WO2024210803A1 - Prioritizing for data transmission - Google Patents

Abstract

A method, system and apparatus are disclosed. In an example embodiment, a network node is configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD), the network node is configured to, and/or includes a radio interface and/or includes processing circuitry configured to transmit a prioritization indication to the wireless device to cause the wireless device to prioritize, based on the indication, at least one transmission relative to at least one measurement. The network node is configured to receive communications from the wireless device, the communication being based on the prioritization indication.

Description

PRIORITIZING FOR DATA TRANSMISSION

RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 63/493894, filed 2023-04-03, entitled "UL TRANSMISSIONS IN SSB SLOTS", the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to prioritizing data transmission and one or more measurements.

BACKGROUND

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile wireless devices (WD), as well as communication between network nodes and between WDs. The 3GPP is also developing standards for Sixth Generation (6G) wireless communication networks.

NR standard in 3GPP is being designed to provide service for multiple use cases, such as enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultra-reliable and low latency communication (URLLC), and machine type communication (MTC). Each of these services has different technical requirements. For example, the general requirement for eMBB is high data rate with moderate latency and moderate coverage, while URLLC service requires a low latency and high reliability transmission, but may allow for moderate data rates.

One approach for low-latency data transmission is shorter transmission time intervals. In NR, in addition to transmission in a slot, a mini-slot transmission is also allowed to reduce latency. A mini-slot may include any number of 1 to 14 orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) symbols. The concepts of slot and mini-slot may not be specific to a specific service, i.e., a mini-slot may be used for either eMBB, URLLC, or other services. FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio resource in NR.

In 3GPP Rel-15 NR, a wireless device can be configured with up to four carrier bandwidth parts in the downlink with a single downlink carrier bandwidth part being active at a given time. A wireless device can be configured with up to four carrier bandwidth parts in the uplink with a single uplink carrier bandwidth part being active at a given time.

An NR slot includes several OFDM symbols, which, according to current agreements, includes either 7 or 14 symbols whenOFDM subcarrier spacing < 60 kHz or 14 symbols when OFDM subcarrier spacing > 60 kHz. FIG. 2 is a diagram of a subframe with 14 OFDM symbols. In FIG. 2, T_s and T_symb denote the slot and OFDM symbol duration, respectively.

Transmission and reception from a network node, e.g., a terminal in a cellular system, can be multiplexed in the frequency domain, in the time domain, or combinations thereof. FIG. 3 is a diagram of frequency-division and time-division duplex. Frequency Division Duplex (FDD) as illustrated in the leftmost portion of FIG. 3 depicts that downlink and uplink transmission may take place in different and sufficiently separated frequency bands. Time Division Duplex (TDD), as illustrated in the rightmost portion of FIG. 3, depicts that downlink and uplink transmission take place in different and non-overlapping time slots. Thus, TDD can operate in unpaired spectrum, whereas FDD may require paired spectrum.

Typically, the structure of the transmitted signal in a communication system is organized in the form of a frame structure. For example, NR uses ten equally-sized slots per radio frame, as illustrated in FIG. 1, for the case of 15 kHz subcarrier spacing.

In case of FDD operation such as shown in the leftmost portion of FIG. 3, there are two carrier frequencies: one for uplink transmission (fur) and one for downlink transmission (for). At least with respect to a terminal in a cellular communication system, FDD can be either full duplex or half duplex. In the full duplex case, a terminal, e.g. a wireless device, can transmit and receive simultaneously, while in half-duplex operation, the terminal may not be able to transmit and receive simultaneously although the network node may be capable of simultaneous reception/transmission, e.g., receiving from one terminal/wireless device while simultaneously transmitting to another terminal/wireless device. In LTE, ahalf-duplex terminal, e.g., wireless device, may be monitoring/receiving in the downlink except when explicitly being instructed to transmit in a certain subframe.

In case of TDD operation such as shown in the rightmost portion of FIG. 3, there may only be a single carrier frequency, and uplink and downlink transmissions are separated in time also on a cell basis. As same carrier frequency is used for uplink and downlink transmission, both the network node and the mobile terminals (e.g., wireless devices) may need to switch from transmission to reception and vice versa. An aspect of a TDD system is providing for the possibility of a sufficiently large guard time where neither downlink nor uplink transmissions occur. This facilitates avoiding interference between uplink and downlink transmissions. For NR, this guard time is provided by special subframes, which are split into three parts: symbols for DL, a guard period (GP), and symbols for uplink. The remaining subframes are either allocated to uplink or downlink transmission.

As described above, in a TDD system, the entire carrier bandwidth (BW) or all carriers in the same frequency band may need to be utilizing the same downlink (DL) transmission or uplink (UL) reception directions. This is further illustrated in FIG. 4, which is a diagram of a conventional TDD carrier or carrier systems.

