Patent Description:
The present disclosure generally relates to the field of wireless network communications, and more particularly relates to validating measurements used for timing advance (TA) validation and/or path loss (PL) estimation, where the TA validation and/or PL estimation is used for uplink transmissions.

Members of the <NUM>rd-Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) have been specifying technologies to cover Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and/or Internet of Things (IoT) -related use cases. Recent work for 3GPP Release <NUM> and <NUM> includes enhancements to support Machine-Type Communications (MTC) with new user equipment (UE) categories (Cat-M1, Cat-M2), supporting reduced bandwidth of six physical resource blocks (PRBs) (up to <NUM> PRBs for Cat-M2), and Narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) UEs providing a new radio interface (and UE categories, Cat-NB1 and Cat-NB2).

The Long Term Evolution (LTE) enhancements introduced in 3GPP Release <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM> for MTC may be referred to as "eMTC", including (not limiting) support for bandwidth limited UEs, Cat-M1, and support for coverage enhancements. This is to separate discussion from NB-IoT (notation here used for any Release), although the supported features are similar on a general level.

There are multiple differences between "legacy" LTE and the procedures and channels defined for eMTC and for NB-IoT. Some important differences include a new physical channel, such as the physical downlink control channels, called MPDCCH (MTC physical downlink control channel) in eMTC and NPDCCH (narrowband physical downlink control channel) in NB-IoT, and a new physical random access channel for NB-IoT (NPRACH). Another important difference is the coverage level (also known as coverage enhancement level) that these technologies can support. By applying repetitions to the transmitted signals and channels, both eMTC and NB-IoT allow UE operation down to a much lower signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) level compared to LTE, i.e., Es/IoT ≥ -<NUM> dB being the lowest operating point for eMTC and NB-IoT that can be compared to - <NUM> dB Es/IoT for "legacy" LTE.

In Release <NUM> of the 3GPP specifications, NB-IoT and eMTC enhancements include a new feature called transmission in preconfigured uplink resources (PUR) in idle and/or connected mode. The UE is allocated with PUR resources during Radio Resource Control (RRC) connected state and is also assigned a Timing Advance (TA) value by the serving cell. The PUR resources can be of different types, namely dedicated, contention-free shared or contention-based shared PUR resources. A PUR resource is defined as a physical channel resource, such as a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) resource. That is, it is a resource allocated in both time and frequency domains. In the case of NB-IoT, a PUR resource is the same as the NB-IoT PUSCH (NPUSCH) resource. For Cat-M, it is the same as a PUSCH resource comprising six PRBs (e.g., for UE category M1) or <NUM> RBs (e.g. for UE category M2). Analogous to PUSCH and NPUSCH, repetitions can also be used for PUR transmissions, which is especially the case when operating under extended coverage.

The UE uses the preconfigured TA value when transmitting using the PUR resources in idle state provided the serving cell does not change. If the serving cell changes, then the PUR resources and TA value from the old serving cell become invalid. In addition, the UE can also be configured to check the validity of the TA value based on the changes in the signal strength (e.g., Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) in MTC or NRSRP in NB-IoT). The UE is allowed to transmit using PUR only if the preconfigured TA value is valid, in that the signal conditions at the time of transmission are similar to those at the time the TA was configured. For example, if the magnitude of the difference between the measured signal strength (e.g., RSRP) at the time of transmission using PUR and the measured signal strength (e.g., RSRP) when the TA value was configured is below certain threshold, then the UE assumes that the preconfigured TA value is valid. If the TA value is valid, then the UE is allowed to use the PUR resources for transmission; otherwise, the UE should not carryout transmission using PUR.

For MTC, tThe setting of the UE Transmit power for a PUSCH transmission is defined as follows. If the UE transmits PUSCH without a simultaneous PUCCH for the serving cell c, then the UE transmit power PPUSCH,c(i) for PUSCH transmission in subframe/slot/subslot i for the serving cell c is given by: <MAT>.

If the UE transmits PUSCH simultaneous with PUCCH for the serving cell c, then the UE transmit power PPUSCH,c(i) for the PUSCH transmission in subframe/slot/subslot i for the serving cell c is given by: <MAT>.

If the UE is not transmitting PUSCH for the serving cell c, for the accumulation of TPC command received with DCI format <NUM>/3A for PUSCH, the UE shall assume that the UE transmit power PPUSCH,c(i) for the PUSCH transmission in subframe i for the serving cell c is computed by: <MAT>.

