CN111034248B

CN111034248B - Method and computing device for performing wireless communication with multiple nodes of a wireless network

Info

Publication number: CN111034248B
Application number: CN201780093682.7A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 刘静; 黄河; 施小娟
Original assignee: ZTE Corp
Current assignee: ZTE Corp
Priority date: 2017-08-11
Filing date: 2017-08-11
Publication date: 2022-03-15
Anticipated expiration: 2037-08-11
Also published as: WO2019028908A1; CN111034248A

Abstract

A method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network involves the user equipment receiving a first measurement configuration and a first threshold from a first node of the wireless network; receiving a second measurement configuration and a second threshold from a second node of the wireless network; comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the first node; determining whether to perform a measurement according to a first measurement configuration based on a comparison of a first threshold value with a quality of a radio signal received from a first node; comparing the second threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the second node; and determining whether to perform the measurement according to the second measurement configuration based on a comparison of the second threshold with a quality of the radio signal received from the second node.

Description

Method and computing device for performing wireless communication with multiple nodes of a wireless network

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates generally to wireless networks, and more particularly, to methods and computing devices for performing wireless communications with multiple nodes of a wireless network.

Background

In currently deployed cellular communication systems, when using single connection, Carrier Aggregation (CA), or Dual Connectivity (DC), the network may send one or more measurement configurations to the UE, including intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT measurements. Furthermore, the measurement configuration may contain a threshold (referred to as s-measure) indicating whether the UE is required to perform these measurements. Upon receiving the measurement configuration, if s-measure is not included or the value of s-measure is equal to 0, the UE should perform the configured measurement immediately. If s-measure is included and takes a value other than 0, the UE should compare s-measure with the cell quality of the primary serving cell (PCell) and perform measurement when the cell quality of the PCell is below a threshold.

Disclosure of Invention

A primary object of the present disclosure is to propose a method and a computing device for performing wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network, capable of performing wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network.

To achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present disclosure proposes a method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network, the method including:

receiving a first measurement configuration and a first threshold from a first node of the wireless network;

receiving a second measurement configuration and a second threshold from a second node of the wireless network;

comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the first node;

determining whether to perform a measurement according to the first measurement configuration based on a comparison of the first threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from the first node;

comparing the second threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the second node; and

determining whether to perform measurements according to the second measurement configuration based on a result of a comparison of the second threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from the second node.

receiving, from a first node of the wireless network, a first threshold and a measurement configuration associated with a second node;

receiving a second threshold from a second node of the wireless network;

comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the first node; and

determining whether to perform a measurement according to a measurement configuration associated with the first node based on a result of the comparison of the first threshold with the quality of the radio signal received from the first node.

communicating with a first node and a second node of the wireless network as a master node and a second node, respectively;

receiving a first measurement configuration, a first threshold, and a second threshold from a first node of the wireless network;

receiving a second measurement configuration from a second node of the wireless network;

determining whether to perform the first measurement based on a comparison of the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the first node;

determining whether to perform the second measurement based on a result of a comparison of the second threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from the second node.

To achieve the above object, an embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication on a wireless network, where the method includes:

camping in a cell of the wireless network in idle mode;

receiving a first threshold, a second threshold, and a plurality of measurement configurations from the wireless network,

wherein the first threshold is associated with measurements requiring radio frequency retuning and the second threshold is associated with measurements not requiring radio frequency retuning;

receiving broadcast system information from the wireless network; and

for each of the plurality of measurement configurations,

determining which of the plurality of measurement configurations are to be performed using frequencies requiring radio frequency retuning;

for each measurement of the plurality of measurement configurations determined to be performed using a frequency requiring radio frequency retuning, performing the measurement using the measurement configuration and comparing the performed measurement to the first threshold;

determining which of the plurality of measurement configurations are to be performed using frequencies that do not require radio frequency retuning;

for each measurement of the plurality of measurement configurations determined to be performed using a frequency that does not require radio frequency retuning, performing the measurement using the measurement configuration and comparing the performed measurement to the second threshold.

To achieve the above object, the embodiment of the present disclosure further provides a computing device configured to execute the method implementing any of the above embodiments.

To achieve the above object, the embodiments of the present disclosure also propose a non-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereon computer-executable instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any of the above embodiments.

The invention provides a method and a computing device for performing wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network, which can perform wireless communication with the plurality of nodes of the wireless network.

