CN111183666B

CN111183666B - Method, computer program and apparatus

Info

Publication number: CN111183666B
Application number: CN201780095571.XA
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张力; A·阿里; L·达尔斯加德; 贺敬; T·恩托南
Original assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Current assignee: Nokia Shanghai Bell Co Ltd; Nokia Solutions and Networks Oy
Priority date: 2017-08-17
Filing date: 2017-08-17
Publication date: 2023-08-22
Anticipated expiration: 2037-08-17
Also published as: CN111183666A; WO2019033328A1; WO2019033328A8

Abstract

A method, comprising: receiving information from a network node at a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment; and determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for measuring a frequency layer using the received information and radio frequency capability information of the user equipment; and receiving, at the user equipment, information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested from the network node.

Description

Method, computer program and apparatus

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to communications, and more particularly, to methods, computer programs, and apparatus in a wireless communication system. More particularly, the present application relates to measurement gap scheduling.

Background

A communication system may be considered a facility that enables communication between two or more devices, such as user terminals, machine-like terminals, base stations, and/or other nodes, by providing a communication channel between the communication devices for carrying information. For example, the communication system may be provided by means of a communication network and one or more compatible communication devices. For example, the communication may include data communication for carrying data for voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia and/or content data communication, and the like. Non-limiting examples of services provided include bi-or multi-directional calls, data communication or multimedia services, and access to data network systems such as the internet.

In a wireless system, at least a portion of the communication occurs over a wireless interface. Examples of wireless systems include Public Land Mobile Networks (PLMNs), satellite-based communication systems, and different wireless local networks, such as Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). Local area wireless network technology that allows devices to connect to a data network is known under the trade name WiFi (or Wi-Fi). WiFi is often used synonymously with WLAN. A wireless system may be divided into cells and is therefore commonly referred to as a cellular system. The base station provides at least one cell.

The user may access the communication system by means of a suitable communication device or terminal capable of communicating with the base station. Thus, a node like a base station is often referred to as an access point. The communication device of a user is often referred to as User Equipment (UE). The communication device is provided with suitable signal receiving and transmitting means for enabling communication, e.g. communication with a base station and/or direct communication with other user equipment. The communication device may communicate on an appropriate channel, e.g., a channel on which a station (e.g., a base station of a cell) listens for transmissions.

Communication systems and associated devices typically operate in accordance with a given standard or specification which sets out what the various entities associated with the system are permitted to do and how that should be achieved. Communication protocols and/or parameters which should be used for the connection are also typically defined. Non-limiting examples of standardized radio access technologies include GSM (global system for mobile), EDGE (enhanced data for GSM Evolution) Radio Access Network (GERAN), universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (UTRAN), and evolved UTRAN (E-UTRAN). An example communication system architecture is Long Term Evolution (LTE) of the Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) radio access technology. LTE is being standardized by the third generation partnership project (3 GPP). LTE employs evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) access and its further developments, which are sometimes referred to as LTE-advanced (LTE-a).

Since the introduction of fourth generation (4G) services, there has been an increasing interest in the next generation or fifth generation (5G) standards. The 5G may also be referred to as a New Radio (NR) network. Standardization of 5G or new radio networks is an ongoing work item. In LTE Rel-14 measurement gap enhancement for LTE WI (work item), the concept of per CC (carrier component) gap is introduced.

Disclosure of Invention

According to a first aspect, there is provided a method comprising: receiving, at a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, information from a network node, the information for scheduling use in determining measurement gaps at the user equipment; and determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for measuring the frequency layer using the received information and the radio frequency capability information of the user equipment; and receiving, at the user equipment, information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested from the network node.

According to some embodiments, the user equipment is not configured with a serving cell for the frequency layer.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: a measurement gap schedule configured at one of the receiver chains is determined for use in performing a measurement frequency layer.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: one or more serving cells from which updated measurement gap scheduling information is requested are determined.

According to some embodiments, determining a measurement gap schedule at a user equipment comprises: information of expected user equipment measurement performance is used.

According to some embodiments, the expected user equipment measurement performance comprises a threshold measurement delay duration and the information of the expected user equipment measurement performance is received from the network node or preset at the user equipment.

According to some embodiments, configuring measurement gap scheduling at a user equipment comprises: information on the maximum number of carriers that can be served by the configured measurement gap is used.