For the 3GPP Rel-18 evolution of the NR system, 3GPP has decided to study the technical feasibilities and potential benefits of subband full duplex (SBFD) systems.

• In such a system, a portion of a wide bandwidth carrier may be used for a different direction than that of the rest of the carrier. This is illustrated in the leftmost portion of FIG. 5, which depicts a subband full duplex system. That is, unlike a conventional TDD system as shown on the leftmost portion of FIG. 4 where the entire bandwidth is used for DL transmission in the first three slots, the center portion of the SBFD carrier is used for UL reception, while the rest of the carrier continues to be used for DL transmission as shown in the leftmost portion of FIG. 5. • Similarly, instead of utilizing all carriers for the same DL or UL directions in a conventional TDD system as shown in the rightmost portion of FIG. 4, some carriers in the SBFD system can be used for a different direction than that of the other carriers, as shown in the rightmost portion of FIG. 5.

In the 3GPP Rel-18 study, the scope has been limited such that in SBFD operation, generally only network nodes transmit DL and receive UL simultaneously. An individual wireless device may only be scheduled in only one direction (DL or UL) at a time, following a half-duplex operation.

NR defines two types of synchronization signals (primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS)) and one broadcast channel (physical broadcast channel (PBCH)). Further PSS, SSS and PBCH are transmitted in one synchronization signal (SS)/PBCH block (SSB). One or multiple SS/PBCH block(s) can be transmitted within one SSB burst, and bursts are transmitted periodically. Multiple SSBs in a burst are used when multiple transmissions are needed to cover the intended coverage area, e.g., a cell that may be using transmissions (e.g., via a network node) in different non-overlapping or partially overlapping beams (i.e., beams with different directions). Sequentially transmitting in each of these beam directions is referred to as a beam sweep, e.g., a SS/PBCH block beam sweep.

For a half frame with SS/PBCH blocks, the first symbol indexes for candidate SS/PBCH blocks are determined according to the subcarrier spacing of SS/PBCH blocks as described, e.g., in 3GPP Technical Specification (TS) 38.213.

The candidate SS/PBCH blocks in a half frame are indexed in an ascending order in time from 0 to L-l. A wireless device determines 2 least significant bits (LSB) for L=4, or 3 LSB bits for L>4, of a SS/PBCH block index per half frame from a one-to-one mapping with an index of the demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) sequence transmitted in the PBCH. In 3GPP NR Rel-15, 8 DM-RS sequences are defined. For L=64, the 3 LSB bits of the SS/PBCH block index per half frame used to determine the SS/PBCH block index completely are included in the PBCH payload. In addition, a half-frame indicator is present in the PBCH payload.

Not all candidate SS/PBCH blocks have to be transmitted. If the intended coverage area can be covered with fewer SS/PBCH block transmissions, e.g., using wider beamforming, then a smaller number of SS/PBCH blocks can be transmited than the full number of candidate SS/PBCH blocks L. Any combination of the candidate SS/PBCH blocks may be used. For instance, if there are 8 candidate SS/PBCH blocks and only 4 of them are used for SS/PBCH block transmissions, these 4 candidate SS/PBCH blocks can be any combination of 4 candidate SS/PBCH blocks out of the total 8, e.g., the first 4 candidate SS/PBCH blocks, the 4 last candidate SS/PBCH blocks, or the first, the second, the fifth and sixth candidate SS/PBCH blocks .

A candidate SS/PBCH block may be referred to as a “candidate SS/PBCH block position” or a “candidate SSB position.”

The wireless device may assume that SS/PBCH blocks transmited with the same SS/PBCH block index on the same center frequency location are quasi colocated with respect to Doppler spread, Doppler shift, average gain, average delay, delay spread, and, when applicable, spatial Rx parameters. The wireless device might not assume quasi co-location for any other SS/PBCH block transmissions.

In 3GPP NR Rel-15, the wireless device is informed about which SS/PBCH blocks the serving network node transmits using a bitmap in the ssb-PositionsInBurst RRC information element (IE) , contained in system information block 1 (SIB1) message. The first bit indicates the first SS/PBCH block, the second bit the second SS/PBCH block, and so on. Value 0 indicates the corresponding SSB block is not transmited, while value 1 is transmited. The wireless device then uses this bitmap to rate match PDSCH around the SS/PBCH blocks and suppress uplink transmissions in the symbols corresponding to the SS/PBCH blocks.

The periodicity in ms of the SS/PBCH blocks is defined by another radio resource control (RRC) IE contained in SIB1, ssb-PeriodicityServingCell. If the field is absent, the default value of 5 ms is considered.

A wireless device in connected mode may not be required to measure with the SS/PBCH blocks periodicity. This can be decided based on channel conditions or wireless device power saving criteria. The SS/PBCH Block Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC) which is SSB based measurement timing configuration indicates to the wireless device the periodicity and timing of SS/PBCH that can be monitored. The set of SS/PBCH blocks that the wireless device is to monitor within a SMTC window can be further tuned with the RRC IE ssb-ToMeasure, transmitted through system information block 2 (SIB2). This is a bitmap indicator where the first bit corresponds to SSBO, the second bit to SSB1, and so on. Value 0 indicates that the bit is to be measured, while value 1 that is not to measured.

