WO2022056837A1

WO2022056837A1 - Improve ue performance by smart measurement scheduling and reporting

Info

Publication number: WO2022056837A1
Application number: PCT/CN2020/116193
Authority: WO
Inventors: Hewu GU; Ling Xie; Xianwei ZHU; Zhanyi Liu; Jun Deng; Xin Jiang; Jing Dai; Xiaochen Chen; Nitin Pant; Gautham JAYARAM; Xuqiang ZHANG; Yong Hou; Shan QING; Zhongyue LOU
Original assignee: Qualcomm Incorporated
Priority date: 2020-09-18
Filing date: 2020-09-18
Publication date: 2022-03-24
Also published as: WO2022056966A1

Abstract

Systems and method for smart measurement scheduling and reporting are disclosed. A user equipment (UE) being served by a cell of a first radio access technology (RAT) network may identify a target cell of another RAT network for rapid redirection based on a fingerprint database and the measurement report of the target cell. In aspects, the UE may trigger redirection to the target cell by reporting a measurement report associated with the target cell typ. The UE determines whether to stay in the current network or to switch over to another network based on traffic type, a scenario or condition, latency requirements, power savings, etc. Other aspects and features are also claimed and described.

Description

IMPROVE UE PERFORMANCE BY SMART MEASUREMENT SCHEDULING AND REPORTING

TECHNICAL FIELD

Aspects of the present disclosure relate generally to wireless communication systems, and more particularly, to measurement reporting. Certain embodiments of the technology discussed below may enable and provide smart measurement scheduling and reporting.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Such networks, which are usually multiple access networks, support communications for multiple users by sharing the available network resources.

A wireless communication network may include a number of base stations or node Bs that may support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs) . A UE may communicate with a base station via downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station.

A base station may transmit data and control information on the downlink to a UE and/or may receive data and control information on the uplink from the UE. On the downlink, a transmission from the base station may encounter interference due to transmissions from neighbor base stations or from other wireless radio frequency (RF) transmitters. On the uplink, a transmission from the UE may encounter interference from uplink transmissions of other UEs communicating with the neighbor base stations or from other wireless RF transmitters. This interference may degrade performance on both the downlink and uplink.

As the demand for mobile broadband access continues to increase, the possibilities of interference and congested networks grows with more UEs accessing the long-range wireless communication networks and more short-range wireless systems being deployed in communities. Research and development continue to advance wireless technologies not only to meet the growing demand for mobile broadband access, but to advance and enhance the user experience with mobile communications.

SUMMARY

The following summarizes some aspects of the present disclosure to provide a basic understanding of the discussed technology. This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated features of the disclosure and is intended neither to identify key or critical elements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope of any or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure in summary form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes blocking, by a base station serving a user equipment (UE) over a first radio access technology (RAT) network, based on an occurrence of a measurement blocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with a second RAT network by the UE. The method may further include determining, by the base station, that a measurement unblocking event has occurred, unblocking, by the base station, based on the occurrence of the measurement unblocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network by the UE, and receiving, based on a fast evaluation of a cell of the second RAT network, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with the cell of the second RAT network. The method may also include causing the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network based on the received measurement report.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a method of wireless communication includes determining, by a UE, whether a redirection decision criteria is met. The UE may be currently served by a cell of a first RAT network. The method also includes reporting, based on a determination that the redirection decision criteria is met, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with a cell of a second RAT network, and may be configured to trigger a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT network.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured for wireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least one processor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to block, by a base station serving UE over a first RAT network, based on an occurrence of a measurement blocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with a second RAT network by the UE. The processor may further be configured to determine, by the base station, that a measurement unblocking event has occurred, to unblock, by the base station, based on the occurrence of the measurement unblocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network by the UE, and to receive, based on a fast evaluation of a cell of the second RAT network, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with the cell of the second RAT network. The processor may further be configured to cause the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network based on the received measurement report.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus configured for wireless communication is disclosed. The apparatus includes at least one processor, and a memory coupled to the processor. The processor is configured to determine, by a UE, whether a redirection decision criteria is met. The UE may be currently served by a cell of a first RAT network. The processor may further be configured to report, based on a determination that the redirection decision criteria is met, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with a cell of a second RAT network, and may be configured to trigger a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT network.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The program code includes code to block, by a base station serving UE over a first RAT network, based on an occurrence of a measurement blocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with a second RAT network by the UE. The program code further includes code to determine, by the base station, that a measurement unblocking event has occurred, to unblock, by the base station, based on the occurrence of the measurement unblocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network by the UE, and to receive, based on a fast evaluation of a cell of the second RAT network, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with the cell of the second RAT network. The program code further includes code to cause the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network based on the received measurement report.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, a non-transitory computer-readable medium having program code recorded thereon. The program code includes code to determine, by a UE, whether a redirection decision criteria is met. The UE may be currently served by a cell of a first RAT network. The program code further includes code to report, based on a determination that the redirection decision criteria is met, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with a cell of a second RAT network, and may be configured to trigger a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT network.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for blocking, by a base station serving a user equipment (UE) over a first radio access technology (RAT) network, based on an occurrence of a measurement blocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with a second RAT network by the UE. The apparatus may further include means for determining, by the base station, that a measurement unblocking event has occurred, means for unblocking, by the base station, based on the occurrence of the measurement unblocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network by the UE, and means for receiving, based on a fast evaluation of a cell of the second RAT network, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with the cell of the second RAT network. The apparatus may further include means for causing the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network based on the received measurement report.

In an additional aspect of the disclosure, an apparatus for wireless communication includes means for determining, by a UE, whether a redirection decision criteria is met. The UE may be currently served by a cell of a first RAT network. The apparatus may further include means for reporting, based on a determination that the redirection decision criteria is met, a measurement report from the UE. The measurement report may be associated with a cell of a second RAT network, and may be configured to trigger a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT network..

Other aspects, features, and embodiments will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewing the following description of specific, exemplary aspects in conjunction with the accompanying figures. While features may be discussed relative to certain aspects and figures below, all aspects may include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein. In other words, while one or more aspects may be discussed as having certain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also be used in accordance with the various aspects. In similar fashion, while exemplary aspects may be discussed below as device, system, or method aspects, the exemplary aspects may be implemented in various devices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the present disclosure may be realized by reference to the following drawings. In the appended figures, similar components or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a dash and a second label that distinguishes among the similar components. If just the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the second reference label.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of a wireless communication system according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of a base station and a UE configured according to some aspects.

FIG. 3 is a is a block diagram illustrating a design of a fingerprint database according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a design of another fingerprint database according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed by a base station to implement aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed by a UE to implement aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of a base station configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram conceptually illustrating a design of a UE configured according to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

The Appendix provides further details regarding various embodiments of this disclosure and the subject matter therein forms a part of the specification of this application.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below, in connection with the appended drawings and appendix, is intended as a description of various configurations and is not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Rather, the detailed description includes specific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understanding of the inventive subject matter. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that these specific details are not required in every case and that, in some instances, well-known structures and components are shown in block diagram form for clarity of presentation.

This disclosure relates generally to providing or participating in authorized shared access between two or more wireless devices in one or more wireless communications systems, also referred to as wireless communications networks. In various implementations, the techniques and apparatus may be used for wireless communication networks such as code division multiple access (CDMA) networks, time division multiple access (TDMA) networks, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) networks, orthogonal FDMA (OFDMA) networks, single-carrier FDMA (SC-FDMA) networks, LTE networks, GSM networks, 5 ^th Generation (5G) or new radio (NR) networks (sometimes referred to as “5G NR” networks/systems/devices) , as well as other communications networks. As described herein, the terms “networks” and “systems” may be used interchangeably.

A CDMA network, for example, may implement a radio technology such as universal terrestrial radio access (UTRA) , cdma2000, and the like. UTRA includes wideband-CDMA (W-CDMA) and low chip rate (LCR) . CDMA2000 covers IS-2000, IS-95, and IS-856 standards.

