WO2019005846A1

WO2019005846A1 - S-measure for new radio (nr)

Info

Publication number: WO2019005846A1
Application number: PCT/US2018/039572
Authority: WO
Inventors: Candy YIU; Yang Tang; Jie Cui
Original assignee: Intel IP Corporation
Priority date: 2017-06-27
Filing date: 2018-06-26
Publication date: 2019-01-03

Abstract

Embodiments of the present disclosure describe methods, apparatuses, storage media, and systems for evaluating a cell-level quality and determining whether measurements of neighbouring cells are optional or not based on the evaluation in new radio (NR) operations at millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave frequencies, in which beamforming may be used by an access node (AN) or a user equipment (UE). Various embodiments describe how to determine wheher the measurements of non-serving cells are optional, which may reduce excessive measurements but maintain high quality wireless connections between UEs and ANs. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Description

S-MEASURE FOR NEW RADIO (NR)

Cross Reference to Related Application

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 62/525,419, filed June 27, 2017, entitled "S-measure for new radio (NR)," the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

Field

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the technical field of wireless communications.

Background

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure. Unless otherwise indicated herein, the approaches described in this section are not prior art to the claims in the present disclosure and are not admitted to be prior art by inclusion in this section.

Existing s-Measure measurements may not be adequate in developing wireless networks. New solutions are needed in this regard.

Brief Description of the Drawings

Embodiments will be readily understood by the following detailed description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. To facilitate this description, like reference numerals designate like structural elements. Embodiments are illustrated by way of example and not by way of limitation in the figures of the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example of a network comprising a user equipment (UE) and an access node (AN) in a wireless network, in accordance with various embodiments.

Figure 2 illustrates example components of a device in accordance with various embodiments.

Figure 3A illustrates a radio frequency front end (RFFE) incorporating a mmWave radio front end module and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits. Figure 3B illustrates an alternative RFFE.

Figure 4A illustrates an operation flow/algorithmic structure to facilitate a process of optionality determination of neighbouring cells measurements by a UE in accordance with some embodiments. Figure 4B illustrates an alternative operation flow/algorithmic structure to facilitate an alternative process of optionality determination of neighbouring cells measurements by a UE in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 5 illustrates an operation flow/algorithmic structure to facilitate both the process and the alternative process from an AN perspective, in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 6 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance with some embodiments.

Figure 7 illustrates hardware resources in accordance with some embodiments.

Detailed Description

In the following detailed description, reference is made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof wherein like numerals designate like parts throughout, and in which is shown by way of illustration embodiments that may be practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may be utilized and structural or logical changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. Therefore, the following detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense.

Various operations may be described as multiple discrete actions or operations in turn, in a manner that is most helpful in understanding the claimed subject matter.

However, the order of description should not be construed as to imply that these operations are necessarily order dependent. In particular, these operations may not be performed in the order of presentation. Operations described may be performed in a different order than the described embodiment. Various additional operations may be performed and/or described operations may be omitted in additional embodiments.

For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "A or B" and "A and/or B" mean (A), (B), or (A and B). For the purposes of the present disclosure, the phrases "A, B, or C" and "A, B, and/or C" mean (A), (B), (C), (A and B), (A and C), (B and C), or (A, B and C).

The description may use the phrases "in an embodiment," or "in embodiments," which may each refer to one or more of the same or different embodiments. Furthermore, the terms "comprising," "including," "having," and the like, as used with respect to embodiments of the present disclosure, are synonymous.

As used herein, the term "circuitry" may refer to, be part of, or include any combination of integrated circuits (for example, a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), etc.), discrete circuits, combinational logic circuits, system on a chip (SOC), system in a package (SiP), that provides the described functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may execute one or more software or firmware modules to provide the described functions. In some embodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.

In Long Term Evolution (LTE) communications, s-Measure is used to determine whether certain measurements may become optional for a UE in a network to reduce measurement effort. This determination may be based on the strength of a reference signal received power (RSRP) with respect to a serving cell. For example, the s-Measure results with respect to a serving cell may be used to determine optionality of measurements of neighboring cells for the UE.

In some scenarios, the UE may be required to perform certain measurements including measurements of neighbouring cells as dictated in 3GPP TS 36.331, vl4.2.2 (April 20, 2017). A list of scenarios for performing measurements are illustrated below:

4> if s-Measure is not configured; or

4> if s-Measure is configured and the PCell (Primary Cell) RSRP, after layer 3 filtering, is lower than this value; or

4> if measDS-Conflg is configured in the associated measObject. 5> if the UE supports CSI-RS based discovery signals measurement; and

5> if the eventld in the associated reportConflg is set to eventCl or eventC2, or if reportStrongestCSI-RSs is included in the associated reportConflg:

6> perform the corresponding measurements of CSI-RS resources on the frequency indicated in the concerned measObject, applying the discovery signals measurement timing configuration in accordance with measDS-Conflg in the concerned measObject;

6> if reportCRS-Meas is included in the associated reportConflg, perform the corresponding measurements of neighbouring cells on the frequencies indicated in the concerned measObject as follows:

7> for neighbouring cells on the primary frequency, apply the time domain measurement resource restriction in accordance with

measSubframePatternConfigNeigh, if configured in the concerned measObject;

7> apply the discovery signals measurement timing configuration in accordance with measDS-Conflg in the concerned measObject; indicates the measurement can be optional. The UE may not stop the periodical reporting with triggerType set to event or to periodical while the corresponding measurement is not performed due to the condition that the PCell RSRP may be equal to or better than s- Measure, or a measurement gap may not be configured. PCell quality threshold controls whether the UE is required to perform measurements. The measurements may include, but are not limited to, intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter-radio access technology (inter-RAT) measurements of neighbouring cells. Table 1 further illustrates pertinent measurements and parameters.

