WO2025030540A1

WO2025030540A1 - Systems and methods for determining a group of network nodes

Info

Publication number: WO2025030540A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/112381
Authority: WO
Inventors: Shuang ZHENG; Nan Zhang; Wei Cao; Ziyang Li; Qi Zhang
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2023-08-10
Filing date: 2023-08-10
Publication date: 2025-02-13
Anticipated expiration: 2026-02-10

Abstract

Presented are systems and methods for determining a group of network nodes. A network node can perform measurements on one or more signals based on one or more configurations. The network node can send the measurement result indications to a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device.

Description

SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR DETERMINING A GROUP OF NETWORK NODES

TECHNICAL FIELD

The disclosure relates generally to wireless communications, including but not limited to systems and methods for determining a group of network nodes (e.g., smart nodes) .

BACKGROUND

Coverage is a fundamental aspect of cellular network deployments. Mobile operators rely on different types of network nodes to offer blanket coverage in their deployments. As a result, new types of network nodes have been considered to increase the flexibility of mobile operators for their network deployments. For example, certain systems or architecture introduce integrated access and backhaul (IAB) , which may be enhanced in certain other systems, as a new type of network node not requiring a wired backhaul. Another type of network node is the RF repeater which simply amplify-and-forward any signal that they receive. RF repeaters have seen a wide range of deployments in 2G, 3G and 4G to supplement the coverage provided by regular full-stack cells.

SUMMARY

The example embodiments disclosed herein are directed to solving the issues relating to one or multiple of the problems presented in the prior art, as well as providing additional features that will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompany drawings. In accordance with various embodiments, example systems, methods, devices and computer program products are disclosed herein. It is understood, however, that these embodiments are presented by way of example and are not limiting, and it will be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art who read the present disclosure that various modifications to the disclosed embodiments can be made while remaining within the scope of this disclosure.

At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or a computer-readable medium. A network node (e.g., SN) can perform measurements on one or more (or multiple) signals based on one or more (or multiple) configurations. In certain implementations, one or more (or multiple) configurations can be provided (or configured) to the network node by at least one of a wireless communication node, a wireless communication device, or an operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) entity.

In some implementations, one or more (or multiple) signals can be transmitted from a wireless communication device, where one or more signals may include at least one of the following: a preamble used for random access; a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) signal; a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) signal; a dedicated preamble used for the measurements; a dedicated sequence used for the measurements; a dedicated PUCCH transmission; a dedicated PUSCH transmission; a dedicated sequence used for the measurements; a sidelink Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) ; a Physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) signal; a Physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) signal; a Physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) signal; a Physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) signal; a dedicated SSB used for the measurements; a dedicated PSSCH used for the measurements; a dedicated PSCCH used for the measurements; a dedicated PSFCH used for the measurements; a reference Signal (RS) , where the RS may include at least one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) , a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) , or a Channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ; or a dedicated RS used for the measurements, where the dedicated RS may include at least one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) , a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) , or a Channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) .

In some implementations, one or more (or multiple) signal can be transmitted from a wireless communication node, where the one or more signal can include at least one of the following: a SSB; a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal; a Physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) signal; a Physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal; a dedicated PDCCH used for the measurements; a dedicated PDSCH used for the measurements, a dedicated SSB used for the measurements; a RS, where the RS may include at least one of a DM-RS, a PT-RS, a CSI-RS, a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) , or a Positioning reference signals (PRS) ; a dedicated RS, where the dedicated RS may include at least one of a DM-RS, a PT-RS, a CSI-RS, a TRS, or a PRS; or a dedicated sequence used for the measurements.

In certain implementations, the dedicated sequence may include at least one of an on-off keying (OOK) sequence, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, a pseudo-random sequence, a computer-generated sequence (CGS) , or a low peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) sequence.

In certain implementations, one or more (or multiple) configurations may comprise/include resource information of one or more (or multiple) signals. In some implementations, the resource information may comprise at least one of a signal index that can include at least one of a reference signal (RS) index, a logic index, or a preamble index; a Random Access channel (RACH) occasion index; a frequency resource information; a time resource information; a bandwidth part (BWP) identity; a subcarrier space (SCS) ; a cell index or cell identity (ID) ; one or more beam information used for the one or more signals; one or more port information used for the one or more signals; one or more panel information used for the one or more signals; an information used to generate and initialize a RS or a sequence; an information related to the RS configuration; an information related to a PRACH that can include at least one of a preamble index, an SSB index, a PRACH mask index, a PRACH occasion index; or an information related to the operator of the signal.

In some implementations, one or more (or multiple) configurations may comprise measurement trigger information for triggering the measurements. In some implementations, the measurement trigger information may include at least one of the following: an indication that the measurements can be triggered over one or more (or multiple) resource configurations; an indication to trigger the measurements; a frequency resource information used for the measurements; a time resource information used for the measurements; a BWP identity; an SCS; a cell index or cell ID; one or more beam information used for the measurements; one or more port information used for the measurements; one or more panel information used for the measurements; one or more RACH occasion indices; or one or more signal indices.

In some implementations, one or more (or multiple) configurations may comprise report information for reporting the measurements. In some implementations, the report information may comprise at least one of a report type, where the report type can include at least one of an event-triggered report or a periodic report; or one or more measurement filtering coefficients used to process measurement results. In some implementations, when the report type is the periodic report, one or more report configurations may comprise at least one of the following: a maximum number of measured signals to be reported in the report; a number of reports; a report quantity comprising at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , a signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ; a report interval indicative of an interval between periodic reports; or a threshold value used for the network node to determine whether to trigger the periodic report. In some implementations, when the report type is the event-triggered report type, the event that triggered the measurement report can include at least one of the legacy event or a new event defined for the measurement of network node.

In some implementations, when the report type is the event-triggered report type, one or more (or multiple) report configurations can comprise at least one of the following: an event identity (ID) used to specify an event for the measurements by the network node; a maximum number of measured signals to be included in the report; a number of reports; a report quantity comprising at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , a signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ; a report interval indicative of an interval between reports; a threshold value used for the network node to determine whether to trigger the event-triggered report; a time when one or more criteria for an event are to be satisfied to trigger the event-triggered report; an indication to indicate whether the network node shall initiate a report procedure when a leaving condition is satisfied for a measured signal; or a parameter used for at least one of an entry condition or a leave condition of an event-triggered report condition.

In some implementations, the frequency resource information may comprises at least one of the following: a start Physical Resource Block (PRB) ; a start resource element (RE) ; an end PRB; an end RE; an RB offset; an RE offset; a number of PRBs; a number of REs; a frequency shift; a frequency offset; an Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN) ; a Global Synchronization Raster (GSCN) ; or a logic index to indicate the frequency information, where the logic index can include at least one of a carrier index, a passband index, a Bandwidth Part (BWP) index, a subband index, or a cell index. In some implementations, the time resource information may comprise at least one of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start slot, a start symbol, a number of slots, a number of symbols, a start and length indicator value (SLIV) , a pattern, a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) index, or a duty cycle.

In some implementations, when one or more signals include the preamble transmitted from the wireless communication device, a new event can be defined to trigger a random access procedure for the wireless communication device. In some implementations, the network node can send a measurement result indication to at least one of a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device in response to measuring one or more signals. In some implementations, the measurement result indication may comprise at least one of the following: a signal index; a signal strength including at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , a signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ; a signal strength that is an average strength determined based on a plurality of beam level signal strengths, where the plurality of beam level signal strengths are measured by the network node using a specific beam; one or more beam level signal strengths or one or more associated beam information; a strongest beam level signal strength value of a plurality of beam level measured result values or associated beam information; N strongest beam level measurement result values or corresponding N beam information, where N represents a number of reported beam level signal strengths; an integer value determined according to a comparison between the signal strength and one or more thresholds; or one or more (or multiple) integer values determined according to a comparison between a beam level signal strength and one or more thresholds and one or more associated beam information.

In some implementations, the signal strength can be obtained after processing by Layer 1 filtering or Layer 3 filtering. In some implementations, when one or more signals include the preamble, the measurement results indication further may comprise at least one of a Preamble index, a Random Access-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI) , or a value that used for the wireless communication node to calculate the timing advance value carried in Msg2 or MsgB. In some implementations, the measurement results indication can further comprise/include at least one of the following: an indication about whether there exist the wireless communication devices under the serving area of the corresponding network node; an on/off indication of network node; a sequence index or scrambling index that decoded from the corresponding signal; an indication about the number of UEs; an indication about UE IDs; or a signal index.

In some implementations, the network node can determine an on/off state of the network node. In some implementations, the aforementioned determining can be performed according to at least one of following conditions: comparing, by the network node, results of the measurements with one or more (or multiple) thresholds; a number of detected signals; comparing, by the network node, a number of the one or more (or multiple) signals being detected with one or more specific values; or whether at least one of one or more signals are detected.

In some implementations, the network node can receive an explicit indication indicating an on/off state of the network node based on the measurement result indication from at least one of the wireless communication node or the wireless communication device. In some implementations, a granularity of an on/off state indication can include at least one of the following: the on/off state indication used for one or more network nodes; the on/off state indication used for one or more beams of the network node; the on/off state indication used for at least one of a plurality of links of the network node; the on/off state indication used for one or more panels of the network node; the on/off state indication used for one or more ports of the network node; the on/off state indication used for one or more bands of the network node; or the on/off state indication used for one or more signal types of the network node.

In some implementations, the wireless communication node can be configured to determine, based on the received measurement result indication from one or a plurality of network nodes, a group of network nodes that cooperatively operating for the wireless communication device. In some implementations, information regarding the group of network nodes can be shared by the wireless communication node with at least one of: the corresponding one or plurality of SNs in the group, or the corresponding wireless communication device. In some implementations, the wireless communication device can be configured to determine, based on the received measurement result indication from one or a plurality of network nodes, a group of network nodes that cooperatively operating for the wireless communication device. In some implementations, information regarding the group of network nodes can be shared by the wireless communication device with at least one of: the corresponding one or plurality of SNs in the group, or the wireless communication node. In some implementations, information regarding the group of network nodes can include at least one of: a group index/ID; a list including one or a plurality of group IDs; a number of the network nodes in the group; or indices/IDs of the network nodes in the group.

In some implementations, the network node can receive a transmission configuration indicating the network node is scheduled to have a transmission on a same symbol and/or slot of the one or more configurations. In some implementations, the transmission configuration can be transmitted to the network node from at least one of a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device.

In some implementations, whether the network node can simultaneously perform the transmission and the measurement on the symbol and/or slots can be determined based on a capability of the network node. In some implementations, the capability can be reported to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device by the network node, or can be configured to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device via an OAM entity.

In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node, the network node can determine operation based on a TDD configuration. In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the transmission configuration; prioritize one or more configurations; or terminate both the transmission and the measurements. In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and one of the transmission configuration or the one or more configurations is transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, and the other of the transmission configuration or the one or more configurations is transmitted from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication node; prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication device; or terminate both the transmission and the measurements.

In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the transmission configuration; prioritize the one or more configurations; or terminate both the transmission and the measurements. In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from different wireless communication devices, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: determine one of the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations based on a priority of a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices; or terminate both the transmission and the measurements.

In some implementations, the network node is not expected to receive transmission configuration that has same symbols and/or slots with the one or more (or multiple) configurations. In some implementations, the network node can receive a forwarding configuration indicating that the network node has a forwarding operation on a same symbol and/or slot of the one or more configurations. In some implementations, the forwarding configuration can be transmitted to the network node from at least one of a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device. In some implementations, whether the network node can simultaneously perform the forwarding operation and the measurements on the symbol and/or slot can be determined by a capability of the network node. In some implementations, the capability can be reported to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device by the network node, or can be configured to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device via an OAM entity.

In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the forwarding configuration and the one or more (or multiple) configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the forwarding configuration; prioritize the one or more configurations; or terminate both the forwarding operation and the measurements. In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and one of the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations is transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, and the other of the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations is transmitted from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication node; prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication device; or terminate both the forwarding operation and the measurements.

In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the forwarding configuration; prioritize the one or more configurations; or terminate both the forwarding operation and the measurements. In some implementations, when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from different wireless communication devices, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: determine one of the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations based on a priority of a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices; or terminate both the forwarding operation and the measurements. In some implementations, the network node is not expected to receive forwarding configuration that has same symbols and/or slots with the one or more configurations.

At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or a computer-readable medium. The wireless communication node or the wireless communication device can receive the measurement result indication transmitted by the network node.

In some implementations, the network node of the technical solution can perform measurements on one or multiple signals, according to at least one of the following example configurations or solutions:

· Example configuration 1: The measurement operation of SNs.

· Example configuration 2: The operation after the SNs’ measurement.