For NB-IOT, the UE transmit power PNPUSCH,c(i) for NPUSCH transmission in NB-IoT UL slot i for the serving cell cis given by:
For NPUSCH (re)transmissions corresponding to the random access response grant if enhanced random access power control is not applied, and for all other NPUSCH transmissions, when the number of repetitions of the allocated NPUSCH RUs is greater than two: <MAT> otherwise <MAT>.

In particular, for both MTC and NB-IoT, there is an element in the power control algorithms that depends on signal strength measurements such as RSRP and NRSP measurements. This element is the path loss estimate, which is defined below, for MTC and NB-IOT.

For MTC, PLc is the downlink path loss estimate calculated in the UE for serving cell c in dB and PLc = referenceSignalPower - higher layer filtered RSRP, where referenceSignalPower is provided by higher layers and RSRP is defined for the reference serving cell and the higher layer filter configuration is defined for the reference serving cell.

For NB-IoT, PLc is the downlink path loss estimate calculated in the UE for serving cell c in dB and PLc = nrs-Power + nrs-PowerOffsetNonAnchor - NRSRP, where nrs-Power is provided by higher layers, and nrs-powerOffsetNonAnchor is set to zero if it is not provided by higher layers and NRSRP is defined for serving cell c.

In LTE, a discontinuous reception (DRX) cycle is used to enable a UE to save its battery. The DRX cycle is used in RRC idle state but it can also be used in RRC connected state. Examples of lengths of DRX cycles currently used in RRC idle state <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>. Examples of lengths of DRX cycles currently used in RRC connected state may range from <NUM> to <NUM>. The enhanced DRX (eDRX) cycles are expected to be very long, e.g., ranging from several seconds to several minutes and even up to one or more hours. Typical values of eDRX cycles may be between <NUM>-<NUM> minutes.

The DRX cycle is configured by the network node and is characterized by the following parameters:.

On duration: During the on duration of the DRX cycle, a timer called 'onDurationTimer', which is configured by the network node, is running. This timer specifies the number of consecutive control channel subframes (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH subframes) at the beginning of a DRX Cycle. It is also interchangeably called DRX ON period. More specifically, it is the duration in downlink subframes after the UE wakes up from DRX to receive the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH). If the UE successfully decodes the control channel (e.g. PDCCH, ePDCCH) during the ON duration, then the UE starts a drx-inactivity timer (see below) and stays awake until its expiry. When the onDurationTimer is running the UE is considered to be in DRX state of the DRX cycle.

drx-inactivity timer: It specifies the number of consecutive control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH) subframes after the subframe in which a control channel (e.g., PDCCH) indicates an initial UL or DL user data transmission for this Medium Access Control (MAC) entity. It is also configured by the network node. When the drx-inactivity timer is running, the UE is considered to be in non-DRX state, i.e., no DRX is used.

Active time: This time is the duration during which the UE monitors the control channel (e.g., PDCCH, ePDCCH). In other words, this is the total duration during which the UE is awake. This includes the "on-duration" of the DRX cycle, the time during which the UE is performing continuous reception while the inactivity timer has not expired and the time the UE is performing continuous reception while waiting for a DL retransmission after one Hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) round trip time (RTT). The minimum active time is equal to the length of an on duration, and the maximum active time is undefined (infinite).

An example of the DRX ON and DRX OFF durations of the DRX cycle is shown in <FIG>. An example of DRX operation with more detailed parameters in LTE is illustrated in <FIG>. DRX configuration herein may also be an enhanced or extended DRX (eDRX) configuration. In legacy DRX related procedures, the UE can be configured with a DRX cycle length of up to <NUM> seconds. But, UEs supporting extended DRX (eDRX) can be configured with a DRX cycle at least longer than <NUM> seconds and typically much longer than <NUM> seconds, i.e., on the order of several seconds to several minutes. The eDRX configuration parameters include an eDRX cycle length and paging window length, also known as paging time window (PTW) length, etc. Within a PTW of the eDRX, the UE is further configured with one or more legacy DRX cycles. 3GPP contribution <NPL>, discloses a validation mechanism for timing advance (TA). 3GPP contribution <NPL>, discloses a validation mechanism for timing advance (TA). 3GPP contribution <NPL>, discloses a validation mechanism for timing advance (TA).

