WO2024239300A1

WO2024239300A1 - Measurement reporting for cell activation

Info

Publication number: WO2024239300A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/096166
Authority: WO
Inventors: Parham KAZEMI; Lei Du; Lars Dalsgaard; Jarkko Tuomo Koskela
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-05-25
Filing date: 2023-05-25
Publication date: 2024-11-28
Anticipated expiration: 2025-11-25
Also published as: CN121040198A

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for validation measurement for cell activation. In a method, a first device receives, from a second device, a cell activation command for a cell. The first device determines that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received. The first device also determines whether a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index associated with the cell is available. The first device performs one of: based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device; or based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.

Description

MEASUREMENT REPORTING FOR CELL ACTIVATION

FIELDS

Various example embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of telecommunication and in particular, to methods, devices, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for measurement reporting for cell activation.

BACKGROUND

In some communication systems, a terminal device may be configured with a plurality of serving cells, including primary cells (PCells) , Primary Secondary SCell (PSCell) and secondary cells (SCells) , or the like. As data rate requirements of the terminal device may vary over time, these cells may need to be activated or deactivated to meet the data rate requirements. To activate a cell, a delay such as SCell activation delay will result from for example beam sweeping, automatic gain control (AGC) , time and frequency synchronization (T/F sync) , cell search, Layer 1 (L1) Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) (L1-RSRP) measurements, Channel-State Information (CSI) measurements, and the like.

In the third-generation partnership project (3GPP) Release 18 (Rel-18) , in enhanced Radio resource management (RRM) , for frequency range 2 (FR2) SCell activation, an open issue is related to the reduction of the activation delay for an FR2 SCell such as FR2 unknown SCell. To reduce the delay, the terminal device may be allowed to send to a network (NW) a Layer 3 (L3) measurement report with a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index after receiving a SCell activation command. However, some details of such L3 measurement reporting are for further study, including, for example, triggering conditions, contents to be reported, transmission schemes of the reports, and/or the like. The discussion starts from FR2 but the solutions may be applied to frequency range 1 (FR1) .

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a first device. In the method, the first device receives, from a second device, a cell activation command for a cell. The first device determines that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received. The first device also determines whether a SSB index associated with the cell is available. Based on the above determining, the first device performs one of the following: based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device; or based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a second device. In the method, the second device transmits, to a first device, a cell activation command for a cell. Then, the second device receives, from the first device, a SSB index or a special value associated with the cell. The SSB index indicates that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received by the first device, and the special value indicates that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first device. The first device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to: receive, from a second device, a cell activation command for a cell; determine that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received; determine whether a SSB index associated with the cell is available; perform one of: based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device; or based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second device. The second device comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to: transmit, to a first device, a cell activation command for a cell; and receive, from the first device, a SSB index or a special value associated with the cell. The SSB index indicates that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received by the first device, and the special value indicates that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second device, a cell activation command for a cell; means for determining that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received; means for determining whether a SSB index associated with the cell is available; means for performing one of: means for based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device; or means for based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first device, a cell activation command for a cell; and means for receiving, from the first device, a SSB index or a special value associated with the cell. The SSB index indicates that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received by the first device, and the special value indicates that the first device failed to detect the cell.

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

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

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

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

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling diagram for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates another signaling diagram for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates another signaling diagram for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates another signaling diagram for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a first device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a second device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 9 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As mentioned above, in 3GPP Rel-18, in enhanced RRM, SCell activation delay may be reduced in FR2. For FR2 SCell activation delay reduction, an open issue is related to activation of an FR2 unknown SCell. A SCell may have known and unknown states. If a SCell is “known” , it may mean that the UE has sent a valid L3 measurement report within a certain time period prior to receiving the SCell activation command, and the reported SSB indexes remain detectable. Otherwise, it is considered as unknown.

For an FR2 unknown SCell, the terminal device such as user equipment (UE) may be expected a long activation delay due to various procedures, such as beam sweeping, AGC, T/F sync, cell search, L1-RSRP measurements, CSI measurements, and the like. To reduce the delay, the UE may send a latest L3 measurement report with a SSB index after receiving a SCell activation command. For example, the UE may report a latest “valid” L3 measurement result if it is available after the SCell activation command, so that network can activate the SCell by taking it as known. However, if there is no valid measurement, the behavior of the terminal device needs to be considered.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure propose a measurement reporting scheme which allows a first device (such as a UE) to transmit an available SSB index associated with a cell (such as a SCell) after receiving from a second device (such as a gNB) a cell activation command for the cell. For example, if the first device determines that a valid or validated measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received, the first device transmits the available SSB index to the second device. In this way, the cell activation delay may be reduced. Moreover, the activation of a deactivated cell may be facilitated.

To be specific, if the first device receives a cell activation command for a cell, and if the first device has no valid measurement result but has an available SSB index, the first device may transmit the SSB index to the second device. For example, the available SSB index may be an SSB index fulfilling some conditions such as SNR or beam conditions. The second device such as the network may configure a reference signal (RS) to help the cell activation based on the received SSB index.