· Example configuration 3: Priority between the transmission/forward operation and the measurement operations of SN-CU.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various example embodiments of the present solution are described in detail below with reference to the following figures or drawings. The drawings are provided for purposes of illustration only and merely depict example embodiments of the present solution to facilitate the reader’s understanding of the present solution. Therefore, the drawings should not be considered limiting of the breadth, scope, or applicability of the present solution. It should be noted that for clarity and ease of illustration, these drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example cellular communication network in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example base station and a user equipment device, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example network, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram of transmission links between BS to SN and SN to UE, in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of an example method for determining a group of network nodes, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

1. Mobile Communication Technology and Environment

FIG. 1 illustrates an example wireless communication network, and/or system, 100 in which techniques disclosed herein may be implemented, in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In the following discussion, the wireless communication network 100 may be any wireless network, such as a cellular network or a narrowband Internet of things (NB-IoT) network, and is herein referred to as “network 100. ” Such an example network 100 includes a base station 102 (hereinafter “BS 102” ; also referred to as wireless communication node) and a user equipment device 104 (hereinafter “UE 104” ; also referred to as wireless communication device) that can communicate with each other via a communication link 110 (e.g., a wireless communication channel) , and a cluster of cells 126, 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 overlaying a geographical area 101. In FIG. 1, the BS 102 and UE 104 are contained within a respective geographic boundary of cell 126. Each of the other cells 130, 132, 134, 136, 138 and 140 may include at least one base station operating at its allocated bandwidth to provide adequate radio coverage to its intended users.

For example, the BS 102 may operate at an allocated channel transmission bandwidth to provide adequate coverage to the UE 104. The BS 102 and the UE 104 may communicate via a downlink radio frame 118, and an uplink radio frame 124 respectively. Each radio frame 118/124 may be further divided into sub-frames 120/127 which may include data symbols 122/128. In the present disclosure, the BS 102 and UE 104 are described herein as non-limiting examples of “communication nodes, ” generally, which can practice the methods disclosed herein. Such communication nodes may be capable of wireless and/or wired communications, in accordance with various embodiments of the present solution.

FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of an example wireless communication system 200 for transmitting and receiving wireless communication signals (e.g., OFDM/OFDMA signals) in accordance with some embodiments of the present solution. The system 200 may include components and elements configured to support known or conventional operating features that need not be described in detail herein. In one illustrative embodiment, system 200 can be used to communicate (e.g., transmit and receive) data symbols in a wireless communication environment such as the wireless communication environment 100 of FIG. 1, as described above.

System 200 generally includes a base station 202 (hereinafter “BS 202” ) and a user equipment device 204 (hereinafter “UE 204” ) . The BS 202 includes a BS (base station) transceiver module 210, a BS antenna 212, a BS processor module 214, a BS memory module 216, and a network communication module 218, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a data communication bus 220. The UE 204 includes a UE (user equipment) transceiver module 230, a UE antenna 232, a UE memory module 234, and a UE processor module 236, each module being coupled and interconnected with one another as necessary via a data communication bus 240. The BS 202 communicates with the UE 204 via a communication channel 250, which can be any wireless channel or other medium suitable for transmission of data as described herein.

As would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, system 200 may further include any number of modules other than the modules shown in FIG. 2. Those skilled in the art will understand that the various illustrative blocks, modules, circuits, and processing logic described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be implemented in hardware, computer-readable software, firmware, or any practical combination thereof. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability and compatibility of hardware, firmware, and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are described generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware, or software can depend upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Those familiar with the concepts described herein may implement such functionality in a suitable manner for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as limiting the scope of the present disclosure.

In accordance with some embodiments, the UE transceiver 230 may be referred to herein as an “uplink” transceiver 230 that includes a radio frequency (RF) transmitter and a RF receiver each comprising circuitry that is coupled to the antenna 232. A duplex switch (not shown) may alternatively couple the uplink transmitter or receiver to the uplink antenna in time duplex fashion. Similarly, in accordance with some embodiments, the BS transceiver 210 may be referred to herein as a “downlink” transceiver 210 that includes a RF transmitter and a RF receiver each comprising circuity that is coupled to the antenna 212. A downlink duplex switch may alternatively couple the downlink transmitter or receiver to the downlink antenna 212 in time duplex fashion. The operations of the two transceiver modules 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the uplink receiver circuitry is coupled to the uplink antenna 232 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the downlink transmitter is coupled to the downlink antenna 212. Conversely, the operations of the two transceivers 210 and 230 may be coordinated in time such that the downlink receiver is coupled to the downlink antenna 212 for reception of transmissions over the wireless transmission link 250 at the same time that the uplink transmitter is coupled to the uplink antenna 232. In some embodiments, there is close time synchronization with a minimal guard time between changes in duplex direction.

The UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to communicate via the wireless data communication link 250, and cooperate with a suitably configured RF antenna arrangement 212/232 that can support a particular wireless communication protocol and modulation scheme. In some illustrative embodiments, the UE transceiver 210 and the base station transceiver 210 are configured to support industry standards such as the Long Term Evolution (LTE) and emerging 5G standards, and the like. It is understood, however, that the present disclosure is not necessarily limited in application to a particular standard and associated protocols. Rather, the UE transceiver 230 and the base station transceiver 210 may be configured to support alternate, or additional, wireless data communication protocols, including future standards or variations thereof.

In accordance with various embodiments, the BS 202 may be an evolved node B (eNB) , a serving eNB, a target eNB, a femto station, or a pico station, for example. In some embodiments, the UE 204 may be embodied in various types of user devices such as a mobile phone, a smart phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA) , tablet, laptop computer, wearable computing device, etc. The processor modules 214 and 236 may be implemented, or realized, with a general purpose processor, a content addressable memory, a digital signal processor, an application specific integrated circuit, a field programmable gate array, any suitable programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof, designed to perform the functions described herein. In this manner, a processor may be realized as a microprocessor, a controller, a microcontroller, a state machine, or the like. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a digital signal processor and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or multiple microprocessors in conjunction with a digital signal processor core, or any other such configuration.

Furthermore, the steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in firmware, in a software module executed by processor modules 214 and 236, respectively, or in any practical combination thereof. The memory modules 216 and 234 may be realized as RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, a hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. In this regard, memory modules 216 and 234 may be coupled to the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively, such that the processors modules 210 and 230 can read information from, and write information to, memory modules 216 and 234, respectively. The memory modules 216 and 234 may also be integrated into their respective processor modules 210 and 230. In some embodiments, the memory modules 216 and 234 may each include a cache memory for storing temporary variables or other intermediate information during execution of instructions to be executed by processor modules 210 and 230, respectively. Memory modules 216 and 234 may also each include non-volatile memory for storing instructions to be executed by the processor modules 210 and 230, respectively.

The network communication module 218 generally represents the hardware, software, firmware, processing logic, and/or other components of the base station 202 that enable bi-directional communication between base station transceiver 210 and other network components and communication nodes configured to communicate with the base station 202. For example, network communication module 218 may be configured to support internet or WiMAX traffic. In a typical deployment, without limitation, network communication module 218 provides an 802.3 Ethernet interface such that base station transceiver 210 can communicate with a conventional Ethernet based computer network. In this manner, the network communication module 218 may include a physical interface for connection to the computer network (e.g., Mobile Switching Center (MSC) ) . The terms “configured for, ” “configured to” and conjugations thereof, as used herein with respect to a specified operation or function, refer to a device, component, circuit, structure, machine, signal, etc., that is physically constructed, programmed, formatted and/or arranged to perform the specified operation or function.

The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) Model (referred to herein as, “open system interconnection model” ) is a conceptual and logical layout that defines network communication used by systems (e.g., wireless communication device, wireless communication node) open to interconnection and communication with other systems. The model is broken into seven subcomponents, or layers, each of which represents a conceptual collection of services provided to the layers above and below it. The OSI Model also defines a logical network and effectively describes computer packet transfer by using different layer protocols. The OSI Model may also be referred to as the seven-layer OSI Model or the seven-layer model. In some embodiments, a first layer may be a physical layer. In some embodiments, a second layer may be a Medium Access Control (MAC) layer. In some embodiments, a third layer may be a Radio Link Control (RLC) layer. In some embodiments, a fourth layer may be a Packet Data Convergence Protocol (PDCP) layer. In some embodiments, a fifth layer may be a Radio Resource Control (RRC) layer. In some embodiments, a sixth layer may be a Non Access Stratum (NAS) layer or an Internet Protocol (IP) layer, and the seventh layer being the other layer.

FIG. 3 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example network 300. As illustrated in FIG. 3, one or multiple BSs 102A-B (e.g., BSs 102) can serve one or multiple UEs 104A-B (e.g., UEs 104) respectively in their cells via the respective one or multiple SNs 306A-B (e.g., sometimes labeled as SN (s) 306) , such as when there are blockages between the BS (s) 102 and the UE (s) 104.

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic diagram 400 of transmission links between BS 102 to SN 306 and SN 306 to UE (s) 104 (e.g., UE A and/or UE B) . The SN 306 can include or consist of at least two units or functional parts/components (e.g., sometimes referred to as function entities) , such as the communication unit (CU) (e.g., SN CU) and the forwarding unit (FU) (e.g., SN FU) . The units of the SN 306 can support different functions for communication with at least one of the BS 102 and/or the UE 104. A first unit (or function entity) of the SN 306 may refer to the SN CU and a second unit (or function entity) of the SN 306 may refer to the SN FU or vice versa, in some cases. For example, the SN CU (e.g., first unit) can be a network-controlled repeater (NCR) MT. In another example, the SN FU (e.g., second unit) can be an NCR forwarder/forwarding (Fwd) . The SN 306 (e.g., SN CU or SN FU) can act/behave, include, or support various features or functionalities. For example, The SN 306 (e.g., SN CU) can receive and/or decode side control information from a controller. The controller may be at least one of the BS 102 (e.g., gNB) , the UE 104, or other entities. The SN CU may be a control unit, controller, mobile terminal (MT) , part of a UE 104 or a BS 102, a third-party IoT device, and so on. In another example, the SN 306 (e.g., SN FU) can carry out the intelligent amplify-and-forward operation using the side control information received by the SN CU. The SN FU may be a radio unit (RU) , a RIS, and so on. In some cases, the unit to achieve each functionality (or each functional unit) may refer to or correspond to separate or dedicated components of the SN 306. In some cases, the unit for each functionality may refer to or correspond to different logic parts of the same component of the SN 306. In certain aspects, the interface to enable the information exchange or transition between the two units of the SN 306 can be supported.

An example model or depiction of the SN 306 can be shown in at least FIG. 4. For instance, the forwarding functionality can be carried out via at least one of L1-L4, which can be referred to as forwarding links. For control links or communication links, at least one of L5-L8 can be used for the SN 306 to receive control information and/or exchange or forward SN’s information with the BS 102 and/or the UE 104.

The transmission links between the BS 102 to SN 306 and the SN 306 to UE 104 as shown in FIG. 4 can be defined/described/provided as follows:

‐ L1: link from BS to SN-FU;

‐ L2: link from SN-FU to BS;

‐ L3: link from SN-FU to UE;

‐ L4: link from the UE to SN-FU;

‐ L5: link from BS to SN-CU;

‐ L6: link from SN-CU to BS;

‐ L7: link from SN-CU to UE;

‐ L8: link from UE TO SN-CU;

‐ L9: link from BS to UE;

‐ L10: link from UE to BS.

The L1-L10 can be at least one of various types of links, such as at least one of a control link, communication link, or forwarding link. For example, for the control link, the SN 306 can receive and/or process the control information from the UE 104 and/or the BS 102, such that the information transmitted in the control link can be utilized to control the forwarding links or forwarding functionalities. In some cases, the data /signal/information of the SN 306 can be transmitted from the SN 306 to the UE 104 and/or the BS 102. The SN 306 can receive cell-specific and /or UE-specific signals from the UE 104 and/or the BS 102, the information or signals transmitted /sent/provided /communicated on control link may or may not be used to control the forwarding links or forwarding functionalities.

In another example, for the communication link, SN’s data/signal/information can be transmitted from the SN 306 to the UE 104 and/or the BS 102. The SN 306 can receive cell-specific and/or UE-specific signals from the UE 104 and/or the BS 102. The information or signals transmitted on the communication link may not be used to control the forwarding links or forwarding functionalities. In some cases, the communication link can correspond to or be a part of the control link. In some cases, compared to the control link, the communication link may not carry or have control information via the communication link to control the forwarding links or forwarding functionalities of the SN 306.

In further examples, for forwarding link (e.g., backhaul links and/or access links, ) , the signal from the BS 102 and/or the UE 104 can be unknown by the SN FU. For instance, the SN FU can forward signals (e.g., with or without amplification) without decoding the signals. L2 and L4 can correspond to or be associated with a complete uplink (UL) forwarding link from the UE 104 to the BS 102. L1 and L3 can correspond to or be associated with a complete downlink (DL) forwarding link from the BS 102 to the UE 104. Unless indicated otherwise, L1-L4 can be forwarding links. In the network-controlled SN model (e.g., L5 and/or L6 can be control links, in which the side control information can be transmitted/provided/communicated between the BS 102 and the SN 306) , L1 and/or L2 can be referred to as backhaul links , and L3 and/or L4 can be referred to as access links. In the UE-controlled SN model (e.g., L7 and/or L8 can be control links for the SN 306 (e.g., SN CU) to receive side control information from the UE 104) , the L3 and/or L4 can be referred to as backhaul links, and the L1 and/or L2 can be referred to as access links. The backhaul link and access link can be part of the forwarding links, and the combination (of the backhaul and access links) can represent or constitute a complete forwarding link, for example.

