WO2025201706A1 - Managing event-triggered beam reporting - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an apparatus comprising at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: Detecting an event triggering a report. Determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition for reporting is met. Starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer. Determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

Description

MANAGING EVENT-TRIGGERED BEAM REPORTING

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims the benefit of FI application No. 20245363, filed March 28, 2024. The content of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Various example embodiments described herein relate to the field of wireless communications. Some example embodiments relate to managing event-triggered beam reporting.

BACKGROUND

Various communication systems, e.g., 3^rd Generation Partnership Project 5G New Radio (3 GPP 5G NR) may be configured to include Channel State Information (CSI) measurement and beam reporting initiated by user equipment (UE) or triggered by an event. However, this type of reporting may include outdated information if the UE has not been able to report the information triggered by the event due to, e.g., lack of resource allocation or prioritization of other uplink transmissions or signals.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the detailed description. This summary is not intended to identify key features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used to limit the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Example embodiments of the present disclosure enable conditions to configure a user equipment (UE) to drop or to cancel an event-triggered report. This benefit may be achieved by the features of the independent claims. Further example embodiments are provided in the dependent claims, the detailed description, and the drawings.

According to a first aspect, an apparatus is disclosed. The apparatus may comprise at least one processor and at least one memory including computer program code. The at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: Detecting an event triggering a report. Determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition for reporting is met. Starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer. Determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

Such an apparatus may enable preventing reporting outdated event-triggered information in case of, e.g., no resource allocation for the report or prioritization of other UL transmissions or signals.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the timer may be associated with an event-triggered channel state information report.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the reporting condition may be at least a time period having passed after and/or being available before transmitting another report associated with a reference signal, wherein the detected event is associated with said reference signal. With such an apparatus, reporting may be prevented in case of a recent similar other report or an imminent similar other report.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: Obtaining the time period from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded time period.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the time period may be specified or configured according to at least one of: time, number of reporting occasions, number of reporting instances, number of reporting occasions per time, number of reporting instances per time, number of uplink signals to request resources per time, or number of uplink signals to indicate event per time.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: Determining, after starting the timer, whether a stopping condition or a canceling condition is met.

Stopping, in response to the stopping condition being met, the timer. Canceling, in response to the canceling condition being met, the timer.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the stopping condition or canceling condition may be at least one of: a new timer being started for the same event, the event-triggered report being transmitted, and a response for the transmitted report being received.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the timer may be configured according to at least one of: time, number of reporting occasions, number of reporting instances, number of reporting occasions per time, number of reporting instances per time, number of uplink signals to request resources per time, or number of uplink signals to indicate event per time.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the determining to drop the event-triggered report may comprise at least one of: Determining not to perform measurement for the event-triggered report. Determining not to generate the event- triggered report. Determining to drop the event-triggered report generated.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: Obtaining a timer value from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded value.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: Starting the timer in response to at least one of: Transmitting an uplink channel or a signal requesting uplink resources for the event- triggered report or triggering the event-triggered report. Generating the event-triggered report. Transmitting the event-triggered report.

According to an example embodiment of the first aspect, the at least one memory and the computer program code may be configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: Determining, in response to the reporting condition not being met, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

According to a second aspect, a computer-implemented method is disclosed. The method may comprise: Detecting an event triggering a report. Determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition for reporting is met. Starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer. Determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

According to a third aspect, a computer-readable medium is disclosed. The computer-readable medium may comprise program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: Detecting an event triggering a report. Determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition for reporting is met. Starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer. Determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

According to a fourth aspect, a computer program is disclosed. The computer program may comprise instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: Detecting an event triggering a report. Determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition for reporting is met. Starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer. Determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

Any example embodiment may be combined with one or more other example embodiments. Many of the attendant features will be more readily appreciated as they become better understood by reference to the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the example embodiments and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate example embodiments and together with the description help to understand the example embodiments. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates an example embodiment of a cellular communication network;

FIG. 2 illustrates example functionalities of an apparatus according to an example embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram according to an example embodiment; and

FIG. 4 illustrates a schematic block diagram of an apparatus according to an example embodiment.

