WO2024096788A1

WO2024096788A1 - Wireless device and network node for flexible skipping of measurement occasions

Info

Publication number: WO2024096788A1
Application number: PCT/SE2023/051079
Authority: WO
Inventors: Muhammad Ali Kazmi; Jose Luis Pradas; Du Ho Kang
Original assignee: Telefonaktiebolaget Lm Ericsson (Publ)
Priority date: 2022-11-03
Filing date: 2023-10-30
Publication date: 2024-05-10

Abstract

A wireless device (WD) configured to communicate with a network node is provided. The WD is configured with a measurement configuration scheduling a plurality of measurement occasions (MOs) during which the WD performs measurements and does not communicate data traffic with the network node. Each MO is associated with corresponding time resources. The WD then receives a message indicating time resource during which measurement is skipped, the time resource is associated with at least part of a first MO of the plurality of MOs. The WD communicates data traffic during the skipped time resource of the first MO.

Description

WIRELESS DEVICE AND NETWORK NODE FOR FLEXIBLE SKIPPING OF MEASUREMENT OCCASIONS

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to wireless communications, and in particular, to low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for extended Reality (XR) services.

BACKGROUND

The Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) has developed and is developing standards for Fourth Generation (4G) (also referred to as Long Term Evolution (LTE)) and Fifth Generation (5G) (also referred to as New Radio (NR)) wireless communication systems. Such systems provide, among other features, broadband communication between network nodes, such as base stations, and mobile wireless devices (WD), as well as communication between network nodes and between WDs. The 3GPP is also developing standards for Sixth Generation (6G) wireless communication networks.

5G addresses a wide range of use cases from enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) to ultra-reliable low-latency communications (URLLC) to massive machine type communications (mMTC). 5G includes the New Radio (NR) access stratum interface and the 5G Core Network (5GC). The NR physical and higher layers are reusing parts of the LTE specification, and to that add needed components when motivated by new use cases.

Low-latency high-rate applications such as extended Reality (XR) and cloud gaming are important in 5G era. XR may refer to all real-and-virtual combined environments and human-machine interactions generated by computer technology and wearables. It is an umbrella term for different types of realities including Virtual reality (VR), Augmented reality (AR), Mixed reality (MR), and the areas interpolated among them. The levels of virtuality range from partially sensory inputs to fully immersive VR.

5G NR is designed to support applications demanding high rate and low latency in line with the requirements posed by the support of XR and cloud gaming applications in NR networks. 3GPP Release 17 contains a study item on XR Evaluations for NR. Some objectives are to identify the traffic model for each application of interest, the evaluation methodology and the key performance indicators of interest for relevant deployment scenarios, and to carry out performance evaluations accordingly in order to investigate possible standardization enhancements in potential follow-up SI/WI.

Low-latency, high-rate XR applications

The low-latency applications like XR and cloud gaming may require bounded latency, but not necessarily ultra-low latency. The end-to-end latency budget may be in the range of 20-80 ms, for example, which needs to be distributed over several components including application processing latency, transport latency, radio link latency, etc. For these applications, short transmission time intervals (TTIs) or minislots targeting ultra-low latency may not be effective.

FIG. l is a timing diagram which depicts an example of frame latency measured over a radio access network (RAN), excluding application & core network latencies. FIG. 1 depicts frame latency spikes in RAN. The sources for the latency spikes may include queuing delay, time-varying radio environments, time-varying frame sizes, among others. In other words, the latency spikes may occur due to instantaneous shortages of radio resources or inefficient radio resource allocation in response to varying frame size. Tools that can help to remove latency spikes are beneficial to enable better 5G support for this type of traffic

In addition to bounded latency requirements, the applications like XR and cloud gaming also require high-rate transmission. This can be seen from the large frame sizes originated from this type of traffic. The typical frame sizes may range from tens of kilobytes to hundreds of kilobytes. The frame arrival rates may be 60 or 120 frames per second (fps). As a concrete example, a frame size of 100 kilobytes and a frame arrival rate of 120 fps can lead to a rate requirement of 95.8 Mbps.

A large video frame is usually fragmented into smaller IP packets and transmitted as several transport blocks (TBs) over several TTIs in RAN. FIG. 2 is a graph which shows an example of the cumulative distribution functions of the number of transport blocks required to deliver a video frame with size ranging from 20 KB to 300 KB. FIG. 2 illustrates, as an example, that for delivering the frames with a size of 200 KB each, the median number of needed TBs is 5.

The characteristics of XR traffic arrival are quite distinct from typical webbrowsing and VoIP traffic as shown in the example of FIG. 3, which is a timing diagram which illustrates XR traffic characteristics compared to VoIP and Web- browsing. It is expected that the arrival time is quasi-periodic and largely predictable as VoIP. However, its data size is order of magnitude larger than VoIP, as discussed above. In addition, similar to web-browsing, the data size is different at every application PDU arrival instance due to dynamics of contents and human motion.

Measurement gaps in 5G NR

Measurement gap patterns (MGP) are used by the wireless device (WD) for performing measurements on cells of the serving carrier (e.g., intra-frequency carrier) and non-serving carriers (e.g., inter-frequency carrier, inter-RAT carriers etc.). In NR, gaps are used for measurements on cells of the serving carrier in some scenarios, e.g., if the measured signals (e.g., SSB) are outside the bandwidth part (BWP) of the serving cell. The WD is scheduled in the serving cell only within the BWP. During the gap, the WD cannot be scheduled for receiving/transmitting signals in the serving cell.

Therefore, during the gap, the WD does not receive or transmit signals in the serving cell except the reception of signals (e.g., reference signals) for measurements. A measurement gap pattern is characterized or defined by several parameters: measurement gap length (MGL), measurement gap repetition period (MGRP), measurement gap time offset (MGTO) with regard to reference time (e.g., slot offset with regard to serving cell’s system frame number (SFN) such as SFN = 0), measurement gap timing advance (MGTA), etc.

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram which illustrates an example of as measurement gap pattern in NR. As an example, MGL can be 1.5, 3, 3.5, 4, 5.5, 6 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms etc and MGRP can be 20, 40, 80, 160, 320, 640, 1280, 2560 ms etc. Longer MGRP such as 320 ms or longer is typically used for multi-SIM operation, e.g., for measurements on carrier in idle/inactive state. Such type of MGP is configured by the network node and is also called as network controlled or network configurable MGP. Therefore, the serving base station/network node is fully aware of the timing of each gap within the MGP.

In NR there are two major categories of MGPs: per-WD measurement gap patterns and per-FR measurement gap patterns. In NR the spectrum is divided into two frequency ranges namely FR1 and FR2. FR1 is currently defined from 410 MHz to 7125 MHz. FR2 range is currently defined from 24250 MHz to 52600 MHz. In another example FR2 range can be from 24250 MHz to 71000 MHz, where the frequency range 24250-52600MHz is called FR2-1 and frequency range 52600- 71000MHz is called FR2-2. The FR2 range is also interchangeably called as millimeter wave (mmwave) and corresponding bands in FR2 are called as mmwave bands. In future more frequency ranges can be specified e.g., FR3. An example of FR3 is frequency ranging between 7125 MHz and 24250 MHz.

When configured with per-WD (e.g., per-UE) MGP, the WD creates gaps on all the serving cells (e.g., PCell, PSCell, SCells, etc.) regardless of their frequency range. The per-WD MGP can be used by the WD for performing measurements on cells of any carrier frequency belonging to any RAT (e.g., 5G NR, 4G LTE/LTE- advanced, 3G WCDMA/HSPA/CDMA2000, 2G GSM) or frequency range (FR). When configured with per-FR MGP (if WD supports this capability), the WD creates gaps only on the serving cells of the indicated FR whose carriers are to be measured. For example, if the WD is configured with per-FRl MGP then the WD creates measurement gaps only on serving cells (e.g., PCell, PSCell, SCells etc) of FR1 while no gaps are created on serving cells on carriers of FR2. The per-FRl gaps can be used for measurement on cells of only FR1 carriers. Similarly, per-FR2 gaps when configured are only created on FR2 serving cells and can be used for measurement on cells of only FR2 carriers. Support for per FR gaps is a WD capability, i.e., certain WD may only support per WD gaps according to their capability.