Various example embodiments of the present solution are described below with reference to the accompanying figures to enable a person of ordinary skill in the art to make and use the present solution. As would be apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, after reading the present disclosure, various changes or modifications to the examples described herein can be made without departing from the scope of the present solution. Thus, the present solution is not limited to the example embodiments and applications described and illustrated herein. Additionally, the specific order or hierarchy of steps in the methods disclosed herein are merely example approaches. Based upon design preferences, the specific order or hierarchy of steps of the disclosed methods or processes can be re-arranged while remaining within the scope of the present solution. Thus, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that the methods and techniques disclosed herein present various steps or acts in a sample order, and the present solution is not limited to the specific order or hierarchy presented unless expressly stated otherwise.

2. Systems and Methods for Determining a Group of Network Nodes

In certain systems (e.g., 5G new radio (NR) , Next Generation (NG) systems, 3GPP systems, and/or other systems) , a network-controlled repeater (NCR) can be introduced as an enhancement over conventional RF repeaters with the capability to receive and/or process side control information from the network. Side control information can allow a network-controlled repeater to perform/execute/operate its amplify-and-forward operation in a more efficient manner. Certain benefits can include at least mitigation of unnecessary noise amplification, transmissions and receptions with better spatial directivity, and/or simplified network integration.

The NCR can be regarded as a stepping stone of a re-configurable intelligent surface (RIS) . A RIS node can adjust the phase and amplitude of the received signal to improve/enhance the coverage (e.g., network communication coverage) . As discussed herein, network nodes, including and not limited to NCR, smart repeater, enhanced RF repeaters, RIS, and/or integrated access and backhaul (IAB) , can be denoted, referred to, or provided as a smart node (SN) (e.g., network node) for simplicity. For example, the SN can include, correspond to, or refer to a kind of network node to assist the BS 102 to improve coverage (e.g., avoiding/averting blockage/obstructions, increasing transmission range, etc. ) .

In certain cases, an SN may maintain multiple links simultaneously, such as a link between the BS 102 and the SN and another link between the SN and the UE 104 to ensure signal forwarding for the BS 102 and the UE 104. The signaling mechanism that the BS can use to send control information to the SN has been defined in the current disclosure. However, there may be new scenarios/cases where multiple SNs are cooperatively used to serve a UE. In this case/scenario, there may be new issues that need to be addressed. For example, if the BS wants/intends to send control information to a group of SNs, the first step is to determine which SNs should be included in the group. This may require the SNs to do measurement operations to measure the signal transmitted from the UE. Additionally, there may also be interference caused by the BS of other operators, leading to the need to turn off some of the SNs. The SNs can also be configured to do measurement operations on the signal transmitted from the BS of other operators. This can help enhance the measurement operation of SNs.

In certain embodiments, to configure the SN to perform measurements, several aspects can be considered. In certain configurations, according to different purposes, the SN can be configured to measure different signals. For example, when determining whether there are UEs under the SN’s serving area or determining which set of SNs can be grouped together to serve a UE, the SN can be configured to measure the signal that is transmitted from the UE. For another example, when determining the interference and noise level for the forwarding of a SN, the SN can be configured to measure the signal from the BS of other operators. If the measured signal is transmitted from the UE, the measured signal can be at least one of: (1) a preamble used for random access, e.g., the Msg1 or MsgA preamble during the RACH process; (2) a PUSCH signal, e.g., the Msg3 or MsgA PUSCH; (3) a PUCCH signal; (4) a dedicated preamble transmitted in a dedicated resource. The dedicated resource can include at least one of a time domain resource of a PRACH occasion, a frequency domain resource of the PRACH occasion, and/or a preamble index; (5) a dedicated sequence corresponding to at least one of an on-off keying (OOK) sequence, a computer-generated sequence (CGS) , a low peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) sequence, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, or a Pseudo-random sequence; (6) a dedicated PUCCH transmission; (7) a dedicated PUSCH transmission; (8) sidelink SSB, including the sidelink PSS and SSS; (9) a PSSCH signal; (10) a PSCCH signal; (11) a PSBCH signal; (12) a PSFCH signal; (13) a RS (e.g., SRS, DM-RS, PT-RS, or CSI-RS) from the UE side. For example, the signal can be the DM-RS for PUCCH or PUSCH, or the DM-RS for PSSCH, PSCCH, or PSBCH. For example, the signal can be the PT-RS for PSSCH or the PT-RS for PUSCH. For example, the signal can be the CSI-RS from the UE side; or (14) a dedicated RS (e.g., SRS, DM-RS, PT-RS, or CSI-RS) from the UE side. The dedicated RS can be the RS transmitted with a dedicated/specific port index.

If the signal is transmitted from the BS, the measured signal can be at least one of: (1) a RS corresponding to at least one of a DM-RS, a CSI-RS, a PRS, a tracking reference signal (TRS) , or a PT-RS; (2) a PDCCH signal; (3) a PDSCH signal; (4) a PBCH signal; (5) a SSB; (6) a PSS and/or SSS; (7) a dedicated PDCCH signal; (8) a dedicated PDSCH signal; (9) a dedicated sequence corresponding to at least one of an on-off keying (OOK) sequence, a computer-generated sequence (CGS) , a low peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) sequence, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, or a Pseudo-random sequence; (10) a dedicated RS corresponding to at least one of a DM-RS, a CSI-RS, a PRS, a TRS, or a PT-RS. The dedicated RS can be the RS transmitted with a dedicated/specific port index; or (11) a dedicated SSB.

In some implementations, the aforementioned CSI-RS can be the CSI-RS for channel state information measurement, the CSI-RS for interference management, the CSI-RS for mobility, or the CSI-RS for beam management.

In certain configurations, the kind of measurement that the SN is to perform can be determined. The options to consider for the measurement type of the SN may include the fact that the SN does not need to decode the signal transmitted from the UEs. Instead, the SN can perform the RSSI measurement for the signal transmitted from UEs. In some implementations, the SN can decode the corresponding signal transmitted from UEs and perform measurements such as RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, or SIR for the signal transmitted from UEs.

In certain configurations, the measurement can be performed by the SN based on several parameters/configurations as detailed herein. For example, one of the configurations/parameters may include resource information of the measured signal. The resource information may include at least one or multiple resource ID (s) , where the resource ID can be a RS resource ID used to specify a specific RS, a logical ID/index used to specify the specific resource of the signal, or a preamble index. In some implementations, the resource information may include a frequency resource information of the signal, where the frequency resource information can include at least one of a start frequency position, an end frequency position, a number of PRBs, a number of REs, a frequency offset, a frequency shift, an ARFCN, a GSCN, or a logic index to indicate the frequency information, where the logic index can be interpreted as one of a carrier index, a passband index, a Bandwidth Part (BWP) index, a subband index, or a cell index. In certain implementations, the format of the start frequency position can be at least one of a start PRB, a start RE, or a RB/RE offset compared to a reference point (e.g., point A, the start of a BWP) . Similarly, the format of the end frequency position can be at least one of an end PRB, an end RE, or a RB/RE offset compared to a reference point (e.g., point A, the start of a BWP) . The format of frequency offset/frequency shift can be at least one of a number of RBs and/or a number of REs offset compared to a reference point. In some examples/cases, the configured frequency resource information of the signal can be treated and used as the frequency information that is (or can be) used for the measurement.

In certain configurations, the resource information may include time resource information, which can include at least one of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start slot and/or symbol, a number of slots and/or symbols, a SLIV, a pattern, a TDRA index, or a duty cycle. In some implementations, the format of the start slot can be a slot index or a slot offset compared to a reference slot. Similarly, the format of a start symbol can be a symbol index or a symbol offset compared to a reference point (e.g., the first symbol in a slot or the last symbol in a slot) . In some examples/cases, the time resource information of the signal can be treated and used as the time information that is (or can be) used for the measurement.

In certain configurations, the resource information may include at least one of a subcarrier spacing (SCS) , a cell ID (s) , a BWP information, one or multiple beam information (including the one or multiple beam index) that is used for the signal, one or multiple panel information (including the one or multiple panel information such as panel ID (s) that is (or can be) used for the signal, or one or multiple port information that is used for the signal. In some implementations, the port information can be pre-defined for the SN, the BS, and/or the UEs. In certain configurations, the resource information may include information related to the PRACH, where the information related to the PRACH can include at least one of the one or multiple preamble indices, the one or multiple PRACH mask indices, the one or multiple SSB indices, or the one or multiple PRACH occasion indices. For example, when the UE sends the dedicated preamble, the dedicated preamble index, and/or the dedicated SSB index, the PRACH mask index for the preamble can be configured to the SN.

In certain configurations, the resource information may include the information used to generate and/or initialize the RS or sequence. For example, if the signal used for the measurement is SRS, the sequence ID that is used to initialize pseudo random groups and sequence hopping can be configured to SN. In some implementations, if the signal used for measurement is DM-RS, the scrambling ID0 and/or scrambling ID1 used for DMRS scrambling initialization can be used to indicate to the SN. In certain configurations, the resource information may include the RS configuration related parameter. For example, if the SN measures the SRS transmitted from the UE, the current SRS resource related configuration parameter (e.g., the number of ports, the antenna port index) can be configured to the SN. In some implementations, since the aforementioned configuration can be used for the measurement operation of SN, some parameters/fields can be pre-defined as specific values. For example, the frequency hopping, sequence group hopping, or sequence hopping field can be configured as disabled. In some implementations, the number of ports and/or the specific port can be pre-defined. In certain implementations, if the SN measures the DM-RS transmitted from UE, the current UL DM-RS related configuration (e.g., the field of DMRS-UplinkConfig IE in the current specification) can be configured to the SN. In some implementations, since the aforementioned configuration can be used for the measurement operation of SN, some parameters/fields can be pre-defined with a specific value.

In certain configurations, the resource information may include operator related information of the signal. For example, when the SN measures the interference level resulted from/caused by other operators, the operator related information can be configured to the SN. In some implementations, the information representing the specific operator can be configured to the SN, and when the SN measures over the configured frequency and/or time resource, the SN can know the interference level of the specific operator according to/based on the measurement results. In some examples/cases, the aforementioned resource information can be treated and used for the measurement of SN.

As detailed herein, the measurement can be performed by the SN based on several parameters /configurations. For example, one of the configurations/parameters may include the measurement trigger information. The measurement trigger information may include frequency resource information that is (or can be) used for the measurement, where the frequency resource information can include at least one of a start frequency position, an end frequency position, a number of PRBs, a number of REs, a frequency offset, a frequency shift, an ARFCN, or a GSCN. In some implementations, the measurement trigger information may include a logic index to indicate the frequency information, where the logic index can be interpreted as one of a carrier index, a passband index, a Bandwidth Part (BWP) index, a subband index, or a cell index. In certain implementations, the format of the start frequency position can be at least one of a start PRB, a start RE, or a RB/RE offset compared to a reference point (e.g., point A, the start of a BWP) . Similarly, the format of the end frequency position can be at least one of an end PRB, an end RE, or a RB/RE offset compared to a reference point (e.g., point A, the start of a BWP) . The format of frequency offset/frequency shift can be at least one of a number of RBs and/or a number of REs offset compared to a reference point. In some implementations, the configured measurement frequency resource information can be different from the frequency of the SN-CU, e.g., the configured measurement frequency resource information can be allocated to a different carrier of the SN-CU. In some implementations, the measured results of some or part of the frequency information can be derived from the measurement results information of the configured measurement frequency information.

In certain configurations, the measurement trigger information may include time resource information that is used for the measurement. The time resource information can include at least one of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start slot and/or symbol, a number of slots and/or symbols, a SLIV, a pattern, a TDRA index, or a duty cycle. In some implementations, the format of the start slot can be a slot index or a slot offset compared to a reference slot. Similarly, the format of a start symbol can be a symbol index or a symbol offset compared to a reference point (e.g., the first symbol in a slot or the last symbol in a slot) . In certain configurations, the measurement trigger information may include at least one of a subcarrier spacing (SCS) , a cell ID (s) , a BWP information, one or multiple beam information (including the one or multiple beam index) that can be used for the measurement, one or multiple panel information (including the one or multiple panel information such as panel ID (s) ) that can be used for the measurement, or one or multiple port information that can be used for the measurement. In some implementations, the beam information/panel information/port information can be pre-defined for the SN, the BS, and/or the UEs.

In certain configurations, the measurement trigger information may include an indication to the SN (s) to monitor and measure the RACH occasion. For example, when the UE operates in the RRC_idle state, UE can send a contention-based preamble to initiate the initial access procedure. Since the SN-CU is similar to the UE and can also receive the cell-specific PRACH configuration that is (or can be) used by normal UEs, the BS does not need to send additional PRACH related resource configuration to the SN. Instead, the BS can send an indication to the SN to monitor and measure on RACH occasion using the cell-specific PRACH configuration. In some implementations, one or multiple PRACH occasion indices can be configured to the SN by the BS/UE or via the OAM entity.

