User equipment involved in neighbor cell measurement procedures
The present disclosure relates to a user equipment (UE) that comprises a processor, which determines one among a plurality of mobility states for the UE, wherein the plurality of mobility states comprises at least three different mobility states. The processor determines one or more radio measurement quantities of a serving radio cell in which the UE is located. The processor determines whether or not to relax radio measurements on one or more neighbour radio cells, based on the determined mobility state of the UE and the determined one or more radio measurement quantities of the serving radio cell. A receiver and the processor of the UE perform the radio measurements on the one or more neighbour radio cells according to radio measurement requirements, when the processor determines not to relax the radio measurements on the one or more neighbour radio cells.
1. A user equipment (UE), comprising:
a processor, which in operation, determines one among a plurality of mobility states of the UE including a first mobility state and a second mobility state,
wherein the processor, in operation, determines one or more radio measurement quantities of a serving radio cell in which the UE is located, and
wherein the processor, in operation, determines to relax radio measurements on one or more neighbor radio cells, when a relaxation criterion is fulfilled, wherein the relaxation criterion uses a relaxation factor which is a positive integer larger than one when the UE is in the first mobility state, and
a receiver which, in cooperation with the processor, perform the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells according to radio measurement requirements, when the processor determines not to relax the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells.
2. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein in case the processor determines to relax radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells, the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells are not performed at all or are performed according to relaxed radio measurement requirements, wherein the relaxed radio measurement requirements require the UE to perform less often radio measurements than according to the radio measurement requirements.
3. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the first mobility state is a low-mobility state and the second mobility state is a mobility state higher than the low-mobility state.
4. The UE according to claim 3 , wherein the determining of the mobility state of the UE by the processor is based on one or more of the following:
the number of cell reselections in a past period of time,
the number of beam changes in a past period of time,
the fading situation regarding a radio measurement quantity of the serving cell in a past period of time,
position information of the UE in a past period of time,
and
a type of the UE.
5. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the processor determines to relax the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells, when another relaxation criterion is fulfilled, wherein the
another relaxation criterion is fulfilled when one or more of the radio measurement quantities for the serving radio cell has changed, during a past period of time, less than a threshold amount.
6. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein whether the relaxation criterion is fulfilled or not depends on the mobility state of the UE, and
wherein when the UE is in the second mobility state, the relaxation criterion is never fulfilled.
7. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein when the UE is in the second mobility state, a first value is applied to a first quantity threshold related to the relaxation criterion, and
wherein when the UE is in the first mobility state, a second value is applied to the first quantity threshold related to the relaxation criterion, wherein the first value of the first quantity threshold is larger than the second value of the first quantity threshold.
8. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein when the UE is in the second mobility state and the relaxation criterion is fulfilled, the radio measurements are performed on the one or more neighbor radio cells according to relaxed radio measurement requirements, wherein the relaxed radio measurement requirements require the UE to perform less often radio measurements than according to the radio measurement requirements, and
wherein when the UE is in the first mobility state and the relaxation criterion is fulfilled, the UE does not need to perform the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells.
9. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein
the relaxation factor is larger than one when the UE is in a non-cell-edge case.
10. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein when the UE is in the first mobility state, a second quantity threshold is defined for the relaxation criterion, wherein when one of the one or more radio measurement quantities of the serving radio cell is higher than the second quantity threshold but smaller than a first quantity threshold, the radio measurements are performed on the one or more neighbor radio cells according to relaxed radio measurement requirements, wherein the relaxed radio measurement requirements require the UE to perform less often radio measurements than according to the radio measurement requirements, and
when the one of the one or more radio measurement quantities of the serving radio cell is higher than the first quantity threshold, the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells are not performed.
11. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein each of the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells is one of different types including an intra-frequency measurement type, an inter-frequency measurement type, and an inter-radio-access-technology measurement type, and
wherein the determining to relax radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells is performed separately for each type of neighbor radio cell measurements or performed together for all or a subset of the types of neighbor radio cell measurements.
12. The UE according to claim 1 , wherein the one or more radio measurement quantities comprise one or more of the following:
a Reference Signal Received Power (RSRP) quantity,
a Reference Signal Received Quality (RSRQ) quantity, and
a Signal-to-Interference plus Noise Ratio (SINR) quantity.
13. A method comprising the following steps performed by a user equipment (UE):
determining one among a plurality of mobility states of the UE including a first mobility state and a second mobility state,
determining one or more radio measurement quantities of a serving radio cell in which the UE is located,
determining to relax radio measurements on one or more neighbor radio cells, when a relaxation criterion is fulfilled, wherein the relaxation criterion uses a relaxation factor which is a positive integer larger than one when the UE is in the first mobility state, and
performing the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells according to radio measurement requirements, when determining not to relax the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells.
14. The method according to claim 13 , wherein in case of determining to relax radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells, the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells are not performed at all or are performed according to relaxed radio measurement requirements, wherein the relaxed radio measurement requirements require the UE to perform less often radio measurements than according to the radio measurement requirements.
15. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the first mobility state is a low-mobility state and the second mobility state is a mobility state higher than the low-mobility state.
16. The method according to claim 13 , wherein the determining step determines to relax the radio measurements on the one or more neighbor radio cells, when another relaxation criterion is fulfilled, wherein the
another relaxation criterion is fulfilled when one or more of the radio measurement quantities for the serving radio cell has changed, during a past period of time, less than a threshold amount.
17. The method according to claim 13 , wherein whether the relaxation criterion is fulfilled or not depends on the mobility state of the UE, and
wherein when the UE is in the second mobility state, the relaxation criterion is never fulfilled.
18. The method according to claim 13 , wherein when the UE is in the second mobility state, a first value is applied to a first quantity threshold related to the relaxation criterion, and
wherein when the UE is in the first mobility state, a second value is applied to the first quantity threshold related to the relaxation criterion, wherein the first value of the first quantity threshold is larger than the second value of the first quantity threshold.