TECHNICAL FIELD
5 [0001] Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to the field of
telecommunication, and in particular, to methods, devices and computer storage media of
communication during a reporting of a secondary cell group (SCG) failure information.
BACKGROUND
10 [0002] Generally, upon detecting a SCG failure such as a radio link failure for the SCG,
reconfiguration with sync failure of the SCG, SCG configuration failure, or integrity check
failure indication from SCG lower layers, a terminal device will report, to a master cell
group (MCG), information about the SCG failure comprising a failure type, a measurement
result and a location of the terminal device.
15 [0003] Currently, for a primary cell of SCG (also referred to as PScell), conditional PScell
change (CPC) and conditional PScell addition (CPA) have been proposed. CPC is a
PScell change procedure that is executed only when an execution condition is satisfied, and
CPA is PScell addition procedure that is executed only when an execution condition is
satisfied. On the other hand, it has been proposed that data collection for self-organizing
20 network (SON) and minimization of drive testing (MDT) in new radio (NR) is needed to be
enhanced. In this event, the above SCG failure report mechanism is insufficient for a
reporting of SCG failure information for example in case of CPC and CPA.
SUMMARY
25 [0004] In general, embodiments of the present disclosure provide methods, devices and
computer storage media of communication during a reporting of SCG failure information.
[0005] In a first aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method
comprises: determining, at a terminal device, whether a first failure of a first access attempt
to a first cell of a first network device occurs, the first network device being a secondary
30 node serving the terminal device, a second network device being a master node serving the
terminal device; and in accordance with a determination that the first failure occurs,
transmitting first information about the first failure to the first network device or the second
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network device.
[0006] In a second aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method
comprises: receiving, at a second network device and from a terminal device, first
information about a first failure of a first access attempt to a first cell of a first network
5 device, the first network device being a secondary node serving the terminal device, the
second network device being a master node serving the terminal device.
[0007] In a third aspect, there is provided a method of communication. The method
comprises: receiving, at a first network device and from a terminal device, first information
about a first failure of a first access attempt to a first cell of the first network device, the
10 first network device being a secondary node serving the terminal device.
[0008] In a fourth aspect, there is provided a terminal device. The terminal device
comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores
instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the terminal device to perform the
method according to the first aspect of the present disclosure.
15 [0009] In a fifth aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device
comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores
instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the
method according to the second aspect of the present disclosure.
[0010] In a sixth aspect, there is provided a network device. The network device
20 comprises a processor and a memory coupled to the processor. The memory stores
instructions that when executed by the processor, cause the network device to perform the
method according to the third aspect of the present disclosure.
[0011] In a seventh aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having
instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor,
25 cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the first aspect of the
present disclosure.
[0012] In an eighth aspect, there is provided a computer readable medium having
instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor,
cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the second aspect of the
30 present disclosure.
[0013] In a ninth aspect, there IS provided a computer readable medium having
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instructions stored thereon. The instructions, when executed on at least one processor,
cause the at least one processor to perform the method according to the third aspect of the
present disclosure.
[0014] Other features of the present disclosure will become easily comprehensible
5 through the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0015] Through the more detailed description of some embodiments of the present
disclosure in the accompanying drawings, the above and other objects, features and
10 advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent, wherein:
[0016] FIG. 1 illustrates an example communication scenario m which some
embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented;
[0017] FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic diagram illustrating a process for communication
during a reporting of SCG failure information according to some embodiments of the
15 present disclosure;
[0018] FIG. 3 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a terminal
device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 4 illustrates another example method of communication implemented at a
terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
20 [0020] FIG. 5 illustrates another example method of communication implemented at a
terminal device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0021] FIG. 6 illustrates an example method of communication implemented at a second
network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure;
[0022] FIG. 7 illustrates another example method of communication implemented at a
25 first network device in accordance with some embodiments of the present disclosure; and
30
[0023] FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of a device that is suitable for implementing
embodiments of the present disclosure.
