CN111294825A

CN111294825A - Signal measurement control method and device, storage medium and terminal

Info

Publication number: CN111294825A
Application number: CN201910085045.6A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 邓云
Original assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Current assignee: Spreadtrum Communications Shanghai Co Ltd
Priority date: 2019-01-29
Filing date: 2019-01-29
Publication date: 2020-06-16
Anticipated expiration: 2039-01-29
Also published as: CN111294825B

Abstract

A signal measurement control method and device, a storage medium and a terminal are provided, wherein the measurement control method comprises the following steps: determining a measurement task, wherein the measurement task is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entry condition; according to the measurement task, at least one measurement is carried out on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration; and in the preset trigger duration, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal, increasing the measurement times of the reference signal on the current frequency, and/or measuring the reference signal on other frequencies of the cell, wherein the other frequencies are associated with the cell. By the technical scheme provided by the invention, the accuracy of triggering the measurement report by the terminal deployed in the unlicensed spectrum can be improved, and the time delay of triggering the measurement report can be effectively reduced so as to improve the user experience.

Description

Signal measurement control method and device, storage medium and terminal

Technical Field

The present invention relates to the field of communications technologies, and in particular, to a method and an apparatus for controlling signal measurement, a storage medium, and a terminal.

Background

A Fifth-Generation mobile communication (5G) system adopts a New Radio (NR) technology with a large bandwidth and a high rate, wherein The maximum bandwidth of a cell can reach 400MHz, which is far greater than The maximum cell bandwidth of 20MHz specified in The Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. If all NR User Equipments (UE) need to access 400MHz bandwidth when accessing the network, the UE cost will be greatly increased, and the UE power consumption will be increased. Therefore, a new concept of "bandwidth Part (BWP)" is introduced into the 5G system, allowing NR UEs to access the 5G system using narrowband BWP and transmit traffic using broadband BWP.

The UE may transmit data on the active BWP. When NR is deployed in the licensed spectrum, a cell always sends a periodic reference signal, and if UE does not measure a reference signal of a certain cell, UE considers that the signal quality of the cell is lower than a preset threshold, and does not trigger a measurement report related to the cell.

The NR system uses an unlicensed Spectrum technique, also called a New Radio in unlicensed Spectrum (NR-U) technique. When NR is deployed in unlicensed (also called unlicensed, unlicensed) spectrum, if a UE detects a certain cell during a measurement process, but the cell cannot periodically transmit a Synchronization Signal Block (SSB) or other reference signals because the UE does not obtain a channel usage right, the UE may consider that the cell does not satisfy a reporting condition, delay a measurement report of the cell, and may cause the UE to fail to perform cell handover and interrupt a current connection.

Disclosure of Invention

The technical problem to be solved by the invention is how to improve the accuracy of triggering the measurement report by the terminal deployed in the unlicensed spectrum, and the time delay of triggering the measurement report can be effectively reduced so as to improve the user experience.

To solve the foregoing technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling signal measurement, including: determining a measurement task, wherein the measurement task is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entry condition; according to the measurement task, at least one measurement is carried out on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration; and in the preset trigger duration, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal, increasing the measurement times of the reference signal on the current frequency, and/or measuring the reference signal on other frequencies of the cell, wherein the other frequencies are associated with the cell.

Optionally, the increasing the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency refers to: extending the trigger duration and measuring a reference signal at the current frequency for the extended trigger duration.

Optionally, before performing at least one measurement on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell, the method further includes: receiving a measurement configuration message for unlicensed spectrum, the measurement configuration message comprising: whether the measurement task allows for an extension of the trigger duration and/or a maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration.

Optionally, the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration is set according to a frequency or a cell.

Optionally, the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration includes: a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration periods, or a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration sub-periods.

Optionally, the increasing the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency refers to: extending the trigger duration and measuring a reference signal on the current frequency for an extended trigger duration, the extended trigger duration being less than or equal to a maximum extension time period of the trigger duration.

Optionally, the measurement control method further includes: and if the reference signal on the current frequency is detected within the prolonged trigger duration and the measured signal quality of the reference signal meets the measurement event entry condition, triggering a measurement report when the preset trigger duration is reached.

Optionally, the measurement control method further includes: and if the reference signals of the cell are detected at the other frequencies and the signal quality of the measured reference signals meets the preset measurement event entry condition, triggering a measurement report when the preset trigger duration is reached.

Optionally, the measurement control method further includes: and when the reference signal on the current frequency and the reference signals on other frequencies are detected together, evaluating the measurement result of the reference signal on the current frequency.

Optionally, the other frequencies are configured with: an offset indicating a difference between a transmission power of a reference signal of the cell on the current frequency and a transmission power of a reference signal on the other frequency, or indicating a difference between a signal quality of the cell on the current frequency and a signal quality on the other frequency.

Optionally, the measurement control method further includes: when the reference signals on the other frequencies are measured, the offset is added to the measurement results of the reference signals on the other frequencies.

Optionally, the measurement control method further includes: if the reference signal of the cell is not detected or the signal quality of the detected reference signal is less than the preset measurement event entry condition, measuring the cell again; or, triggering a measurement report if the reference signal of the cell is not detected.

Optionally, the other frequencies may be one or more.

In order to solve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a signal measurement control apparatus, including: the device comprises a determining module, a processing module and a processing module, wherein the determining module is suitable for determining a measurement task which is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entering condition; the first measurement module is suitable for carrying out at least one measurement on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration according to the measurement task; a second measurement module, adapted to increase, within the preset trigger duration, the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency and/or measure reference signals on other frequencies of the cell if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration cycle of the reference signal, where the other frequencies are associated with the cell.

To solve the above technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions, which when executed perform the method for configuring BWP in unlicensed spectrum or the steps of the method.

