WO2025118301A1

WO2025118301A1 - Capability restriction reporting

Info

Publication number: WO2025118301A1
Application number: PCT/CN2023/137673
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jin Hui MAO; Srinivasan Selvaganapathy; Tanumay Manna
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy; Nokia Technologies Oy
Priority date: 2023-12-08
Filing date: 2023-12-08
Publication date: 2025-06-12
Anticipated expiration: 2026-06-08
Also published as: CN120457717A

Abstract

Example embodiments of the present disclosure relate to methods, apparatuses and computer readable storage medium for capability restriction reporting. In a method, a first apparatus receives a measurement configuration from a second apparatus in a first network. The measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells. Based on the measurement configuration, the first apparatus performs at least one measurement and determines that a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cells is qualified to operate as a serving cell and a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for the neighboring cell. In response to the determining, the first apparatus transmits a measurement report to the second apparatus. The measurement report indicates the neighboring cell and a restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

Description

CAPABILITY RESTRICTION REPORTING

FIELDS

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

BACKGROUND

A multi-Universal Subscriber Identity Module (USIM) device has two (or Dual) or more (or Multiple) simultaneous subscriptions, for example to the third-generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and/or the third-generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2) networks with multiple identifiers such as an International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) in case of Evolved Packet System (EPS) or a Subscription Permanent Identifier (SUPI) in case of the fifth-generation system (5GS) . The individual identifiers are associated with particular subscriptions which belong to the same or different Mobile Network Operators (MNOs) and/or Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) . When multi-USIM (MUSIM) user equipment (UE) is simultaneously connected to two or more networks (NWs) , the UE may need to temporarily restrict some UE capabilities in each specific network.

SUMMARY

In a first aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a first apparatus. The method comprises: receiving a measurement configuration from a second apparatus in a first network, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells; performing at least one measurement based on the measurement configuration; determining that a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cells is qualified to operate as a serving cell and a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for the neighboring cell; and in response to the determining, transmitting a measurement report to the second apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates the neighboring cell and a restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In a second aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a method at a second apparatus. The method comprises: determining a measurement configuration for a first apparatus based on a first list of band combinations and a second list of band combinations, wherein the first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus and the second list of band combinations are supported by the second apparatus; transmitting the measurement configuration to the first apparatus, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells; and receiving a measurement report from the first apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cell and a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In a third aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first device at least to perform the method according to the first aspect.

In a fourth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second device at least to perform the method according to the second aspect.

In a fifth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a first apparatus. The first apparatus comprises means for performing the method according to the first aspect.

In a sixth aspect of the present disclosure, there is provided a second apparatus. The second apparatus comprises means for performing the method according to the second aspect.

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

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

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

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

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

FIG. 2 illustrates a signaling diagram for capability restriction reporting in the communication environment according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram of an example process for reporting the restricted capability via a measurement report according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4 illustrates a signaling diagram of an example process for updating a restricted capability for a candidate cell according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a first apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 illustrates a flowchart of an example method implemented at a second apparatus according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 illustrates a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 illustrates a block diagram of an example computer readable medium in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

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

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As mentioned above, when a MUSIM UE is simultaneously connected to two or more NWs, the UE may need to temporarily restrict some UE capabilities in each specific network. The UE capabilities may comprise radio frequency (RF) parameters such as supported band combinations, band parameters, supported feature set combinations, feature sets per band, and/or the like, which, for example, may include an uplink (UL) and/or downlink (DL) Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) layer and/or an UL and/or DL supported bandwidth. The UE can report, to a NW, a temporary maximum number of MIMO layers and a temporary supported channel bandwidth for each specific serving cell.

The reporting of the maximum number of MIMO layers and the maximum bandwidth per feature and/or per band combination (BC) is a complex work. There would be a long list of information that need to be reported. A simplified way is needed for the MUSIM UE to report the UE capability restriction when the NW needs that information.

The following reactive and proactive approach has been considered for the UE to report the UE capability restriction or limitation.