In certain configurations, the measurement trigger information may include an indication to SN that the measurement can be triggered over the corresponding resource. For example, the SN can be configured with one or multiple resource ID (s) that can be used for the measurement. The resource ID can be a RS resource ID to specify a specific RS, a logic ID/index to specify the specific resource of the signal, or a preamble index as detailed herein. In some implementations, the measurement can be triggered/done by the SN over time resource. The time resource can be determined by at least one of a configured measurement time resource or a time offset from the slot in which the SN can receive the indication. The time offset can include a slot offset (e.g., a slot index or a number of slots) and/or a symbol offset (e.g., a symbol index or a number of symbols) . In some implementations, the time offset can be configured to the SN by the BS/UE, or the time offset can be pre-defined for the SN via the OAM entity.

In certain configurations, the measurement trigger information may include one or multiple resource ID (s) . In some implementations, one or multiple resource IDs can be configured to the SN for measurement, and the resource information associated with the corresponding resource IDs can be used for the measurement. In certain configurations, the measurement trigger information may include the direction of the SN-CU and/or the direction of the SN-FU. The DL/UL direction of SN-CU and/or the SN-FU over the resource of measurement operation can be configured to the SN. For example, in some cases/examples, since SN-CU can be treated as a normal UE, SN-CU can have the same TDD configuration with the UEs in the cell. When the SN-CU is configured to measure the signal transmitted from the UEs, it means/indicates that the TDD configuration of the UE over the corresponding time resource can be the UL. The direction of SN-CU and SN-FU can be the UL since the TDD configuration of SN-FU is the same as SN-CU. In some implementations, since SN-CU can measure the signal of UEs, it means/indicates that the operation of SN-CU can be similar to the DL reception. The direction of the SN-CU and SN-FU may be different, which may need/require the dedicated TDD configuration of SN-CU and/or SN-FU to be configured to the SN, or may need/require the direction information of SN-CU and/or SN-FU over the corresponding resource to be configured to the SN.

As detailed herein, the measurement can be performed by the SN based on several parameters/configurations. For example, one of the configurations/parameters may include measurement report related information. In certain configurations, the measurement report related information may include several aspects, as detailed herein. For example, the measurement report related information may include a report type that can be either periodic and/or event-triggered (e.g., reporting may be triggered in response to a certain event) . If the report type is periodic, the related parameters can be configured to the SN to enable the periodic report. The related parameters may include at least one of a maximum number of measured signals to be reported in the report, a number of reports, measurement quantities to be included in the report (e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, SINR, RSSI, and/or SIR, etc. ) , a report interval specifying the time between periodic reports, or a threshold value associated with the selected trigger quantity. In the aforementioned scenario/case, the threshold value may include one or multiple specific values to be used for comparison with the measured results. The specific values can be used by the SN to determine whether to trigger a periodic report. For example, if the measured results are greater than the threshold value, the SN can report the results accordingly.

Similarly, in some implementations, if the report type is event-triggered, the existing/current event (e.g., as detailed in the current specification) can be reused for the measurement and/or a new event can be defined for the measurement. The related parameters to enable the event-triggered report can be configured to the SN. The related parameters can include at least one of an event ID, a maximum number of measured signals to be included in the report, a number of reports, measurement quantities to be included in the report (e.g., RSRP, SINR, RSRQ, RSSI, and/or SIR, etc. ) , a report interval specifying the time between reports, a threshold value associated with the selected trigger quantity, a time (e.g., a time range, duration, or instance) during which specific criteria for the event are to be met/satisfied to trigger a reporting (e.g., for the SN to initiate the reporting or generate the report) , an indication to indicate whether the SN is to initiate the report procedure when a leaving condition is met/satisfied for a measured signal, or a hysteresis parameter used within the entry and/or leave condition of an event-triggered reporting condition, etc.

In certain configurations, the measurement report related information may include an indication regarding whether to report the beam level measurement results in the report. The beam level measurement result value can include or correspond to the signal strength that the SN measured using the specific or indicated beam. In certain configurations, the measurement report related information may include the maximum number of beam level measurement results value that can be reported for a measured signal or one or multiple measurement filtering coefficients that can be used to process the measurement results.

In some implementations, the configured frequency information used for the measurement can be different from the frequency information of SN-CU. For example, the configured frequency information used for the measurement can be allocated to a different carrier than SN-CU. In certain implementations, the frequency information used for the measurement can be configured to the SN as the content of the control information that can be used for the forwarding operation of the SN-FU. In some implementations, the measured results of some or part of the frequency information can be derived from the measurement result value of another part of the frequency information. For example, the SN can be configured to measure over carrier 1, and the measured results of another carrier 2 in the same frequency range can be derived from the measured results of carrier 1. In some implementations, the aforementioned configurations can be configured to the SN together (e.g., in the same signaling or in the same RRC information element) , or the aforementioned configurations can be configured to the SN separately (e.g., in a different signaling) . For example, in some cases/scenarios, the resource information and the report information can be configured together (e.g., in the same signaling or in the same RRC information elements) to the SN for measurement. In some implementations, the report information and the measurement trigger information can be configured together (e.g., in the same signaling) to the SN for measurement.

In certain example implementations, when the SN is configured by the BS to measure the preamble transmitted from the UE, and since the SN-CU can be treated as a normal UE to receive the cell-specific configurations, the SN can know/determine the common PRACH related configurations. The resource of the preamble does not need to be configured to the SN. The BS can configure the report information to the SN in the RRC signaling, and the BS can use the DCI signaling to trigger the measurement operation of the SN over the RACH occasions. In some implementations, the BS can configure the report information and the measurement trigger information, including the RACH occasion index information, to the SN in a same RRC information element. In certain implementations, the SN can be configured by the BS to measure the DL CSI-RS signals. The BS can configure the resource information of the measured CSI-RS and the report information to the SN in the same RRC information element. In some implementations, in the resource information of the signal, the configured resource of the signal can be used for the measurement resource of SN.

In certain example implementations, the measurement can be based on the preamble during the UE’s initial RACH process. The following steps can describe the measurement process:

· Step 1: The BS can configure the SNs to measure the Msg1 of UEs during the RO.

· Step 2: The SNs can measure and decode the received preamble during the RO, and send the measured results to the BS. Since the SNs do not forward the received Msg1 of UEs to the BS, the SNs can report the preamble index, the RA-RNTI, and the TA information decoded from the corresponding Msg1. This information allows/enables the BS to configure Msg2 for the corresponding UE.

· Step 3: After receiving the preamble index, the RA-RNTI information, and the TA information from the SNs, the BS can calculate the TA value that would be configured for the corresponding UE and then send the Msg2 to the UE. In some implementations, based on the reported results from different SNs, the BS can determine a group of SNs that can serve the specific UE.

In certain example implementations, the measurement can be based on Msg3 during the UE’s initial RACH process. The following steps can describe the measurement process:

· Step 1: The BS can configure the SNs to perform forwarding operations during the time resource of Msg3 for the specific UE.

· Step 2: The BS can send the measurement configuration to the SNs to configure the SNs to measure during the time resource of Msg3 for the specific UE.

· Step 3: Assuming/Considering that the SNs can simultaneously forward and measure during the same time resource, the SN can forward the received signal during the time resource of Msg3 while measuring the received signal.

· Step 4: The SN can provide feedback on the measurement results to the BS. Based on the results, the BS can determine a set of SNs to serve the specific UE.

In certain example implementations, the measurement can be based on a dedicated UE sequence. The following steps can describe the measurement process:

· Step 1: The UE can configure the SNs with the measurement configuration to let the SNs measure the dedicated sequence transmitted from it.

· Step 2: After measuring, the SNs can send the measured results of the dedicated signal to the UE.

· Step 3: According to the reported results of different SNs, the UE can determine a set of SNs to serve.

· Step 4: After determining such a set of SNs, the UE can send the control information to the SNs to control the forwarding operation of the SNs.

In certain example implementations, the measurement can be based on the Msg3 during the UE’s initial RACH process. The following steps can describe the measurement process:

· Step 1: The BS can send the measurement configuration to the SN to configure the SNs to measure during the time resource of Msg3 of the specific UE.

· Step 2: Assuming/Considering that the SN can/may not simultaneously forward and measure during the same time resource, the SNs can only measure the received signal and may not forward the received Msg3 to the BS. To make the BS configure the Msg4 as legacy, the SN can decode the Msg3 and transmit the information decoded from the Msg3 to the BS.

· Step 3: The BS can determine a set of SNs to serve for the specific UE according to/based on the measured results reported from SNs. The BS can configure the Msg4 as legacy according to/based on the Msg3 related information provided by the SNs.

· Step 1: Assuming/Considering that there can be three SNs, including the SN1, SN2, and SN3, and considering/assuming that the BS can differentiate the signal transmitted from the different SNs, the BS can determine a most suitable SN (e.g., SN2) according to/based on the signal strength of Msg1 received from the forwarding signal of different SNs.

· Step 2: The BS can configure the SN2 to forward the Msg3 of UE, and the BS can configure other SNs (e.g., SN1 and SN3) to measure the time resource of Msg3.

· Step 3: According to the measured results, the BS can determine which set of SNs can be grouped together with SN2 to serve the specific UE.

In certain example implementations, the measurement can be based on the PDCCH order triggered PRACH. The BS can configure the SNs to measure the preamble transmitted from the UE. In the present disclosure, the PRACH procedure can be triggered upon request of a PRACH transmission by a PDCCH order transmitted from the BS. When the BS wants/intends to use the PDCCH order to trigger a random access procedure for a UE used for the measurement of SN, various configurations can be considered. For example, in certain configurations, when the BS wants/intends to configure the SNs to measure the preamble transmitted from the UE, the BS can send/transmit the PDCCH order to trigger/generate the random access procedure of UE. Since the triggered random access procedure can be used for the measurement of SNs, the UE can transmit the preamble without expecting to receive the random access response from the BS, which means/indicates that when the random access procedure triggered by the PDCCH order can be used for the measurement of SNs, the random access procedure can be considered to be successfully completed after the UE transmits the random access preamble, as indicated in the PDCCH order.

In certain aspects, for the UE to differentiate whether the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS is for legacy use or for measurement, several arrangements/configurations can be considered. In certain arrangements/configurations, a new higher layer parameter (e.g., RRC or MAC CE) can be considered to define the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS for legacy use or for the measurement of SNs. For instance, when the value of the new higher layer parameter is 1, this means/indicates that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS can be for legacy use, otherwise, this means/indicates that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS can be for the measurement of SNs. For another example, when the value of the new higher layer parameter is 0, this means/indicates that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS can be for legacy use, otherwise, this means/indicates that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS can be for the measurement of SNs. In another example, when the new higher layer parameter is configured, this means/indicates that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS can be for the measurement of SNs, otherwise, this means/indicates that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS can be for legacy use.

In certain arrangements/configurations, the current bit field of the PDCCH order can be re-interpreted or reused to indicate the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS for legacy use or for measurement. For example, one of the bits in the Reserved Bits field can be used to indicate whether the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS is for legacy use or for measurement. For example, the lowest significant bit of the Reserved bits field in the PDCCH order can be reused to indicate that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS is for legacy use or for measurement. When the bit is set to 1, this means/indicates that the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS can be used for the measurement of SNs, and the UE can know/determine that the UE can transmit the preamble without expecting to receive the random access response from the BS.

In certain aspects, when the preamble transmitted by the UE is for the measurement of SNs, the random access procedure can be considered to be successfully completed after the UE transmits the random access preamble, as indicated in the PDCCH order. . In some implementations, when the PDCCH order transmitted from the BS is used to trigger/cause the UE to send the preamble for the measurement of SNs, the random access procedure can be considered to be successfully completed after the UE transmits the random access preamble, as indicated in the PDCCH order. In some configurations, new procedures can be introduced/provided to enhance the random access response reception procedure. For example:

If the contention-free Random Access preamble indicated in the PDCCH order is transmitted by the MAC entity and the PDCCH order is for measurement of SNs;

Consider the Random Access procedure successfully completed.

In certain configurations, the BS can configure multiple SNs to measure the preamble transmitted from the UE and determine a group of SNs to serve the specific UE. Since the different beams that the UE uses to transmit the preamble can impact the measurement results of the SN, the BS can configure the UE to transmit the preamble using different beams. In some embodiments, not only a group of SNs can be determined to serve the UE, but also the beam pair used between the SNs and UE can be determined. To configure the UE using different beams to transmit the preamble, several arrangements/configurations/options can be considered. In some arrangements /configurations, the UE can be configured with dedicated random access parameters by the RACH-ConfigDedicated. In the RRC information elements, at most 64 CFRA-SSB-Resource can be configured, and the field format of CFRA-SSB-Resource can include a SSB index and a CFRA preamble index, shown as:

In certain configurations, a new field indicating the bitmap can be added in the PDCCH order, and the bitwidth of the bitmap field can be equal to the number of CFRA-SSB-Resources configured in the RRC. For the bitmap, the LSB of the bitmap can represent the first CFRA-SSB-Resource, the second LSB of the bitmap can represent the second CFRA-SSB-Resource, and so on. The corresponding bit value 1 of the bitmap can represent the corresponding CFRA-SSB-Resource that can be used by the UE for transmitting the corresponding preamble on the corresponding PRACH occasions. The value 1 represents the total number of beams that the BS wants/intends the UE to send in the preamble. Since the CFRA-SSB-Resources can include the preamble index and SSB index, the current SSB index field and random access preamble index field can be set to 0 bits. In certain configurations/circumstances, since the PRACH mask information can be configured in the RACH-ConfigDedicated that can be common for all configured CFRA-SSB-Resources, and the PRACH mask information can be indicated in the PDCCH order, several configurations/arrangements/options can be considered for the UE to determine the PRASN mask index information.