According to some embodiments, determining a measurement gap schedule includes: information of the expected impact on the data scheduling is used, or information of the previous impact on the data scheduling is used.

According to some embodiments, the information of the impact on the data scheduling includes one or more of the following: rules based on operator policy; rules based on data activity; rules based on quality of service.

According to some embodiments, information of the expected impact of the data scheduling and/or information of the previous impact of the data scheduling is provided by the network or fixed in the specification.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: a request for measurement gap scheduling information from a user equipment is sent to one or more serving cells based on information of the one or more serving cells received from a network node.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: it is determined whether the user equipment has a receiver chain that is not actively scheduled with data, and when it is determined that there is a receiver chain that is not actively scheduled with data, a measurement frequency layer is performed using the receiver chain.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: one or more parameters are received from a network node for use in determining a measurement gap schedule, the one or more parameters including one or more of: throughput capacity; quality of service.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: the values of the parameters received from the network node are compared to measured values of those parameters associated with one or more serving cells, or one or more groups of serving cells, or the values of the parameters received from the network node are compared to one or more network configured thresholds.

According to some embodiments, the information of the one or more serving cells includes a priority associated with each serving cell within the set of serving cells.

According to some embodiments, the radio frequency capability information includes frequency measurement capability.

According to a second aspect, there is provided a method comprising: transmitting information from the network node to a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for measuring a frequency layer; the information includes information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: information of expected user equipment measurement performance is sent to the user equipment.

According to some embodiments, the expected user equipment measurement performance comprises a threshold measurement delay duration.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: information is transmitted on the maximum number of carriers that can be served by the determined measurement gap.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: information of an expected impact on the data scheduling or information of a previous impact on the data scheduling is transmitted to the user equipment.

According to some embodiments, the method comprises: transmitting, to a user equipment, one or more parameters for determining a measurement gap schedule, the one or more parameters including one or more of: throughput capacity; quality of service.

According to a third aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising program code means adapted to perform the steps of the first aspect when the program is run on data processing means.

According to a fourth aspect, there is provided a computer program comprising program code means adapted to perform the steps of the second aspect when the program is run on data processing means.

According to a fifth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor: receiving information from a network node, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at a device having two or more receiver chains; and determining a measurement gap schedule at the device for measuring the frequency layer using the received information and the radio frequency capability information of the device; and receiving information of one or more serving cells from the network node from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is not configured with a serving cell for the frequency layer.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: a measurement gap schedule configured at one of the receiver chains is determined for performing measurements of the frequency layer.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: one or more serving cells from which updated measurement gap scheduling information is requested are determined.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to determine a measurement gap schedule at the apparatus, comprising: information of performance is measured using the expected device.

According to some embodiments, the expected device measurement performance comprises a threshold measurement delay duration, and the information of the expected device measurement performance is received from the network node or preset at the device.

According to some embodiments, configuring measurement gap scheduling at a device includes: information on the maximum number of carriers that can be served by the configured measurement gap is used.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: a request transmission is sent from an apparatus to one or more serving cells for measuring gap scheduling information, the request being sent to the one or more serving cells based on the information of the one or more serving cells received from the network node.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: it is determined whether the apparatus has a receiver chain that is actively scheduled for unused data, and when it is determined that there is a receiver chain that is actively scheduled for unused data, a measurement frequency layer is performed using the receiver chain.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: one or more parameters are received from the network node for determining a measurement gap schedule, the one or more parameters including one or more of: throughput capacity; quality of service.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: the values of the parameters received from the network node are compared to measured values of those parameters associated with one or more serving cells, or one or more groups of serving cells, or the values of the parameters received from the network node are compared to one or more network configured thresholds.

According to some embodiments, the information of the one or more serving cells includes: a priority associated with each serving cell within the set of serving cells.

According to a sixth aspect, there is provided an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor: transmitting information to a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for measuring a frequency layer; the information includes information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: information of expected user equipment measurement performance is sent to the user equipment.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: information is transmitted on the maximum number of carriers that can be served by the determined measurement gap.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: information of an expected impact on the data scheduling or information of a previous impact on the data scheduling is transmitted to the user equipment.

According to some embodiments, the apparatus is configured to: transmitting one or more parameters for determining a measurement gap schedule to a user equipment, the one or more parameters including one or more of: throughput capacity; quality of service.