A TDMA network may, for example implement a radio technology such as Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) . The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) defines standards for the GSM EDGE (enhanced data rates for GSM evolution) radio access network (RAN) , also denoted as GERAN. GERAN is the radio component of GSM/EDGE, together with the network that joins the base stations (for example, the Ater and Abis interfaces) and the base station controllers (A interfaces, etc. ) . The radio access network represents a component of a GSM network, through which phone calls and packet data are routed from and to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) and Internet to and from subscriber handsets, also known as user terminals or user equipments (UEs) . A mobile phone operator's network may comprise one or more GERANs, which may be coupled with Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Networks (UTRANs) in the case of a UMTS/GSM network. Additionally, an operator network may also include one or more LTE networks, and/or one or more other networks. The various different network types may use different radio access technologies (RATs) and radio access networks (RANs) .

An OFDMA network may implement a radio technology such as evolved UTRA (E-UTRA) , IEEE 802.11, IEEE 802.16, IEEE 802.20, flash-OFDM and the like. UTRA, E-UTRA, and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) are part of universal mobile telecommunication system (UMTS) . In particular, long term evolution (LTE) is a release of UMTS that uses E-UTRA. UTRA, E-UTRA, GSM, UMTS and LTE are described in documents provided from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project” (3GPP) , and cdma2000 is described in documents from an organization named “3rd Generation Partnership Project 2” (3GPP2) . These various radio technologies and standards are known or are being developed. For example, the 3GPP is a collaboration between groups of telecommunications associations that aims to define a globally applicable third generation (3G) mobile phone specification. 3GPP long term evolution (LTE) is a 3GPP project which was aimed at improving the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) mobile phone standard. The 3GPP may define specifications for the next generation of mobile networks, mobile systems, and mobile devices. The present disclosure may describe certain aspects with reference to LTE, 4G, or 5G NR technologies; however, the description is not intended to be limited to a specific technology or application, and one or more aspects described with reference to one technology may be understood to be applicable to another technology. Indeed, one or more aspects of the present disclosure are related to shared access to wireless spectrum between networks using different radio access technologies or radio air interfaces.

5G networks contemplate diverse deployments, diverse spectrum, and diverse services and devices that may be implemented using an OFDM-based unified, air interface. To achieve these goals, further enhancements to LTE and LTE-A are considered in addition to development of the new radio technology for 5G NR networks. The 5G NR will be capable of scaling to provide coverage (1) to a massive Internet of things (IoTs) with an ultra-high density (e.g., ～1M nodes/km ²) , ultra-low complexity (e.g., ～10s of bits/sec) , ultra-low energy (e.g., ～10+ years of battery life) , and deep coverage with the capability to reach challenging locations; (2) including mission-critical control with strong security to safeguard sensitive personal, financial, or classified information, ultra-high reliability (e.g., ～99.9999%reliability) , ultra-low latency (e.g., ～ 1 millisecond (ms) ) , and users with wide ranges of mobility or lack thereof; and (3) with enhanced mobile broadband including extreme high capacity (e.g., ～ 10 Tbps/km ²) , extreme data rates (e.g., multi-Gbps rate, 100+ Mbps user experienced rates) , and deep awareness with advanced discovery and optimizations.

5G NR devices, networks, and systems may be implemented to use optimized OFDM-based waveform features. These features may include scalable numerology and transmission time intervals (TTIs) ; a common, flexible framework to efficiently multiplex services and features with a dynamic, low-latency time division duplex (TDD) /frequency division duplex (FDD) design; and advanced wireless technologies, such as massive multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) , robust millimeter wave (mmWave) transmissions, advanced channel coding, and device-centric mobility. Scalability of the numerology in 5G NR, with scaling of subcarrier spacing, may efficiently address operating diverse services across diverse spectrum and diverse deployments. For example, in various outdoor and macro coverage deployments of less than 3GHz FDD/TDD implementations, subcarrier spacing may occur with 15 kHz, for example over 1, 5, 10, 20 MHz, and the like bandwidth. For other various outdoor and small cell coverage deployments of TDD greater than 3 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 30 kHz over 80/100 MHz bandwidth. For other various indoor wideband implementations, using a TDD over the unlicensed portion of the 5 GHz band, the subcarrier spacing may occur with 60 kHz over a 160 MHz bandwidth. Finally, for various deployments transmitting with mmWave components at a TDD of 28 GHz, subcarrier spacing may occur with 120 kHz over a 500MHz bandwidth.

The scalable numerology of 5G NR facilitates scalable TTI for diverse latency and quality of service (QoS) requirements. For example, shorter TTI may be used for low latency and high reliability, while longer TTI may be used for higher spectral efficiency. The efficient multiplexing of long and short TTIs to allow transmissions to start on symbol boundaries. 5G NR also contemplates a self-contained integrated subframe design with uplink/downlink scheduling information, data, and acknowledgement in the same subframe. The self-contained integrated subframe supports communications in unlicensed or contention-based shared spectrum, adaptive uplink/downlink that may be flexibly configured on a per-cell basis to dynamically switch between uplink and downlink to meet the current traffic needs.

For clarity, certain aspects of the apparatus and techniques may be described below with reference to example 5G NR implementations or in a 5G-centric way, and 5G terminology may be used as illustrative examples in portions of the description below; however, the description is not intended to be limited to 5G applications.

Moreover, it should be understood that, in operation, wireless communication networks adapted according to the concepts herein may operate with any combination of licensed or unlicensed spectrum depending on loading and availability. Accordingly, it will be apparent to a person having ordinary skill in the art that the systems, apparatus and methods described herein may be applied to other communications systems and applications than the particular examples provided.

While aspects and implementations are described in this application by illustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understand that additional implementations and use cases may come about in many different arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein may be implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems, shapes, sizes, packaging arrangements. For example, embodiments and/or uses may come about via integrated chip embodiments and/or other non-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles, communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment, retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, etc. ) . While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use cases or applications, a wide assortment of applicability of described innovations may occur. Implementations may range from chip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-level implementations and further to aggregated, distributed, or OEM devices or systems incorporating one or more described aspects. In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects and features may also necessarily include additional components and features for implementation and practice of claimed and described embodiments. It is intended that innovations described herein may be practiced in a wide variety of implementations, including both large/small devices, chip-level components, multi-component systems (e.g. RF-chain, communication interface, processor) , distributed arrangements, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes, and constitution.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating details of an example wireless communication system. The wireless communication system may include wireless network 100. Wireless network 100 may, for example, include a 5G wireless network. As appreciated by those skilled in the art, components appearing in FIG. 1 are likely to have related counterparts in other network arrangements including, for example, cellular-style network arrangements and non-cellular-style-network arrangements (e.g., device to device or peer to peer or ad hoc network arrangements, etc. ) .

Wireless network 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 includes a number of base stations 105 and other network entities. A base station may be a station that communicates with the UEs and may also be referred to as an evolved node B (eNB) , a next generation eNB (gNB) , an access point, and the like. Each base station 105 may provide communication coverage for a particular geographic area. In 3GPP, the term “cell” may refer to this particular geographic coverage area of a base station and/or a base station subsystem serving the coverage area, depending on the context in which the term is used. In implementations of wireless network 100 herein, base stations 105 may be associated with a same operator or different operators (e.g., wireless network 100 may include a plurality of operator wireless networks) . Additionally, in implementations of wireless network 100 herein, base station 105 may provide wireless communications using one or more of the same frequencies (e.g., one or more frequency bands in licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, or a combination thereof) as a neighboring cell. In some examples, an individual base station 105 or UE 115 may be operated by more than one network operating entity. In some other examples, each base station 105 and UE 115 may be operated by a single network operating entity.

A base station may provide communication coverage for a macro cell or a small cell, such as a pico cell or a femto cell, and/or other types of cell. A macro cell generally covers a relatively large geographic area (e.g., several kilometers in radius) and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, such as a pico cell, would generally cover a relatively smaller geographic area and may allow unrestricted access by UEs with service subscriptions with the network provider. A small cell, such as a femto cell, would also generally cover a relatively small geographic area (e.g., a home) and, in addition to unrestricted access, may also provide restricted access by UEs having an association with the femto cell (e.g., UEs in a closed subscriber group (CSG) , UEs for users in the home, and the like) . A base station for a macro cell may be referred to as a macro base station. A base station for a small cell may be referred to as a small cell base station, a pico base station, a femto base station or a home base station. In the example shown in FIG. 1,

base stations

105d and 105e are regular macro base stations, while base stations 105a-105c are macro base stations enabled with one of 3 dimension (3D) , full dimension (FD) , or massive MIMO. Base stations 105a-105c take advantage of their higher dimension MIMO capabilities to exploit 3D beamforming in both elevation and azimuth beamforming to increase coverage and capacity. Base station 105f is a small cell base station which may be a home node or portable access point. A base station may support one or multiple (e.g., two, three, four, and the like) cells.