In some options/configurations, the PRACH mask index can be configured by the RRC parameter ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex in the RACH-ConfigDedicated. The PRACH mask index field in the PDCCH order can be set to 0 bits or can be reused to update the mask index. The PRACH mask index can be common for all CFRA-SSB-Resources. In some options/configurations, the PRACH mask index can be indicated by the PRACH mask index field in the PDCCH order, and the UE can ignore the PRACH mask index configured by the RRC parameter ra-ssb-OccasionMaskIndex in the RACH-ConfigDedicated. The PRACH mask index indicated in the PDCCH order can be common for all indicated CFRA-SSB-Resources. For example, when the BS wants/intends to configure the UE1 to transmit the preamble using 4 different beams that correspond to the beam used to receive the SSB0～SSB3 respectively, the BS can use the PDCCH order to initiate the random access procedure of the UE1. The RRC configured RACH-ConfigDedicated can include 8 CFRA-SSB-Resources, as shown below:

The bitmap field of the PDCCH order can be 00001111, which means/indicates that the first four CFRA-SSB-Resources can be used by the UE1. The UE1 can use the beam used to receive the corresponding SSB to send the corresponding preamble index in the configured PRACH occasion.

In certain configurations, the measurement configuration information can be configured to the SN by at least one of the following:

· BS: In some examples/cases/implementations, if the measurement configuration is configured to the SN by the BS, the measurement configuration can be configured to the SN via at least one of the PDCCH (e.g., DCI signaling) , the PDSCH (e.g., the RRC or the MAC CE signaling) , or the PBCH.

· UE: In some examples/cases/implementations, if the measurement configuration is configured to the SN by the UE, the measurement configuration can be configured to the SN via at least one of the channels: PUCCH, PUSCH, PSSCH, PSCCH, or PSBCH, PSFCH.

· OAM: In some examples/cases/implementations, the aforementioned measurement configuration information or part of the above measurement configuration information (e.g., some of the parameters or part of the configuration parameters) can be pre-configured to the SN via the OAM. For example, the SN can measure the carrier/frequency from other operators, and the measured resource (e.g., the frequency information) can be pre-defined for the SN via the OAM.

In certain configurations, a specified number of events can trigger/generate the random access procedure for the UE. When the BS or the UE wants/intends the SNs to measure based on the preamble transmitted from the UE, or the UE wants/intends to directly trigger/generate the status change of the NSSN using the preamble, a new event (e.g., to trigger the operation of the SN) can be defined to trigger/generate the random access procedure of the UE. In some implementations, the new event (s) can be incorporated into the existing RRC messages UEInformationResponse>ra-ReportList>RA-Report>raPurpose, representing one of the purposes for random access, as detailed herein:

In certain embodiments, the operation after the SNs’ measurement can involve direct determination of the on/off status. In some embodiments, the SN can report the on/off status to the BS. To determine the on/off status for a SN, at least one of the following configurations/options can be considered:

· Option 1: The SN can determine the on/off status by comparing the measurement results of the signal with one or multiple threshold values, and the one or multiple threshold values can be configured to the SN by the BS/UE or via the OAM. For example, a threshold value can be configured to the SN, and when the measured results value is higher than the threshold, the SN can determine that the SN can be turned on, otherwise, the SN can be turned off.

· Option 2: The SN can determine the on/off status by the number of detected signals. In some examples/implementations, one or multiple specific values can be configured to the SN used to determine the on/off status. For example, the specific value 5 can be configured to the SN, which means/indicates that the SN can be turned on only if the number of detected signals is larger/greater than 5, otherwise the SN can be turned off.

· Option 3: The SN can determine the on/off status based on whether the corresponding signal is detected. For example, the SN can be configured to measure the preamble during the RACH occasion, and if the SN has detected the preamble, the SN can determine that the SN can be turned on since the SN can know/determine that there are UEs under the SN’s serving area.

In some embodiments, after the measurement, the SN can report the measurement results information to the BS and/or UE. In certain configurations, the measurement results information can be reported by the SN to at least one of the BS or the UE. In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include the measured results value of the measured signal. The format of the reported measured results value can include at least one of the following:

· The signal strength, where the format of the signal strength can include at least one of a RSRP, a RSRQ, a SINR, a SIR, or a RSSI. For example, if no beam information is configured for the measured signal or only one beam is configured for the measured signal, the reported results for this measured signal can include the signal strength.

· The signal strength that is an average strength calculated among all beam level signal strengths, where beam level signal strength is the signal strength measured by the SN using the specific beam. For example, if multiple beams are configured for the SN to be used for the measured signal, the reported results of the corresponding measured signal can include a signal strength value, which is a joint value or mean value that is calculated using multiple beam level signal strength values. In some implementations, one or multiple thresholds can be configured from the BS to the SN via at least one of RRC, MAC CE, or DCI signaling, or a threshold can be configured to the SN via the OAM. The threshold value can then be used to be compared with the beam level signal strength value. In some embodiments, the one or multiple configured thresholds for each measured signal can be the same or different.

· One or multiple beam level signal strengths and/or one or multiple associated beam information, where if multiple beams are configured for the measured signal, the reported results of the corresponding measured signal can include one or multiple signal strengths and/or one or multiple associated beam information. The signal strength and associated beam information can be mapped one-to-one. In some implementations, the reported results can include multiple pairs, with each pair including a signal strength value and associated beam information. The maximum number of beam level signal strengths that can be included in the report for each measured signal can be configured by the BS to the SN.

· The strongest beam level signal strength among all beam level signal strengths and/or associated beam information.

· The N strongest beam level signal strengths and/or the corresponding N beam information, where N is the number of reported beam level signal strengths and N is also configured to the SN. For example, the BS can configure the SN to report the first N strongest beam level signal strength values. As a result, the SN can report the first N strongest beam level signal strength values among all the measured beam level signal strength values. In some implementations, if the total number of beam level signal strength values measured by the SN is less than N, the SN can report all the beam level signal strength values and associated beam information. In some embodiments, the SN can report the strongest beam level signal strength value and the corresponding beam information.

· An integer value determined according to a comparison between the measured signal strength and one or multiple thresholds. For example, the RSRP value of the corresponding RS resource can be an integer value. A pre-defined table can be used to map the measured quantity value into an integer value that is (or can be) reported in the measurement report. In some implementations, the current existing table can be reused, such as the current SRS-RSRP measurement report mapping table. In some implementations, a new table can be pre-defined for the SN. Similarly, in some implementations, the reported result value can be the measured signal status or measured signal level, which is obtained by comparing the signal strength value of the signal with a threshold value. In some cases, the signal strength value used for comparison can be the raw measured value or the value obtained after the raw value is processed via layer 1 filtering and/or layer 3 filtering. This approach enables/allows for the definition of one or multiple sets of thresholds according to/based on different measured signals. Each set can have one or multiple thresholds to determine different levels of measured signals. For example, Set 1 can be for SRS, and Set 2 can be for the preamble. In each set, different threshold values may be used to determine different statuses or levels of the corresponding measured signal, as detailed herein.

Example 1 single threshold for the measured signal

Example 2 three thresholds for each measured signal

In some examples, one or multiple thresholds can be predefined for the SN or can be configured to the SN by the BS via at least one of RRC, MAC CE, or DCI signaling. In some embodiments, one or multiple thresholds can be determined based on the SN’s capability.

· One or multiple integer values determined according to a comparison between the beam level signal strength and one or multiple thresholds, along with one or multiple associated beam information. In some implementations, one or multiple thresholds can be predefined for the SN or can be configured to the SN together with the aforementioned measurement configuration related information. The signal strength value mentioned above can be processed by Layer 1 filtering and/or Layer 3 filtering.

In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include a preamble index, a RA-RNTI, or a value that can help the BS determine or calculate the timing advance value that can be carried in Msg2. For example, the BS may want to determine a group of SNs for a specific UE. In this case/scenario, when the BS configures the SN to measure the preamble transmitted by the UE during the RO and considers that the SN may not support simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations, the BS can configure the SN to measure and decode the received preamble. The BS can then configure the SN to report the decoded information, including the preamble index, the RA-RNTI value, and a value that can be used to help the BS determine or calculate the timing advance (TA) value that can be carried in Msg2, such as the first TA value. When the BS receives the first TA value feedback from the SN, the BS can calculate the specific TA value that can be sent to the corresponding UE in the Msg2.

In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include information that can be carried in the Msg3 or MsgA payload. For example, when the BS configures the SNs to measure the Msg3 transmitted from the UE and considers that the SN may not support simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations, the BS can configure the SN to measure and decode the received Msg3. The BS can then configure the SN to report the information that is decoded from the Msg3, such as the UE Contention Resolution Identity. With the aforementioned information, the BS can configure the Msg4 to the corresponding UE as legacy, even if the BS does not decode the Msg3 from the UE by itself.

In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include an indication about the on/off status of SN. The on/off indication can be reported as a reference for the BS/UE to determine the on/off state of the corresponding SN, or the on/off indication can be reported by the SN to the BS/UE to indicate the status change of the corresponding SN. For example, after the SN measures the signal from the UE, and the SN determines/finds that there is no UE under the SN’s serving area, the SN can report the on/off suggestion value to the BS so that the SN can be turned off. The BS can receive the on/off suggestion from the SN and determine whether to turn on/off the corresponding SN. In another instance, after the SN measures the signal from the BS of other operators and finds/determines that the interference and noise level may be very high, the SN can determine/decide to turn itself off and send the on/off status indication to the SN’s served BS.

In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include a Sequence ID (s) or a scrambling ID (s) . For example, the sequence ID or the scrambling ID that the SN obtained from the measured signal can be reported to the BS. The BS can know/determine which UE is under the coverage area/serving area of the SN. In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include operator related information. For example, when the SN is configured to measure the interference level of other operators, SN is to report the operator related information together with the measured results value. The BS can know/determine the interference level from other corresponding operators.

In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include an indication about the UE’s information (e.g., whether there exists/are UEs, the number of UEs, or the UE ID (s) ) . In some examples, whether there are UEs under the SN’s coverage or serving area can be reported by the SN. For example, a one-bit indication can be reported from the SN to the BS, where the bit value 0 means/indicates that there are no existing UE (s) under the SN’s serving area, and the bit value 1 means/indicates that there is an existing UE under the SN’s serving area. In some implementations, the number of UEs can be reported by the SN. In certain implementations, the UE IDs can be reported by the SN. In certain configurations, the reported measurement results information may include the measurement resource ID. In some implementations, the measurement resource ID detailed herein can be reported by the SN. In certain implementations, the measurement resource ID can be used to specify that the measurement is (or can be) based on the signal transmitted from the specific UE or the specific operators.

In certain configurations, the interaction information between the BS and SN, and between the BS and the UE can involve several configurations/implementations. In some configurations/implementations, when the measured results of SN are reported to the BS, the BS can determine the on/off status of SN according to the reported results from the SN. The BS can indicate the on/off indication to the corresponding SN. The on/off status indication can be explicit, such as being explicitly indicated/signaled by the BS to the SN. The on/off status indication can include/have at least one of the following granularities:

· Per SN level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate or provide the on/off status to a specific SN. The on/off indication can be applicable to one specific SN.

· Group level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate an on/off status to one or multiple SNs within a group. The on/off indication may be applicable for/to one or multiple SNs within a particular group or may be applicable for one or multiple SN FUs controlled by the same SN CU.

· Beam level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple beams of the SN. The beam information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated (e.g., concurrently or together) to the SN. In some implementations, the beam information can include or correspond to the beam information of at least one of Links 1/2/3/4.

· Link level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate an on/off status applicable for one or multiple links of the SN. The link information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN (e.g., indicated together) . In some cases, the link information can include at least one of Links 1/2/3/4.

· Panel level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple panels of the SN. The panel information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN. In some implementations, the panel information can include or correspond to the panel information of Link 1/2 and/or the panel information of Link 3/4 .

· Signal type level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple signal types. For instance, the BS may indicate an off status to the SN. The off status indication may (only) be applicable for UE-specific signal forwarding, while the SN can maintain an on status for the common signal forwarding operation.

· Port level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate an on/off status applicable for one or multiple ports of the SN. The port information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN. In some implementations, the port information can include or correspond to the port information of link 1/2 and/or the panel information of Link 3/4.

· Band level on/off indication. For example, the BS can indicate an on/off status applicable for one or multiple bands of the SN. The band information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN. In some implementations, the band information can include or correspond to one or multiple band information of the Link 1/2 and/or the panel information of Link 3/4.