It is to be noted that although the issue is originating from activating an FR2 SCell, there is a similar problem for other frequency ranges and for activating other types of serving cells. Hence, the proposed scheme herein may be applied in general for different frequency ranges including for example both FR1 and FR2, and may also be applied in general for any type of serving cells including both a SCell and a primary SCell (PSCell) . In the following, some example embodiments will be described using a SCell as an example while the example embodiments herein can be applied in general for a PSCell and other serving cells.

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

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

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

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

In the environment 100, the first device 110 may have access to a communication network via a plurality of cells, including a first cell 121 (also referred to as Cell1) and a second cell 122 (also referred to as Cell2) for CA, for example. Either or both cells may be provided by the second device 120 or any other suitable devices which may employ the same or different radio access technology. In some example embodiments, the first cell 121 may be a primary cell (PCell) , and the second cell 122 may be a primary secondary cell (PSCell) or a secondary cell (SCell) . Although two cells 121 and 122 are shown in FIG. 1, less or more cells may be provided for the first device 110.

In some example embodiments, both the first device 110 and the second device 120 may be configured to implement a beamforming technique and communicate with each other via a plurality of beams. As shown in FIG. 1, the first device 110 may be configured with a plurality of beams 130-1, …, 130-N, and the second device 120 may be configured with a plurality of beams 135-1, 135-2, …, 135-M, where N and M represent any suitable positive integer. There may be different beams configured for the first cell 121 and the second cell 122. For example, a beam 135-2 may be configured for the second cell 122. It is to be understood that the second cell 122 may have more beams associated therewith. Although not shown, the first cell 121 may also have beams associated therewith.

It is to be understood that the numbers of devices, cells and beams are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any suitable numbers of devices, cells and beams adapted for implementing embodiments of the present disclosure.

In the environment 100, the first device 110 may receive from the second device 120 a cell activation command for a second cell 122. In response to the cell activation command, the first device 110 may report measurement results of the second cell 122 to the second device 120.

According to some example embodiments, the first device 110 determines whether a valid or validated measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after receiving the cell activation command. If the first device 110 determines that a valid or validated measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received, the first device 110 transmits an available SSB index to the second device 120. In this way, the cell activation delay may be reduced. Moreover, the activation of a deactivated cell may be facilitated.

FIG. 2 shows a signaling diagram 200 for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling diagram 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second device 120 (such as a network device or a gNB) transmits (205) , to the first device 110 (such as a terminal device or a UE) , a cell activation command for a cell such as the second cell 122, Cell2 or any other suitable cell. In the example embodiments where the cell is a SCell, the activation command may be a SCell activation command. The SCell activation command may be used to activate the SCell after or when the SCell is added or configured for the first device 110. The activation command may be transmitted via the first cell 121 or Cell1 operating as a PCell.

The first device 110 receives (210) the cell activation command for the cell. The first device 110 determines (215) whether a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received (210) . For example, in response to receiving (210) the cell activation command, the first device 110 may determine (215) whether the valid measurement result is unavailable.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine (215) whether the valid measurement result is available based on the number of received signal samples during a time duration. For example, if the number of received signal samples for a valid measurement is greater than or equal to a predetermined number before an uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120, the first device 110 may determine (215) that the valid measurement result is available. As used herein, the received signal samples may be referred to as measurement samples. Assuming the first device 110 is a terminal device and the second device 120 is a network device, the uplink grant for transmission may be a UL grant such as the first UL grant after the cell activation command.

In some example embodiments, the uplink grant for transmission may be scheduled by the second device 120. For example, after the cell activation command is received (210) , the first device 110 may obtain, from the second device 120, the uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120. Alternatively, the first device 110 may transmit a scheduling request for the grant to the second device 120. The second device 120 may transmit the grant to the first device 110 in response to the scheduling request.

If the number of received signal samples for the valid measurement is less than a predetermined number before the uplink grant for transmission, the first device 110 may determine (215) that the valid measurement result is unavailable. In one example, if a number of measurement samples are collected by the first device 110, but more measurement samples are required for a valid measurement result, the first device 110 may determine (215) that the valid measurement result is unavailable.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine (215) whether the valid measurement result associated with the cell is available based on other predefined conditions. For example, the predefined condition may be the measurement result being within a specified time period such as a measurement time window or a timer for performing a validation measurement. In one example, the first device 110 may have some measurement results associated with the cell. However, a timer such as a validation timer for the validation measurement is expired, or the measurement time for the validation measurement is ended. For example, if more than a specified time period has passed from a measurement, the measurement result may be considered as invalid. In such scenarios, the valid measurement result is unavailable. In other words, the measurement results are invalid. It is to be understood that any suitable predefined condition may be applied for determine the availability of the valid measurement result. Scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

If the valid measurement result associated with the cell is available, the first device 110 may transmit the valid measurement result to the second device 120. For example, the first device 110 may transmit the measurement result such as latest “valid” L3 measurement result together with the SSB index to the second device 120. Thus, some activation operations, such as AGC, T/F sync, L1-RSRP measurements, L1-RSRP reporting, and the like, may be skipped and the activation delay may be reduced. The measurement result and the SSB index may be transmitted on an uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120.