[0024] Throughout the drawings, the same or similar reference numerals represent the
same or similar element.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
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[0025] Principle of the present disclosure will now be described with reference to some
embodiments. It is to be understood that these embodiments are described only for the
purpose of illustration and help those skilled in the art to understand and implement the
present disclosure, without suggesting any limitations as to the scope of the disclosure.
5 The disclosure described herein can be implemented in various manners other than the ones
described below.
[0026] In the following description and claims, unless defined otherwise, all technical and
scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of
ordinary skills in the art to which this disclosure belongs.
10 [0027] As used herein, the term "terminal device" refers to any device having wireless or
wired communication capabilities. Examples of the terminal device include, but not
limited to, user equipment (UE), personal computers, desktops, mobile phones, cellular
phones, smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), portable computers, tablets,
wearable devices, internet of things (loT) devices, Internet of Everything (IoE) devices,
15 machine type communication (MTC) devices, device on vehicle for V2X communication
where X means pedestrian, vehicle, or infrastructure/network, or image capture devices
such as digital cameras, gaming devices, music storage and playback appliances, or Internet
appliances enabling wireless or wired Internet access and browsing and the like. The term
"terminal device" can be used interchangeably with a UE, a mobile station, a subscriber
20 station, a mobile terminal, a user terminal or a wireless device. In addition, the term
"network device" refers to a device which is capable of providing or hosting a cell or
coverage where terminal devices can communicate. Examples of a network device
include, but not limited to, a Node B (NodeB or NB), an evolved NodeB (eNodeB or eNB),
a next generation NodeB (gNB), a transmission reception point (TRP), a remote radio unit
25 (RRU), a radio head (RH), a remote radio head (RRH), a low power node such as a femto
node, a pica node, and the like.
[0028] In one embodiment, the terminal device may be connected with a first network
device and a second network device. One of the first network device and the second
network device may be a master node and the other one may be a secondary node. The
30 first network device and the second network device may use different RATs. In one
embodiment, the first network device may be a first RAT device and the second network
device may be a second RAT device.
the second RAT device is gNB.
In one embodiment, the first RAT device is eNB and
Information related with different RATs may be
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transmitted to the terminal device from at least one of the first network device and the
second network device. In one embodiment, first information may be transmitted to the
terminal device from the first network device and second information may be transmitted to
the terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device.
5 In one embodiment, information related with configuration for the terminal device
configured by the second network device may be transmitted from the second network
device via the first network device. Information related with reconfiguration for the
terminal device configured by the second network device may be transmitted to the
terminal device from the second network device directly or via the first network device.
10 [0029] As used herein, the singular forms 'a', 'an' and 'the' are intended to include the
plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The term 'includes'
and its variants are to be read as open terms that mean 'includes, but is not limited to.'
The term 'based on' is to be read as 'at least in part based on.' The term 'one embodiment'
and 'an embodiment' are to be read as 'at least one embodiment.' The term 'another
15 embodiment' is to be read as 'at least one other embodiment.' The terms 'first,' 'second,'
and the like may refer to different or same objects. Other definitions, explicit and implicit,
may be included below.
[0030] In some examples, values, procedures, or apparatus are referred to as 'best,'
'lowest,' 'highest,' 'minimum,' 'maximum,' or the like. It will be appreciated that such
20 descriptions are intended to indicate that a selection among many used functional
alternatives can be made, and such selections need not be better, smaller, higher, or
otherwise preferable to other selections.
[0031] As mentioned above, it has been proposed that data collection for SON and MDT
in NR is needed to be enhanced. SON features include coverage and capacity
25 optimization (CCO), inter-system inter-radio access technology (RAT) energy saving,
2-step random access channel (RACH) optimization, mobility enhancement optimization,
physical cell identifier (PCI) selection, energy efficiency (operation administration and
maintenance (OAM) requirements), successful handovers reports, and UE history
information in EUTRA-NR dual connection (EN-DC). Thus, a reporting from a terminal
30 device is necessary to be specified to enhance the network configuration.
[0032] Currently, upon detecting a SCG failure, a terminal device will report information
about the SCG failure to a MCG. This information only involves a failure type, a
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measurement result and a location of the terminal device. Such report mechanism is
insufficient for a future release of 3GPP system, as more detailed failure information related
to SCG addition and change is not reported, e.g., random access information. Further,
how to control multiple CPA and CPC executions and store failure information of the
5 multiple CPA and CPC executions also should be considered.