In certain configurations, when the measured results of SN are reported to the BS, the BS can determine one or multiple SNs that can be grouped together to serve/operate (e.g., serve for a specific UE) . In some implementations, the following group related information can be shared with SNs from the BS: a group ID or a group ID list; a number of SNs in the corresponding group; and/or NCR information (e.g., NCR ID) in the group. In some implementations, the following grouping results can be shared with the corresponding UE from the BS: a group ID or group ID list; a number of SNs in a group; and/or NCR information (e.g., NCR ID) in the group.

In certain configurations, when the measured results of SN are reported to the UE, the UE can determine the on/off status of SN according to the reported results from the SN. The UE can indicate the on/off indication to the corresponding SN. The on/off status indication can be explicit, such as being explicitly indicated/signaled by the UE to the SN. The on/off status indication can include/have at least one of the following granularities:

· Per SN level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate or provide the on/off status to a specific SN. The on/off indication can be applicable to one specific SN.

· Group level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate an on/off status to one or multiple SNs within a group. The on/off indication may be applicable for/to one or multiple SNs within a particular group, or may be applicable for one or more SN FUs controlled by the same SN-CU.

· Beam level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple beams of the SN. The beam information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated (e.g., concurrently or together) to the SN. In some implementations, the beam information can include or correspond to the beam information of at least one of Links 1/2/3/4.

· Link level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate an on/off status applicable for one or multiple links of the SN. The link information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN (e.g., indicated together) . In some implementations, the link information can include at least one of Links 1/2/3/4.

· Panel level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple panels of the SN. The panel information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN. In some implementations, the panel information can include or correspond to the panel information of Link 1/2 and/or the panel information of Link 3/4.

· Signal type level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple signal types. For instance, the BS may indicate an off status to the SN. The off status indication may (only) be applicable for UE-specific signal forwarding, while the SN can maintain an on status for the common signal forwarding operation.

· Port level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple ports of the SN. The port information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN. In some implementations, the port information can include or correspond to the port information of Link 1/2 and/or the panel information of Link 3/4.

· Band level on/off indication. For example, the UE can indicate an on/off status applicable to one or multiple bands of the SN. The band information and the corresponding on/off status can be indicated to the SN. In some implementations, the band information can include or correspond to one or multiple band information of Link 1/2 and/or the panel information of Link 3/4.

In certain configurations, when the measured results of SN are reported to the UE, the UE can determine one or multiple SNs that can be grouped together to serve/operate. In some implementations, the following group related information can be shared with SNs from the UE: a group ID or a group ID list; a number of SNs in the corresponding group; and/or a NCR information (e.g., NCR ID) in the group. In some implementations, the following grouping results can be shared with the BS from the corresponding UE: a group ID or a group ID list; a number of SNs in the group; and/or NCR information (e.g., NCR ID) in the group.

In some embodiments, when the SN is scheduled to have the transmission and is also configured to measure the signal over the same resource (e.g., symbol/slot) , certain considerations can be considered. In certain configurations, the SN is not expected to be scheduled/configured to transmit over the same symbols and/or slots as the measurement configuration. In certain configurations, in the scenario/case where the SN is scheduled to have the transmission over the same symbols and/or slots as the measurement configuration, several options /implementations /configurations can be considered for the SN’s operation. In certain configurations, the operation of SN can be determined by the SN-CU’s capability, and whether the SN-CU can support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations can be reported to the BS and/or UE. When the SN-CU supports simultaneous transmission and measurement operations, SN-CU can do both operations simultaneously. When the SN-CU cannot support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations, several implementations can be defined.

In some implementations, if the transmission and measurement operations are configured by the same entities (e.g., both are configured by the BS or both are configured by the UE) , the following alternatives can be considered: the transmission operation can be prioritized over the measurement operation; the measurement operation can be prioritized over the transmission operation; and/or both operations can/may not be done by the SN-CU. In some implementations, if the transmission and measurement operations are configured by different entities (e.g., one is from BS and the other is from UE) , the following operations can be considered: the configuration information from BS can be prioritized; the configuration information from UE can be prioritized; and/or the SN can/may not have any operations during the conflicted resource. In some implementations, one configuration can be from UE1, and the other configuration can be from UE2. If the UEs have the priority, the SN can follow the operation configured by the UE with a higher priority, provided that the UEs have the priority information configured to the SN. During the corresponding resource, the SN can/may not perform any operation.

In certain configurations, when the SN is scheduled to have the transmission and is configured to measure the signal over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) and the SN-CU cannot support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations, the SN-CU can (only) do the transmission operation. In certain configurations, when the SN is scheduled to have the transmission and is configured to measure the signal over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) and the SN-CU cannot support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations, the SN-CU can (only) do the measurement operation. In certain configurations, when the SN is configured to transmit and is configured to measure the signal over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) , and the SN-CU cannot support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations, both operations can/may not be done. In certain configurations, when the SN is scheduled for transmission and is configured to measure the signal over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) and the SN-CU cannot support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations, the SN can follow the TDD configuration for the corresponding operation. For example, if the SN is configured for UL transmission to the BS and to measure the signal transmitted from the UE, this implies/indicates that the SN is to perform DL reception of the UE’s signal. When the SN-CU cannot support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations, if the TDD configuration of the corresponding symbol and/or slots is the UL, the SN can operate/follow the transmission configuration. If the TDD configuration is the DL, the SN can operate/follow the measurement configuration.

In some implementations, for the BS and/or UE to know/determine the capability of the SN, the capability of the SN to support simultaneous transmission and measurement operations can be reported to the BS and/or UE, or it can be configured to the BS/UE via the OAM entity.

In certain configurations, when the SN is scheduled/configured to forward according to the control information from the BS/UE, and, at the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) , the SN is configured to measure on the same resource (symbol/slot) based on/according to the configuration information from the BS/UE, specific implementations/configurations can be considered. In some implementations, the SN can/may not be scheduled to have the forwarding operation over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) , as the measurement configuration. The meaning of “scheduled to have the forwarding operation” can refer to the fact that the SN can be configured with the control information that can be used for the access link and/or backhaul link, and the control information may include at least one of the beam information indication, the associated time information indication, the frequency information indication, the panel information indication, the polarization information indication, or the on/off information indication.

In some implementations, if the SN is scheduled to have the forwarding operation over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) , as the measurement configuration, several options/configurations can be considered for the SN’s operation. In certain configurations, the operation of the SN can be determined by the SN’s capability, and whether the SN can support simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations can be reported to the BS and/or UE. When the SN supports simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations, SN can do both operations simultaneously. When the SN cannot support simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations, several configurations or implementations can be defined.

In some implementations, if the forwarding configuration and the measurement configuration are from the same entities (e.g., BS or UE) , the following alternatives/options can be considered: the forwarding operation can be prioritized; the measurement operation can be prioritized; and/or both two operations can/may not be done. In some implementations, if one configuration is from BS and the other configuration is from UE, the following options/alternatives can be considered: the configuration information from BS can be prioritized; the configuration information from UE can be prioritized; and/or the SN can/may not have any operation during the conflicted resource. In some implementations, one configuration can be from UE1, and the other configuration can be from UE2. If the UEs have the priority, the SN can follow the operation configured by the UE with a higher priority, provided that the UEs have the priority information configured for the SN. During the conflicted resource, the SN can/may not perform any operation.

In certain configurations, when the SN is configured to forward and is configured to measure the signal over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) , and the SN cannot support the simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations, the SN can (only) do the forwarding operation. In certain configurations, when the SN is configured to forward and is configured to measure the signal over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) , and the SN cannot support the simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations, the SN can (only) do the measurement operation. In certain configurations, when the SN is configured to forward and is configured to measure the signal over the same resource (for example, the same time resource, e.g., symbol and/or slots, and/or the same frequency resource) , and the SN cannot support the simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations, both operations can/may not be done.

In some implementations, in order for the BS and/or UE to know/determine the capability of the SN, information regarding whether the SN can support simultaneous forwarding and measurement operations can be reported to the BS and/or UE. In some implementations, the capability information can be configured to the BS and/or UE via the OAM entity.

In some embodiments, the uplink frame numberi for transmission from the UE (including SN-CU) can startbefore the start of the corresponding downlink frame at the UE. The timing advance value N_TA=0 can be assumed for the RA preamble (PRACH) . and/orcan be 0 for SN or other values. At a given time point, there can be multiple cases/scenarios for the Tx timing of SN-CU: when SN-CU transmits PRACH or MsgA PUSCH, N_TA=0; when SN-CU transmits other UL transmissions, N_TA is given by timing advance command; or/and when SN-CU does not transmit UL transmissions, there is no such timing for SN-CU.

In some implementations, the SN-FU can clarify which of the UL Tx timings are to be applied at a given time point. There can be several options/configurations to consider, and these options/configurations/schemes within/across options can be combined with each other. In certain configurations, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of the control link. As detailed herein, the control link refers to receiving and/or processing the control information between the BS and SN, and the backhaul link refers to the forwarding links for forwarding signals (e.g., with or without amplification) between the BS and the SN. The transmission timing on the backhaul link can/may not always be the same as the transmission timing on the control link of SN-CU. When SN-CU transmits UL transmission other than PRACH or MsgA , the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be the same as the transmission timing on the control link of SN-CU determined bywherein N_TA is given by timing advance command. When NCR-MT transmits PRACH or MsgA or does not transmit UL transmission, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined bywherein N_TA is given by timing advance command.

In certain configurations, when SN-CU does not transmit UL transmission or transmits UL transmission other than PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of the control link. The transmission timing on the backhaul link overlapping with any PRACH occasion of SN-CU can be the same as the transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH on the control link, e.g., N_TA=0. If SN-CU does not transmit PRACH or MsgA in a PRACH occasion, the transmission timing on the backhaul link overlapping with the PRACH occasion can be the same as the transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH on the control link, e.g., N_TA=0.

In certain configurations, when SN-CU does not transmit UL transmission or transmits UL transmission other than PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of the control link. When SN-CU transmits PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be the same as the UL transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH, e.g., N_TA=0. If SN-CU does not transmit PRACH or MsgA in a PRACH occasion, the transmission timing on the backhaul link overlapping with the PRACH occasion can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of control link.

In certain configurations, when SN-CU does not transmit UL transmission or transmits UL transmission other than PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of the control link. SN-FU can be turned off at a time point overlapping with any PRACH occasion of SN-CU. For example, SN-FU does not transmit or receive (e.g., in a backhaul link and/or access link) during the time point overlapping with any PRACH occasion of SN-CU.

In certain configurations, when SN-CU does not transmit UL transmission or transmits UL transmission other than PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of the control link. When SN-CU transmits PRACH or MsgA , SN-FU can be turned off. For example, SN-FU does not transmit or receive (e.g., in a backhaul link and/or access link) during SN-CU’s transmission of PRACH or MsgA.

In certain configurations, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be the same as the UL transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH, e.g., N_TA=0. For example, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be the same as the DL reception timing of SN-CU.

In certain configurations, when SN-CU transmits UL transmission other than PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of the control link. When SN-CU does not transmit any UL transmission, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be the same as the transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH on the control link, e.g., N_TA=0. The transmission timing on the backhaul link overlapping with any PRACH occasion of SN-CU can be the same as the transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH on the control link, e.g., N_TA=0.

In certain configurations, when SN-CU transmits UL transmission other than PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be determined by the timing advance command applied for the UL transmission of the control link. When SN-CU does not transmit any UL transmission, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be the same as the transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH on the control link, i.e. N_TA=0. When SN-CU transmits PRACH or MsgA, the transmission timing on the backhaul link can be the same as the UL transmission timing of SN-CU PRACH, e.g., N_TA=0.

Referring now to FIG. 5 illustrates a flow diagram of a method 5000 for determining a group of network nodes (e.g., SNs) . The method 5000 may be implemented using any of the components and devices detailed herein in conjunction with FIGS. 1–4. In an overview, the method 5000 may include performing measurements on one or multiple signals by a network node (5002) . The method 5000 may include sending measurement result indications by the network node (5004) . The method 5000 may also include receiving measurement result indications by at least one of a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device (5006) .

At operation (5002) , and in some arrangements, a network node (e.g., SN) can perform measurements on one or more (or multiple) signals based on one or more (or multiple) configurations. In certain configurations, one or more (or multiple) configurations can be provided (or configured) to the network node by at least one of a wireless communication node, a wireless communication device, or an operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) entity.

In some configurations, one or more (or multiple) signals can be transmitted from a wireless communication device, where one or more signals may include at least one of the following: a preamble used for random access; a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) signal; a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) signal; a dedicated preamble used for the measurements; a dedicated sequence used for the measurements; a dedicated PUCCH transmission; a dedicated PUSCH transmission; a dedicated sequence used for the measurements; a sidelink Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) ; a Physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) signal; a Physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) signal; a Physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) signal; a Physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) signal; a dedicated SSB used for the measurements; a dedicated PSSCH used for the measurements; a dedicated PSCCH used for the measurements; a dedicated PSFCH used for the measurements; a reference Signal (RS) , where the RS may include at least one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) , a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) , or a Channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ; or a dedicated RS used for the measurements, where the dedicated RS may include at least one of a sounding reference signal (SRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) , a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) , or a Channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) .