There are problems involving the TA. Transmission in RRC_IDLE mode using preconfigured uplink resources is realized by the UE obtaining a TA command in the time when TA was obtained and the second one of which is performed around the time when the validation is performed. Moreover, the power control algorithms of both MTC and NB-IoT make use of a pathloss (PL) estimate to determine the uplink transmit power, where this PL is also estimated from RRM measurements. A problem with this behavior is that the measurement window is undefined, leading to ambiguous UE behavior and the possibility that the measurements used for TA validation and to estimate PL are quite old. In this case, these measurements may not reflect the actual radio conditions of the UE, for various reasons such as UE mobility, change of surrounding environment, UE timing drift, etc. Using such measurements for TA validation can result in an incorrect TA validation outcome and the wrong PL estimate.

The aspects of the present invention are defined by the appended independent claims. Embodiments described herein are directed to addressing the issues that can lead to an incorrect TA validation outcome and the wrong PL estimate. According to some embodiments related to a wireless device (e.g., UE), the TA validation process and PL estimates are adapted at the UE based on the availability of the measurements at the UE. Adapting the TA validation process and PL estimates has an impact on the intended transmission (e.g., a PUR transmission), which may allow the UE to carry out the transmission or to postpone or drop the PUR transmission. The adapting may include comparing the available measurements to a set of measurement rules specifying whether or not they can be used for TA validation, PL estimation for power control, or PL change estimation. (See <FIG>. ) If the measurements are not valid (e.g., not taken within certain ranges of time), then the transmission may be deferred or dropped, or other measurements may be taken.

According to claim <NUM>, that is a first aspect, a method performed by a wireless device for performing an uplink transmission, such as an idle-mode uplink transmission using PUR, includes determining whether a serving-cell signal measurement M2 was completed within a predetermined range of time before and no later than a reference time T2, where the reference time T2 corresponds to an uplink transmission opportunity. The method further includes, responsive to determining that the serving-cell signal measurement M2 was not completed within the predetermined range of time, either deferring transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or dropping the uplink transmission, or collecting an additional serving-cell measurement M2' that falls within the predetermined range of time, for use in validating a TA for transmitting at the transmission opportunity and/or for estimating a PL for power control of a transmission at the transmission opportunity.

Further aspects of the present invention are defined in independent claims <NUM>, <NUM>, <NUM> and <NUM>.

Advantages of the embodiments include that TA validation is more reliable when the measurements used for TA validation better represent the time when TA was received and TA validation is performed. Other advantages include a higher probability that a receiving node can receive the transmissions. When these techniques are applied to PUR transmissions, this in turn makes better usage of PUR resources.

Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which examples of embodiments of inventive concepts are shown. Components from one embodiment can be tacitly assumed to be present/used in another embodiment. Any two or more embodiments described in this document may be combined with each other. The embodiments are described with respect to LTE or NR, but can be adapted in other radio access technologies where the techniques or selections may be relevant.

Embodiments described herein are directed to validating measurements used for TA validation and/or PL estimation. When this validation is performed in connection with PUR transmissions, this leads to better use of preconfigured resources (PUR).

In some embodiments described herein, the more general term "network node" is used. This termcan correspond to any type of radio network node or any network node that communicates with a UE and/or with another network node. Examples of network nodes are NodeB, MeNB, SeNB, a network node belonging to MCG or SCG, base station (BS), multistandard radio (MSR) radio node such as MSR BS, eNodeB, gNodeB, network controller, radio network controller (RNC), base station controller (BSC), relay, donor node controlling relay, base transceiver station (BTS), access point (AP), transmission points, transmission nodes, 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), MDT, test equipment (physical node or software), etc..

In some embodiments the non-limiting term user equipment (UE) or wireless device is used. As used herein, this term refers to any type of wireless device communicating with a network node and/or with another UE in a cellular or mobile communication system. Examples of UE are target device, device to device (D2D) UE, machine type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, PDA, PAD, Tablet, mobile terminals, smart phone, laptop embedded equipped (LEE), laptop mounted equipment (LME), USB dongles, ProSe UE, V2V UE, V2X UE, etc..

The embodiments are described for LTE e.g. MTC and NB-IoT. However, the embodiments are applicable to any RAT or multi-RAT systems, where the UE receives and/or transmit signals (e.g. data) e.g. LTE FDD/TDD, WCDMA/HSPA, GSM/GERAN, Wi Fi, WLAN, CDMA2000, <NUM>, NR, etc..

The term "time resource" as used herein may correspond to any type of physical resource or radio resource expressed in terms of length of time. Examples of time resources are: symbol, mini-slot, time slot, subframe, radio frame, TTI, short TTI, interleaving time, etc..