Drawings

The application will now be described in further detail, by way of example only, with reference to the following examples and accompanying drawings, in which:

fig. 1 shows a schematic example of a wireless communication system in which the present application may be implemented;

fig. 2 shows an example of a communication device;

fig. 3 shows an example of a control device;

fig. 4 shows an example UE with multiple Rx chains serving different serving cells;

FIG. 5 is a flow chart of a method according to an example;

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of a method according to an example;

fig. 7 is a flow chart of a method according to an example.

Detailed Description

Before explaining examples in detail, some general principles of a wireless communication system and a mobile communication system are briefly explained with reference to fig. 1 to 2 to help understand the basic technology of the described examples.

In a wireless communication system 100 such as that shown in fig. 1, wireless access is provided to wireless communication devices (e.g., user Equipment (UE) or MTC devices 102, 104, 105) via at least one base station or similar wireless transmission and/or reception wireless infrastructure node or point. Such a node may be, for example, a base station or eNodeB (eNB), or in a 5G system, a next generation NodeB (gNB) or other wireless infrastructure node. These nodes are often referred to as base stations. The base station is typically controlled by at least one suitable controller means to be able to operate and manage mobile communication devices communicating with the base station. The controller device may be located in a radio access network (e.g., wireless communication system 100) or in a Core Network (CN) (not shown) and may be implemented as one central device or its functionality may be distributed over multiple devices. The controller means may be part of the base station and/or provided by a separate entity such as a radio network controller. In fig. 1 control means 108 and 109 are shown to control the respective macro level base stations 106 and 107. In some systems, the control means may additionally or alternatively be provided in the radio network controller. Other examples of radio access systems include those provided by base stations based on systems such as 5G or new radio, wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) and/or WiMax (worldwide interoperability for microwave access) technologies, and the like. The base station may provide coverage for an entire cell or similar radio service area.

In fig. 1, base stations 106 and 107 are shown connected to a wider communication network 113 via gateway 112. Further gateway functions may be provided to connect to another network.

Smaller base stations 116, 118, and 120 may also be connected to network 113, for example, by separate gateway functions and/or via controllers of macro-level stations. The base stations 116, 118, and 120 may be micro-or femto-base stations, or the like. In the example, stations 116 and 118 are connected via gateway 111, while station 120 is connected via controller device 108. In some embodiments, smaller stations may not be provided.

A possible wireless communication device will now be described in more detail with reference to fig. 2, fig. 2 showing a schematic partial cross-sectional view of a communication device 200. Such communication devices are often referred to as User Equipment (UE) or terminals. A suitable mobile communication device may be provided by any device capable of transmitting and receiving radio signals. Non-limiting examples include a Mobile Station (MS) or mobile device, such as a mobile phone or so-called 'smart phone', a computer provided with a wireless interface card or other wireless interface facility (e.g., a USB dongle), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) or tablet computer provided with wireless communication capabilities, or any combination of these, or the like. For example, a mobile communication device may provide data communications for carrying communications such as voice, electronic mail (email), text messages, multimedia, and the like. Many services can be offered and provided to users via their communication devices. Non-limiting examples of such services include bi-or multi-directional calls, data communication or multimedia services or simply access to a data communication network system, such as the internet. Broadcast or multicast data may also be provided to the user. Non-limiting examples of content include downloads, television and radio programming, video, advertising, various alerts, and other information.

The wireless communication device may be, for example, a mobile device, i.e., a device that is not fixed in a particular location, or may be a stationary device. The wireless device may or may not require human-machine interaction to communicate. In the present teachings, the term UE or "user" is used to refer to any type of wireless communication device.

The wireless device 200 may receive signals over an air interface or radio interface 207 via appropriate means for receiving and may transmit signals via appropriate means for transmitting radio signals. In fig. 2, transceiver devices are schematically designated by block 206. For example, the transceiver device 206 may be provided by means of a radio and an associated antenna arrangement. The antenna arrangement may be provided inside or outside the wireless device.

The wireless device is typically provided with at least one data processing entity 201, at least one memory 202 and possibly other components 203 for software and hardware assistance in performing tasks designed to be performed, including controlling access to and communication with access systems and other communication devices. The data processing, storage and other associated control means may be provided on a suitable circuit board and/or in a chipset. This feature is indicated by reference numeral 204. The user may control the operation of the wireless device by means of a suitable user interface, such as a keypad 205, voice commands, touch sensitive screen or pad, combinations thereof, and the like. A display 208, speakers, and microphone may also be provided. Further, the wireless communication device may include suitable connectors (wired or wireless) to other devices and/or for connecting external accessories (e.g., hands-free devices) thereto. The communication devices 102, 104, 105 may access the communication system based on various access technologies.