Wireless network 100 may support synchronous or asynchronous operation. For synchronous operation, the base stations may have similar frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may be approximately aligned in time. For asynchronous operation, the base stations may have different frame timing, and transmissions from different base stations may not be aligned in time. In some scenarios, networks may be enabled or configured to handle dynamic switching between synchronous or asynchronous operations.

UEs 115 are dispersed throughout the wireless network 100, and each UE may be stationary or mobile. It should be appreciated that, although a mobile apparatus is commonly referred to as user equipment (UE) in standards and specifications promulgated by the 3GPP, such apparatus may additionally or otherwise be referred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS) , a subscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, a remote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wireless communications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, an access terminal (AT) , a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remote terminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, a client, a gaming device, an augmented reality device, vehicular component device/module, or some other suitable terminology. Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus or UE need not necessarily have a capability to move, and may be stationary. Some non-limiting examples of a mobile apparatus, such as may include implementations of one or more of UEs 115, include a mobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, a session initiation protocol (SIP) phone, a wireless local loop (WLL) station, a laptop, a personal computer (PC) , a notebook, a netbook, a smart book, a tablet, and a personal digital assistant (PDA) . A mobile apparatus may additionally be an “Internet of things” (IoT) or “Internet of everything” (IoE) device such as an automotive or other transportation vehicle, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS) device, a logistics controller, a drone, a multi-copter, a quad-copter, a smart energy or security device, a solar panel or solar array, municipal lighting, water, or other infrastructure; industrial automation and enterprise devices; consumer and wearable devices, such as eyewear, a wearable camera, a smart watch, a health or fitness tracker, a mammal implantable device, gesture tracking device, medical device, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3 player) , a camera, a game console, etc.; and digital home or smart home devices such as a home audio, video, and multimedia device, an appliance, a sensor, a vending machine, intelligent lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. In one aspect, a UE may be a device that includes a Universal Integrated Circuit Card (UICC) . In another aspect, a UE may be a device that does not include a UICC. In some aspects, UEs that do not include UICCs may also be referred to as IoE devices. UEs 115a-115d of the implementation illustrated in FIG. 1 are examples of mobile smart phone-type devices accessing wireless network 100 A UE may also be a machine specifically configured for connected communication, including machine type communication (MTC) , enhanced MTC (eMTC) , narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and the like. UEs 115e-115k illustrated in FIG. 1 are examples of various machines configured for communication that access wireless network 100.

A mobile apparatus, such as UEs 115, may be able to communicate with any type of the base stations, whether macro base stations, pico base stations, femto base stations, relays, and the like. In FIG. 1, a communication link (represented as a lightning bolt) indicates wireless transmissions between a UE and a serving base station, which is a base station designated to serve the UE on the downlink and/or uplink, or desired transmission between base stations, and backhaul transmissions between base stations. UEs may operate as base stations or other network nodes in some scenarios. Backhaul communication between base stations of wireless network 100 may occur using wired and/or wireless communication links.

In operation at wireless network 100, base stations 105a-105c serve

UEs

115a and 115b using 3D beamforming and coordinated spatial techniques, such as coordinated multipoint (CoMP) or multi-connectivity. Macro base station 105d performs backhaul communications with base stations 105a-105c, as well as small cell, base station 105f. Macro base station 105d also transmits multicast services which are subscribed to and received by

UEs

115c and 115d. Such multicast services may include mobile television or stream video, or may include other services for providing community information, such as weather emergencies or alerts, such as Amber alerts or gray alerts.

Wireless network 100 of implementations supports mission critical communications with ultra-reliable and redundant links for mission critical devices, such UE 115e, which is a drone. Redundant communication links with UE 115e include from

macro base stations

105d and 105e, as well as small cell base station 105f. Other machine type devices, such as UE 115f (thermometer) , UE 115g (smart meter) , and UE 115h (wearable device) may communicate through wireless network 100 either directly with base stations, such as small cell base station 105f, and macro base station 105e, or in multi-hop configurations by communicating with another user device which relays its information to the network, such as UE 115f communicating temperature measurement information to the smart meter, UE 115g, which is then reported to the network through small cell base station 105f. Wireless network 100 may also provide additional network efficiency through dynamic, low-latency TDD/FDD communications, such as in a vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) mesh network between UEs 115i-115k communicating with macro base station 105e.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram conceptually illustrating an example design of a base station 105 and a UE 115, which may be any of the base stations and one of the UEs in FIG. 1. For a restricted association scenario (as mentioned above) , base station 105 may be small cell base station 105f in FIG. 1, and UE 115 may be UE 115c or 115D operating in a service area of base station 105f, which in order to access small cell base station 105f, would be included in a list of accessible UEs for small cell base station 105f. Base station 105 may also be a base station of some other type. As shown in FIG. 2, base station 105 may be equipped with antennas 234a through 234t, and UE 115 may be equipped with antennas 252a through 252r for facilitating wireless communications.

At base station 105, transmit processor 220 may receive data from data source 212 and control information from controller/processor 240. The control information may be for the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) , physical control format indicator channel (PCFICH) , physical hybrid-ARQ (automatic repeat request) indicator channel (PHICH) , physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) , enhanced physical downlink control channel (EPDCCH) , MTC physical downlink control channel (MPDCCH) , etc. The data may be for the PDSCH, etc. Additionally, transmit processor 220 may process (e.g., encode and symbol map) the data and control information to obtain data symbols and control symbols, respectively. Transmit processor 220 may also generate reference symbols, e.g., for the primary synchronization signal (PSS) and secondary synchronization signal (SSS) , and cell-specific reference signal. Transmit (TX) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) processor 230 may perform spatial processing (e.g., precoding) on the data symbols, the control symbols, and/or the reference symbols, if applicable, and may provide output symbol streams to modulators (MODs) 232a through 232t. For example, spatial processing performed on the data symbols, the control symbols, or the reference symbols may include precoding. Each modulator 232 may process a respective output symbol stream (e.g., for OFDM, etc. ) to obtain an output sample stream. Each modulator 232 may additionally or alternatively process (e.g., convert to analog, amplify, filter, and upconvert) the output sample stream to obtain a downlink signal. Downlink signals from modulators 232a through 232t may be transmitted via antennas 234a through 234t, respectively.

At UE 115, the antennas 252a through 252r may receive the downlink signals from base station 105 and may provide received signals to demodulators (DEMODs) 254a through 254r, respectively. Each demodulator 254 may condition (e.g., filter, amplify, downconvert, and digitize) a respective received signal to obtain input samples. Each demodulator 254 may further process the input samples (e.g., for OFDM, etc. ) to obtain received symbols. MIMO detector 256 may obtain received symbols from demodulators 254a through 254r, perform MIMO detection on the received symbols if applicable, and provide detected symbols. Receive processor 258 may process (e.g., demodulate, deinterleave, and decode) the detected symbols, provide decoded data for UE 115 to data sink 260, and provide decoded control information to controller/processor 280.

On the uplink, at UE 115, transmit processor 264 may receive and process data (e.g., for the physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) ) from data source 262 and control information (e.g., for the physical uplink control channel (PUCCH) ) from controller/processor 280. Additionally, transmit processor 264 may also generate reference symbols for a reference signal. The symbols from transmit processor 264 may be precoded by TX MIMO processor 266 if applicable, further processed by modulators 254a through 254r (e.g., for SC-FDM, etc. ) , and transmitted to base station 105. At base station 105, the uplink signals from UE 115 may be received by antennas 234, processed by demodulators 232, detected by MIMO detector 236 if applicable, and further processed by receive processor 238 to obtain decoded data and control information sent by UE 115. Receive processor 238 may provide the decoded data to data sink 239 and the decoded control information to controller/processor 240.

Controllers/

processors

240 and 280 may direct the operation at base station 105 and UE 115, respectively. Controller/processor 240 and/or other processors and modules at base station 105 and/or controller/processor 280 and/or other processors and modules at UE 115 may perform or direct the execution of various processes for the techniques described herein, such as to perform or direct the execution illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, and/or other processes for the techniques described herein.