Like references are used to designate like parts in the accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. The detailed description provided below in connection with the appended drawings is intended as a description of the present examples and is not intended to represent the only forms in which the present example may be constructed or utilized. The description sets forth the functions of the example and the sequence of steps for constructing and operating the example. However, the same or equivalent functions and sequences may be accomplished by different examples.

Although the specification may refer to “an”, “one”, or “some” embodiment s) in several locations, this does not necessarily mean that each such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature may not apply to other embodiments. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments. Furthermore, words “comprising” and “including” should be understood as not limiting the described embodiments/examples to consist of only those features that have been mentioned and such embodiments/examples may contain also features/structures that have not been specifically mentioned.

Furthermore, although the numerative terminology, such as “first”, “second”, etc., may be used herein to describe various embodiments, elements, or features, it should be understood that these embodiments, elements, or features should not be limited by this numerative terminology. This numerative terminology is used herein only to distinguish one embodiment, element, or feature from another embodiment, element, or feature. For example, a first panel discussed below could be called a second panel, and vice versa, without departing from the teachings of the present disclosure.

In the following, different exemplifying embodiments will be described using, as an example of an access architecture to which the embodiments may be applied, a radio access architecture based on long term evolution advanced (LTE Advanced, LTE-A) or new radio (NR, 5G), without restricting the embodiments to such an architecture, however. The embodiments may also be applied to other kinds of communications networks having suitable means by adjusting parameters and procedures appropriately. Some examples of other options for suitable systems are the universal mobile telecommunications system (UMTS) radio access network (UTRAN or E-UTRAN), long term evolution (LTE, the same as E-UTRA), wireless local area network (WiAN or WiFi), worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX), Bluetooth®, personal communications services (PCS), ZigBee®, wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA), systems using ultra-wideband (UWB) technology, sensor networks, mobile ad-hoc networks (MANETs) and Internet Protocol multimedia subsystems (IMS) or any combination thereof.

FIG. 1 depicts examples of simplified system architectures only showing some elements and functional entities, all being logical units, whose implementation may differ from what is shown. The connections shown in FIG. 1 are logical connections; the actual physical connections may be different. It is apparent to a person skilled in the art that the system typically comprises also other functions and structures than those shown in FIG. 1.

The embodiments are not, however, restricted to the system given as an example but a person skilled in the art may apply the solution to other communication systems provided with necessary properties.

The example of FIG. 1 shows a part of an exemplifying radio access network 100. FIG. 1 shows user devices 101, 101’ configured to be in a wireless connection on one or more communication channels with a node 102. The node 102 is further connected to a core network 105. In one example, the node 102 may be an access node such as (e/g)NodeB providing or serving devices in a cell. In one example, the node 102 may be a non-3GPP access node. The physical link from a device to a (e/g)NodeB is called uplink or reverse link and the physical link from the (e/g)NodeB to the device is called downlink or forward link. It should be appreciated that (e/g)NodeBs or their functionalities may be implemented by using any node, host, server or access point etc. entity suitable for such a usage.

A communications system typically comprises more than one (e/g)NodeB in which case the (e/g)NodeBs may also be configured to communicate with one another over links, wired or wireless, designed for the purpose. These links may be used for signaling purposes. The (e/g)NodeB is a computing device configured to control the radio resources of communication system it is coupled to. The NodeB may also be referred to as a base station, an access point or any other type of interfacing device including a relay station capable of operating in a wireless environment. The (e/g)NodeB includes or is coupled to transceivers. From the transceivers of the (e/g)NodeB, a connection is provided to an antenna unit that establishes bi-directional radio links to devices. The antenna unit may comprise a plurality of antennas or antenna elements. The (e/g)NodeB is further connected to the core network 105 (CN or next generation core NGC). Depending on the system, the counterpart on the CN side can be a serving gateway (S-GW, routing and forwarding user data packets), packet data network gateway (P-GW), for providing connectivity of user devices (UEs) to external packet data networks, or mobile management entity (MME), or access and mobility management function (AMF), etc.

The user device (also called UE, user equipment, user terminal, terminal device, etc.) illustrates one type of an apparatus to which resources on the air interface are allocated and assigned, and thus any feature described herein with a user device may be implemented with a corresponding apparatus, such as a relay node. An example of such a relay node is a layer 3 relay (self-backhauling relay) towards the base station.