Table 1

— ASN1START

MeasConfig ::= SEQUENCE {

-- Measurement objects

measObj ectToRemoveList MeasObj ectToRemoveList OPTIONAL,

Need ON

measObj ectToAddModList MeasObj ectToAddModList OPTIONAL,

Need

ON

-- Reporting configurations

reportConfigToRemoveList ReportConfigToRemoveList OPTIONAL, --

Need ON

reportConfigToAddModList ReportConfigToAddModList OPTIONAL, --

Need ON

-- Measurement identities

measIdToRemoveList MeasIdToRemoveList OPTIONAL, --

Need ON

measIdToAddModList MeasIdToAddModList OPTIONAL, --

Need ON

— Other parameters

quantityConfig QuantityConfig OPTIONAL, --

Need ON

measGapConfig MeasGapConfig OPTIONAL, --

Need ON

s-Measure RSRP-Range OPTIONAL, --

Need ON preRegistrationlnfoHRPD PreRegistrationlnfoHRPD OPTIONAL, -Need OP

speedStatePars CHOICE {

release NULL,

setup SEQUENCE {

mobilityStateParameters MobilityStateParameters , timeToTrigger-SF SpeedstateScaleFactors

}

} OPTIONAL, Need ON

[[ measObj ectToAddModList-v9eO MeasObj ectToAddModList- v9e0

OPTIONAL

Need ON

[[ allowlnterruptions-rll BOOLEAN OPTIONAL Need ON [[ measScaleFactor-rl2 CHOICE {

release NULL,

setup MeasScaleFactor-rl2

} OPTIONAL, Need ON

measIdToRemoveListExt-rl2 MeasIdToRemoveListExt-rl2

OPTIONAL,

Need

ON

measIdToAddModListExt-rl2 MeasIdToAddModListExt-rl2

OPTIONAL, Need

ON

measRSRQ-OnAllSymbols-rl2 BOOLEAN OPTIONAL Need

ON measObj ectToRemoveListExt-rl3 MeasObj ectToRemoveListExt- rl3

OPTIONAL,

Need

ON

measObj ectToAddModListExt-rl3 MeasObj ectToAddModListExt- rl3

OPTIONAL,

Need

ON

measIdToAddModList-vl310 MeasIdToAddModList- vl310

OPTIONAL,

Need ON

measIdToAddModListExt-vl310 MeasIdToAddModListExt- vl310

OPTIONAL

Need ON

measGapConfig-rl4 MeasGapConfig-r!4 OPTIONAL

Need

MeasIdToRemoveList : : SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1.. maxMeasId) ) OF Measld

MeasIdToRemoveListExt SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1.. maxMeasId) ) OF Measld-vl250

MeasObj ectToRemoveList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE ( 1.. maxObj ectld) ) OF MeasObjectld MeasObj ectToRemoveListExt-rl3 ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE

(1..maxObj ectld) ) OF MeasObj ectld-vl310 ReportConfigToRemoveList ::= SEQUENCE (SIZE

(1..maxReportConfigld) ) OF ReportConfigld

— ASN1STOP

Embodiments described herein may include, for example, apparatuses, methods, and storage media for configuring measurements of, or related to, s-Measure by a UE while the UE may receive beamformed reference signal with respect to a cell. In fifth generation (5G) new radio (NR) communications, an AN may utilize beamforming techniques to form transmit beams when transmitting signals to a UE to facilitate better directional transmission, especially when operating at millimeter wave (mmWave) frequencies or sub-mmWave frequencies. The transmit beams of a cell with certain direction may provide the UE of a particular location with a stronger signal than other UEs of other locations. This may enable a better wireless connection between the UE and the AN. Multiple transmit beams of the cell may be formed by an antenna panel of the AN. Then, the transmit beams may be received and measured by the UE. Subsequently, cell- level quality with respect to the serving cell may be evaluated based on the measurements of the transmit beams by the UE. In some embodiments, more than one panel of the AN may be used to form different transmit beams. The UE may form one or more receive beams while receiving. It is noted that antennas and antenna elements are used interchangeably herein.

Figure 1 schematically illustrates an example wireless network 100 (hereinafter "network 100") in accordance with various embodiments herein. The network 100 may include a UE 105 in wireless communication with one access node (AN) 110. In some embodiments, the network 100 may be a 5G NR network, a radio access network (RAN) of a third generation partnership project (3 GPP) LTE network, such as evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG RAN), or some other type of RAN. The UE 105 may be configured to connect, for example, to be

communicatively coupled, with the AN 110. In this example, the connection 112 is illustrated as an air interface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent with cellular communications protocols such as a 5G NR protocol operating at mmWave and sub-mmWave, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) protocol, a code- division multiple access (CDMA) network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT of resource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent the smallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. There are several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed using such resource blocks.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data and higher- layer signaling to the UE 105. The physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport format and resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among other things. It may also inform the UE 105 about the transport format, resource allocation, and hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlink scheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to the UE 105 within a cell) may be performed at the AN 110 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UE 105. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent on the PDCCH used for (for example, assigned to) the UE 105.

The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the control information. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCH complex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, which may then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching. Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, where each CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase Shift Keying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can be transmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of the downlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There can be four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with different numbers of CCEs (for example, aggregation level, L=l, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for control channel information that are an extension of the above-described concepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for control information transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one or more enhanced control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above, each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elements known as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may have other numbers of EREGs in some situations.

As shown in Figure 1, the UE 105 may include millimeter wave communication circuitry grouped according to functions. The circuitry shown here is for illustrative purposes and the UE 105 may include other circuitry not shown here in Figure 1. The UE 105 may include protocol processing circuitry 115, which may implement one or more of layer operations related to medium access control (MAC), radio link control (RLC), packet data convergence protocol (PDCP), radio resource control (RRC) and non-access stratum (NAS). The protocol processing circuitry 115 may include one or more processing cores (not shown) to execute instructions and one or more memory structures (not shown) to store program and data information.

The UE 105 may further include digital baseband circuitry 125, which may implement physical layer (PHY) functions including one or more of HARQ functions, scrambling and/or descrambling, coding and/or decoding, layer mapping and/or de- mapping, modulation symbol mapping, received symbol and/or bit metric determination, multi-antenna port pre-coding and/or decoding, which may include one or more of space- time, space-frequency or spatial coding, reference signal generation and/or detection, preamble sequence generation and/or decoding, synchronization sequence generation and/or detection, control channel signal blind decoding, and other related functions.