Fig. 3 shows an example of a control means for a communication system, e.g. a station coupled to and/or for controlling an access system, e.g. a base station, a gNB, a central unit of a cloud architecture or a node of a core network, e.g. an MME or S-GW, a scheduling entity, e.g. a spectrum management entity, or a server or host. The control means may be integrated with or external to a node or module of the core network or RAN. In some embodiments, the base station includes a separate control device unit or module. In other embodiments, the control device may be another network element, such as a radio network controller or a spectrum controller. In some embodiments, each base station may have such control means as well as control means provided in the radio network controller. The control means 300 may be arranged to provide control of the communication in the service area of the system. The control device 300 comprises at least one memory 301, at least one data processing unit 302, 303 and an input/output interface 304. Via the interface, the control device may be coupled to a receiver and a transmitter of the base station. The receiver and/or transmitter may be implemented as a radio front-end or a remote radio head. For example, the control device 300 or the processor 201 may be configured to execute appropriate software code to provide control functions.

LTE Rel-14 measurement gap enhancement for LTE WI (work item) has been mentioned above. In this work item, the concept of per CC (carrier component) gaps is introduced. A "gap" is a period of time during which the UE stops one or more groups of serving cells (a group may include any number of serving cells) or transmissions/receptions (Tx/Rx) on a carrier, such that measurements may be performed on a frequency layer for which the UE has been configured to measure, for example, a carrier without a serving cell. Such measurements may include signal strength, signal quality of non-serving cell(s), or total received power of cell(s) or interference level of frequency layer, etc. Such measurements may be useful or necessary, for example, during a handover of a UE from one cell to another.

In the above mentioned work item, a UE with multiple receiver (Rx) chains may indicate a gap preference for the network, i.e. for each serving cell, whether a gap is needed. Each Rx chain is related to the UE's ability to receive multiple frequency layers and may depend on the exact UE implementation details. Thus, in some examples, each receiver chain may receive a different frequency layer. When the network performs RRC (radio resource control) connection reconfiguration (e.g., changing Carrier Aggregation (CA) combinations or adding/deleting measurement objects) that may affect the RF capabilities of the UE, the preference is expected to be indicated from the UE to the network.

In this per CC gap concept, on which CC gap set the request is made depends on the UE implementation. The technical problem that the inventors of the present application have identified is how best to request a gap for a UE with multiple Rx chains. The inventors have also identified that by requesting gaps in an optimal way, the measurement performance of the different carriers can be guaranteed as much as possible and the interference to the data scheduling on the serving cell can be minimized. If a UE is serving its serving cell using multiple Rx chains, per UE gap is unnecessary for all serving cells of the UE.

Fig. 4 shows an example in which each CC (component carrier) having a configured serving cell is served by an Rx chain. In some cases, one Rx chain may be used to serve several CCs. In fig. 4, a UE is schematically shown at 400. The UE includes an Rx chain #1 402 and an Rx chain #2 404. In this example, the Rx chain 402 serves CC#1-1, 1-2, and 1-M (indicated by reference numerals 406, 408, and 410, respectively). The Rx chain 404 serves CC#2-1, 2-2, and 2-N (indicated by reference numerals 412, 414, and 416, respectively). When the UE is configured to measure a non-serving carrier a (i.e., carrier frequency) indicated by 418, which is not currently serving the user equipment, the UE will attempt to measure cells in that carrier according to the configured measurement parameters. In this example, non-serving carrier a is a carrier for which no serving cell exists for the UE, but the network may configure the UE to measure the carrier to find out if there is a good candidate for the serving cell to be used as the UE.

In terms of capability, any one or more of the Rx chains may sometimes be used to measure a given frequency of the non-serving carrier 418. If one Rx chain is used for measurement, a measurement gap may be created for the set of CCs served by it. For example, if the Rx chain 402 performs measurements, there will be measurement gaps needed for CCs 406, 408 and 410, or in other words, periods of time that typically occur periodically (although DRX is utilized for ANR (automatic neighbor relation), they may occur when the UE deems appropriate), where transmission/reception involving those CCs is suspended.