For MUSIM dual active operations in Release 18 (Rel-18) , a UE may be configured by a NW (denoted by NW-A) with a band filter list, for example, in the OtherConfig signalling for forbidden or affected band (s) . The UE may indicate its forbidden or affected band combinations (or band (s) ) based on the network configured band filter list, in UE assistance information (UAI) signalling to NW A. For example, the UE may signal its temporary capability restrictions such as forbidden band combinations with bands indexed to the band filter list and/or affected band combinations with bands indexed to the band filter list along with explicit fields for restricted (lower or limited) capabilities e.g., maximum MIMO layers.

In a proactive reporting procedure of the restricted UE capability, the UE initiates a radio resource control (RRC) connection towards NW-A while indicating the supported band combinations associated with the feature sets. NW-A compares the supported band combination lists from the NW-A and the UE to filter out a list of band combinations that are allowed for the UE. NW-A indicates this band filter list towards the UE. Then, a change happens in another USIM on the UE. For example, the UE initiates an RRC connection towards another NW (denoted by NW-B) , which results in a change of the supported band combinations. If a band combination in the band filter list is impacted due to the above change, the UE would proactively report the forbidden band combination list or the affected band combination list to NW-A via UAI information.

As described above, MIMO layer and/or bandwidth restrictions may be indicated in a UAI message. The UAI may be transmitted every time when the supported band combinations or the associated UE capability changes. This leads to too much signalling, but not all this information is needed. For example, after NW-A configures a band filter list for proactive reporting, the UE may transmit UAI reporting due to the RRC connection with NW-B, transmit UAI reporting due to a change of a RRC configuration in NW-B, and transmit UAI reporting for a release of the RRC connection in NW-B. These UAIs are not useful at NW-A until NW-A attempts to configure a new serving cell for the UE. In addition, if NW-A wants to add a new cell outside the band filter list before triggering measurements, NW-A needs to update the band filter list and obtain the proactive reporting. This may delay an addition of a new cell.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure propose a solution for reporting a capability restriction. In this solution, a measurement configuration is determined for a first apparatus (such as a UE) based on a first list of band combinations supported by the first apparatus and a second list of band combinations supported by an NW. The measurement configuration is utilized to indicate a frequency layer and a list of neighbor cells to be measured. After performing at least measurement based on the measurement configuration, the first apparatus determines that a specific cell in the list of neighboring cell can operate as a serving cell, but a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for that cell. Then, the first apparatus transmits a measurement report to indicate the cell and a restriction of a capability (also called a capability restriction) of the first apparatus for the cell.

In this way, capability restrictions for a list of cells may be reported to a NW based on a measurement configuration from the NW for those cells. This leads to reduced signalling since the capability restrictions are provided to the NW only when needed and only for the cells needed.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication environment 100 in which example embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented.

The communication environment 100 comprises a first apparatus 110 which may operate as a terminal device such as a UE. The first apparatus 110 can be simultaneously connected to a plurality of networks, including, for example, a first network 115 and a second network 125. For example, the first apparatus 110 may be configured with a MUSIM to allow simultaneous subscriptions to the plurality of networks. The first apparatus 110 may have access to the first network 115 via a second apparatus 120 and to the second network 125 via a third apparatus 130. The second apparatus 120 may operate as a network device (such as a gNB) in the first network 115, and the third apparatus 130 may operate as a network device (such as a gNB) in the second network 125.

In the following, for the purpose of illustration, some example embodiments are described with the first apparatus 110 operating as a terminal device and the second and third apparatuses 120 and 130 operating as network devices. However, in some example embodiments, operations described in connection with a terminal device may be implemented at a network device or other devices, and operations described in connection with a network device may be implemented at a terminal device or other devices.

In some example embodiments, if the first apparatus 110 is a terminal device and the second apparatus 120 or the third apparatus 130 is a network device, a link from the second apparatus 120 or the third apparatus 130 to the first apparatus 110 is referred to as a downlink (DL) , while a link from the first apparatus 110 to the second apparatus 120 or the third apparatus 130 is referred to as an uplink (UL) . In DL, the second apparatus 120 or the third apparatus 130 is a transmitting (TX) device (or a transmitter) and the first apparatus 110 is a receiving (RX) device (or a receiver) . In UL, the first apparatus 110 is a TX device (or a transmitter) and the second apparatus 120 or the third apparatus 130 is a RX device (or a receiver) .