With regard to the above embodiments and other aspects of the present invention and implementations thereof, further description is provided in the accompanying drawings description, detailed description and claims.

Drawings

While the appended claims set forth the features of the present technology with particularity, these technologies, together with their objects and advantages, may be better understood from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:

fig. 1 is an illustration of a wireless network implementing various embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example hardware architecture in accordance with one embodiment.

Detailed Description

According to one embodiment, a method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network involves the user equipment receiving a first measurement configuration and a first threshold from a first node of the wireless network; receiving a second measurement configuration and a second threshold from a second node of the wireless network; comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the first node; determining whether to perform a measurement according to a first measurement configuration based on a comparison of a first threshold value with a quality of a radio signal received from a first node; comparing the second threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the second node; and determining whether to perform the measurement according to the second measurement configuration based on a result of the comparison of the second threshold value with the quality of the radio signal received from the second node.

According to one embodiment, a method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network involves the user equipment: receiving, from a first node of a wireless network, a first threshold and a measurement configuration associated with a second node; receiving a second threshold and a measurement configuration associated with the first node from a second node of the wireless network; comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the first node; determining whether to perform a measurement according to a measurement configuration associated with the first node based on a result of a comparison of the first threshold value with a quality of a radio signal received from the first node; comparing the second threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the second node; and determining whether to perform the measurement according to a measurement configuration associated with the second node based on a result of the comparison of the second threshold with the quality of the radio signal received from the second node.

In one embodiment, a method for multi-beam resource management in a wireless network involves a computing device: wirelessly receiving a first type of reference signal and a second type of reference signal; performing measurements on resources of a first type of reference signal according to the received measurement configuration; determining, based on the measurement, that a resource of the first type of reference signal has triggered a resource-specific event of the first type of reference signal; determining resources of a second type of reference signal which are quasi co-sited with the resources of the first type of reference signal; and performing beam management on resources of the second type of reference signal.

According to one embodiment, a method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network involves the user equipment: communicating with a first node and a second node of a wireless network, the first node and the second node being respectively a master node and a slave node; receiving a first measurement configuration, a first threshold, and a second threshold from a first node of a wireless network; receiving a second measurement configuration from a second node of the wireless network; comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the first node; determining whether to perform a measurement in a first measurement configuration based on a comparison of a first threshold value with a quality of a radio signal received from a first node; comparing the second threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from the second node; and determining whether to perform the measurement in the second measurement configuration based on a result of the comparison of the second threshold value with the quality of the radio signal received from the second node.

In one embodiment, a method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication over a wireless network involves the user equipment: camping in a cell of a wireless network in idle mode; receiving a first threshold, a second threshold, and a plurality of measurement configurations from a wireless network, wherein the first threshold is associated with measurements requiring radio frequency retuning (tuning), and the second threshold is associated with measurements not requiring radio frequency retuning; receiving broadcast system information from a wireless network; and for each of a plurality of measurement configurations, determining which of the plurality of measurement configurations are to be performed using frequencies requiring radio frequency retuning; for each of the plurality of measurement configurations determined to be performed using a frequency requiring chain retuning, performing a measurement using the measurement configuration and comparing the performed measurement to a first threshold; determining which of the plurality of measurement configurations are to be performed using frequencies that do not require radio frequency retuning; for each of the plurality of measurement configurations determined to be performed using a frequency that does not require radio frequency retuning, performing a measurement using the measurement configuration and comparing the performed measurement to a second threshold.

Fig. 1 depicts a wireless network 100 in which various embodiments may be deployed. Wireless network 100 includes several wireless communication nodes that each support wireless, and in some cases wired, communication. For simplicity of reference, only two nodes are depicted — a first node 102 and a second node 104. Examples of communication nodes include base stations, relay nodes, and wireless mobile devices (such as cellular telephones) of a cellular network. The first node 102 and the second node 104 may operate using the same radio access technology or using different radio access technologies. Also depicted in fig. 1 is a first User Equipment (UE), also referred to as UE1, and a second UE, also referred to as UE 2. The UE1 and the UE2 are capable of communicating via the wireless network 100. Each wireless coverage area of each node (e.g., each area that each node serves a wireless client) is referred to as a cell. Each node may define multiple cells, although for purposes of illustration, each node of fig. 1 is depicted as covering a single cell — first node 102 serves first cell 106 and second node 104 serves second cell 108. In one embodiment, wireless network 100 has many components not depicted in FIG. 1, including other base stations, wireless infrastructure, wired infrastructure, and other devices typically found in wireless networks. Also, in addition to UE1 and UE2, there may be many additional UEs communicating via wireless network 100.