In some example embodiments, if the valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable, the first device 110 determines (220) whether an SSB index associated with the cell is available. For example, in response to determining (215) that the valid measurement result is unavailable, the first device 110 may determine whether an SSB index associated with the cell is available.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine whether the SSB index is available based on at least one condition. If the at least one condition is fulfilled, the first device 110 may determine that the SSB index is available.

An example of the at least one condition may be that a signal quality associated with the SSB index is higher than a threshold quality. For example, the signal quality may be signal to noise ratio (SNR) , synchronization signal reference signal received quality (SS-RSRQ) , signal and interference to noise ratio (SINR) or any other suitable parameter. If the SNR is higher than the threshold quality such as -2dB or other predefined value, the at least one condition is fulfilled.

Another example of the at least one condition may be that a signal strength associated with the SSB index is larger than a threshold strength. The signal strength may be for example synchronization signal reference signal received power (SS-RSRP) or any other suitable parameter. If the SS-RSRP is larger than the threshold strength such as a predefined strength value, the at least one condition is fulfilled. It is to be understood that the at least one condition may include any other suitable condition associated with the SSB index. Scope of the present disclosure is not limited in this regard.

If the at least one condition is fulfilled, the first device 110 may determine (220) that the SSB index is valid. The first device 110 transmits (245) the SSB index to the second device 120. For example, the first device 110 may report the SSB index without the measurement results.

If the at least one condition is not fulfilled, the SSB index may be considered as not suitable or unavailable. In some example embodiments, if the SSB index is unavailable, the first device 110 may transmit an indication to the second device 120. For example, the indication may be a predefined value or a special value such as “-inf” value or zero value indicating that the first device 110 failed to detect the cell. Such value may also indicate of falling back to unknown cell activation or a cell activation failure. In other words, if no valid measurement result and no available SSB index, the first device 110 may not report the SSB index or the measurement result. The second device 120 may receive a special value before receiving the available SSB index.

In some example embodiments, the indication or special value may be carried in a “leave” message or other suitable message. The indication may notify the network about the current situation of the first device 110. The second device 120 may receive the indication before receiving the available SSB index.

Alternatively, or in addition, in some example embodiments, a validated measurement result may be enabled or allowed. For example, if available measurement samples are less than the required measurement samples for the valid measurement result, the first device 110 may still have a sample to be measure and a scheduled grant may occur before next sampling. In this case, the grant may be used for transmitting a validated measurement result.

In such cases, if the first device 110 determines (215) that the valid measurement result is unavailable, and determines (220) that no SSB index is available, the first device 110 may start a validation measurement for the cell. As used herein, the term “validation measurement” may also be referred to as “validated measurement” . The validation measurement refers to a measurement performed by the first device 110 in case that the valid measurement result for the cell is unavailable. A predefined number of measurement samples (or a predefined number of samples) may be used for the validation measurement. A measurement result obtained by the validation measurement may comprise a “validation measurement result” or “validated measurement result” . The validated measurement result refers to a measurement result that is obtained after the validation timer is expired (e.g. more than 5 seconds has passed from the validation measurement) , or a measurement result based on a few number of collected samples which are less than the number of samples required for valid measurement results. Herein, a valid measurement result also includes a validated measurement result.

If the predefined number of measurement samples are available within a time period for the validation measurement or before the expiry of a timer, the first device 110 may determine (215) that the valid or validated measurement result is available. In other words, the valid or validated measurement result may be obtained by the first device 110 from the validation measurement within the time period or before the expiry of the timer. The time period or the timer may be predefined. The timer may be the validation timer predefined for the validated measurement. If the valid or validated measurement result is obtained within the time period or before the expiry of the timer, the first device 110 may transmit the valid or validated measurement result together with the SSB index to the second device 120. Otherwise, if the predefined number of measurement samples are unavailable, the first device 110 may determine (215) that the validation measurement result is unavailable after the cell activation command is received (210) .

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 transmits (245) the SSB index on an uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120. In one example, the uplink grant for transmission may be scheduled by the second device 120. For example, after the cell activation command is received (210) , the second device 120 may transmit, to the first device 110, the uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120. The first device 110 may obtain, from the second device 120, the uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120.

Alternatively, the first device 110 may transmit (225) a scheduling request for the grant to the second device 120. In response to receiving (230) the scheduling request, the second device 120 may transmit (235) the uplink grant to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (240) the uplink grant and transmit (245) the SSB index on the received (240) grant.

It is to be understood the grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120 such as the grant for transmitting SSB index or the grant for transmitting the measurement result or the special value or other information may be either scheduled by the second device 120 or alternatively requested by the first device 110. The obtaining of the uplink grant for different transmissions may be similar, and will not be repeated hereinafter.

In some example embodiments, in response to receiving (250) the available SSB index, the second device 120 may transmit (255) a configuration of a reference signal (RS) (also referred to as RS configuration) for activation of the cell to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (260) the RS configuration.

