein the MAC CE comprises at least one of the following:

one or more reserved bits which are set to 0;

a first field indicating the length of the GNSS measurement gap, wherein the first field comprises 4 bits; and

a second field indicating an offset to a start of the GNSS measurement gap.
A method, comprising:

forming, by a processor of a network node, a non-terrestrial network (NTN) serving cell for wireless communication with an apparatus operating in a connected mode;

transmitting, by the processor, a medium access control (MAC) control element (CE) to the apparatus, wherein the MAC CE indicates a length of a GNSS measurement gap;

determining, by the processor, whether to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus according to whether a hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) feedback associated with the MAC CE is received from the apparatus or not.
The method of Claim 16, wherein the determining of whether to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus comprises:

determining to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus in an event that a HARQ non-acknowledgement (NACK) associated with the MAC CE is received from the apparatus or no HARQ feedback associated with the MAC CE is received from the apparatus; or

determining not to re-transmit the MAC CE to the apparatus in an event that a HARQ acknowledgement (ACK) associated with the MAC CE is received from the apparatus.
The method of Claim 16, wherein the MAC CE is identified by a MAC protocol data unit (PDU) subheader with a logical channel identifier (LCID) , and the MAC CE has a fixed size of one octet.
The method of Claim 16, wherein the MAC CE comprises at least one of the following:

one or more reserved bits which are set to 0;

a first field indicating the length of the GNSS measurement gap; and

a second field indicating an offset to a start of the GNSS measurement gap.
The method of Claim 19, wherein the first field comprises 4 bits.