In order to solve the foregoing technical problem, an embodiment of the present invention further provides a terminal, including a memory and a processor, where the memory stores computer instructions executable on the processor, and the processor executes the computer instructions to perform the steps of the foregoing method.

Compared with the prior art, the technical scheme of the embodiment of the invention has the following beneficial effects:

the embodiment of the invention provides a signal measurement control method, which comprises the following steps: determining a measurement task, wherein the measurement task is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entry condition; according to the measurement task, at least one measurement is carried out on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration; and in the preset trigger duration, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal, increasing the measurement times of the reference signal on the current frequency, and/or measuring the reference signal on other frequencies of the cell, wherein the other frequencies are associated with the cell. By the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the measurement problem in an NR-U scene can be effectively processed based on increased measurement times and/or measurement on other frequencies, so that the user equipment can effectively obtain the measurement value of the adjacent cell when evaluating the adjacent cell meeting the event entry condition, and the untimely sending of the measurement report caused by the fact that the user equipment cannot obtain the measurement signal of the adjacent cell in time is avoided. Furthermore, the embodiment of the invention can also improve the accuracy of triggering the measurement report by the terminal deployed in the unlicensed spectrum, and can effectively reduce the time delay of triggering the measurement report so as to improve the user experience.

Further, the increasing the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency refers to: extending the trigger duration and measuring a reference signal at the current frequency for the extended trigger duration. By the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, signal measurement can be realized by prolonging the trigger duration, and further possibility is provided for sending the measurement report as soon as possible.

Further, still include: and if the reference signals of the cell are detected at the other frequencies and the signal quality of the measured reference signals meets the preset measurement event entry condition, triggering a measurement report when the preset trigger duration is reached. By the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the cell measurement can be completed by measuring other frequencies, and a feasible scheme is further provided for timely obtaining the cell measurement result.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of spectrum resource division of a cell configured with multiple BWPs in the prior art;

fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a beam distribution of a cell transmitting a plurality of beams in the prior art;

FIG. 3 is a flow chart of a signal measurement control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a signaling interaction diagram according to an embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of another signaling interaction according to an embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a signal measurement control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Description

As described in the background, in the prior art, when a cell measured by a UE fails to obtain a channel use right and cannot transmit a periodic reference signal, the UE may consider that the cell does not satisfy a measurement report reporting condition, and delay a measurement report of the cell.

Specifically, in the 5G system, the BWP in one cell may be divided into an initial BWP (initial BWP) and a non-initial BWP. The initial BWP may be a minimum bandwidth that satisfies the UE access to the 5G system; the non-initial BWP may be broadband and may enable high-speed data transmission. Considering that the network does not know the bandwidth capability of the UE when the UE initially accesses the network, the procedure of initially accessing the network by the UE is generally completed through the initial BWP.

After the UE accesses the network, the bandwidth capability of the UE can be reported to the network, and the network configures non-initial BWP for the UE according to the bandwidth capability of the UE so as to meet the requirement of high-speed data transmission. The network may configure multiple non-initial BWPs, and the specific allocation of which BWP depends on the measurement results of the UE and the loading conditions of the different BWPs. For the UE, the central frequency point of the initial BWP and the non-initial BWP may be different, or the central frequency point may be the same but the bandwidth is different.

In a 5G system, a single cell may contain multiple BWPs, each occupying a limited bandwidth, where typically at least one BWP, such as the initial BWP, may allow an idle UE to camp on. The UE may receive a system message, a paging message, from the initial BWP. The UE may establish an RRC (Radio Resource Control, Radio Resource Control for short) connection through the initial BWP access network base station, and further establish a data Radio bearer to perform a service. The network base station may then configure other BWPs for the UE depending on UE capabilities, traffic requirements, etc. The UE may have more than one active BWP, e.g., the UE may be in carrier aggregation state and each serving cell may have one active BWP. For each BWP, there is a corresponding plurality of parameter configurations. For example, the BWP may be applied only after the UE knows the location of the Physical Resource block occupied by the BWP, and a Control Resource Set (CORESET) configuration, a Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) configuration, a Physical Uplink Control Channel (PUCCH) configuration, a Physical Uplink Shared Channel (PUSCH) configuration, a reference signal configuration, a Random Access Channel (RACH) configuration, and so on.

Taking the Release 15 protocol standard of the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3 GPP) Release 15 as an example, for a serving cell, a base station may configure a plurality of BWPs for a UE, such as 4 BWPs at most, but only one of them is an active BWP, i.e., the UE can only receive Downlink Control Information (DCI) of the base station through the BWP, receive data from the BWP, and send data to the base station through the BWP.

Fig. 1 shows a spectrum resource partitioning diagram of a cell configuring multiple BWPs in the prior art. In a typical application scenario, referring to fig. 1, a cell includes uplink spectrum resources and downlink spectrum resources, where the uplink spectrum resources and the downlink spectrum resources respectively include 4 BWPs: BWP0, BWP1, BWP2, and BWP 3. In practice different BWPs may intersect.

In NR systems, NR can be deployed at high frequencies. Since wireless signals exhibit good directivity and large path loss at high frequencies, a large cell requires multiple beams (Beam) to achieve complete coverage, where each Beam can only cover a limited range. A smaller cell may contain only one beam. When a cell contains multiple beams, time-sharing transmission can be performed by Beam scanning (Beam scanning) in order to satisfy hardware constraints.