The second device 120 may transmit (265) the RS to the first device 110 based on the RS configuration. The first device 110 may receive (270) the RS based on the RS configuration. The first device 110 may perform (275) a further measurement for the cell based on the RS. If a valid or validated measurement result for the cell is obtained from this measurement, the first device 110 may transmit (280) the valid or validated measurement result for the cell to the second device 120. In an example embodiment, the first device 110 may send the measurement report in an uplink grant. In another example embodiment, the first device 110 may do fine time tracking based on the configured RS, and send a CSI report of channel measurement on uplink resources in PCell (i.e., not in an uplink grant) . The second device 120 may receive (285) the valid or validated measurement result for the cell. In this way, the cell may be activated efficiently.

Some embodiments regarding measurement reporting for the cell activation have been described with respect to FIG. 2. By using the present measurement reporting solution, the first device 110 can utilize the grant such as the UL grant fully and inform the network of its current situation. By doing so, the cell activation delay can be shortened. On the other hand, the network can keep scheduling the UL grants for the valid measurement result when it is ready. Some other example embodiments of measurement reporting for cell activation will be described with respect to FIGS. 3-5 below.

FIG. 3 shows another signaling diagram 300 for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The first device 110, a first cell 305 and a second cell 310 are involved in the signaling diagram 300. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may operate as a UE. The first cell 305 may be a PCell or Cell1 such as the cell 121 provided by the second device 120. The second cell 310 may be a SCell or Cell2 such as the cell 122 provided by the second device 120 or any other suitable cell provided by the second device 120 or provided by other devices. In some examples, the second cell 310 may also be a PSCell or any other suitable cell. In the following illustration, it is assumed that the second cell 310 is a SCell to be activated. It is to be understood that the second cell 310 may be any other suitable cell mentioned above.

As shown in FIG. 3, the first device 110 may be operating in a connected mode such as a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode 315 and connect with the first cell 305. The first cell 305 may transmit (320) a cell configuration or cell addition message to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (325) the cell configuration or cell addition message. The cell configuration or cell addition message may be a RRC configuration message or RRC addition (such as SCell addition) message. The cell configuration or cell addition message indicates that the second cell 310 is added to a carrier aggregation list as a SCell. As a default setting, this SCell (i.e., the second cell 310) may be configured but in a deactivated state.

The first cell 305 transmits (330) a cell activation command for the second cell 310 to the first device 110. The first device 110 receives (335) the cell activation command. By way of example, the cell activation command may be a SCell activation command. That is, the network may transmit the SCell activation command via the first cell 305 to the first device 110 to activate the second cell 310. As used herein, the transmission between the first device 110 and the first cell 305 may be considered as a transmission between the first device 110 and the network via the first cell 305.

In response to receiving (335) the cell activation command for the second cell 310, the first device 110 determines whether a valid measurement result for the second cell 310 is available after the cell activation command is received (335) . If the first device 110 determines that the valid measurement result is available after the cell activation command is received (335) , the first device 110 may transmit the valid measurement result to the network such as via the first cell 305 on an uplink grant. Details of determination of the availability of the valid measurement result and the determination of the availability of SB index have been described with respect to FIG. 2, which will not be repeated here.

If the first device 110 determines that the valid measurement result for the second cell 310 is unavailable, the first device 110 may determine whether an SSB index is available for the second cell 310. For example, the first device 110 may determine whether at least one condition such as the signal quality condition or signal strength condition is fulfilled. If the at least one condition is fulfilled, the SSB index associated with the second cell 310 is available. Examples of the at least one condition have been described with respect to FIG. 2, which will not be repeated here.

If the first device determines (340) that no valid measurement result is available for the second cell 310 and an SSB index is available, the first device 110 transmits (345) the SSB information such as the SSB index to the first cell 305. As used herein, the term “SSB information” may also be referred to as “SSB index information” or “SSB index” . The first cell 305 receives (350) the SSB information. For example, in embodiments where a validation measurement is not enabled, the first device 110 transmits (345) the SSB information to the first cell 305 in response to the determination (340) .

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may transmit (345) the SSB information on an uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the network such as the first cell 305. In the example of FIG. 3, assuming that the grant is an uplink grant. In one example, the first device 110 may obtain the uplink grant such as a first uplink grant from the first cell 305 after the cell activation command is received (335) . Alternatively, in another example, the first device 110 may transmit a scheduling request for the transmission of the SSB information to the network such as via the first cell 305. The network such as the first cell 305 may transmit the uplink grant to the first device 110. That is, the first device 110 may wait for the network to schedule the UL grant for transmitting (345) the SSB information, or alternatively send scheduling request to ask for the UL grant for transmitting (345) the SSB information.

The first cell 305 may transmit (355) the SSB information to the second cell 310. The second cell 310 may receive (360) the SSB information. In such cases, the network may configure an RS based on the SSB information. By way of example, the second cell 310 may transmit (365) an RS configuration to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (370) the RS configuration. The second cell 310 may transmit (375) an RS to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (380) the RS based on the received (370) RS configuration. In this way, the configured RS will assist the first device 110 to perform valid measurements such as L3 measurement. The configured RS may also assist the first device 110 to active the second cell 310.