In some configurations, one or more (or multiple) signal can be transmitted from a wireless communication node, where the one or more signal can include at least one of the following: a SSB; a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal; a Physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) signal; a Physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal; a dedicated PDCCH used for the measurements; a dedicated PDSCH used for the measurements, a dedicated SSB used for the measurements; a RS, where the RS may include at least one of a DM-RS, a PT-RS, a CSI-RS, a Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) , or a Positioning reference signals (PRS) ; a dedicated RS, where the dedicated RS may include at least one of a DM-RS, a PT-RS, a CSI-RS, a TRS, or a PRS; or a dedicated sequence used for the measurements.

In certain configurations, the dedicated sequence may include at least one of an on-off keying (OOK) sequence, a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, a pseudo-random sequence, a computer-generated sequence (CGS) , or a low peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) sequence.

In certain configurations, one or more (or multiple) configurations may comprise/include resource information of one or more (or multiple) signals. In certain configurations, the resource information may comprise at least one of a signal index that can include at least one of a reference signal (RS) index, a logic index, or a preamble index; a Random Access channel (RACH) occasion index; a frequency resource information; a time resource information; a bandwidth part (BWP) identity; a subcarrier space (SCS) ; a cell index or cell identity (ID) ; one or more beam information used for the one or more signals; one or more port information used for the one or more signals; one or more panel information used for the one or more signals; an information used to generate and initialize a RS or a sequence; an information related to the RS configuration; an information related to a PRACH that can include at least one of a preamble index, an SSB index, a PRACH mask index, a PRACH occasion index; or an information related to the operator of the signal.

In certain configurations, one or more (or multiple) configurations may comprise measurement trigger information for triggering the measurements. In certain configurations, the measurement trigger information may include at least one of the following: an indication that the measurements can be triggered over one or more (or multiple) resource configurations; an indication to trigger the measurements; a frequency resource information used for the measurements; a time resource information used for the measurements; a BWP identity; an SCS; a cell index or cell ID; one or more beam information used for the measurements; one or more port information used for the measurements; one or more panel information used for the measurements; one or more RACH occasion indices; or one or more signal indices.

In certain configurations, one or more (or multiple) configurations may comprise report information for reporting the measurements. In certain configurations, the report information may comprise at least one of a report type, where the report type can include at least one of an event-triggered report or a periodic report; or one or more measurement filtering coefficients used to process measurement results. In certain configurations, when the report type is the periodic report, one or more report configurations may comprise at least one of the following: a maximum number of measured signals to be reported in the report; a number of reports; a report quantity comprising at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , a signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ; a report interval indicative of an interval between periodic reports; or a threshold value used for the network node to determine whether to trigger the periodic report. In certain configurations, when the report type is the event-triggered report type, the event that triggered the measurement report can include at least one of the legacy event or a new event defined for the measurement of network node.

In certain configurations, when the report type is the event-triggered report type, one or more (or multiple) report configurations can comprise at least one of the following: an event identity (ID) used to specify an event for the measurements by the network node; a maximum number of measured signals to be included in the report; a number of reports; a report quantity comprising at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , a signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ; a report interval indicative of an interval between reports; a threshold value used for the network node to determine whether to trigger the event-triggered report; a time when one or more criteria for an event are to be satisfied to trigger the event-triggered report; an indication to indicate whether the network node shall initiate a report procedure when a leaving condition is satisfied for a measured signal; or a parameter used for at least one of an entry condition or a leave condition of an event-triggered report condition.

In certain configurations, the frequency resource information may comprises at least one of the following: a start Physical Resource Block (PRB) ; a start resource element (RE) ; an end PRB; an end RE; an RB offset; an RE offset; a number of PRBs; a number of REs; a frequency shift; a frequency offset; an Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN) ; a Global Synchronization Raster (GSCN) ; or a logic index to indicate the frequency information, where the logic index can include at least one of a carrier index, a passband index, a Bandwidth Part (BWP) index, a subband index, or a cell index. In certain configurations, the time resource information may comprise at least one of a periodicity, a slot offset, a start slot, a start symbol, a number of slots, a number of symbols, a start and length indicator value (SLIV) , a pattern, a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) index, or a duty cycle.

In certain configurations, when one or more signals include the preamble transmitted from the wireless communication device, a new event can be defined to trigger a random access procedure for the wireless communication device. In certain configurations, the network node can send a measurement result indication to at least one of a wireless communication node (e.g., base station) or a wireless communication device (e.g., user equipment) in response to measuring one or more signals (5004) . In certain configurations, the measurement result indication may comprise at least one of the following: a signal index; a signal strength including at least one of a reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , a signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ; a signal strength that is an average strength determined based on a plurality of beam level signal strengths, where the plurality of beam level signal strengths are measured by the network node using a specific beam; one or more beam level signal strengths or one or more associated beam information; a strongest beam level signal strength value of a plurality of beam level measured result values or associated beam information; N strongest beam level measurement result values or corresponding N beam information, where N represents a number of reported beam level signal strengths; an integer value determined according to a comparison between the signal strength and one or more thresholds; or one or more (or multiple) integer values determined according to a comparison between a beam level signal strength and one or more thresholds and one or more associated beam information.

In certain configurations, the signal strength can be obtained after processing by Layer 1 filtering or Layer 3 filtering. In scertain configurations, when one or more signals include the preamble, the measurement results indication further may comprise at least one of a Preamble index, a Random Access-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI) , or a value that used for the wireless communication node to calculate the timing advance value carried in Msg2 or MsgB. In certain configurations, the measurement results indication can further comprise/include at least one of the following: an indication about whether there exist the wireless communication devices under the serving area of the corresponding network node; an on/off indication of network node; a sequence index or scrambling index that decoded from the corresponding signal; an indication about the number of UEs; an indication about UE IDs; or a signal index.

In certain configurations, the network node can determine an on/off state of the network node. In certain configurations, the aforementioned determining can be performed according to at least one of following conditions: comparing, by the network node, results of the measurements with one or more (or multiple) thresholds; a number of detected signals; comparing, by the network node, a number of the one or more (or multiple) signals being detected with one or more specific values; or whether at least one of one or more signals are detected.

In certain configurations, the network node can receive an explicit indication indicating an on/off state of the network node based on the measurement result indication from at least one of the wireless communication node or the wireless communication device. In certain configurations, a granularity of an on/off state indication can include at least one of the following: the on/off state indication used for one or more network nodes; the on/off state indication used for one or more beams of the network node; the on/off state indication used for at least one of a plurality of links of the network node; the on/off state indication used for one or more panels of the network node; the on/off state indication used for one or more ports of the network node; the on/off state indication used for one or more bands of the network node; or the on/off state indication used for one or more signal types of the network node.

In certain configurations, the wireless communication node can be configured to determine, based on the received measurement result indication from one or a plurality of network nodes, a group of network nodes that cooperatively operating for the wireless communication device. In certain configurations, information regarding the group of network nodes can be shared by the wireless communication node with at least one of: the corresponding one or plurality of SNs in the group, or the corresponding wireless communication device. In certain configurations, the wireless communication device can be configured to determine, based on the received measurement result indication from one or a plurality of network nodes, a group of network nodes that cooperatively operating for the wireless communication device. In certain configurations, information regarding the group of network nodes can be shared by the wireless communication device with at least one of: the corresponding one or plurality of SNs in the group, or the wireless communication node. In certain configurations, information regarding the group of network nodes can include at least one of: a group index/ID; a list including one or a plurality of group IDs; a number of the network nodes in the group; or indices/IDs of the network nodes in the group.

In certain configurations, the network node can receive a transmission configuration indicating the network node is scheduled to have a transmission on a same symbol and/or slot of the one or more configurations. In certain configurations, the transmission configuration can be transmitted to the network node from at least one of a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device.

In certain configurations, whether the network node can simultaneously perform the transmission and the measurement on the symbol and/or slots can be determined based on a capability of the network node. In scertain configurations, the capability can be reported to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device by the network node, or can be configured to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device via an OAM.

In certain configurations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node, the network node can determine operation based on a TDD configuration. In certain configurations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the transmission configuration; prioritize one or more configurations; or terminate both the transmission and the measurements. In certain configurations, when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and one of the transmission configuration or the one or more configurations is transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, and the other of the transmission configuration or the one or more configurations is transmitted from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication node; prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication device; or terminate both the transmission and the measurements.

In certain configurations, the network node is not expected to receive transmission configuration that has same symbols and/or slots with the one or more (or multiple) configurations. In certain configurations, the network node can receive a forwarding configuration indicating that the network node has a forwarding operation on a same symbol and/or slot of the one or more configurations. In certain configurations, the forwarding configuration can be transmitted to the network node from at least one of a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device. In certain configurations, whether the network node can simultaneously perform the forwarding operation and the measurements on the symbol and/or slot can be determined by a capability of the network node. In certain configurations, the capability can be reported to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device by the network node, or can be configured to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device via an OAM entity.

In certain configurations, when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the forwarding configuration and the one or more (or multiple) configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the forwarding configuration; prioritize the one or more configurations; or terminate both the forwarding operation and the measurements. In certain configurations, when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and one of the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations is transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, and the other of the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations is transmitted from the wireless communication node, the network node can perform at least one of the following operations: prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication node; prioritize the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication device; or terminate both the forwarding operation and the measurements.

At least one aspect is directed to a system, method, apparatus, or a computer-readable medium. The wireless communication node or the wireless communication device can receive the measurement result indication transmitted by the network node (5006) .

While various embodiments of the present solution have been described above, it should be understood that they have been presented by way of example only, and not by way of limitation. Likewise, the various diagrams may depict an example architecture or configuration, which are provided to enable persons of ordinary skill in the art to understand example features and functions of the present solution. Such persons would understand, however, that the solution is not restricted to the illustrated example architectures or configurations, but can be implemented using a variety of alternative architectures and configurations. Additionally, as would be understood by persons of ordinary skill in the art, one or multiple features of one embodiment/implementation can be combined with one or multiple features of another embodiment/implementation described herein. Thus, the breadth and scope of the present disclosure should not be limited by any of the above-described illustrative embodiments.

It is also understood that any reference to an element herein using a designation such as “first, ” “second, ” and so forth does not generally limit the quantity or order of those elements. Rather, these designations can be used herein as a convenient means of distinguishing between two or more elements or instances of an element. Thus, a reference to first and second elements does not mean that only two elements can be employed, or that the first element must precede the second element in some manner.

Additionally, a person having ordinary skill in the art would understand that information and signals can be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits and symbols, which may be referenced in the above description, can be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

A person of ordinary skill in the art would further appreciate that any of the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, processors, means, circuits, methods and functions described in connection with the aspects disclosed herein can be implemented by electronic hardware (e.g., a digital implementation, an analog implementation, or a combination of the two) , firmware, various forms of program or design code incorporating instructions (which can be referred to herein, for convenience, as “software” or a “software module) , or any combination of these techniques. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware, firmware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware, firmware or software, or a combination of these techniques, depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans can implement the described functionality in various ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions do not cause a departure from the scope of the present disclosure.

Furthermore, a person of ordinary skill in the art would understand that various illustrative logical blocks, modules, devices, components and circuits described herein can be implemented within or performed by an integrated circuit (IC) that can include a general purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, or any combination thereof. The logical blocks, modules, and circuits can further include antennas and/or transceivers to communicate with various components within the network or within the device. A general purpose processor can be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor can be any conventional processor, controller, or state machine. A processor can also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or multiple microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other suitable configuration to perform the functions described herein.

If implemented in software, the functions can be stored as one or multiple instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Thus, the steps of a method or algorithm disclosed herein can be implemented as software stored on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that can be enabled to transfer a computer program or code from one place to another. A storage media can be any available media that can be accessed by a computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media can include RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that can be used to store desired program code in the form of instructions or data structures and that can be accessed by a computer.

In this document, the term “module” as used herein, refers to software, firmware, hardware, and any combination of these elements for performing the associated functions described herein. Additionally, for purpose of discussion, the various modules are described as discrete modules; however, as would be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art, two or more modules may be combined to form a single module that performs the associated functions according embodiments of the present solution.

Additionally, memory or other storage, as well as communication components, may be employed in embodiments of the present solution. It will be appreciated that, for clarity purposes, the above description has described embodiments of the present solution with reference to different functional units and processors. However, it will be apparent that any suitable distribution of functionality between different functional units, processing logic elements or domains may be used without detracting from the present solution. For example, functionality illustrated to be performed by separate processing logic elements, or controllers, may be performed by the same processing logic element, or controller. Hence, references to specific functional units are only references to a suitable means for providing the described functionality, rather than indicative of a strict logical or physical structure or organization.

Various modifications to the embodiments described in this disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the general principles defined herein can be applied to other embodiments without departing from the scope of this disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein, but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the novel features and principles disclosed herein, as recited in the claims below.