In a scenario comprising a UE served by a first cell, which may be referred to as "celll," cell1 is managed or served or operated by a network node (NW1), e.g. a base station. The UE operates in a certain coverage enhancement (CE) level with respect to a certain cell, e.g., with respect to cell1. The UE is configured to receive signals (e.g., paging, WUS, NPDCCH, MPDCCH, NPDSCH, PDSCH etc) from at least cell1. The UE may further be configured to perform one or more measurements on cell1 and on one or more additional cells, e.g., neighbor cells.

Several embodiments related to a wireless device (e.g., UE) operating under cell1 served by network node NW1 will be described. According to some embodiments, in a first step, the UE obtains information about PUR configuration at time instance T1. This information may comprise, but is not limited to, any or all of the following: whether or not the UE is PUR capable; whether or not the UE is assigned any PUR transmission resources, e.g., periodic, aperiodic resources; a TA value associated with PUR configuration; and PUR resources that can be of different types, namely dedicated, contention-free shared or contention-based shared PUR resource. The obtained information about PUR configuration may comprise, for example, the PUR transmission periodicity (e.g., a PUR transmission resource taking place every Nth millisecond and for a duration of M milliseconds), a PUR start position, and timing advance information with respect to the target cell. The PUR transmission resource may comprise one or more time-frequency resources (e.g., resource blocks, subcarriers, etc).

The received configuration may further comprise information about the TA validation method to use, e.g.: whether the UE is required to validate the TA prior to PUR transmission using RRM measurements on cell1; whether TA is always assumed to be valid in cell1; or whether UE is configured to use any timer (e.g., TAT) related to TA, e.g., such that TA is assumed to be valid until timer expires. The embodiment described here may be under the assumption that the UE has been configured to use TA validation based on serving cell measurement changes.

In a second step, the UE associates a first measurement (M1) with T1, following a set of rules. According to a first aspect of these rules, M1 is performed by the UE on signals transmitted by the serving cell closely in time to T1 as much as possible, because the intention is to reflect the actual radio conditions of the UE with respect to cell1 at time instance T1. This is exemplified in <FIG> where T1 is assumed to be the reference time when UE obtained the PUR configuration including the TA value. In another example, T1 corresponds to the time UE obtains the updated TA from NW1, e.g., it can be obtained in the retransmission grant, or L1 ACK, or L2/L3 ACK, transmitted in response to the PUR transmission. T1' is the actual time at which M1 is performed on the serving cell by the UE. More specifically, the UE has completed M1 at time instance T1'. The measurement M1 is performed over a duration ΔT1 using N samples where N >= <NUM>. The UE may typically obtain one sample per DRX cycle. The measurement period is also interchangeably called as L1 measurement period, evaluation period, measurement time, etc..

According to the rule applicable to some embodiments, the UE is allowed to use M1 for TA validation only if T1 and T1' are closely spaced in time with respect to each other. For example, M1 is allowed to be used for the TA validation provided that the magnitude of the difference between T1 and T1' is within a certain margin. In one specific example, the UE is allowed to use M1 for TA validation only if the following condition is met: <MAT> For the special case when T01=T02 then: <MAT>.

This principle is illustrated in <FIG>, where T1' is the time instance at which if M1 is completed by the UE, then it is considered valid. This means M1 can start earlier than T1-T01 or T1+T02 but the last sample used for filtering and the final measured value is available within the range in (<NUM>). In other words, the measurements may have started earlier than T1-T01 or T1+T02, but the final sample and the measured value is available at the UE within the range (<NUM>). In some cases, T01=T02.

If the condition in (<NUM>) is fulfilled, then the UE is allowed to use such a measurement (M1) to represent measurement at T1 and use it later for TA validation and/or to provide a PL estimate. However, if the above condition is not fulfilled, then the UE is required to perform a new measurement that can better represent the measurement conditions of T1 and store it for later use for TA validation and/or to provide a PL estimate.

Since PUR transmissions typically consist of small amount of data, and they are transmitted directly from inactive state (e.g., RRC_IDLE state), the UE achieves improved power consumption by not switching to RRC_CONNECTED state for the transmission purpose. Likewise, in order to improve the power consumption further, the UE is not required to perform any dedicated measurement for TA validation purpose. However, it is important that the measurement used for TA validation can fulfill the condition in (<NUM>). With this rule, the UE has the freedom to use any available measurements that are available at the UE (which helps the UE reduce the power consumption), but at the same time, it ensures that the measurement is not outdated. If the UE can fulfill the condition in (<NUM>), it means the measurement is at maximum -T01 or +T02 old, and the radio conditions are not likely to change very much within this short duration. Hence, the UE is allowed to use M1 performed at T1' to represent the radio conditions at T1.