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

It is to be understood that the numbers of devices and networks are only for the purpose of illustration without suggesting any limitations. The communication environment 100 may include any number of networks to which the first apparatus 110 can be connected and each of which may comprise any number of devices or apparatuses.

In the communication environment 100, the first apparatus 110 may be configured by the network (for example, the first network 115) to perform measurements on the frequency layers that both the network and the first apparatus 110 can support. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the first apparatus 110 is connected to a cell 135 served by the second apparatus 120. The cell 135 may operate as a serving cell (SCell) of the first apparatus 110. Then, for example, for a carrier aggregation (CA) case, the second apparatus 120 may perform a band combination selection to select out a list of band combinations which can be supported by both the first network 115 and the first apparatus 110. Based on the list of band combinations, the second apparatus 120 may configure the first apparatus 110 to perform measurements on neighboring cells which may be potentially added as a serving cell of the first apparatus 110. For example, the neighboring cell may include a cell 140 and a cell 145. The first apparatus 110 may trigger a measurement report when a certain event (such as Event A3, A4 or A6) occur. For example, if a defined threshold is met by a measured signal power of the cell 140, the first apparatus 110 may indicate a measurement result for the cell 140.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 may utilize a measurement configuration to indicate the first apparatus 110 about a frequency layer and neighbor cells that are filtered in the first network 115. The first apparatus 110 may extend a measurement report to carry a capability restriction for the cell 140. Thus, the first apparatus 110 is configured to report the capability restriction in measurement report, only for candidate neighbor cells corresponding to the band combinations supported by the fist apparatus 110. The measurement configuration and the measurement report between the second apparatus 120 and the first apparatus 110 are enhanced to support an indication of the capability restriction, for example, due to MUSIM operations in the first apparatus 110, for those candidate neighbor cells when it is necessary.

FIG. 2 shows a signaling diagram 200 for capability restriction reporting in the communication environment 100 according to some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the signaling diagram 200 will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

As shown in FIG. 2, the second apparatus 120 determines (205) a measurement configuration for the first apparatus 110 based on a first list of band combinations and a second list of band combinations. The first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus 110, and the second list of band combinations are supported by the second apparatus 120 or the first network 115.

In some example embodiments, the first list of band combinations may be indicated in capability information of the first apparatus 110. For example, when the first apparatus 110 performs a connection (such as an RRC connection) towards the first network 115, the capability of the first apparatus 110 may be reported to the first network 115, which may include the band combinations supported by the first apparatus 110. Alternatively, or in addition, the supported band combination may be indicated by the first apparatus 110 in an earlier measurement report.

Based on the first list of band combinations supported by the first apparatus 110 and the second list of band combinations supported by the second apparatus 120, the second apparatus 120 may perform a band combination selection to filter out the allowed band combinations. Based on the filtering result, the second apparatus 120 may decide a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells (also called a neighboring cell list, which, for example, includes the cells 140 and 145) that the first apparatus 110 needs to measure.

The second apparatus 120 transmits (210) the measurement configuration to the first apparatus 110 where the measurement configuration indicates the frequency layer and the list of neighboring cells. In this way, no additional signaling is needed for the NW to indicate the first apparatus 110 about the allowed list of band combinations. Such information may be implicitly indicated by the measurement configuration to the first apparatus 110.

After the first apparatus 110 receives (215) the measurement configuration from the second apparatus 120 in the first network 115, the first apparatus 110 performs (225) at least one measurement based on the measurement configuration. In some example embodiments, the at least one measurement may comprise a neighboring cell measurement. If some criteria are met, a measurement report may be triggered. For example, if a measured signal power of a cell in the list of neighboring cells is greater than a threshold, which may mean that the cell can operate as a serving cell, then a measurement report may be triggered to report a measurement result of the cell.

As shown in FIG. 2, the first apparatus 110 determines (230) that a cell (for example, the cell 140) in the list of neighboring cells is qualified to operate as a serving cell and a capability of the first apparatus 110 is restricted for the cell. Then, the first apparatus 110 transmits (235) a measurement report to the second apparatus 120, where the measurement report indicates the cell and a restriction of the capability of the first apparatus 110 for the cell. Correspondingly, the second apparatus 120 receives (240) this measurement report. In this way, the capability restriction or limitation may be carried over the measurement report, which is more signaling efficient.