Possible implementations of user equipment include any device that supports wireless communication, such as smart phones, tablets, laptops, and non-traditional devices (e.g., home appliances or other components of the "internet of things").

It should be noted that when the present disclosure refers to a UE without a reference numeral, any UE in fig. 1 may be considered to perform the action in question or receive the result of the action. Similarly, when the disclosure refers to a node or "network," any node in fig. 1 may be considered to perform the action in question or receive the result of the action.

Fig. 2 illustrates a basic (computing device) hardware architecture implemented by the elements of fig. 1, including the UE and the node. The elements of fig. 1 also have other components. The hardware architecture depicted in fig. 2 includes logic 202, memory 204, transceiver 206, and one or more antennas, represented by antenna 208. Memory 204 may be or include a buffer that, for example, holds incoming transmissions until logic circuitry is able to process the transmission. Each of these elements are communicatively linked to each other via one or more data paths 210. Examples of data paths include wires, conductive paths on a microchip, and wireless connections. Of course, each of the devices depicted in FIG. 1 may have many other components not shown in FIG. 2.

The term "logic circuit" as used herein refers to a circuit (a type of electronic hardware) designed to perform a complex function defined in terms of mathematical logic. Examples of logic circuitry include a microprocessor, controller, or application specific integrated circuit. When the disclosure refers to a device performing an action, it should be understood that this may also refer to logic circuitry actually integrated with the device performing the action.

It should be understood that when the present disclosure refers to an entity transmitting or sending something to another entity, the act of transmitting or sending may include a unicast transmission, a multicast transmission, or a broadcast transmission.

In cellular mobile communications systems, cellular networks typically require UEs to perform measurements on inter-frequency, inter-frequency and Radio Access Technology (RAT) frequencies to assist mobility management or other radio resource management functions, since when UEs are required to perform measurements (particularly on inter-frequency and RAT frequencies), their power consumption increases and hence battery life decreases. In current cellular networks, when the network sends a measurement configuration to the UE, the network may include a parameter, called "s-measure," in the measurement configuration message that indicates to the UE when to perform the configured measurement. s-measure describes a threshold and a UE receiving s-measure should (1) always measure the cell quality of the serving cell and (2) start performing measurements of configured intra-frequency, inter-frequency and inter-RAT neighbors (according to one or more measurement configurations received from the network) when the radio quality of the serving cell (e.g., the quality of the cell as defined by the node with which the UE is communicating) drops below s-measure. If and when the radio quality of the serving cell rises back to exceed s-measure, the UE may stop performing measurements on the configured intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-RAT neighbors.

When a UE communicates via a wireless network using, for example, dual connectivity, the UE may have multiple concurrent serving cells belonging to different nodes, referred to as a primary node and a secondary node. The primary node cell used by the UE for communication is called PCell, and the primary cell of the second node used by the UE is called PSCell. As the UE moves and triggers certain conditions, the wireless network will (in conjunction with the UE) perform a process of changing the primary and/or secondary nodes (e.g., making another cell a PCell and/or another cell a PSCell) to ensure that service to the UE is continuous.

In various embodiments described below, expressions like "perform measurements a, B …" or "perform measurements configuration …" may be used. It should be understood that these expressions refer to performing measurements in accordance with parameters set forth in the measurement configuration. Thus, "performing measurement a" means performing measurement according to measurement configuration a.

According to one embodiment, each of nodes 102 and 104 (e.g., Pcell and PSCell to which the UE is communicatively linked for Dual Connectivity (DC) communications) transmits its own measurement configuration and s-measure to the UE, which the UE uses to determine whether measurements need to be made (and possibly, whether to switch to a different node-e.g., switch PSCell). In particular, for dual connectivity, both the primary node and the second node may send measurement configurations to the UE. Further, each node may include a measurement activation threshold (s-measure) in the measurement configuration of each node. For simplicity of description, the measurement activation threshold configured by the master node (e.g., first node 102) will be referred to as s-measure1, and the measurement activation threshold configured by the second node (e.g., second node 104) will be referred to as s-measure 2.