According to the current 3GPP NR TS, SSB-based measurements are configured along with one or two SMTC(s) which provides periodicity, duration and offset information on a window of up to 5ms where the measurements are to be performed. For intra-frequency connected mode measurements, up to two measurement window periodicities may be configured. A single measurement window offset and measurement duration are configured per intra-frequency measurement object.

In order to measure the reception quality of a cell or Component Carrier (CC) with a different frequency than its own cell, the terminal needs to temporarily interrupt the communication in the current state. This interruption period is called the measurement gap. For intra-frequency SSB based measurements without measurement gaps, wireless device may cause scheduling restriction. In 3GPP TS 38.133, scheduling restriction is defined such that the wireless device may not be expected to transmit, or receive under some conditions for different subcarrier spacing when the transmission or reception overlaps (with some margin) with SSB symbols to be measured. 3GPP TS 38.133 also defines a number of different conditions under which scheduling restrictions may apply. The conditions apply for example always for frequency range 2 (FR2) and to frequency range 1 (FR1) for TDD bands and FDD under some conditions on subcarrier spacing combinations. In addition, they may apply for half-duplex RedCap wireless devices in HD-FDD bands.

According to 3GPP NR specifications, e.g., TS 38.213, for unpaired spectrum operation for a wireless device on a cell in a frequency band of FR1, when the scheduling restrictions due to RRM measurements are not applicable, if the wireless device detects a DCI format indicating the wireless device to transmit in a set of symbols, the wireless device may not be required to perform RRM measurements based on a SS/PBCH block or channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) reception on a different cell in the frequency band if the SS/PBCH block or CSI-RS reception includes at least one symbol from the set of symbols.

The SSB symbols to be measured denoted as measurement opportunities may depend on the measured quantity e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP)/ Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ)/Signal Interference to Noise Ratio (SINR). and if the wireless device has information on specific SSBs to measure. In some cases, the full SMTC window is included.

SUMMARY

A half-duplex SBFD capable wireless device may not be able to transmit and receive at the same time, thus, based on existing 3GPP specifications, in the worst case, scheduling restrictions could apply throughout the SMTC window. This can lead to an “UL outage” period of up to 5ms which is the current maximum length of an SMTC window. For conventional TDD systems, this may not be an issue because UL resources may not be available in slots carrying SSBs. For SBFD systems, a slot carrying SSBs can also have UL resources, thus there is a need for balancing scheduling restrictions vs measurement opportunities. Thus, a wireless device may prioritize among data transmission and radio resource management (RRM) / radio link monitoring (RLM) / bidirectional forwarding detection (BFD) / beam failure recovery (BFR) measurements.

Some embodiments advantageously provide methods, systems, and apparatuses for prioritizing among data transmission and one or more measurements such as RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements.

According to one aspect of the disclosure, a method performed by a wireless device is disclosed. In an embodiment, a wireless device receives a prioritization indication indicating whether to prioritize at least one transmission over an overlapping measurement opportunity. After determining to prioritize at least one uplink transmission, the device performs the transmitting on the overlapping measurement opportunity so that the measurement is aborted.

In a further embodiment, the prioritization indication comprises a fixed rule that the wireless device should prioritize uplink transmission configured by RRC signaling, uplink transmission scheduled by DCI message, or both the configured and scheduled transmission over a measurement opportunity when they’re at least partly overlapping. In a further embodiment, the prioritization indication may indicate that when the terminal device can receive DCI and measuring simultaneously, it should not abort the measurement in the overlapping measurement opportunity.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a method performed by a network node is disclosed. In an embodiment, the network node transmits a prioritization indication to a wireless device configure to communicate with the network node, indicating to prioritize at least one transmission over an overlapping measurement opportunity. And then, the network node receives uplink signaling at the overlapped portion of the overlapping measurement opportunity.

According to another aspect of the disclosure, a wireless device and network node are disclosed in accordance with the methods performed by the wireless device and network node in the above mentioned aspect.

The latency and coverage benefits of SBFD rely on time-consecutive UL resources, and thus gains would diminish if frequent long “UL outage” occurs. By configuring the network node to balance scheduling restrictions vs measurement opportunities, it is possible to avoid long “UL outage” periods balanced by the cost of reduced RRM measurement performance.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a diagram of an example radio resource in NR;

FIG. 2 is a diagram slot and OFDM symbol duration;

FIG. 3 is a diagram of frequency- and time-division duplex;

FIG. 4 is a diagram of TDD carrier or carrier systems;

FIG. 5 is a diagram of a subband full duplex system; FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system connected via an intermediate network to a host computer according to the principles in the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a network node with a wireless device over an at least partially wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for executing a client application at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data from the wireless device at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example process in a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is an example diagram of prioritized transmissions according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 16 is an example diagram of prioritized measurements according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 17 is an example diagram of scheduled transmissions according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and FIG. 18 is an example diagram of a configuration for priority duration according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing in detail example embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to prioritizing among data reception and one or more measurements such as, for example, RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication. In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.