The user device typically refers to a device (e.g. a portable or non-portable computing device) that includes wireless mobile communication devices operating with or without a subscriber identification module (SIM), including, but not limited to, the following types of devices: a mobile station (mobile phone), smartphone, personal digital assistant (PDA), handset, device using a wireless modem (alarm or measurement device, etc.), laptop and/or touch screen computer, tablet, game console, notebook, and multimedia device. It should be appreciated that a device may also be a nearly exclusive uplink only device, of which an example is a camera or video camera loading images or video clips to a network. A device may also be a device having capability to operate in Internet of Things (loT) network which is a scenario in which objects are provided with the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction, e.g., to be used in smart power grids and connected vehicles. The user device may also utilize cloud. In some applications, a user device may comprise a user portable device with radio parts (such as a watch, earphones, eyeglasses, other wearable accessories or wearables) and the computation is carried out in the cloud. The device (or in some embodiments a layer 3 relay node) is configured to perform one or more of user equipment functionalities. The user device may also be called a subscriber unit, mobile station, remote terminal, access terminal, user terminal or user equipment (UE) just to mention but a few names or apparatuses.

Various techniques described herein may also be applied to a cyber-physical system (CPS) (a system of collaborating computational elements controlling physical entities). CPS may enable the implementation and exploitation of massive amounts of interconnected ICT devices (sensors, actuators, processors microcontrollers, etc.) embedded in physical objects at different locations. Mobile cyber physical systems, in which the physical system in question has inherent mobility, are a subcategory of cyber-physical systems. Examples of mobile physical systems include mobile robotics and electronics transported by humans or animals.

Additionally, although the apparatuses have been depicted as single entities, different units, processors and/or memory units (not all shown in FIG. 1) may be implemented.

5G enables using multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) antennas, many more base stations or nodes than the LTE (a so-called small cell concept), including macro sites operating in co-operation with smaller stations and employing a variety of radio technologies depending on service needs, use cases and/or spectrum available. 5G mobile communications supports a wide range of use cases and related applications including video streaming, augmented reality, different ways of data sharing and various forms of machine type applications (such as (massive) machine-type communications (mMTC), including vehicular safety, different sensors and real-time control. 5G is expected to have multiple radio interfaces, namely below 6 GHz, cmWave and mmWave, and also being integrable with existing legacy radio access technologies, such as the LTE. Integration with the LTE may be implemented, at least in the early phase, as a system, where macro coverage is provided by the LTE and 5G radio interface access comes from small cells by aggregation to the LTE. In other words, 5G is planned to support both inter-RAT operability (such as LTE-5G) and inter-RI operability (inter-radio interface operability, such as below 6 GHz-cmWave, below 6 GHz-cmWave-mmWave). One of the concepts considered to be used in 5G networks is network slicing in which multiple independent and dedicated virtual sub-networks (network instances) may be created within the same infrastructure to run services that have different requirements on latency, reliability, throughput, and mobility.

The current architecture in LTE networks is fully distributed in the radio and fully centralized in the core network. The low latency applications and services in 5G require to bring the content close to the radio which leads to local break out and multi-access edge computing (MEC). 5G enables analytics and knowledge generation to occur at the source of the data. This approach requires leveraging resources that may not be continuously connected to a network such as laptops, smartphones, tablets, and sensors. MEC provides a distributed computing environment for application and service hosting. It also has the ability to store and process content in close proximity to cellular subscribers for faster response time. Edge computing covers a wide range of technologies such as wireless sensor networks, mobile data acquisition, mobile signature analysis, cooperative distributed peer- to-peer ad hoc networking and processing also classifiable as local cloud/fog computing and grid/mesh computing, dew computing, mobile edge computing, cloudlet, distributed data storage and retrieval, autonomic self-healing networks, remote cloud services, augmented and virtual reality, data caching, Internet of Things (massive connectivity and/or latency critical), critical communications (autonomous vehicles, traffic safety, real-time analytics, time-critical control, healthcare applications).

The communication system is also able to communicate with other networks, such as a public switched telephone network or the Internet 106, or utilize services provided by them. The communication network may also be able to support the usage of cloud services, for example at least part of core network operations may be carried out as a cloud service (this is depicted in FIG. 1 by “cloud” 107). The communication system may also comprise a central control entity, or a like, providing facilities for networks of different operators to cooperate for example in spectrum sharing.