For each cell in the NR system, the transmission of its synchronization signals (including the primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal) may be transmitted within 5ms according to a certain period (e.g., a period of 20 milliseconds (ms), 40ms, or 80 ms). Fig. 2 is a diagram illustrating a beam distribution of a cell transmitting a plurality of beams in the prior art. As shown in fig. 2, a single cell may transmit a plurality of beams, which includes 8 beams, respectively Beam1 (or identified as Beam 0 (not shown)), Beam2 (or identified as Beam1 (not shown)), … …, and Beam8 (or identified as Beam 7 (not shown)). Each beam carries a Synchronization Signal and physical broadcast channel Block (SSB) (not shown). The beams of different cells may be different, e.g. 1 beam, i.e. one SSB4 beams, i.e. 4 SSBs, or 8 beams, i.e. 8 SSBs. The primary synchronization signal and the secondary synchronization signal are used for enabling the UE to identify the cell identification and enabling the UE to obtain symbol-level synchronization. When the UE evaluates the signal quality of the cell, the measured N strongest beams of the cell may be integrated to obtain the signal quality of the cell. N can be configured by a base station, N is a positive integer, and N is more than or equal to 1.

When NR is deployed in an unlicensed spectrum, whether uplink or downlink, it is necessary to perform a Listen-Before-Talk (Listen Before Talk, abbreviated as LBT) mechanism. In particular, the base station and/or the UE may perform LBT to monitor a frequency band, where the frequency band may be a frequency band shared by Wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs) signals and NR Networks deployed by other operators. If the band is detected to be busy, waiting is needed; if the band is detected to be free, the band may be used for signaling and data transmission. After a period of use, the spectrum resources of the band need to be released. When the spectrum is used again, the monitoring is needed to acquire the use right of the next spectrum.

It should be noted that the usage restrictions of the unlicensed spectrum resources in different countries or regions are not exactly the same. Taking japan as an example, the maximum time for using unlicensed spectrum resources each time cannot exceed 4 milliseconds (ms), and the allowed time for using the unlicensed spectrum resources in other countries or regions may be slightly longer, but all of them require that the occupied unlicensed spectrum is released after a period of time is occupied, and the next spectrum usage right can be obtained by listening again through the LBT mechanism.

When NR is deployed in unlicensed spectrum, connected UEs need to perform measurements to meet mobility requirements. The UE needs to measure the serving cell and the neighboring cell, but both the serving cell and the neighboring cell need the LBT to successfully obtain the channel resource before sending the SSB or other reference signals. If the UE has detected a neighboring cell in the measurement process, but the neighboring cell cannot periodically send the SSB, the UE may significantly affect the measurement evaluation of the neighboring cell, and the UE may consider that the cell no longer satisfies the reporting condition, so that the measurement report of the cell is delayed, thereby causing the handover to be delayed and the current connection to be interrupted.

The embodiment of the invention provides a signal measurement control method, which comprises the following steps: determining a measurement task, wherein the measurement task is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entry condition; according to the measurement task, at least one measurement is carried out on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration; and in the preset trigger duration, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal, increasing the measurement times of the reference signal on the current frequency, and/or measuring the reference signal on other frequencies of the cell, wherein the other frequencies are associated with the cell.

By the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the measurement problem in an NR-U scene can be effectively processed based on increased measurement times and/or measurement on other frequencies, so that the user equipment can effectively obtain the measurement value of the adjacent cell when evaluating the adjacent cell meeting the event entry condition, and the untimely sending of the measurement report caused by the fact that the user equipment cannot obtain the measurement signal of the adjacent cell in time is avoided. Furthermore, the embodiment of the invention can also improve the accuracy of triggering the measurement report by the terminal deployed in the unlicensed spectrum, and can effectively reduce the time delay of triggering the measurement report so as to improve the user experience.

In order to make the aforementioned objects, features and advantages of the present invention comprehensible, embodiments accompanied with figures are described in detail below.

Fig. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a signal measurement control method according to an embodiment of the present invention. The measurement control method may be performed by a UE deployed in an unlicensed spectrum. Specifically, the measurement control method may include the steps of:

step S301, determining a measurement task, wherein the measurement task is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entry condition;

step S302, according to the measurement task, at least one measurement is carried out on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration;

step S303, in the preset trigger duration, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to a measurement timing configuration (measurement timing configuration) period of the reference signal, increasing the number of times of measuring the reference signal on the current frequency, and/or measuring the reference signal on another frequency of the cell, where the another frequency is associated with the cell.

More specifically, in step S301, the UE determines a measurement task. The measurement task may be configured with a current frequency and preset measurement event entry conditions.

The condition for entering the preset measurement event may be a preset threshold, where the preset measurement event refers to that the signal quality of the neighboring cell or the serving cell exceeds the preset threshold. Or, the preset measurement event entry condition may refer to a preset offset, where the preset measurement event refers to that the signal quality of the neighboring cell exceeds the preset offset compared to the serving cell. The current frequency is determined by the measurement task, the measurement task instructs the UE to measure a cell on a certain frequency, which may be a serving cell or a neighboring cell, and the measurement task instructs a frequency to be measured, that is, the current frequency, through a measurement object associated with the measurement task.

In step S302, the UE may perform one or more measurements on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset Trigger duration (Time-To-Trigger, TTT for short, also called Trigger Time) according To the measurement task. In an implementation, if a cell deployed in an unlicensed spectrum obtains channel usage weights and periodically transmits an SSB or other reference signal within the preset trigger duration, the UE may perform multiple measurements. If the cell deployed in the unlicensed spectrum obtains the channel usage right and transmits the SSB or other reference signal only once within the preset trigger duration, the UE may perform one measurement accordingly. The measurement task is configured for the UE in a connected state by the serving base station and is transmitted to the UE through RRC signaling, and the UE and the serving base station keep RRC connection. Generally, a UE measures a certain neighboring cell according to a measurement task, when it is found that the signal quality of the neighboring cell exceeds a measurement event entry condition associated with the measurement task, a trigger duration timer is started, before the timer does not time out, the neighboring cell can be measured again, and if the neighboring cell meets the measurement event entry condition after the trigger duration timer times out or times out, the UE triggers a measurement report and reports the neighboring cell to a serving base station.