The UE 105 may further include transmit circuitry 135, receive circuitry 145, radio frequency (RF) circuitry 155, and RF front end (RFFE) 165, which may include or connect to one or more antenna panels 175.

In some embodiments, RF circuitry 155 may include multiple parallel RF chains or branches for one or more of transmit or receive functions; each chain or branch may be coupled with one antenna panel 175.

In some embodiments, the protocol processing circuitry 115 may include one or more instances of control circuitry (not shown) to provide control functions for the digital baseband circuitry 125 (or simply, "baseband circuitry 125"), transmit circuitry 135, receive circuitry 145, radio frequency circuitry 155, RFFE 165, and one or more antenna panels 175.

A UE reception may be established by and via the one or more antenna panels 175, RFFE 165, RF circuitry 155, receive circuitry 145, digital baseband circuitry 125, and the protocol processing circuitry 115. The one or more antenna panels 175 may receive a transmission from the AN 110 by receive-beamforming signals received by a plurality of antennas/antenna elements of the one or more antenna panels 175. Further details regarding the UE 105 architecture are illustrated in Figures 2, 3, and 6. The transmission from the AN 110 may be transmit-beamformed by antennas of the AN 110. In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 125 may contain both the transmit circuitry 135 and the receive circuitry 145. In other embodiments, the baseband circuitry 125 may be implemented in separate chips or modules, for example, one chip including the transmit circuitry 135 and another chip including the receive circuitry 145.

In some embodiments, the UE 105 may include similar circuitry components as illustrated above, but suitable for operating at sub-mmWave frequency. In one example, mmWave refers to a frequency range above 24 GHz and sub-mmWave refers to a frequency range above microwave frequency and below 24 GHz. It is noted that the range of mmWave and sub-mmWave are not dictated by one particular number, but are used for distinguishing from existing LTE operations.

Similar to the UE 105, the AN 110 may include mmWave/sub-mmWave communication circuitry grouped according to functions. The AN 110 may include protocol processing circuitry 120, digital baseband circuitry 130 (or simply, "baseband circuitry 130"), transmit circuitry 140, receive circuitry 150, RF circuitry 160, RFFE 170 and one or more antenna panels 180.

An AN transmission may be established by and via the protocol processing circuitry 120, digital baseband circuitry 130, transmit circuitry 140, RF circuitry 160, RFFE 170, and the one or more antenna panels 180. The one or more antenna panels 180 may transmit a signal by forming a transmit beam. Figure 3 further illustrates details regarding the RFFE 170 and antenna panel 180.

Figure 2 illustrates example components of a device 200 in accordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include application circuitry 202, baseband circuitry 204, RF circuitry 206, RFFE circuitry 208, and a plurality of antennas 210 together at least as shown. The baseband circuitry 204 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the baseband circuitry 125 in some embodiments. The plurality of antennas 210 may constitute one or more antenna panels for beamforming.

The components of the illustrated device 200 may be included in a UE or an AN. In some embodiments, the device 200 may include fewer elements (for example, an AN may not utilize the application circuitry 202, and instead include a processor/controller to process IP data received from an evolved packet core (EPC)). In some embodiments, the device 200 may include additional elements such as, for example, a memory/storage, display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In other embodiments, the components described below may be included in more than one device (for example, said circuitry may be separately included in more than one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN)

implementations). The application circuitry 202 may include one or more application processors. For example, the application circuitry 202 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination of general-purpose processors and dedicated processors (for example, graphics processors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupled with or may include memory /storage and may be configured to execute instructions stored in the memory /storage to enable various applications or operating systems to run on the device 200. In some embodiments, processors of application circuitry 202 may process IP data packets received from an EPC.

The baseband circuitry 204 may include circuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. The baseband circuitry 204 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the baseband circuitry 125 in some embodiments. The baseband circuitry 204 may include one or more baseband processors or control logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signal path of the RF circuitry 206 and to generate baseband signals for a transmit signal path of the RF circuitry 206. Baseband circuitry 204 may interface with the application circuitry 202 for generation and processing of the baseband signals and for controlling operations of the RF circuitry 206. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may include a third generation (3G) baseband processor 204A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 204B, a fifth generation (5G) baseband processor 204C, or other baseband processor(s) 204D for other existing generations, generations in development or to be developed in the future (for example, second generation (2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 204 (for example, one or more of baseband processors 204A-D) may handle various radio control functions that enable communication with one or more radio networks via the RF circuitry 206. In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of baseband processors 204A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 204G and executed via a central processing unit (CPU) 204E. The radio control functions may include, but are not limited to, signal modulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting, etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT), precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In some embodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 204 may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or Low Density Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality.

Embodiments of modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are not limited to these examples and may include other suitable functionality in other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may include one or more audio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 204F. The audio DSP(s) 204F may be include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellation and may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments. Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in a single chip, in a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board in some embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituent components of the baseband circuitry 204 and the application circuitry 202 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a SOC.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may provide for communication compatible with one or more radio technologies. For example, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 204 may support communication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network (E-UTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN).

Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 204 is configured to support radio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referred to as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 206 may enable communication with wireless networks using modulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. In various

embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include one or more switches, filters, amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wireless network. RF circuitry 206 may include receiver circuitry 206A, which may include circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the RFFE circuitry 208 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry 204. RF circuitry 206 may also include transmitter circuitry 206B, which may include circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by the baseband circuitry 204 and provide RF output signals to the RFFE circuitry 208 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternate embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signals may be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RF circuitry 206 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) and digital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry 204 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RF circuitry 206. In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio integrated circuit (IC) circuitry may be provided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.