The first device 110 may perform measurements based on the received (380) RS. The first device 110 may transmit (385) a measurement report for the second cell 310 to the first cell 305. The measurement report may include valid measurement results for the second cell 310, or a validated measurement result for the second cell 310. The first cell 305 may receive (390) the measurement report. In this way, the second cell 310 may be activated (395) .

Example embodiments where the first device 110 transmits the SSB information to the network under situations that the valid measurement is unavailable have been described above. In some example embodiments, a validated measurement is enabled for the first device 110.

FIG. 4 shows another signaling diagram 400 for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 4, assuming that the validated measurement is enabled but deprioritized over the SSB information. The validated measurement being deprioritized over the SSB information means that the SSB information may be transmitted before a validation timer expires or during a time duration after the cell activation command is received. Details regarding the transmission of the SSB information and the validated measurement will be described below.

Similar to the signaling diagram 300, the first device 110, the first cell 305 and the second cell 310 are involved in the signaling diagram 400. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may operate as a UE. The first cell 305 may be a PCell or Cell1 such as the cell 121 provided by the second device 120. The second cell 310 may be a SCell or Cell2 such as the cell 122 provided by the second device 120 or any other suitable cell provided by the second device 120 or provided by other devices. In some examples, the second cell 310 may also be a PSCell or any other suitable cell. In the following illustration, it is assumed that the second cell 310 is a SCell to be activated. It is to be understood that the second cell 310 may be any other suitable cell mentioned above.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first device 110 may be operating in a connected mode such as a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode 315 and connect with the first cell 305. The first cell 305 may transmit (320) a cell configuration or cell addition message to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (325) the cell configuration or cell addition message. The cell configuration or cell addition message may be a RRC configuration message or RRC addition (such as SCell addition) message. The cell configuration or cell addition message indicates that the second cell 310 is added to a carrier aggregation list as a SCell. As a default setting, this SCell (i.e., the second cell 310) may be configured but in a deactivated state.

Different with the signaling diagram 300, in the signaling diagram 400, the first cell 305 transmits (410) a cell activation command for the second cell 310 to the first device 110. The cell activation command further indicates that the validation measurement is allowed. The first device 110 receives (415) the cell activation command. By way of example, the cell activation command may be a SCell activation command. That is, the network may transmit the SCell activation command via the first cell 305 to the first device 110 to activate the second cell 310.

It is to be understood that although in the illustrated example, the indication of the enabling of the validated measurement is transmitted in the cell activation command, in some example embodiments, the indication of the enabling of the validated measurement may be transmitted in a separate message. For example, the network may indicate that the validated measurement is allowed or enabled after the cell activation command. In some example embodiments, the indication for enabling the validated measurement may be transmitted before or after the cell activation command. Scope of the present application is not limited in this regard.

In response to receiving (415) the cell activation command for the second cell 310, the first device 110 may determine whether a valid measurement result is available for the second cell 310. If the valid measurement result is available, the first device 110 may transmit the valid measurement result to the network via the first cell 305 on an uplink grant. Details of determination of the availability of the valid measurement result have been described with respect to FIG. 2, which will not be repeated here.

If the first device 110 determines that no valid measurement result is available for the second cell 310, the first device 110 may determine whether an SSB index is available. For example, the first device 110 may determine whether at least one condition such as the signal quality condition or signal strength condition is fulfilled. Examples of the at least one condition have been described with respect to FIG. 2, which will not be repeated here. If the at least one condition is fulfilled, the SSB index associated with the second cell 310 is available. If the SSB index is available, the first device 110 may obtain the SSB index and transmit the SSB index to the network via the first cell 305. The network may configure an RS to help the cell activation based on the SSB index.

If the first device 110 determines that no valid measurement result is available for the second cell 310 and no SSB index is available, the first device may start (420) a validated measurement. In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may transmit an indication to the network via the first cell 305. The indication may include a predefined value such as “-inf” value, zero value or any other suitable value. The predefined value may indicate that the SSB index is unavailable. The indication may be transmitted on an uplink grant. In some example embodiments, if the validated measurement is started, a validation timer may start running. The time duration or the time length of the validation timer may be predefined or configured.

In some example embodiments, if no valid or validated measurement result is obtained before the validation timer is expired, the first device 110 may obtain some SSB index information. The first device 110 may transmit the SSB index information to the network via the first cell 305. The first device 110 may continue the measurement and report a valid measurement result when it is ready. By way of example, in the meantime with the validated measurement is started (420) , the first device 110 may transmit (425) most recent measurements such as SSB information recently obtained to the first cell 305 on an uplink grant. The uplink grant may be scheduled by the network, or alternatively requested by the first device by using a scheduling request. That is, if the first device 110 obtains any uplink grant, the first device 110 may use the grant to inform the network about its most recent measurements such as the SSB information.

In this way, the network can schedule UL grant for the coming valid measurement results. For example, the first cell 305 may receive (430) the SSB information and schedule (435) the grant for the valid measurement result.