The technology of Edge cloud may be brought into a radio access network (RAN) by utilizing network function virtualization (NVF) and software defined networking (SDN). Using the technology of edge cloud may mean access node operations to be carried out, at least partly, in a server, host or node operationally coupled to a remote radio head or base station comprising radio parts. It is also possible that node operations will be distributed among a plurality of servers, nodes, or hosts. Application of cloud RAN architecture enables RAN real time functions being carried out at the RAN side (in a distributed unit, DU 102) and non-real time functions being carried out in a centralized manner (in a centralized unit, CU 104).

It should also be understood that the distribution of labor between core network operations and base station operations may differ from that of the LTE or even be nonexistent. Some other technology advancements probably to be used are Big Data and all- IP, which may change the way networks are being constructed and managed. 5G (or new radio, NR) networks are being designed to support multiple hierarchies, where MEC servers can be placed between the core and the base station or nodeB (gNB). It should be appreciated that MEC can be applied in 4G networks as well.

5G may also utilize satellite communication to enhance or complement the coverage of 5G service, for example by providing backhauling. Possible use cases are providing service continuity for machine-to-machine (M2M) or Internet of Things (loT) devices or for passengers on board of vehicles, or ensuring service availability for critical communications, and future railway/maritime/aeronautical communications. Satellite communication may utilize geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite systems, but also low earth orbit (LEO) satellite systems, in particular mega-constellations (systems in which hundreds of (nano)satellites are deployed). Each satellite 103 in the mega-constellation may cover several satellite-enabled network entities that create on-ground cells. The on-ground cells may be created through an on-ground relay node 102 or by a gNB located on-ground or in a satellite.

It is obvious for a person skilled in the art that the depicted system is only an example of a part of a radio access system and in practice, the system may comprise a plurality of (e/g)NodeBs, the user device may have an access to a plurality of radio cells and the system may comprise also other apparatuses, such as physical layer relay nodes or other network elements, etc. At least one of the (e/g)NodeBs or may be a Home(e/g)NodeB. Additionally, in a geographical area of a radio communication system a plurality of different kinds of radio cells as well as a plurality of radio cells may be provided. Radio cells may be macro cells (or umbrella cells) which are large cells, usually having a diameter of up to tens of kilometers, or smaller cells such as micro-, femto- or picocells. The (e/g)NodeBs of FIG. 1 may provide any kind of these cells. A cellular radio system may be implemented as a multilayer network including several kinds of cells. Typically, in multilayer networks, one access node provides one kind of a cell or cells, and thus a plurality of (e/g)NodeBs are required to provide such a network structure.

For fulfilling the need for improving the deployment and performance of communication systems, the concept of “plug-and-play” (e/g)NodeBs has been introduced. Typically, a network which is able to use “plug-and-play” (e/g)NodeBs, includes, in addition to Home (e/g)NodeBs (H(e/g)NodeBs), a home node B gateway, or HNB-GW (not shown in FIG. 1). A HNB Gateway (HNB-GW), which is typically installed within an operator's network may aggregate traffic from a large number of HNBs back to a core network.

In 5G and beyond, it is envisaged that event-triggered beam reporting may be utilized for reducing overhead and/or latency. An apparatus configured to event-triggered reporting may be configured to utilize conditions to prevent outdated reporting, e.g., as described below with FIG. 2 and 3.

FIG. 2 illustrates an example functionality of an apparatus (UE) configured to enable conditions for managing event-triggered reporting according to an example embodiment.

Referring to FIG. 2, an event triggering a report is detected in operation 201 by the UE. The event may be, e.g., need for a beam switch due to orientation change of the UE, quality of the current beam degrading rapidly, or quality of a new beam being better than the current beam. The detection may comprise the UE monitoring reference signal (RS) to assess if a beam-reporting trigger condition has been met. The beam report may be a Channel State Information (CSI) report. It is determined in operation 202 whether a reporting condition is met. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise at least that a time period has passed after and/or is available before transmitting another report associated with a reference signal, wherein the detected event is associated with the same reference signal. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition is at least a time period having passed after and/or being available before transmitting another report associated with an event, wherein the detected event is the same as the event associated with the time period. In an example embodiment, the UE may not trigger a new report for the same event while the time is running (i.e., the event has been triggered). This behavior of the timer and/or the reporting condition may be reporting configuration specific. In an example embodiment, the other report associated with the reference signal may be an event-triggered report or event-triggered transmission occasion. In an example embodiment, the other report associated with the reference signal may be a non-event triggered report or non-event triggered transmission occasion. In an example embodiment, the time period may be obtained by the apparatus from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded time period.