In one embodiment, upon receiving the measurement configurations, s-measure1, and s-measure2, from the primary node and the second node (e.g., nodes 102 and 104), the UE (e.g., UE1) compares the cell quality of the PCell (e.g., first cell 106) to the s-measure1 and, based on the comparison, determines whether to perform the measurements using the one or more measurement configurations received from the primary node. The UE also compares the cell quality of the PSCell (e.g., second cell 108) to the s-measure2 and, based on the comparison, determines whether to perform the measurement using a measurement configuration configured by the second node.

According to one embodiment, in case a node does not configure s-measure or the configured s-measure is equal to 0, the following alternatives may be selected as predefined: (1) the UE should perform measurement configuration configured by the corresponding node; (2) if the reference node is the primary node, the UE should perform measurements according to the measurement configuration received from the primary node. If the reference node is a second node, the UE should follow the same measurement activation mechanism as the primary node for all configured measurements.

An example scenario where each node sends its own measurement configuration and s-measure according to one embodiment will now be described.

In a first scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 transmits measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE and includes s-measure1 in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 transmits measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE and includes s-measure2 in the measurement configuration. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell (in this case, the master node 102) to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PSCell to s-measure2 and performs measurements D, E and F as long as the cell quality of the PSCell is below s-measure 2. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements D, E and F.

In a second scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes s-measure1 in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1 and either does not include the measurement activation threshold (i.e., no s-measure) or includes s-measure2 with a value equal to 0 in the measurement configuration. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C as long as the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. If the second node 104 does not configure s-measure, or the configured s-measure2 is equal to 0, the UE1 will perform measurements D, E and F.

In a third scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes s-measure1 in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1 and either does not include a measurement activation threshold (i.e., s-measure) in the measurement configuration or includes s-measure2 with a value equal to 0. In this case, the UE1 should follow the same principles as the master node. The UE1 therefore compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B, C, D, E and F when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B, C, D, E and F.

In a fourth scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and either does not include a measurement activation threshold in the measurement configuration or includes s-measure1 whose value is equal to 0. The second node sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1 and includes s-measure2 in the measurement configuration. Based on not receiving s-measure from the master node 102 or receiving s-measure1 equal to 0, the UE1 will perform measurements according to measurement configurations A, B and C. The UE1 also compares the cell quality of the PSCell to s-measure2 and performs measurements D, E and F as long as the cell quality of the PSCell is below s-measure 2. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements D, E and F.

In a fifth scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and either does not include a measurement activation threshold (s-measure) or includes s-measure1 with a value equal to 0 in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1 and includes no measurement activation threshold (s-measure) or s-measure2 with a value equal to 0 in the measurement configuration. If neither the primary node 102 nor the secondary node 104 has s-measure configured, or both s-measure1 and s-measure2 configured are equal to 0, then UE1 will perform measurements according to measurement configurations A, B, C, D, E and F.

In one embodiment, each of the primary and second nodes sends its own s-measure and its own measurement configuration, although measurement configurations of other nodes may also be sent (e.g., every third measurement configuration sent by the PCell is associated with the PSCell). For example, for dual connectivity, both the primary node and the second node may send measurement configurations to the UE. For example, part of the measurements configured by the master node may be associated with the second node (e.g. the cell quality of the PSCell may relate to measurement evaluation), and vice versa. Additionally, each node may include a measurement activation threshold (e.g., s-measure) in the measurement configuration of each node. For simplicity of description, the measurement activation threshold configured by the primary node will be referred to as s-measure1, and the measurement activation threshold configured by the secondary node will be referred to as s-measure 2.

In this embodiment, upon receiving measurement configurations from the primary node and the second node, and upon receiving s-measure1 and s-measure2, the UE should compare the cell quality of the PCell with s-measure1 and determine whether to perform a measurement configuration associated with the primary node based on the comparison. The UE also compares the cell quality of the PSCell to the s-measure2 and determines whether to perform measurements according to a measurement configuration associated with the second node based on the comparison.

In one embodiment, if a node does not configure s-measure or the configured s-measure value is equal to 0, the following alternatives may be selected according to predefined: (1) the UE should perform measurement configuration associated with the corresponding node; (2) if the reference node is the primary node, the UE should perform measurements as set forth by the measurement configuration associated with the primary node. If the reference node is a second node, the UE should follow the same measurement activation mechanism as the primary node for all configured measurements.

