User Equipment, Network Node and Methods Therein

Abstract

Embodiments herein relate to a method in a user equipment ( 10 ) for handling cell change in a radio communications network. The user equipment ( 10 ) is served by at least a first cell ( 11 ) controlled by a radio network node ( 12 ). The user equipment postpones one of a positioning session and a cell change process to a second cell ( 14 ) relative one another when to perform the cell change process and the positioning session of the user equipment ( 10 ).

1 .- 54 . (canceled) 
     
     
         55 . A method in a user equipment of handling cell change in a radio communication network, the user equipment served by at least a first cell controlled by a radio network node, the method comprising:
 postponing one of a positioning session and a cell change process to a second cell relative to one another.   
     
     
         56 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein when the cell change process is on-going, postponing comprises postponing the positioning session until the cell change process is over. 
     
     
         57 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the positioning session comprises a measurement procedure for positioning measurement, and postponing the positioning session comprises delaying the measurement procedure. 
     
     
         58 . The method of  claim 56 , further comprising transmitting an indicator, an abort message, or a failure message to a positioning node when the positioning session is postponed. 
     
     
         59 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein when the positioning session is on-going and a cell change command is received by the user equipment, postponing comprises postponing the cell change process a first time period. 
     
     
         60 . The method of  claim 59 , wherein the first time period is pre-defined or configured by a positioning node, or corresponds to an end of the on-going positioning session. 
     
     
         61 . The method of  claim 59 , further comprising dropping the on-going positioning session or a measurement process for a specific positioning method. 
     
     
         62 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein postponing is performed for a specific type of positioning session, a specific type of positioning measurements of the positioning session, or a specific type of positioning services associated with the positioning session. 
     
     
         63 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein postponing is performed depending on a type of cell change. 
     
     
         64 . The method of  claim 56 , further comprising:
 receiving positioning assistance data from a positioning node, which positioning assistance data and a system frame number of at least one cell in the positioning assistance data is for use in determining when to perform a positioning measurement;   checking, after the cell change process is performed, that the second cell is in the received positioning assistance data; and   sending, when the second cell is not in the positioning assistance data, a request for positioning assistance data of the second cell only to the positioning node.   
     
     
         65 . The method of  claim 64 , wherein the positioning assistance data comprises an indication of a cell serving the user equipment. 
     
     
         66 . The method of  claim 64 , further comprising:
 checking, after the cell change process is performed, that the indication in the received positioning assistance data indicates the second cell as the cell serving the user equipment; and   sending, when the second cell is not indicated in the positioning assistance data as the cell serving the user equipment, a serving indication indicating that the second cell is the cell serving the user equipment to the positioning node.   
     
     
         67 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the user equipment changes to the second cell, which second cell operates at least partly over a second frequency band different from a first frequency band operated over by the first cell, and the method further comprises requesting measurement reconfiguration when the user equipment is not capable of measuring on the second frequency band without measurement gaps. 
     
     
         68 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the user equipment changes from the first cell to the second cell, and the method further comprises:
 restarting performing reception-transmission (Rx-Tx) measurements on the second cell after the cell change process to the second cell; and   reporting the Rx-Tx measurements only for the second cell serving the user equipment.   
     
     
         69 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the first cell is a serving cell and the second cell is a neighbor cell before the cell change process. 
     
     
         70 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell in a multi-carrier system. 
     
     
         71 . The method of  claim 55 , wherein the cell change process is a handover process, a cell reselection process, or a primary cell change. 
     
     
         72 . A method in a network node of handling cell change of a user equipment between cells in a radio communication network, which user equipment is served in a first cell controlled by the network node, the method comprising:
 delaying an initiation of a positioning session for the user equipment if there is an on-going cell change process of the user equipment.   
     
     
         73 . The method of  claim 72 , further comprising sending a positioning request to the user equipment after the cell change process is completed. 
     
     
         74 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein delaying is performed only when the positioning session has a low priority. 
     
     
         75 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein delaying is performed based on a type of the cell change process. 
     
     
         76 . The method of  claim 72 , further comprising retrieving information that there is an on-going cell change process for the user equipment and information about a type of the on-going cell change process for the user equipment from a core network node or a radio network node. 
     
     
         77 . The method of  claim 72 , further comprising retrieving information about which cell is serving the user equipment, and storing the cell as a cell serving the user equipment. 
     
     
         78 . The method of  claim 77 , further comprising:
 receiving an indicator of a failure with a cell change-related reason indication or a request for positioning assistance data with the cell change-related reason indication;   updating the positioning assistance data, while ensuring the serving cell is included in the positioning assistance data; and   sending the updated positioning assistance data comprising the information about the serving cell.   
     
     
         79 . The method of  claim 72 , further comprising requesting from a radio network node serving the user equipment, a reception-transmission (Rx-Tx) measurement from the user equipment when a received Rx-Tx measurement is classified as non-reliable or is not received at all. 
     
     
         80 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the network node is a positioning node. 
     
     
         81 . The method of  claim 72 , wherein the network node is a core network node, and delaying is performed by delaying a transmission of a positioning request for the user equipment to a positioning node. 
     
     
         82 . A user equipment for handling cell change in a radio communication network, which user equipment is arranged to be served by at least a first cell controlled by a radio network node, the user equipment comprising a postponing circuit configured to postpone one of a positioning session and a cell change process to a second cell relative to one another. 
     