Memories

242 and 282 may store data and program codes for base station 105 and UE 115, respectively. Scheduler 244 may schedule UEs for data transmission on the downlink and/or uplink.

Wireless communications systems operated by different network operating entities (e.g., network operators) may share spectrum. In some instances, a network operating entity may be configured to use an entirety of a designated shared spectrum for at least a period of time before another network operating entity uses the entirety of the designated shared spectrum for a different period of time. Thus, in order to allow network operating entities use of the full designated shared spectrum, and in order to mitigate interfering communications between the different network operating entities, certain resources (e.g., time) may be partitioned and allocated to the different network operating entities for certain types of communication.

For example, a network operating entity may be allocated certain time resources reserved for exclusive communication by the network operating entity using the entirety of the shared spectrum. The network operating entity may also be allocated other time resources where the entity is given priority over other network operating entities to communicate using the shared spectrum. These time resources, prioritized for use by the network operating entity, may be utilized by other network operating entities on an opportunistic basis if the prioritized network operating entity does not utilize the resources. Additional time resources may be allocated for any network operator to use on an opportunistic basis.

Access to the shared spectrum and the arbitration of time resources among different network operating entities may be centrally controlled by a separate entity, autonomously determined by a predefined arbitration scheme, or dynamically determined based on interactions between wireless nodes of the network operators.

In some cases, UE 115 and base station 105 may operate in a shared radio frequency spectrum band, which may include licensed or unlicensed (e.g., contention-based) frequency spectrum. In an unlicensed frequency portion of the shared radio frequency spectrum band, UEs 115 or base stations 105 may traditionally perform a medium-sensing procedure to contend for access to the frequency spectrum. For example, UE 115 or base station 105 may perform a listen-before-talk or listen-before-transmitting (LBT) procedure such as a clear channel assessment (CCA) prior to communicating in order to determine whether the shared channel is available. In some implementations, a CCA may include an energy detection procedure to determine whether there are any other active transmissions. For example, a device may infer that a change in a received signal strength indicator (RSSI) of a power meter indicates that a channel is occupied. Specifically, signal power that is concentrated in a certain bandwidth and exceeds a predetermined noise floor may indicate another wireless transmitter. A CCA also may include detection of specific sequences that indicate use of the channel. For example, another device may transmit a specific preamble prior to transmitting a data sequence. In some cases, an LBT procedure may include a wireless node adjusting its own backoff window based on the amount of energy detected on a channel and/or the acknowledge/negative-acknowledge (ACK/NACK) feedback for its own transmitted packets as a proxy for collisions.

In current systems, whether a UE is to remain with a particular network, such as a particular radio access technology (RAT) network (e.g., LTE, NR (such as NR Standalone (NR SA) or NR Non-Standalone (NR NSA) ) , or whether the UE is to be handover or redirected to another network or RAT may be largely decided by the network. In most cases, the network may decide where (and maybe how) the UE is to be redirected to another network or stay in the current network based on measurement reports received from the UE (e.g., by the current serving cell) . For example, the network may decide to add a Secondary Cell Group (SCG) , may decide to stay or redirect the UE to NR SA mode, or may decide to stay or redirect the UE to NR NSA mode, or may decide to stay or redirect to to the LTE network, based on the measurement report from the UE, which means that the network currently decides whether to redirect the UE to another network or not.

However, such an approach carries several limitations and problems. For example, in a typical scenario, a current serving network (e.g., a network or RAT to which the UE may be connected or being served) may decide whether to handover or redirect the UE to another network (e.g., another cell in another network, or to another RAT) based on measurements received from the UE. The measurements may be included in a MeasurementReport message sent by the UE. In some cases, the measurement report reported by the UE may be triggered by the network and may be transmitted by the UE. However, in some cases, the measurement report may not be transmitted or reported in time, or at all, by the UE. In this situation, such a failure in reporting the measurements may cause problems. For example, a UE may not be able to access or obtain connection to an SCG (e.g., an NR SCG cell) , which may degrade or at least prevent good performance as the UE may spend a long time without, or may be unable to obtain, NR service. As a consequence, the user experience will be affected negatively as the UE may have problems obtaining NR service. This may be specially problematic in a dual subscriber identity module (SIM) dual standby.

In other situations, a setup of the Evolved Packet System (EPS) Fallback (FB) Voice over LTE (VoLTE) , which includes a setup of VoLTE bearers, and the addition of an NR NSA SCG may happen concurrently. In these cases, such concurrent events may cause problems as there may be abnormal behaviors such as delays, call drops, inability to setup or continue the call, inability to add the NR NSA SCG, etc.

Furthermore, in some situations, for example, after an EPS fallback call, it is expected that the UE go back to the network (e.g., NR SA) as soon as possible after the end of the EPS fallback call. Moreover, in some cases, the UE may obtain a better power performance when the UE is switched over to NR SA from NR NSA. In these implementations, redirecting the UE to the NR NSA network may be advantageous. Measurement configuration may be sent to the UE (e.g., after the end of the EPS fallback call) as the network may rely on the measurement report from the UE for redirection or handover of the UE (e.g., to the NR SA network) . However, in some situations, the UE may delay a time in sending the measurement report. As a consequence, there may be a delay in the UE going back to the appropriate network (e.g., NR SA) .

As will be appreciated, the above are some situations which highlight the limitations of the current scheme of the current network-centric approach for measurement scheduling and reporting.

Various aspects of the present disclosure are directed to systems and methods that provide a smart measurement scheduling and reporting scheme to improve UE performance. In aspects, the provided systems and method for smart measurement scheduling and reporting may be UE-centric, in that they may include functionality for enabling a UE to make decisions on whether to stay in the current network (e.g., LTE NR NSA, or NR SA) , or whether to be redirected or handed over to another network (e.g., LTE NR NSA, or NR SA) based on particular criteria and based on information stored in a fingerprint database or databases. In aspects, the described scheme may be referred to as smart measurement scheduling and reporting for NR with SA/NSA fingerprint database. In embodiments, the particular criteria used by the UE to decide whether to stay or redirect to LTE, NR SA, or NR NSA may include traffic type, service type, scenario, power savings, and/or any other criteria associated with performance on a particular network.

In aspects based on the smart measurement scheduling and reporting of embodiments, the UE may schedule and report the measurement report for the target cell (e.g., in CONNECTED mode) , and the network may determine to trigger a handover or redirection to a specific cell or EUTR Absolute Radio Frequency Channel Number (EARFCN) . In embodiments, such as when the UE is in IDLE state, the UE may determine the target cell for fast reselection.

In aspects of the present disclosure, a fingerprint database or databases may be implemented. In particular implementations, two fingerprint databases may be implemented. For example, an NR SA Fingerprint Database (SA FP DB) and an NR NSA Fingerprint Database (NSA FP DB) may be implemented. The fingerprint databases may link a particular LTE cell to multiple NR cells. In embodiments, the linking may be performed based on the LTE cell’s EUTRAN global identifier (ECGI) .

In typical implementations, when a UE receives a Reconfiguration parameter with a given NR MeasObj, the UE may have difficulty performing measurements because it is difficult for the UE to identify whether the detected NR cell is an NR SA cell or an NR NSA cell. In aspects of the present disclosure which employ an NR SA FP DB and/or an NR NSA FP DB, a UE may efficiently identify a neighboring cell as an NR SA or NR NSA cell and may smartly schedule and report specific cells based on measurement results for different scenarios (e.g., if a UE prefers to stay on NR NSA, the UE may prioritize to schedule and report NR NSA cell measurements, or if better power performance is desired, the UE may prioritize to schedule and report NR SA cell measurements. ) .