RFFE circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path, which may include circuitry configured to operate on RF beams received from one or more antennas 210. The RF beams may be transmit beams formed and transmitted by the AN 110 while operating in mmWave or sub-mmWave frequency rang. The RFFE circuitry 208 coupled with the one or more antennas 210 may receive the transmit beams and proceed them to the RF circuitry 206 for further processing. RFFE circuitry 208 may also include a transmit signal path, which may include circuitry configured to amplify signals for transmission provided by the RF circuitry 206 for transmission by one or more of the antennas 210, with or without beamforming. In various embodiments, the amplification through transmit or receive signal paths may be done solely in the RF circuitry 206, solely in the RFFE 208, or in both the RF circuitry 206 and the RFFE 208.

In some embodiments, the RFFE circuitry 208 may include a TX/RX switch to switch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The RFFE circuitry 208 may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path. The receive signal path of the RFFE circuitry 208 may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) to amplify received RF beams and provide the amplified received RF signals as an output (for example, to the RF circuitry 206). The transmit signal path of the RFFE circuitry 208 may include a power amplifier (PA) to amplify input RF signals (for example, provided by RF circuitry 206), and one or more filters to generate RF signals for beamforming and subsequent transmission (for example, by one or more of the one or more antennas 210).

Processors of the application circuitry 202 and processors of the baseband circuitry 204 may be used to execute elements of one or more instances of a protocol stack. For example, processors of the baseband circuitry 204, alone or in combination, may be used to execute Layer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of the application circuitry 202 may utilize data (for example, packet data) received from these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (for example, transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol (UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a radio resource control (RRC) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a medium access control (MAC) layer, a radio link control (RLC) layer, and a packet data convergence protocol (PDCP) layer, described in further detail below. As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a physical (PHY) layer of a UE/AN, described in further detail below.

Figure 3A illustrates an embodiment of a radio front end 300 incorporating a mmWave radio-frequency front end (RFFE) 305 and one or more sub-millimeter wave radio frequency integrated circuits (RFIC) 310. The RFFE 305 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the RFFE 165 and/or the RFFE 208 in some embodiments.

In this embodiment, the one or more sub-mmWave RFICs 310 (or simply "RFICs 310") may be physically separated from the mmWave RFFE 305. RFICs 310 may include connection to one or more antennas 320. The RFFE 305 may be coupled with multiple antennas 315, which may constitute one or more antenna panels.

Figure 3B illustrates an alternate embodiment of a radio front end module 325. In this aspect both millimeter wave and sub-millimeter wave radio functions may be implemented in the same physical RFFE 330. The RFFE 330 may incorporate both millimeter wave antennas 335 and sub-millimeter wave antennas 340. The RFFE 330 may be similar to and substantially interchangeable with the RFFE 165 and/or the RFFE 208 in some embodiments.

Figures 3A and 3B illustrate embodiments of various RFFE architectures for either the UE 105 or the AN 110.

In LTE, RSRP may be used for measuring received power level of a reference signal to indicate signal strength with respect to a serving cell. RSRP is defined as the linear average over the power contribution in Watt of the resource elements received at each receiver branch. Reference signal received quality (RSRQ), reference signal strength indicator (RSSI), and/or Reference signal signal-to-noise ratio (RS-SINR) may be additionally or alternatively used for similar purposes. For simplicity of the discussion herein, only RSRP is illustrated as an example. All the descriptions herein apply to other pertinent reference signal measurements, such as RSRQ, RSSI and RS-SINR.

In NR mmWave and/or sub-mmWave operation, beamforming technique may be implemented by an AN and/or a UE during wireless communications. Beamforming may use two or more antennas to form transmit and/or receive beams. The antennas may shift phases of individual reference signals. The shift phases may have different degrees corresponding to transmit antennas in order to achieve optimized antenna gain for a directional transmission to the UE 105. The assigned phase shifts may be different due to different transmit patterns, which are affected by multiple factors, such as a UE location, frequency band and channel bandwidth, interference, etc. Once a beam of a cell is formed by the antenna panel, the beam may be transmitted by the AN 110. The beam may be received by the UE 105 and further processed by one or more receiver branches of the UE 105. The UE 105 may as well receive-beamform the beam to achieve optimal receiving gain. With respect to the same reference signal regarding a specific cell, more than one beam may be formed by the antenna panel. Then, a linear average over the measured beams in power (measured in Watt) may be used to calculate the cell RSRP. Thus, both the UE 105 and AN 110 may have knowledge of the cell RSRP. Therefore, the UE 105 and/or AN 110 may determine optionality of measurements including measurements of neighbouring cells based on this information. Embodiments involved with s-Measure may be used in determining whether the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional or mandatory. The measurements of neighboring cells refer to the measurements of non- serving cells.

Figure 4A illustrates an operation flow/algorithmic structure 400 to facilitate a process of optionality determination of neighbouring cells measurements by the UE 105 in accordance with some embodiments. The operation flow/algorithmic structure 400 may be performed by the UE 105 or circuitry thereof.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 400 may include, at 405, measuring a plurality of beams of a cell. The beams may be formed and transmitted by the AN 110 in mmWave and/or sub-mmWave operations. In some embodiments, the UE 105 may receive and further receive-beamform the transmitted beams upon receiving, while a receiver antenna panel is in use for receiver beamforming. The UE 105 may measure the beams to indicate a beam quality for each beam respectively. The measurements may measure power levels of the beams. RSRP may be measured with respect to each beam or a plurality of beams. Other measurements, such as RSRQ, RSSI, and/or RS-SINR, may be measured and used as well.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 400 may further include, at 410, determining a value to indicate a cell-level quality with respect to the cell. In some embodiments, the UE 105 may calculate a linear average based on all of the measured beams to determine the value. For example, a value acquired by linear averaging all the measured RSRPs may indicate a cell-level quality with respect to the cell. In other embodiments, cell-level quality may be evaluated based on the measured beams whose RSRPs are greater than a threshold value. Such a threshold value may be determined or configured by the UE 105 or the AN 110. The determination of the value may then be based on certain measured beams among all of the measured beams.

Further, the determination of the value may be based on a number of the measured beams whose RSRPs are greater than the threshold value. Such a number may be predefined or configured by the UE 105 or the AN 110. In some scenarios in which no measured beams have RSRPs greater than the threshold value, only the measured beam with the maximum value may be used for the determination of the value, as well as cell- level quality evaluation.