An example scenario in which each of the primary node and the second node sends its own s-measure and its own measurement configuration according to one embodiment, but may also send measurement configurations of other nodes, will now be described.

In a first scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE. Measurement configurations a and B are associated with the primary node 102 and configuration C is associated with the secondary node 104. The master node 102 includes s-measure1 in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE 1. Configurations D and E are associated with second node 104 and configuration F is associated with master node 102. The second node 104 includes s-measure2 in the measurement configuration. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and F when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and F. The UE1 also compares the cell quality of the PSCell to s-measure2 and performs measurements C, D and E when the cell quality of the PSCell is below s-measure 2. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements C, D and E.

In a second scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE 1. Configurations a and B are associated with master node 102 and configuration C is associated with second node 104. The master node 102 includes s-measure1 in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE 1. Configurations D and E are associated with second node 104 and configuration F is associated with master node 102. The second node 104 sends these configurations but does not include a measurement activation threshold (s-measure) in the measurement configuration or includes s-measure2 with a value equal to 0. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and, based on the comparison, performs measurements based on configurations A, B and F when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements based on configurations A, B and F. If the second node 104 does not configure s-measure, or the configured s-measure2 is equal to 0, the UE1 will perform measurements based on the configurations C, D and E.

According to one embodiment, each node (e.g., each of the Pcell and PSCell to which the UE is communicatively linked for DC communications) sends a measurement configuration, s-measure, and an indication of which node (e.g., which cell-Pcell or PSCell) the measurement configuration and s-measure apply.

For dual connectivity, both the primary node and the second node may send measurement configurations to the UE. Further, each node may include a measurement activation threshold in the measurement configuration of each node. Furthermore, each node may comprise an indication showing which cell's quality is required to be compared to the measurement activation threshold. The range of possible values for the indication may include at least { PCell, PSCell }.

For simplicity of description, the measurement activation threshold configured by the primary node will be referred to as s-measure1, and the measurement activation threshold configured by the secondary node will be referred to as s-measure 2. The cell indication configured by the master node will be referred to as cell-ind1, and the cell indication configured by the second node will be referred to as cell-ind 2.

Upon receiving measurement configurations from the primary node and the second node, and upon receiving s-measure1, s-measure2, cell-ind1, and cell-ind2, the UE should compare the cell quality of the cell indicated by cell-ind1 with s-measure1, and determine whether to perform measurement using the measurement configuration configured by the primary node based on the comparison. The UE also compares the cell quality of the cell indicated by cell-ind2 with s-measure2 to decide whether to perform the measurement indicated by the measurement configuration received from the second node.

In one embodiment, if a node does not configure s-measure or the configured s-measure is equal to 0, the following alternatives may be selected as predefined: (1) if the configured cell indication corresponds to the node (i.e., the primary node with the indication is configured as a PCell or the second node with the indication is configured as a PSCell), the UE should perform a measurement configuration configured by the corresponding node; (2) if the configured cell indication does not correspond to the node (i.e. the primary node with the indication is configured as a PSCell, or the second node with the indication is configured as a PCell), the UE should follow the same measurement activation mechanism as the non-reference node.

An example scenario is shown (according to one embodiment) where each node transmits a measurement configuration, s-measure and an indication of which node (e.g., which cell-Pcell or PSCell) the measurement configuration and s-measure apply to.

In a first scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes s-measure1 and a cell-ind1 taking the value "PCell" in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1, and includes s-measure2 and a cell-ind2 that takes the value "PCell" in the measurement configuration. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. The UE1 also compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure2 and performs measurements D, E and F when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 2. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements D, E and F.

In a second scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes s-measure1 and a cell-ind1 taking the value "PCell" in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1, and includes s-measure2 and a cell-ind2 that takes the value "PSCell" in the measurement configuration. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. The UE1 also compares the cell quality of the PSCell to s-measure2 and performs measurements D, E and F when the cell quality of the PSCell is below s-measure 2. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements D, E and F.