In NR Rel-17, concurrent measurement gap pattern (C-MGP), or interchangeably referred to as concurrent gaps or concurrent measurement gaps, are also specified. C-MGP includes of multiple measurement gap patterns (e.g., 2 or more MGPs) which can be configured by the network node using the same or different messages (e.g., similar or different RRC messages).

Scheduling restriction during measurement without gaps

There may be scenarios in which the WD can perform measurement without gaps. Examples of such measurements are SSB based intra-frequency or interfrequency measurements without measurement gaps when the reference signals (e.g., SSB) used for measurements are fully within the bandwidth of the active BWP of the WD. In another example intra-frequency, inter-frequency or inter-RAT measurements can be performed without gaps if the WD has an extra or spare receiver chain which in turn can be used for measurements. However, during the resources containing the reference signals (e.g., SSB, CSI-RS, etc.) used for measurements there can be scheduling restriction. The scheduling restriction implies that at least during the resources containing the reference signals used for measurements the WD may be not expected to transmit or receive any signal in the serving cell based on some specific conditions. For example, the received data and measured SSB are mix numerology in FR1 or received data and measured SSB are intra-frequency or inter-frequency with common beam management(CBM).In some scenarios, the WD is not even expected to transmit or receive any signal in the serving cell during the resources containing the reference signals used for measurements as well XI number of symbols before and X2 number of symbols after these measurement resources.

When XR services are present, a traffic/signaling/etc. (e.g., for a video frame and/or pose) will arrive at the WD periodically either in downlink or in uplink. A WD is not supposed to transmit or receive any data or control signals during certain types of measurement occasions (MOs), e.g., measurement gaps. If a WD is configured with a measurement gap pattern or with measurements without gaps which cause or result in scheduling restriction in the serving cell then this may cause extra delay of XR packet delivery. The XR service may fail or be severely degraded especially if the MOs occur frequently and/or their duration is longer than certain threshold (e.g., more than 5 ms). The existing measurement mechanism may lead to either XR service degradation or if the measurements are not configured will lead to mobility failure. Therefore, the existing measurement procedure may not be suitable while the WD is using the XR service.

SUMMARY

Regarding scheduling restrictions with or without gaps, existing systems lack efficient solutions for measurement procedures while being served with XR traffic.

The present disclosure may bring benefit by introducing a flexible measurement timing configuration which enables low signaling overhead and efficient, dynamic MO skipping with the minimal impact on measurement done in the measurement gap.

According to a first embodiment of the present disclosure (e.g., implemented in a WD), the WD is configured to operate XR traffic in a serving cell (e.g., Celli). The WD, based on one or more rules, dynamically skips (or does not use) at least part of a measurement occasion (MO) for performing one or more measurements. The WD further monitors or operates the data signals (e.g., XR traffic such as PDSH, PUSCH, etc.) in the serving cell during the time resources within the MO not used for the measurements. The WD may further use the remaining part of the MO (i.e., which is not skipped for performing the measurement) for performing the measurements on one or more cells. The one or more rules which enable the WD to at least partially use the duration of the MO for operating the data signals can be pre-defined and/or configured by a network node.

According to some embodiments, a network node may indicate/configure a WD to partially or fully skip one or more MOs for performing the measurement(s), and instead use the skipped part of the MO for operating the data signals by transmitting an implicit and/or explicit message to the WD. In an implicit way, a network node can send a regular grant (e.g., PDSCH grant, PUSCH grant, etc.) which allocates resources partly overlapping with the measurement occasion. In this case, the WD (implicitly) expects not to perform a measurement, but to receive and/or transmit the data (e.g., PDSCH, PUSCH, etc.). The grant intended for the measurement gap can also include an explicit indication indicating the part of the resource to be skipped for performing the measurement in the indicated measurement occasion. The implicit and/or explicit messages may be sent to the WD before the start of the MO.

Thus, in some embodiments, the part of each measurement gap may be dynamically skipped by the indication of a normal PDSCH grant downlink control indicator (DCI) indication. The indication may be either implicit and/or explicit, in varying embodiments, as described herein.

Embodiments of the present disclosure may provide one or more of the following benefits over existing solutions:

Partial skipping of the measurement occasions (e.g., measurement gap, SMTC, etc.) may minimize the impact of inaccurate measurement compared to existing solutions;

Normal grant based skipping may reduce dynamic signaling overhead for the MO skipping, as compared to some existing solutions; and

The MOs, and in particular large MOs, may be more efficiently utilized for measurements and for operating the data, as compared to existing solutions

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A more complete understanding of the present embodiments, and the attendant advantages and features thereof, will be more readily understood by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a timing diagram which depicts an example of frame latency measured over a radio access network (RAN), excluding application & core network latencies;

FIG. 2 is a graph which shows an example of the cumulative distribution functions of the number of transport blocks required to deliver a video frame;

FIG. 3, which is a timing diagram which illustrates XR traffic characteristics compared to VoIP and Web-browsing;

FIG. 4 is a timing diagram which illustrates an example of as measurement gap pattern in NR;

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example network architecture illustrating a communication system connected via an intermediate network to a host computer according to the principles in the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a host computer communicating via a network node with a wireless device over an at least partially wireless connection according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for executing a client application at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a wireless device according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data from the wireless device at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating example methods implemented in a communication system including a host computer, a network node and a wireless device for receiving user data at a host computer according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node for low- overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example process in a wireless device for low- overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 13 is a diagram which illustrates an example explicit DCI indication of partial skipping at a given measurement occasion, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating example of measurement occasion (MO) comprising of MGL with 6ms, where SMTC window with 4ms is present at a given measurement occasion; and

FIG. 15 is a diagram which illustrates an example of implicit partial skipping of a given measurement occasion based on a DCI indication.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing in detail example embodiments, it is noted that the embodiments reside primarily in combinations of apparatus components and processing steps related to low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services. Accordingly, components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the description.

As used herein, relational terms, such as “first” and “second,” “top” and “bottom,” and the like, may be used solely to distinguish one entity or element from another entity or element without necessarily requiring or implying any physical or logical relationship or order between such entities or elements. The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting of the concepts described herein. As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “includes” and/or “including” when used herein, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof.

In embodiments described herein, the joining term, “in communication with” and the like, may be used to indicate electrical or data communication, which may be accomplished by physical contact, induction, electromagnetic radiation, radio signaling, infrared signaling or optical signaling, for example. One having ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that multiple components may interoperate and modifications and variations are possible of achieving the electrical and data communication.

In some embodiments described herein, the term “coupled,” “connected,” and the like, may be used herein to indicate a connection, although not necessarily directly, and may include wired and/or wireless connections.

The term “network node” used herein can be any kind of network node comprised in a radio network which may further comprise any of base station (BS), radio base station, base transceiver station (BTS), base station controller (BSC), radio network controller (RNC), g Node B (gNB), evolved Node B (eNB or eNodeB), Node B, multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, multi-cell/multicast coordination entity (MCE), integrated access and backhaul (IAB) node, relay node, donor node controlling relay, radio access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH), a core network node (e.g., mobile management entity (MME), self-organizing network (SON) node, a coordinating node, positioning node, MDT node, etc.), an external node (e.g., 3rd party node, a node external to the current network), nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), a spectrum access system (SAS) node, an element management system (EMS), etc. The network node may also comprise test equipment. The term “radio node” used herein may be used to also denote a wireless device (WD) such as a wireless device (WD) or a radio network node.