The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a wireless device (WD) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The WD herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD over radio signals, such as wireless device (WD). The WD may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) WD, machine type WD or WD capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with WD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device, etc.

Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

In some embodiments, “configured transmissions” refers to configured-grant physical upload shared channel (CG-PUSCH), physical upload control channel (PUCCH), p/sp-SRS (e.g., Sounding Reference Signal), and/or random access channel (RACH).

In some embodiments, “measurement symbols” are the symbols fully overlapping, partly overlapping, or not overlapping, but within a time gap less than a threshold, with a signal used for measurement, e.g., SSBs or CSI-RS. In the case of RRM measurements, the measurement symbols may be confined in one or more SMTC windows.

In some embodiments, measurements refer to, e.g., RRM measurements, radio link monitoring (RLM) measurements or measurements for the purpose of beam failure detection (BFD) or beam failure recovery (BFR).

Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and/or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

In some embodiments, the general description elements in the form of “one of A and B” corresponds to A or B. In some embodiments, at least one of A and B corresponds to A, B or AB, or to one or more of A and B, or one or both of A and B. In some embodiments, at least one of A, B and C corresponds to one or more of A, B and C, and/or A, B, C or a combination thereof.

Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and/or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Some embodiments provide for prioritizing among data reception and one or more measurements such as, for example, RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements.

Referring now to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 6 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3 GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and/or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second WD 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole WD is in the coverage area or where a sole WD is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.

Also, it is contemplated that a WD 22 can be in simultaneous communication and/or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a WD 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, WD 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE/E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR/NG-RAN.

The communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 24 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24 or may extend via an optional intermediate network 30. The intermediate network 30 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network. The intermediate network 30, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of FIG. 6 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected WDs 22a, 22b and the host computer 24. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection. The host computer 24 and the connected WDs 22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection, using the access network 12, the core network 14, any intermediate network 30 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, a network node 16 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 24 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected WD 22a. Similarly, the network node 16 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the WD 22a towards the host computer 24.

A network node 16 is configured to include a configuration unit 32 which is configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions described herein, including functions related to prioritizing among data reception and one or more measurements (e.g., RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements). A wireless device 22 is configured to include an implementation unit 34 which is configured to perform one or more wireless device 22 functions described herein, including functions related to prioritizing among data reception and one or more measurements (e.g., RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements).

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the WD 22, network node 16 and host computer 24 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 7. In a communication system 10, a host computer 24 comprises hardware (HW) 38 including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10. The host computer 24 further comprises processing circuitry 42, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. The processing circuitry 42 may include a processor 44 and memory 46. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 42 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 44 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 46, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read- Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by host computer 24. Processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing host computer 24 functions described herein. The host computer 24 includes memory 46 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 48 and/or the host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42, causes the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to host computer 24. The instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.

The software 48 may be executable by the processing circuitry 42. The software 48 includes a host application 50. The host application 50 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a WD 22 connecting via an OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 50 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 52. The “user data” may be data and information described herein as implementing the described functionality. In one embodiment, the host computer 24 may be configured for providing control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to observe, monitor, control, transmit to and/or receive from the network node 16 and or the wireless device 22. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may include a control unit 54 configured to enable the service provider to observe/monitor/ control/transmit to/receive from the network node 16 and/or the wireless device 22.

The communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 58 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 24 and with the WD 22. The hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10, as well as a radio interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with a WD 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 62 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24. The connection 66 may be direct or it may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and/or through one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.

In the embodiment shown, the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Thus, the network node 16 further has software 74 stored internally in, for example, memory 72, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68, causes the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 68 of the network node 16 may include configuration unit 32 configured to perform one or more network node 16 functions described herein, including functions related to prioritizing among data reception and RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements.

The communication system 10 further includes the WD 22 already referred to. The WD 22 may have hardware 80 that may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 64 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located. The radio interface 82 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The hardware 80 of the WD 22 further includes processing circuitry 84. The processing circuitry 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 84 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 88, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Thus, the WD 22 may further comprise software 90, which is stored in, for example, memory 88 at the WD 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the WD 22. The software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84. The software 90 may include a client application 92. The client application 92 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the WD 22, with the support of the host computer 24. In the host computer 24, an executing host application 50 may communicate with the executing client application 92 via the OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the user, the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

The processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by WD 22. The processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing WD 22 functions described herein. The WD 22 includes memory 88 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 90 and/or the client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84, causes the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to WD 22. For example, the processing circuitry 84 of the wireless device 22 may include an implementation unit 34 configured to perform one or more wireless device 22 functions described herein, including functions related to prioritizing among data reception and RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements.