In aspects, the fingerprint databases may be configured to store and provide information regarding neighboring cells (e.g., from the perspective of the current serving cell (e.g., the current serving LTE cell) ) that may be used to determine whether a target cell selected from the fingerprint databases is a viable target for inter-RAT (IRAT) handover or redirection. For example, in a particular case, a target cell may be selected from the fingerprint databases and measurements may be obtained by the UE. The measurements obtained by the UE may be compared against the information stored in the fingerprint database to determine whether the target cell may be selected for redirection. For example, a determination may be made that the measurements exceed some predetermined threshold, based on the target cell information stored in the fingerprint databases. In this case, the target cell (which may be an NR SA cell, an NR NSA cell, or an LTE cell) may be selected for IRAT handover or redirection from the current serving cell. In this case, the target cell may be deemed to enable a fast handover based on the measurements. In some embodiments, once a target cells is selected for handover or redirection, the handover or redirection may be performed, or decided to be performed, based on a criteria-based approach, such as discussed with respect to FIG. 6 (e.g., if an EPS fallback call has been established in LTE, the UE may fast evaluate the NR NSA measurement report for SCG addition based on the fingerprinting databases once the target cell’ measurement results exceed the predetermined threshold) .

In other embodiments, the target cell may be selected from the fingerprint databases based on the specific details stored in the fingerprint databases, and may be selected for handover based on those details, without consideration of the measurements.

In some embodiments, the target cell may be selected as a potential target for handover or redirection based on the specific details stored in the fingerprint databases. Once the target cell is identified from the database, a determination may be made as to whether the measurements for the target cell, as measured by the UE, exceed a predetermined threshold. If the measurements exceed the predetermined threshold, the target cell is selected for handover or redirection.

In embodiments, the fingerprint databases may be part of the network and may be stored as part of base station configuration, and in some embodiments as part of the UE configuration. In some embodiments, fingerprint databases may be dynamically updated by UE self-learning or big data.

In aspects, the SA FP DB may store information associated with NR SA cells. In some aspects, the stored NR SA cells may be neighbor cells to a current serving cell (e.g., an LTE cell) . In embodiments, the stored information may include history information for the current serving cell (e.g., an LTE cell) with respect to stored NR SA cell. For example, in embodiments, information on potential targets for IRAT (e.g., LTE to NR, or NR to LTE) handover or redirection may be stored. In some embodiments, the information stored may include information on cells detected by a background Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN) search. In embodiments, the information stored in the SA FP DB may indexed for the NR SA cells by serving cell’s e-UTRAN global identifier (ECGI) . In some aspects, the SA FP DB may be maintained during power cycle.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a design of a database according to some aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 3 illustrates a design of SA FB DB 300 in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, SA FB DB 300 may store information related to NR SA cells, which may be neighboring cells to a current serving cell. As noted above, the information stored in SA FB DB 300 may include information on cells detected related to LTE cells detected by a PLMN search. As shown in FIG. 3, a PLMN search may yield several results (e.g., PLMN1 310-PLMN3 312) . In particular, PLMN1 310 may include information about LTE cells 350-352. In some embodiments, LTE cells 350-352 may be (or may have been at some point) neighbor to neighboring NR SA cells. For example, LTE cell 350 (e.g., currently serving UE 302) may have been neighbor to neighboring NR SA cells 370-372. In these cases, the ECGI of LTE cell 350 may be used to link LTE cell 350 to the plurality of NR SA cells 370-372.

In aspects, the information stored for the potential NR SA target cells (e.g., the neighboring NR SA cells to LTE cell 350) may include several items that include operating parameters and values. In some embodiments, these parameters and value may be historical values that were stored previously for the NR SA neighboring cells. In this sense, the information stored in SA FB DB 300 may provide information that may be used to determine the viability of the potential target cell based on that historical information. In aspects, the information stored in SA FB DB 300 may include the EARFC, physical cell ID (PCI) , a cell identity, a PLMN list, etc., of the LTE cell. In embodiments, the information stored in SA FB DB 300 for each NR SA cell (e.g., cell 370-372) linked to LTE cell 350 may include Frequency Channel Number (FCN) specific information, such as NR channel, band, Subcarrier Spacing (SCS) , etc. For example, for each NR SA cell 370-372, NR channel, band, and SCS information may be stored.

In aspects, the NSA FP DB may store information associated with NR NSA cells. In some aspects, the stored NR NSA cells may be neighbor cells to a current serving cell (e.g., an LTE cell or an NR SA cell) . In embodiments, the stored information may include history information for the current serving cell with respect to stored NR NSA cell. For example, in embodiments, information on potential targets for IRAT (e.g., LTE to NR, or NR to LTE) handover or redirection may be stored. In some embodiments, as with the SA FP DB, the information stored may include information on cells detected by a background PLMN search. In embodiments, the information stored in the NSA FP DB may indexed ECGI. In some aspects, the NSA FP DB may be maintained during power cycle.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating a design of a database according to some aspects of the present disclosure. In particular, FIG. 4 illustrates a design of NSA FB DB 400 in accordance with embodiments of the present disclosure. As shown, NSA FB DB 400 may store information related to NR NSA cells, which may be neighboring cells to a current serving cell. As noted above, the information stored in NSA FB DB 400 may include information on cells related to LTE cells detected by a PLMN search. As shown in FIG. 4, a PLMN search may yield several results (e.g., PLMN1 410-PLMN3 412) . In particular, PLMN1 410 may include information about LTE cells 450-452. In some embodiments, LTE cells 450-452 may be (or may have been at some point) neighbors to neighboring NR SA cells. For example, LTE cell 450 (e.g., currently serving UE 402) may have been neighbor to neighboring NR NSA cells 470-472. In these cases, the ECGI of LTE cell 450 may be used to link LTE cell 450 to the plurality of NR NSA cells 470-472

In aspects, the information stored for the potential NR NSA target cells (e.g., the neighboring NR NSA cells to LTE cell 450) may include several items that include operating parameters and values. In some embodiments, these parameters and value may be historical values that were stored previously for the NR NSA neighboring cells. In this sense, the information stored in NSA FB DB 400 may provide information that may be used to determine the viability of the potential target cell based on that historical information. In aspects, the information stored in NSA FB DB 400 may include the EARFC, PCI, a cell identity, a PLMN list, etc., of the LTE cell. In embodiments, the information stored in NSA FB DB 400 for each NR NSA cell (e.g., cell 470-472) linked to LTE cell 450 may include FCN specific information, such as NR channel, band, SCS, etc. For example, for each NR NSA cell 470-472, NR channel, band, and SCS information may be stored.

It will be appreciated that lists of information illustrated as stored in SA FB DB 300 and NSA FB DB 400 are not intended to be exhaustive and should not be construed as limiting in any way. Other information related to NR SA cells and/or NR NSA cells may be stored in SA FB DB 300 and/or in NSA FB DB 400.

It will be further be appreciated that, as described above, the information related to NR SA cells stored in SA FB DB 300 and the information related to NR NSA cells stored in NSA FB DB 400 may be used by UEs (e.g., UE 302 and/or UE 402) to decide whether to handover or redirect from serving cell 301 and/or from serving cell 402, which may be an LTE or NR cell (e.g., NR SA cell or NR NSA cell) .

In embodiments, as noted above, the information stored in the fingerprint databases (e.g., SA FB DB 300 and in NSA FB DB 400) may be used to select a cell as a potential target for handover or redirection. In some embodiments, the UE may perform channel condition measurements on the selected potential target and may use those measurement results to determine whether the potential target may be used for handover or redirection. When selected, the UE may perform measurements on the channel condition of the target cell to determine whether the measurements exceed a predetermined threshold. When the channel condition of the target cell exceeds a predetermined threshold, the target cell may be selected for handover or redirection. In embodiments, the combination of the evaluation of the information stored in the fingerprint databases for the potential target cell and the channel condition measurement may provide an indication that a handover or redirection to the potential target cell may occur fast, or at least faster than to other cells. In this case, selecting the potential target cell as the target cell improves performance because the UE may connect to the target cell faster and thus may take advantage of the services (e.g., NR or LTE, depending on the target cell) .

In aspects, once a potential target is selected for handover or redirection, the UE triggers the handover by reporting the measurement report (e.g., sending the MeasurementReport message) to trigger the handover or redirection. In aspects, an NR SA MeasurementReport may be sent to handover or redirect to an NR SA cell. In aspects, the UE may forgo reporting an NR MeasurementReport to handover or redirect, or reselect an LTE cell.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blocks will also be described with respect to base station 105 as illustrated in FIG. 7. FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating base station 105 configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. Base station 105 includes the structure, hardware, and components as illustrated for base station 105 of FIG. 2. For example, base station 105 includes controller/processor 240, which operates to execute logic or computer instructions stored in memory 242, as well as controlling the components of base station 105 that provide the features and functionality of base station 105. Base station 105, under control of controller/processor 240, transmits and receives signals via wireless radios 700a-t and antennas 234a-t. Wireless radios 700a-t includes various components and hardware, as illustrated in FIG. 2 for base station 105, including modulator/demodulators 232a-t, MIMO detector 236, receive processor 238, transmit processor 220, and TX MIMO processor 230.