As will be explained more fully below, the present disclosure describes, at least in part, a decision whether a UE should and/or from which serving cell or set of serving cells to request a gap and information from the network necessary for the UE to facilitate making the best decision. If the interval is granted on request, the Rx chains serving those cells will be readjusted for measurement.

There may be at least two potential problems with a UE when it is required to measure non-serving carrier frequencies and the UE has multiple Rx chains that can be used to perform the measurements.

The first potential problem is whether a new gap needs to be requested if

Gap(s) without activity; and/or

Activating gaps in a set of serving cells;

a second potential issue is whether new gap(s) need to be requested, from which serving cell or set of serving cell(s) the UE should request measurement gap(s).

Accordingly, in some embodiments, an enhancement is presented in which the network may influence or direct the UE's decision as to whether to request a gap and from which CCs to request a gap. In some examples, the PCell (primary cell) of the UE may generate the necessary information and send it to the UE via one or more serving cells.

One straightforward example of the proposed enhancement is LTE-NR EN-DC (E-UTRAN-NR dual connectivity). In EN-DC, LTE MN (primary node) and NR SN (new radio secondary node) can configure UE measurements on NR carrier frequencies, including serving and non-serving carriers, respectively. For example, the MN may configure inter-RAT/frequency measurements and the SN may independently configure intra-RAT/frequency measurements. The NR carrier frequencies configured for measurement by the MN and SN may be the same or different. As identified by the present inventors, since the MN and SN operate independently, it is not always necessary to implement an optimal measurement configuration through network configuration, including assigning appropriate gaps to different CC sets. Instead, giving the decision of the gap request completely to the UE itself may lead to poor data scheduling opportunities and measurement performance.

According to some embodiments, for the case where the UE uses multiple RX chains to serve different serving cells, e.g., intra-RAT CA or DC or MR-DC (multi-RAT dual connectivity), the UE takes its own RF capabilities and network control information into account when deciding on the gap request(s). Based on this information, the UE determines whether a new gap configuration needs to be requested. If a new gap configuration is required, the UE selects the set of serving cells for which the gap is to be activated. In MR-DC in which measurement objects are configured independently by different network nodes, the UE determines to which node a gap is requested.

When the network performs RRC connection reconfiguration that may affect the RF measurement capabilities of the UE, such as changing CA combinations or adding/removing measurement objects to be measured, in some embodiments the UE has two steps to make a gap-related decision, as shown in fig. 5.

Initially, the UE determines whether a new measurement gap is needed based on the UE RF capability and other new parameters of the expected UE measurement performance. The expected UE measurement performance may be provided by the network or fixed in the specification. The new parameter is, for example, the maximum allowable measurement delay for each measurement frequency, or the maximum total number of carriers that a gap can measure (or 'serve').

As shown in S1, the UE determines whether the UE using the Rx chain with the existing gap pattern has the capability of measuring the target measurement frequency carrier with the indicated performance based on the UE RF capability.

At S2, given the UE RF capabilities, new parameters of expected measurement performance are used to assist the UE in assessing whether the currently used gap pattern can support all target measurement objects without tolerating measurement performance degradation (e.g., indicating UE measurement performance targets within a given network).

At S3, the UE determines on which serving cell set a new gap is requested if/when it is determined that a new gap pattern/gap is required. This may be based on rules of the UE RF capability and the expected impact on data scheduling, experienced data scheduling, etc. This information may be provided by the network or fixed in the specification. These rules may include operator policy based rules, data activity based rules, qoS based rules, and the like.

At S4, the UE RF capability may determine whether the Rx chain that will create the new gap has the capability to measure the target measurement frequency carrier.

At S5, rules of expected impact on data scheduling are used to assist the UE in selecting one Rx chain to create a new gap for the target measurement object with minimal data scheduling impact.

In some examples, to optimize scheduling at the network and better utilize available system resources, where the UE has an inactive Rx chain (i.e., not actively scheduling with data), then the UE uses its inactive receiver chain to perform measurements. In this case, the UE should attempt to reduce the scheduling impact, e.g. if a new gap needs to be requested, no gap is requested or a gap with a high density is requested on the active receiver chain. In an example, this is achieved by: a metric (e.g., throughput) indicated by the network is generated and values obtained from different groups of serving cells (e.g., throughput) are compared or compared to a threshold value of the network configuration. The network may also explicitly request that a certain group should provide a gap.