The restriction of the capability of the first apparatus 110 may be caused by MUSIM operations of the first apparatus 110. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first apparatus 110 may perform (220) a connection (for example, an RRC connection) towards the third apparatus 130 in the second network 125, which results in a restriction or limitation of a capability of the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, after connecting to the third apparatus 130, the first apparatus 110 may determine that a capability of the first apparatus 110 is restricted for the first list of band combinations supported by the first apparatus 110. Based on the restricted capability for the first list of band combinations, the first apparatus 110 may determine the restriction of the capability for the cell the measurement report of which is to be transmitted (235) .

It is to be understood that it is just an example that the MUSIM operations are performed after the first apparatus 110 receives (215) the measurement configuration. In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may perform (220) a connection to the third apparatus 130 after establishing the connection with the second apparatus 120 and before receiving (215) the measurement configuration from the second apparatus 120. In these embodiments, when connecting to the third apparatus 130, the first apparatus 110 may the restricted capability for the first list of band combinations. Then, after the first apparatus 110 determines that the cell 140 can operate as a serving cell, the first apparatus 110 may determine the capability restriction for the cell 140 based on the restricted capability for the first list of band combinations.

The capability restriction may comprise any capability restriction, which, for example, may include a MIMO layer restriction, and/or a bandwidth restriction. Alternatively, or in addition, the capability restriction may comprise non-support for a cell. For example, the first apparatus 110 may detect that a cell (for example, the cell 145) can operate as a serving cell but a frequency band of this cell is not supported by the first apparatus 110. Then, a measurement report for the cell 145 may indicate that the cell 145 is not supported.

In some example embodiments, the capability restriction may be changed for a candidate cell (for example, the cell 140) after the measurement report but before the cell is added as a serving cell. In these example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (250) a UAI message to the second apparatus 120. The UAI message indicates a change of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus 110 for the cell 140. Correspondingly, the second apparatus 120 may receive (255) the UAI message and then be aware of this change.

In some example embodiments, the change may be caused by a disconnection from the second network 125. For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the first apparatus 110 may perform (245) a disconnection (for example, an RRC disconnection) from the third apparatus 130 in the second network 125. Then, the first apparatus 110 may determine that the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus is removed. In this case, the first apparatus 110 may transmit (250) the UAI message to indicate a removal of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the UAI message may further indicate a restriction of a capability the first apparatus 110 for the serving cell, e.g., the cell 135.

Some example processes for reporting the restricted capability will be described below with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In these examples, the first apparatus 110 operates as UE 305, and the first and second networks 115 and 125 are denoted by NW-A 310 and NW-B 315.

FIG. 3 shows a signaling diagram of an example process 300 for reporting the restricted capability via a measurement report in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 3, in Step 1, UE 305 performs (320) an RRC connection towards NW-A 310. In this step, the UE capability is reported to NW-A 310 as well, which includes the UE supported band combinations. In this example, the connection is established on Cell 0 which operates as a serving cell.

In Step 2, NW-A 310 performs (325) band combination filtering (or selection) to filter out the allowed band combinations based on the UE supported BC list and the NW supported BC list. No additional signaling here is needed for NW-A 310 to indicate UE 305 about the allowed BC list. This information would be implicitly indicated to UE 305 in Step 3.

In Step 3, based on the filtering result, NW-A 310 may decide the frequency layer and the neighboring cell list that UE 305 needs to measure. Then, NW-A 310 indicates (330) UE 305 with the measurement configuration. This would implicitly indicate UE 305 about the frequency layer that would be treated as candidates in NW-A 310. In this example, the neighboring cell list includes Cell 1, Cell 2 and Cell 3.

In Step 4, UE 305 performs (335) an RRC connection towards NW-B 315, which results in UE capability limitation. UE 305 determines (340) the UE capability of the supported band combinations is changed. Then, for example, Cell 0 may no longer operate as the serving cell for UE 305 in NW-A 310, and Cell 2 may operate as a serving cell with a restricted or limited UE capability.

In Step 5, UE 305 transmits (345) a measurement report since a certain criterion is met by a measurement result for Cell 2. The UE capability restriction or limitation can be carried over the measurement report, which, for example, may include the temporary restricted maximum MIMO layer and the maximum bandwidth for this specific cell.