In some other embodiments, the determination of the value may be based on a number of the measured beams, regardless of whether the RSRPs are greater than the threshold value. Such a number again may be predefined or configured by the UE 105 or the AN 110.

In some other embodiments, an offset value may be used in selecting certain measured beams for determining the value. For example, the UE 105 may determine a maximum RSRP among all the measured beams; then select the RSRPs whose values are greater than the maximum RSRP minus the offset value for determining the value. Such a selection of the measured beams can be formulated as RSRPmea aied > RSRPmaximum - offset.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 400 may further include, at 415, comparing the determined value to an s-Measure threshold. The s-Measure threshold may be configured by the AN 110 or predefined. A CPU of the UE 105 may acquire this s-

Measure threshold for further operation. The comparison may be to determine whether the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold or not.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 400 may further include, at 420, determining that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the comparison result at 415. If the value is greater than the s-Measure threshold, the measurements of neighbouring cells may become optional to the UE 105. Otherwise, the measurements of neighbouring cells may remain mandatory to the UE 105. The measurements may include, but not limited to intra-frequency, inter-frequency, and inter- RAT measurements of neighbouring cells.

In some embodiments, in addition to the operation flow/algorithmic structure 400, a quantity requirement of the measured beams may be of concern in determining optionality of the measurements of neighbouring cells. For example, the UE 105 may identify a number, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from the AN 110. Then, at least the number of the measured beams may need to have RSRPs greater than the s-Measure threshold in order to determine that the measurements of neighbouring cells become optional. This may require individual measured beam values to be compared with the s-Measure threshold.

In some embodiments, an alternative operation flow/algorithmic structure 430 may facilitate an alternative process of the optionality determination of neighbouring cells measurements by the UE 105, shown in Figure 4B. The operation flow/algorithmic structure 430 may be performed by the UE 105 or circuitry thereof.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 430 may include, at 435, measuring a plurality of beams of a cell, which is the same as the 405 of the operation flow/algorithmic structure 400.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 430 may further include, at 440, comparing each of the measured beams to an s-Measure threshold. The s-Measure threshold may again be configured by the AN 110 or predefined. A CPU of the UE 105 may acquire the s-Measure threshold for further processing. The comparison may be based on, but not limited to, RSRP, RSRQ, RSSI, and/or RS-SINR. The comparison results may be used to determine whether there is at least one beam having a measured value that exceeds the s-Measure threshold. In some embodiments, only one or more of the measured beams may be compared to the s-Measure threshold.

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 430 may further include, at 445, determining measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, if at least one measured beam value is greater than the s-Measure threshold. In this approach, the optionality determination of the measurements is based on individual measured beam quality, rather than a quality on the cell-level.

In some embodiments, in addition to the operation flow/algorithmic structure 430, a similar quantity requirement may weigh in determining optionality of the measurements of neighbouring cells. For example, the UE 105 may identify a number, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from the AN 110. The number may also be acquired by the CPU for following operations. Then, at least the number of the measured beams may need to have measured values exceeding the s-Measure threshold in determining the measurements of neighbouring cells become optional.

Figure 5 illustrates an operation flow/algorithmic structure 500 to facilitate the process of optionality determination of neighbouring cells measurements by the AN 110 in accordance with some embodiments. The operation flow/algorithmic structure 500 may be performed by the AN 110 or circuitry thereof. The operation flow/algorithmic structure 500 may include, at 505, generating beams of a cell. The beams may be formed and transmitted by the AN 110 in mmWave and/or sub-mmWave operations. The beams may be generated with respect to a serving cell in a network. The beams may be used for cell-level quality evaluation or

determination by the UE 105. The beams may include reference signals, whose measurements may determine whether other UE measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, while compared to the s-Measure threshold. The reference signal may be, but not limited to, a channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

The operation flow/algorithmic structure 500 may further include, at 510,

transmitting the beams so that the UE 105 may receive the beams and measure the beams to determine a cell-level quality with respect to the serving cell. In some embodiments, the UE 105 may receive-beamform the received beams from the AN 110.

Further, the AN 110 may configure the UE 105 with the s-Measure threshold. The s-Measure threshold information may be included in an information element (IE).

In addition, the AN 110 may configure a number to indicate a quantity requirement for the UE 105 regarding the optionality determination of the measurements of neighbouring cells. In some embodiments, at least the number of the measured beams may have measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold while determining the measurements are optional.

Figure 6 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry in accordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the baseband circuitry 204 of Figure 2 may comprise processors 204A-204E and a memory 204G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 204A-204E may include a memory interface, 604A-604E, respectively, to send/receive data to/from the memory 204G.

The baseband circuitry 204 may further include one or more interfaces to communicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memory interface 612 (for example, an interface to send/receive data to/from memory external to the baseband circuitry 204), an application circuitry interface 614 (for example, an interface to send/receive data to/from the application circuitry 202 of Figure 2), an RF circuitry interface 616 (for example, an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 206 of Figure 2), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 618 (for example, an interface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NFC) components, Bluetooth® components (for example, Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components), and a power management interface 620 (for example, an interface to send/receive power or control signals).

Figure 7 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to some example embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readable or computer-readable medium (for example, a non-transitory machine-readable storage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. Specifically, Figure 7 shows a diagrammatic representation of hardware resources 700 including one or more processors (or processor cores) 710, one or more memory /storage devices 720, and one or more communication resources 730, each of which may be communicatively coupled via a bus 740. For embodiments where node virtualization (for example, network function virtualization (NFV)) is utilized, a hypervisor 702 may be executed to provide an execution environment for one or more network slices/sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 700.

The processors 710 (for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a reduced instruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction set computing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digital signal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit (RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) may include, for example, a processor 712 and a processor 714.

The memory /storage devices 720 may include main memory, disk storage, or any suitable combination thereof. The memory /storage devices 720 may include, but are not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatile memory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random-access memory (SRAM), erasable programmable readonly memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read-only memory

(EEPROM), Flash memory, solid-state storage, etc.