Referring back to fig. 5, an example of a network control parameter or rule that may be used at S5 may be an explicit preference of the set of serving cells. For example, in the case of MR-DC, the network may instruct the UE to use as much gap as possible or to make measurements in one NodeB. The parameters or rules may also include a priority associated with each serving cell. For example, if a serving cell is used for coverage/mobility, the serving cell may be given a higher priority. The UE should attempt to avoid affecting such a serving cell by not requesting gaps or by requesting gaps with a lower density. The network control parameters may also include one or more thresholds. The threshold(s) may include one or more of the following: quality of service (QoS); radio conditions; throughput. The UE is configured to attempt to avoid affecting such a serving cell if the QoS and/or radio conditions and/or throughput on the cell are above a threshold.

To guarantee (or as much as possible) the measurement performance of the measured carriers, in some examples, the UE is set to start measuring carriers using the new Rx chain if it is determined that sharing the Rx chain between the newly added carrier and other carriers would result in a longer measurement delay than the threshold signaled by the network.

Referring back to fig. 5 again, in some examples, the network control parameter that may be used in S2 may be a maximum target performance scaling (e.g., measurement delay) for each measurement object. For example, if an existing gap has been used to measure four carrier frequencies and the maximum target performance of the newly added carrier frequencies for measurement scales to 5, the UE should request a new gap on another set of serving cells. The maximum target performance and/or scaling factor may also be related to other measurement properties (e.g., reporting configuration) on the carrier frequency. If mobility related events are configured on the carrier frequency like A3 (i.e. neighbor cells become stronger than the current PCell plus a threshold) or A6 (i.e. neighbor cells on the same frequency as scells become stronger than the corresponding SCell (secondary cell) plus a threshold), the maximum target performance scaling may be smaller than in the case of non-mobility related events like A1/A2 (serving cells become better/worse than the threshold). A1, A2, A3, and A6 are reporting events defined in 3GPP technical specification 36.331 (RRC protocol).

Fig. 6 is a flow chart illustrating a method from the perspective of a user device according to one example.

At S1, a UE having two or more receiver chains receives information from a network node, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at a user equipment.

At S2, the UE uses the received information and the radio frequency capability information of the user equipment to determine a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for measuring the frequency layer.

At S3, the UE receives information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested from the network node.

Fig. 7 is a flow chart illustrating a method from the perspective of a network node according to one example.

At S1, the network node sends information to a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment to measure a frequency layer. The information includes information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested.

According to the described embodiments, selecting a group of serving cells to provide a measurement gap on the UE side may be optimized. Furthermore, the network may influence the decision of the UE so that the impact on data scheduling and measurement performance may be controlled.

In general, the various embodiments may be implemented in hardware or special purpose circuits, software, logic or any combination thereof. Some aspects of the application may be implemented in hardware, while other aspects may be implemented in firmware or software which may be executed by a controller, microprocessor or other computing device, although the application is not limited thereto. While various aspects of the application may be illustrated and described as block diagrams, flow charts, or using some other pictorial representation, it is well understood that these blocks, apparatus, systems, techniques or methods 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.

Embodiments of the application may be implemented by computer software executable by a data processor of a mobile device, such as in a processor entity, or by hardware, or by a combination of software and hardware. Computer software or programs (also referred to as program products, including software routines, applets, and/or macros) can be stored in any apparatus-readable data storage medium and they include program instructions to perform particular tasks. The computer program product may include one or more computer-executable components configured to perform embodiments when the program is run. The one or more computer-executable components may be at least one software code or portion thereof.

Further in this regard, it should be noted that any blocks of logic flows as in the figures may represent program steps or interconnected logic circuits, blocks and functions, or a combination of program steps and logic circuits, blocks and functions. The software may be stored on such physical media as memory chips, memory blocks implemented within the processor, magnetic memory such as hard or floppy disks, and optical memory such as, for example, DVDs and their data modification CDs. The physical medium is a non-transitory medium.

The memory may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may be implemented using any suitable data storage technology, such as semiconductor-based memory devices, magnetic memory devices and systems, optical memory devices and systems, fixed memory, and removable memory. The data processor may be of any type suitable to the local technical environment and may include, as non-limiting examples, one or more of a general purpose computer, a special purpose computer, a microprocessor, a Data Signal Processor (DSP), an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC), an FPGA, a gate level circuit, and a processor based on a multi-core processor architecture.