In a third step, the UE associates a second measurement (M2) with T2, following another set of rules. T2 is the reference time when the UE is performing TA validation or determining a change in path loss using the two measurements M1 that is obtained from the previous step and M2 obtained as described below. M2 is also performed by the UE on signals transmitted by the serving cell, and it can be used on its own to estimate the PL term in the power control algorithms of both MTC and NB-IoT as to determine the UL transmit power. It is assumed that M2 is actually performed by the UE by time instance T2'. This means that by time T2', the UE has completed the measurement even though the measurement has started before T2', e.g., T2'-ΔT2 where ΔT2 = M2 measurement period during which UE performs the measured value based on N samples where N>=<NUM>. The UE may also typically obtain one sample per DRX cycle. In other words, the last sample used for filtering of M2 is already available and the filtered measurement is available for use prior to reference time T2. This is a key difference compared to M1, where the UE is allowed to take the measurement of both T01 time units before and T02 time units after T1. In this case, since TA validation is actually performed at T2, there is no point in waiting for measurement which is going to be available in future. Therefore, as a general rule, M2 is considered to be valid for the TA validation method provided that M2 is completed by the UE latest by T2 but not earlier than time instance (T2-Tx). <FIG> illustrates rules for associating M2 with T2 prior to TA validation.

More specifically, M2 is considered a valid measurement for the TA validation method if it fulfills the following condition: <MAT> Otherwise M2 is considered invalid, in which case the UE may need to perform a new measurement that meets the above condition, or it may delay the PUR transmission until any future PUR transmission opportunity, which occurs at least T3 time units after T2, or it may drop PUR and fallback to legacy RACH/EDT.

In a fourth step, according to some embodiments, the UE carries out the TA validation and/or path loss estimate(s) provided that the measurements (M1 and M2) obtained from step <NUM> and <NUM> are considered to be valid, e.g., if M1 and M2 are fulfilling the conditions in (<NUM>) and (<NUM>) respectively. For example, if both M1 and M2 measurements are both valid, then the UE may compare them with respect to each other and based on their comparison may decide whether TA is valid or not. For example, if the magnitude of the difference between M1 and M2 is less than a certain threshold (G) then the UE may assume that the TA is valid; otherwise, it is invalid. The UE may also be configured to use one or more additional methods for validating the TA, e.g., based on the cell change.

If the UE is configured to use only signal strength-based TA validation method (based on M1 and M2 relation), and if the TA is determined to be valid based on the signal strength, then the UE can use the TA for the PUR transmission; otherwise, the UE does not use the TA for the PUR transmission. If at least one of the M1 and M2 measurements is invalid, then the UE may not even use M1 and M2 for validating the TA. In this case the UE will not use the TA for the PUR transmission or it may need perform new dedicated measurement for TA validation purpose.

Another embodiment related to the wireless device will be described. The method in this embodiment may involve the wireless device (UE) receiving the PUR configuration and obtaining the information about the reference time T1 that corresponds to the time when the TA was obtained from the network node. The method may further include determining the reference time T2, i.e., when the UE is expected to perform the TA validation. The method includes comparing T1 and T2, and, based on the results of the comparison, taking any of following actions: carrying out the TA validation using M1 and M2 provided that |T1-T2| ≥ X, or postponing the PUR transmission by T3, or dropping the PUR transmission (as described in the previous embodiment).

According to a first step in a method according to this embodiment, the UE receives the PUR configuration that includes the TA. From this information, UE knows the reference time of T1. In a second step, the UE determines the reference time T2 at which the UE is expected to perform the TA validation and/or to provide a PL estimate for PUR transmission. T2 can be obtained explicitly or implicitly from the PUR configuration. For example, from the obtained PUR configuration, the UE knows when the UE is expected to wake up and transmit data. Alternatively, if it has been configured with aperiodic PUR reporting then the UE should have the information about when data has been triggered or when data is available for transmission. For example, when data is available in the UE buffer, the UE can determine when the PUR transmission is expected and before that (at T2) the UE has to perform TA validation and/or to provide a PL estimate. Thus, T2 is known to the UE. Moreover, M2 associated with T2 can be used on its own to estimate the PL term in the power control algorithms of both MTC and NB-IoT as to determine the UL transmit power.