The communication resources 730 may include interconnection or network interface components or other suitable devices to communicate with one or more peripheral devices 704 or one or more databases 706 via a network 708. For example, the communication resources 730 may include wired communication components (for example, for coupling via a Universal Serial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components, Bluetooth® components (for example, Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components, and other communication components.

Instructions 750 may comprise software, a program, an application, an applet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of the processors 710 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein. For example, in an embodiment in which the hardware resources 700 are implemented into the UE 105, the instructions 750 may cause the UE to perform some or all of the operation flow/algorithmic structure 500. In other embodiments, the hardware resources 700 may be implemented into the eNB 110. The instructions 750 may cause the eNB 110 to perform some or all of the operation flow/algorithmic structure 500. The instructions 750 may reside, completely or partially, within at least one of the processors 710 (for example, within the processor's cache memory), the memory /storage devices 720, or any suitable combination thereof.

Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 750 may be transferred to the hardware resources 700 from any combination of the peripheral devices 704 or the databases 706. Accordingly, the memory of processors 710, the memory /storage devices 720, the peripheral devices 704, and the databases 706 are examples of computer-readable and machine-readable media.

Some non-limiting Examples of various embodiments are provided below.

Example 1 may include one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions to, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of a UE, cause the UE to: measure a plurality of beams of a cell; determine, based on measured values of the plurality of beams, a value to indicate a cell-level quality with respect to the cell; and determine, based on a comparison between the value and an s-Measure threshold, whether measurements of neighbouring cells are optional for the UE.

Example 2 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of the beams of the cell are formed by an AN.

Example 3 may include the one or more computer-readable media of examples 1 -2 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to: identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an access node (AN), a number; determine at least the number of the plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold; and determine that the measurements of neighboring cells are optional based on said determination that at least the number of the measured plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold.

Example 4 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine the value to indicate the cell-level quality, the UE is to calculate a linear average of power levels of the measured plurality of beams based on the measured plurality of beams.

Example 5 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to: determine a maximum measured value of the measured values of the plurality of beams; select the measured values of the plurality of beams that exceed the maximum measured value minus an offset value; and calculate a linear average of power levels based on the selected measured values.

Example 6 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to: compare individual measured values of the plurality of beams to a threshold value; and select, based on the comparisons of the individual measured values to the threshold value, the measured values that exceed the threshold value for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 7 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to: compare the value to the s-Measure threshold; compare individual measured values of the plurality of beams to a threshold value; and select, based on a determination that the threshold value is greater than or equal to each of individual power levels, a maximum value of the individual measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 8 may include the one or more computer-readable media of examples 1-4 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to: compare the value to the s-Measure threshold; determine the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold; and determine, based on the determination that the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold, that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional.

Example 9 may include the one or more computer-readable media of examples 1-4 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to: identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an access node (AN), a number; and select the number of the plurality of beams that have the measured values greater than other measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality. Example 10 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurements of neighbouring cells are measurements of intra-frequency, inter-frequency, or inter-RAT neighbouring cells.

Example 1 1 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurements of the plurality of beams are to measure RSRP of the plurality of beams respectively to obtain a plurality of RSRP values.

Example 12 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 1 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of beams include a CSI-RS.

Example 13 may include one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions to, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of an AN, cause the AN to: generate a plurality of beams of a cell; and transmit the plurality of beams so that a UE is to measure the plurality of beams based on reception of the UE.

Example 14 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 13 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the AN to configure a number for the UE so that at least the number of UE measured beams have measured values greater than an s-Measure threshold.

Example 15 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 13 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of beams include a CSI-RS.

Example 16 may include one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions to, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of a UE, cause the UE to: measure power levels of a plurality of beams of a cell; compare the measured plurality of power levels to an s-Measure threshold; determine, based on the comparisons between the plurality of power levels and the s-Measure threshold, at least one of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold; and determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the determination that at least one of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold.

Example 17 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 16 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to acquire the s-Measure threshold.

Example 18 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 17 and/or some other example herein, wherein the s-Measure threshold is configured by an AN or predefined. Example 19 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 16 and/or some other example herein, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an AN, a number; determine at least the number of the measured power levels of respective beams exceed the s-Measure threshold; and determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the determination that at least the number of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold.

Example 20 may include the one or more computer-readable media of example 16 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine a value to indicate a cell-level quality, the UE is to calculate a linear average of the measured power levels.

Example 21 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more baseband processors to measure a plurality of beams of a cell; and a CPU coupled with the one or more baseband processors, the CPU to determine, based on measured values of the plurality of beams, a value to indicate a cell-level quality with respect to the cell, and determine, based on a comparison between the value and an s-Measure threshold, whether measurements of neighbouring cells are optional for a UE.

Example 22 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of the beams of the cell are formed by an AN.

Example 23 may include the apparatus of examples 21-22 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to: identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an AN, a number; determine at least the number of the plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold; and determine that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional based on said determination that at least the number of the measured plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold.

Example 24 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine the value to indicate the cell-level quality, the CPU is to calculate a linear average of power levels of the measured plurality of beams based on the measured plurality of beams.

Example 25 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to: determine a maximum measured value of the measured values of the plurality of beams; select the measured values of the plurality of beams that exceed the maximum measured value minus an offset value; and calculate a linear average of power levels based on the selected measured values. Example 26 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to: compare individual measured values of the plurality of beams to a threshold value; and select, based on the comparisons of the individual measured values to the threshold value, the measured values that exceed the threshold value for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 27 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to: compare the value to the s-Measure threshold; compare individual measured values of the plurality of beams to a threshold value; and select, based on a determination that the threshold value is greater than or equal to each of individual power levels, a maximum value of the individual measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 28 may include the apparatus of examples 21-24 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to: compare the value to the s-Measure threshold; determine the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold; and determine, based on the determination that the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold, that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional.

Example 29 may include the apparatus of examples 21-24 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to: identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from the AN, a number; and select the number of the plurality of beams that have the measured values greater than other measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 30 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurements of neighbouring cells are measurements of intra- frequency, inter-frequency, or inter-RAT neighbouring cells.