In some embodiments, the non-limiting terms wireless device (WD) or a user equipment (UE) are used interchangeably. The WD herein can be any type of wireless device capable of communicating with a network node or another WD over radio signals, such as wireless device (WD). The WD may also be a radio communication device, target device, device to device (D2D) WD, machine type WD or WD capable of machine to machine communication (M2M), low-cost and/or low-complexity WD, a sensor equipped with WD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), an Internet of Things (loT) device, or a Narrowband loT (NB-IOT) device, etc.

Also, in some embodiments the generic term “radio network node” is used. It can be any kind of a radio network node which may comprise any of base station, radio base station, base transceiver station, base station controller, network controller, RNC, evolved Node B (eNB), Node B, gNB, Multi-cell/multicast Coordination Entity (MCE), IAB node, relay node, access point, radio access point, Remote Radio Unit (RRU) Remote Radio Head (RRH).

Note that although terminology from one particular wireless system, such as, for example, 3GPP LTE and/or New Radio (NR), may be used in this disclosure, this should not be seen as limiting the scope of the disclosure to only the aforementioned system. Other wireless systems, including without limitation Wide Band Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMax), Ultra Mobile Broadband (UMB) and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), may also benefit from exploiting the ideas covered within this disclosure.

Note further, that functions described herein as being performed by a wireless device or a network node may be distributed over a plurality of wireless devices and/or network nodes. In other words, it is contemplated that the functions of the network node and wireless device described herein are not limited to performance by a single physical device and, in fact, can be distributed among several physical devices.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure belongs. It will be further understood that terms used herein should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of this specification and the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

Examples of network nodes are NodeB, base station (BS), multi-standard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, MeNB, SeNB, location measurement unit (LMU), integrated access backhaul (IAB) node, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), Central Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Distributed Unit (e.g., in a gNB), Baseband Unit, Centralized Baseband, C-RAN, access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, transmission reception point (TRP), RRU, RRH, nodes in distributed antenna system (DAS), core network node (e.g., MSC, MME, etc.), O&M, OSS, SON, positioning node (e.g., E-SMLC), etc.

The non-limiting terms WD refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another WD in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of WD are target device, user equipment (UE), device to device (D2D) UE, vehicular to vehicular (V2V), machine type UE, MTC UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipment (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, etc.

The term radio access technology, or RAT, may refer to any RAT e.g., UTRA, E-UTRA, narrow band internet of things (NB-IoT), WiFi, Bluetooth, next generation RAT, New Radio (NR), 4G, 5G, etc. Any of the equipment denoted by the term node, network node or radio network node may be capable of supporting a single or multiple RATs.

The term signal or radio signal used herein can be any physical signal or physical channel. Examples of DL physical signals are reference signal (RS) such as PSS, SSS, CSI-RS, DMRS signals in SS/PBCH block (SSB), discovery reference signal (DRS), CRS, PRS, etc. RS may be periodic e.g., RS occasion carrying one or more RSs may occur with certain periodicity e.g., 20 ms, 40 ms, etc. The RS may also be aperiodic. Each SSB carries NR-PSS, NR-SSS and NR-PBCH in 4 successive symbols. One or multiple SSBs are transmit in one SSB burst which is repeated with certain periodicity e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. The WD is configured with information about SSB on cells of certain carrier frequency by one or more SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration (SMTC) configurations. The SMTC configuration includes parameters such as SMTC periodicity, SMTC occasion length in time or duration, SMTC time offset with regard to reference time (e.g., serving cell’s SFN), etc. Therefore, SMTC occasion may also occur with certain periodicity e.g., 5 ms, 10 ms, 20 ms, 40 ms, 80 ms and 160 ms. Examples of UL physical signals are reference signal such as SRS, DMRS, etc. The term physical channel refers to any channel carrying higher layer information e.g., data, control, etc. Examples of physical channels are PBCH, NPBCH, PDCCH, PDSCH, sPUCCH, sPDSCH. sPUCCH. sPUSCH, MPDCCH, NPDCCH, NPDSCH, E-PDCCH, PUSCH, PUCCH, NPUSCH, etc.

The term time resource used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources include symbol, sub-slot, mini-slot, slot or time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, interleaving time, SFN cycle, hyper-SFN cycle, etc.

Some embodiments provide support for low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services.

Referring now to the drawing figures, in which like elements are referred to by like reference numerals, there is shown in FIG. 5 a schematic diagram of a communication system 10, according to an embodiment, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network that may support standards such as LTE and/or NR (5G), which comprises an access network 12, such as a radio access network, and a core network 14. The access network 12 comprises a plurality of network nodes 16a, 16b, 16c (referred to collectively as network nodes 16), such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 18a, 18b, 18c (referred to collectively as coverage areas 18). Each network node 16a, 16b, 16c is connectable to the core network 14 over a wired or wireless connection 20. A first wireless device (WD) 22a located in coverage area 18a is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding network node 16a. A second WD 22b in coverage area 18b is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding network node 16b. While a plurality of WDs 22a, 22b (collectively referred to as wireless devices 22) are illustrated in this example, the disclosed embodiments are equally applicable to a situation where a sole WD is in the coverage area or where a sole WD is connecting to the corresponding network node 16. Note that although only two WDs 22 and three network nodes 16 are shown for convenience, the communication system may include many more WDs 22 and network nodes 16.

Also, it is contemplated that a WD 22 can be in simultaneous communication and/or configured to separately communicate with more than one network node 16 and more than one type of network node 16. For example, a WD 22 can have dual connectivity with a network node 16 that supports LTE and the same or a different network node 16 that supports NR. As an example, WD 22 can be in communication with an eNB for LTE/E-UTRAN and a gNB for NR/NG-RAN. The communication system 10 may itself be connected to a host computer 24, which may be embodied in the hardware and/or software of a standalone server, a cloud-implemented server, a distributed server or as processing resources in a server farm. The host computer 24 may be under the ownership or control of a service provider, or may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The connections 26, 28 between the communication system 10 and the host computer 24 may extend directly from the core network 14 to the host computer 24 or may extend via an optional intermediate network 30. The intermediate network 30 may be one of, or a combination of more than one of, a public, private or hosted network. The intermediate network 30, if any, may be a backbone network or the Internet. In some embodiments, the intermediate network 30 may comprise two or more sub-networks (not shown).

The communication system of FIG. 5 as a whole enables connectivity between one of the connected WDs 22a, 22b and the host computer 24. The connectivity may be described as an over-the-top (OTT) connection. The host computer 24 and the connected WDs 22a, 22b are configured to communicate data and/or signaling via the OTT connection, using the access network 12, the core network 14, any intermediate network 30 and possible further infrastructure (not shown) as intermediaries. The OTT connection may be transparent in the sense that at least some of the participating communication devices through which the OTT connection passes are unaware of routing of uplink and downlink communications. For example, a network node 16 may not or need not be informed about the past routing of an incoming downlink communication with data originating from a host computer 24 to be forwarded (e.g., handed over) to a connected WD 22a. Similarly, the network node 16 need not be aware of the future routing of an outgoing uplink communication originating from the WD 22a towards the host computer 24.

A network node 16 is configured to include a network node measurement configuration unit 32 which is configured for supporting low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services. A wireless device 22 is configured to include a WD measurement configuration unit 34 which is configured for supporting low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services.