In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise both that a first time period has passed after transmitting a first report associated with the reference signal and that a second time period is available before transmitting a second report associated with the reference signal. The first time period may have the same value as the second time period. In an example embodiment, the first time period and the second time period may be obtained by the apparatus from a network device or from a specification definition or as hard-coded time periods. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise that an uplink (UL) signal has been triggered by the UE to request UL resources for the report. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise that the UE has provisioned the report on UL resources. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise that the UE has generated the report.

In an example embodiment, the UE may be configured with one or more timers. A timer within the one or more timers may be configured for a specific event defined in a reporting configuration. A timer within the one or more timers may be configured for a specific event across configured reporting configurations. A timer within the one or more timers may be configured for a specific (event based) reporting configuration. A timer within the one or more timers may be configured for a specific set of (event based) reporting configurations.

Referring to FIG. 2, if the reporting condition is met (operation 202: yes), a timer is started in operation 204. In an example embodiment, the timer is associated with an event- triggered channel state information (CSI) report. In an example embodiment, starting the timer may comprise initializing the timer. The timer value may be expressed in, e.g., milliseconds, slots, or symbols. In an example embodiment, the timer may be configured to count time, a number of reporting occasions for the UE, a number of reporting instances, a number of reporting occasions per time, a number of reporting instances per time, a number of uplink signals to request resources per time, a number of uplink signals to indicate event per time, or a combination of one or more of the previous examples. The UE may obtain a timer value (threshold value for the timer) preceding to the starting of the timer. In an example embodiment, the timer value may be obtained by the apparatus from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded value. In an example embodiment, configuration of the event-triggered reporting may comprise the timer value. In an example embodiment, the timer value may be specific for a specific reporting configuration or for a specific event triggering the report. In an example embodiment, the UE may request the timer value from the network. In an example embodiment, the timer value may be predefined by specification or the network or it may be configured by the network. In an example embodiment, if the reporting condition is not met (operation 202: no), the event-triggered report is dropped or canceled in operation 203. In an example embodiment, the dropping or cancelling the report may refer to the UE not reporting the specific report or the UE cancelling the pending trigger to report the specific report.

In an example embodiment, the timer may be associated with a specific report. As an example, the timer may be report specific, i.e. the timer is associated with a generated report.

In an example embodiment, the timer may be associated with and/or configured for a specific event. As an example, the timer may be event identifier (ID) specific, i.e. the timer is associated with a configured event identifier. In an example embodiment, the timer may be associated with a specific event type. As an example, the event IDs having the same event type (e.g., threshold-based event or comparison of RSs type of event) may share a timer configuration.

In an example embodiment, the timer may be associated with a specific reporting configuration and/or a specific reporting setting.

In an example embodiment, the timer may be associated with and/or configured for a set of reporting configurations and/or a set of reporting settings.

In an example embodiment, a timer value may be configurable. The timer value may be configured by network.

In an example embodiment, when the timer is running the UE may not trigger a new report or an additional report for the same reporting configuration or reporting setting and/or for the same event. In one example, upon expiry of the timer the UE may trigger a report for the reporting setting/event (that is associated with the timer).

In an example embodiment, the timer may prevent the UE from reporting a new event triggered report for the same event or the same reporting configuration. As an example, when the timer is running the UE may not trigger a new report for the same event which has been triggered for the same reporting configuration). In an example embodiment, the timer may prevent the UE from reporting a new event triggered report for the one or more events or reporting configurations associated with the timer.

Referring to FIG. 2, it is determined in operation 205 whether the timer has expired. The expiring of the timer may be understood the elapsed time period from the starting of the timer meeting the timer value obtained by the UE. If the timer has expired (operation 205: yes), the event-triggered report is dropped or canceled in operation 203. In an example embodiment, dropping the report or canceling the report may comprise of the UE not generating the report. In an example embodiment, dropping the report or canceling the report may comprise not transmitting the report that has been generated (partially or wholly) and deleting the generated report. In an example embodiment, the dropping the report or canceling the report may comprise not performing measurement for the report.