Embodiments of the application may be practiced in various components such as integrated circuit modules. The design of integrated circuits is generally a highly automated process. Complex and powerful software tools are available for converting a logic level design into a semiconductor circuit design ready to be etched and formed on a semiconductor substrate.

The foregoing description provides a complete and informative description of exemplary embodiments of the application, by way of non-limiting example. However, various modifications and adaptations may become apparent to those skilled in the relevant arts in view of the foregoing description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the appended claims. However, all such modifications and similar thereto of the teachings of this application will still fall within the scope of the application that is defined in the appended claims. Indeed, there is still another embodiment that includes a combination of one or more embodiments with any of the other embodiments previously discussed.

Claims

1. A method of communication, comprising:

receiving information from a network node at a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment; and

determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for measuring a frequency layer using the received information and radio frequency capability information of the user equipment; and

information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested is received at the user equipment from the network node.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the user equipment is not configured with a serving cell for the frequency layer.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises: a measurement gap schedule configured at one of the receiver chains is determined for use in performing the measurement frequency layer.

4. A method according to claim 3, comprising: one or more serving cells from which updated measurement gap scheduling information is requested are determined.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment comprises: information of expected user equipment measurement performance is used.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the expected user equipment measurement performance comprises a threshold measurement delay duration and the information of expected user equipment measurement performance is received from the network node or preset at the user equipment.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein configuring measurement gap scheduling at the user equipment comprises: information of the maximum number of carriers that can be served by the configured measurement gap is used.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein determining a measurement gap schedule comprises: information of the expected impact on the data scheduling is used, or information of the previous impact on the data scheduling is used.

9. The method according to claim 1, comprising: a request for measurement gap scheduling information from the user equipment is sent to the one or more serving cells, the one or more serving cells to which the request is sent being based on the information of the one or more serving cells received from the network node.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein the method comprises: it is determined whether the user equipment has a receiver chain that is not actively scheduled with data, and the measurement frequency layer is performed using the receiver chain when it is determined that there is a receiver chain that is not actively scheduled with data.

11. The method according to claim 1, comprising: receiving one or more parameters from the network node for use in determining the measurement gap schedule, the one or more parameters including one or more of: throughput capacity; quality of service.

12. The method of claim 11, comprising: the values of the parameters received from the network node are compared to measured values of those parameters associated with the one or more serving cells or one or more groups of the serving cells, or the values of the parameters received from the network node are compared to one or more network configuration thresholds.

13. The method of any of claims 1-12, wherein the information of one or more serving cells comprises: a priority associated with each serving cell within the set of serving cells.

14. A method of communication, comprising:

transmitting information from a network node to a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for use in measuring a frequency layer;

the information includes information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested.

15. The method of claim 14, comprising: and sending information of expected user equipment measurement performance to the user equipment.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the expected user equipment measurement performance comprises a threshold measurement delay duration.

17. The method of claim 14, comprising: information is transmitted on the maximum number of carriers that can be served by the determined measurement gap.

18. The method of claim 14, comprising: information of an expected impact on data scheduling or information of a previous impact on data scheduling is transmitted to the user equipment.

19. The method of claim 14, comprising: transmitting one or more parameters to the user equipment, the one or more parameters for use in determining the measurement gap schedule, the one or more parameters comprising one or more of: throughput capacity; quality of service.

20. The method of any of claims 14 to 19, wherein the information of one or more serving cells comprises: a priority associated with each serving cell within the set of serving cells.

21. A computer readable medium comprising program code means adapted to perform the method of any of claims 1 to 13 when the program is run on a data processing apparatus.

22. A computer readable medium comprising program code means adapted to perform the method of any of claims 14 to 20 when the program is run on a data processing apparatus.

23. A communications apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor:

receiving information from a network node, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the apparatus, the apparatus having two or more receiver chains; and

determining a measurement gap schedule at the device for measuring a frequency layer using the received information and radio frequency capability information of the device; and

information of one or more serving cells from which measurement gap scheduling information should be requested is received from the network node.

24. A communications apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code, wherein the at least one memory and the computer program code are configured to, with the at least one processor:

transmitting information to a user equipment having two or more receiver chains, the information for use in determining a measurement gap schedule at the user equipment for use in measuring a frequency layer;

the information includes information of one or more serving cells from which the measurement gap scheduling information should be requested.