Example implementations, in accordance with an embodiment, of the WD 22, network node 16 and host computer 24 discussed in the preceding paragraphs will now be described with reference to FIG. 6. In a communication system 10, a host computer 24 comprises hardware (HW) 38 including a communication interface 40 configured to set up and maintain a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10. The host computer 24 further comprises processing circuitry 42, which may have storage and/or processing capabilities. The processing circuitry 42 may include a processor 44 and memory 46. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 42 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 44 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 46, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read- Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Processing circuitry 42 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by host computer 24. Processor 44 corresponds to one or more processors 44 for performing host computer 24 functions described herein. The host computer 24 includes memory 46 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 48 and/or the host application 50 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42, causes the processor 44 and/or processing circuitry 42 to perform the processes described herein with respect to host computer 24. The instructions may be software associated with the host computer 24.

The software 48 may be executable by the processing circuitry 42. The software 48 includes a host application 50. The host application 50 may be operable to provide a service to a remote user, such as a WD 22 connecting via an OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the remote user, the host application 50 may provide user data which is transmitted using the OTT connection 52. The “user data” may be data and information described herein as implementing the described functionality. In one embodiment, the host computer 24 may be configured for providing control and functionality to a service provider and may be operated by the service provider or on behalf of the service provider. The processing circuitry 42 of the host computer 24 may enable the host computer 24 to observe, monitor, control, transmit to and/or receive from the network node 16 and or the wireless device 22.

The communication system 10 further includes a network node 16 provided in a communication system 10 and including hardware 58 enabling it to communicate with the host computer 24 and with the WD 22. The hardware 58 may include a communication interface 60 for setting up and maintaining a wired or wireless connection with an interface of a different communication device of the communication system 10, as well as a radio interface 62 for setting up and maintaining at least a wireless connection 64 with a WD 22 located in a coverage area 18 served by the network node 16. The radio interface 62 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers. The communication interface 60 may be configured to facilitate a connection 66 to the host computer 24. The connection 66 may be direct or it may pass through a core network 14 of the communication system 10 and/or through one or more intermediate networks 30 outside the communication system 10.

In the embodiment shown, the hardware 58 of the network node 16 further includes processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may include a processor 70 and a memory 72. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 68 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 70 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) the memory 72, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Thus, the network node 16 further has software 74 stored internally in, for example, memory 72, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the network node 16 via an external connection. The software 74 may be executable by the processing circuitry 68. The processing circuitry 68 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by network node 16. Processor 70 corresponds to one or more processors 70 for performing network node 16 functions described herein. The memory 72 is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 74 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68, causes the processor 70 and/or processing circuitry 68 to perform the processes described herein with respect to network node 16. For example, processing circuitry 68 of the network node 16 may include network node measurement configuration unit 32 configured to support low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services.

The communication system 10 further includes the WD 22 already referred to. The WD 22 may have hardware 80 that may include a radio interface 82 configured to set up and maintain a wireless connection 64 with a network node 16 serving a coverage area 18 in which the WD 22 is currently located. The radio interface 82 may be formed as or may include, for example, one or more RF transmitters, one or more RF receivers, and/or one or more RF transceivers.

The hardware 80 of the WD 22 further includes processing circuitry 84. The processing circuitry 84 may include a processor 86 and memory 88. In particular, in addition to or instead of a processor, such as a central processing unit, and memory, the processing circuitry 84 may comprise integrated circuitry for processing and/or control, e.g., one or more processors and/or processor cores and/or FPGAs (Field Programmable Gate Array) and/or ASICs (Application Specific Integrated Circuitry) adapted to execute instructions. The processor 86 may be configured to access (e.g., write to and/or read from) memory 88, which may comprise any kind of volatile and/or nonvolatile memory, e.g., cache and/or buffer memory and/or RAM (Random Access Memory) and/or ROM (Read-Only Memory) and/or optical memory and/or EPROM (Erasable Programmable Read-Only Memory).

Thus, the WD 22 may further comprise software 90, which is stored in, for example, memory 88 at the WD 22, or stored in external memory (e.g., database, storage array, network storage device, etc.) accessible by the WD 22. The software 90 may be executable by the processing circuitry 84. The software 90 may include a client application 92. The client application 92 may be operable to provide a service to a human or non-human user via the WD 22, with the support of the host computer 24. In the host computer 24, an executing host application 50 may communicate with the executing client application 92 via the OTT connection 52 terminating at the WD 22 and the host computer 24. In providing the service to the user, the client application 92 may receive request data from the host application 50 and provide user data in response to the request data. The OTT connection 52 may transfer both the request data and the user data. The client application 92 may interact with the user to generate the user data that it provides.

The processing circuitry 84 may be configured to control any of the methods and/or processes described herein and/or to cause such methods, and/or processes to be performed, e.g., by WD 22. The processor 86 corresponds to one or more processors 86 for performing WD 22 functions described herein. The WD 22 includes memory 88 that is configured to store data, programmatic software code and/or other information described herein. In some embodiments, the software 90 and/or the client application 92 may include instructions that, when executed by the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84, causes the processor 86 and/or processing circuitry 84 to perform the processes described herein with respect to WD 22. For example, the processing circuitry 84 of the wireless device 22 may include a WD measurement configuration unit 34 configured to support low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services.

In some embodiments, the inner workings of the network node 16, WD 22, and host computer 24 may be as shown in FIG. 6 and independently, the surrounding network topology may be that of FIG. 5.

In FIG. 6, the OTT connection 52 has been drawn abstractly to illustrate the communication between the host computer 24 and the wireless device 22 via the network node 16, without explicit reference to any intermediary devices and the precise routing of messages via these devices. Network infrastructure may determine the routing, which it may be configured to hide from the WD 22 or from the service provider operating the host computer 24, or both. While the OTT connection 52 is active, the network infrastructure may further take decisions by which it dynamically changes the routing (e.g., on the basis of load balancing consideration or reconfiguration of the network).

The wireless connection 64 between the WD 22 and the network node 16 is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. One or more of the various embodiments improve the performance of OTT services provided to the WD 22 using the OTT connection 52, in which the wireless connection 64 may form the last segment. More precisely, the teachings of some of these embodiments may improve the data rate, latency, and/or power consumption and thereby provide benefits such as reduced user waiting time, relaxed restriction on file size, better responsiveness, extended battery lifetime, etc.

In some embodiments, a measurement procedure may be provided for the purpose of monitoring data rate, latency and other factors on which the one or more embodiments improve. There may further be an optional network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 between the host computer 24 and WD 22, in response to variations in the measurement results. The measurement procedure and/or the network functionality for reconfiguring the OTT connection 52 may be implemented in the software 48 of the host computer 24 or in the software 90 of the WD 22, or both. In embodiments, sensors (not shown) may be deployed in or in association with communication devices through which the OTT connection 52 passes; the sensors may participate in the measurement procedure by supplying values of the monitored quantities exemplified above, or supplying values of other physical quantities from which software 48, 90 may compute or estimate the monitored quantities. The reconfiguring of the OTT connection 52 may include message format, retransmission settings, preferred routing etc.; the reconfiguring need not affect the network node 16, and it may be unknown or imperceptible to the network node 16. Some such procedures and functionalities may be known and practiced in the art. In certain embodiments, measurements may involve proprietary WD signaling facilitating the host computer’s 24 measurements of throughput, propagation times, latency and the like. In some embodiments, the measurements may be implemented in that the software 48, 90 causes messages to be transmitted, in particular empty or ‘dummy’ messages, using the OTT connection 52 while it monitors propagation times, errors, etc.

Thus, in some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 configured to provide user data and a communication interface 40 that is configured to forward the user data to a cellular network for transmission to the WD 22. In some embodiments, the cellular network also includes the network node 16 with a radio interface 62. In some embodiments, the network node 16 is configured to, and/or the network node’s 16 processing circuitry 68 is configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the WD 22, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the WD 22.