In a third scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes s-measure1 and a cell-ind1 taking the value "PCell" in the measurement configuration. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1 and includes a cell-ind2 with a value of "PCell" in the measurement configuration, but does not include a measurement activation threshold (s-measure) or includes an s-measure2 with a value equal to 0. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. If the second node 104 does not configure s-measure, or the configured s-measure2 is equal to 0, but the indication is set to "PCell", then the UE1 should follow the same measurement activation mechanism as the primary node 102. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements D, E and F when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE is not required to perform measurements D, E and F.

In a fourth scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes s-measure1 and a cell-ind1 taking the value "PCell" in the measurement configuration. The second node 102 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE1 and includes a cell-ind2 with a value of "PSCell" in the measurement configuration, but does not include a measurement activation threshold (s-measure) or includes an s-measure2 with a value equal to 0. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. If the second node 104 does not configure s-measure, or the configured s-measure2 is equal to 0, but the indication is set to "PSCell", then the UE1 performs measurements D, E and F.

In one embodiment, the primary node sends both its own s-measure and the second node's-measure to the UE, but each of the primary and second nodes transmits their own measurement configuration to the UE. For example, for dual connectivity, both the primary node and the second node may send measurement configurations to the UE. Further, the master node may include a plurality of measurement activation thresholds associated with the measurement configuration of each node. For simplicity of description, the multiple measurement activation thresholds configured by the master node will be referred to as s-measure1 and s-measure2, where s-measure1 is associated with the master node and s-measure2 is associated with the second node. This association may be indicated by a separate parameter or implicitly by the order of the array elements. Upon receiving the measurement configuration from the primary node and the second node, and upon receiving the s-measure1 and the s-measure2 from the primary node, the UE compares the cell quality of the PCell with the s-measure1, and determines whether to perform the measurement configuration configured by the primary node based on the comparison. The UE also compares the cell quality of the PSCell with the s-measure2 to decide whether to perform the measurement configuration configured by the second node.

According to one embodiment, if one of the s-measures is not configured or the configured s-measure is equal to 0, the following alternatives may be selected as predefined: (1) the UE should perform measurement configuration configured by the associated node; (2) if s-measure1 is not configured, the UE should perform the measurement configuration configured by the master node. If s-measure2 is not configured, the UE should follow the same measurement activation mechanism as the master node.

An example scenario will now be described (according to one embodiment) in which the primary node sends its own s-measure and the s-measure of the secondary node to the UE, but each of the primary and secondary nodes transmits their own measurement configuration to the UE. In a first scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes s-measure1 and s-measure2 in the measurement configurations, where s-measure1 is associated with the master node 102 and s-measure2 is associated with the second node 104. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE 1. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PSCell to s-measure2 and performs measurements D, E and F when the cell quality of the PSCell is below s-measure 2. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements D, E and F.

In a second scenario, for dual connectivity, the master node 102 sends measurement configurations A, B and C to the UE1 and includes in the measurement configuration s-measure1 associated with the master node 102, but does not send s-measure2 associated with the second node 104, or the master node 102 includes s-measure2 whose value is equal to 0. The second node 104 sends measurement configurations D, E and F to the UE 1. The UE1 compares the cell quality of the PCell to s-measure1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the PCell is below s-measure 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. If the primary node 102 does not configure s-measure2 associated with the secondary node 104, or the configured s-measure2 is equal to 0, then the UE1 performs measurements D, E and F.

Selection of threshold values for intra-frequency measurements or for inter-frequency/inter-RAT measurements

For an idle state UE in a cellular system, the UE is configured with two thresholds via broadcast system information sent by the network, where one threshold is used to activate intra-frequency measurements and the other threshold is used to activate inter-frequency and inter-RAT measurements. For intra-frequency measurements, the UE is not required to retune (tune) the Radio Frequency (RF), but for inter-frequency measurements, the UE is required to retune the RF to a frequency of the neighborhood. In some networks, the definition of co-and inter-frequencies may be different and decoupled from the radio frequency capability due to complex signal design.

In one embodiment, to address this issue, for idle state UEs, the network may configure multiple measurements in the broadcast system information sent from the network to the UE to assist in cell reselection. Further, the network includes two thresholds in the broadcast system information, where one threshold (e.g., threshold 1) is associated with measurements that do not require radio chain retuning and the other threshold (e.g., threshold 2) is associated with measurements that require radio chain retuning.