In step S303, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal before the preset trigger duration, that is, before the trigger duration timer is not timed out, the UE may increase the number of times of measuring the reference signal on the current frequency to perform measurement. The Reference Signal may refer to a periodically transmitted SSB Signal, a Discovery Reference Signal (DRS), a Channel State Reference Signal (CSI-RS), and/or other Reference signals that can be used for cell measurement, or an aperiodic Reference Signal transmitted when the cell cannot obtain a Channel use right to transmit the periodic Reference Signal.

In an implementation, the UE may actively extend the trigger duration and measure the SSB or other reference signal on the current frequency for the extended trigger duration. The active extended trigger duration of the UE may be predetermined by the UE and the cell base station; it may also be protocol specified as specifying that a UE may extend the trigger duration when measuring a cell located on an unlicensed spectrum; it may also be configured by the serving base station, the base station specifies a certain measurement task in the measurement configuration, and the UE may extend the trigger duration.

In a specific implementation, the serving base station may further send, to the UE, a measurement configuration message for the unlicensed spectrum before the UE measures, where the measurement configuration message may include a maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration; alternatively, the measurement configuration message may include whether the measurement task allows extension of the trigger duration; still alternatively, the measurement configuration message may comprise a maximum extension time limit for the trigger duration and whether the measurement task allows for extension of the trigger duration. In a specific implementation, the serving base station may implicitly indicate that the measurement task is allowed to extend the trigger duration by configuring a maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration for the UE.

In a specific implementation, the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration may be a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration periods, or a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration sub-periods. The reference signal Measurement Timing Configuration may be an SSB Measurement Timing Configuration (SMTC), a Discovery reference signal Measurement Timing Configuration (DMTC), or another reference signal Measurement Timing Configuration, and the Measurement Timing Configuration is usually periodic and configured according to frequency.

Wherein the reference signal measurement timing configuration sub-period is less than the reference signal measurement timing configuration period. For example, the SMTC period is 40ms and the SMTC sub-period is 10 ms. Taking SSB periodic transmission as an example, when the cell cannot periodically transmit SSBs due to LBT failure, the SMTC sub-period of 10ms may be used to continuously transmit SSBs once or several times, so as to enable the UE to perform measurement as soon as possible.

In a specific implementation, the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration may be set according to a frequency, or may be set according to a cell, such as setting a smaller maximum extension time limit for a small cell.

After receiving the measurement configuration message, when performing measurement, if the UE finds that a cell satisfies the measurement event entry condition but cannot periodically measure the cell, the UE may extend the trigger duration, where the extended trigger duration is less than or equal to a maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration, so that the UE measures the reference signal of the cell on the current frequency for the extended trigger duration. As a variation, the UE may start a trigger duration timer of a cell when it is found that the cell satisfies the measurement event entry condition but cannot periodically measure the cell, and before the timer does not time out, the UE determines whether the signal quality of the cell cannot be detected continuously, for example, the trigger duration is extended when it is found that the signal of the cell cannot be detected continuously for 3 times according to the reference signal measurement timing configuration. The number of times may be set in advance by a protocol or may be set by a serving base station through measurement configuration, or may be a default value of 1 time set by the protocol, but the number of times of actual application may be set through measurement configuration, such as 3 times.

Further, if the reference signal on the current frequency is detected within the extended trigger duration and the measured signal quality of the reference signal satisfies the measurement event entry condition, the UE may trigger a measurement report to be sent to the serving base station. The measurement event entry condition is sent by a serving cell where the UE is located, that is, sent to the UE by a serving base station to which the serving cell belongs, and if the measurement event is an a4 event (the signal quality of the neighboring cell exceeds a preset threshold), the preset measurement event entry condition is that a preset threshold is met; if the measurement event is an a3 event (the signal quality of the neighbor cell is higher than that of the serving cell by a preset offset), the preset measurement event entry condition is that a preset offset is satisfied.

As a variation, the UE has detected that the signal quality of the cell satisfies the measurement event entry condition, the UE starts a trigger duration timer, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal within the preset trigger duration, that is, before the timer is not timed out, the UE may measure the reference signal on other frequencies of the cell, the other frequencies have an association relation with the cell, the other frequencies are sent to the UE by the serving cell where the UE is located through measurement configuration, and at this time, one cell can associate a plurality of frequencies, that is, the cell may send the reference signal of the cell at multiple frequency locations, and the cell may be a serving cell or a neighboring cell, and if the indication neighbor cell sends the SSB at the frequency position of the initial BWP, transmitting the discovery reference signal at the frequency position of the non-initial BWP. In a specific implementation, the other frequencies may be sent to the UE in advance by the base station of the serving cell where the UE is located through RRC signaling. The other frequencies may be one or more frequencies different from the current frequency, i.e. the measurement frequency indicated by the measurement task. For a cell, independent LBT can be performed at different BWPs, and then a cell reference signal is sent at the BWP that successfully obtains the signal usage right, the serving base station only needs to inform the UE of the frequency information of the cell that may send the cell reference signal through the measurement configuration, and the UE can perform the measurement for the cell on multiple frequencies.

In a specific implementation, if reference signals on the current frequency or at least one other frequency are detected together, the UE may ignore reference signals on the other frequencies, measure only the reference signal on the current frequency, and perform evaluation according to the measurement result of the reference signal on the current frequency. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the collective detection may be a detection performed in one time slot, or may be a detection performed for a predetermined period of time (e.g., more than one time slot).

Further, if the UE detects the reference signal of the cell at the other frequency and the signal quality of the measured reference signal satisfies the preset measurement event entry condition, the UE may trigger a measurement report and send the measurement report to the serving base station when the preset trigger duration is reached (that is, the preset trigger duration satisfies the measurement event entry condition).