     
         83 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein when the cell change process is on-going, the postponing circuit is configured to postpone the positioning session until the cell change process is over. 
     
     
         84 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the positioning session comprises a measurement procedure for positioning measurement, and the postponing circuit is configured to postpone the positioning session by delaying the measurement procedure. 
     
     
         85 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , further comprising a transmitter configured to transmit an indicator, an abort message, or a failure message to a positioning node when the positioning session is postponed. 
     
     
         86 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein when the positioning session is on-going and a cell change command is received by the user equipment, the postponing circuit is configured to postpone the cell change process a first time period. 
     
     
         87 . The user equipment of  claim 86 , wherein the first time period is pre-defined or configured by a positioning node, or corresponds to an end of the on-going positioning session. 
     
     
         88 . The user equipment of  claim 86 , further comprising a dropping circuit configured to drop the on-going positioning session or a measurement process for a specific positioning method. 
     
     
         89 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the postponing circuit is configured to postpone positioning session or cell change process based on a specific type of positioning session, a specific type of positioning measurements of the positioning session, or a specific type of positioning services associated with the positioning session. 
     
     
         90 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the postponing circuit is configured to postpone positioning session or cell change process depending on a type of cell change process. 
     
     
         91 . The user equipment of  claim 83 , further comprising:
 a receiver configured to receive positioning assistance data from a positioning node, which positioning assistance data and a system frame number of at least one cell in the positioning assistance data is for use in performing a positioning measurement;   a checking circuit configured to check after the cell change process is performed, that the second cell is in the received positioning assistance data; and   a transmitter configured to transmit, when the second cell is not in the positioning assistance data, a request for the positioning assistance data of the second cell only to the positioning node.   
     
     
         92 . The user equipment of  claim 91 , wherein the positioning assistance data comprises an indication of a cell serving the user equipment. 
     
     
         93 . The user equipment of  claim 91 , wherein the checking circuit is further configured to check, after the cell change process is performed, that the indication in the received positioning assistance data indicates the second cell as the cell serving the user equipment, and the transmitter is further configured to transmit, when the second cell is not indicated in the positioning assistance data as the cell serving the user equipment, a serving indication indicating that the second cell is the cell serving the user equipment to the positioning node. 
     
     
         94 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the user equipment is arranged to change cell to the second cell, which second cell operates at least partly over a second frequency band different from a first frequency band operated over by the first cell; and the user equipment further comprises a requesting circuit configured to request for measurement reconfiguration when the users equipment is not capable of measuring on that different frequency band without measurement gaps. 
     
     
         95 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the user equipment is arranged to change from the first cell to the second cell; and the user equipment further comprises a restarting circuit configured to restart performing reception-transmission (Rx-Tx) measurements on the second cell after the cell change process to the second cell, and a reporting circuit configured to report the Rx-Tx measurements only for the second cell serving the user equipment. 
     
     
         96 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the first cell is a serving cell and the second cell is a neighbor cell before the cell change process. 
     
     
         97 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the first cell is a primary cell and the second cell is a secondary cell in a multi-carrier system. 
     
     
         98 . The user equipment of  claim 82 , wherein the cell change process is a handover process, a cell reselection process, or a primary cell change. 
     
     
         99 . A network node for handling cell change of a user equipment between cells in a radio communications network, which user equipment is served in a first cell controlled by the network node; the network node comprising a delaying circuit configured to delay an initiation of a positioning session for the user equipment if there is an on-going cell change process of the user equipment. 
     
     
         100 . The network node of  claim 99 , further comprising a sending circuit configured to send a positioning request to the user equipment after the cell change process is completed. 
     
     
         101 . The network node of  claim 99 , wherein the delaying circuit is configured to perform delaying only when the positioning session has a low priority. 
     
     
         102 . The network node of  claim 99 , wherein the delaying circuit is configured to perform delaying based on a type of the cell change process. 
     
     
         103 . The network node of  claim 99 , further comprising a retrieving circuit configured to retrieve information that there is an on-going cell change process for the user equipment, and to retrieve information about a type of the on-going cell change process for the user equipment from a core network node or a radio network node. 
     
     
         104 . The network node of  claim 99 , wherein the retrieving circuit is further configured to retrieve information about which cell is serving the user equipment, and the network node further comprises a memory configured to be used to store the cell as a cell serving the user equipment. 
     
     
         105 . The network node of  claim 104 , further comprising:
 a receiving circuit configured to receive an indicator of a failure with a cell change-related reason indication or a request for positioning assistance data with the cell change-related reason indication; and   an updating circuit configured to update the positioning assistance data, while ensuring the serving cell is included in the positioning assistance data;   wherein the sending circuit is further configured to send the updated positioning assistance data comprising the information about the serving cell.   
     
     
         106 . The network node of  claim 99 , further comprising a requesting circuit configured to request from a radio network node serving the user equipment a reception-transmission (Rx-Tx) measurement from the user equipment when a received Rx-Tx measurement is classified as non-reliable or is not received at all. 
     
     
         107 . The network node of  claim 99 , wherein the network node is a positioning node. 
     
     
         108 . The method of  claim 99 , wherein the network node is a core network node, and the delaying circuit is configured to delay the initiation of the positioning session by delaying a transmission of a positioning request for the user equipment to a positioning node.