Referring to FIG. 2, if the timer has not expired (operation 205: no), it is determined in operation 206 whether a stopping condition or a canceling condition is met. In one example a stopped timer may be restarted. In an example embodiment, the stopping condition may comprise a (new) timer being started or the current timer being restarted (i.e., with a configured value) for the same event (or reporting configuration/setting) that triggered the report. In an example embodiment, the stopping condition may comprise the event-triggered report being transmitted by the UE. In an example embodiment, the stopping condition may comprise a response for the transmitted report being received by the UE. If the stopping condition is met (operation 206: yes), the timer is stopped in operation 207. In an example embodiment, the stopping the timer in operation 207 may comprise re-initializing the timer value or deleting the timer. In an example embodiment, the stopping the timer may comprise restarting the timer. In an example embodiment, the canceling condition may comprise a new timer being started for the same event that triggered the report. In an example embodiment, the canceling condition may comprise the event-triggered report being transmitted by the UE. In an example embodiment, the canceling condition may comprise a response for the transmitted report being received by the UE. If the canceling condition is met (operation 206: yes), the timer is canceled in operation 207. In an example embodiment, the canceling the counter may comprise reinitializing the timer value or deleting the timer. If the stopping condition or the canceling condition is not met (operation 206: no), the process continues by determining in operation 205 whether the timer is expired. FIG. 3 illustrates a signaling diagram according to an example of information exchange in a communication network configured to enable conditions for event-triggered reporting. In FIG. 3 term “RAN” is used for the network, which may be, e.g., a gNB or a distributed access node, comprising, e.g., a centralized unit (CU) and a distributed unit (DU) enabling RAN real time functions being carried out at the RAN side (in the DU) and non-real time functions being carried out in a centralized manner (in the CU). Term “UE” is used for an apparatus, or a subset of apparatuses configured to enable event-triggered reporting.

Referring to FIG. 3, the UE detects an event triggering a report (block 3-1). The reporting condition is assessed in block 3-2 by the UE. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise at least that a time period has passed after and/or is available before transmitting another report associated with a reference signal, wherein the detected event triggering the report is associated with the same reference signal. In an example embodiment, the other report associated with the reference signal may be an event- triggered report or an event-triggered transmission occasion. In an example embodiment, the other report associated with the reference signal may be a non-event triggered report or a non-event triggered transmission occasion. In an example embodiment, the time period may be obtained by the apparatus from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded time period. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise both that a first time period has passed after transmitting a first report associated with the reference signal and that a second time period is available before transmitting a second report associated with the reference signal. The first time period may have the same value as the second time period. In an example embodiment, the first time period and the second time period may be obtained by the apparatus from a network device or from a specification definition or as hard-coded time periods. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise that an uplink (UL) signal has been triggered by the UE to request UL resources for the report. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise that the UE has provisioned the report on UL resources. In an example embodiment, the reporting condition may comprise that the UE has generated the report.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the reporting condition is met, the UE requests UL resources from the RAN for the report (message 3-3). Additionally, the UE may send the detected event ID along with the request. The UE obtains the timer value from the RAN (message 3-4). In an example embodiment, the timer value may be obtained by the apparatus from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded value. In an example embodiment, configuration of the event-triggered reporting may comprise the timer value for the timer. In an example embodiment, the timer value for the timer may be specific for a specific reporting configuration or for a specific event triggering the report. In an example embodiment, the UE may request the timer value from the network. In an example embodiment, the timer value may be predefined by specification or the network or it may be configured by the network. The UE starts the timer in block 3-5. It is determined in block 3-6 that the timer has not yet expired, before the UE sends the report to the RAN (message 3-7). The RAN transmits to the UE an acknowledgement of the transmitted report (message 3-8). The UE assesses in block 3-9 that the stopping condition or the canceling condition is met and then stops or cancels in block 3-10 the timer.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example embodiment of an apparatus 400 configured to practice one or more example embodiments. The apparatus 400 may comprise, e.g., a base station, a gNB, a terminal apparatus, a user node, a user equipment, a cloud node, or in general a device configured to implement the functionality described herein. Although the apparatus 400 is illustrated as a single device, it is appreciated that, wherever applicable, functions of the apparatus 400 may be distributed to a plurality of devices.