In a specific implementation, the serving base station may configure an offset of the measurement result for the measurement task, considering that there may be a difference in reference signal transmission power on different frequencies of the same cell. The offset is used for reflecting the difference between the reference signal transmission power of the cell on the current frequency and the reference signal transmission power on the other frequencies, or indicating the difference between the signal quality of the cell on the current frequency and the signal quality of the cell on the other frequencies. In this case, when the UE measures the reference signals of the cell on the other frequencies, the UE may add the offset to the measurement results of the reference signals on the other frequencies. The serving base station may set different offsets for different cells or different offsets for different other frequencies.

As another variation, if no reference signal of the cell is measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal within the preset trigger duration, the UE may increase the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency, and may perform measurements on reference signals on other frequencies of the cell, where the other frequencies are associated with the cell, and details of the implementation may refer to the above, which is not repeated here.

Further, if the UE does not detect the reference signal of the cell, or the detected signal quality of the reference signal is less than the preset measurement event entry condition, the UE may measure the cell again, and report a measurement report when the condition is met; alternatively, the UE may directly trigger a measurement report if the UE does not detect the reference signal of the cell. It should be noted that, at this time, an indicator may be added to the measurement report triggered by the UE to indicate that the measurement report reported by the UE for the cell is affected by the LBT failure, and more specifically, the indicator may indicate that the base station to which the cell belongs cannot periodically send the reference signal due to the LBT failure, so that the UE cannot measure the reference signal according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal to obtain the latest measurement value, and the measurement report is generated based on the previous measurement value for the cell.

The details are explained below with specific examples.

The first embodiment is as follows: UE auto-tuning TTT

The UE is deployed in a serving cell primary cell (PCell) of the NR-U, and after the RRC connection is established, the PCell may configure measurements of the serving cell and the neighboring cell for the UE. In a specific implementation, the PCell may configure the UE to measure reference signals on different frequencies through RRC signaling.

For example, it may be configured in the following configuration: (1) a Measurement identifier 1 (representing a Measurement task 1) and a Measurement object (MO for short) associated with the Measurement identifier 1 are a current frequency F1 and a Measurement event A3, where the Measurement event A3 is a preset offset of signal quality of a neighboring cell higher than that of a serving cell, and when a Measurement event A3 is configured, a specific value of the preset offset, such as-2 dB, may be indicated. The Signal Quality may be represented by Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) or Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ). In addition, the PCell may also configure a trigger duration (i.e., the preset trigger duration) that the measurement event a3 needs to satisfy, for example, 80 ms. If the PCell is on the current frequency F1, then the measurement identifier 1 corresponds to an intra-frequency measurement.

(2) The measurement identifier 2 and the associated measurement object frequency F2 and the measurement event a4 are shown, where the measurement event a4 indicates that the signal quality of the neighboring cell is higher than the preset threshold. In configuring the measurement event a4, the PCell may indicate a value of a preset threshold, such as-70 dBm. The preset trigger duration that the configuration measurement event a4 needs to satisfy may be 40 ms. If the PCell is on the current frequency F1, then measurement identity 2 corresponds to an inter-frequency measurement.

(3) The measurement identity 3 and its associated measurement object frequency F2 and measurement event A3. The PCell may configure the offset of the measurement event a3 to be 0dB, and the preset trigger duration may be 40 ms. If the PCell is on the current frequency F1, then measurement identity 3 corresponds to an inter-frequency measurement.

The UE needs to perform the common-frequency measurement and the inter-frequency measurement to meet respective measurement requirements, where the measurement requirements define the number of neighboring cell measurements that the UE needs to perform in a certain time period, for example, 8 common-frequency neighboring cells need to be measured in 200ms, or 6 neighboring cells on 2 inter-frequencies need to be measured in 200 ms. The specific measurement requirements are established by the protocol.

It should be noted that, after the UE receives the measurement configuration through RRC signaling, the UE may store the relevant measurement configuration and then perform measurement. In general, when the UE performs intra-frequency measurement, a measurement GAP (GAP) is not required, and when performing inter-frequency measurement, a GAP is required. If the UE has multiple radio frequency transceivers, the UE may perform measurements using the non-operating radio frequency transceivers when performing inter-frequency measurements, and at this time, the GAP is not required. The content of the invention is not affected whether the UE needs the GAP to execute the pilot frequency measurement or not.

In specific implementation, when the UE performs measurement on the co-frequency neighboring cell, the reference signal of the neighboring cell may be detected. Taking the case where the neighboring cell sends the SSBs, the neighboring cell may transmit one or more SSBs. The plurality of SSBs may be transmitted in a period, which may be 5ms, 10ms, 20ms, 40ms, etc. The multiple SSBs refer to SSB signals that transmit multiple different indices (indexes) within a period. When there are 4 SSBs, the indices may be 0, 1, 2, 3, respectively. The signal quality of the neighboring cell may be characterized by the strongest SSB of the neighboring cell measured by the UE, or may be characterized by the strongest N SSBs of the neighboring cell measured by the UE, where N is a positive integer. For example, the measurement result of the neighboring cell is taken as the average value of the strongest 2 SSBs. N is set by the PCell in the measurement configuration. Because the SSB of the neighboring cell is periodically transmitted, in order to enable the UE to measure the neighboring cell more accurately, the base station may configure a measurement window (e.g., SMTC), so that the UE measures the neighboring cell in the measurement window, thereby avoiding blind detection.