After a measurement result for Cell 3 meets a criterion, UE 305 transmits (350) a measurement report for Cell 3. However, the frequency band for Cell 3 is not supported by UE 305. In this case, the measurement report indicates that Cell 3 is not supported.

FIG. 4 shows a signaling diagram of an example process 400 for updating a restricted capability for a candidate cell in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure.

As shown in FIG. 4, UE 305 performs (405) an RRC connection towards NW-A 310 on Cell 0 which operates as a serving cell. Then, UE 305 performs (410) an RRC connection towards NW-B 315, which results in a UE capability restriction. UE 305 transmits (415) UAI information to NW-A 310 to indicate a MIMO layer restriction for Cell 0. In Step 1, as a certain criterion is met by a measurement result for Cell 2, UE 305 transmits (420) a measurement report to report a UE capability restriction for the candidate cell via the measurement report.

In this example, UE capability is changed for a candidate cell (e.g., Cell 1) after the measurement report but before the candidate cell is added as a serving cell. As shown in FIG. 4, UE 305 performs (425) an RRC disconnection from NW-B 315. In Step 2, UE 305 removes (430) the UE capability restriction for the serving cell (e.g., Cell 0) and the candidate cell (e.g., Cell 1) . Thus, the UE capability restriction information is changed before the candidate cell (e.g., Cell 1) is added as the serving cell for UE 305. In Step 3, with help of UAI information, UE 305 transmits (435) the UE capability restriction information for both the serving cell (e.g., Cell 0) and the candidate cell (e.g., Cell 1) .

Example Methods

FIG. 5 shows a flowchart of an example method 500 implemented at a first apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 500 will be described from the perspective of the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

At block 510, the first apparatus 110 receives a measurement configuration from a second apparatus in a first network. The measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells.

At block 520, the first apparatus 110 performs at least one measurement based on the measurement configuration.

At block 530, the first apparatus 110 determines that a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cells is qualified to operate as a serving cell and a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for the neighboring cell.

At block 540, in response to the determining, the first apparatus 110 transmits a measurement report to the second apparatus. The measurement report indicates the neighboring cell and a restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus comprises at least one of: a multiple-input multiple-output layer restriction, a bandwidth restriction, or non-support.

In some example embodiments, the at least one measurement comprises a neighboring cell measurement.

In some example embodiments, for the determining of block 530, in response to connecting to a second network, the first apparatus 110 determines that a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for a first list of band combinations. The first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus. Based on the restricted capability of the first apparatus for the first list of band combinations, the first apparatus 110 determines the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus 110 transmits the first list of band combinations to the second apparatus.

In some example embodiments, after transmitting the measurement report and before the neighboring cell is added as the serving cell of the first apparatus, the first apparatus 110 transmits a user equipment assistance information message to the second apparatus. The user equipment assistance information message indicates a change of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, in response to disconnecting from a second network, the first apparatus 110 determines that the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell is removed. The user equipment assistance information message indicates a removal of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the user equipment assistance information message further indicates a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for a current serving cell.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.

FIG. 6 shows a flowchart of an example method 600 implemented at a second apparatus in accordance with some example embodiments of the present disclosure. For the purpose of discussion, the method 600 will be described from the perspective of the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

At block 610, the second apparatus 120 determines a measurement configuration for a first apparatus based on a first list of band combinations and a second list of band combinations. The first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus, and the second list of band combinations are supported by the second apparatus.

At block 620, the second apparatus 120 transmits the measurement configuration to the first apparatus. The measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells.

At block 630, the second apparatus 120 receives a measurement report from the first apparatus. The measurement report indicates a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cell and a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus 120 receives the first list of band combinations from the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, after receiving the measurement report and before the neighboring cell is added as the serving cell of the first apparatus, the second apparatus 120 receives a user equipment assistance information message from the first apparatus. The user equipment assistance information message indicates a change of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the user equipment assistance information message indicates a removal of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.

All operations and features related to the first apparatus 110 and the second apparatus 120 as described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4 are likewise applicable to the methods 500 and 600 and have similar effects. For the purpose of simplification, the details will be omitted.