Example 31 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurements of the plurality of beams are to measure RSRP of the plurality of beams respectively to obtain a plurality of RSRP values.

Example 32 may include the apparatus of example 21 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of beams include a CSI-RS.

Example 33 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more baseband processors to generate a plurality of beams of a cell; and transmit the plurality of beams so that a UE is to measure the plurality of beams based on reception of the UE.

Example 34 may include the apparatus of example 33 and/or some other example herein, wherein the apparatus further comprises a CPU, coupled with the one or more baseband processors, the CPU to configure a number for the UE so that at least the number of UE measured beams have measured values greater than an s-Measure threshold.

Example 35 may include the apparatus of example 33 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of beams include a CSI-RS.

Example 36 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more baseband processors to measure power levels of a plurality of beams of a cell; and a CPU, coupled with the one or more baseband processors, the CPU to compare the measured plurality of power levels to an s-Measure threshold, determine, based on the comparisons between the plurality of power levels and the s-Measure threshold, at least one of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold, and determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the determination that at least one of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold.

Example 37 may include the apparatus of example 36 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to acquire the s-Measure threshold.

Example 38 may include the apparatus of example 37 and/or some other example herein, wherein the s-Measure threshold is configured by an AN or predefined.

Example 39 may include the apparatus of example 36 and/or some other example herein, wherein the CPU is further to identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an AN, a number; determine at least the number of the measured power levels of respective beams exceed the s-Measure threshold; and determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the

determination that at least the number of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold.

Example 40 may include the apparatus of example 36 and/or some other example herein, wherein to determine the value to indicate a cell-level quality, the CPU is to calculate a linear average of the measured power levels.

Example 41 may include a method comprising: measuring or causing to measure a plurality of beams of a cell; determining or causing to determine, based on measured values of the plurality of beams, a value to indicate a cell-level quality with respect to the cell; and determining or causing to determine, based on a comparison between the value and an s-Measure threshold, whether measurements of neighboring cells are optional for the UE.

Example 42 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of the beams of the cell are formed by an AN. Example 43 may include the method of examples 41-42 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises: identifying or causing to identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an access node (AN), a number; determining or causing to determine at least the number of the plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold; and determining or causing to determine that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional based on said determination that at least the number of the measured plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold.

Example 44 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining the value to indicate the cell-level quality comprises calculating a linear average of power levels of the measured plurality of beams based on the measured plurality of beams.

Example 45 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises: determining or causing to determine a maximum measured value of the measured values of the plurality of beams; selecting or causing to select the measured values of the plurality of beams that exceed the maximum measured value minus an offset value; and calculating or causing to calculate a linear average of power levels based on the selected measured values.

Example 46 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises: comparing or causing to compare individual measured values of the plurality of beams to a threshold value; and selecting or causing to select, based on the comparisons of the individual measured values to the threshold value, the measured values that exceed the threshold value for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 47 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises: comparing or causing to compare the value to the s-Measure threshold; comparing or causing to compare individual measured values of the plurality of beams to a threshold value; and selecting or causing to select, based on a determination that the threshold value is greater than or equal to each of individual power levels, a maximum value of the individual measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 48 may include the method of examples 41-44 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises: comparing or causing to compare the value to the s-Measure threshold; determining or causing to determine the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold; and determining or causing to determine, based on the determination that the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold, that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional.

Example 49 may include the method of examples 41-44 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises: identifying or causing to identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an AN, a number; and selecting or causing to select the number of the plurality of beams that have the measured values greater than other measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

Example 50 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurements of neighbouring cells are measurements of intra- frequency, inter-frequency, or inter-RAT neighbouring cells.

Example 51 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the measurements of the plurality of beams are to measure RSRP of the plurality of beams respectively to obtain a plurality of RSRP values.

Example 52 may include the method of example 41 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of beams include a CSI-RS.

Example 53 may include a method comprising: generating or causing to generate a plurality of beams of a cell; and transmitting or causing to transmit the plurality of beams so that a UE is to measure the plurality of beams based on reception of the UE.

Example 54 may include the method of example 53 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises configuring or causing to configure a number for the UE so that at least the number of UE measured beams have measured values greater than an s-Measure threshold.

Example 55 may include the method of example 53 and/or some other example herein, wherein the plurality of beams include a CSI-RS.

Example 56 may include a method comprising: measuring or causing to measure power levels of a plurality of beams of a cell; comparing or causing to compare the measured plurality of power levels to an s-Measure threshold; determine, based on the comparisons between the plurality of power levels and the s-Measure threshold, at least one of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold; and determining or causing to determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the determination that at least one of the measured power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold. Example 57 may include the method of example 56 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises acquiring or causing to acquire the s- Measure threshold.

Example 58 may include the method of example 57 and/or some other example herein, wherein the s-Measure threshold is configured by an AN or predefined.

Example 59 may include the method of example 56 and/or some other example herein, wherein the method further comprises: identifying or causing to identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an AN, a number;

determining or causing to determine at least the number of the measured power levels of respective beams exceed the s-Measure threshold; and determining or causing to determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the

Example 60 may include the method of example 56 and/or some other example herein, wherein determining a value to indicate a cell-level quality comprises calculating or causing to calculate a linear average of the measured power levels.

Example 61 may include an apparatus comprising means to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 41-60, or any other method or process described herein.

Example 62 may include one or more non-transitory computer-readable media comprising instructions to cause an electronic device, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of the electronic device, to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 41-60, or any other method or process described herein.

Example 63 may include an apparatus comprising logic, modules, and/or circuitry to perform one or more elements of a method described in or related to any of examples 41-60, or any other method or process described herein.

Example 64 may include a method, technique, or process as described in or related to any of examples 41-60, or portions or parts thereof.

Example 65 may include an apparatus comprising: one or more processors and one or more computer-readable media comprising instructions that, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the one or more processors to perform the method, techniques, or process as described in or related to any of examples 41-60, or portions thereof. The present disclosure is described with reference to flowchart illustrations or block diagrams of methods, apparatuses (systems) and computer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer, special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for

implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer-readable medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer-readable medium produce an article of manufacture including instruction means that implement the function/act specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions that execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide processes for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart or block diagram block or blocks.