Taking measurement task 1, that is, measurement identifier 1 as an example, if the UE measures that the signal quality of the Cell1 (hereinafter referred to as Cell1) in the co-frequency neighboring Cell is 1dB higher than that of the PCell at a certain time and meets the preset measurement event entry condition of measurement event A3, at this time, the UE needs to continuously detect whether the signal quality of the Cell1 meets the preset measurement event entry condition in a subsequent measurement window until the trigger duration (for example, 80ms) is reached. And only if the signal quality of the Cell1 in the same-frequency neighboring Cell continuously meets the preset measurement event entry condition for 80ms, the UE can trigger a measurement report and report the signal quality of the Cell1 to the PCell. In particular, the UE may set a timer to determine whether the signal quality of the Cell1 continuously satisfies the predetermined measurement event entry condition, and during the operation of the timer, the UE may measure its reference signal according to the measurement window (e.g., SMTC) of the Cell1 on the frequency. If the period of SMTC is 20ms, when the timer runs to 60ms, the UE originally expects to detect Cell1 at this time, but Cell1 does not send SSB due to LBT failure, resulting in that the UE does not measure Cell1 when the timer runs to 60 ms. At this point, the UE may still maintain Cell1 satisfying the preset measurement event entry condition while increasing the trigger duration by a period of time, such as by 20ms, so that the UE has an additional chance to continue measuring Cell1, i.e., the trigger duration is increased to 100 ms. The UE may continue to measure the Cell1 and other possible neighbors on the frequency in accordance with SMTC for an increased trigger duration. If the UE can detect Cell1 and the signal quality meets the preset measurement event entry condition when the timer runs for 80ms, the UE continues to maintain the timer, and when the timer reaches 100ms, the UE triggers a measurement report and reports the measurement result of Cell 1.

As a variation, the UE may also measure a DRS signal or a CSI-RS signal sent by the neighboring cell. Herein, a transmission period of the DRS signal is referred to as a DMTC period.

Preferably, the cell base station may set a limit to the increased trigger duration. For example, the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration is sent through RRC signaling, allowing the UE to increase by at most one or more SMTC periods; or at most one or more SMTC sub-periods are added, or at most one or more DMTC periods are added, so as to avoid that the UE increases the trigger duration without limitation, resulting in a delay in measurement reporting.

By the embodiment of the invention, when the UE in the NR-U scene can not periodically obtain the reference signal, the UE can still effectively detect the cell meeting the preset measurement event entry condition, thereby being beneficial to improving the accuracy of the measurement report, reducing the time delay of sending the measurement report and meeting the requirement of mobility.

The second embodiment is as follows: base station increasing candidate measurement signal

In a specific implementation, the serving base station may increase the number of configured frequencies for the same measurement identifier, so that the UE can measure the serving cell or the neighboring cell on other frequencies except the current frequency after receiving the relevant configuration.

Specifically, in the prior art, when the PCell configures the neighbor cell, the UE is generally configured to measure the reference signal on one frequency of the neighbor cell, such as the reference signal on the initial BWP. In order to ensure that the UE can effectively measure the neighbor cell, in the embodiment of the present invention, the PCell may configure in the RRC signaling that the neighbor cell includes a reference signal on another frequency, for example, a reference signal on a non-initial BWP.

In a specific implementation, the base station may configure the measurement identifier 2 and its associated measurement object frequency F2, and frequency F2' and measurement event a4 to the UE through RRC signaling, and the preset trigger duration is 40 ms. The frequency F2 is associated with the initial BWP of the neighbor Cell2, and the frequency F2' is associated with the non-initial BWP, where the neighbor Cell may send the reference signal of the Cell at the initial BWP or send the reference signal of the Cell at the non-initial BWP.

After receiving the RRC signaling, the UE may know that the neighboring Cell2 (hereinafter referred to as Cell2) includes a reference signal on frequency F2' in addition to the reference signal on frequency F2. In addition, the PCell may set the reference signal on frequency F2 and the reference signal on frequency F2' to have the same SMTC to ensure that the UE can measure signals on both frequencies simultaneously.

For example, at time T1, the UE measures that the signal quality of the cell at F2 satisfies the preset measurement event entry condition. Thereafter, the UE may continue to detect whether the reference signal at the frequency F2 still satisfies the preset measurement event entry condition. At time T2 (after time T1 at time T2), the UE may measure the reference signal of Cell2 according to the SMTC window on frequency F2. If at time T2, the UE does not find the Cell2 reference signal on frequency F2, then at this point the UE may detect the Cell2 reference signal on frequency F2'. If the reference signal is detected, the UE may use the measurement of the reference signal of the cell on frequency F2' as the signal quality of the cell.

Thereafter, if the signal quality of the reference signal measured by Cell2 on frequency F2' still satisfies the preset measurement event entry condition, the UE may continue the measurement. In the process of continuing the measurement, if the reference signal at the frequency F2 and the reference signals at the other frequencies F2' are detected together, the measurement result of the reference signal at the frequency F2 is evaluated. If the measurement result obtained each time meets the preset measurement event entry condition within the preset trigger duration range, the UE may trigger a measurement report and report the signal quality of the Cell 2.

Considering that there may be differences in reference signal transmission power on different frequencies in the same cell, the base station may set an offset when configuring the other frequency (e.g., frequency F2') for the reference signal on the other measurement frequency. The offset is used for indicating a difference value between the reference signal transmission power of the cell on the current frequency and the reference signal transmission power on the other frequency, or indicating a difference value between the signal quality of the cell on the current frequency and the signal quality on the other frequency. When the UE uses a measurement value of a reference signal on a non-current frequency for the cell, the offset may be added to the measurement result of the cell, and the result with the offset added may be used for evaluation.

The signaling interaction between the UE and the NR-U base station using the embodiments of the present invention is further described below with reference to a typical application scenario.

In a typical application scenario, referring to fig. 4, first, the user equipment 1 and the base station 2 may perform operation s0, that is, the RRC connection is successfully established on the unlicensed spectrum resource;

secondly, the base station 2 may perform operation s1, i.e. send measurement configuration information, which may be measurement configuration information for unlicensed spectrum. For example, the measurement configuration information may include information of the current frequency F1 and the measurement event A3 of the measurement identifier 1 and its associated measurement object, the trigger duration, and the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration. Alternatively, the measurement configuration information may include information of the frequency F2 and the measurement event a4 of the measurement identifier 2 and its associated measurement object, the trigger duration, and the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration. Wherein the maximum extension time period of the trigger duration may include: a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration periods, or a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration sub-periods. It should be noted that whether the measurement configuration information carries the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration is optional.