Claims

A wireless communication method, comprising:

performing, by a network node, measurements on one or more signals based on one or more configurations.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the one or more configurations are provided to the network node by at least one of: a wireless communication node, a wireless communication device, or an operations, administration, and maintenance (OAM) entity.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the one or more signals are transmitted from a wireless communication device; and

wherein the one or more signals include at least one of:

a preamble used for random access;

a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) signal;

a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) signal;

a dedicated preamble used for the measurements;

a dedicated sequence used for the measurements;

a dedicated PUCCH transmission;

a dedicated PUSCH transmission;

a dedicated sequence used for the measurements;

a sidelink Synchronization Signal and PBCH block (SSB) ;

a Physical sidelink shared channel (PSSCH) signal;

a Physical sidelink control channel (PSCCH) signal;

a Physical sidelink broadcast channel (PSBCH) signal;

a Physical sidelink feedback channel (PSFCH) signal;

a dedicated SSB used for the measurements;

a dedicated PSSCH used for the measurements;

a dedicated PSCCH used for the measurements;

a dedicated PSFCH used for the measurements;

a reference Signal (RS) , wherein the RS includes at least one of: a sounding reference signal (SRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) , a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) , or a Channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) ;

a dedicated RS used for the measurements, wherein the dedicated RS includes at least one of: a sounding reference signal (SRS) , a demodulation reference signal (DM-RS) , a phase tracking reference signal (PT-RS) , or a Channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS) .
The wireless communication method of claim 1,

wherein the one or more signal are transmitted from a wireless communication node; and

wherein the one or more signal include at least one of:

a SSB;

a Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH) signal;

a Physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) signal;

a Physical broadcast channel (PBCH) signal;

a dedicated PDCCH used for the measurements;

a dedicated PDSCH used for the measurements;

a dedicated SSB used for the measurements;

a RS, wherein the RS includes at least one of: a DM-RS, a PT-RS, a CSI-RS, Tracking Reference Signal (TRS) , or a Positioning reference signals (PRS) ;

a dedicated RS, wherein the dedicated RS includes at least one of: a DM-RS, a PT-RS, a CSI-RS, a TRS, or a PRS; or

a dedicated sequence used for the measurements.
The wireless communication method of any of claim 3 or claim 4, wherein the dedicated sequence includes at least one of: an on-off keying (OOK) sequence; a Zadoff-Chu (ZC) sequence, a pseudo-random sequence, a computer-generated sequence (CGS) ; or a low peak-to-average-power ratio (PAPR) sequence.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the one or more configurations comprise resource information of the one or more signals.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the one or more configurations comprise measurement trigger information for triggering the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the one or more configurations comprise report information for reporting the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 6, wherein the resource information comprises at least one of:

a signal index that includes at least one of: reference signal (RS) index, logic index, or preamble index,

a Random Access channel (RACH) occasion index;

frequency resource information;

time resource information;

a bandwidth part (BWP) identity;

a subcarrier space (SCS) ;

a cell index or cell identity (ID) ;

one or more beam information used for the one or more signals;

one or more port information used for the one or more signals;

one or more panel information used for the one or more signals;

information used to generate and initialize a RS or a sequence;

information related to the RS configuration;

information related to a PRACH that include at least one of:

a preamble index;

an SSB index;

a PRACH mask index;

a PRACH occasion index; or

information related to the operator of the signal.
The wireless communication method of claim 7, wherein the measurement trigger information includes at least one of :

an indication that the measurements are triggered over one or more resource configuration;

an indication to trigger the measurements;

frequency resource information used for the measurements;

time resource information used for the measurements;

a BWP identity;

an SCS;

a cell index or cell ID;

one or more beam information used for the measurements;

one or more port information used for the measurements;

one or more panel information used for the measurements;

one or more RACH occasion indices; or

one or more signal indices.
The wireless communication method of any of claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the frequency resource information comprises at least one of:

a start Physical Resource Block (PRB) ;

a start resource element (RE) ;

an end PRB;

an end RE;

an RB offset;

an RE offset;

a number of PRBs;

a number of Res;

a frequency shift;

a frequency offset;

an Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (ARFCN) ;

a Global Synchronization Raster (GSCN) ; or

a logic index to indicate the frequency information, wherein the logic index includes at least one of: a carrier index, a passband index, a Bandwidth Part (BWP) index, a subband index, or a cell index.
The wireless communication method of any of claim 9 or claim 10, wherein the time resource information comprises at least one of: a periodicity, a slot offset, a start slot, a start symbol, a number of slots, a number of symbols, a start and length indicator value (SLIV) , a pattern, a time domain resource allocation (TDRA) index, or a duty cycle.
The wireless communication method of claim 8, wherein the report information comprises at least one of:

a report type, wherein the report type includes at least one of: an event-triggered report or a periodic report;

one or more measurement filtering coefficients used to process measurement results.
The wireless communication method of claim 13, wherein when the report type is the periodic report, the one or more report configurations comprise at least one of:

a maximum number of measured signals to be reported in the report;

a number of reports;

a report quantity comprising at least one of: reference signal received power (RSRP) , received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ;

a report interval indicative of an interval between periodic reports; or

a threshold value used for the network node to determine whether to trigger the periodic report.
The wireless communication method of claim 13, wherein when the report type is the event-triggered report type, the event that triggered the measurement report includes at least one of: the legacy event, or a new event defined for the measurement of network node.
The wireless communication method of claim 13, wherein when the report type is event-triggered report type, the one or more report configurations comprise at least one of:

event identity (ID) used to specify an event for the measurements by the network node;

a maximum number of measured signals to be included in the report;

a number of reports;

report quantity comprising at least one of: reference signal received power (RSRP) , received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ;

a report interval indicative of an interval between reports;

a threshold value used for the network node to determine whether to trigger the event-triggered report,

a time when one or more criteria for an event are to be satisfied to trigger the event-triggered report;

an indication to indicate whether the network node shall initiate a report procedure when a leaving condition is satisfied for a measured signal; or

a parameter used for at least one of an entry condition or a leave condition of an event-triggered report condition.
The wireless communication method of claim 3, wherein when the one or more signals include the preamble transmitted from the wireless communication device, a new event is defined to trigger a random access procedure for the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, further comprising:

sending, by the network node, responsive to measuring the one or more signals, a measurement result indication, to at least one of: a wireless communication node or a wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, further comprising:

determining, by the network node, an on/off state of the network node.
The wireless communication method of claim 19, wherein the determining is performed according to at least one of following conditions:

comparing, by the network node, results of the measurements with one or more thresholds;

a number of detected signals;

comparing, by the network node, a number of the one or more signals being detected with one or more specific values; or

whether at least one of the one or more signals are detected.
The wireless communication method of claim 18 , wherein the measurement result indication comprises at least one of:

a signal index;

signal strength including at least one of: a reference signal received power (RSRP) , a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) , a reference signal received quality (RSRQ) , a signal-to-interference noise ratio (SINR) , or a signal-to-interference ratio (SIR) ;

the signal strength that is an average strength determined based on a plurality of beam level signal strengths, wherein the plurality of beam level signal strengths are measured by the network node using a specific beam;

one or more beam level signal strengths or one or more associated beam information;

a strongest beam level signal strength value of a plurality of beam level measured result values or associated beam information;

N strongest beam level measurement result values or corresponding N beam information, wherein N represents a number of reported beam level signal strengths;

an integer value determined according to a comparison between the signal strength and one or more thresholds; or

one or more integer values determined according to a comparison between a beam level signal strength and one or more thresholds and one or more associated beam information.
The wireless communication method of claim 21, wherein the signal strength is obtained after processing by Layer 1 filtering or Layer 3 filtering.
The wireless communication method of claim 18, wherein when the one or more signals include the preamble, the measurement results indication further comprises at least one of:

a Preamble index;

a Random Access-Radio Network Temporary Identifier (RA-RNTI) ; or

a value that used for the wireless communication node to calculate the timing advance value carried in Msg2 or MsgB.
The wireless communication method of claim 18, wherein the measurement results indication further comprises at least one of:

an indication about whether there exist the wireless communication devices under the serving area of the corresponding network node;

an on/off indication of network node;

a sequence index or scrambling index that decoded from the corresponding signal;

an indication about the number of Ues;

an indication about UE IDs; or

a signal index.
The wireless communication method of claim 18, further comprising:

receiving, by the network node, an explicit indication indicating an on/off state of the network node based on the measurement result indication, from at least one of: the wireless communication node, or the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 25, wherein a granularity of an on/off state indication includes at least one of:

the on/off state indication used for one or more network nodes;

the on/off state indication used for one or more beams of the network node;

the on/off state indication used for at least one of a plurality of links of the network node;

the on/off state indication used for one or more panels of the network node;

the on/off state indication used for one or more ports of the network node;

the on/off state indication used for one or more bands of the network node; or

the on/off state indication used for one or more signal types of the network node.
The wireless communication method of claim 18, wherein the wireless communication node determines, based on the received measurement result indication from one or a plurality of network nodes, a group of network nodes that cooperatively operating for the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 18, wherein the wireless communication device determines, based on the received measurement result indication from one or a plurality of network nodes, a group of network nodes that cooperatively operating for the wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 27, wherein information regarding the group of network nodes is shared by the wireless communication node with at least one of: the corresponding one or plurality of SNs in the group, or the corresponding wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 28, wherein information regarding the group of network nodes is shared by the wireless communication device with at least one of: the corresponding one or plurality of SNs in the group, or the wireless communication node.
The wireless communication method of any of claim 29 or claim 30, wherein the information regarding the group of network nodes includes at least one of:

a group index/ID;

a list including one or a plurality of group IDs;

a number of the network nodes in the group; or

indices/IDs of the network nodes in the group.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the network node, a transmission configuration indicating the network node is scheduled to have a transmission on a same symbol and/or slot of the one or more configurations.
The wireless communication method of claim 32, wherein the transmission configuration is transmitted to the network node from at least one of: a wireless communication node, or a wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 32, wherein whether the network node can simultaneously perform the transmission and the measurement on the symbol and/or slots is determined based on a capability of the network node.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein the capability is reported to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device by the network node, or configured to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device via an OAM entity.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node, the method further comprises determining, by the network node, an operation based on a TDD configuration.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication node, the method further comprises at least one of:

prioritizing, by the network node, the transmission configuration;

prioritizing, by the network node, the one or more configurations; or

terminating, by the network node, both the transmission and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, the method further comprises at least one of:

prioritizing, by the network node, the transmission configuration;

prioritizing, by the network node, the one or more configurations; or

terminating, by the network node, both the transmission and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and one of the transmission configuration or the one or more configurations is transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, and the other of the transmission configuration or the one or more configurations is transmitted from the wireless communication node, the method further comprises at least one of:

prioritizing, by the network node, the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication node;

prioritizing, by the network node, the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication device; or

terminating, by the network node, both the transmission and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 34, wherein when the simultaneous operation of transmission and measurements is not supported by the network node and the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from different wireless communication devices, the method further comprises at least one of:

determining, by the network node, one of the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations based on a priority of a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices; or

terminating, by the network node, both the transmission and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the network node is not expected to receive transmission configuration that has same symbols and/or slots with the one or more configurations.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, by the network node, a forwarding configuration indicating that the network node has a forwarding operation on a same symbol and/or slot of the one or more configurations.
The wireless communication method of claim 42, wherein the forwarding configuration is transmitted to the network node from at least one of: a wireless communication node, or a wireless communication device.
The wireless communication method of claim 42, wherein whether the network node can simultaneously perform the forwarding operation and the measurements on the symbol and/or slot is determined by a capability of the network node.
The wireless communication method of claim 44, wherein the capability is reported to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device by the network node, or configured to the wireless communication node and/or wireless communication device via an OAM entity.
The wireless communication method of claim 44, wherein when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication node, the method further comprises at least one of:

prioritizing, by the network node, the forwarding configuration;

prioritizing, by the network node, the one or more configurations; or

terminating, by the network node, both the forwarding operation and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 44, wherein when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and both the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, the method further comprises at least one of:

prioritizing, by the network node, the forwarding configuration;

prioritizing, by the network node, the one or more configurations; or

terminating, by the network node, both the forwarding operation and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 44, wherein when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and one of the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations is transmitted to the network node from the wireless communication device, and the other of the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations is transmitted from the wireless communication node, the method further comprises at least one of:

prioritizing, by the network node, the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication node;

prioritizing, by the network node, the configuration transmitted from the wireless communication device; or

terminating, by the network node, both the forwarding operation and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 44, wherein when the simultaneous operation of forwarding operation and measurements is not supported by the network node and the forwarding configuration and the one or more configurations are transmitted to the network node from different wireless communication devices, the method further comprises at least one of:

determining, by the network node, one of the transmission configuration and the one or more configurations based on a priority of a corresponding one of the wireless communication devices; or

terminating, by the network node, both the forwarding operation and the measurements.
The wireless communication method of claim 1, wherein the network node is not expected to receive forwarding configuration that has same symbols and/or slots with the one or more configurations.
A wireless communications apparatus comprising a processor and a memory, wherein the processor is configured to read code from the memory and implement a method recited in any of claims 1 to 50.
A computer program product comprising a computer-readable program medium code stored thereupon, the code, when executed by a processor, causing the processor to implement a method recited in any of claims 1 to 50.