At block 500, a base station blocks reporting of channel condition measurements associated with a second RAT network by a UE. In order to implement the functionality for such operations, base station 105, under control of controller/processor 240, executes measurement reports blocking logic 701, stored in memory 242. The functionality implemented through the execution environment of measurement reports blocking logic 701 allows for base station 105 to conduct the blocking operations according to the various aspects herein.

In aspects, the base station may be a serving base station serving the UE. In embodiments, the blocking may be performed based on a determination, by the base station, that a measurement blocking event has occurred. In aspects, the measurement blocking event may be associated with a data service in a first RAT network provided to the UE served by the base station over the first RAT network. For example, in some embodiments, the measurement blocking event may include a determination that the UE has triggered a data service over a first RAT network. For example, the UE may trigger a data service over LTE, such as a VoLTE, which may cause VoLTE service to be setup. In some implementations, upon triggering the data service over LTE, the UE may receive an NR MeasurementObj message that may be used to configure the UE’s measurement reporting.

In embodiments, the measurement blocking event may include a determination that concurrent events may be occurring. For example, in some cases, an EPS Fallback to LTE after may involve concurrently performing VoLTE setup and channel measurements over the NR network. In this case, the concurrent events may cause issues, as discussed above. It is noted that in this example, as will be described below, the UE may locally sequence the two concurrent procedures, but may prioritize VoLTE setup over the NR measurement reporting (e.g., NR NSA measurement for SCG addition) .

As described above with respect to block 500, upon a determination that a measurement blocking even has occurred, the base station blocks scheduling and reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network. For example, where the measurement blocking event is determined to be a request for VoLTE services, the base station may block scheduling and/or reporting of channel condition measurements for cells in the NR network during the establishment of the VoLTE call. In another example, such as where NR measurement reporting (e.g., NR NSA measurement for SCG addition) may occur concurrently with VoLTE setup, the base station may block scheduling and/or reporting of channel condition measurements for cells in the NR network during the establishment of the VoLTE call.

In some embodiments, an event may be evaluated to determine whether the event is a measurement blocking event. For example, in some embodiments, the data service triggered by the UE may be a data call or a multimedia messaging service (MMS) , which may not be a VoLTE call. In this case, the base station may determine not to block measurement reporting, and instead may perform fast evaluation and may trigger NR measurement reporting as described below. In aspects, the NR measurement reporting may be based on the fingerprint databases.

At block 501, the base station determines that a measurement unblocking event has occurred. In order to implement the functionality for such operations, base station 105, under control of controller/processor 240, executes measurement unblocking event logic 702, stored in memory 242. The functionality implemented through the execution environment of measurement unblocking event logic 702 allows for base station 105 to determine whether a measurement unblocking event has occurred according to the various aspects herein. In embodiments, the measurement unblocking event may be dependent on the measurement blocking event. For example, in the case where the measurement unblocking event is determined to be a request for VoLTE services, the unblocking event may be determined to be a successful establishment of VoLTE bearers or establishment of the VoLTE call. Similarly, in embodiments where the measurement blocking event is determined to be NR measurement reporting (e.g., NR NSA measurement for SCG addition) occurring concurrently with VoLTE setup, the unblocking event may be determined to be a successful establishment of VoLTE bearers or establishment of the VoLTE call. In this latter example, it is noted, as mentioned above, that the UE may have prioritized the VoLTE setup over the NR measurement reporting (e.g., NR NSA measurement for SCG addition) .

At block 502, the base station unblocks scheduling and/or reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network by the UE based on the occurrence of the measurement unblocking event. For example, the LTE base station may unblock NR measurement reports of the NR cells based on a successful VoLTE setup. In order to implement the functionality for such operations, base station 105, under control of controller/processor 240, executes measurement unblocking logic 703, stored in memory 242. The functionality implemented through the execution environment of measurement unblocking logic 703 allows for base station 105 to unblock measurement reporting and scheduling according to the various aspects herein. It is noted that at this point in the process, the UE may have a successfully established LTE service (e.g., a successfully established VoLTE call) , and the UE may benefit from a fast handover or redirection to an NR cell to leverage NR service (e.g., by acquisition of NR SA service, or by NR NSA SCG addition) .

At block 503, the base station triggers, based on a fast evaluation of a cell of the second RAT network, a measurement report from the UE. In order to implement the functionality for such operations, base station 105, under control of controller/processor 240, executes fast evaluation logic 704, stored in memory 242. The functionality implemented through the execution environment of fast evaluation logic 704 allows for base station 105 to perform fast evaluation according to the various aspects herein. As noted above, the cell of the second RAT network may be a target cell for handover or redirection, which in some embodiments may be an NR SA cell or an NR NSA cell. In embodiments, this fast evaluation may be based on the fingerprint databases (e.g., the SA FB DB and the NSA FB DB discussed above) . For example, as noted above, a potential target (e.g., an NR SA cell or an NR NSA cell) may be identified from the fingerprint databases based on the information stored in the fingerprint databases with respect to the serving base station (e.g., the base station serving the UE) . The information in the fingerprint databases enables the LTE base station to perform a fast evaluation of the potential NR target cell (s) . This fast evaluation based on the fingerprint databases is advantageous over the typical approach because, as will be described below, it allows measurement reports to be triggered quickly, without having to rely and/or wait for the time-to-trigger (TTT) timers to expire, with the TTT being configured by the network configuration.

In embodiments, the measurement report reported (e.g., triggered by the UE performing measurements or by the base station requesting measurements) by the UE may be associated with the cell of the second RAT network (e.g., the target cell) , which in some embodiments may be an NR SA cell or an NR NSA cell. In these cases, the base station triggers NR measurement reports from the UE. As noted above, as a fast evaluation of the target cell has been performed, the base station is able to quickly trigger the NR measurement reports from the UE.

As noted above, the NR measurement reports, which may cause the UE to be handed over or redirected to an NR cell, may be reported for a target cell in response to the fast evaluation of the target cell (e.g., fast evaluation based on the fingerprint databases) indicating that the target cell is an NR cell viable for fast switch over and, in some embodiments, also in response to the channel quality measurement results exceeding a predetermined threshold.

In the particular example where the measurement unblocking event is determined to be a request for VoLTE services, the triggered measurement reports may include NR measurement reports. In some embodiments, the NR measurement report may include NR NSA measurement reports, which may allow the base station to quickly trigger an NR NSA SCG addition to the UE. In this case, as the evaluation, and the measurement reporting of the NR NSA SCG cell is performed quickly, the UE may be enabled to setup the VoLTE call and leverage the NR NSA SCG quickly, which may provide better service and a better user experience. In embodiments, where Voice over NR (VoNR) may be supported, the base station may prioritize trigger NR SA measurement reports over NR NSA measurement reports. However, when VoNR may not be supported, NR NSA measurement reports may be prioritized to enable NR NSA SCG addition.

In the example where the measurement blocking event is determined to be NR measurement reporting (e.g., NR NSA measurement for SCG addition) occurring concurrently with VoLTE setup, the triggered measurement reports may include NR NSA measurement reports to enable NR NSA SCG addition for the VoLTE service. In this example, as noted above, VoLTE setup may have been prioritized over NR measurement reporting (e.g., NR NSA measurement for SCG addition) . In some embodiments, when the EPS Fallback call ends (e.g., after VoLTE bearer setup) , a fast evaluation of potential target cell (s) may be performed, as described above, and NR SA measurement reporting may be triggered from the UE. Triggering the NR SA measurement reports may enable the UE to be handed over or redirected to the NR SA network. In embodiments, as noted above, the fast evaluation and the NR SA measurement reporting of the target NR SA cell may be performed based on the NR SA measurements exceeding a predetermined threshold.