Thereafter, the user equipment 1 may perform operation s2, i.e. receive and save the measurement configuration information, and perform measurements according to the measurement configuration information. It should be noted that, the user equipment 1 may measure a reference signal (not shown) sent by the base station 3 to which another cell belongs according to the measurement configuration information;

further, if the signal quality of the base station 3 meets the preset measurement event entry condition, but the base station 3 cannot continue to send the reference signal due to LBT failure, so that the user equipment 1 cannot measure the reference signal according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal within the preset trigger duration, the user equipment 1 may perform operation s3, that is, actively prolong the trigger duration, and continue to perform measurement;

further, the ue 1 may perform operation s4, that is, if the measurement result obtained by the ue 1 within the extended trigger duration still satisfies the preset measurement event entry condition, the ue 1 may trigger a measurement report and report the measurement report to the base station 2; or, although the ue 1 still cannot obtain the measurement result of the cell for the extended trigger duration, the ue 1 still triggers a measurement report, and reports the measurement report to the base station 2.

As a variation, the user equipment 1 may perform operation s 4' instead of operation s4, that is, if the measurement result obtained by the user equipment 1 within the extended trigger duration still does not satisfy the preset measurement event entry condition, the user equipment 1 may not trigger the measurement report and measure the cell again.

As a variation, referring to fig. 5, first, the user equipment 1 and the base station 2 may perform operation s 0', that is, an RRC connection is established on the unlicensed spectrum resource;

secondly, the base station 2 may perform operation s 1', i.e. the base station 2 transmits measurement configuration information, which may be measurement configuration information for unlicensed spectrum. For example, the measurement configuration information may include information of a current frequency F1, other frequencies F1' and measurement events A3, trigger duration, and the like of the measurement identifier 1 and its associated measurement object. Alternatively, the measurement configuration information may include information of the frequency F2, the other frequency F2', the other frequency F2 ", the measurement event a4, the trigger duration, and the like of the measurement identifier 2 and its associated measurement object. Preferably, the measurement configuration information may further configure an offset for each other frequency, where the offset is a signal quality difference between the reference signal on the current frequency and the reference signal on the other frequency.

Thereafter, the user equipment 1 may perform operation s 2', i.e. receive and save the measurement configuration information, and perform measurements according to the measurement configuration information. It should be noted that, the user equipment 1 may measure a reference signal (not shown) sent by the base station 3 of another cell according to the measurement configuration information;

further, if the signal quality of the base station 3 meets the preset measurement event entry condition, but the base station 3 cannot continue to send the reference signal due to LBT failure, so that the user equipment 1 cannot measure the current frequency at the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal within the preset trigger duration, the user equipment 1 may perform operation s 3', that is, the user equipment 1 may measure reference signals on other frequencies;

further, the user equipment 1 may perform operation s 4', that is, if the user equipment 1 detects the reference signal of the cell at the other frequency and the signal quality of the measured reference signal meets the preset measurement event entry condition, the user equipment 1 may trigger a measurement report.

As a variation, the user equipment 1 may perform operation s5 'instead of operation s 4', that is, if the user equipment 1 does not measure the reference signal on the other frequency, or the detected signal quality of the reference signal is less than the preset measurement event entry condition, the user equipment 1 may not trigger the measurement report and measure the cell again.

For more contents of the working principles and working modes of the user equipment 1 and the base station 2 in the application scenarios shown in fig. 4 and fig. 5, reference may be made to the related description in fig. 3, and details are not repeated here.

Therefore, by the technical scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, the measurement problem in the NR-U scene can be effectively processed, so that the UE can effectively obtain the measurement value of the adjacent cell when evaluating the adjacent cell meeting the event entry condition, the accuracy of the measurement report reported by the UE on the unauthorized spectrum resource is effectively improved, the untimely sending of the measurement report caused by the fact that the UE cannot obtain the measurement signal of the adjacent cell in time is avoided, the time delay of triggering the measurement report by the terminal deployed in the unauthorized spectrum can be reduced, the communication interruption is effectively reduced, and the user experience is improved.

Fig. 6 is a schematic structural diagram of a signal measurement control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The measurement control means 6 of the signal (hereinafter referred to as measurement control means 6) may be used to implement the method solution shown in fig. 3, and is performed by a terminal, for example, by an NR-U UE.

Specifically, the measurement control device 6 may include: a determining module 61 adapted to determine a measurement task configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entry condition; a first measurement module 62, adapted to perform at least one measurement on a reference signal on a current frequency of a cell within a preset trigger duration according to the measurement task; a second measurement module 63, adapted to increase, within the preset trigger duration, the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency and/or measure the reference signal on another frequency of the cell if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal, where the another frequency is associated with the cell.

In a specific implementation, the increasing the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency may refer to: extending the trigger duration and measuring a reference signal at the current frequency for the extended trigger duration.

In a specific implementation, the measurement control device 6 may further include: a receiving module 64 adapted to receive a measurement configuration message for unlicensed spectrum before at least one measurement of a reference signal on a current frequency of a cell, the measurement configuration message comprising: whether the measurement task allows for an extension of the trigger duration and/or a maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration.

Wherein the maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration may be set by frequency or cell. The maximum extension time period of the trigger duration may include: a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration periods, or a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration sub-periods.

At this time, the increasing the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency may refer to: extending the trigger duration and measuring a reference signal on the current frequency for an extended trigger duration, the extended trigger duration being less than or equal to a maximum extension time period of the trigger duration.

Further, the measurement control device 6 may further include: a first triggering module 65. If a reference signal on the current frequency is detected within the extended trigger duration and the measured signal quality of the reference signal meets the preset measurement event entry condition, the first triggering module 65 is adapted to trigger a measurement report when the preset trigger duration is reached.