[0033] In view of the above, embodiments of the present disclosure provide a solution of
reporting SCG failure information so as to solve the above and other problems. The
solution can facilitate enhancement of SCG failure information report. Principles and
implementations of the present disclosure will be described in detail below with reference
10 to the figures.
[0034] FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of an example communication scenario 100
in which embodiments of the present disclosure can be implemented. As shown in FIG. 1,
the communication scenario 100 may involve a terminal device 110, a first network device
120 and a second network device 130. The terminal device 110 can establish a dual
15 connection (i.e., simultaneous connection) with the first and second network devices 120
and 130. In the context of the present application, the first network device 120 serves as a
secondary node (SN) serving the terminal device 110, and the second network device 130
serves as a master node (MN) serving the terminal device 110.
[0035] The first network device 120 may communicate with the terminal device 110 via a
20 channel such as a wireless communication channel. Similarly, the second network device
130 may also communicate with the terminal device 110 via a channel such as a wireless
communication channel. The first network device 120 may communicate with the second
network device 130 via a control-plane interface such as Xn-C or X2-C.
[0036] It is to be understood that the number of devices in FIG. 1 is given for the purpose
25 of illustration without suggesting any limitations to the present disclosure. The
communication scenario 100 may involve any suitable number of network devices and/or
terminal devices adapted for implementing implementations of the present disclosure.

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WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:
1. A method of communication, comprising:
determining, at a terminal device, whether a first failure of a connection with a first
cell of a first network device occurs, the first network device being a secondary node
5 serving the terminal device, a second network device being a master node serving the
terminal device; and
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in accordance with a determination that the first failure occurs, transmitting at least
first information about the first failure to the first network device or the second network
device.
2. The method of claim 1, wherein the first information comprises at least one of
the following:
a type of the first failure;
a first measurement result of a first measurement configured by the first network
15 device;
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25
30
a second measurement result of a second measurement configured by the second
network device;
a location of the terminal device;
an identity of the first cell;
an identity of a previous primary cell of the first network device;
an identifier assigned to the terminal device by the first network device;
a time duration from initialization of connection of the previous primary cell to the
first failure;
a time duration since the first failure; and
information of a random access procedure associated with the first failure.
3. The method of claim 1, wherein the transmitting comprises:
in accordance with a determination that the first failure occurs, determining whether
a second cell satisfies a condition for access;
in accordance with a determination that the second cell satisfies the condition for
access, performing a second access attempt to the second cell;
in accordance with a second failure of the second access attempt and a
determination that an access attempt is performed on all candidate cells of the first network
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device, transmitting, to the second network device, at least the first information and second
information about the second failure; and
in accordance with a success of the second access attempt, transmitting at least the
first information to the first network device or the second network device.
4. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
starting a timer in accordance with a determination that the first failure occurs.
5. The method of claim 4, wherein the transmitting comprises:
in accordance with a determination that the first failure occurs and a determination
that the timer expires, transmitting at least the first information.
6. The method of claim 4, wherein the transmitting comprises:
m accordance with a determination that the first failure occurs and the timer is
15 running, determining whether a second cell satisfies the condition for access;
in accordance with a determination that the second cell satisfies the condition for
access, performing a second access attempt to the second cell;
in accordance with a second failure of the second access attempt and a
determination that the timer expires, transmitting, to the second network device, at least the
20 first information and second information about the second failure; and
25
in accordance with a success of the second access attempt, transmitting at least the
first information to the first network device or the second network device.
7. The method of claim 1, further comprising:
storing at least the first information in a storage; and
transmitting, to the first network device or the second network device, an indication
about availability of at least the first information.
8. The method of claim 7, wherein the indication IS transmitted to the second
30 network device, and the method further comprises:
in accordance with a determination that the terminal device is connected with a third
network device by one of a radio resource control (RRC) reestablishment procedure, a RRC
resume procedure, and a handover procedure, transmitting the indication to the third
network device;