At block 504, the base station causes the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network based on the triggered measurement report. For example, as described above, the measurement report provided by the UE may serve to trigger a handover or redirection of the cell of the second RAT. For example, an NR measurement report reported by the UE to the base station may be used by the base station to cause the UE to be handed over or redirected to a cell of the NR network. In some embodiments, the NR measurement report may be an NR NSA report, in which case an NR NSA SCG addition may be performed in which the UE may be connected to the NR NSA cell to serve as an SCG. In some embodiments, the NR measurement report may be an NR SA report, in which case the UE may be handed over or redirected to an NR SA cell to received NR service.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating example blocks executed to implement one aspect of the present disclosure. The example blocks will also be described with respect to UE 115 as illustrated in FIG. 8. FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating UE 115 configured according to one aspect of the present disclosure. UE 115 includes the structure, hardware, and components as illustrated for UE 115 of FIG. 2. For example, UE 115 includes controller/processor 280, which operates to execute logic or computer instructions stored in memory 282, as well as controlling the components of UE 115 that provide the features and functionality of UE 115. UE 115, under control of controller/processor 280, transmits and receives signals via wireless radios 800a-r and antennas 252a-r. Wireless radios 800a-r includes various components and hardware, as illustrated in FIG. 2 for UE 115, including modulator/demodulators 254a-r, MIMO detector 256, receive processor 258, transmit processor 264, and TX MIMO processor 266.

At block 600, a UE determines whether a redirection decision criteria is met. In order to implement the functionality for such operations, UE 115, under control of controller/processor 280, executes redirection decision logic 801, stored in memory 282. The functionality implemented through the execution environment of redirection decision logic 801 allows for UE 115 to perform redirection decision criteria evaluations according to the various aspects herein. In embodiments, the UE may be currently being served by a cell of a first radio access technology (RAT) network. For example, the UE may be served by an LTE, NR SA, or an NR NSA network cell.

In aspects, a determination by the UE that a redirection decision criteria is met or not represents a decision by the UE whether to stay in a current network, or to redirect to another network.

In aspects, determining whether a redirection decision criteria is met may include determining various types of criteria. In aspects, the redirection decision criteria may include traffic type (e.g., burst traffic, PS traffic, Ultra-Reliable Low-Latency Communication (URLLC) traffic, etc. ) , traffic volume, latency requirements, battery level, battery savings, power usage, type of scenario and/or conditions, etc. In these cases, whether a redirection decision criteria is met may be based on whether a particular traffic type, latency, power savings, battery level, or some other condition is met. In the following, specific redirection decision criteria examples are discussed.

In some embodiments, determining whether a redirection decision criteria is met may include determining that the type of traffic is a particular type of traffic. In this example, when a particular type of traffic is encountered, the UE may determine the redirection decision criteria is met or may decide that the redirection decision criteria is not met. For example, where the UE is currently being served by an LTE cell, the current traffic is burst traffic, and there is no latency requirements, the UE may decide that a redirection decision criteria is not met, as the UE may decide that staying in the LTE network is more advantageous. In another example, current traffic volume in the LTE network may be low. In this case, the UE may decide that a redirection decision criteria is not met, as the UE may decide that staying in the LTE network is more advantageous as there is low traffic volume.

In another example, it may be determined that there are latency requirements (e.g., with URLLC traffic) and/or power requirements. In this case, the UE may decide that a redirection decision criteria is met, as redirecting the UE to the NR SA network may yield power savings.

In yet another example, the UE may be currently being served by an NR NSA cell as an SCG. In this case, the configuration of the system may indicate that concurrent VoLTE and PS data traffic may be preferred. In this example, the UE may decide that a redirection decision criteria is not met, as maintaining a connection with an LTE primary cell and an NR NSA SCG cell may be more advantageous based on the preferred configuration.

In aspects, redirection to another network cell may include handing over the UE to a cell in another RAT network (e.g., an LTE cell or an NR SA cell) , or may include adding an NR NSA SCG cell to the UE.

At block 601, the UE reports, based on a determination that the redirection decision criteria is met, a measurement report to the base station. In embodiments, the type of measurement report may determine whether the UE is to be handed over or redirected to another network cell or not. In this sense, the UE may control whether to stay in the current network, or whether to switch over to another network. For example, in some embodiments, the UE may trigger a redirection to an NR NSA cell by reporting NR NSA measurments (e.g., via an NR NSA MeasurementReport) . In some embodiments, the UE may trigger a redirection to an NR SA cell by reporting NR SA measurements (e.g., via an NR SA MeasurementReport) . In some embodiments, a cell being served by an LTE cell may decide to stay in the LTE network and may forego reporting an NR measurement report entirely, which may not result in a redirection of the UE to an NR cell.

It should be noted that, once a decision to redirect is made by the UE, the selection of the target cell to which to redirect may be performed in accordance with the smart measurement scheduling and reporting with fingerprint databases described above with respect to FIG. 5.

Those of skill in the art would understand that information and signals may be represented using any of a variety of different technologies and techniques. For example, data, instructions, commands, information, signals, bits, symbols, and chips that may be referenced throughout the above description may be represented by voltages, currents, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields or particles, optical fields or particles, or any combination thereof.

Components, the functional blocks and modules described herein (e.g., the functional blocks and modules in FIG. 2) may comprise processors, electronics devices, hardware devices, electronics components, logical circuits, memories, software codes, firmware codes, etc., or any combination thereof. In addition, features discussed herein relating to smart measurement scheduling and reporting may be implemented via specialized processor circuitry, via executable instructions, and/or combinations thereof.

Those of skill would further appreciate that the various illustrative logical blocks, modules, circuits, and algorithm steps (e.g., the logical blocks in FIGS. 5 and 6) described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented as electronic hardware, computer software, or combinations of both. To clearly illustrate this interchangeability of hardware and software, various illustrative components, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps have been described above generally in terms of their functionality. Whether such functionality is implemented as hardware or software depends upon the particular application and design constraints imposed on the overall system. Skilled artisans may implement the described functionality in varying ways for each particular application, but such implementation decisions should not be interpreted as causing a departure from the scope of the present disclosure. Skilled artisans will also readily recognize that the order or combination of components, methods, or interactions that are described herein are merely examples and that the components, methods, or interactions of the various aspects of the present disclosure may be combined or performed in ways other than those illustrated and described herein.

The various illustrative logical blocks, modules, and circuits described in connection with the disclosure herein may be implemented or performed with a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP) , an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) , a field programmable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device, discrete gate or transistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combination thereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A general-purpose processor may be a microprocessor, but in the alternative, the processor may be any conventional processor, controller, microcontroller, or state machine. A processor may also be implemented as a combination of computing devices, e.g., a combination of a DSP and a microprocessor, a plurality of microprocessors, one or more microprocessors in conjunction with a DSP core, or any other such configuration.

The steps of a method or algorithm described in connection with the disclosure herein may be embodied directly in hardware, in a software module executed by a processor, or in a combination of the two. A software module may reside in RAM memory, flash memory, ROM memory, EPROM memory, EEPROM memory, registers, hard disk, a removable disk, a CD-ROM, or any other form of storage medium known in the art. An exemplary storage medium is coupled to the processor such that the processor may read information from, and write information to, the storage medium. In the alternative, the storage medium may be integral to the processor. The processor and the storage medium may reside in an ASIC. The ASIC may reside in a user terminal. In the alternative, the processor and the storage medium may reside as discrete components in a user terminal.

In one or more exemplary designs, the functions described may be implemented in hardware, software, firmware, or any combination thereof. If implemented in software, the functions may be stored on or transmitted over as one or more instructions or code on a computer-readable medium. Computer-readable media includes both computer storage media and communication media including any medium that facilitates transfer of a computer program from one place to another. Computer-readable storage media may be any available media that may be accessed by a general purpose or special purpose computer. By way of example, and not limitation, such computer-readable media may comprise RAM, ROM, EEPROM, CD-ROM or other optical disk storage, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices, or any other medium that may be used to carry or store desired program code means in the form of instructions or data structures and that may be accessed by a general-purpose or special-purpose computer, or a general-purpose or special-purpose processor. Also, a connection may be properly termed a computer-readable medium. For example, if the software is transmitted from a website, server, or other remote source using a coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or digital subscriber line (DSL) , then the coaxial cable, fiber optic cable, twisted pair, or DSL, are included in the definition of medium. Disk and disc, as used herein, includes compact disc (CD) , laser disc, optical disc, digital versatile disc (DVD) , hard disk, solid state disk, and blu-ray disc where disks usually reproduce data magnetically, while discs reproduce data optically with lasers. Combinations of the above should also be included within the scope of computer-readable media.