In some embodiments, the host computer 24 includes processing circuitry 42 and a communication interface 40 that is configured to a communication interface 40 configured to receive user data originating from a transmission from a WD 22 to a network node 16. In some embodiments, the WD 22 is configured to, and/or comprises a radio interface 82 and/or processing circuitry 84 configured to perform the functions and/or methods described herein for preparing/initiating/maintaining/supporting/ending a transmission to the network node 16, and/or preparing/terminating/maintaining/supporting/ending in receipt of a transmission from the network node 16.

Although FIGS. 5 and 6 show various “units” such as network node measurement configuration unit 32, and WD measurement configuration unit 34 as being within a respective processor, it is contemplated that these units may be implemented such that a portion of the unit is stored in a corresponding memory within the processing circuitry. In other words, the units may be implemented in hardware or in a combination of hardware and software within the processing circuitry.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIGS. 5 and 6, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIG. 6. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (Block SI 00). In an optional substep of the first step, the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50 (Block SI 02). In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block SI 04). In an optional third step, the network node 16 transmits to the WD 22 the user data which was carried in the transmission that the host computer 24 initiated, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block SI 06). In an optional fourth step, the WD 22 executes a client application, such as, for example, the client application 92, associated with the host application 50 executed by the host computer 24 (Block SI 08).

FIG. 8 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 5, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In a first step of the method, the host computer 24 provides user data (Block SI 10). In an optional substep (not shown) the host computer 24 provides the user data by executing a host application, such as, for example, the host application 50. In a second step, the host computer 24 initiates a transmission carrying the user data to the WD 22 (Block SI 12). The transmission may pass via the network node 16, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure. In an optional third step, the WD 22 receives the user data carried in the transmission (Block SI 14).

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 5, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In an optional first step of the method, the WD 22 receives input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 16). In an optional substep of the first step, the WD 22 executes the client application 92, which provides the user data in reaction to the received input data provided by the host computer 24 (Block SI 18). Additionally or alternatively, in an optional second step, the WD 22 provides user data (Block SI 20). In an optional substep of the second step, the WD provides the user data by executing a client application, such as, for example, client application 92 (Block S122). In providing the user data, the executed client application 92 may further consider user input received from the user. Regardless of the specific manner in which the user data was provided, the WD 22 may initiate, in an optional third substep, transmission of the user data to the host computer 24 (Block S124). In a fourth step of the method, the host computer 24 receives the user data transmitted from the WD 22, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure (Block S126).

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example method implemented in a communication system, such as, for example, the communication system of FIG. 5, in accordance with one embodiment. The communication system may include a host computer 24, a network node 16 and a WD 22, which may be those described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. In an optional first step of the method, in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, the network node 16 receives user data from the WD 22 (Block SI 28). In an optional second step, the network node 16 initiates transmission of the received user data to the host computer 24 (Block S130). In a third step, the host computer 24 receives the user data carried in the transmission initiated by the network node 16 (Block S132).

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of an example process in a network node 16 for supporting low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of network node 16 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 68 (including the network node measurement configuration unit 32), processor 70, radio interface 62 and/or communication interface 60. Network node 16 is configured to configure (Block SI 34) the WD 22 with a measurement configuration scheduling a plurality of measurement occasions (MOs) during which the WD 22 performs measurements and does not communicate data traffic with the network node, each MO being associated with corresponding time resources. Network node 16 is configured to determine (Block SI 36) a dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO of the plurality of MOs based on the measurement configuration, where the dynamic skipping configuration includes at least one skipped time resource of the first MO and at least one non-skipped time resource of the first MO. Network node 16 is configured to communicate (Block SI 38) data traffic with the WD 22 during the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

In one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to cause transmission of reference signaling to the WD 22 for performing measurements on at least one cell during the at least one non-skipped time of the first MO.

In one or more embodiments, determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an implicit indication transmitted from the network node 16 to the WD 22, the implicit indication including a downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource.

In one or more embodiments, the implicit indication is transmitted prior to the first MO. In one or more embodiments, determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an explicit indication transmitted from the network node 16 to the WD 22 including at least one of a first information identifying the first MO, a second information identifying the at least one skipped time resource, and a third information identifying the at least one non-skipped time resource.

In one or more embodiments, the explicit indication is transmitted prior to the first MO.

In one or more embodiments, the network node 16 is further configured to cause transmission of a scheduling grant from the network node 16 to the WD 22 scheduling downlink or uplink data traffic during a first time resource of the at least one skipped time resource, where the scheduling grant is configured to cause the WD 22 to monitor for data traffic during at least one additional time resource of the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart of an example process in a wireless device 22 according to some embodiments of the present disclosure for supporting low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services. One or more blocks described herein may be performed by one or more elements of wireless device 22 such as by one or more of processing circuitry 84 (including the WD measurement configuration unit 34), processor 86, radio interface 82 and/or communication interface 60. The WD 22 is configured (e.g., by network node 16 and/or by a preconfigured configuration, e.g., stored in memory 88) with a measurement configuration scheduling a plurality of measurement occasions (MOs) during which the WD 22 performs measurements and does not communicate data traffic with the network node 16, where each MO is associated with corresponding time resources. The WD 22 is configured to determine (Block SI 40) a dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO of the plurality of MOs based on the measurement configuration, where the dynamic skipping configuration includes at least one skipped time resource of the first MO and at least one non-skipped time resource of the first MO. The WD 22 is configured to communicate (Block S142) data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

In some embodiments, the WD 22 is further configured to perform measurements on at least one cell during the at least one non-skipped time of the first MO. In some embodiments, determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an implicit indication received from the network node 16, where the implicit indication includes a downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource.

In some embodiments, the implicit indication is received prior to the first MO.

In some embodiments, determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an explicit indication received from the network node 16 including at least one of a first information identifying the first MO, a second information identifying the at least one skipped time resource, and a third information identifying the at least one non-skipped time resource.

In some embodiments, the explicit indication is received prior to the first MO.

In some embodiments, the WD 22 is further configured to receive a scheduling grant from the network node 16 scheduling downlink or uplink data traffic during a first time resource of the at least one skipped time resource, and monitor for data traffic during at least one additional time resource of the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO responsive to receiving the scheduling grant.

Having described the general process flow of arrangements of the disclosure and having provided examples of hardware and software arrangements for implementing the processes and functions of the disclosure, the sections below provide details and examples of arrangements for low-overhead, flexible skipping of measurement occasions for XR services.

A first scenario includes a WD 22 served by at least one cell 18/network node 16, e.g., a first cell 18a (cell 1), which may operate on or belong to a first carrier frequency (Fl). The WD 22 may further be served by an additional one or more cells 18 (e.g., by a second cell 18b (Cell2)) and/or network nodes 16, e.g., in a multicarrier (MC) scenario. Examples of MC scenarios are carrier aggregation, multi-connectivity, dual connectivity, etc.

The carrier frequency is also referred to as component carrier (CC), frequency layer, serving carrier, frequency channel, etc. The carrier frequency related information is signaled to the WD 22 using a channel number e.g., ARFCN, NR- ARFCN, etc. The first cell 18a (Celli) is managed or served or operated by a first network node 16a (NN1).

The WD 22 is further configured (e.g., by a network node 16 such as NN1, and/or by based on a configuration file/information stored in memory 88 of WD) to perform at least one measurement on one or more DL reference signal (RS) and/or UL reference signal (RS) of one or more cells 18 during one or more measurement occasions (MO). The measurement may be done on cell 1 , one or more cells 18 of Fl or one or more cells 18 of one or more carrier frequencies e.g., of a second carrier frequency (F2). Examples of measurements are cell identification (e.g., PCI acquisition, PSS/SSS detection, cell detection, cell search, etc.), Reference Symbol Received Power (RSRP), Reference Symbol Received Quality (RSRQ), secondary synchronization RSRP (SS-RSRP), SS-RSRQ, SINR, RS-SINR, SS-SINR, CSI- RSRP, CSI-RSRQ, received signal strength indicator (RSSI), acquisition of system information (SI), cell global ID (CGI) acquisition, Reference Signal Time Difference (RSTD), WD RX-TX time difference measurement, PRS-RSRP, PRS-RSRPP, Radio Link Monitoring (RLM), which consists of Out of Synchronization (out of sync) detection and In Synchronization (in-sync) detection, etc.