Example Apparatus, Device and Medium

In some example embodiments, a first apparatus capable of performing the method 500 (for example, the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 500. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The first apparatus may be implemented as or included in the first apparatus 110 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus comprises means for receiving a measurement configuration from a second apparatus in a first network, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells; means for performing at least one measurement based on the measurement configuration; means for determining that a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cells is qualified to operate as a serving cell and a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for the neighboring cell; and means for in response to the determining, transmitting a measurement report to the second apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates the neighboring cell and a restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, the means for determining comprises: means for in response to connecting to a second network, determining that a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for a first list of band combinations, wherein the first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus; and means for determining, based on the restricted capability of the first apparatus for the first list of band combinations, the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for transmitting the first list of band combinations to the second apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for after transmitting the measurement report and before the neighboring cell is added as the serving cell of the first apparatus, transmitting a user equipment assistance information message to the second apparatus, wherein the user equipment assistance information message indicates a change of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises: means for in response to disconnecting from a second network, determining that the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell is removed, wherein the user equipment assistance information message indicates a removal of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the first apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 500 or the first apparatus 110. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, a second apparatus capable of performing the method 600 (for example, the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1) may comprise means for performing the respective operations of the method 600. The means may be implemented in any suitable form. For example, the means may be implemented in a circuitry or software module. The second apparatus may be implemented as or included in the second apparatus 120 in FIG. 1.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus comprises means for determining a measurement configuration for a first apparatus based on a first list of band combinations and a second list of band combinations, wherein the first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus and the second list of band combinations are supported by the second apparatus; means for transmitting the measurement configuration to the first apparatus, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells; and means for receiving a measurement report from the first apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cell and a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for receiving the first list of band combinations from the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises: means for after receiving the measurement report and before the neighboring cell is added as the serving cell of the first apparatus, receiving a user equipment assistance information message from the first apparatus, wherein the user equipment assistance information message indicates a change of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.

In some example embodiments, the second apparatus further comprises means for performing other operations in some example embodiments of the method 600 or the second apparatus 120. In some example embodiments, the means comprises at least one processor; and at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the performance of the second apparatus.

FIG. 7 is a simplified block diagram of a device 700 that is suitable for implementing example embodiments of the present disclosure. The device 700 may be provided to implement a communication device, for example, the first apparatus 110 or the second apparatus 120 as shown in FIG. 1. As shown, the device 700 includes one or more processors 710, one or more memories 720 coupled to the processor 710, and one or more communication modules 740 coupled to the processor 710.

The communication module 740 is for bidirectional communications. The communication module 740 has one or more communication interfaces to facilitate communication with one or more other modules or devices. The communication interfaces may represent any interface that is necessary for communication with other network elements. In some example embodiments, the communication module 740 may include at least one antenna.

The processor 710 may be of any type suitable to the local technical network and may include one or more of the following: general purpose computers, special purpose computers, microprocessors, digital signal processors (DSPs) and processors based on multicore processor architecture, as non-limiting examples. The device 700 may have multiple processors, such as an application specific integrated circuit chip that is slaved in time to a clock which synchronizes the main processor.

The memory 720 may include one or more non-volatile memories and one or more volatile memories. Examples of the non-volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a Read Only Memory (ROM) 724, an electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM) , a flash memory, a hard disk, a compact disc (CD) , a digital video disk (DVD) , an optical disk, a laser disk, and other magnetic storage and/or optical storage. Examples of the volatile memories include, but are not limited to, a random access memory (RAM) 722 and other volatile memories that will not last in the power-down duration.

A computer program 730 includes computer executable instructions that are executed by the associated processor 710. The instructions of the program 730 may include instructions for performing operations/acts of some example embodiments of the present disclosure. The program 730 may be stored in the memory, e.g., the ROM 724. The processor 710 may perform any suitable actions and processing by loading the program 730 into the RAM 722.

The example embodiments of the present disclosure may be implemented by means of the program 730 so that the device 700 may perform any process of the disclosure as discussed with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG. 6. The example embodiments of the present disclosure may also be implemented by hardware or by a combination of software and hardware.

In some example embodiments, the program 730 may be tangibly contained in a computer readable medium which may be included in the device 700 (such as in the memory 720) or other storage devices that are accessible by the device 700. The device 700 may load the program 730 from the computer readable medium to the RAM 722 for execution. In some example embodiments, the computer readable medium may include any types of non-transitory storage medium, such as ROM, EPROM, a flash memory, a hard disk, CD, DVD, and the like. The term “non-transitory, ” as used herein, is a limitation of the medium itself (i.e., tangible, not a signal) as opposed to a limitation on data storage persistency (e.g., RAM vs. ROM) .