In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16, WD 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in FIG. 7 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 6.

In FIG. 7, the OTT connection 52 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 24 and the wireless device 22 via the network node 16, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from the WD 22 or from the service provider operating the host computer 24, or both. While the OTT connection 52 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

The wireless connection 64 between the WD 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the WD 22 using the OTT connection 52, in which the wireless connection 64 may form the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.

In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 between the host computer 24 and WD 22, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24 or in the software 90 of the WD 22, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 52 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 48, 90 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 52 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the network node 16, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Some such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary WD signaling facilitating the host computer’s 24 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. In some embodiments, the measurements may be implemented in that the software 48, 90 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 52 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

Thus, in some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and a communication interface 40 that is configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to the WD 22. In some embodiments, the cellular network also includes the network node 16 with a radio interface 62. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to, and/or the network node’s 16 processing circuitry 68 is configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the WD 22, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the WD 22.

In some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 and a communication interface 40 that is configured to a communication interface 40 configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a WD 22 to a network node 16. In some embodiments, the WD 22 is configured to, and/or comprises a radio interface 82 and/or processing circuitry 84 configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing, initiating, maintaining, supporting, or ending a transmission to and/or in receiving of a transmission from the network node 16.

Although FIGS. 6 and 7 show various “units” such as configuration unit 32, and implementation unit 34 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIGS. 6 and 7, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIG. 7. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (Block SI 00). In an optional substep of the first step, the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50 (Block SI 02). In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block SI 04). In an optional third step, the network node 16 transmits to the WD 22 the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer 24 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block SI 06). In an optional fourth step, the WD 22 executes a client application, such as, for example, the client application 92, associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (Block SI 08).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 6, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (Block SI 10). In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50. In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block SI 12). The transmission may pass via the network node 16, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step, the WD 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (Block SI 14).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 6, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In an optional first step of the method, the WD 22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 16). In an optional substep of the first step, the WD 22 executes the client application 92, which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 18). Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step, the WD 22 provides user data (Block SI 20). In an optional substep of the second step, the WD provides the user data by executing a client application, such as, for example, client application 92 (Block S122). In providing the user data, the executed client application 92 may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the WD 22 may initiate, in an optional third substep, transmission of the user data to the host computer 24 (Block S124). In a fourth step of the method, the host computer 24 receives the user data transmitted from the WD 22, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block S126).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 6, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7. In an optional first step of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 16 receives user data from the WD 22 (Block SI 28). In an optional second step, the network node 16 initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (Block S130). In a third step, the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the network node 16 (Block S132). FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 68 (including the configuration unit 32), processor 70, radio interface 62 and/or communication interface 60. Network node 16 is configured to transmit a prioritization indication to the wireless device 22 to cause the wireless device 22 to prioritize, based on the indication, at least one transmission relative to at least one measurement based on the prioritization (Block SI 34). Network node is configured receive communications from the wireless device, the communication being based on the prioritization indication (Block SI 36).

In at least one embodiment, the indication is at least one of a RRC parameter, LI signaling, and a MAC CE.

In at least one embodiment, the measurement is at least one of a RRM, a RLM, and a BFD/BFR, measurement.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart of an example process in a wireless device 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of wireless device 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 84 (including the implementation unit 34), processor 86, radio interface 82 and/or communication interface 60. Wireless device 22 is configured to receive a prioritization indication (Block SI 38). Wireless device 22 is configured to prioritize, based on the indication, at least one transmission relative to at least one measurement (Block S140). Wireless device 22 is configured to perform at least one of the at least one transmission and the at least one measurement based on the prioritization (Block SI 42).

In at least one embodiment, the indication is at least one of a RRC parameter, LI signaling, and a MAC CE.

In at least one embodiment, the measurement is at least one of a RRM, a RLM, and a BFD/BFR, measurement.

Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for prioritizing among data reception and one or more measurements such as, for example, RRM/RLM/BFD/BFR measurements. One or more wireless device 22 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 84, processor 86, implementation unit 34, etc. One or more network node 16 functions described below may be performed by one or more of processing circuitry 68, processor 70, configuration unit 32, etc.

In at least one embodiment, the wireless device 22 obtains an indication of whether data transmission should be prioritized over measurements. The indication can, e.g., be one of the following: one or more RRC parameter(s), level 1 (LI) signaling (downlink control information (DCI)), medium access control control element (MAC CE), or a fixed rule, e.g., as described in one or more specifications. The LI signaling can either be group common signaling or wireless device 22-specific signaling. In case of group common signaling, the prioritization can either be valid until the next update or for a limited amount of time. For the wireless device 22- specific signaling, the prioritization is valid for the channel scheduled by the DCI. In at least one embodiment, a default prioritization rule is specified, and then the indication indicates a temporary change of the prioritization for a limited time span. The time span can be fixed in the specification, configured as an RRC parameter or part of the indication.