The WD 22 typically obtains one or more measurement samples or snapshots during one or more Mos and combine the samples based on a function to obtain a measurement result, e.g., RSRP, RSRQ, etc. The MOs may occur periodically in time, e.g., once every 20 ms, etc. Examples of function are average, sum, ratio, xth percentile, ceiling, floor, product or combination of two or more functions.

The term MO used herein refer to any time-frequency resource during which the signals (e.g., reference signal such as SSB, CSI-RS, PRS, SRS, etc.) which can be used by the WD 22 for measurements operate (e.g., transmitted by the cell and/or transmitted by the WD 22). A MO may include a measurement gap or it may include a time-frequency resource during which the measurement can be done without gaps. A pattern of MO, which may be called as MO pattern (MOP) may include two or more MOs, may be occur periodically or aperiodically in time within the MOP. The measurement gap may belong to a measurement gap pattern (MGP). MGP is one specific example of MOP. In one specific example, the MO may include SMTC window or duration of the SMTC configured for the measurement. In another specific example, the MO may include PRS resource or PRS occasion related to the configured PRS resources for the measurement e.g., positioning measurement such as PRS-RSRP, RSTD, etc. During the MO the WD 22 cannot receive or transmit any signals (e.g., PDSCH, PUSCH, etc.) in the serving cell 18a except those used for measurements. Therefore, MO may also be called as scheduling restriction occasion or window. Therefore the duration of each MO includes for example equal to MGL (if gaps are configured) or equal to duration over which the scheduling restriction applies (for measurement without gaps).

The WD 22 is configured to operate signals related to XR service. Examples of signals related to XR service are data, control, etc. Examples of data signals are PDSCH, PUSCH, etc. Examples of control signals are PDCCH, PUCCH, etc. The term operating the signal may include receiving and/or transmitting the signal between the WD 22 and a cell 18 (e.g., Celli, Cell2, etc.). For example, the WD 22 operating the signal may include the WD 22 receiving the signal from a cell 18 (e.g., Celli) and/or transmitting the signal to a cell 18 (e.g., Celli). The WD 22 can be dynamically scheduled (e.g., via DCI) by the serving cell 18a (e.g., cell 1) with resources (e.g., time-frequency resources such as resource elements, resource blocks, etc.) in the serving cell 18a for transmitting and/or receiving the signal e.g., data.

Although embodiments of the present disclosure are described with respect to XR traffic the embodiments are not limited to XR traffic, and may be advantageously implemented for a wide variety of traffic types (e.g., low-latency, high-rate, etc.).

Skipping the partial MO

In some embodiments, one or more resources (e.g., time-frequency resources such RBs, time resources such as symbols, time slots, etc.) in a given measurement occasion (MO) can be dynamically skipped in time by the WD 22 based on an indication or message received by the WD 22 from the network node 16 via a message e.g., RRC, MAC-CE, DCI, etc. In one example, the indication or message may be an explicit message to skip the part of the MO for measurement, i.e., the WD 22 may not use that part for performing the measurement. For example, the indication explicitly states the set of resources (RS) within certain MO which the WD 22 may be configured/scheduled for operating data signals. Therefore, the WD 22 shall not use the set, RS, for performing the measurements within that MO. However, the WD 22 may use the remaining resources (Rm) within that MO for performing the measurement. The explicit indication message is transmitted by the network node 16 to the WD 22 before the start of the MO since the WD 22 is not expected to monitor the control/data channels in the MO.

FIG. 13 is a diagram which illustrates an example explicit DCI indication of partial skipping at a given measurement occasion, according to some embodiments of the present disclosure. In the example of FIG. 13, one or multiple DCIs can indicate which resources should be skipped explicitly within a given MO. This indication can be of any graduality of the time-frequency resource, e.g., frame, subframe, slot, symbol, etc.

In another example, the indication or message may be an implicit message to skip the part of the MO for the measurements, e.g., a message such as DCI used for scheduling the XR data. The remaining or original part of the MO which is not skipped can still be used by the WD 22 for performing a measurement. This can be based on a rule that if the WD 22 receives certain type/format of the DCI before the MO then the WD 22 may not perform the measurements in the resources scheduled for data in that MO and may instead monitor/ operate the data signals (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc.). To be able to use the MO (partly or fully) for scheduling of signals, the implicit indication message (e.g., DCI) is transmitted by the network node 16 to the WD 22 before the start of the MO.

In another example, the WD 22 is configured by a network node 16 to monitor the operation (e.g., reception/transmission) of the data/control signals (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, PUCCH, PUSCH, etc.) in a set of resources within certain time span or within certain time location of the MO. The WD 22 monitors the operation of the data/control signals for example by monitoring a DL control channel e.g., PDCCH. If the WD 22 is scheduled with data in any of these resources, then the WD 22 continues monitoring the reception of the data signals in the remaining part of the MO and does not that MO for performing the measurements. Otherwise, the WD 22 may use the remaining part of the MO for performing the measurements. For example, the WD 22 can be configured by a network node 16 to monitor the operation of the signals within the first R1 number of time resources (e.g., slots) from the starting time (Ts) of the MO or within the last R2 number of time resources before the ending time (Te) of the MO or within the R3 number of time resources starting from Ts+Al or within the R4 number of time resources ending by Te-A2, where Al and A2 are the thresholds which can be pre-defined/preconfigured and/or configured by a network node 16.

In some embodiments, to indicate/configure the WD to “skip part of the MO for the measurements”, the message (e.g., from network node 16) may provide information to the WD 22 about the resources (e.g., slots, symbols, subframes, etc.) occurring within the MO gap. In this case, the WD 22 may be configured to monitor the physical downlink channels (e.g., PDCCH, PDSCH, etc.) during the indicated resources and is configured to not perform any measurement during the entire MO containing the indicated resources for monitoring the DL channels. The amount (e.g., number of resources) and timing (e.g., when the resources start within the MO) for resource within which the MO is to be partially or fully skipped by the WD 22 for performing the measurement can be configured by a network node 16. Upon receiving an indication from the network node 16, the WD 22 skips the preconfigured resources (e.g., RBs, symbols, slots, subframes, etc.) in the indicated MO for measurement. This can be implicitly indicated by the regular DCI for the data transmission/scheduling (e.g., PDSCH scheduling, PUSCH transmission, etc.). If a network node 16 indicates a grant in any resource within the given MO, a WD 22 does not use that resource for performing the measurements but expects data scheduling in that resource (e.g., PDSCH scheduled). The MO which can be partially skipped for doing the measurements can be configured by a network node 16 or it can be implicitly chosen based on the signaled grant for the data transmission (e.g., PDSCH transmission, PUSCH transmission, etc.). In addition, this indication may carry additional information about whether the WD 22 is required or not to monitor besides the PDSCH, the PDCCH which could allocate further resources in other times within the MO. The mechanism of the implicit skipping of the MO for the measurements is explained with examples below.

FIG. 14 depicts an example of measurement occasion (MO) comprising of MGL with 6ms, where SMTC window with 4ms is present at a given measurement occasion.