FIG. 8 shows an example of the computer readable medium 800 which may be in form of CD, DVD or other optical storage disk. The computer readable medium 800 has the program 730 stored thereon.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Claims

A method comprising:

at a first apparatus,

receiving a measurement configuration from a second apparatus in a first network, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells;

performing at least one measurement based on the measurement configuration;

determining that a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cells is qualified to operate as a serving cell and a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for the neighboring cell; and

in response to the determining, transmitting a measurement report to the second apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates the neighboring cell and a restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.
The method of claim 1, wherein the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus comprises at least one of: a multiple-input multiple-output layer restriction, a bandwidth restriction, or non-support.
The method of claim 1 or 2, wherein the at least one measurement comprises a neighboring cell measurement.
The method of any of claims 1 to 3, wherein the determining comprises:

in response to connecting to a second network, determining that a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for a first list of band combinations, wherein the first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus; and

determining, based on the restricted capability of the first apparatus for the first list of band combinations, the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.
The method of claim 4, further comprising:

transmitting the first list of band combinations to the second apparatus.
The method of any of claims 1 to 5, further comprising:

after transmitting the measurement report and before the neighboring cell is added as the serving cell of the first apparatus, transmitting a user equipment assistance information message to the second apparatus, wherein the user equipment assistance information message indicates a change of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.
The method of claim 6, wherein:

in response to disconnecting from a second network, determining that the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell is removed,

wherein the user equipment assistance information message indicates a removal of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.
The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the user equipment assistance information message further indicates a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for a current serving cell.
The method of any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.
A method comprising:

at a second apparatus,

determining a measurement configuration for a first apparatus based on a first list of band combinations and a second list of band combinations, wherein the first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus and the second list of band combinations are supported by the second apparatus;

transmitting the measurement configuration to the first apparatus, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells; and

receiving a measurement report from the first apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cell and a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.
The method of claim 10, wherein the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus comprises at least one of: a multiple-input multiple-output layer restriction, a bandwidth restriction, or non-support.
The method of any of claims 10 to 11, further comprising:

receiving the first list of band combinations from the first apparatus.
The method of any of claims 10 to 12, further comprising:

after receiving the measurement report and before the neighboring cell is added as the serving cell of the first apparatus, receiving a user equipment assistance information message from the first apparatus, wherein the user equipment assistance information message indicates a change of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.
The method of claim 13, wherein the user equipment assistance information message indicates a removal of the restriction of the capability of the first apparatus.
The method of claim 13 or 14, wherein the user equipment assistance information message further indicates a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for a current serving cell.
The method of any of claims 10 to 15, wherein the first apparatus comprises a terminal device, and the second apparatus comprises a network device.
A first apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the first apparatus at least to perform the method of any of claims 1-9.
A second apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

at least one memory storing instructions that, when executed by the at least one processor, cause the second apparatus at least to perform the method of any of claims 10-16.
A first apparatus, comprising:

means for receiving a measurement configuration from a second apparatus in a first network, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells;

means for performing at least one measurement based on the measurement configuration;

means for determining that a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cells is qualified to operate as a serving cell and a capability of the first apparatus is restricted for the neighboring cell; and

means for in response to the determining, transmitting a measurement report to the second apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates the neighboring cell and a restriction of the capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.
A second apparatus, comprising:

means for determining a measurement configuration for a first apparatus based on a first list of band combinations and a second list of band combinations, wherein the first list of band combinations are supported by the first apparatus and the second list of band combinations are supported by the second apparatus;

means for transmitting the measurement configuration to the first apparatus, wherein the measurement configuration indicates a frequency layer and a list of neighboring cells; and

means for receiving a measurement report from the first apparatus, wherein the measurement report indicates a neighboring cell in the list of neighboring cell and a restriction of a capability of the first apparatus for the neighboring cell.
A computer readable medium comprising instructions stored thereon for causing an apparatus at least to perform the method of any of claims 1-9 or the method of any of claims 10-16.