Upon receiving the broadcast system information, the UE evaluates each measurement frequency based on the radio frequency capability of the UE to decide whether radio frequency retuning is needed to perform the measurement. The UE then compares the cell quality of the camped cell (the cell on which the UE is camped) to threshold 1 to determine whether to perform measurements that do not require RF retuning, and compares the cell quality of the camped cell to threshold 2 to determine whether to perform measurements that do require RF retuning.

A scenario in which a wireless network may configure multiple measurements in broadcast system information sent from the network to idle state UEs to assist in cell reselection, according to one embodiment, will now be described. In this scenario, the network 100 configures the measurements A, B, C and D for cell reselection in the broadcast system information. Further, the network 100 includes threshold 1 and threshold 2 in the broadcast system information, where threshold 1 is associated with measurements that do not require radio chain retuning and threshold 2 is associated with measurements that require radio chain retuning. In this scenario, UE1 and UE2 have different radio frequency capabilities and reside in cell 106.

The UE1 may perform measurements a and B without RF retuning, but need to perform measurements C and D with radio frequency retuning. Thus, UE1 compares the cell quality of cell 106 to threshold 1 and threshold 2 and performs measurements a and B when the cell quality of cell 106 is less than or equal to threshold 1. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements a and B. When the cell quality of cell 106 is less than or equal to threshold 2, UE1 performs measurements C and D. Otherwise, the UE1 is not required to perform measurements C and D.

The UE2 may perform measurements A, B and C without radio frequency retuning, but need to perform measurement D with radio frequency retuning. Thus, the UE2 compares the cell quality of the cell 106 to threshold 1 and performs measurements A, B and C when the cell quality of the cell 106 is less than or equal to threshold 1. Otherwise, the UE2 is not required to perform measurements A, B and C. When the cell quality of cell 106 is less than or equal to threshold 2, UE2 performs measurement D. Otherwise, the UE2 is not required to perform measurement D.

Any and all methods described herein are performed by or on one or more computing devices. Moreover, instructions for performing any or all of the methods described herein may be stored on a non-transitory, computer-readable medium, such as any of the various types of memory described herein.

It is to be understood that the example embodiments described herein are to be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for purposes of limitation. Descriptions of features or aspects within each embodiment should generally be considered as available for other similar features or aspects in other embodiments. It will be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that various changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope thereof as defined by the following claims. For example, the steps of the various methods may be reordered in a manner apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art.

Claims

1. A method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving a first measurement configuration and a first threshold from a first node of the wireless network, the first measurement configuration comprising at least one intra-frequency measurement configuration and at least one inter-frequency measurement configuration;

receiving a second measurement configuration and a second threshold from a second node of the wireless network, the second measurement configuration comprising at least one intra-frequency measurement configuration and at least one inter-frequency measurement configuration;

comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the first node;

determining whether to perform measurements according to the first measurement configuration based on a result of a comparison of the first threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the first node;

comparing the second threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the second node; and

determining whether to perform measurements according to the second measurement configuration based on a result of a comparison of the second threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the second node.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

performing measurements according to the first measurement configuration when the quality of radio signals received from the first node is below the first threshold; and

performing measurements according to the second measurement configuration when the quality of radio signals received from the second node is below the second threshold.

3. The method of claim 2, further comprising:

communicating with a cell of the first node as a primary cell;

communicating with a cell of the second node as a second cell; and

switching the cell of the second node to an alternative cell as a second cell based on the measurement performed by the first measurement configuration or the measurement performed by the second measurement configuration.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second light sources are selected from the group consisting of,

wherein the first measurement and first threshold belong to a plurality of thresholds and a plurality of measurements received from the first node, each of the plurality of measurements being associated with a respective one of the plurality of thresholds,

wherein the second measurement and second threshold belong to a plurality of thresholds and a plurality of measurements received from the second node, each of the plurality of measurements being associated with a respective one of the plurality of thresholds,

the method further comprises:

for each measurement of the plurality of measurements received from the first node, performing the measurement when the quality of the radio signal received from the first node is below a threshold associated with the received measurement; and

for each of the plurality of measurements received from the second node, performing the measurement when the quality of the radio signal received from the second node is below a threshold associated with the received measurement.

5. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving from the first node an indication of which node's radio signal is to be measured using the first measurement configuration; and

receiving an indication from the second node as to which node's radio signal is to be measured using the second measurement configuration.

6. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving another measurement configuration from the first node or the second node but without a threshold associated with the other measurement configuration; and

in response, a measurement is performed using the other measurement configuration.