In the example of FIG. 14, the WD 22 is configured by the network node 16 such that the WD 22 can be scheduled with the data in this MO, e.g., the WD 22 is configured before the start of the MO. The WD 22 monitors the control channel (e.g., PDCCH for reception and/or transmission of the data) and stops performing the measurement (e.g., measurement on the SSB) in all the slots within that gap, i.e., during the MGL.

FIG. 15 depicts an example of implicit partial skipping of a given measurement occasion based on normal DCI indication. When a DCI intended to any resource within that gap is received by the WD 22, then the WD 22 receives and/or transmit the data depending on the scheduling grant. In the example of FIG. 15, three DCIs and the corresponding data channels (e.g., PDSCHs) sent to the WD 22 are overlapping with SSB#0, #1, #6. The WD 22 is preconfigured to monitor for example the DCIs in these slots. The WD 22 skips corresponding slots for measurements but expect data (e.g., PDSCH) scheduling/reception in those slots. The DCI does not explicitly indicate ‘skipping’. In this example, the indication may also inform the WD 22 to monitor PDCCH during the slots in which the PDSCH has been scheduled so, additional PDSCH resources can be scheduled during the MO period

As will be appreciated by one of skill in the art, the concepts described herein may be embodied as a method, data processing system, computer program product and/or computer storage media storing an executable computer program. Accordingly, the concepts described herein may take the form of an entirely hardware embodiment, an entirely software embodiment or an embodiment combining software and hardware aspects all generally referred to herein as a “circuit” or “module.” Any process, step, action and/or functionality described herein may be performed by, and/or associated to, a corresponding module, which may be implemented in software and/or firmware and/or hardware. Furthermore, the disclosure may take the form of a computer program product on a tangible computer usable storage medium having computer program code embodied in the medium that can be executed by a computer. Any suitable tangible computer readable medium may be utilized including hard disks, CD-ROMs, electronic storage devices, optical storage devices, or magnetic storage devices.

Some embodiments are described herein with reference to flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams of methods, systems and computer program products. It will be understood that each block of the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, and combinations of blocks in the flowchart illustrations and/or block diagrams, can be implemented by computer program instructions. These computer program instructions may be provided to a processor of a general purpose computer (to thereby create a special purpose computer), special purpose computer, or other programmable data processing apparatus to produce a machine, such that the instructions, which execute via the processor of the computer or other programmable data processing apparatus, create means for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

These computer program instructions may also be stored in a computer readable memory or storage medium that can direct a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to function in a particular manner, such that the instructions stored in the computer readable memory produce an article of manufacture including instruction means which implement the function/act specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks. The computer program instructions may also be loaded onto a computer or other programmable data processing apparatus to cause a series of operational steps to be performed on the computer or other programmable apparatus to produce a computer implemented process such that the instructions which execute on the computer or other programmable apparatus provide steps for implementing the functions/acts specified in the flowchart and/or block diagram block or blocks.

It is to be understood that the functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order noted in the operational illustrations. For example, two blocks shown in succession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon the functionality/acts involved. Although some of the diagrams include arrows on communication paths to show a primary direction of communication, it is to be understood that communication may occur in the opposite direction to the depicted arrows.

Computer program code for carrying out operations of the concepts described herein may be written in an object oriented programming language such as Python, Java® or C++. However, the computer program code for carrying out operations of the disclosure may also be written in conventional procedural programming languages, such as the "C" programming language. The program code may execute entirely on the user's computer, partly on the user's computer, as a stand-alone software package, partly on the user's computer and partly on a remote computer or entirely on the remote computer. In the latter scenario, the remote computer may be connected to the user's computer through a local area network (LAN) or a wide area network (WAN), or the connection may be made to an external computer (for example, through the Internet using an Internet Service Provider).

Many different embodiments have been disclosed herein, in connection with the above description and the drawings. It will be understood that it would be unduly repetitious and obfuscating to literally describe and illustrate every combination and subcombination of these embodiments. Accordingly, all embodiments can be combined in any way and/or combination, and the present specification, including the drawings, shall be construed to constitute a complete written description of all combinations and subcombinations of the embodiments described herein, and of the manner and process of making and using them, and shall support claims to any such combination or subcombination.

Abbreviations that may be used in the preceding description include: ADU Application Data Unit

AR Augmented Reality

ARP Allocation and Retention Priority

AS Access Stratrum

BSR Buffer Status Report

DG Delay group

DL Downlink

DRB Data Radio Bearer eMBB Enhanced Mobile Broadband

Fps Frames Per Second

IP Internet Protocol

LCG Logical Channel Group

LCID Logical Channel Identity

MGP Measurement gap pattern mMTCMassive Machine Type Communications MO Measurement occasion

MOP MO pattern

MR Mixed Reality

NAS Non-access Stratrum

NCSG Network Controlled Small Gap

NR New Radio

PDB Packet Delay Budget

PDR Packet Detection Rules

PDU Protocol Data Unit

QFI QoS Flow ID

QoS Quality of Service

RAN Radio Access Network

SDAP Service Data Adaptation Protocol

SDU Service Data Unit

SMF Session Management Function

TB Transport Block

TTI Transmission Time Interval

UL Uplink UPF User Plane Function

URLLC Ultra-reliable low-latency communications

VoIP Voice over IP

VR Virtual Reality xR extended Radio

It will be appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the embodiments described herein are not limited to what has been particularly shown and described herein above. In addition, unless mention was made above to the contrary, it should be noted that all of the accompanying drawings are not to scale. A variety of modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings.

Embodiments:

Embodiment Al. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device (WD), the network node configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface and/or comprising processing circuitry configured to: configure the WD with a measurement configuration scheduling a plurality of measurement occasions (MOs) during which the WD performs measurements and does not communicate data traffic with the network node, each MO being associated with corresponding time resources; determine a dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO of the plurality of MOs based on the measurement configuration, the dynamic skipping configuration including at least one skipped time resource of the first MO and at least one non-skipped time resource of the first MO; and communicate data traffic with the WD during the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

Embodiment A2. The network node of Embodiment Al, wherein the processing circuitry is further configured to cause transmission of reference signaling to the WD for performing measurements on at least one cell during the at least one non-skipped time of the first MO.

Embodiment A3. The network node of any one of Embodiments Al and A2, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an implicit indication transmitted from the network node to the WD, the implicit indication including a downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource.

Embodiment A4. The network node of Embodiment A3, wherein the implicit indication is transmitted prior to the first MO.

Embodiment A5. The network node of any one of Embodiments A1-A4, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an explicit indication transmitted from the network node to the WD including at least one of: a first information identifying the first MO; a second information identifying the at least one skipped time resource; and a third information identifying the at least one non-skipped time resource.

Embodiment A6. The network node of any one of Embodiments A1-A5, wherein the explicit indication is transmitted prior to the first MO.

Embodiment A7. The network node of any one of Embodiments A1-A6, wherein the network node is further configured to: cause transmission of a scheduling grant from the network node scheduling downlink or uplink data traffic during a first time resource of the at least one skipped time resource, the scheduling grant configured to cause the WD to monitor for data traffic during at least one additional time resource of the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

Embodiment Bl. A method implemented in a network node, the method comprising: configure the WD with a measurement configuration scheduling a plurality of measurement occasions (MOs) during which the WD performs measurements and does not communicate data traffic with the network node, each MO being associated with corresponding time resources; determine a dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO of the plurality of MOs based on the measurement configuration, the dynamic skipping configuration including at least one skipped time resource of the first MO and at least one non-skipped time resource of the first MO; and communicate data traffic with the WD during the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

Embodiment B2. The method of Embodiment B 1 , wherein the method further comprises causing transmission of reference signaling to the WD for performing measurements on at least one cell during the at least one non-skipped time of the first MO.

Embodiment B3. The method of any one of Embodiments Bl and B2, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an implicit indication transmitted from the network node to the WD, the implicit indication including a downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource.