In addition, if any SSB information is available in the received (430) SSB information, the network may assist the first device 110 in providing valid measurement result by configuring an RS based on the received (430) SSB information. By way of example, the second cell 310 may transmit (440) an RS configuration to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (445) the RS configuration. The second cell 310 may transmit (450) an RS to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (455) the RS based on the received (445) RS configuration. In this way, the configured RS will assist the first device 110 to perform valid measurements such as L3 measurement. The configured RS may also assist the first device 110 to active the second cell 310.

In some example embodiments, if the validation timer is valid or still running, the first device 110 may continue (460) the validated measurements for example based on the received (455) RS. If the first device 110 obtains validated measurement result before the validation timer is expired, or within a predefined time period, the first device 110 may transmit (465) the measurement report for the second cell 310 to the network via the first cell 305 on a next uplink grant.

The first cell 305 may receive (470) the measurement report. The measurement report may include the validated measurement results or valid measurement result for the second cell 310. In this way, the second cell 310 may be activated (395) . In this example, the first device 110 is able to perform the validated measurement or valid measurement during the predefined time duration or before the validation timer is expired, or to activate the second cell 310 based on the RS.

In some example embodiments, if no valid or validated measurement result is obtained during the predefine time period or after the validation timer is expired, the first device 110 may obtain some SSB index information. The first device 110 may transmit the SSB index information to the network via the first cell 305. The first device 110 may continue the measurement and report a valid measurement result when it is ready.

Alternatively, or in addition, in some example embodiments, if no valid or validated measurement result is obtained after the validation timer is expired, the first device 110 may fall back to legacy unknown cell activation procedure.

Example embodiments for measurement reporting where the validated measurement is enabled but deprioritized over the SSB information have been described above. In some example embodiments, the validated measurement may be enabled for the first device 110 and prioritized over transmitting the SSB information.

FIG. 5 shows another signaling diagram 500 for measurement reporting for cell activation according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 5, assuming that the validated measurement is enabled and prioritized over the SSB information. The validated measurement being prioritized over the SSB information means that the SSB information may be transmitted after a validation timer expires. Details regarding the transmission of the SSB information and the validated measurement will be described below.

As shown in FIG. 5, the first device 110 may be operating in a connected mode such as a radio resource control (RRC) connected mode 315 and connect with the first cell 305. The first cell 305 may transmit (320) a cell configuration or cell addition message to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (325) the cell configuration or cell addition message. The cell configuration or cell addition message may be a RRC configuration message or RRC addition (such as SCell addition) message. The cell configuration or cell addition message indicates that the second cell 310 is added to a carrier aggregation list as a SCell. As a default setting, this SCell (i.e., the second cell 310) may be configured but in a deactivated state.

Similar to FIG. 4, the first cell 305 transmits (410) a cell activation command for the second cell 310 to the first device 110. The cell activation command further indicates that the validation measurement is allowed. The first device 110 receives (415) the cell activation command. By way of example, the cell activation command may be a SCell activation command. That is, the network may transmit the SCell activation command via the first cell 305 to the first device 110 to activate the second cell 310.

If the first device 110 determines that no valid measurement result is available for the second cell 310, the first device 110 may start a validated measurement for the second cell 310. A validation timer may be start running at the same time. The time duration of the validation timer may be predefined or configured. In some example embodiments, if the first device 110 has valid or validated measurement result within a time period after receiving (415) the cell activation command or before the validation timer is expired, the first device 110 may transmit the valid or validated measurement result to the network via the first cell 305 on an uplink grant.

If both the valid and validated measurement results are unavailable within the time duration or before expiry of the validation timer, the first device may obtain (515) an available SSB index. For example, the first device 110 may determine whether at least one condition such as the signal quality condition or signal strength condition is fulfilled. Examples of the at least one condition have been described with respect to FIG. 2, which will not be repeated here. If the at least one condition is fulfilled, the SSB index associated with the second cell 310 is available. If the SSB index is available, the first device 110 may obtain (515) the SSB index.

The first device 110 may transmit (520) the SSB index to the network via the first cell 305. By way of example, the first device 110 may transmit (520) the SSB information to the first cell 305 on an uplink grant. The uplink grant may be scheduled by the network, or alternatively requested by the first device by using a scheduling request. The uplink grant may be a first uplink grant after the time duration or after the expiry of the validation timer. The first cell 305 may receive (525) the SSB information.

In some example embodiments, the network may configure an RS to help the cell activation based on the received (525) SSB information such as the SSB index. By way of example, the second cell 310 may transmit (530) an RS configuration to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (535) the RS configuration. The second cell 310 may transmit (540) an RS to the first device 110. The first device 110 may receive (545) the RS based on the received (535) RS configuration. In this way, network can configure the RS to help the cell activation based on the received (525) SSB information such as SSB index.