Description of Example 4 below

In at least one embodiment, the indication informs the wireless device 22 that only configured transmissions should be prioritized over measurements. If indicated, the wireless device 22 does not perform measurements in the measurement symbols overlapping with the configured transmission and instead transmits on the configured resources. FIG. 14 illustrates the behavior when the wireless device 22 prioritizes measurements, and FIG. 15 illustrates the case when configured transmissions are prioritized.

Description of Example 3 below

In at least one embodiment, an indication informs the wireless device 22 that only scheduled transmissions should be prioritized over measurements. The wireless device 22 does not perform measurements in the measurement symbols overlapping with the scheduled transmission. The wireless device 22 is relied upon to receive PDCCH while performing the measurement, so that it can abort the measurement and transmit the scheduled transmission. If the wireless device 22 cannot receive PDCCH while performing measurements (e.g., due to different sub-carrier spacing), once the wireless device 22 has started measuring, it may be unable to receive the DL scheduling DCI. Thus, the wireless device 22 may have to prioritize the measurement, unless it receives the scheduling DCI before (with some time margin) the measurement is supposed to start, i.e., the start of the first measurement symbol. In case the wireless device 22 does receive the scheduling DCI sufficiently in advance, it may have to cancel the full measurement occasion (i.e., all measurement symbols), because once it starts the measurement it may be unable to monitor PDCCH. FIG. 16 illustrates the behavior when the wireless device 22 prioritizes measurements, and FIG. 17 illustrates the behavior when scheduled transmissions are prioritized.

Description of Example 5 below

In at least one embodiment, an indication informs the wireless device 22 that both scheduled and configured transmissions should be prioritized over measurements. The wireless device 22 does not perform measurements in the measurement symbols overlapping with the configured transmission and instead transmits on the configured resources. In addition, the wireless device 22 does not perform measurements in the measurement symbols overlapping with a scheduled transmission. The wireless device 22 can receive PDCCH while performing the measurement, so it can abort the measurement and transmit the scheduled transmission. If the wireless device 22 cannot receive PDCCH while performing measurements (e.g., due to different sub-carrier spacing), once the wireless device 22 has started measuring, it may be unable to receive the DL scheduling DCI. Thus, the wireless device 22 may have to prioritize the measurement, unless it receives the scheduling DCI before (with some time margin) the measurement is supposed to start, i.e., the start of the first measurement symbol. If the wireless device 22 does receive the scheduling DCI sufficiently in advance, it may have to cancel the full measurement occasion (i.e., all measurement symbols), because once it starts the measurement it may be unable to monitor PDCCH.

Description for Example 19 below In at least one embodiment, the location of the indicated duration of time (or priority duration) within the SMTC window is cyclic shifted between the SMTC windows so that the SSB blocks, which are overlapped with the priority duration, having different SSB block indices in different SSB burst. For instance, in the following configurations for prioritizing transmitting over measurement during the priority duration, a wireless device 22 could be configured to skip SSB with different block indices during SSB burst 1 and SSB burst 2 (the wireless device 22 skips SSB2 and SSB3 in the SSB burst 1 and skips SSB4 and SSB5 in the SSB burst 2).

In at least one embodiment, separate SMTC windows are set up for each priority duration. For example, FIG. 18, which illustrates the configuration for priority duration, four SMTC windows are configured, each with a periodicity four times longer than the original, denoted as “SMTC periodicity.” The first SMTC window covers SSBO and SSB1, the second SSB2 and SSB3, the third SSB4 and SSB5 and the fourth SSB6 and SSB7. The wireless device 22 will then perform measurements of the different SSBs in the respective SMTC windows. That is, SSB2 and SSB3 will be measured in SSB burst 1, 5, 9 etc., and SSB4 and SSB5 will be measured in SSB burst 2, 6, 10 etc. This allows UL transmissions to overlap with SSBs not covered by any of the SMTC windows. For example, UL transmissions are permitted to overlap with SSB2-SSB7 in SSB burst 0 and SSB0-SSB1, SSB4-SSB7 in SSB burst 1, etc.

In at least one embodiment, Ssb-ToMeasure is extended to operate for SBFD to contain multiple variants of the bitmap. The wireless device 22 applies those variants in different instances of the SMTC window. In the example above, the wireless device 22 would cycle through the bitmaps {11000000}, {00110000}, {00001100} and {00000011}, so that during the first SMTC window only SSBO and SSB1 are monitored. During the second SMTC window, SSB2 and SSB3 are monitored, etc. If, for example, UL traffic conditions allow for monitoring to be done across only two SMTC windows, then the Ssb-To-Measure list of bitmaps can be updated, for example to {11110000}, {00001111 }, so that two SMTC windows allows to scan all the SSB blocks. The number of SSBs to be monitored from each bit map could also be different, e.g., with {11111111}, {00111111} in the list of bitmaps, a wireless device 22 only skips SSBs in the second SMTC window. The different bitmaps can, for example, be RRC configured as a list or indicated dynamically by MAC CE or (group common) DCI. Another signaling option could be to signal a length field N, and then the wireless device 22 would use bits 0..N-1 in the first instance, N..2N-1 in the second and so on. This may provide for a less flexible but more efficient way of signaling.