The description herein of illustrated implementations, including what is described in the Abstract, is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present disclosure to the precise forms disclosed. While specific implementations and examples are described herein for illustrative purposes, a variety of alternate or equivalent embodiments or implementations calculated to achieve the same purposes may be made in light of the above detailed description, without departing from the scope of the present disclosure, as those skilled in the relevant art will recognize.

Claims

What is claimed is: 1. One or more computer-readable media comprising instructions to, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of a user equipment (UE), cause the UE to: measure a plurality of beams of a cell;

determine, based on measured values of the plurality of beams, a value to indicate a cell-level quality with respect to the cell; and

determine, based on a comparison between the value and an s-Measure threshold, whether measurements of neighbouring cells are optional for the UE.

2. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beams of the cell are formed by an access node (AN).

3. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the instructions, when executed, further cause the UE to:

identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an access node (AN), a number;

determine at least the number of the plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold; and

determine that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional based on said determination that at least the number of the measured plurality of beams have the measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold.

4. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein to determine the value to indicate the cell-level quality, the UE is to calculate a linear average of power levels based on the measured values of the plurality of beams.

5. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to:

determine a maximum measured value of the measured values of the plurality of beams;

select the measured values of the plurality of beams that exceed the maximum measured value minus an offset value; and

calculate a linear average of power levels based on the selected measured values.

6. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to:

compare individual measured values of the plurality of beams to a threshold value; and

select, based on the comparisons of the individual measured values to the threshold value, one or more measured values that exceed the threshold value for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

7. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to:

select, based on a determination that the threshold value is greater than or equal to each of individual power levels, a maximum value of the individual measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

8. The one or more computer-readable media of any one of claims 1-4, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to:

compare the value to the s-Measure threshold;

determine the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold; and

determine, based on the determination that the value exceeds the s-Measure threshold, that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional.

9. The one or more computer-readable media of any one of claims 1, 2, and 4, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the UE to:

identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an access node (AN), a number; and

select the number of the plurality of beams that have the measured values greater than theother measured values for the determination of the value to indicate the cell-level quality.

10. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the measurements with respect to the neighbouring cells are measurements of intra-frequency, inter- frequency, or inter-radio access technology (inter-RAT) neighbouring cells.

11. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1 or 4, wherein the measurements of the plurality of beams are to measure reference signal received power (RSRP) of the plurality of beams respectively to obtain a plurality of RSRP values.

12. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 1, wherein the plurality of beams include a channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS).

13. One or more computer-readable media comprising instructions to, upon execution of the instructions by one or more processors of an access node (AN), cause the AN to: generate a plurality of beams of a cell;

transmit the plurality of beams so that a user equipment (UE) is to measure the plurality of beams based on reception by the UE; and

configure the UE with an s-Measure threshold to determine an optionality of measurements of neighbouring cells for the UE based on one or more comparisons with the s-Measure threshold.

14. The one or more computer-readable media of claim 13, wherein, upon execution, the instructions are to further cause the AN to configure a number for the UE so that at least the number of UE measured beams have measured values greater than the s-Measure threshold.

15. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE), comprising:

one or more baseband processors to measure a plurality of power levels of respective beams of a cell; and

a central processing unit (CPU) coupled with the one or more baseband processors, the CPU to:

acquire an s-Measure threshold, and

compare one or more of the plurality of power levels, or a value to indicate a cell-level quality with respect to the cell based on the plurality of power levels, to the s-Measure threshold to determine whether that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional.

16. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the CPU is further to:

determine, based on the one or more of the plurality of power levels, the value to indicate the cell-level quality with respect to the cell;

compare the value to the s-Measure threshold; and

determine, based on the comparison between the value and the s-Measure threshold, whether that the measurements of neighbouring cells are optional.

17. The apparatus of claim 16, wherein to determine the value to indicate the cell-level quality, the CPU is to calculate a linear average of the one or more of the plurality of power levels.

18. The apparatus of claim 16 or 17, wherein the CPU is further to:

identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an access node (AN), a number, and

determine, based on the comparisons between the one or more of the plurality of power levels and the s-Measure threshold, that at least the number of the compared power levels exceed the s-Measure threshold.

19. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the CPU is further to:

compare the one or more of the plurality of power levels to the s-Measure threshold,

determine, based on the comparisons between the one or more of the plurality of power levels and the s-Measure threshold, that at least one of the compared power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold, and

determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the determination that at least one of the compared power levels exceeds the s-Measure threshold.

20. The apparatus of claim 19, wherein the CPU is further to:

identify, based on configuration information that is predefined or received from an access node (AN), a number, determine at least the number of the compared power levels exceed the s-Measure threshold, and

determine that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional, based on the determination that at least the number of the compared power levels exceeds the s- Measure threshold.

21. The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the CPU is further to:

select, based on comparing the plurality of power levels to a threshold value, power levels of the plurality of power levels that exceed the threshold value,

determine, based on linear averaging the selected power levels, the value to indicate the cell-level quality with respect to the cell, and

determine, based on the comparison between the value and the s-Measure threshold, that measurements of neighbouring cells are optional.

22. The apparatus of any one of claims 15-21 , wherein the measurements of the plurality of power levels are to measure reference signal received power (RSRP) of the plurality of beams respectively to obtain a plurality of RSRP power levels.

23. The apparatus of any one of claims 16-21 , wherein the measurements with respect to the neighbouring cells are measurements of intra-frequency, inter-frequency, or inter- radio access technology (inter-RAT) neighbouring cells.

24. An apparatus of baseband circuitry of an access node (AN), comprises:

means for generating a plurality of beams to include a reference signal;

means for transmitting the plurality of beams to a user equipment (UE); and means for configuring the UE with an s-Measure threshold to determine an optionality of measurements of neighbouring cells for the UE based on one or more comparisons with the s-Measure threshold.

25. The apparatus of claim 24, wherein the reference signal includes a channel-state information reference signal (CSI-RS).