The first device 110 may perform a measurement such as valid or validated measurement based on the received (545) RS. The first device 110 may transmit (550) a measurement report for the second cell 310 to the first cell 305, if a valid or validated measurement result is available. The measurement report may include the valid or validated measurement result is available. The first cell 305 may receive (555) the measurement report. The second cell 310 may be activated (395) based on the received (555) measurement report. In this way, the network can configure the RS to assist the first device 110 for preparing valid measurements before the first device 110 falls back to legacy unknown cell activation procedure. The network may also assist the first device 110 for cell activation directly.

Several example embodiments of measurement reporting for cell activation have been described. These example embodiments may be applied separately, or in any suitable combination.

Example Methods

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a first device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 600 may be implemented at the first device 110. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the first device 110 with reference to FIG. 1.

At block 610, the first device 110 receives, from the second device 120, a cell activation command for a cell. At block 620, the first device 110 determines that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received. At block 630, the first device 110 determines whether a SSB index associated with the cell is available. At block 640, the first device 110 performs one of: based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device 120; or based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device 120 a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may receive a reference signal in response to transmitting the SSB index to the second device 120.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may perform, based on the reference signal, a validation measurement for the cell. Then, the first device 110 may transmit, to the second device 120, a valid or validated measurement result for the cell.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine that the valid measurement result is unavailable within a specified time period after the cell activation command is received. The specified time period may be a measurement time window for performing a validation measurement.

In some example embodiments, based on a determination that the number of received signal samples for a valid measurement is less than a predetermined number before an uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120, the first device 110 may determine that the valid measurement result is unavailable.

In some example embodiments, based on the determining that no SSB index is available, the first device 110 may start a validation measurement for the cell. Based on a determination that no valid measurement result obtained from the validation measurement within a time period or before expiry of a timer after the cell activation command is received, the first device 110 may obtain an available SSB index.

In some example embodiments, based on a determination that a valid measurement result is obtained from the validation measurement within the time period or before the expiry of the timer, the first device 110 may transmit the valid measurement result to the second device 120.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may determine, based on at least one condition being fulfilled, whether the SSB index is available. The at least one condition comprises at least one of: a condition that a signal quality associated the SSB index is higher than a threshold quality, or a condition that a signal strength associated with the SSB index is larger than a threshold strength.

In some example embodiments, after the cell activation command is received, the first device 110 may obtain, from the second device 120, an uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120. The SSB index may be transmitted on the uplink grant.

In some example embodiments, the first device 110 may transmit, to the second device 120, a scheduling request for the transmission of the SSB index. Then, the first device 110 may receive the uplink grant from the second device 120.

FIG. 7 shows a flowchart of an example method 700 implemented at a second device in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The method 700 may be implemented at the second device 120. For the purpose of discussion, the method 700 will be described from the perspective of the second device 120 with reference to FIG. 1.

At block 710, the second device 120 transmits, to the first device 110, a cell activation command for a cell. At block 720, the second device 120 receives, from the first device 110, a SSB index or a special value associated with the cell. The SSB index indicates that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received by the first device, and the special value indicates that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In some example embodiments, in response to receiving the SSB index, the second device 120 may transmit, to the first device 110, a reference signal.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may receive, from the first device 110, a valid measurement result for the cell.

In some example embodiments, after the cell activation command is transmitted, the second device 120 may transmit, to the first device 110, an uplink grant for transmission from the first device 110 to the second device 120. The SSB index may be received on the uplink grant.

In some example embodiments, the second device 120 may receive, from the first device 110, a scheduling request for the transmission of the SSB index. The uplink grant may be transmitted in response to receiving the scheduling request.

Example Apparatus, Device and Medium

In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing the method 600 (for example, the first device 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first device 110 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving, from a second device, a cell activation command for a cell; means for determining that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received; means for determining whether a SSB index associated with the cell is available; means for performing one of: means for based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device; or means for based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for receiving a reference signal in response to transmitting the SSB index to the second device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for performing, based on the reference signal, a validation measurement for the cell; and means for transmitting, to the second device, a valid or validated measurement result for the cell.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable comprises: means for determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable within a specified time period after the cell activation command is received, wherein the specified time period is a measurement time window for performing a validation measurement.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable comprises: based on a determination that the number of received signal samples for a valid measurement is less than a predetermined number before an uplink grant for transmission from the first device to the second device, determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for based on the determining that no SSB index is available, starting a validation measurement for the cell; and means for based on a determination that no valid measurement result obtained from the validation measurement within a time period or before expiry of a timer after the cell activation command is received, obtaining an available SSB index.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for based on a determination that a valid measurement result is obtained from the validation measurement within the time period or before the expiry of the timer, transmitting the valid measurement result to the second device.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining whether the SSB index is available comprising: means for determining, based on at least one condition being fulfilled, whether the SSB index is available, wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one of: a condition that a signal quality associated the SSB index is higher than a threshold quality, or a condition that a signal strength associated with the SSB index is larger than a threshold strength.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for after the cell activation command is received, obtaining, from the second device, an uplink grant for transmission from the first device to the second device, wherein the SSB index is transmitted on the uplink grant.