The apparatus 400 may comprise at least one processor 402. The at least one processor 402 may comprise, for example, one or more of various processing devices or processor circuitry, such as for example a co-processor, a microprocessor, a controller, a digital signal processor (DSP), a processing circuitry with or without an accompanying DSP, or various other processing devices including integrated circuits such as, for example, an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array (FPGA), a microcontroller unit (MCU), a hardware accelerator, a special-purpose computer chip, or the like.

The apparatus 400 may further comprise at least one memory 404. The at least one memory 404 may be configured to store, for example, computer program code or the like, for example operating system software and application software. The at least one memory 404 may comprise one or more volatile memory devices, one or more non-volatile memory devices, and/or a combination thereof. For example, the at least one memory 404 may be embodied as magnetic storage devices (such as hard disk drives, floppy disks, magnetic tapes, etc.), optical magnetic storage devices, or semiconductor memories (such as mask ROM, PROM (programmable ROM), EPROM (erasable PROM), flash ROM, RAM (random access memory), etc.). The apparatus 400 may further comprise a communication interface 408 configured to enable the apparatus 400 to transmit and/or receive information to/from other devices. In one example, the apparatus 400 may use the communication interface 408 to transmit or receive signaling information and data in accordance with at least one data communication or cellular communication protocol. The communication interface 408 may be configured to provide at least one wireless radio connection, such as, for example, a 3 GPP mobile broadband connection (e.g., 3G, 4G, 5G, 6G etc.). The communication interface 408 may comprise, or be configured to be coupled to, at least one antenna to transmit and/or receive radio frequency signals. One or more of the various types of connections may be also implemented as separate communication interfaces, which may be coupled or configured to be coupled to one or more of a plurality of antennas. The communication interface 408 may comprise a receiver, a transmitter, or a transceiver.

When the apparatus 400 is configured to implement some functionality, some component and/or components of the apparatus 400, such as for example the at least one processor 402 and/or the at least one memory 404, may be configured to implement this functionality. Furthermore, when the at least one processor 402 is configured to implement some functionality, this functionality may be implemented using program code 406 comprised, for example, in the at least one memory 404.

The functionality described herein may be performed, at least in part, by one or more computer program product components such as for example software components. According to an example embodiment, the apparatus 400 may comprise a processor or processor circuitry, such as for example a microcontroller, configured by the program code when executed to execute the embodiments of the operations and functionality described. The program code 406 is provided as an example of instructions which, when executed by the at least one processor 402, cause performance of apparatus. Alternatively, or additionally, the functionality described herein can be performed, at least in part, by one or more hardware logic components. For example, and without limitation, illustrative types of hardware logic components that can be used include Field-programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), application-specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), application-specific Standard Products (ASSPs), System-on-a-chip systems (SOCs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), Graphics Processing Units (GPUs).

The apparatus 400 may be configured to perform or cause performance of any aspect of the method(s) described herein. Further, a computer program may comprise instructions for causing, when executed, an apparatus to perform any aspect of the method(s) described herein. The computer program may be stored on a computer-readable medium. Further, the apparatus 400 may comprise means for performing any aspect of the method(s) described herein. In one example, the means may comprise the at least one processor 402, the at least one memory 404 including the program code 406 (instructions) configured to, when executed by the at least one processor 402, cause the apparatus 400 to perform the method(s). In general, computer program instructions may be executed on means providing generic processing functions. The method(s) may be thus computer- implemented, for example, algorithm(s) executable by the generic processing functions, an example of which is the at least one processor 402. The means may comprise transmission and/or reception means, for example one or more radio transmitters or receivers, which may be coupled or be configured to be coupled to one or more antennas, or transmitter(s) or receiver(s) of a wired communication interface.