In a third step, the UE compares the values of T1 and T2 that are obtained in the previous steps and carries out the TA validation or change in path loss based on the results of the comparison. For example, the UE is required to use M1 and M2 measurements performed by time instances T1' and by T2' respectively (i.e., according to the conditions described in the second and third steps respectively) provided that T1 and T2 are related by a certain function; otherwise, the UE is allowed to use any measurements available at the UE for the TA validation method and/or PL estimates. Examples of this function are the difference between T1 and T2, a comparison between T1 and T2, a weighted comparison, etc. For example, if the magnitude of the difference between T1 and T2 is larger than a certain threshold X, then the UE is required to use M1 and M2 measurements (where M1 and M2 are as described in earlier section) for the TA validation: <MAT> Otherwise, if the above condition is not met (i.e., |T1-T2|<X), then, in one example, the UE is allowed to use any measurements available at the UE for the TA validation. The rationale is that if T1 and T2 are largely separated in time then the radio conditions can vary a lot between these two reference times and then using M1 and M2 which are performed closely in time to T1 and T2 respectively) (e.g., by T1' and T2' respectively) can make TA validation and/or pathloss estimates more reliable. But if T1 and T2 are close in time, then radio conditions at T1 and T2 may not be significantly different with respect to each other. Therefore, the UE can use any available measurements. If the UE does not have available measurements (e.g., M1 and M2 are not available) or measurements are not reliable then the UE can also avoid carrying out TA validation method. Therefore, in the latter case it is better not to use TA validation based on such measurements at all. Alternatively, the UE can be allowed to use the TA validation method based on another method (e.g., serving cell measurement change), but in this case, the UE should perform dedicated measurements at T1 and T2. This will make the TA validation more reliable compared to performing M1 and M2 close in time to T1 and T2. Other options if the UE cannot fulfill the conditions in (<NUM>) would be to postpone the transmission by a certain time unit (T3) or to drop the transmission.

<FIG> illustrates an example wireless device <NUM> (e.g., UE) that is configured to perform the techniques described herein for the UE. The wireless device <NUM> may also be considered to represent any wireless devices that may operate in a network and that are capable of communicating with a network node or another wireless device over radio signals. The wireless device <NUM> may also be referred to, in various contexts, as a radio communication device, a target device, a device-to-device (D2D) UE, a machine-type UE or UE capable of machine to machine (M2M) communication, a sensor-equipped UE, a PDA (personal digital assistant), a wireless tablet, a mobile terminal, a smart phone, laptop-embedded equipment (LEE), laptop-mounted equipment (LME), a wireless USB dongle, a Customer Premises Equipment (CPE), etc..

The wireless device <NUM> communicates with one or more radio nodes or base stations, such as one or more network nodes <NUM>, via antennas <NUM> and a transceiver circuit <NUM>. The transceiver circuit <NUM> may include transmitter circuits, receiver circuits, and associated control circuits that are collectively configured to transmit and receive signals according to a radio access technology, for the purposes of providing cellular communication services.

The wireless device <NUM> also includes one or more processing circuits <NUM> that are operatively associated with and control the radio transceiver circuit <NUM>. The processing circuit <NUM> comprises one or more digital processing circuits <NUM>, e.g., one or more microprocessors, microcontrollers, Digital Signal Processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), Complex Programmable Logic Devices (CPLDs), Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs), or any mix thereof. More generally, processing circuitry <NUM> may comprise fixed circuitry, or programmable circuitry that is specially adapted via the execution of program instructions implementing the functionality taught herein, or may comprise some mix of fixed and programmed circuitry. The processing circuitry <NUM> may be multi-core.

The processing circuitry <NUM> also includes a memory <NUM>. Memory <NUM>, in some embodiments, stores one or more computer programs <NUM> and, optionally, configuration data <NUM>. Memory <NUM> provides non-transitory storage for the computer program <NUM> and it may comprise one or more types of computer-readable media, such as disk storage, solid-state memory storage, or any mix thereof. By way of non-limiting example, memory <NUM> comprises any one or more of SRAM, DRAM, EEPROM, and FLASH memory, which may be in processing circuitry <NUM> and/or separate from processing circuitry <NUM>. In general, memory <NUM> comprises one or more types of computer-readable storage media providing non-transitory storage of computer program <NUM> and any configuration data <NUM> used by wireless device <NUM>.

Accordingly, in some embodiments, processing circuitry <NUM> of wireless device <NUM> is configured to perform an uplink transmission. The uplink transmission may be an idle-mode uplink transmission using PUR, for example. Processing circuitry <NUM> is configured to determine whether a serving-cell signal measurement M2 was completed within a predetermined range of time before a reference time T2, the reference time T2 corresponding to an uplink transmission opportunity. Processing circuitry <NUM> is also configured to, responsive to determining that the serving-cell signal measurement M2 was not completed within the predetermined range of time, either defer transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or drop the uplink transmission, or collect an additional serving-cell measurement M2' that falls within the predetermined range of time, for use in validating a TA for transmitting at the transmission opportunity and/or for estimating a PL for power control of a transmission at the transmission opportunity.