As a variation, the measurement control device 6 may further include: a second triggering module 66. The second triggering module 66 is adapted to trigger a measurement report when the preset triggering duration is reached, if the reference signal of the cell is detected at the other frequency and the signal quality of the measured reference signal meets the preset measurement event entry condition.

In particular implementations, the other frequencies may be one or more. The measurement control device 6 may further include: the detection module 67 is adapted to evaluate the measurement result of the reference signal on the current frequency when the reference signal on the current frequency and the reference signal on the other frequency are detected together.

In a specific implementation, the measurement of the other frequencies may be configured with: an offset indicating a difference between a transmission power of a reference signal of the cell on the current frequency and a transmission power of a reference signal on the other frequency, or indicating a difference between a signal quality of the cell on the current frequency and a signal quality on the other frequency.

In a specific implementation, the measurement control device 6 may further include: an adding module 68 adapted to add the offset to the measurement result of the reference signal on the other frequency when measuring the reference signal on the other frequency.

Further, the measurement control device 6 may further include: the block 69 is executed. The performing module 69 is adapted to measure the cell again if the reference signal of the cell is not detected or the signal quality of the detected reference signal is less than the preset measurement event entry condition; alternatively, the performing module 69 is adapted to trigger a measurement report if no reference signal of the cell is detected.

For more details of the operation principle and the operation mode of the measurement control device 6, reference may be made to the description in fig. 3, which is not repeated here.

Further, the embodiment of the present invention further discloses a storage medium, on which computer instructions are stored, and when the computer instructions are executed, the method technical solution described in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 is executed. Preferably, the storage medium may include a computer-readable storage medium. The storage medium may include ROM, RAM, magnetic or optical disks, etc.

Further, an embodiment of the present invention further discloses a terminal, which includes a memory and a processor, where the memory stores a computer instruction capable of running on the processor, and the processor executes the technical solution of the method in the embodiment shown in fig. 3 when running the computer instruction. Preferably, the base station may interact with the user equipment, and specifically, the terminal may be a user equipment (i.e., UE).

Although the present invention is disclosed above, the present invention is not limited thereto. Various changes and modifications may be effected therein by one skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A method for controlling measurement of a signal, comprising:

determining a measurement task, wherein the measurement task is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entry condition;

according to the measurement task, at least one measurement is carried out on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration;

and in the preset trigger duration, if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration period of the reference signal, increasing the measurement times of the reference signal on the current frequency, and/or measuring the reference signal on other frequencies of the cell, wherein the other frequencies are associated with the cell.

2. The measurement control method according to claim 1, wherein the increasing the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency refers to:

extending the trigger duration and measuring a reference signal at the current frequency for the extended trigger duration.

3. The measurement control method of claim 1, further comprising, before performing at least one measurement of a reference signal on a current frequency of a cell:

receiving a measurement configuration message for unlicensed spectrum, the measurement configuration message comprising: whether the measurement task allows for an extension of the trigger duration and/or a maximum extension time limit of the trigger duration.

4. The measurement control method according to claim 3, wherein the maximum extension time period of the trigger duration is set by a frequency or a cell.

5. The measurement control method according to claim 3, wherein the maximum extension time period of the trigger duration includes: a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration periods, or a preset number of reference signal measurement timing configuration sub-periods.

6. The measurement control method according to claim 3, wherein the increasing the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency refers to:

extending the trigger duration and measuring a reference signal on the current frequency for an extended trigger duration, the extended trigger duration being less than or equal to a maximum extension time period of the trigger duration.

7. The measurement control method according to claim 2 or 6, characterized by further comprising:

and if the reference signal on the current frequency is detected within the prolonged trigger duration and the measured signal quality of the reference signal meets the measurement event entry condition, triggering a measurement report when the preset trigger duration is reached.

8. The measurement control method according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising:

and if the reference signals of the cell are detected at the other frequencies and the signal quality of the measured reference signals meets the preset measurement event entry condition, triggering a measurement report when the preset trigger duration is reached.

9. The measurement control method according to claim 1, characterized by further comprising:

and when the reference signal on the current frequency and the reference signals on other frequencies are detected together, evaluating the measurement result of the reference signal on the current frequency.

10. The measurement control method according to claim 1, wherein the other frequencies are configured with: an offset indicating a difference between a transmission power of a reference signal of the cell on the current frequency and a transmission power of a reference signal on the other frequency, or indicating a difference between a signal quality of the cell on the current frequency and a signal quality on the other frequency.

11. The measurement control method according to claim 10, characterized by further comprising:

when the reference signals on the other frequencies are measured, the offset is added to the measurement results of the reference signals on the other frequencies.

12. The measurement control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and 8 to 11, characterized by further comprising:

if the reference signal of the cell is not detected or the signal quality of the detected reference signal is less than the preset measurement event entry condition, measuring the cell again; or, triggering a measurement report if the reference signal of the cell is not detected.

13. The measurement control method according to any one of claims 1 to 6 and 8 to 11, wherein the other frequency may be one or more.

14. A measurement control apparatus for a signal, comprising:

the device comprises a determining module, a processing module and a processing module, wherein the determining module is suitable for determining a measurement task which is configured with a current frequency and a preset measurement event entering condition;

the first measurement module is suitable for carrying out at least one measurement on the reference signal on the current frequency of the cell within a preset trigger duration according to the measurement task;

a second measurement module, adapted to increase, within the preset trigger duration, the number of measurements of the reference signal on the current frequency and/or measure reference signals on other frequencies of the cell if the reference signal of the cell is not measured according to the measurement timing configuration cycle of the reference signal, where the other frequencies are associated with the cell.

15. A storage medium having stored thereon computer instructions, characterized in that the computer instructions are operative to perform the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.

16. A terminal comprising a memory and a processor, the memory having stored thereon computer instructions executable on the processor, wherein the processor, when executing the computer instructions, performs the steps of the method of any one of claims 1 to 13.