7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

receiving, from the first node or the second node, another measurement configuration and a threshold associated with the other measurement configuration, wherein the threshold is zero; and

8. The method of claim 1, wherein

The cell of the first node acts as a primary cell for the user equipment; and is

The cell of the second node acts as a second cell of the user equipment.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second nodes operate using different radio access technologies.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the first and second nodes operate using the same radio access technology.

11. A method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving a first threshold and a measurement configuration associated with a second node from a first node of the wireless network, the measurement configuration associated with the second node comprising at least one intra-frequency measurement configuration and at least one inter-frequency measurement configuration;

receiving a second threshold from a second node of the wireless network;

comparing the first threshold to a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the first node; and

determining whether to perform measurements according to a measurement configuration associated with the first node based on a result of a comparison of the first threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the first node.

12. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

performing measurements according to a measurement configuration associated with the first node when the quality of radio signals received from the first node is below the first threshold.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising:

communicating with a cell of the first node as a primary cell;

communicating with a cell of the second node as a second cell; and

switching from a cell of the second node to an alternative cell as a second cell based on measurements performed with a measurement configuration associated with the first node.

14. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

receiving, from the second node, a measurement configuration associated with the first node;

determining whether to perform a measurement according to a measurement configuration associated with the second node based on a result of the comparison of the second threshold with the quality of the radio signal received from the second node.

15. The method of claim 14, wherein

The measurement configuration received from the second node is one of a plurality of measurement configurations received from the second node,

the plurality of measurement configurations received from the second node include at least one measurement configuration associated with the second node in addition to the measurement configuration associated with the first node, the method further comprising:

repeating the comparing and determining steps using the second threshold and the at least one measurement configuration associated with the second node.

16. The method of claim 11, wherein

The measurement configuration received from the first node is one of a plurality of measurement configurations received from the first node,

the plurality of measurement configurations received from the first node include at least one measurement configuration associated with the first node in addition to the measurement configuration associated with the second node,

the method further comprises:

repeating the comparing and determining steps using the first threshold and the at least one measurement configuration associated with the first node.

17. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

18. The method of claim 11, further comprising:

19. The method of claim 11, wherein

The cell of the second node acts as a second cell of the user equipment.

20. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second nodes operate using different radio access technologies.

21. The method of claim 11, wherein the first and second nodes operate using the same radio access technology.

22. A method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication with a plurality of nodes of a wireless network, the method comprising:

receiving a first measurement configuration, a first threshold and a second threshold from a first node of the wireless network, the first measurement configuration comprising at least one intra-frequency measurement configuration and at least one inter-frequency measurement configuration;

receiving a second measurement configuration from a second node of the wireless network, the second measurement configuration comprising at least one intra-frequency measurement configuration and at least one inter-frequency measurement configuration;

determining whether to perform the first measurement based on a comparison of the first threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the first node;

determining whether to perform the second measurement based on a result of a comparison of the second threshold with a quality of a radio signal received from a primary cell of the second node.

23. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

performing the first measurement when the quality of the radio signal received from the first node is below the first threshold, an

Performing the second measurement when the quality of the radio signal received from the second node is below the second threshold.

24. The method of claim 23, further comprising:

communicating with a cell of the first node as a primary cell;

communicating with a cell of the second node as a second cell; and

switching from a cell of the second node to a candidate cell as a second cell based on the first measurement or the second measurement.

25. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving another measurement configuration from the first node or the second node but not receiving a threshold associated with the other measurement configuration from the first node; and

26. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

receiving another measurement configuration from the first node or the second node;

receiving, from the first node, a zero threshold associated with the other measurement configuration; and

27. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

28. The method of claim 22, further comprising:

29. The method of claim 22, wherein

The cell of the second node acts as a second cell of the user equipment.

30. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second nodes operate using different radio access technologies.

31. The method of claim 22, wherein the first and second nodes operate using the same radio access technology.

32. A method for a user equipment to perform wireless communication on a wireless network, the method comprising:

camping in a cell of the wireless network in idle mode;

receiving broadcast system information from the wireless network; and

for each of the plurality of measurement configurations,

33. A computing device, comprising: a processor; the processor is configured to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 32.

34. A non-transitory computer readable medium having stored thereon computer executable instructions which, when executed by a processor, implement the method of any one of claims 1 to 32.