Processing circuitry <NUM> is also configured to perform method <NUM>, according to some embodiments. Method <NUM>, shown in <FIG>, includes determining whether a serving-cell signal measurement M2 was completed within a predetermined range of time before a reference time T2, the reference time T2 corresponding to a uplink transmission opportunity, e.g., a transmission opportunity using PUR (block <NUM>). Method <NUM> also includes, responsive to determining that the serving-cell signal measurement M2 was not completed within the predetermined range of time, either deferring transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or dropping the uplink transmission, or collecting an additional serving-cell measurement M2' that falls within the predetermined range of time (block <NUM>). In the latter case, this additional serving-cell measurement M2' may be used in validating a TA for transmitting at the transmission opportunity and/or for estimating a PL for power control of a transmission at the transmission opportunity.

Method <NUM> may include verifying whether a serving-cell measurement M1 was taken within a predetermined range of time around a reference time T1, the reference time T1 corresponding to a time at which the TA was established. In some embodiments or instances, the method may further comprise, in response to determining that the serving-cell measurement M1 was completed within the predetermined range of time around the reference time T1, validating the TA for transmitting at the uplink transmission opportunity and transmitting at the uplink transmission opportunity, in response to the validating of the TA. Here, validating the TA may comprise validating the TA in response to determining that the difference in magnitude between the measurement M1 and the second measurement M2 is less than a given difference threshold.

In some embodiments or instances, method <NUM> may further include, in response to determining that the serving-cell measurement M1 was not taken within the predetermined range of time around the reference time T1, collecting an additional serving-cell measurement M1' that falls within the predetermined range of time around the reference time T1, for use in validating the TA for subsequent transmission opportunities and/or for estimating PL changes at subsequent transmission opportunities, e.g., using the PUR. Validating the TA may include validating the TA in response to determining that the difference in magnitude between the additional serving-cell measurement M1' and the second measurement M2 is less than a given difference threshold, in which case the uplink transmission opportunity may be used for an uplink transmission in response to the validating of the TA. Validating the TA may include validating the TA in response to determining that the difference in magnitude between the first measurement M1 and the additional serving-cell measurement M2' is less than a given difference threshold, and the PUR may be used for an uplink transmission in response to the validating of the TA. In other instances where the additional serving-cell measurement M2' is collected, it may be case that the additional serving-cell measurement M2' is not less than the given difference threshold, in which case the uplink transmission may be deferred, or dropped.

In some embodiments, the estimating of the PL changes is based on the additional serving-cell measurement M2', and the uplink transmission opportunity may be used for an uplink transmission or the uplink transmission may be deferred, in response to the estimating.

According to other embodiments, processing circuitry <NUM> is configured to perform an uplink transmission, e.g., an idle-mode uplink transmission using PUR, by obtaining configuration information (e.g., PUR configuration information) comprising a TA at a first reference time T1 and compare a second reference time T2 to the first reference time T1, where the second reference time T2 is a time at which a TA validation, PL estimation for power control and/or path loss change estimation is to be performed. In some embodiments, the second reference time T2 may be identified from the configuration information. The processing circuitry <NUM> is further configured to, in response to determining that the time difference between the first and second reference times T1, T2 does not meet the given difference threshold, do one of the following: perform the TA validation, PL estimation for power control, and/or PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing a new measurement, and performing the uplink transmission based on the TA validation, PL estimation for power control, and/or PL change estimation; postpone the uplink transmission, e.g., until a third reference time T3; and drop the uplink transmission.

Thus, processing circuitry <NUM> is configured to perform method <NUM>, according to some embodiments. Method <NUM>, shown in <FIG>, includes obtaining configuration information, e.g., PUR configuration information, comprising a TA at a first reference time T1 (block <NUM>), and comparing a second reference time T2 to the first reference time T1, where the second reference time T2 is a time at which a TA validation, PL estimation for power control and/or path loss change estimation is to be performed (block <NUM>). In some embodiments, the method may comprise identifying the second reference time T2 from the configuration information (block <NUM>). Method <NUM> further includes, in response to determining that the time difference between the first and second reference times T1, T2 does not meet the given difference threshold, one of: performing the TA validation, PL estimation for power control, and/or PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing a new measurement, and performing the uplink transmission based on the TA validation, PL estimation for power control, and/or PL change estimation; postponing the uplink transmission; and dropping the uplink transmission (block <NUM>).