In a similar way as the SMTC(s) are configured for, for example, the purpose of RRM measurements, windows can be configured for RLM, BFD and BFR measurements. One way to realize such a window would be to configure the wireless device 22 with new offset fields and a new length field. In the example above where two SSBs are measured in each SSB burst, the first offset would then indicate the start of SSBO, the second of SSB2 and so forth. The length would then be set to cover two SSBs, so that the wireless device 22 will monitor SSBO and SSB1 in the first burst and SSB2 and SSB3 in the second, etc. The SSB periodicity would in this example be set to four times the SSB burst periodicity, so that all 8 SSBs will be covered. One option is to make use of the NonCellDefiningSSB signaling introduced for RedCap wireless devices in 3GPP Rel-17. This IE already contains a periodicity and time offset.

In a different variant, instead of configuring windows, multiple versions of ssb-PositionsInBurst are configured. That is, the wireless device 22 applies different variants of the bitmap ssb-PositionsInBurst in different SSB bursts. In the example above, the wireless device 22 would cycle through the bitmaps {11000000}, {00110000}, {00001100} and {00000011}. The different bitmaps can for example be RRC configured as a list or indicated dynamically by MAC CE or (group common) DCI. Another signaling option could be to signal a length field N and then the wireless device 22 would use bits 0..N-1 in the first instance, N..2N-1 in the second and so on. This is a less flexible but more efficient way of signaling.

Some Examples

Example 1: A wireless device 22 method for prioritizing among data transmission and measurements, including: a. Obtaining an indication indicative of how to prioritize data transmission vs measurements; and b. Prioritizing data transmission vs measurements according to the indication. Example 2. Example 1, where a measurement is prioritized over a data transmission.

Example 3. Example 1, where a scheduled (with DCI) transmission is prioritized over a measurement.

Example 4. Example 1, where a configured transmission (e.g., CG-PUSCH, PUCCH, p/sp-SRS, RACH) is prioritized over a measurement.

Example 5. Example 1, where scheduled (with DCI) and configured transmissions are prioritized over measurements.

Example 6. Any one of Examples 1-5, where the indication is an RRC parameter.

Example 7. Any one of Examples 1-6, where the indication is (group common) LI signaling.

Example 8. Any one of Examples 1-7, where the indication is a MAC CE.

Example 9. Any one of Examples 1-8, where the prioritization is defined in the specification.

Example 10. Any one of Examples 1-9, where either a measurement is cancelled, or a data transmission is cancelled dependent on the prioritization.

Example 11. Any one of Examples 1-10, where cancellation occurs if the data transmission and the measurement duration are either: a. partially overlapping; b. fully overlapping; or c. not overlapping, but with a time gap less than a threshold.

Example 12. Any one of Examples 1-11, where the measurement is an RRM measurement.

Example 13. Any one of Examples 1-12, where the measurement is an RLM measurement.

Example 14. Any one of Examples 1-13, where the measurement is a measurement for BFD/BFR.

Example 15. Any one of Examples 11-12, where the measurement duration corresponds to an SMTC window.

Example 16. Any one of Examples 1-15, where cancellation occurs if the data transmission and the measurement are on the same carrier and same BWP. Example 17. Any one of Examples 1-16, where cancellation occurs if the data transmission and the measurement are on different carriers and/or BWPs.

Example 18. Any one of Examples 1-17, where a first prioritization is a default prioritization, and a second prioritization is applied for an indicated duration of time before reverting to the default prioritization.

Example 19. Example 18, where a location of the indicated duration of time is shifted between the occasions.

Example 20. Example 18, where a duration of the indicated duration of time is different between the occasions.

Example 21. Any one of Examples 1-20, where a measurement is performed on either or both of: a. a SS/PBCH block; and b. a CSI-RS resource.

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider). Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings.

Embodiments:

Embodiment Al. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD), the network node configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface and/or comprising processing circuitry configured to: transmit a prioritization indication to the wireless device to cause the wireless device to prioritize, based on the indication, at least one transmission relative to at least one measurement; and receive communications from the wireless device, the communication being based on the prioritization indication.

Embodiment A2. The network node of Embodiment Al , wherein the indication is at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, parameter, level 1, LI, signaling, and a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

Embodiment A3. The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the at least one measurement is at least one of a radio resource management, RRM, measurement, a radio link monitoring, RLM, measurement, and a bidirectional forwarding detection/beam failure recovery, BFD/BFR, measurement.