Embodiment B4. The method of Embodiment B3, wherein the implicit indication is transmitted prior to the first MO.

Embodiment B5. The method of any one of Embodiments B1-B4, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an explicit indication transmitted from the network node to the WD including at least one of: a first information identifying the first MO; a second information identifying the at least one skipped time resource; and a third information identifying the at least one non-skipped time resource.

Embodiment B6. The method of any one of Embodiments B1-B5, wherein the explicit indication is transmitted prior to the first MO.

Embodiment B7. The method of any one of Embodiments B1-B6, wherein the method further comprises: causing transmission of a scheduling grant from the network node scheduling downlink or uplink data traffic during a first time resource of the at least one skipped time resource, the scheduling grant configured to cause the WD to monitor for data traffic during at least one additional time resource of the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

Embodiment Cl. A wireless device (WD) configured to communicate with a network node, the WD being configured with a measurement configuration scheduling a plurality of measurement occasions (MOs) during which the WD performs measurements and does not communicate data traffic with the network node, each MO being associated with corresponding time resources, the WD configured to, and/or comprising a radio interface and/or processing circuitry configured to: determine a dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO of the plurality of MOs based on the measurement configuration, the dynamic skipping configuration including at least one skipped time resource of the first MO and at least one non-skipped time resource of the first MO; and communicate data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

Embodiment C2. The WD of Embodiment Cl, wherein the WD is further configured to perform measurements on at least one cell during the at least one nonskipped time of the first MO.

Embodiment C3. The WD of any one of Embodiments Cl and C2, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an implicit indication received from the network node, the implicit indication including a downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource.

Embodiment C4. The WD of Embodiment C3, wherein the implicit indication is received prior to the first MO.

Embodiment C5. The WD of any one of Embodiments C1-C4, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an explicit indication received from the network node including at least one of: a first information identifying the first MO; a second information identifying the at least one skipped time resource; and a third information identifying the at least one non-skipped time resource.

Embodiment C6. The WD of any one of Embodiments C1-C5, wherein the explicit indication is received prior to the first MO. Embodiment C7. The WD of any one of Embodiments C1-C6, wherein the WD is further configured to: receive a scheduling grant from the network node scheduling downlink or uplink data traffic during a first time resource of the at least one skipped time resource; and monitor for data traffic during at least one additional time resource of the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO responsive to receiving the scheduling grant.

Embodiment DI . A method implemented in a wireless device (WD), the WD being configured with a measurement configuration scheduling a plurality of measurement occasions (MOs) during which the WD performs measurements and does not communicate data traffic with the network node, each MO being associated with corresponding time resources, the method comprising: determining a dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO of the plurality of MOs based on the measurement configuration, the dynamic skipping configuration including at least one skipped time resource of the first MO and at least one non-skipped time resource of the first MO; and communicating data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO.

Embodiment D2. The method of Embodiment DI, further comprising performing measurements on at least one cell during the at least one non-skipped time of the first MO.

Embodiment D3. The method of any one of Embodiments DI and D2, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an implicit indication received from the network node, the implicit indication including a downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic during the at least one skipped time resource. Embodiment D4. The method of Embodiment D3, wherein the implicit indication is received prior to the first MO.

Embodiment D5. The method of any one of Embodiments D1-D4, wherein determining the dynamic skipping configuration for the first MO is based on an explicit indication received from the network node including at least one of: a first information identifying the first MO; a second information identifying the at least one skipped time resource; and a third information identifying the at least one non-skipped time resource.

Embodiment D6. The method of any one of Embodiments D1-D5, wherein the explicit indication is received prior to the first MO.

Embodiment D7. The method of any one of Embodiments D1-D6, further comprising: receiving a scheduling grant from the network node scheduling downlink or uplink data traffic during a first time resource of the at least one skipped time resource; and monitoring for data traffic during at least one additional time resource of the at least one skipped time resource of the first MO responsive to receiving the scheduling grant.

Claims

1. A method performed by a network node communicating with a wireless device, WD, served by a cell associated with the network node, comprising: configuring the wireless device to perform at least one measurement on one or more reference signals during a plurality of measurement occasions, MOs; and transmitting a message indicating time resource during which the wireless device skips performing measurement, the skipped time resource for measurement being associated with at least part of a first MO of the plurality of MOs.

2. Method according to Claim 1, wherein the MOs comprise any of: measurement gaps, SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration, SMTC, windows, or positioning reference signal, PRS, occasions.

3. Method according to Claims 1 or 2, wherein transmitting a message indicating time resource during which the wireless device skips performing measurement comprises: transmitting, prior to the first MO, at least one of following information to the wireless device: a first information identifying the first MO; a second information identifying, within the first MO, a time span or time location with which the skipped time resource is associated; and a third information identifying, within the first MO, a time span or time location with which the skipped time resource is not associated.

4. Method according to Claims 1 or 2, wherein transmitting a message indicating time resource during which the wireless device skips performing measurement comprises: transmitting, prior to the first MO, downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic, indicating the skipped time resource by overlapped portion between the scheduling grant and the first MO.

5. Method according to any of Claims 1 to 4, wherein the message indicating the skipped time resource is transmitted via a signaling of a downline control information, DCI, radio resource control, RRC, or MAC Control Element, MAC-CE.

6. A network node configured to communicate with a wireless device served by a cell associated with the network node, comprising: one or more processors, and a memory including instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the network node to: configure the wireless device to perform at least one measurement on one or more reference signals during a plurality of measurement occasions, MOs; and transmit a message indicating time resource during which the wireless device skips performing measurement, the skipped time resource for measurement being associated with at least part of a first MO of the plurality of MOs.

7. Network node according to claim 6, further configured to perform steps of the method according to any of Claims 2 to 5.

8. Method performed by a wireless device, WD, served by a cell associated with a network node communicating with the WD, comprising: receiving, from the network node, a configuration for performing at least one measurement on one or more reference signals during a plurality of measurement occasions, MOs; and receiving a message indicating time resource during which the WD skips performing measurement, the skipped time resource for measurement being associated with at least part of a first MO of the plurality of MOs.

9. Method according Claim 8, further comprising: monitoring, operating data signals, on the indicated skipped time resource.

10. Method according to Claims 8 or 9, wherein the MOs comprise any of: measurement gaps, SS/PBCH block measurement timing configuration, SMTC, windows, or positioning reference signal, PRS, occasions.

11. Method according to any of Claims 8 to 10, wherein the received message indicating the skipped time resource is transmitted via a signaling of a downline control information, DCI, radio resource control, RRC, or MAC Control Element, MAC-CE.

12. Method according to any of the preceding Claims, wherein receiving a message indicating time resource during which the WD skips performing measurement comprises: receiving, prior to the first MO, at least one of following information: a first information identifying the first MO; a second information identifying, within the first MO, a time span or time location with which the skipped time resource is associated; and a third information identifying, within the first MO, a time span or time location with which the skipped time resource is not associated.

13. Method according to any of Claims 8 to 11, wherein receiving a message indicating time resource during which the WD skips performing measurement comprises: prior to the first MO, downlink or uplink scheduling grant for data traffic, wherein the skipped time resource is indicated by overlapped portion between the scheduling grant and the first MO.

14. A wireless device, WD, served by a cell associated with a network node communicating with the WD, comprising: one or more processors, and a memory including instructions which, when executed by the one or more processors, cause the WD to: receive, from the network node, a configuration for performing at least one measurement on one or more reference signals during a plurality of measurement occasions, MOs; and receive a message indicating time resource during which the WD skips performing measurement, the skipped time resource for measurement being associated with at least part of a first MO of the plurality of MOs.

15. Wireless device according to Claim 14, further configured to perform steps of the method according to any of Claims 9 to 13.