As used in this application, the term ‘circuitry’ refers to all of the following: (a) hardware-only circuit implementations, such as implementations in only analog and/or digital circuitry, and (b) combinations of circuits and soft-ware (and/or firmware), such as (as applicable): (i) a combination of processor(s) or (ii) portions of processor(s)/software including digital signal processor(s), software, and memory(ies) that work together to cause an apparatus to perform various functions, and (T) circuits, such as a microprocessor(s) or a portion of a microprocessor s), that require software or firmware for operation, even if the software or firmware is not physically present. This definition of ‘circuitry’ applies to all uses of this term in this application. As a further example, as used in this application, the term ‘circuitry’ would also cover an implementation of merely a processor (or multiple processors) or a portion of a processor and its (or their) accompanying software and/or firmware. The term ‘circuitry’ would also cover, for example and if applicable to the particular element, a baseband integrated circuit or applications processor integrated circuit for a mobile device or a similar integrated circuit in a sensor, a cellular network device, or another network device.

Although the subject matter has been described in language specific to structural features and/or acts, it is to be understood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is not necessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above. Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed as example embodiments of implementing the claims and other equivalent features and acts are intended to be within the scope of the claims. It will be understood that the benefits and advantages described above may relate to one example embodiment or may relate to several example embodiments. The example embodiments are not limited to those that solve any or all of the stated problems or those that have any or all of the stated benefits and advantages. It will further be understood that reference to 'an' item may refer to one or more of those items.

The blocks or operations of the methods or functionalities described herein may be carried out in any suitable order, or simultaneously where appropriate. Additionally, individual blocks or operations may be deleted from any of the methods without departing from the scope of the subject matter described herein. Aspects of any of the example embodiments described above may be combined with aspects of any of the other example embodiments described to form further example embodiments without losing the effect sought.

It will be understood that the above description is given by way of example embodiments only and that various modifications may be made by those skilled in the art. The above specification, example embodiments and data provide a complete description of the structure and use of exemplary embodiments. Although various example embodiments have been described above with a certain degree of particularity, or with reference to one or more individual embodiments, those skilled in the art could make numerous alterations to the disclosed example embodiments without departing from scope of this specification.

Claims

1. An apparatus comprising: at least one processor; and at least one memory including computer program code; the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus at least to perform: detecting an event triggering a report; determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition is met; starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer; and determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the timer is associated with an event- triggered channel state information report.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the reporting condition is at least a time period having passed after and/or being available before transmitting another report associated with a reference signal, wherein the detected event is associated with said reference signal.

4. An apparatus according to claim 3, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: obtaining the time period from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded time period.

5. An apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the time period is specified or configured according to at least one of: time, number of reporting occasions, number of reporting instances, number of reporting occasions per time, number of reporting instances per time, number of uplink signals to request resources per time, or number of uplink signals to indicate event per time.

6. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 5, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: determining, after starting the timer, whether a stopping condition or a canceling condition is met; stopping, in response to the stopping condition being met, the timer, and canceling, in response to the canceling condition being met, the timer.

7. An apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the stopping condition is at least one of: a new timer being started for the same event, the event-triggered report being transmitted, and a response for the transmitted report being received.

8. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 7, wherein the timer is configured according to at least one of: time, number of reporting occasions, number of reporting instances, number of reporting occasions per time, number of reporting instances per time, number of uplink signals to request resources per time, or number of uplink signals to indicate event per time.

9. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 8, wherein the determining to drop the event-triggered report comprises at least one of: determining not to perform measurement for the event-triggered report; determining not to generate the event-triggered report; and determining to drop the generated event-triggered report.

10. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 9, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: obtaining a timer value from a network device or from a specification definition or as a hard-coded value.

11. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 10, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: starting the timer in response to at least one of: transmitting an uplink channel or a signal requesting uplink resources for the event- triggered report or triggering the event-triggered report, generating the event-triggered report, transmitting the event-triggered report.

12. An apparatus according to any of claims 1 to 11, the at least one memory and the computer program code configured to, with the at least one processor, cause the apparatus further to perform: determining, in response to the reporting condition not being met, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

13. A computer-implemented method comprising: detecting an event triggering a report; determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition is met; starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer; and determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

14. A computer-readable medium comprising program instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: detecting an event triggering a report; determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition for reporting is met; starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer; and determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.

15. A computer program comprising instructions for causing an apparatus to perform at least the following: detecting an event triggering a report; determining, in response to the detecting the event, whether a reporting condition for reporting is met; starting, in response to the reporting condition being met, a timer; and determining, in response to the timer expiring, to drop or to cancel the event-triggered report.