In some example embodiments, the means for obtaining the uplink grant comprises: means for transmitting, to the second device, a scheduling request for the transmission of the SSB index; and means for receiving the uplink grant from the second device.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 600 or the first device 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing any of the method 700 (for example, the second device 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 700. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second device 120 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for transmitting, to a first device, a cell activation command for a cell; and means for receiving, from the first device, a SSB index or a special value associated with the cell, wherein the SSB index indicates that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received by the first device, and the special value indicates that the first device failed to detect the cell.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for in response to receiving the SSB index, transmitting, to the first device, a reference signal.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first device, a valid measurement result for the cell.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for after the cell activation command is transmitted, transmitting, to the first device, an uplink grant for transmission from the first device to the second device, wherein the SSB index is received on the uplink grant.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving, from the first device, a scheduling request for the transmission of the SSB index, wherein the uplink grant is transmitted in response to receiving the scheduling request.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 700 or the second device 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the second apparatus.

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device 800 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 800 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first device 110 or the second device 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 800 includes one or more processors 810, one or more memories 820 coupled to the processor 810, and one or more communication modules 840 coupled to the processor 810.

The communication module 840 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 840 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 840 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 810 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 800 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 820 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 824, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 822 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 830 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 810. The instructions of the program 830 may include instructions for performing operations/acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 830 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 824. The processor 810 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 830 into the RAM 822.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 830 so that the device 800 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 830 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 800 (such as in the memory 820) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 800. The device 800 may load the program 830 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 822 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

FIG. 9 shows an example of the computer readable medium 900 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 900 has the program 830 stored thereon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims

A method comprising,

at a first device,

receiving, from a second device, a cell activation command for a cell;

determining that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received;

determining whether a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index associated with the cell is available; and

performing one of:

based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device; or

based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving a reference signal in response to transmitting the SSB index to the second device.
The method of claim 2, further comprising:

performing, based on the reference signal, a validation measurement for the cell; and

transmitting, to the second device, a valid or validated measurement result for the cell.
The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable comprises:

determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable within a specified time period after the cell activation command is received, wherein the specified time period is a measurement time window for performing a validation measurement.
The method of any of claims 1-3, wherein determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable comprises:

based on a determination that the number of received signal samples for a valid measurement is less than a predetermined number before an uplink grant for transmission from the first device to the second device, determining that the valid measurement result is unavailable.
The method of any of claims 1-5, further comprising:

based on the determining that no SSB index is available, starting a validation measurement for the cell; and

based on a determination that no valid measurement result obtained from the validation measurement within a time period or before expiry of a timer after the cell activation command is received, obtaining an available SSB index.
The method of claim 6, further comprising:

based on a determination that a valid measurement result is obtained from the validation measurement within the time period or before the expiry of the timer, transmitting the valid measurement result to the second device.
The method of any of claims 1-7, wherein determining whether the SSB index is available comprising:

determining, based on at least one condition being fulfilled, whether the SSB index is available,

wherein the at least one condition comprises at least one of:

a condition that a signal quality associated the SSB index is higher than a threshold quality, or

a condition that a signal strength associated with the SSB index is larger than a threshold strength.
The method of claim 1, further comprising:

after the cell activation command is received, obtaining, from the second device, an uplink grant for transmission from the first device to the second device,

wherein the SSB index is transmitted on the uplink grant.
The method of claim 9, wherein obtaining the uplink grant comprises:

transmitting, to the second device, a scheduling request for the transmission of the SSB index; and

receiving the uplink grant from the second device.
A method comprising:

at a second device,

transmitting, to a first device, a cell activation command for a cell; and

receiving, from the first device, a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index or a special value associated with the cell, wherein the SSB index indicates that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received by the first device, and the special value indicates that the first device failed to detect the cell.
The method of claim 11, further comprising:

in response to receiving the SSB index, transmitting, to the first device, a reference signal.
The method of claim 12, further comprising:

receiving, from the first device, a valid measurement result for the cell.
The method of claim 11, further comprising:

after the cell activation command is transmitted, transmitting, to the first device, an uplink grant for transmission from the first device to the second device,

wherein the SSB index is received on the uplink grant.
The method of claim 14, further comprising:

receiving, from the first device, a scheduling request for the transmission of the SSB index,

wherein the uplink grant is transmitted in response to receiving the scheduling request.
A first device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to perform the method of any of claims 1-10.
A second device, comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to perform the method of any of claims 11-15.
A first apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving, from a second device, a cell activation command for a cell;

means for determining that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received;

means for determining whether a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index associated with the cell is available; and

means for performing one of:

for based on the determining that the SSB index is available, transmitting the SSB index to the second device; or

based on the determining that no SSB index is available, transmitting to the second device a special value indicating that the first device failed to detect the cell.
A second apparatus, comprising:

means for transmitting, to a first device, a cell activation command for a cell; and

means for receiving, from the first device, a synchronization signal and physical broadcast channel (PBCH) block (SSB) index or a special value associated with the cell, wherein the SSB index indicates that a valid measurement result associated with the cell is unavailable after the cell activation command is received by the first device, and the special value indicates that the first device failed to detect the cell.
A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of any of claims 1-10 or the method of any of claims 11-15.