<FIG>, according to some embodiments, illustrates a communication system that includes a telecommunication network <NUM>, such as a 3GPP-type cellular network, which comprises an access network <NUM>, such as a radio access network, and a core network <NUM>. The access network <NUM> comprises a plurality of base stations 912a, 912b, 912c, such as NBs, eNBs, gNBs or other types of wireless access points, each defining a corresponding coverage area 913a, 913b, 913c. Each base station 912a, 912b, 912c is connectable to the core network <NUM> over a wired or wireless connection <NUM>. A first UE <NUM> located in coverage area 913c is configured to wirelessly connect to, or be paged by, the corresponding base station 912c. A second UE <NUM> in coverage area 913a is wirelessly connectable to the corresponding base station 912a.

It is noted that the host computer <NUM>, base station <NUM> and UE <NUM> illustrated in <FIG> may be identical to the host computer <NUM>, one of the base stations 1012a, 1012b, 1012c and one of the UEs <NUM>, <NUM> of <FIG>, respectively.

The wireless connection <NUM> between the UE <NUM> and the base station <NUM> is in accordance with the teachings of the embodiments described throughout this disclosure, such as provided by nodes such as a wireless device and relay node <NUM>, along with the corresponding methods <NUM> and <NUM>. The embodiments described herein provide for improved TA validation and PL estimation. The teachings of these embodiments may improve the reliability, connections, data rate, capacity, latency and/or power consumption for the network and UE <NUM> using the OTT connection <NUM>.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system. Additionally, or alternatively, in an optional second step <NUM>, the UE provides user data.

<FIG> is a flowchart illustrating a method implemented in a communication system.

As discussed in detail above, the techniques described herein, e.g., as illustrated in the process flow diagram of <FIG> and <FIG>, may be implemented, in whole or in part, using computer program instructions executed by one or more processors. It will be appreciated that a functional implementation of these techniques may be represented in terms of functional modules, where each functional module corresponds to a functional unit of software executing in an appropriate processor or to a functional digital hardware circuit, or some combination of both.

<FIG> illustrates an example functional module or circuit architecture for wireless device <NUM>, configured for performing an uplink transmission, such as an idle-mode uplink transmission using PUR. The implementation includes a determining module <NUM> for determining whether a serving-cell signal measurement M2 was taken within a predetermined range of time before a reference time T2, the reference time T2 corresponding to a transmission opportunity. The implementation also includes a performing module for, responsive to determining that the serving-cell signal measurement M2 was not taken within the predetermined range of time, either deferring transmission to a subsequent transmission opportunity or collecting an additional serving-cell measurement M2' that falls within the predetermined range of time, for use in validating a TA for transmitting at the transmission opportunity and/or for estimating a PL for power control of a transmission at the transmission opportunity. The implementation may also include using module <NUM> for performing the uplink transmission.

<FIG> illustrates another example functional module or circuit architecture for wireless device <NUM>. The functional implementation includes an obtaining module <NUM> for obtaining configuration information, such as PUR configuration information, comprising a TA at a first reference time T1 and an identifying module <NUM> for identifying, from the configuration information, a second reference time T2 at which a TA validation, PL estimation for power control, and/or path loss change estimation is to be performed. The implementation also includes a comparing module <NUM> for comparing the second reference time T2 to the first reference time T1 and a performing module <NUM> for, in response to determining that the time difference between the first and second reference times T1, T2 does not meet the given difference threshold, one of: performing the TA validation, PL estimation for power control, and/or PL change estimation using any measurements available at the wireless device or performing a new measurement, and performing the uplink transmission based on the TA validation (e.g., using PUR resources), PL estimation for power control and/or PL change estimation; postponing the uplink transmission until a third reference time T3; and dropping the uplink transmission.

Claim 1:
A method, performed by a wireless device, for performing an uplink transmission, the method comprising:
determining (<NUM>) whether a serving-cell signal measurement M2 was completed within a predetermined range of time before and no later than a reference time T2, the reference time T2 corresponding to an uplink transmission opportunity; and,
responsive to determining that the serving-cell signal measurement M2 was not completed within the predetermined range of time, either (<NUM>) deferring transmission to a subsequent uplink transmission opportunity, or dropping the uplink transmission, or collecting an additional serving-cell measurement M2' that falls within the predetermined range of time.