As used herein, including in the claims, the term “and/or, ” when used in a list of two or more items, means that any one of the listed items may be employed by itself, or any combination of two or more of the listed items may be employed. For example, if a composition is described as containing components A, B, and/or C, the composition may contain A alone; B alone; C alone; A and B in combination; A and C in combination; B and C in combination; or A, B, and C in combination. Also, as used herein, including in the claims, “or” as used in a list of items prefaced by “at least one of” indicates a disjunctive list such that, for example, a list of “at least one of A, B, or C” means A or B or C or AB or AC or BC or ABC (i.e., A and B and C) or any of these in any combination thereof.

The previous description of the disclosure is provided to enable any person skilled in the art to make or use the disclosure. Various modifications to the disclosure will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied to other variations without departing from the spirit or scope of the disclosure. Thus, the disclosure is not intended to be limited to the examples and designs described herein but is to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novel features disclosed herein.

Claims

A method of wireless communication, comprising:

blocking, by a base station serving a user equipment (UE) over a first radio access technology (RAT) network, based on an occurrence of a measurement blocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with a second RAT network by the UE;

determining, by the base station, that a measurement unblocking event has occurred;

unblocking, by the base station, based on the occurrence of the measurement unblocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network by the UE;

receiving, based on a fast evaluation of a cell of the second RAT network, a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report associated with the cell of the second RAT network; and

causing the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network based on the received measurement report.
The method of claim 1, wherein the fast evaluation of the cell of the second RAT network includes an evaluation of information associated with the cell of the second RAT network stored in a fingerprint database.
The method of claim 2, wherein the measurement report from the UE is based on channel condition measurements of the cell of the second RAT network exceeding a predetermined threshold.
The method of claim 2, wherein the information associated with the cell of the second RAT network stored in the fingerprint database includes information related to historical configuration of the cell of the second RAT network.
The method of claim 2, wherein the information associated with the cell of the second RAT network stored in the fingerprint database is stored as linked to the base station serving the UE over the first RAT network.
The method of claim 5, wherein the fingerprint database includes information on additional cells of the second RAT network, wherein each additional cell of the second

RAT network is linked in the fingerprint database to the base station serving the UE over the first RAT network by a global identifier of the base station.
The method of claim 1, wherein the cell of the second RAT network is a cell of one of: a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a new radio (NR) standalone (SA) network, and an NR non-standalone (NSA) network.
The method of claim 7, wherein the measurement report associated with the cell of the second RAT is one of:

an LTE measurement report when the cell of the second RAT is an LTE network cell;

an NR SA measurement report when the cell of the second RAT is an NR SA network cell; and

an NR NSA measurement report when the cell of the second RAT is an NR NSA network cell.
The method of claim 1, wherein the measurement blocking event includes a concurrent measurement report for the cell of the second RAT network and an long-term evolution (LTE) data service setup, and further comprising:

triggering, based on a fast evaluation of a new radio (NR) standalone (SA) network cell, a measurement report from the UE upon the end of an evolved packet system (EPS) fallback call associated with the LTE data service setup, the measurement report associated with NR SA cell; and

causing the UE to connect to the NR SA cell based on the triggered measurement report.
The method of claim 1, wherein the causing the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network includes one of:

handing over the UE to the cell of the second RAT network such that the cell of the second RAT network serves the UE as a primary cell; and

adding the cell of the second RAT network as a secondary cell group (SCG) cell to the UE.
The method of any combination of claims 1-10.
A method of wireless communication, comprising:

determining, by a user equipment (UE) , whether a redirection decision criteria is met, wherein the UE is currently served by a cell of a first radio access technology (RAT) network; and

reporting, based on a determination that the redirection decision criteria is met, a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report associated with a cell of a second RAT network, wherein the measurement report is configured to trigger a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT network.
The method of claim 12, wherein determining whether the redirection decision criteria is met includes determining at least one of: traffic type, traffic volume, latency requirements, battery level, battery savings, power usage, and UE conditions.
The method of claim 12, further comprising:

foregoing reporting the measurement report from the UE based on a failure to determine that the redirection decision criteria is met.
The method of claim 12, wherein the cell of the second RAT network is a cell of one of: a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a new radio (NR) standalone (SA) network, and an NR non-standalone (NSA) network.
The method of claim 12, wherein a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT includes one of:

a handover to a long-term evolution (LTE) network cell;

a handover to a new radio (NR) standalone (SA) network cell; and

an addition of an NR non-standalone (NSA) cell as a secondary cell group (SCG) cell to the UE.
The method of any combination of claims 12-16.
An apparatus configured for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor,

wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

block, by a base station serving a user equipment (UE) over a first radio access technology (RAT) network, based on an occurrence of a measurement blocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with a second RAT network by the UE;

determine, by the base station, that a measurement unblocking event has occurred;

unblock, by the base station, based on the occurrence of the measurement unblocking event, reporting of channel condition measurements associated with the second RAT network by the UE;

receive, based on a fast evaluation of a cell of the second RAT network, a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report associated with the cell of the second RAT network; and

cause the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network based on the received measurement report.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the fast evaluation of the cell of the second RAT network includes an evaluation of information associated with the cell of the second RAT network stored in a fingerprint database.
The apparatus of claim 2, wherein the measurement report from the UE is based on channel condition measurements of the cell of the second RAT network exceeding a predetermined threshold.
The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the fingerprint database includes information on a plurality of cells of the second RAT network, wherein each cell of the plurality of cells of the second RAT network is linked in the fingerprint database to the base station serving the UE over the first RAT network by a global identifier of the base station.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the cell of the second RAT network is a cell of one of: a long-term evolution (LTE) network, a new radio (NR) standalone (SA) network, and an NR non-standalone (NSA) network, and wherein the measurement report associated with the cell of the second RAT is one of:

an LTE measurement report when the cell of the second RAT is an LTE network cell;

an NR SA measurement report when the cell of the second RAT is an NR SA network cell; and

an NR NSA measurement report when the cell of the second RAT is an NR NSA network cell.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the measurement blocking event includes a concurrent measurement report for the cell of the second RAT network and an long-term evolution (LTE) data service setup, and further comprising:

triggering, based on a fast evaluation of a new radio (NR) standalone (SA) network cell, a measurement report from the UE upon the end of an evolved packet system (EPS) fallback call associated with the LTE data service setup, the measurement report associated with NR SA cell; and

causing the UE to connect to the NR SA cell based on the triggered measurement report.
The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the causing the UE to connect to the cell of the second RAT network includes one of:

handing over the UE to the cell of the second RAT network such that the cell of the second RAT network serves the UE as a primary cell; and

adding the cell of the second RAT network as a secondary cell group (SCG) cell to the UE.
The apparatus of any combination of claims 1-10.
An apparatus configured for wireless communication, the apparatus comprising:

at least one processor; and

a memory coupled to the at least one processor,

wherein the at least one processor is configured to:

determine, by a user equipment (UE) , whether a redirection decision criteria is met, wherein the UE is currently served by a cell of a first radio access technology (RAT) network; and

report, based on a determination that the redirection decision criteria is met, a measurement report from the UE, the measurement report associated with a cell of a second RAT network, wherein the measurement report is configured to trigger a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT network.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein the configuration of the at least one processor to determine whether the redirection decision criteria is met includes configuration of the at least one processor to determine at least one of: traffic type, traffic volume, latency requirements, battery level, battery savings, power usage, and UE conditions.
The apparatus of claim 12, further comprising configuration of the at least one processor to:

forego reporting the measurement report from the UE based on a failure to determine that the redirection decision criteria is met.
The apparatus of claim 12, wherein a redirection of the UE to the cell of the second RAT includes one of:

a handover to a long-term evolution (LTE) network cell;

a handover to a new radio (NR) standalone (SA) network cell; and

an addition of an NR non-standalone (NSA) cell as a secondary cell group (SCG) cell to the UE.
The apparatus of any combination of claims 26-29.