Embodiment Bl. A method implemented in a network node, the method comprising: transmitting a prioritization indication to a wireless device to cause the wireless device to prioritize, based on the indication, at least one transmission relative te at least one measurement; and receiving communications from the wireless device, the communication being based on the prioritization indication.

Embodiment B2. The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the indication is at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, parameter, level 1, LI, signaling, and a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE. Embodiment B3. The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the measurement is at least one of a radio resource management, RRM, measurement, a radio link monitoring, RLM, measurement, and a bidirectional forwarding detection/beam failure recovery, BFD/BFR, measurement.

Embodiment Cl. A wireless device (WD) configured to communicate with a network node, the WD configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface and/or processing circuitry configured to: receive a prioritization indication; prioritize, based on the indication, at least one transmission relative to at least one measurement; and perform at least one of the at least one transmission and the at least one measurement.

Embodiment C2. The WD of Embodiment Cl, wherein the indication is at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, parameter, level 1, LI, signaling, and a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

Embodiment C3. The WD of Embodiment Cl, wherein the measurement is at least one of a radio resource management, RRM, measurement, a radio link monitoring, RLM, measurement, and a bidirectional forwarding detection/beam failure recovery, BFD/BFR, measurement.

Embodiment DI . A method implemented in a wireless device (WD), the method comprising: receiving a prioritization indication; prioritizing, based on the indication, at least one transmission relative to at least one measurement; and performing at least one of the at least one transmission and the at least one measurement. Embodiment D2. The method of Embodiment DI, wherein the indication is at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, parameter, level 1, LI, signaling, and a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

Embodiment D3. The method of Embodiment DI, wherein the measurement is at least one of a radio resource management, RRM, measurement, a radio link monitoring, RLM, measurement, and a bidirectional forwarding detection/beam failure recovery, BFD/BFR, measurement.

Claims

1. A method implemented in a wireless device, WD, comprising: receiving a prioritization indication, indicating whether the wireless device should prioritize at least one transmission over an overlapping measurement opportunity; determining to prioritize transmission over the overlapping measurement opportunity, at least based on the prioritization indication; and transmitting, the at least one transmission over the overlapping measurement opportunity.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritization indication indicates the wireless device to prioritize configured transmission when the configured transmission overlaps with a measurement opportunity.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritization indication indicates the wireless device to prioritize scheduled transmission when the scheduled transmission overlaps with a measurement opportunity; the determining comprises: when a downlink control information, DCI, message scheduling a transmission has been received sufficiently in advance to a measurement opportunity at least partly overlapping with the scheduled transmission, determining to perform the scheduled transmission over the overlapping measurement opportunity.

4. The method of claim 3, further comprising: when the DCI message has not been received sufficiently in advance, determining to perform measurement on the overlapping measurement opportunity.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein the prioritization indication indicates the wireless device to prioritize scheduled transmission when the scheduled transmission overlaps with a measurement opportunity; the determining comprising: determining to perform the scheduled transmission and abort measurement on the overlapping measurement opportunity, when the WD is capable of receiving DCI and measuring simultaneously.

6. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the prioritization indication is at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, signaling, layerl, LI, signaling, and a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

7. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the prioritization indication comprises information of a valid period of the prioritization indication, or the prioritization indication is comprised in a group common signaling, and the valid period lasts till a next indication or for a limited amount of time.

8. The method of any of the preceding claims, wherein the overlapping measurement opportunity comprises at least one of a radio resource management, RRM, , a radio link monitoring, RLM, and a bidirectional forwarding detection/beam failure recovery, BFD/BFR, to be measured.

9. The method of any of preceding claims, wherein the WD is a half-duplex capable user equipment.

10. The method of claim 9, where the WD is subband full duplex, SBFD, capable user equipment.

11. A method implemented in a network node, comprising: transmitting a prioritization indication to a wireless device, indicating the wireless device to prioritize at least one transmission over an overlapping measurement opportunity; and receiving uplink signaling from the wireless device, at the overlapped portion of the overlapping measurement opportunity.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the prioritization indication indicates the wireless device to prioritize configured transmission when the configured transmission overlaps with a measurement opportunity, and/or to prioritize scheduled transmission when the scheduled transmission overlaps with a measurement opportunity.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising: transmitting a RRC signaling for the configured transmission, or a DCI for the scheduled transmission.

14. The method of any of claims 11 to 13, wherein the prioritization indication is at least one of a radio resource control, RRC, signaling, lay er 1, LI, signaling, and a medium access control, MAC, control element, CE.

15. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device, comprising a processing circuitry configured to perform the step of any of claims 11 to 14.

16. A wireless device configured to communicate with a network node, comprising a processing circuitry configured to perform the step of any of claims 1 to 10.